Scottish Scholars Challenge Book of Kells Origins

New research challenges the centuries-old assumption that the world’s most famous illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kells, was created on the Scottish island of Iona. Instead, Dr. Victoria Whitworth’s forthcoming study suggests the magnificent 1,200-year-old Gospel book was crafted in Pictish eastern Scotland, specifically at the monastery of Portmahomack in Easter Ross, revolutionizing our understanding of medieval Scottish culture and manuscript production.

The Book of Kells, containing intricate illuminated accounts of the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, has long been considered Ireland’s greatest cultural treasure. Traditional scholarship placed its origins at the monastery on Iona before its transfer to the monastery of Kells in County Meath, Ireland, following Viking raids in the 9th century.