June 13, 2009
My day started at noon (I regret that I lost my morning) and I headed out for some shopping and sightseeing. I was attempting to find a suitable jacket for the more miserable days in Ireland, but without luck. The stores obviously don't need to carry jackets at this time of year and so, I'm having a difficult time finding what I need.
A band playing to raise money for the Children's Hospital of Ireland. They were playing near St. Stephen's Green today.
A picture of their shoes. They looked interesting, so I wanted a picture.But my day immediately became better when I headed to Trinity College for a tour. The college was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I and is currently Ireland's oldest and most prestigious college. I signed up for a small tour of the college, which started at the entrance and ended in front of the Old Library.
The statue of Oliver Goldsmith, famous Anglo-Irish writer, just to the right of the entrance to Trinity College.
The statue of Edmund Burke, famous Irish statesman who served at Westminster, to the left of the entrance to Trinity College.
Part of the grounds at Trinity College. The monument in the middle is supposed to be a cactus. Don't ask me why it's a cactus, because I don't know. I'm not even sure our tour guide knew why.
The Death Star.
The entrance to the Old Library and the Book of Kells. This also has a closer view of the cactus.
Pictures are not allowed inside the Old Library or the Book of Kells exhibit. However, I have posted images of both because they are quite beautiful.
Just as one when enters the Old Library, their is a winding staircase that leads to the upper floor on the immediate left. The hall of the library is lined with long tables, already occupied by students. The tables are scattered with large and thick volumes, old and musty. The library smells like them - crisp, hard, and ancient. The book line the shelves in all manners of color - some bound in pearl white and others blending in with the rich, dark wood of the shelves. The windows are open and the sunlight streams in, illuminating the small, floating specks of dust and reflecting off the gold letters that mark the rows. The old giants, Shakespeare, Bacon, Milton, Newton, Locke, Swift, Cicero, Demosthenes, Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, and Homerus stare down the backs of the students, keenly reminding them of their accomplishments and silently egging them on.In the night, the carefully lit and well-protected candles provide a dim light for the remaining students. A few are sitting at the tables, frantically scribbling away and feverishly turning the pages. One or two are sitting calmly, taking time to pore over old texts or to enjoy classic literature. The librarian sweeps by them, frowning at those who have fallen asleep on their books and to remind the rest that the library will close soon.
That was what I imagined the library to be like, perhaps in the late 17th or 18th century, when it was still in use. Today, the individual shelves are roped off, the windows protected by screens, and the books untouched except for preservation and analysis, their titles slowly fading away. The library today contains half a million books (including the university's oldest 200,000 books). From the main hall, the book titles weren't very clear. The few I saw were related to operas and I remember one particular (perhaps new) book entitled The Annals of Rajasthan. Perhaps one thing that has remained is the still, peaceful, and almost quiet nature of the library. Tourists spoke in hushed tones, behaving as if the library was still in use today.
I spent a good amount of time in the library, but I felt that it would never be enough. If I ever had a library in my home, I would want it to be like that, albeit on a much smaller scale.
Before visitors can actually see the book, they must pass through an exhibit that highlights how the book was made, who the scribes were, and part of its history before it was given to the college. The Book of Kells, along with two other books similar to it, lay in a glass case, opened to pages that highlight the ornate designs. The book itself is actually quite small (about 13 in x 10 in), so imagine these designs on that scale. The detail is mind-blowing and I cannot imagine how the scribes managed to draw so accurately. The lines and curves are perfect and the writing is even. There are some mistakes, although I would never be able to spot them for myself.
The designs from the Book of Kells can be seen in almost every shop in the country. It inspires all manners of jewelry, clothing, tourist items, etc. I wasn't quite sure what to get - the store sold everything imaginably possible. So I satisfied myself with some postcards and will go back to purchase something that is a definitive reminder of both the Book of Kells and the Old Library.
I spent a good amount of time at the college so I wrapped up my day after taking the last round of pictures of the college grounds.
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