Mystery · Medieval Art
Gospels on Calfskin
The Book of Kells
The question
The pages of the Book of Kells, made around 800 CE, are not paper. What are they made of?
- Papyrus reeds
- Birch bark
- Calfskin(correct answer)
The answer: Calfskin
The Book of Kells is written on vellum: prepared calfskin. Made around the year 800, it contains the four Gospels in Latin, punctuated by abstract decoration and images of plants, animals and people. Where it was made is still debated: most scholars now favour the monastery of Iona, but it may have been made partly or wholly at Kells in Ireland.
- Civilization
- Early medieval Ireland and Scotland
- Region
- British Isles
- Period
- Around 800 CE
- Location
- Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Featured in
- Daily Discovery #005 · 6 November 2026
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