"The Secret Of Kells" is a cartoon film about the Book of Kells, a very famous illuminated manuscript written and illustrated by Celtic monks from an Irish monastery around the year 800. Many people think it is Ireland's finest national treasure.

The manuscript is called the book of Kells because for centuries its home was the Abbey of Kells, a monastery 40 miles north of Dublin. Today it is on a permanent exhibition at the University Library of Trinity College in Dublin.

Did you know...?

• The most common Celtic symbol is the circle. That's why Celtic crosses combine the cross and the circle.
  
  Celtic crosses often show reliefs with Celtic knots, a form of decoration typical of ancient Celts:
  
  

To watch a beautiful example of how the circle can be used as a decorative element, have a look at this videoclip with a scene from the film, inspired in the Book of Kells:

The picture on the left shows a page from the manuscript where the Greek symbol Chi Rho (an X and a P, symbolising the first two letters in "Christ") is represented. We can also see an old £5 banknote which had a fragment of the Book of Kells. You can click on the picture it to see it bigger.

In the picture below we can see another page where writing combines with miniatures.

After you do the exercises, you can watch a couple of videoclips with images from the film: