Some Questions about the Book of Kells Exhibit at TCD Old Library

Some Questions about the Book of Kells Exhibit at TCD Old Library

Luchia Lee-Howell

The Book of Kells is Ireland’s most iconic piece of visual art and has been recognized as the signature piece of the Old Library of Trinity College, Dublin (Trinity). The manuscript has been officially recognized by UNESCO, having been inscribed on its Memory of the World Register,[1] is an unofficial symbol of Irish cultural identity, and has generated great scholarly interest. Journal articles, conference proceedings, and monographs discuss specific features of the Book of Kells, from the canon tables, to the marginalia, the text, individual illustrations, and the details of manuscript production. Publications also abound on its medieval history - the state of Christianity in medieval Europe, the monasteries, the politics, the ecclesiastical divisions and reconciliations. What is singularly absent is any academic literature investigating the current public exhibition at Trinity’s Old Library. Conveying in an exhibition the enchantment the manuscript held in the past is a great challenge. What most fascinates me is the question: Can a visit to the Book of Kells become an aesthetic experience matching in innovative splendour the glorious achievement of this manuscript?

The Old Library functions now both as research library and public museum, consisting largely of an exhibition of the Book of Kells. In 2017, attendance at the Book of Kells exhibition was 980,000[2] and the number of visitors is likely to increase, which portends a crisis due to enlarged visitor density in a limited exhibition space. The crunch of people is typical of rush hour crowds. (Fig. 1)

The Book of Kells possessed in past times mystical power to charm people when the book was displayed in church during liturgical ceremonies. This text will examine how one might enliven viewers, from multiple sectors and backgrounds, today and tomorrow, native and international, to acclaim this treasure as in days gone by. We can guess that only a small percentage of the visitors to the Book of Kells exhibition in the Old Library are scholars. What expectations do the non-scholars have of the exhibition, and how well does it serve their interests? How can the brief learning from viewing a stationary object locked in a glass-topped case in a darkened room provide an astonishing experience, one that matches the universal deep-rooted Irish enthusiasm for the Book of Kells? In today’s world of instant communication and expedited travel, more visitors to the Book of Kells exhibition will hail from different cultures; how will the exhibition cater to their needs? Can the encounter with the Book of Kells exhibition leave behind a message with visitors? What will they remember? What inspiration is to be gained from braving the crowds in the Old Library? (Fig. 2)

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[1] (The United Nations of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Orgnization, 2017)

[2] (Fáilte Ireland, 2018)

[3]  For example, Thinking about Exhibition, (Greenberg, et al., 1996); the talk from MOMA New York  Curator of (Museum as activator, museum as activist, museum as agitator | Pedro Gadanho | TEDxViennaSalon, 2014); “The Museum without Walls” from (Krauss, 1966); 

[4] (Dooley, 2007); P. 14.

 @2018 by author

@2018 by author

(above essay taken partially from Luchia Lee-Howell's postgraduate thesis

PRESENTING THE PAST TO THE FUTURE

A Curatorial Perspective on Exhibiting Trinity’s Book of Kells)