14 (25) Swedish version
	At the centre of Dublin, just a couple of blocks south of O'Connell Bridge, Trinity College opens its gates to students, visitors and tourists. Queen Elizabeth I established Trinity in 1591 as an Irish academic centre for the Protestants. In a sparsely lighted room, the incomparable hand writings Book of Kells, Book of Durrow and Book of Armagh are kept well protected in temperature and moisture controlled exhibition cases. Book of Kells contains a Latin version of the four gospels. It was written and illuminated during the 8th century. I felt an irresistible urge to touch the old parchment pages that the monks of Iona had decorated with such artistic style in their monastery scriptorium. But the protective glass kept my eager fingers away. The Long Room is a library with more than 200 000 of the college's oldest volumes. The bookshelves are organized in two floors all the way up to the ceiling. My mind lingered in a sympathetic imagination of the librarians who, on a ladder not more than two feet wide, had to balance the heavy volumes 25 feet above the floor.
	First published: Sunday 27th October, 1996. Send a to the author! You may also use this form