The Book of Kells is one of the world’s most famous medieval manuscripts, attracting – in normal times – a million visitors a year to its home at Trinity College Dublin. And while it may be difficult at present to make a pilgrimage in person to see the elaborately detailed book, armchair travellers can discover, or dig deeper into, the document through a free online course that is aimed at anyone with an interest in Ireland, medieval studies, history, art, religion, and popular culture.

Hosted by Ireland’s Trinity College Dublin, the “The Book of Kells: Exploring an Irish Medieval Masterpiece” course is run in partnership with FutureLearn, the social learning platform and can be conducted at one’s own pace.

Printed on prepared lambskin pages, the book, which is believed to have originated in the 8th or 9th century at a monastery in Scotland, and brought to Kells, Ireland, by Vikings, depicts Christianity’s four gospels of the new testament, along with additional notes, indexes and text (including a poem), and features “lavish decoration, the extent and artistry of which is incomparable.”

Details such as these, and more, are explored in a comprehensive course that further uses the book as “a window through which to explore the landscape, history, faith, theology, and politics of early medieval Ireland… and how it has affected different areas of the contemporary world.”

Led by two assistant professors at Trinity College, information (including a short video) and registration is via Facebook or Google and can be accessed by searching “Book of Kells” HERE.