- Book of Kells displays Virgin and Child and Birth of Christ pages
- Folio 7v is earliest known Virgin Mary depiction in Western manuscript art
- Folio 8r shows Breves Causae of Matthew with birth of Christ decoration
- Created around 800AD; contains four Gospels of the New Testament
- Book of Kells Experience includes Old Library and Long Room access
Visitors to the Book of Kells Experience can now view one of the ancient manuscript’s most remarkable pages on folios 7v–8r, where an extraordinary image of the Virgin and Child faces the Breves Causae of the Gospel of Matthew and its intricately decorated announcement of the birth of Christ. Created around 800AD, the Book of Kells is Ireland’s greatest cultural treasure and contains the four Gospels of the New Testament.
Folio 7v is particularly significant, featuring what is considered the earliest known extant depiction of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus in Western manuscript art, and the manuscript’s sole major representation of a woman. The Virgin Mary is shown seated majestically on a throne, with the Christ Child on her knee, surrounded by the four archangels – Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. Three of the angels carry flabella or liturgical fans, while the fourth holds a flowering rod. The base of her throne is decorated with crosses, and a lion’s head on the back of her throne represents Christ.
Folio 8r contains the Breves Causae of Matthew I–III, lists of chapter contents customary in early medieval Gospel books. The page forms a complex array of script and decoration glorifying the birth of Christ. Representations of the star of Bethlehem are placed within the initial letter of Natiuitas, matching the star on the flabellum of an angel on the facing page. The Book of Kells is on display as part of the Book of Kells Experience, a 90-minute journey that includes access to the Old Library, the iconic Long Room, Gaia, Brian Boru Harp and a new digital exhibition.
