A FOLK-DANCE tutor claims he has solved the mystery of illustrations in the Book of Kells that has puzzled historians for generations. Alan Nowell claims the interwoven patterns depict monks performing ancient mystical dances.

The folk-dance enthusiast hit upon the discovery when he compared designs in the manuscript with ancient folk dances performed in parts of the British Isles. Nowell has even recreated lost devotional dances he believes have lain hidden since the 9th century.

In an article in the summer issue of Archaeology Ireland, Nowell explains his interpretation of the designs in the Book of Kells, as well as similar ones on the Togherstown Bronze and Kells Market Cross, two high crosses from the same period. The circular designs represent interlocked groups of three or four dancing men, known as roundels. Nowell believes that Irish monks may have performed the dances while spreading the Christian message across Europe.

One dance, which is still performed and may have its origins in the ancient jigs, is the Wyresdale Greensleeves dance from north Lancashire. This is a performance by three or four men who hop around in a circle and has been handed down upland shepherds for generations. It was first documented in 1789. The dance moves closely resemble a famous illustration from the Book of Kells and originated in a village that was a centre of Irish monastic activity.

Nowell makes a link between devotional dances and the gnostic practices of the ancient Celtic church before it was subsumed by Roman Catholicism. He says: “Christianity is not normally associated with sacred dancing but this was not always the case. The apocryphal gospel The Acts of John describes dancing with the disciples after the last supper. Dance would have had a different role in Christianity if this book had been included in the Bible.”

He added: “I am a sceptic by nature but, after 12 years of research, I am convinced that this dance did exist”.

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