The influenti al Book of Kells was writt en around the year 800 AD and it is believed it was undertaken by monks in the Iona Abbey community on the Island of Iona, where St Columba founded his monastery some 300 years before.
The book is a richly decorated copy of the four gospels in a Lati n text, based on the Vulgate editi on, completed by St Jerome in 384 AD.
The gospels are preceded by prefaces, summaries of the gospel narrati ves and concordances of gospel passages compiled in the fourth century by Eusebius of Caesarea. There are 680 pages.