The Secret of Kells

I have no artwork of my own to show tonight, but I thought I’d share something with you that captivated my heart instantly.  I watched The Secret of Kells, a film animation that was just nominated for an Oscar, and quite frankly should have won in my opinion. Perhaps I’m biased here, because I adore Celtic artwork, and well, I’m Scottish!

The film is about a young boy, Brendan, who lives in a monastery run his uncle, Abbott Cellach.  Brendan is not allowed to go outside of the monastery walls because of the impending invasion of the Vikings.  Then one day, Brother Aiden arrives, after fleeing the Isle of Iona to avoid the barbarian incursions and protect the Book of Kells manuscript, which had been started by Colum Cille (St Columba).  It is Brother Aiden’s intention to finish illustrating the book.  Abbot Cellach feels this is foolish and insists that the priority is to finish building the wall surrounding the monastery, and young Brendan must assist.  However, ink is required for the manuscript and Brendan gladly offers to go outside of the walls into the forest to retrieve the berries required to make the ink.

It is in the forest that he meets Aisling (pron. Ash-link, and meaning dream in Gaelic), who is a fairy belonging to the Tuatha dé Dannan or the People of Danu ( pron. chewa jay down-an), and is the protector of the forest. What follows is the boy’s determination to see the beautiful Book of Kells completed, and Abbott Cellach’s struggle to protect them all from the outside world.

This is a hauntingly beautiful film, and the animation is nothing short of breath-taking.  It is old-fashioned hand-drawn animation, but it is also much more than that.  You can see the mark of the Book of Kells stamped all over this film, from the Celtic knotwork to the triskeles, and the stooping figures of the Abbot and young Brendan are instantly recognisable from figures within the manuscript.  For any student of Celtic History, so much of the tale will be familiar to them.  It is the reason I myself am so drawn to it, having studied Celtic History at university and studied much of the artwork.  I gave a lecture on the artwork of the standing stones of various schools such as Iona  and Oronsay from the 5th to the 14th century. So, I have a great deal of love for this particular subject.

However, this isn’t just a film for historians or history enthusiasts.  This is a film for anyone who loves to see beautiful artwork and for those who find CGI graphics just a bit too sanitised and soulless.  I have included images from the film and from the original Book of Kells MS, as well as two trailer for the movie, including the beautiful song sung by Aisling in both English and Gaelic.  Unfortunately, I was unable to get the whole song clip on video, but I hope you love what you do hear.

The lyrics are as follows:

(Apologies if my translation isn’t exactly right, but it is sung in Irish Gaelic, and I can only speak Scottish Gaelic, but it is very similar.)

You must go where I cannot,

Pangur Ban Pangur Ban,

Nil sa saol seo ach ceo,

Is ni bheimid beo,

ach seal beag gearr.

Pangur Ban Pangur Ban,

Nil sa saol seo ach ceo,

Is ni bheimid beo,

ach seal beag gearr

Roughly translated:

You must go where I cannot.

Fair Pangur, Fair Pangur,

This world is nothing but mist,

And we will only be in it,

For a short, sharp time.

Animation Stills (Click to enlarge)

Manuscript Leaves (Click to enlarge)