The Book of Kells

• This page (folio 292r) contains the lavishly decorated text that opens the Gospel of John.

The Book of Kells

• Folio 27v contains the four evangelist symbols. (Clockwise from top left: man, lion, eagle and ox)

The Book of Kells

• Folio 2r of the Book of Kells contains one of the Eusebian Canon Tables

The Book of Kells

• Folio 7v contains an image of the Virgin and Child. This is the oldest extant image of the Virgin Mary in a western manuscript.

The Book of Kells

• Folio 291v contains a portrait of John the Evangelist.

The Book of Kells

• Folio 29r contains the incipit to the Gospel of Matthew .

The Book of Kells

• Folio 34r contains the Chi Rho monogram. Chi and Rho are the first two letters of the word "Christ" in Greek.

• Almost all of the folios of the Book of Kells contain small illuminations like this decorated initial.

The Book of Kells

• The decorations of the Book of Kells can be stunningly complex, as seen in this small detail of the Chi Rho monogram page. (Folio 34r)

Lindisfarne’i

• Folio 27r from the Lindisfarne Gospels contains the incipit Liber generationis of the Gospel of Matthew. Compare this page with the corresponding page from the Book of Kells (see here), especially the form of the "Lib" monogram.