The Chi Rho Monogram
Folio 34r — the most celebrated page in Western calligraphy.
- Work
- Gospel book
- Artist / creator
- Unknown Insular scribe-artists (traditionally associated with the community of Columba, Iona and Kells)
- Origin & date
- Iona/Kells, Ireland, c. 800 AD
- Held by
- Trinity College Dublin
Format
The full-resolution color-managed file — yours to print, study, and keep.
Sized to protect print quality — this scan's resolution doesn't clear our floor for a physical print, so this piece is offered as a digital download only.
Size
$24.00
The story
Three Greek letters — Χ Ρ Ι, the opening of Christi in Matthew's account of the Nativity — dilate to fill an entire folio, their strokes packed with spirals, interlace, otters, moths, and a pair of mice fighting over a Eucharistic wafer. No other page in the manuscript received this density of attention; the scribes clearly understood they were illuminating not just a word but the Incarnation itself. Look for the tiny angels emerging from the vertical stroke of the Chi, barely visible at a glance — devotional ornament meant to rewards a monk's slow, contemplative gaze, not a passing look. The Book of Kells is famous for its color without true gold leaf: its glowing yellow comes from orpiment, a mineral pigment, made to read as gold in candlelight. This page is why the manuscript is called, simply, the chief relic of the western world.
About this reproduction
- Faithful reproduction of a public-domain work, sourced from Trinity College Dublin’s open-access release.
- Printed to order on archival cotton-rag stock, pigment inks rated 100+ years.
- Color-managed to the source scan.
- Ships in 5–8 business days; satisfaction guaranteed.
See it framed
Room
Frame
This scan's resolution is offered as a digital download only, so there's no physical size to frame here — shown for reference, true to the piece's own proportions.
From Insular & Celtic
The Virgin and Child
Folio 7v — the earliest surviving Madonna in a Western manuscript.
The Four Evangelist Symbols
Folio 27v — man, lion, calf, and eagle, prefacing Matthew.
The Eight-Circle Cross
Folio 33r — the only carpet page of its kind in the manuscript.
The Temptation of Christ
Folio 202v — Satan, the Temple, and a crowd of witnesses.