Lection and Interpretation: The Liturgical and Exegetical Background of the Illustrations in the Book of Kells

The illustrations, studied as liturgical images marking gospel lections, were found to present iconography influenced by biblical lections besides the gospel and by exegeses of those texts. By explaining their iconography in terms of exegesis and early liturgies, the dissertation finds evidence for use of interpretive visual images in Insular manuscripts and connects the illustrations to their intellectual environment. In the process, it assembles and evaluates material on early non-Roman lection systems and church dedication ritual, and it analyzes texts relating to specific biblical passages to clarify Insular exegetical traditions.