ABSTRACT
The Book of Kells is unique among surviving illuminated Insular gospel books in its multiple depictions of eucharistic symbols, notably vine-scrolls and chalices, which are often shown accompanied by peacocks. In the Book of Kells an extraordinary image on the verso of the last page of the genealogy presents the body of Christ through this metaphor of the living temple. The Mediterranean motif, wonderfully translated into an abstract, two-dimensional insular idiom of highly stylised interlacing forms, signifies the sacramental body of Christ and the hope of eternal life which will sustain all the people of God. In the Book of Kells the page bearing the names of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob faces the final page of the Lucan priestly genealogy of Christ, which is also the spiritual genealogy of the whole Church. Some of the names are visually glossed, revealing that it is also the genealogy of the Church, the whole people of God.
