Cumdach (book-shrine)
The manuscript retains its cumdach or book-shrine, a distinctively Irish form of reliquary case for books associated with an important religious figure; this is one of only five early examples. It is a box with metalwork plaques attached with nails to a wooden core of oak. The metalwork is elaborately decorated, with some animal and human figures. The 11th century dating makes it one of the oldest known cumdachs, after the Soiscél Molaisse of 1001–1011.
