Peter Harbison argues that the influences of continental frescoes could lead to a later dating of the Book of Kells
A s debate continues over when the Book of Kells was actually produced, the study of continental frescoes prompts the question whether the manuscript was made later than previously thought. Among the rare early Irish manuscript examples of narrative illustrations from the Gospels, the Book of Kells distinguishes itself by having two of the largest. These are Christ being tempted by the Devil (fol. 202v) and what is wrongly called The Arrest of Christ but which is more correctly (as suggested by the accompanying text) Christ on the Mount of Olives (fol. 114) flanked by what we may presume are apostles – and not soldiers as one might have expected had it been an ‘arrest’.
