There was a book like this, long since lost, in St. Brigit’s convent of Kildare, which was shown to the Welshman Giraldus Cambrensis more than seven hundred years ago, and which so astonished him that he has recorded a legend--to which he devotes a separate chapter of his book--that it was written under the direction of an angel. He described it; and his description would now exactly apply to the Book of Kells. But in those times there were many such books. We can hardly be surprised at Giraldus’s legend; for whoever looks closely into some of the lovely pages of the Book of Kells--even in the photographic reproductions--will be inclined to wonder how any human head could have designed, or how any human hand could have drawn them. These beautiful books were all written by Christian artists. We do not know if there was any attempt to ornament books in pagan times. But the pagan Irish, long before the introduction of Christianity, practised art of another kind--Metal-work--and attained great perfection in it. Those old artists exercised their skill in making and ornamenting shields; trumpets; swords with their hilts and scabbards; chariots; bridles; brooches; gold gorgets or circlets for the neck; and so forth. We can now judge of their handiwork for ourselves; for numerous beautiful specimens are preserved in our museums. The most remarkable are what are now commonly called ‘Crescents,’ of which we have many in the National Museum, in Dublin. These are broad circlets of pure gold to be worn round the neck, all covered over with ornamental designs. Both the general shape and the designs were produced by hammering with a mallet and punches on shaped solid moulds. The patterns and workmanship are astonishingly fine, showing extraordinary skill in manipulation: they are indeed so complicated and perfect that it is difficult to understand how they could have been produced by mere handwork, with hammers, punches, and moulds. Yet they could have been made in no other way. We may see then that when St. Patrick arrived, in the fifth century, he found the art of working in metals already highly developed. We know that he kept, as part of his household, smiths, brasiers, goldsmiths, and other artists, who were constantly employed in making crosses; crosiers; chalices; bells; and such like. On the score of obtaining skilled workmen there was no difficulty, for he had plenty of pagan artists to choose from, who, on their conversion, turned their skill to Christian work, and found little difficulty in adapting their cunning fingers to new objects and to new forms of ornamentation. So the primitive pagan artistic metal work was continued on and improved in Christian times, and was brought to the highest perfection in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The ornamentation was generally like that used in manuscripts (p. 92).