Book of Kells

A 9th-century illuminated Gospel book on permanent display in Trinity College Dublin

The Book of Kells is one of the most important manuscripts in the Western world: a lavishly illuminated Latin Gospel book created around 800 AD in a Celtic monastery, likely on the Scottish island of Iona. The four Gospels are transcribed in careful calligraphy and decorated with extraordinarily intricate ornaments, animals, and human figures. It has been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register since 2011. The original is housed in the Old Library of Trinity College Dublin, where it is on permanent display — one of Ireland's most visited attractions.