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unusual facts about Book of Kells



Breton literature

The Breton Gospel is similar to the form of Carolingian minuscule developed at Tours – one of the classicising centres of the Carolingian Renaissance, and although the form of the large illuminated letters that form the beginning of each Gospel are comparable to those found in Carolingian manuscripts, the decoration thereof is far more similar to insular manuscripts such as the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels, suggesting a continuum of cultural tradition.

Lichfield Gospels

Paleographic and stylistic similarities link it to Northumbria and Iona: the painting techniques resemble those of the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells.


see also