Purpose
The book had a sacramental rather than educational purpose. A large, lavish Gospel, such as the Book of Kells, would have been left on the high altar of the church and taken off only for the reading of the Gospel during Mass, with the reader probably reciting from memory more than reading the text from the book. It is significant that the Chronicles of Ulster state that the book was stolen from the sacristy (where the vessels and other accoutrements of the Mass were stored) rather than from the monastic library. The design of the book seems to take this purpose in mind; that is, the book was produced with appearance taking precedence over practicality. There are numerous uncorrected mistakes in the text. Lines were often completed in a blank space in the line above. The chapter headings that were necessary to make the canon tables usable were not inserted into the margins of the page. In general, nothing was done to disrupt the look of the page: aesthetics were given a priority over utility.
Read more about this topic: Book Of Kells
Famous quotes containing the word purpose:
“How still the evening is,
As hushed on purpose to grace harmony!”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Culture is the tacit agreement to let the means of subsistence disappear behind the purpose of existence. Civilization is the subordination of the latter to the former.”
—Karl Kraus (1874–1936)
“The strongest wind cannot stagger a Spirit; it is a Spirit’s breath. A just man’s purpose cannot be split on any Grampus or material rock, but itself will split rocks till it succeeds.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)