Editing Book of Kells (section)

==Description==

{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center;"
!! colspan="3"| Summary Contents of the Book of Kells
|-
! Section !! Folios !! Pages
|-
|Preliminaries
|Folio 1r — 27r
| 53
|-
|Matthew
|Folio 27v — 36v <br /> 36*r — 36*v <br /> 37r — 129r
| 206
|-
|Mark
|Folio 129v — 187v
| 117
|-
|Luke
|Folio 188r — 290r
| 205
|-
|John <small>(through 17:13)</small>
|Folio 290v — 339v
| 99
|}

The Book of Kells contains the four Gospels of the Christian scriptures written in black, red, purple, and yellow ink in an [[insular majuscule]] script, preceded by prefaces, summaries, and concordances of Gospel passages.<ref>Meehan 1994, 9.</ref> Today, it consists of 340 [[vellum]] leaves, or folios, totalling 680 pages.<ref>Brown 1980, 7.</ref>  Almost all folios are numbered at recto, bottom left.  One folio number, 36, was mistakenly double-counted.  As a result, the [[pagination]] of the entire book is reckoned thus: folio 1r — 36v, 36*r — 36*v (the double-counted folio), and 37r — 339v.<ref name="Henry152"/>  The majority of the folios are part of larger sheets, called [[Book folding|bifolia]], which are folded in half to form two folios. The bifolia are nested inside of each other and sewn together to form gatherings called [[Paper quire|quires]]. On occasion, a folio is not part of a bifolium but is instead a single sheet inserted within a quire. The extant folios are gathered into 38 quires.<ref>Henry 1974, 223-225.</ref> There are between four and twelve folios (two to six bifolia) per quire; the folios are commonly, but not invariably, bound in groups of ten. Some folios are single sheets, as is frequently the case with the important decorated pages. The folios had lines drawn for the text, sometimes on both sides, after the bifolia were folded. Prick marks and guidelines can still be seen on some pages.<ref name="Henry152"/> The vellum is of high quality, although the folios have an uneven thickness, with some being close to leather while others are so thin as to be almost translucent. As many as twelve individuals may have collaborated on the book's production, of whom four scribes and three painters have been distinguished.<ref>Henry 1974, 217-218.</ref><ref name="Hand D">Meehan 1994, 78-80.</ref>

The book's current dimensions are 330 by 250&nbsp;mm. Originally, the folios were of no standard size, but they were cropped to the current size during a 19th-century rebinding. The text area is approximately 250 by 170&nbsp;mm. Each text page has 16 to 18 lines of text.<ref name="Henry152"/> The manuscript is in remarkably good condition considering its age, though many pages have suffered some damage to the delicate artwork due to rubbing. The book must have been the product of a major scriptorium over several years, yet was apparently never finished, the projected decoration of some pages appearing only in outline.  It is believed that the original manuscript consisted of about 370 folios, based on gaps in the text and the absence of key illustrations.  The bulk of the missing material (or, about 30 folios) was perhaps lost when the book was stolen in the early 11th century.  In 1621 the prominent Anglican clergyman [[James Ussher]] counted just 344 folios; presently another four or five are missing from the body of the text, after folios 177, 239, and 330.  The missing bifolium 335-36 was found and restored in 1741.<ref>Henry 1974, 150, 152.</ref><ref>Brown 1980, 7, 83, 92, 95.</ref>

===Contents===
The extant book contains preliminary matter, the complete text of the Gospels of [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]], [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] and [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]], and the [[Gospel of John]] through John 17:13.<ref>Henry 1974, 176.</ref> The remaining preliminary matter consists of two fragmentary lists of [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] names contained in the Gospels, ''Breves causae'' (Gospel summaries), ''Argumenta'' (short biographies of the Evangelists), and [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebian]] [[Ammonian Sections|canon tables]]. It is probable that, like the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Books of Durrow and Armagh, part of the lost preliminary material included the [[Letter of Jerome to Pope Damasus|letter of Jerome to Pope Damasus I]] beginning ''Novum opus'', in which [[Jerome]] explains the purpose of his translation. It is also possible, though less likely, that the lost material included the letter of Eusebius to Carpianus, in which he explains the use of the canon tables.<ref name="Henry153">Henry 1974, 153.</ref> Of all the insular Gospels, only the Lindisfarne manuscript contains this letter.
[[File:KellsFol005rCanonTable.jpg|thumb|left|Folio 5r contains a page of the [[Eusebian Canons]].]]
There are two fragments of the lists of Hebrew names; one on the recto of the first surviving folio and one on folio 26, which is currently inserted at the end of the prefatory matter for John. The first list fragment contains the end of the list for the Gospel of Matthew. The missing names from Matthew would require an additional two folios. The second list fragment, on folio 26, contains about a fourth of the list for Luke. The list for Luke would require an additional three folios. The structure of the quire in which folio 26 occurs is such that it is unlikely that there are three folios missing between folios 26 and 27, so that it is almost certain that folio 26 is not now in its original location. There is no trace of the lists for Mark and John.<ref>Henry 1974, 153, n.28.</ref>

The first list fragment is followed by the canon tables of [[Eusebius of Caesarea]]. These tables, which predate the text of the Vulgate, were developed to cross-reference the Gospels. Eusebius divided the Gospel into chapters and then created tables that allowed readers to find where a given episode in the life of Christ was located in each of the Gospels. The canon tables were traditionally included in the prefatory material in most medieval copies of the Vulgate text of the Gospels. The tables in the Book of Kells are however unusable, first because the scribe condensed the tables in such a way as to make them confused. Second and more importantly, the corresponding chapter numbers were never inserted into the margins of the text, making it impossible to find the sections to which the canon tables refer. The reason for the omission remains unclear: the scribe may have planned to add the references upon the manuscript's completion, or he may have deliberately left them out so as not to spoil the appearance of pages.<ref name="Henry153"/><ref>Brown 1980, 75.</ref>

[[File:KellsFol019vBrevCausLuke.jpg|thumb|Folio 19v contains the beginning of the ''Breves causae'' of Luke.]]

The ''Breves causae'' and ''Argumenta'' belong to a pre-Vulgate tradition of manuscripts. The ''Breves causae'' are summaries of the [[Vetus Latina|Old Latin translations]] of the Gospels and are divided into numbered chapters. These chapter numbers, like the numbers for the canon tables, are not used on the text pages of the Gospels. It is unlikely that these numbers would have been used, even if the manuscript had been completed, because the chapter numbers corresponded to old Latin translations and would have been difficult to harmonise with the Vulgate text. The ''Argumenta'' are collections of legends about the Evangelists. The ''Breves causae'' and ''Argumenta'' are arranged in a strange order: first, come the ''Breves causae'' and ''Argumenta'' for Matthew, followed by the ''Breves'' and ''Argumenta'' for Mark, then, quite oddly, come the ''Argumenta'' of both Luke and John, followed by their ''Breves causae''. This anomalous order mirrors that found in the Book of Durrow, although in the latter instance, the misplaced sections appear at the very end of the manuscript rather than as part of a continuous preliminary.<ref name="Henry153"/> In other insular manuscripts, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Book of Armagh, and the Echternach Gospels, each Gospel is treated as a separate work and has its preliminaries immediately preceding it.<ref>Calkins 1983, 79.</ref> The slavish repetition in Kells of the order of the ''Breves causae'' and ''Argumenta'' found in Durrow led scholar [[T. K. Abbott]] to conclude that the scribes of Kells had either the Book of Durrow or a common model in hand.

===Text and script===
The Book of Kells contains the text of the four Gospels based on the [[Vulgate]]. It does not, however, contain a pure copy of the Vulgate. There are numerous differences from the Vulgate, where [[Old Latin]] translations are used in lieu of Jerome's text. Although such variants are common in all the insular Gospels, there does not seem to be a consistent pattern of variation amongst the various insular texts. Evidence suggests that when the scribes were writing the text they often depended on memory rather than on their exemplar.

[[File:KellsFol309r.jpg|thumb|Folio 309r contains text from the [[Gospel of John]] written in Insular majuscule by the scribe known as Hand B.]]

The manuscript is written primarily in insular majuscule with some occurrences of [[Lower case|minuscule]] letters (usually ''e'' or ''s''). The text is usually written in one long line across the page. [[Françoise Henry]] identified at least three scribes in the manuscript, whom she named Hand A, Hand B, and Hand C.<ref name="Henry154">Henry 1974, 154.</ref> Hand A is found on folios 1 through 19v, folios 276 through 289, and folios 307 through the end of the manuscript. Hand A, for the most part, writes eighteen or nineteen lines per page in the brown [[Iron gall ink|gall ink]] common throughout the West.<ref name="Henry154"/> Hand B is found on folios 19r through 26 and folios 124 through 128. Hand B has a somewhat greater tendency to use minuscule and uses red, purple and black ink and a variable number of lines per page. Hand C is found throughout the majority of the text. Hand C also has a greater tendency to use minuscule than Hand A. Hand C uses the same brownish gall ink used by hand A and wrote, almost always, seventeen lines per page.<ref>Henry 1974, 155.</ref> Additionally a fourth scribe named Hand D has been hypothesized, to whom folio 104r was attributed.<ref name="Hand D" />

[[File:KellsFol200rGeneolgyOfChrist.jpg|thumb|left|Folio 200r begins Luke's [[genealogy of Jesus]], which runs for five pages.]]

====Errors and deviations====
There are several [[Bible errata|differences]] between the text and the accepted Gospels. In the [[genealogy of Jesus]], which starts at Luke 3:23, Kells names an extra ancestor.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sullivan|first=Edward|title=The Book of Kells|year=1920|publisher=The Studio|page=120|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/bok/bok20.htm|isbn=1-85170-196-6}}</ref> At [[But to bring a sword|Matthew 10:34]], a common English translation reads "I came not to send peace, but a sword".  However, the manuscript reads ''gaudium'' ("joy") where it should read ''gladium'' ("sword"), thus translating as "I came not (only) to send peace, but joy."<ref>{{cite book|last=Nathan|first=George Jean Nathan|title=The American Mercury|year=1951|page=572|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pXgWAQAAIAAJ&q=%22refused%20to%20adopt%20St.%20Jerome's%20phrase%22|author2=Henry Louis Mencken|quote=The compilers of the late seventh century manuscript, The Book of Kells, refused to adopt St. Jerome's phrase "I come not to bring peace but a sword." (" . . . non-pacem sed gladium.") ...}}</ref> The lavishly decorated opening page of the Gospel according to John had been deciphered by George Bain as: "In principio erat verbum verum"<ref>{{cite book |first=George |last=Bain |title=Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction |year=1973 |publisher=Dover Publications, Inc |isbn=0-486-22923-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/methodsofconstru00bain }}, page 95, Plate 14.</ref> (In the beginning was the True Word). Therefore, the incipit is a free translation into Latin of the [[Koine Greek|Greek]] original [http://biblehub.com/interlinear/john/1.htm λογος] rather than a mere copy of the Roman version.

====Annotations====
Over the centuries multiple annotations have been written in the book, recording page information and historical events.  During the 19th century, former Trinity Librarian [[James Henthorn Todd|J.H. Todd]] numbered the book's folios at recto, bottom left.  On several of the blank pages among the preliminaries (folios 5v-7r and 27r) are found land charters pertaining to the Abbey of Kells; recording charters in important books was a common custom in the medieval period.  James Ussher transcribed the charters in his collected works, and they were later translated into English.<ref>{{cite journal |last=O'Donovan |first=J |title=The Irish Charters in the Book of Kells |journal=Miscellany of the Irish Archeological Society |year=1846 |volume=1 |url=https://archive.org/details/miscellanyofiris00iris/page/126/mode/2up |pages=127–158 }}</ref> A blank page at the end of Luke (folio 289v) contains a poem complaining of taxation upon church land, dated to the 14th or 15th century.  In the early 17th century one Richardus Whit recorded several recent events on the same page in "clumsy" Latin, including a famine in 1586, the [[James VI and I#Accession in England|accession of James I]], and plague in Ireland during 1604.  The signature of [[Thomas Ridgeway, 1st Earl of Londonderry|Thomas Ridgeway]], 17th century [[Lord High Treasurer of Ireland|Treasurer of Ireland]], is extant on folio 31v, and the 1853 [[monogram]] of [[John O. Westwood]], author of an early modern account of the book, is found on 339r.

Three notes concerning the book's pagination are found together on a single page (folio 334v): in 1568 one Geralde Plunket noted his annotations of the Gospel's chapter numbers throughout the book.  A second note from 1588 gave a folio count, and a third note by James Ussher reported 344 folios in the book as of 1621. The bifolium 335-336 was lost and subsequently restored in 1741, recorded in two notes on folio 337r.  Plunket's accretions were varied and significant.  He inscribed transcriptions in the margins of the major illuminated folios 8r, 29r, 203r and 292r.  On folio 32v, he added the annotation "Jesus Christus" in the [[spandrel]]s of the composition's architecture, identifying the portrait's subject as Christ; in the 19th century, this annotation was covered by white paint, altering the composition.  Plunket also wrote his name on multiple pages, and added small animal embellishments.<ref name="Henry74"/><ref>Brown 1980, 92-95.</ref><ref>Meehan 1994, 19, 76, 92.</ref>

===Decoration===
The text is accompanied by many full-page [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]] illustrations, while smaller painted decorations appear throughout the text in unprecedented quantities. The decoration of the book is famous for combining intricate detail with bold and energetic compositions. The characteristics of the insular manuscript initial, as described by Carl Nordenfalk, here reach their most extreme realisation: "the initials ... are conceived as elastic forms expanding and contracting with a pulsating rhythm. The kinetic energy of their contours escapes into freely drawn appendices, a spiral line which in turn generates new curvilinear motifs...".<ref>Nordenfalk 1977, 13.</ref> The illustrations feature a broad range of colours, with purple, lilac, red, pink, green, and yellow being the colours most often used. Earlier manuscripts tend toward more narrow palettes: the Book of Durrow, for example, uses only four colours. As is usual with insular work, there was no use of [[Metal leaf#Gold Leaf|gold]] or [[Metal leaf|silver leaf]] in the manuscript. The [[pigment]]s for the illustrations included red and yellow ochre, green copper pigment (sometimes called ''[[verdigris]]''), indigo, and possibly [[lapis lazuli]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Fuchs and Oltrogge in O'Mahoney 1994, 134–135.</ref> These would have been imported from the Mediterranean region and, in the case of the lapis lazuli (also known as [[ultramarine]]), from northeast [[Afghanistan]].<ref>Meehan 1994, 88.</ref><ref name="Henry158">Henry 1974, 158.</ref> Though the presence of lapis lazuli has long been considered evidence of the great cost required to create the manuscript, recent examination of the pigments has shown that lapis lazuli was not used.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The lavish illumination programme is far greater than any other surviving Insular Gospel book.  Thirty-three of the surviving pages contain decorative elements which dominate the entire page.  These include ten full-page miniature illustrations: a portrait of the [[Virgin and Child]], three pages of [[evangelist symbol]]s informed by the [[tetramorph]]s described in [[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]] and [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]], two [[evangelist portrait]]s, a portrait of Christ enthroned, a [[carpet page]], and scenes of the [[Arrest of Jesus]] and [[Temptation of Christ]].  Twelve fully decorated text pages embellish the book's verses, of which the most extreme examples are the four incipits beginning each Gospel, together with the Chi Rho monogram, a page receiving comparable treatment which heralds a "second beginning" of Matthew, the narrative of Christ's life following his genealogy.  Another six fully decorated text pages emphasize various points in the [[Passion of Jesus|Passion]] story, while a seventh corresponds to the Temptation.  The first eleven pages of the extant manuscript begin with a decorated list of Hebrew names, followed by ten pages of Eusebian canon tables framed by architectural elements.  Additionally, fourteen pages feature large decorative elements which do not extend throughout the entire page.<ref>Brown 1980, 83-91.</ref><ref>Meehan 1994, 22-24.</ref>

It is highly probable that there were other pages of miniature and decorated text that are now lost. Henry identified at least three distinct artists. The "Goldsmith" was responsible for the Chi Rho page, using colour to convey metallic hues. The "Illustrator" was given to idiosyncratic portraits, having produced the Temptation and the Arrest of Christ. The "Portrait Painter" executed the portraits of Christ and the Evangelists.<ref>Henry 1974, 211-212.</ref><ref>Brown 1980, 91.</ref> Almost every page contains a decorative element incorporating colour; throughout the text pages, these are commonly stylized capitals.  Only two pages—folios 29v and 301v—are devoid of pigment colouration or overt pictorial elements, but even they contain trace decorations in ink.<ref>Nordenfalk 1977, 108.</ref><ref>Henry 1974, 163, 194-198.</ref><ref>Brown 1980, 7, 84.</ref><ref>Meehan 1994, 22.</ref>
[[File:KellsFol002rCanonTable.jpg|thumb|Folio 2r contains one of the [[Eusebian Canons]].]]

The extant folios of the manuscript start with the fragment of the glossary of Hebrew names. This fragment occupies the left-hand column of folio 1r. A miniature of the four evangelist symbols, now much abraded, occupies the right-hand column. The miniature is oriented so that the volume must be turned ninety degrees to view it properly.<ref name="Henry167">Henry 1974, 167.</ref> The four evangelist symbols are a visual theme that runs throughout the book. They are almost always shown together to emphasise the doctrine of the four Gospels' unity of message.

The unity of the Gospels is further emphasised by the decoration of the Eusebian canon tables. The canon tables illustrate the unity of the Gospels by organising corresponding passages from the Gospels. The Eusebian canon tables normally require twelve pages. In the Book of Kells, the makers of the manuscript planned for twelve pages (folios 1v through 7r) but for unknown reasons, condensed them into ten, leaving folios 6v and 7r blank. This condensation rendered the canon tables unusable. The decoration of the first eight pages of the canon tables is heavily influenced by early Gospel Books from the Mediterranean, where it was traditional to enclose the tables within an [[Arcade (architecture)|arcade]] (as seen in the [[London Canon Tables]]).<ref name="Henry167"/> The Kells manuscript presents this [[Motif (visual arts)|motif]] in an Insular spirit, where the arcades are not seen as architectural elements but rather become stylised geometric patterns with Insular ornamentation. The four evangelist symbols occupy the spaces under and above the arches. The last two canon tables are presented within a grid. This presentation is limited to Insular manuscripts and was first seen in the Book of Durrow.<ref name="Calkins7982">Calkins 1983, 79–82.</ref>
[[File:KellsFol007vMadonnaChild V2.jpg|thumb|left|Folio 7v contains an image of the [[Virgin and Child]]. This is the oldest extant image of the Virgin Mary in a Western manuscript.<ref name=":0" />]]

The preliminary matter is introduced by an [[icon]]ic image of the Virgin and Child (folio 7v), the first representation of the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] in a Western manuscript. Mary is shown in an odd mixture of frontal and three-quarter pose. This miniature also bears a stylistic similarity to the carved image on the lid of [[St. Cuthbert's coffin]] of 698. The iconography of the miniature seems to derive from Byzantine, Armenian or [[Copts|Coptic]] art.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lyons|first=Martyn|title=Books: a Living History|publisher=Getty Publications|year=2011|isbn=9781606060834|location=Los Angeles, CA|page=43}}</ref><ref name="Calkins82">Calkins 1983, 82.</ref>

The miniature of the Virgin and Child faces the first page of the text, which begins the ''Breves causae'' of Matthew with the phrase ''Nativitas Christi in Bethlem'' (the birth of Christ in Bethlehem). The beginning page ([[:File:KellsFol008rBrevCausMatt.jpg|folio 8r]]) of the text of the ''Breves causae'' is decorated and contained within an elaborate frame. The two-page spread of the miniature and the text makes a vivid introductory statement for the prefatory material. The opening lines of six of the other seven pieces of preliminary matter are enlarged and decorated (see above for the ''Breves causae'' of Luke), but no other section of the preliminaries is given the same full-page treatment as the beginning of the ''Breves causae'' of Matthew.<ref name="Calkins82"/>

[[File:KellsFol291vPortJohn.jpg|thumb|Folio 291v contains a portrait of [[John the Evangelist]].]]
The book was designed so that each of the Gospels would have an elaborate introductory decorative programme. Each Gospel was originally prefaced by a full-page miniature containing the four evangelist symbols, followed by a blank page. Then came a portrait of the evangelist which faced the opening text of the Gospel, itself given an elaborate decorative treatment.<ref>Henry 1974, 172.</ref> The Gospel of Matthew retains both its Evangelist portrait ([[:File:KellsFol028vPortMatt.jpg|folio 28v]]) and its page of Evangelist symbols (folio 27v, see above). The Gospel of Mark is missing the Evangelist portrait but retains its Evangelist symbols page ([[:File:KellsFol129v4EvangelistSymbols.jpg|folio 129v]]). The Gospel of Luke is missing both the portrait and the Evangelist symbols page. The Gospel of John, like the Gospel of Matthew, retains both its portrait (folio 291v, see at right) and its Evangelist symbols page ([[:File:KellsFol290v4EvangelistSymbols.jpg|folio 290v]]). It can be assumed that the portraits for Mark and Luke and the symbols page for Luke at one time existed but have been lost.<ref>Henry 1974, 172–173.</ref>

[[File:KellsFol029rIncipitMatthew.jpg|thumb|left|Folio 29r contains the incipit to the [[Gospel of Matthew]].]]
The ornamentation of the opening few words of each Gospel is lavish; their decoration is so elaborate that the text itself is almost illegible. The opening page (folio 29r) of Matthew may stand as an example. (See illustration at left.) The page consists of only two words: ''Liber generationis'' ("The book of the generation"). The ''lib'' of ''Liber'' is turned into a giant monogram which dominates the entire page. The ''er'' of ''Liber'' is presented as an interlaced ornament within the ''b'' of the ''lib'' monogram. ''Generationis'' is broken into three lines and contained within an elaborate frame in the right lower quadrant of the page. The entire assemblage is contained within an elaborate border, further decorated with elaborate spirals and [[Celtic knot|knot work]], many of which are zoomorphic.<ref name="Calkins85">Calkins 1983, 85.</ref>

The opening words of the gospel of Mark, ''[[:File:KellsFol130rIncipitMark.jpg|Initium evangelii Iesu Christi]]'' ("The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ"), Luke, ''[[:File:KellsFol188rQuoniam.gif|Quoniam]]'' ("Forasmuch"), and John, ''[[:File:KellsFol292rIncipJohn.jpg|In principio erat verbum verum]]'' ("In the beginning was the True Word"), are all given similar treatments. Although the decoration of these pages was most extensive in the Book of Kells, they are all decorated in the other Insular Gospel books.<ref>Calkins 1983, 82–85.</ref>

[[File:KellsFol034rChiRhoMonogram.jpg|thumb|Folio 34r contains the [[Labarum|Chi Rho]] monogram.<ref name=":0">Werner 1972, 129–139.</ref> [[Chi (letter)|Chi]] and [[Rho (letter)|rho]] are the first two letters of the word ''Christ'' in [[Greek language|Greek]].]]

The Gospel of Matthew begins with a [[genealogy of Jesus]], followed by his portrait.  Folio 32v (top of article) has a miniature of Christ enthroned, flanked by [[peacock]]s.  Peacocks function as symbols of Christ throughout the book.  According to earlier accounts given by [[Isidore of Seville]] and [[Augustine]] in ''[[The City of God]]'', the peacocks' flesh does not [[Putrefaction|putrefy]]; the animals therefore became associated with Christ via the [[Resurrection of Jesus|Resurrection]].<ref>Henry 1974, 208.</ref><ref>Meehan 1994, 57.</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-link=Augustine of Hippo |author=Augustine |title=The City of God |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45305/45305-h/45305-h.htm |via=[[Project Gutenberg]]}} Book XXI, Section 4.</ref> Facing the portrait of Christ on [[:File:KellsFol033rCarpetPage.jpg|folio 33r]] is the only carpet page in the Book of Kells, which is rather anomalous; the Lindisfarne Gospels have five extant carpet pages and the Book of Durrow has six. The blank verso of folio 33 faces the single most lavish miniature of the early medieval period, the Book of Kells Chi Rho monogram, which serves as incipit for the narrative of the life of Christ.

At Matthew 1:18<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|1:18|KJV}} King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)</ref> (folio 34r), the actual narrative of [[Nativity of Jesus|Christ's life starts]]. This "second beginning" to Matthew was given emphasis in many early Gospel Books, so much so that the two sections were often treated as separate works. The second beginning starts with the word ''Christ''. The Greek letters [[Chi (letter)|chi]] and [[Rho (letter)|rho]] were normally used in medieval manuscripts to abbreviate the word ''Christ''. In Insular Gospel books, the initial [[Labarum|Chi Rho]] monogram was enlarged and decorated. In the Book of Kells, this second beginning was given a decorative programme equal to those prefacing the Gospels, its Chi Rho monogram having grown to consume the entire page.<ref name="Calkins85"/> The letter chi dominates the page with one arm swooping across the majority of the page. The letter rho is snuggled underneath the arms of the chi. Both letters are divided into compartments which are lavishly decorated with knotwork and other patterns. The background is likewise awash in a mass of swirling and knotted decoration. Within this mass of decoration are hidden animals and insects. Three angels arise from one of the cross arms of the chi. This miniature is the largest and most lavish extant Chi Rho monogram in any Insular Gospel book, the culmination of a tradition that started with the Book of Durrow.<ref name="Calkins85"/>

[[File:KellsDecoratedInitial.jpg|thumb|left|Folio 74r, detail.  Almost all of the folios of the Book of Kells contain small illuminations like this decorated initial.]]
The Book of Kells contains two other full-page illustrations, which depict episodes from the Passion story. The text of Matthew is illustrated with a full-page illumination of the Arrest of Christ ([[:File:KellsFol114rArrestOfChrist.jpg|folio 114r]]). Jesus is shown beneath a stylised arcade while being held by two much smaller figures.<ref>Nordenfalk 1977, 124.</ref> In the text of Luke, there is a full-sized miniature of the [[Temptation of Christ]] ([[:File:KellsFol202vTemptationOfChrist.jpg|folio 202v]]). Christ is shown from the waist up on top of the Temple. To his right is a crowd of people, perhaps representing his disciples. To his left and below him is a black figure of [[Satan]]. Above him hover two angels.<ref>Nordenfalk 1977, 123.</ref>

[[File:KellsFol034rXRhoDet3.jpeg|thumb|Folio 34r, detail.  The decorations of the Book of Kells can be stunningly complex, as seen in this small detail of the Chi Rho monogram page.]]

Throughout the body of the Gospels, six fully decorated text pages receive treatment comparable to that of the page which began the ''Breves causae'' of Matthew.  Of these, five correspond to episodes in the Passion story, and one refers to the Temptation.  The verso of the folio containing the Arrest of Christ ([[:File:KellsFol114vTuncDicit.gif|114v]]) has a full page of decorated text which reads "Tunc dicit illis Iesus omnes vos scan(dalum)" (Matthew 26:31<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|26:31|KJV}} King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)</ref>), where Jesus addresses his disciples immediately before his arrest.  A few pages later ([[:File:KellsFol124rTuncCrucixerant.jpg|folio 124r]]) is found a very similar decoration of the phrase "Tunc crucifixerant Xpi cum eo duos latrones" (Matthew 27:38<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|27:38|KJV}} King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)</ref>), Christ's crucifixion together with two thieves.  In the Gospel of Mark, another decorated page ([[:File:KellsFol183rEratAutem.jpg|folio 183r]]) gives a description of the Crucifixion (Mark 15:25<ref>{{bibleverse|Mark|15:25|KJV}} King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)</ref>), while the final (and decorated) page of Mark (folio 187v) describes Christ's Resurrection and Ascension (Mark 16:19<ref>{{bibleverse|Mark|16:19|KJV}} King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)</ref>–20<ref>{{bibleverse-nb|Mark|16:20|KJV}} King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)</ref>).  In the Gospel of Luke, folio 203r faces the illustration of the Temptation, itself an illumination of the text (Luke 4:1<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|4:1|KJV}} King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)</ref>) beginning the Temptation narrative.  Finally, [[:File:KellsFol285rUnaAutem.jpg|folio 285r]] is a fully decorated page corresponding to another moment of the Passion, (Luke 23:56<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|23:56|KJV}} King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)</ref>-Luke 24:1<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|24:1|KJV}} King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)</ref>) between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.  Since the missing folios of John contain another Passion narrative, it is likely that John contained full pages of decorated text that have been lost.<ref>Calkins 1983, 92.</ref>

Apart from the thirty-three fully illuminated pages, fourteen receive substantial decoration not extending over the entire page.  Among the Preliminaries and apart from the fully decorated page beginning the ''Breves causae'' of Matthew, six pages begin six of the eight sections of ''Breves causae'' and ''Argumenta'' with embellished names.  The exception is folio 24v which introduces the final section of the ''Breves causae'' of John without a comparable device.  Five pages (folios 200r-202v) give an organized decoration of Luke's genealogy of Christ, just before the Temptation narrative.  Another three pages contain large illuminated elements not extending throughout the entire page. [[:File:KellsFol040vBeatitudes.jpg|Folio 40v]] contains text of the [[Beatitudes]] in Matthew (Matthew 5:3<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|5:3|KJV}} King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)</ref>–10<ref>{{bibleverse-nb|Matthew|5:10|KJV}} King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)</ref>) where the letters ''B'' beginning each line are linked into an ornate chain along the left margin of the page.  Folio 127v has an embellished line beginning the final chapter of Matthew, which gives an account of the Resurrection.  A similar treatment is given to a line in folio 188v (Luke 1:5<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|1:5|KJV}} King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)</ref>), which begins an account of the Nativity.