KELLS, SYNOD OFof Durrow. Following the rebellion of 1641 the church
at Kells lay in ruins, and around 1653 the book was sent
to Dublin by the governor of Kells, Charles Lambart,
earl of Cavan, in the interests of its safety. A few years
later it reached Trinity College, the single constituent
college of the University of Dublin, through the
agency of Henry Jones, a former scoutmaster general
to Cromwell’s army in Ireland and vice chancellor of
the university, when he became bishop of Meath in
- Since the middle of the nineteenth century, it has
been on display in the Old Library at Trinity College,
and now attracts in excess of 500,000 visitors each year.
BERNARD MEEHAN
References and Further Reading
Bourke, Cormac. “The work of angels?” The Innes Review50,
no. 1 (spring 1999): 76–79.
Farr, Carol. The Book of Kells. Its function and audience.London:
British Library, 1997.
Fox, Peter, ed. The Book of Kells, MS 58, Trinity College Library
Dublin: Commentary. Luzern: Facsimile Verlag, 1990.
Henry, Françoise. The Book of Kells: Reproductions From the
Manuscript in Trinity College Dublin. (With a study of the
manuscript by Françoise Henry.) London: Thames and
Hudson,1974.
Henderson, George. From Durrow to Kells. The Insular Gospel-
books 650–800.London:Thames and Hudson,1987.
Meehan, Bernard. The Book of Kells. An Illustrated Introduc-
tion to the Manuscript in Trinity College Dublin.London:
Thames and Hudson, 1994.
See alsoDurrow, Book of; Manuscript Illumination;
Reliquaries; Scriptoria
KELLS, SYNOD OF
The synod of Kells in 1152 marks a very important
stage in the Church Reform of the twelfth century in
Ireland: a new administrative structure that had first
been introduced at the synod of Ráith Bressail in 1111
finally received papal approval. However, it was not
precisely the same structure; some changes were
brought about in the meantime. The most important of
these saw the number of metropolitan sees increase
from the two that had been planned at Ráith Bressail
(Armagh and Cashel) to four (Dublin and Tuam were
now added).
Malachy Seeks Papal Approval
In 1139 to 1140, Malachy, probably acting on behalf
of the elderly papal legate in Ireland, Gille, had gone
to Rome to seek papal approval for the decisions which
had been made at Ráith Bressail. Pope Innocent II,
however, being aware of some unresolved problems,
declined to give his approval; instead he made Malachy
his legate and sent him back to Ireland to negotiate a
settlement of outstanding disagreements. When that
was successfully completed, he informed Malachy, a
request for papal approval should be made again, obvi-
ously with the expectation that it would be granted.
Little is known about the detail of the work done by
Malachy on his return to Ireland, but it is clear that he
had two problems to overcome. Dublin, which had
remained aloof from the new diocesan arrangement,
would have to be encouraged to join up and renounce
its tie with Canterbury, and the ambitions of the king
of Connacht (the reigning high king of Ireland), Tair-
rdelbach Ua Conchobair, would have to be accommo-
dated. Solutions were worked out, and in 1148 a synod,
which met on St. Patrick’s Island, approved of them
and sent Malachy to the pope to get his approval—this
time with appropriate backing. Although Malachy,
dying en route, never in fact got to meet the pope, the
request was conveyed to the pope and it was success-
ful. As a result the pope sent his legate, Cardinal John
Paparo, to Ireland, carrying with him four pallia(the
symbols of papal approval).Papal legate, Cardinal Paparo, Goes
to Ireland
On his first attempt to get to Ireland, in 1150, Paparo
was refused a safe conduct through England by King
Stephen unless he pledged himself to do nothing in
Ireland that would injure England’s interests there. The
cardinal refused and returned indignantly to Rome.
There has been speculation about the reason for
Stephen’s refusal—perhaps a dispute between him and
the pope over the jurisdiction of papal legates or a
concern about Malachy’s relationship with King David
of Scotland. It seems more likely, however, that it was
an attempt by Stephen to prevent Paparo from bringing
papal confirmation for an arrangement in Ireland that
would see Canterbury’s claims in Ireland finally extin-
guished. One chronicler states specifically that Pap-
aro’s action in Ireland was contrary to the dignity of
the church of Canterbury.
With Paparo back in Rome, a delegation was sent
by Irish kings and bishops asking that he be dis-
patched. And so, in the summer of 1151, he set out
again for Ireland; this time his journey was facilitated
by King David of Scotland. He was accompanied by
Gilla Críst Ua Connairche, first abbot of Mellifont,
now bishop of Lismore and permanent papal legate in
Ireland (he had been a fellow monk with the current
pope, Eugenius III, at Clairvaux), who may have been
one of the delegation who had been sent to Rome. The
cardinal arrived in Ireland at some time in October of- Apart from a week he spent in Armagh, very