BOOK OF KELLS

Dublin’s Trinity Collage and its Treasure

            Trinity College. Ireland’s oldest university, established in 1592 by Elizabeth I, sits on a 40-acres in the very heart of the country’s capital. The old campus has maintained much of its ancient seclusion and cobbled squares. It was rather hard to walk on the old cobblestones, not that such pathways are ever easy. Everything on the campus is cobbled. Catholics were not admitted to the college until 1793 and women not until 1908.

            A unique collection of buildings dating from the 17^th to the 20^th century is nestled among its parks and gardens. A round tower, for protection against Vikings, still remains part of the original monastery where the Book of Kells was created over 1000 years ago.

            The Book of Kells is the centerpiece of an exhibition which attracts over 500,000 visitors to Trinity College, each year. Signs led us to the university library. Before getting to the book we walked through an extremely informative exhibit telling about the book.

            In the 6^th century pocket gospel books were common and they were written on calf skin called vellum.  It took 185 calf skins for the pages of the Book of Kells. Monks used quill pens made of swan or goose tail feathers and sometimes pens made from reeds.  The ink was a brownish iron-gall ink made from oak, apples, sulfate of iron, water, and gum. However, this ink tended to fade with time. Some of the pages were printed with a black carbon ink. It took four scribes working in a production-style process to write the book. Three major artists were involved. Originally the book was laced to a board.

            Each day one page of the ancient four-volume Book is turned.  Written around the year 800 AD, the Book of Kells contains a richly decorated copy of the four gospels in a Latin text based on the Vulgate edition (completed by St Jerome in 384 AD). The gospels are preceded by prefaces, summaries of the gospel narratives and concordances of gospel passages compiled in the fourth century by Eusebius of Caesarea. In all, there are 340 folios (680 pages).

            The script is embellished by the elaboration of key words and phrases and by an endlessly inventive range of decorated initials and interlinear drawings. The book contents were originally bound in a single volume.  It was rebound in four volumes in 1953 for conservation reasons. Two volumes are normally on display, one opened at a major decorated page, the other at a text opening. The large crowd moved around the showcase table slowly in the dim room.

            Afterward, we went upstairs to the 65-foot long room where 200,000 old books are stored. Many books were opened in display cases down the center of the room. Also on display is the oldest and smallest Irish harp made of willow. Its 29 strings were restrung in 1961.

            For many the Book of Kells is the highlight of their visit to Dublin. It was pretty awesome to be able to view such an old book! The old college is lovely and quaint. Students were everywhere as class was in session.

It was a memorable way to start a visit to Dublin, an exciting city with a lot of history and so much to see and experience.

ALGONQUIN HOTEL

THE ALGONQUIN HOTEL

I don’t usually write about hotels unless they are really unique in some way. Growing up in Maine, I always looked upon the Algonquin as elegant and always had a desire to stay there. Many decades later I had my chance when returning from Nova Scotia, Canada.

We arrived at St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, Canada just before lunchtime. I was breathless as I viewed the Algonquin Hotel perched on the hilltop overlooking Passamaquoddy Bay. Driving up to the front door we were greeted by a young doorman wearing kilts. (I happen to love kilts.)

            The Tudor style hotel with Victorian era elegance and manicured grounds was built in 1889 and speaks of gentility and grace.

Literature explained that the original hotel burned in 1914 but was rebuilt the next year following the original architectural plans. Salt water from Passamaquoddy Bay was pumped into tubs for therapeutic and cure-all baths, and in the early 1900s people flocked to Canada’s first seaside resort. The hotel’s original bathtubs had four faucets, two for regular water and two for salt water.

            Over the years the Algonquin added a second building across the street from the main hotel. To keep up with modern times the hotel now caters and serves the average man instead of only the wealthy elite. Throughout the day there were several programs and activities for children.

            From a local docent we learned that Loyalists established the historic fishing village of St. Andrews in 1783. The small seaside village has a present population of about 3000. When the King’s surveyor laid out the town he plotted 60 even square blocks. King Street runs from the wharf up the center of town to the top of the hill. It’s the steepest hill to walk, although not strenuous. By following the waterfront south 4-5 blocks before turning east the hill almost disappears and you can walk tree-lined streets of well kept old homes with manicured yards.   Many of the homes in town came by barge from Castine, Maine years ago when loyalists fled to Canada.

            The court house and jail date to 1840 and the Greenoch Presbyterian Church to 1824.

We reached the Kingsbrae Gardens at the head of King Street where we had chosen to have lunch. It was a beautiful day so we opted to eat on the patio. Service was slow but it was a busy time of day. We finally flagged down a waitress and placed our order. We didn’t mind and enjoyed a lovely leisurely lunch.

Reading the brochure we learned it took two years to build the 27-acre gardens on the grounds of several old estates. They opened to the public in 1998. The gardens were created incorporating the use of mature cedar hedges, flowerbeds, and old-growth forests. There were ponds and streams, a maze and a labyrinth, a windmill, woodland trails, butterfly garden, sight impaired garden, perennial garden, heath and heather garden, rose garden, cottage garden, wild flower garden, secret garden and more.

We found the beautiful heather garden all in bloom. We walked both the maze and labyrinth. After touring the flowering gardens we took a path through the woods where it was incredibly quiet. We read interpretative signs along the way and even stopped to rest and contemplate for a bit. It was truly a delightful place to visit and nice way to spend an afternoon.

More about this quaint little Canadian town in another post.