|
| |
|
KELLS |
| |
|
|
| |
KELLS itself is a place of history and monastic antiquities -
several high crosses, an eleventh-century oratory, a round tower and an
ancient square bell tower - but it is most famous for what is not here,
the magnificent illuminated manuscript known as the Book of Kells , now
housed in Trinity College, Dublin. The monastery was founded by St
Columba in the sixth century, and from about 807 it became the leading
Columban monastery in Ireland, when the monks from the original
foundation on the Scottish island of Iona fled here from repeated Viking
raids. It is probable that the Book of Kells was actually made on Iona
and that they brought it with them when they moved. The new home was
little safer than the original one and was attacked time and again by
Danes and later the Normans: in the twelfth century the monastic order's
headquarters moved on to Derry, and by the time of the Dissolution there
was little left to suppress. So most of what you actually see is
eighteenth century or later, though the town's layout still etches out
the concentric ridges of the early monastery's plan, on what little
survives is well worth making the effort to see.
When you arrive, head for the spire of the bell tower that stands within
the grounds of the modern church where most of the relics are to be seen.
In the church itself (if it's not open you can get the key from the gate-lodge
outside working hours, otherwise search for the priest) there's a
facsimile copy of the Book of Kells , and up in the gallery you'll find
a small exhibition of blown-up photos of some of its pages. The Round
Tower in the churchyard is known to have been here before 1076, for in
that year Murchadh Mac Flainn, who was claiming the High Kingship, was
murdered within the tower. It's a little under 100ft high, with five
windows near the top, and missing only its roof.
Near the tower is the South High Cross , the best and probably the
oldest of the crosses in Kells, carved as ever with scenes from the
Bible. On the south face appears: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, the three
children in the fiery furnace, and Daniel in the lions' den. On the left
arm of the wheel Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac, and on the right
are St Paul and St Anthony in the desert; at the top is David with his
harp and the miracle of the loaves and fishes. There are two other
complete crosses in the churchyard, and the stem of a fourth (behind the
church back-entrance door) with the inscription Oroit do Artgal "A
Prayer for Artgal". This has several identifiable panels; the near side
shows the baptism of Christ, the marriage feast at Cana, David with his
harp again, the presentation in the Temple, and others too worn to make
out. On the other side are a self-conscious Adam and Eve, Noah's ark,
and others hard to identify accurately. There are sculptured stones
embedded in the walls of the bell tower.
St Colmcille's House , probably built by the Columban community, can be
found just outside the churchyard walls at the north end - coming out of
the main gates take a sharp left uphill, but first obtain the keys from
the chocolate-brown house just after the stop sign. It's a beautifully
preserved building - thick-walled and high-roofed - and peculiarly in
character with the terrace of nineteenth-century workers' houses
alongside which it stands. A modern entrance has been broken in at
ground level, when originally the door would have been about eight feet
off the ground in the west wall (reached, for security, by a removable
ladder); you can still see the intended way in round to the left from
where you enter now. Inside is a space about 19ft by 16ft, where you
emerge into a vaulted room that would have once had two levels (with the
present ground floor as a basement). Above were three tiny attic rooms,
reached now by a metal ladder, which were probably where the residents
slept and also a hideout in times of trouble. Underground tunnels link
the oratory and the Round Tower, supposedly running beneath O'Rourke's
pub on Castle Street.
In the central market square there's the replica of a fine high cross .
The original cross, which was said to have been placed there by Jonathan
Swift, was substantially damaged when a local reversed into it in her
car. One of the more macabre episodes in the history of the original
cross was during the 1798 Rebellion when it was used as the gallows from
which local rebels were hanged. At the time of going to press the
original cross was being repaired and plans are afoot to make it the
star attraction in a new heritage centre.
|
| |
|
