Deemed the greatest relic of Ireland by many, the Book of Kells survived the turbulent middle ages when Western Europe was at its lowest in almost all aspects. The book was created during the late eighth into the early ninth century with its beginnings in Iona, Scotland and completion in Kells, Ireland. Hiberno-saxon manuscripts are at times classified as "minor  art; however, the Book of Kells is by no means trivial and was of great importance to Irish monasticism and the public and was at the time a major form of art and the most lavish of illuminated manuscripts. The significance and legacy of this book is prominent even today and can be observed in contemporary society as propagandists continue to use this national relic (Michael 70). Even in the United States, there are religious connections to the Book of Kells seen in the entirely handmade Bible made by the monks at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota (Nelson 52). Yet, the extreme importance of the the Book of Kells, and Hiberno-saxon manuscripts in general, during the Middle Ages is unimaginable to people of modern society and was valuable to the level that battles were fought over these books. This Gospel book also exemplifies the importance of liturgy of the time as these luxurious Gospels were thought to be absolutely sacred containing the miraculous powers of Saint Columba, the establisher of the Irish monastery, and was kept encased in a reliquary. The purpose behind this luxury was not indulgence but to awe the public and embody holiness through the extraordinary craftsmanship, material, color and more in hopes of drawing people into the religion. The Book of Kells was made to glorify God and became a holy relic at the same time. A fancy religious book today may not affect the public much but during the medieval period the precious stones and vibrant contrasting colors from lapis lazuli and rare Mediterranean insects meant the uttermost spirituality and aesthetics of holiness. The extensive minute detailing furthers that aspect even more to the point that some parts of the pages appear blurred and pixelated when in actuality the blurs are details within the details. There is no doubt that the Book of Kells contains hundreds of abstract human figures and thousands of monstrous beasts that make up many of the patterns. Thus, many modern scholars have analyzed these aspects specifically the figures regarding sight and the historical claim behind animal figures and patterns though some publication explanations are sounder than others. The unnatural representation of all figures contributed to the belief that the creators of the book were incapable of illusionistic art in earlier studies. This misconception was cleared as images were studied more intensely and contextually. In order to fully understand the concept of sight in the Middle Ages, the notion of Neoplatonism must be stated where the spiritual world is the real world and the physical world that one perceives with one's eyes is not real. This was the common belief of the time and ultimately became embodied in abstract art, since there was no desire to depict the physical world which is artificial. This in turn, influenced sight and portrayal of eyes within illuminated manuscripts and is seen in The Temptation of Christ (Fig. 1) and The Portrait of Saint John (Fig. 2). On the former, the scene of the third temptation (from Matthew 4:1-11, Mark