Abbey of Kells

The Abbey of Kells (Mainistir Cheanannais in Irish) is a former monastery located in Kells, County Meath, Ireland, 40 miles north of Dublin. It was founded in the early ninth century, and the Book of Kells was kept there during the later medieval and early modern periods before finally leaving the Abbey in the 1650s. Much of the Book of Kells may have been created there, but historians cannot be certain of the exact date and circumstances of its creation.

History

The Abbey of Kells was first founded by St. Columba ca. 554. What some historians term a refounding happened in the early ninth century by Columban monks fleeing from Iona which was repeatedly raided by the Vikings. The site was a former Irish hill fort. In 814, Cellach, Abbot of Iona, retired to Kells. After further Viking raids, goods and relics from the abbey were transferred to other Columban houses inland, including Raphoe, Dunkeld and the Abbey of Kells. Some historians believe that the Book of Kells may have been either started in Iona and finished in Kells or written entirely in Kells by successive generation of monks.