Iconic books are texts revered as objects of power rather than just as words of instruction, information, or insight. In religious and secular rituals around the globe, people carry, show, wave, touch and kiss books and other texts, as well as read them. This blog chronicles such events and activities. (For more about iconic books, see the links to the Iconic Books Project at left.)

Monday, May 28, 2007

Book of Kells Article

The New York Times article "Irish Classic is Still a Hit (In Calfskin, Not Paperback)" discusses the application of new technologies to the Book of Kells. The anticipated results of the study include better understandings of the medieval technologies of bookmaking, including identifying the DNA in the calfskin pages and the origins of the inks.

1 comment:

Jim Watts said...

What I find most interesting in this article is the comment near the end:

"There is no doubt about the book’s appeal in the present day: it attracts more than 550,000 visitors annually, vying with the Guinness Brewery tour up the road in central Dublin as Ireland’s most popular site."

The power of relic book--amplified by modern tourism!