The Book of Kells

One form of art in the early middle ages was the Illuminated manuscript. Monks in monasteries decorated their religious texts with beautiful drawings and letters.

These pages are from one illumninated manuscript from Ireland called The Book of Kells. It was created around 800 AD.



This is a dog:



Here are some of the letters:



It used designs called "celtic knots."





We can make them with rope:

How to make a celtic knot with rope

Or we can draw them on paper: