The Librarian of Trinity College Dublin, in association with X Communications, is preparing to launch The Book of Kells iPad App.



The new app will feature 680 surviving pages from the ancient manuscript, 21 of which can be viewed at up to six times their actual size. The app will also include 600 examples of letters, animals and other symbols from the book.

The ancient manuscript, housed at in Trinity College Dublin’s historic library, is an illuminated manuscript, in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament. The elaborate manuscript, and major tourist attraction, was created by monks in the year 800, or slightly before, in Kells, County Kilkenny.

Read more: Book of Kells viewed by 10 millionth visitor at Trinity College in Dublin

Its illustrations are famous for their extravagance and complexity including figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts, together with Celtic knots and interlacing patterns in vibrant colours, enliven the manuscript's pages.

Now these pages are available in high resolution, on iPads, for the first time.

Trinity’s decision to create this iPad App follows on from the award winning Book of Kells DVD-ROM, which was available until 2012. Now the new iPad App will once again showcase these amazing books to an audience around the world.