ork, but later on this type was developed by transforming the
geometrical fret into a scheme of imaginary or nondescript animals,
portions of which, such as the tails and ears, were prolonged and
woven in exquisite fancy through the border. The artistic features of
Celtic book decoration consist chiefly of initial letters of this
nature embellished with color. Amongst the ancient Irish there was a
keen knowledge of color and an exceptional appreciation of color
values. Thus it was that in the early centuries of Christian Ireland
the learned monks, transcribing the Gospels and longing to make the
book beautiful, were able to bring to their task an artistic skill
which was hereditary and almost instinctive. The colors which they
used were mostly derived from mineral substances and the black was
carbon, made, it is conjectured, from charred fish-bones; but with
them was combined some gummy material which made them cling softly to
the vellum and has held for us their lustre for more than a thousand
years. It is noteworthy that neither gold nor silver was used for
book decoration, and this would appear to be a deliberate avoidance
of the glitter and glare which distinguish eastern art.

_The Book of Durrow _(in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin) is
the oldest specimen of Celtic illumination and, if not the work of
St. Columcille, is certainly of as early a date. Each of the Gospels
opens with a beautiful initial succeeded by letters of gradually
diminishing size, and there are full page decorations embodying such
subjects as the symbols of the Evangelists. The colors are rich and
vivid and all the designs are of the purest and most Celtic
character.

_The Gospels of MacRegol _(now in the Bodleian Library, Oxford) is
the work of an Abbot of Birr who died A.D. 820. It is a volume of
unusually large size, copiously ornamented with masterly designs and
containing illuminated portraits of Saints Mark, Luke, and John. The
first part of the book with the portrait of St. Matthew is missing.
_The Book of Kells _(in the Library of T.C.D.) is the all-surpassing
masterpiece of Celtic illuminative art and is acknowledged to be the
most beautiful book in the world. This copy of the four Gospels was
long deemed to have been made by the saintly hands of Columcille,
though it probably belongs to the eighth century. Into its pages are
woven such a wealth of ornament, such an ecstasy of art, and such a
miracle of design that the book is