Trinity College
Hey guys!
Quick question: Do you like to read?
Dia dhuit!
Hello and welcome to more tales of Ireland!
Today I'll be talking about:
TRINITY COLLEGE AND THE BOOK OF KELLS
After our walk around Oughterard, we drove into Dublin.
We followed our noses through the busy crowds and streets to Trinity College.
There was a fair happening on campus and we got to hear some amazing bagpipes being played!
Trinity College is a huge old school that houses some amazing exhibits!
Two of these exhibits were: The Long Room and The Book of Kells.
One of the main reasons I've always wanted to go to Ireland is because of The Book of Kells.
The book is an illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels of the New Testament.
It was started by Celtic monks around 800 AD in an abbey on an island off the coast of Ireland, named Iona.
(If you know me, I have a rabbit and her name is Iona. I named her after this island.)
The abbey was raided and attacked by Vikings who destroyed everything-
Except the book!
Which the monks were able to hide before the Vikings arrived and flee with to Kells.
There they were able to finish it, thus naming it:
The Book of Kells.
It is written in Latin and the pages are so incredibly detailed you have to use a magnifying glass to see all of it!
The book is so beautiful, it is said that even the fairies knew of its power and importance!
They believed that it would turn darkness into light.
I have always been fascinated with this book and its story.
It was literally a dream come to true be able to see it with my own eyes and to be in the same room as it!
But!
I couldn't press my face into the glass forever, I had to move on and explore The Long Room.
The Long Room or Trinity College Library is an extensive vast two-story hall filled with over 6,000,000 volumes of books, journals, maps, music, and manuscripts.
It is so awesome!
Lining the hall are impressive marble busts of great philosophers and writers.
My favorite was the bust of William Shakespeare.
The library also holds Trinity College's beautiful gold trimmed harp.
The whole hall is roped off so that none of the visitors can touch any of the priceless books.
There was a security guard standing by one of the shelves and my sister, Lauren, dared me to go ask him where I could get a library card.
I accepted her dare.
I walked up to him and sarcastically asked him where I could get one.
He looked at me for a minute and I laughed and said it was a joke.
He then said,
"No, the joke is on you. You CAN get a library card..!"
We talked for a while longer and we learned that his name was Colum.
All of the sudden he offered me something that shocked me!
"Do you want to touch the books?" He asked.
"Really?" I stammered, "Yes!"
He then opened the roped off shelf and whispered for me to hurry.
I grazed my hand over the dusty ancient books and scurried back out.
It was fantastic, and one of my greatest memories from the trip!
So there you have it! Some stories about our time at Trinity College!
Let me know in the comments if you like hearing these historical stories!
Thanks so much!
- Desert Hare
