After 700 years, The Red Book of Ossory, named after the distinctive colour of its cover, will be returned to St Canice’s Cathedral in Co Kilkenny.
The Book is written in Latin, Old English, and French.
Its ornate calligraphy was intended for well-educated church members.
The 79-vellum page artefact will “spark imagination and connect local people with their history,” according to the Very Reverend Stephen Farrell, Dean of Ossory.
“The book is as true to Kilkenny as it gets. Ledrede is woven through all our stories.
“We look forward to welcoming visitors from every corner of the world to see this remarkable piece of living history”, he said.
The book was originally written by Bishop Richard Ledrede known as “the most extraordinary bishop to ever hold the See of Ossory”.
He held the position from 1317 to 1360. His tenure was mired with controversies and quarrels with clergymen and laymen alike.
The bishop is also known for being the catalyst of the first ever witch trials in Ireland after he accused a noblewoman named Alice Kyteler and her servant Petronella de Meath in 1324.
Petronella was burned at the stake but historians believe Kyteler was able to escape.
The exhibition will take visitors on a journey through time and page and allow them to look into the everyday lives of ordinary citizens at the time through the lens of Bishop Ledrede.
Throughout the tour, visitors will familiarise themselves with how democracy, rights and culture were shaped in Medieval Ireland.
The Red Book is filled with ancestral knowledge including the first recorded recipe for Aqua Vitae, Uisce Beatha, known today as whiskey.
The spirit was used for medicinal purposes in the 1300s to treat the plague.
The manuscript also contains early iterations of the Magna Carta, poems and songs composed by Bishop Ledrede to replace the “vile” secular songs of the townspeople and a letter addressed to King Edward III expressing concern that the noble Englishmen in Ireland had “gone native”.
Ledrede notably banned clergy from playing football on the cathedral grounds. He also decreed they should put away their concubines, and “none below the rank of a bishop is to absolve from murder”.
The Red Book of Ossory is on loan from the Representative Church Body Library in St Canice’s Cathedral and Round Tower.
They will be holding talks, events and workshops to accompany the exhibit throughout the year-long exhibition.
St. Canice’s Cathedral and Round Tower in Kilkenny is one of Ireland’s oldest historic landmarks.
It is listed in the top three attractions in the city year after year and welcomed 54,000 visitors last year alone.
Tickets to The Red Book Exhibition are included in the admission to St Canice’s Cathedral from €6.50 via the cathedral’s website.
The accompanying talks and workshops are available on Eventbrite.