 Its beautifully tooled goatskin cover is the oldest Western bookbinding to survive, and a virtually unique example of insular leatherwork, in an excellent state of preservation.Both Anglo-Saxon and Irish manuscripts have a distinctive rougher finish to their vellum, compared to the smooth-polished surface of contemporary continental and all late-medieval vellum.It appears that, in contrast to later periods, the scribes copying the text were often also the artists of the illuminations, and might include the most senior figures of their monastery.