How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe

The Book of Kells is a Hiberno-Saxon, or Insular, illuminated gospel book produced in the late eighth or early ninth century, possibly at Iona or Lindisfarne. Cahill suggests that it was later smuggled out of Britain to Kells, an Irish monastery, to prevent its theft or destruction during the Viking raids. The book contains ornamental initials featuring Celtic decorative knots and spirals, as well as scenes from Christ’s life and zoomorphic initials that are characteristic of Saxon art. It represents the fusion of Irish styles with English and Mediterranean techniques and exemplifies the cultural revival that is characteristic of the period that Cahill credits Irish monks with fueling.

Lindisfarne was a sister house of the Irish monastery Iona, established under the direction of the exiled Irish monk Columba and his early followers. Iona, located on a remote island off the Scottish coast, attracted numerous devotees. This growth meant that a network of Irish monastic houses was established across Britain. Lindisfarne, the most influential of these houses, was the site of production for the Hiberno-Saxon Lindisfarne Gospels, and possibly for the Book of Kells. Unfortunately, Lindisfarne’s location on an island off the West Coast of England made the abbey vulnerable to Viking attacks that caused the monks to flee in the late 800s.