Books - old and older

Next, Trinity College and The Book of Kells. We started with a tour of the college led by a student who entertained us with her take on college-life. Trinity was started by Elizabeth I although women were not allowed to enrol until 1904. Our student guide was pleased to tell us that 65% of students are now women.  

Our tour was followed by a pretty short wait to see The Book Of Kells. While most art galleries and museums now allow taking pictures (without flash), The Book of Kells is another story and a very loud, gruff man shouted at anyone trying to sneak a shot of the famous book. The display is interesting with enlarged pages and detailed descriptions of the history and art of illuminating manuscripts. The book itself has been divided into four parts and two parts are on view at once. Pages are turned every few months. Other than our shouting guardian, the room was silent as we took turns to get close views. The book itself is smaller than I expected but fascinating to see. 
We moved upstairs into the Long Room, part of the Old Library where 200,000 antiquarian books are stored. 

Dramatic Long Room

Books are arranged with largest on bottom, getting smaller as they ascend. Busts of 98 famous scholars and intellectuals line the room.

This book happened to be on display in the Long Room - so this is as close to a view of The Book of Kells as I could get.