A Study Of The Interrelationship And
Development Of Fantastic Beasts In Manuscripts
And Metalwork Of The Sixth To Eighth Centuries
In The British Isles.
Karin Hilton
Hatfield College, Univ. Of Durham
Combined Social Sciences
January 1991
Contents
Page
List Of Plates 3
List Of Figures 4
Introduction : On the Trail of the Beast 6
Ireland : Historical Background 8
Britain : Historical Background 12
The Book of Durrow : The Fifth to Late Seventh Century 16
The Lindisfarne Gospels : The Eighth Century Onwards 21
The Book of Kells : The End of the Eighth Century 27
Brooches and Metalworking 29
Conclusion : The Final Chapter 35
Bibliography 37
Plates and Illustrations 39
List of Plates
No Illustrations
Page
1. Ornamental Page from the Book of Durrow
39
M.S A4.5 folio 3v
2. Ornamental Page from the Lindisfarne Gospels
40 M.S Cotton Nero D IV folio 26v
3. The Donore Hoard : Handle and Backplate, 41
handleplate
4. The Hunterston Brooch 42
5. The Londesborough Brooch 43
6. The Cavan or " Queen's" brooch 44
7. The Tara Brooch, Bettystown 45
List of Figures
No Illustration Page
1. Enameled Escutcheon, Benty Grange 46
2. Initials, Cathach of St. Columba 46
3. Detail, Book of Durrow animal page 46
4. Detail, Saxon Disc, Caenby 46
5. Detail, Saxon Sword Pommel, Crundale Down 46
6. Detail, Book of Durrow carpet page 46
7. Detail,Book of Durrow 47
8. Detail, Fure Gilt Ornament 47
9. Torshov Pail Fragment 47
10. Detail, Sondre Pail 47
11. Detail, Book of Lindisfarne 47
12. Detail from Bucket, Birka, Sweden 48
13. Detail, Sondre Pail 48
14. The Birka Pail, Sweden 48
15. Anglo-Saxon Gold Clasp, Sutton Hoo 49
16. Anglo-Saxon Great Buckle, Sutton Hoo 49
17. Anglo-Saxon Escutcheon, Sutton Hoo 49
18. Buckle, Faversham, Kent 49
19. The Monymusk Reliquary 50
20. Copper Alloy Sprinkler, Norway 50
21. Pictish Silver Plates 50
22. The Donore Hoard : Zoomorphic Handle Assembly 51
23. Decorative Page ,The Book of Durrow 52
24. Cruxiform Page, Lindisfarne Gospels 53
25. Text Page, Lindisfarne Gospels 54
26. Chi-Rho Page,Book of Kells 55
27. Dunbeath Penannular Fragment 55
28. The Hunterston Brooch, Strathclyde 55
29. The Ardagh Chalice 56
30. The Derrynaflan Chalice 56
Introduction : On the Trail of the Beast
A study of Late Celtic or Insular art is one which
resembles somewhat the search for the Holy Grail. One
finds information scattered through many texts, in many
different forms. The items themselves are spread
throughout many different lands, Ireland, Britain,
Scandinavia, much of the continent and further afield to
Egypt and the Middle East. Even those items that are found
within the British Isles are often hidden away in
university and cathedral libraries as well as in private
collections.Thus when undertaking a study of this sort ,
one is inevitably limited a certain extent to
paraphrasing, quoting and amalgamating the opinions and
views of other earlier writers.An unfortunate fact
but one that has made itself steadily more obvious
throughout my research.
Again, a year is not really enough time to
learn and understand the amount of information and
knowledge necessary to comment on a subject as broad and
as frequently covered as insular art.Perhaps ten years would
be enough but I feel Francoise Henri is heading more in
the correct direction : a lifetime.
Finally a subject such as the study of the form of an
animal is one that is severely hampered in at least two
directions .First of all, Celtic art is such that the eye of
the beholder is all important. Where one man may see a
tree , another may see only a small shrub; where one may
see a dog-like creature, the other may see a fire breathing
dragon ; where one sees a harmless bird, the other may
see a predatory hawk.Thus different authors see
different values and styles within objects, although on the
whole the academics are united in viewpoint. Secondly,
similarities are being searched for in an art which is
recognized to be as beautiful as it is because of
its fluidity and ability to change.This, combined with
the fact that the archaeological record is inevitably an
incomplete and broken one, make it very hard to decide how
to define a type of creature. How does one decide to
classify respective to each other two creatures with the
same
spiral shaped hips , yet a completely different jaw line ?
Salin, at the turn of the century went a long way towards
solving that problem in his "Thierornamentik" , but the
problem still remains.
In defining a time period which encompasses the most
active
period of change and growth within Irish and Insular art,
confines the problems somewhat to a limited number of
objects and
manuscripts, but this in itself creates problems.Where
does one start and end ? How does one cope with influx
from later and earlier time periods that have clearly had
an influence? This I have attempted to resolve by using
the title and date restrictions in a flexible manner :
interpreting the Book of Kells as the last major work and
restricting the accompanying metalwork to the year 900 AD,
accepting influences from outside the time period but not
dealing with them in any great detail unless they
specifically require it.
Ireland : Historical background.
Ireland, situated as it was on the western periphery
of the Roman Empire never became a province: the proposed
invasion by Agricola that we are told of by Tacit us (the
Roman historian) never took place. Indeed Ireland had
suffered no invasions and little contact with the outside
world since the Celts of the 3rd / 2nd century B.C. (La TŠne
Period), although some traces of the proximity of the
Romans have filtered through.
Thus we are left with a society that was remarkable
in its homogeneity, in particular for one which had avoided the
regimentation of Roman law. From an early date it had a
standard vernacular language preserved today as the
oldest European vernacular literature. This literature
shows no trace of dialect variation and its content
reflects a uniformity of religious practices. Despite
this uniformity of language and religion, political
Ireland of this era consisted of many small fragmented
kingdoms, each with its own ruler. This period being
shadowy in Irish history, renders it unclear as to
whether this political situation occurred at the start
of the sixth century as a continuation of earlier
social and political trends; causing it to be described as
"tribal, rural, hierarchical and familial"
(D ibh¡ P Cr¢in¡n, T.W.O.A.,
1989, p.12) or whether there was an emergence of new
political groupings and dynasties, collapsing the old
tribal forms of society. The writings of St. Patrick
(432 A.D.) demonstrate the localized nature of Irish
society in the fifth century A.D.: the traveller's
necessity of purchasing the goodwill of both kings and
brehon (lawyers) and the inability of those not belonging to
the nemed (sacred or learned), brehon, or royal classes to
travel without running grave risks of injury or death. Yet
this proliferation of kings, despite their lack of land,
nurtured the artistic explosion of the seventh century and
onwards, for without their financial support, few of the
great works we have today would have been possible.
In the early decades of the fifth century Ireland was
touched by a force which was to change it greatly:
'the Rome of Sts Peter and Paul'
(Columbanus)
heralded by the arrival of St. Patrick (432 A.D.), although
some earlier contact is thought to have taken place
through the European trade routes with Ireland and via the
Irish colonies of Dal Riada in west Scotland and those of
south west Wales. Almost simultaneously the Roman Empire
was routed from much of western Europe by the Germanic
invasions and England was conquered by the Saxons, isolating
Ireland once again just as she appeared to be on the brink of
joining the European world.
Christianity brought many changes to Ireland which
gestated from the fifth century through to the early seventh
century. The most notable introduction was that of writing:
Christianity is a religion based on books and gospels and
these were brought over by
the early missionaries. These texts were seized upon by the
Irish, displaying an avid proclivity for copying texts. They
developed a characteristic script which has since become
known as 'insular' script, due to its meticulous
reproduction by their english pupils thus becoming the
common property of the peoples of the British Isles.
Another major change was within the church itself. Initially
the Roman church came with its territorial dioceses based
on the Roman military regions. This had no equivalent in
Ireland during this period and the episcopal church
disappeared during the plagues of the mid sixth century. They
were replaced by a new style of
monastic churches, which developed hand in hand with the
small but dynamic dynasties which seized control of Irish
politics for the next two centuries.These families held
both political and
ecclesiastical power, kings and bishops within the same kin-
group, as at Leinster, where the fortunes of the Ui Dunlainge
family were closely tied to those of the monasteries at
Kildare. The most famous of these restrictive practices is
the island monastery of
Iona established by St. Columba off the west Scottish coast
in 563 A.D. All but one of the abbots were from the same
kin-group, and all twelve disciples of the founder were
relatives of his.
From Iona the Irish spread Christianity eastwards
into Dal Riada (where one family had ruled on both sides
of the sea for several centuries) and across the north of
England culminating with the founding of Lindisfarne (the
Holy Isle) in 635 A.D. The monks brought with them the
knowledge of the insular script and of
contemporary metalworking, disseminating this knowledge as
they went. Many English from the north of England and Dal
Riada went to
Ireland, some to study and return, some to remain there. All
were welcomed by the Irish monks and those who returned
brought with them the scripts and other Irish techniques.
Other directions of missionary travel were not
neglected: in
590 A.D. Columbanus left Bangor, County Down with eleven
companions for the courts of the Burgundian and Frankish
kings. From there he
was expelled over the mountains from Switzerland to
Italy. The route he travelled can be traced through the
manuscripts left behind and the monasteries set up by
companions (monastery of
Bobbio, Milan and monastery of St. Gall, Switzerland).
Other continental libraries bear silent witness to the one
time presence of Irish monks all over Europe.
The development of monasteries led in several
directions: firstly a desire for ascetism in the Irish monk
hence many were built in desolate areas (e.g. Skellig
Michael). Secondly it
provided an outlet for the missionary zeal of the Irish
monk: he could go abroad and create a monastery as a symbol
of his faith. Finally it provided a breeding ground for the
art form now known as insular or Celtic by bringing together
workmen of different trades all with a similar purpose i.e.
the decoration and devotion of the
monastery to Christianity. Hence similarities can be
traced in manuscripts and metalwork both in image and
design.
Britain : Historical Background
With the collapse of the Roman Empire, troops were
withdrawn to the continent and the ravaging of Germanic
tribes meant that they never again had the power to
resupply Britain with troops. In 410, Britain became an
independent country. From this period onwards historical
records become unclear for approximately two centuries.
With the withdrawal of Rome, Britain became cut-off from
the body of the Mediterranean, and thus the majority of
historians. Communications however, between South Britain
and Gaul remained possible for quite some time. This is
shown by the arrival of
Saint Germanus in reply to the call of the British Church.
His arrival in 428/9 shows us that town life in the
Roman style was still continuing, however, he recorded
raids by both Saxons and Picts. In 424 AD Vortigern became
ruler of Britain. We
have numerous references to Vortigern showing that he was
operative both in Kent and Wales. As Vortigern means
Leader or
High Chief it may be possible that the references are to
two or
more different people, particularly as some of the
references are chronologically inaccurate. In order to
defend Britain, Vortigern invited Saxons in as paid
mercenaries in 428 AD, paying them with land, as was the
Roman tradition.
Around 440 AD, historical references show that the
Saxons rebelled against their "Masters" and took control
of southern parts of Britain. They formed an alliance
with the Picts, and together caused havoc and
devastation, taking over kingdoms wherever they went.
This cumulated with the arrival of Hengist and Horsa between
450-57 AD. The expulsion of Saxons from Frankish land in
460s caused an influx of new Saxons into Britain, by then
almost completely controlled, in the south, by the Saxons.
With Clovis's defeat of the Roman Emperor and total control
of Gaul, all Saxon migrations were diverted to Britain(486
AD). This lead to the settlement of Sussex in the 480s AD.
While in the 490s, another Saxon dynasty, that of
Cerdic, established itself at
Southampton, and by the turn of the century had gained
control of
southern Britain. The other English kingdoms are harder to
trace - Kent, Sussex, East Anglia, Mercia, as there are
few records. However, the most important kingdom,
Northumbria, is better served. The Venerable Bede himself
supplies material for the sixth century, and detailed
accounts of the seventh century. The history of Northumbria
begins in 547 AD, when Ida began to rule. He built
Bebbanburh, Bamburgh, defended initially by a "hedge" and
afterwards by a wall. After a century and a half,
Bamburgh, and Deira were used as springboards for an
assault on the Votadini. This was bitterly contested and
eventually lost. The accession of
Aelfrith towards the end of the sixth century finally
consolidated the Anglian hold on Bernicia as well as Deira,
and ensured that Northumbria was to be the dominant power
in northern Britain.
For the whole of middle England, there is a blank,
until the
appearance of Penda of Mercia in the 630s. Much of what we
know about him is due to his alliance against Northumbria
with Gwynedd. Further west, in Wales, the dynasty of the
D‚si, was founded in
Dyfed. This is thought to have been caused by a migration
of the D‚si in the fourth or beginning of the fifth century
as a response to the removal of Roman troops. This is
thought to be because the Irish who had been raiding the
Welsh coast found there was no
formal opposition and so moved in. The dynasties of North-
West are
represented by Maelgwn and Cinglas according to the
British
Historical Miscellany these are both descended through a
common grandfather from a certain Cunedag or Cunedda. An
early section of the Historia Brittonum we are told that the
Irish obtained land in Dyfed, Gower, and Kidwelly until
driven out by Cunedda and his sons. Of the kingdoms in
western Britain only Dyfed and Gwynedd have dynastic
origins which can be traced with any degree of
confidence. The Historia Brittonum attributes the Powysian
dynasty to Saint Germanus and lands further south were given
to Pascent, son of Vortigern by Ambrosius. Both of these are
highly dubious. Of the northern British kingdoms we have odd
notes as to rulers, such as Urien of Rheged, Ceretic of
Strathclyde, and others. In general, the history is fairly
shady.
North of the British princedoms lay Pictland and the
kingdom of Dal Riada from the fifth century. The Antonine
Wall remained roughly the southern border of Pictland. It
has been suggested by Bede that the Picts were divided north
and south, but this may be a geographical rather than
political division. By the reign of Bridei, son of
Maelcon, in the late sixth century, the Picts comprised
of an united kingdom. However, in the long term, the
dominion of Scotland, north of the Antonine Wall was to be
with the Scoti.
Dal Riada is important to this period because it was
founded by migrants from north-east Ireland to the west coast
of Scotland. The date of the initial invasion is in dispute.
It is place at 501 AD by the Annals of Tigernach, but may be
40 years earlier. The Irish occupation of this area proves
to be of great importance in transporting items from foreign
cultures to Ireland. This is reflected in Irish art, in
particular, metalwork and manuscript (viz. Book Of
Durrow).
By the end of the sixth century the Christian
missionaries arrived amongst the Anglo-Saxons, bringing a new
element into the society. Although Christianity already
existed in Britain at the time of the Saxon invasions the
ecclesiastical organization itself vanished from fifth
century England. This is thought to be because the Roman
towns disappeared and the christianizing of the
countryside had not proceeded very far.
The Book Of Durrow:
The Fifth to the Late Seventh Century
The period of the fifth to the mid seventh century in
Irish history is one of elaboration, a flowering of the
skills that had taken so long to nurture.Influences from
many areas, both close and far from home where accepted
and blended to form a style which was both restrained in its
use of various elements yet was fluid enough to be able to
create an astounding air of vitality and life.The Irish
monks produced manuscripts which echoed elements from as
far afield as Syria and using designs seen in the
metalwork which surrounded them.In the same way craftsmen
used forms from manuscripts altering subtly to create new and
different designs.
The best known example of early illumination is the
Gospel Book of Durrow (Dublin, Trin. Col. Lib., MS.
57[A.4.5]) which is generally dated to the middle or
second half of the seventh century.A small book ( 9 ý by
6 ý inches ), it was kept at the Columban monastery of
Durrow until its dissolution in the
seventeenth century.It was then kept near to Durrow by a
farmer until it became the possession of the Library of
Trinity College, Dublin, where it is kept today.(Plate 1,Fig
23)
The Gospel shows the earliest clear examples of the
interrelationship between metalwork and manuscript
zoomorphic forms .Both Merovingian and Anglo-Saxon jewelry
show patterns that are closely related to the animal
interlace found in the
Gospel.The most distinctive feature of the interlace
itself is
that of the individual forms of beast.In the decorative
page prefacing the Gospel of St John, one can identify three
different arrangements of the Lacertine beast that is known
as the "Durrow Beast" .The first is designed with an
elongated head and
a biting snout; two legs, of which the hind one is so
flexible below the thigh that it can form a knot around the
creatures own neck.The second animal is found in the short
vertical bands of the carpet page, with a distinctive
shorter body and more prominent ears .The third
form is stretched into an mimicry of an eel like
form and those found in the two inner bands of the page
have the foreleg placed far back from the head.
The Durrow Beast draws its antecedents from
many sources.Unlike most of the later creatures of Insular
Art, it has much stronger links with the Saxon
zoomorphic forms found in Britain in the seventh
century.Evidence as to the specific origins of the Beast
comes in two forms : firstly that of the layout and style
of zoomorphic decoration in earlier manuscripts , and
secondly through contemporary and slightly earlier
metalwork.
The only earlier manuscript with comparable
illumination is the Cathach of St Columba.Four elements of
the Book of Durrow can be seen to have their rudimentary
beginnings in the Cathach: of these four only one of
these is zoomorphic. Within the Cathach, one can see the
initial appearance of the use of open mouthed animals
as terminals (Fig.2a & 2b). Comparable animals can be
found in the illuminations of the Book of Durrow.The Durrow
beast has many parallels in metalwork.It has been frequently
compared to both the Crundale Down sword pommel and the
silver disc from Caenby (Figs.4 & 5.) (T.D.Kendrick,A-S
Art,p.96). Despite the similarity of the Caenby and
Crundale Down beasts they illuminate the essential
differences between Celtic and Germanic decorations. The
Germanic creature has a broken, disjointed body, and in
the Book of Durrow the creature is reassembled in a
coherent, flowing manner(Fig.6). A continental manuscript
which is thought to be either of insular origin or
written by an insular scribe, M.S. ý13 displays an animal
with the head of the Caenby beast, yet an evolved and
more realistic body than that of the Durrow creature. The
similarity can also be seen with the zoomorphic
escutcheons from Benty Grange(Fig.1..).Both creatures show a
strong similarity in head shape, with the fine long curved
jaws clamping down over the elongated bodies and tails of
their counterparts. All of these creatures are identifiable
as or derived from the animal known as Salin Style
II.(Salin, Thierornamentik, 1904, p.322 )
The Durrow animal is more precisely derived from the
Saxon version of the Style II animal (G.Speake A-S Animal
Art) and is directly traceable to a Anglo-Saxon background
similar to that of the Sutton Hoo burial finds (Bruce-
Mitford,E.Q.C.Lindis. ). The animal interlacing of the
upper and lower horizontal bands of fo
192v,The Book of Durrow can be compared closely to that
of the Sutton Hoo ornaments (Figs 15,16,17). Again, if one
compares the animal ornament found at the tip of the Sutton
Hoo buckle and the border of the gold clasp with those of
the Durrow manuscript, one finds the same sinuous bodies
and double contours, the relatively short hind legs from
pear shaped hips and the long slim stretched forelegs
twisting and looping; at Sutton Hoo, around their own
bodies, in the Durrow manuscript they writhe and intertwine
around the legs and bodies of neighboring beasts (Fig 3 &
7). A similar looping and knotting can be seen on the
Faversham buckle where two long bodied and rampant creatures
twist and knot themselves in a Durrow-like fashion (Fig
18). Further examples of the proximity in style of the
Durrow and Sutton Hoo creatures can be seen between the
animals on the maplewood drinking cups and the
interlinked frieze of animals from the Book of Durrow.
An item of ecclesiastical metalwork that has been dated
to a later period than the Durrow manuscript and which
shows creatures that have evolved from the Durrow
Beast is the Monymusk reliquary.(Fig 19) It is a house
shaped shrine carved from two
blocks of wood and consisting of a rectangular casket and a
hinged lid in the form of a hipped shaped roof. Believed
to be the "Brecbennough of St. Columba", a sacred
battle ensign of the Scottish army, the reliquary is
dated to the eighth century and shows a combination of
the Pictish and Irish styles, a combination which appears in
manuscripts such as the Lindisfarne Gospels. The silver
plates on the front and lid of the casket are decorated
with beasts leaping and twisting , and biting at their tails
on a spotted field. The stippled punch marks are
characteristically Irish and can be seen reflected in the
Durrow manuscript by the use of tiny red dots as
background filler. Different viewpoints have been raised
as to the origins of the beast with Francoise Henri
(Irish art,1940,p.70) claiming them to be an evolved form of
the Durrow creature and Susan Youngs and Michael
Spearman
(T.W.A.,1989,p.135) describing them as :
" characteristically Pictish, both in the
style of the beasts, and the distinctive pointille
technique used "
My personal feeling is that it is a fusion of the two
forms explained by the Irish missionary work at the time of
St. Columba amongst the Picts.
The Durrow beast develops after the execution of the
manuscript and this can be followed in metalwork and
through manuscripts. Most notable of the manuscripts are
the Lichfield Gospels, which are dated towards the end of
the seventh century. These are unusual in that the
illuminations display the parallel development both of the
Durrow animal and the Lindisfarne animal. Another
manuscript which shows an evolved form of the Durrow
animal is the Durham manuscript M.S. A.11.17 which is
kept in Durham cathedral library.
The Lindisfarne Gospels :
The Eighth Century Onwards
The Lindisfarne Gospels, attributed to Eadfrith,
bishop of Lindisfarne (698 - 721) are dated to the turn
of the century, about 700 AD (Fig 24,25,Plate 2). It is
the closest work of illumination that we have in a fairly
complete form to the Book of Durrow. Within it one can see
the application of the decorative style that was maturing
in the Durrow Gospel: the elements of
interlacing,animal interlacing and spirals are all present
but, unlike the Book of Durrow they are not kept apart but
are
"constantly juxtaposed ,and sometimes
mingled" (Francoise Henri,Irish
Art,1940,p.78)
The scale and elaborateness of the decoration in the
Lindisfarne Gospels is much greater, animals appear with
greater frequency and with much more fluid forms of
construction: fol 95(Fig. 25) shows the use of biting
animal interlace in the bars of the initial monogram as
well as stopped knot and plait work design and
diagonal stepped patterns. This contrasts with the
Durrow manuscript where in the initials the only
decoration used was interlace and trumpet patterns.
Again, in the Lindisfarne manuscript red dots are used
profusely; not as background as in Durrow but as animal
patterns between letters. Animals developed not only as
decoration within borders and initials, and throughout the
background, but also in a more prominent form. Bird and
animal heads are used as terminals both in the borders
and in some letters. They expand in size and in
complexity, with open roaring mouths and hooked predatory
beaks .
The Durrow animal is changed beyond recognition, keeping
only the basic principle of twisting animal bodies, to a
creature with a slight semblance to a dog, whose body
stretches, twists and intertwines until it threatens to
lose itself within the maze of its own form.Clues to this
change, from the Irish interpretation of the Saxon Salin
Style II beast found in the Book of Durrow, to the flexible
elongated and lively little monster found in the Book
of Lindisfarne can be found in intermediate manuscripts
such as the Lichfield Gospels, but most clearly the
transitional form are found in pails and gilt objects found
in Scandinavia. An object found at Fure (Bergen Museum,
V.Ant.,V,pp 51-52), has preserved various stages of the
transformation of the animal, from the two affronted
beasts on either side of a vine tree to animal
interlacing (Fig.8). In the eighth century sprinkler in the
Bergen museum the method of reconciling vegetable scrolls
and animal form is found: the animal's form coils into
itself, taking the place of the branch and forming a
continuous entwinement of scroll shaped animal bodies (F.
Henri, Irish art I.E.C.P.,1965). The beast's spiral hips
and gaping jaws show a similarity with animal motifs found
in Hiberno-Saxon manuscripts such as the Lichfield Gospels,
suggesting that there also an intermediate form of the
Lindisfarne monster can be found.
The new formed beast associates with a bird, equally
elastic in form, which stalks through fantastic vine-like
flora, which when observed closely, transforms and
dissolves into the body of the bird or monster. Again the
origins of the bird form are found not in the British
Isles but in Insular objects found in Scandinavia. The
pail found in Birka, Sweden (Fig 14) shows the first
form: caricatures of spiral-hipped birds marching through
the coiled lifeless branches of little trees (Fig.12a &
12b). This vine-scroll decoration is suggested by Leslie
Webster to be proof that the pail originated in Northumbria
(T.W.A.,1989,p.121). The second form is that shown by the
pail from Sondre (Norway) where the trees disappear
leaving the birds alone interlinked by feathers and
neck(Fig 10). In insular manuscript this bird appears as the
strutting complex avian of the Lindisfarne Gospels (Fig
11). Later manuscript, the Lichfield Gospel in particular
shows a form of the Lindisfarne bird contemporary with an
evolved form of the Durrow beast. This shows that the
Durrow beast did not disappear and change into the
Lindisfarne type, it developed in a parallel fashion,
perhaps at a different group of monasteries. Here
manuscripts and metalwork divide in style: the beast with
the coiled body and more particularly the bird become
popular in manuscript and become
"The fundamental ornament of eighth century
illumination" (F.Henri, Irish Art, 1940
p.85)
yet in Irish metal work they remain almost totally ignored.
Those items found in Scandinavia showing the growing phases
of the bird form, seem to suggest from style that they are
not of purely Irish manufacture, rather that they are the
results of the mingling of two art forms across the
borders of two cultures. Similarly those items of metalwork
which shown the final form are those which would appear
to have developed in a very strong Irish atmosphere,
leading Henri to suggest that the final solution only
occurred in places such as Iona and Lindisfarne. Only a
few items of pure Irish metalwork, the Stavanger brooch
and the Tara brooch show the pure Lindisfarne bird.
Having looked at the links between manuscripts
and the development of the "animal and bird" type, it is
also important to consider the links that this type and the
parallel survival form of the Durrow beast have in
metalwork of this era.
The Lindisfarne Gospels are unique in their formation
in many ways. Unlike manuscripts that originate in
monasteries within Ireland, foreign influences are much closer to home
in
Northumbrian monasteries, resulting in a complex style
incorporating many different cultures. Pictish influences
can be seen on metalwork with intermediary styles of
zoomorphic motifs such as the Birka bucket and Vinjum
censer plant and bird motifs flourish in contrast to the
engraved or openwork ribbon interlace and geometric
patterns of home manufactured Irish pails.In the Pictish
hoard found at Norries Law and dated to the seventh
century, a pair of matching silver plaques with incised
Pictish decoration bear the head and torso of a dog-like
animal :similar
dog heads appear in the Lindisfarne Gospels(Fig.21).
A group of finds that has been seen as important
evidence of the adoption of the Lindisfarne style in the
East midlands of Ireland is the Donore Hoard, found in
County Meath.Later in date than the Lindisfarne
Gospels, they clearly illustrate the
movement of ideas from illumination to metalwork.The
objects appear to be a series of handles, frames and
backplates and are thought to have originated from a
church, either from Kells or nearby Dulane. They bear
elements that are similar not only to the Lindisfarne
Gospels but also to the Tara Brooch. The zoomorphic
handle assembly (Fig.22 & Plate 3) consists of three
parts, the animal head handle with ring and tang, the disc
plate and a lugged circular frame which fits neatly around
the plate. The execution style is one closely comparable
to the Lindisfarne Style and the Tara brooch. The animal
head itself is clearly modeled with clear arched teeth,
an S-scroll covered snout and the head has
zoomorphic elements similar to those found on the Tara
brooch.The disc bears a complex detail of interweaving
animals which intertwine and coil, all in profile.All
creatures have incised joint spirals, a clear indication
of their stylistic origins. Other finds were engraved
disks, an enameled handle, and an engraved plaque and
frame. Another find whose evidence can be taken in
conjunction with the Donore Hoard is the belt-buckle
found at Lagore Crannog, County Meath.Found in a disturbed
context outside a palisade it is dated earlier than the
Donore objects, to approximately mid seventh century.
The buckle's zoomorphic decorations Germanic in style,
closer to the Durrow animal and Salin style II, than to
the Lindisfarne beast. However the scroll work style is
fairly close to that of the Lindisfarne Gospels and the
Tara brooch.These items provide clear indication of the
flow of inspiration from metalwork to manuscript and
vice versa, showing in this case the derivation of
zoomorphic ornament from the Lindisfarne Gospels into the
metalworking tradition.
Metalworking in the late seventh into the eighth
century
onwards reflects the expansion of Insular art with an
explosion of sumptuous rich and glittering metal objects.
Churches gained book cover which glittered with silver,
croziers, censers, and chalices made of gold and silver, and
covered with decorations of amber and enamels. The Irish had
already learnt many different forms of ornament from
the Anglo-Saxons, now they learnt techniques of
metalworking.
The Book of Kells : The End of the Eighth Century.
The Book of Kells is dated to between 760 and 820 and is
thought to be from named after the monastery of
Kells.However it was largely written and illustrated at
the monastery of Iona.The kells manuscript is incomplete
with areas of decoration uncolored,and text unfinished;
however it contains a wealth and richness of color and
illumination that is impossible to .describe. Animals run
wildly through the pages chasing themselves their
neighbors and humans. Others sit in naturalistic groups such
as the cats and the rats in fol 34 (Fig.26). Animals
display the familiar Hiberno-Saxon style, lacertine
animals twisting and writhing in the same firm and
cloisonne style that dates back to the Book of
Durrow.Other new forms arrive , naturalistic and mythical ,
most importantly to this topic the change in the
Lindisfarne avian, still there in its original form, but
now also seen chasing and tearing at human forms . Other
new creatures appear : in those pages illuminated by the
" Goldsmith " as Francoise Henri calls him, the page of
eight circles , the Chi-Rho page and others , one sees an
almost perfectly traditional repertoire of mythical
beasts : the elongated animals , the spiraling avians, and,
a new note, the constant use of thin ribbon shaped snakes.
Another change in the use of zoomorphic form is found in the
capitals: in
Durrow they end in spirals,in Lindisfarne they develop
animal
terminals (as do the brooches of this time), and in the
Book of Kells initials are formed from complete
creatures or
combinations of several .
The Book of Kells marks a junction point between the
two regimes of metalworking and illumination : where once the
art was such that it could be communicated between two
such different materials, now the creatures change from the
decorative mythical monster to the more naturalistic and
superbly alive animals of the Kells Manuscript, leaving
behind metal working as the more rigid and inflexible
material.
Thus a convenient breaking point is found where the
skill of the Insular craftsmen had reached its most talented
and beautiful point, and before the art of the Irish began
to change as it was
influenced by foreign cultures and styles.
Brooches and Metalworking
An important part of metalworking of this period is
the
proliferation of brooches, both penannular and annular in
form.In
these the development of zoomorphic forms can be traced from
the origins of fantastical animals, the Salin style II beast through
to its many and varied developed forms Irish penannular
brooches appear to be have been a development from small
Anglo-Saxon ring brooches of the fifth and sixth century. An
important series of ring brooch mould from Dunadd (seat of
the kings of Dal Riada) includes many forms found in the
seventh and continuing into the eighth centuries. In the
eighth century the Irish brooch develops into an annular
brooch, the terminal joined by a bar or solid panel. The
ring is purely decorative and could not be used as a
locking device, unlike the early penannulars. These continue
into the ninth century. Finds from D l Riada are few,
however other Scottish brooches have been studied in detail
and are known as Pictish as the majority come from the
North and East of Scotland, the main area of Pictish
settlement.
The Hunterston brooch, found in West Kilbride, Ayrshire
is of Irish type and is dated to the late seventh or
early eighth
century (Plate 4,Fig 28). It is possibly the second most
important brooch of its kind due to the complexity of the
design and the high quality survival of the decoration. It
is a large brooch of gilded cast silver with filigree
insets on the front of
the
brooch. These include eight main panels each of which
contain an interlaced beast executed in beaded wire. The
central panel on each terminal is flanked by four smaller
panels of interlaced filigree serpents and at the junction
between the arms and the terminal of the brooch there are
two bird heads. On the reverse, one finds a pair of
interlaced beasts of the same style of those on the front
executed in filigree on the hoop. The reverse of the
terminal has bird beaks and heads as decoration. These
are reminiscent of similar decorative panels on the
Lindisfarne Gospels. The simplified bird heads which project
from the outline
of the ring, were compared to those from Germanic
brooches by Stevenson. On the Germanic brooches, eagle heads
form the outline
of the brooch, which carries a central cross (Stevenson,
1974 p. 94, 1983) Scroll work on the reverse is also close
in style to the zoomorphic trumpet scrolls of the Lindisfarne
Gospels and the Tara Brooch.
The Westness brooch pin was found in 1968 in a mound
covering a rich ninth century female Viking burial. The
brooch itself is dated to the eighth century. It is a cast
brooch pin ornamented with panels of filigree and set with
amber and red glass. It has
the appearance of a penannular brooch through the
decoration of the terminals, however the terminals are
joined by paneling and studs. On the outer edge there is
an animal head which is cast in full relief holding
(originally) a thin metal ring. The terminals of the brooch
are filled with panels of zoomorphic filigree
surrounded by border panels of glass. These panels of
glass are capped by animal heads (outside) and bird
heads (inside).The elaborateness of this brooch pin and
its wealth of zoomorphic decoration make it by far the
best specimen to have survived. It shows close links
stylistically to both the Tara and Hunterston brooches
and to the Dunbeath fragment. These brooches all show
cast animal heads in profile along the margins of their
terminals.
The Londesborough brooch is an annular brooch cast in
silver
dated to the late eighth - early ninth century(Plate
5). The brooch front is thickly gilded and is covered with
a wealth of wildlife : birds and animal interlace
dominates the body of the brooch and the terminals are
dominated by a pair of raised bosses, divided up by ribs. In
the panels between the ribs small animals teem, and in the
reserved panels between the bosses interlaced animals
with hatched bodies and pronounced eyes and jaws can be
found. Part of the field of the pinhead is filled by two
beasts with open jawed mouths and long fangs, hatched jaws
and bodies. These hatched animals are reminiscent in style
to those found on the Tara brooch. However the open jaws
and the long fangs are far more reminiscent of the animals
of later date: such as those found on the Paris mounts and
Helgo mount. They are also similar to animals found in
the Book of Kells, where the birds also can be seen to
have distant relatives.
The "Cavan" or "Queens" brooch is one of developed
Irish annular style and is dated with some fluidity to the
end of the eighth century (Plate 6). It bears delicately
modeled animal heads separating cusps found on each pseudo-
terminal, and the background of the terminals is decorated
with animal motifs: each beast has a hatched or a billeted
ribbon shaped body, a backturned head and long snout
grasping its own trunk. These creatures seem to be the
forerunners of the Irish animal style of the ninth
century. The reverse although it is generally plain has
some simple beast heads with prominent fangs and a long
tongue, reminiscent of the creatures of the Londesborough
brooch.
A penannular brooch found in Lough Ravel Crannog
and now currently in Belfast museum shows an unusual form
of beast, cast in bronze. It is clearly a survival of the
Durrow creature which has developed in more or less
parallel line with the Lindisfarne animal and bird theme.
Throughout these brooches one can see the interlinked
trend of zoomorphic ornament progressing through time.
However so far perhaps the most important brooch of all
has been missed out : the Tara brooch (Plate 7). It was
found at the mouth of the Boyne river in a wooden box
also containing Viking artifacts. Made in bronze with
compartments in relief for ornament, it is unique in the
delicacy of its construction, and small size (3 ý inches
in diameter). The Tara brooch is close stylistically
to the Hunterston brooch, as well as bearing
similarities to other brooches. It is arguably later in
date, although it displays the same trait of having an
earlier style of decoration on the reverse and a later more
up to date style on the front. The front of the brooch is
ornamented in beasts designed in fine traceries of gold
wire, fierce looking reptiles which skirt around the
outside of the jewels. In addition, there are enameled
studs, amber bands and two amethyst human heads. Decoration
on the corner lobes resembles corner ornament in the Book of
Durrow. This combined with later resemblances to
Lindisfarne style shows the interlinked effect of metalwork
and manuscript on each other. On the reverse, the style is
very different, that of the early seventh century with
spirals, animal interlacing and cast bronze border birds.
It has three panels which recall the decoration found on
the reverse on the Stavanger Brooch. Spiral and animal
decoration are an near as possible to the bird and
animal type found in the Lindisfarne Gospels. The birds
are identical with those found in borders and the body
shape of the animals scroll-like as it is, is nearly
identical to the Lindisfarne type. The animals which are
featured
on the front of it with a double outline, sinuous body,
flaring snout and hip or shoulder spiral, is the
dominant form of zoomorphic ornament in eighth century
metalwork. Similar wreaths appear on a brooch from Mull,
presumably Scottish or Pictish, as it is a true
penannular, on the silver hanging bowl from the Saint
Ninian's Isle treasure, and other eighth century metalwork.
These creatures are missing in southern Britain where
there is a stronger Germanic flavour although their
ancestors can be traced in a hybrid form of the Style II
of the Sutton Hoo Lindisfarne animals. Close parallels
of the animal heads in particular found on the Tara
pinhead can be seen on the Cavan brooch and also to be found
on the animal headed mount of the Donore hoard. Other items
found in the hoard also display Tara style zoomorphic
decoration, such as the zoomorphic handle assembly
Another major piece of metalwork which is of the
same standard of manufacture as the Tara brooch is the
Ardagh Chalice (Fig 29). It was found under a thorn bush in
the rath of Ardagh, County Limerick. It contains none of
the superfluous richness that even such a delicate work as
the Tara Brooch has. Great areas of silver have no
decoration reflecting the glow of the ornaments. Animal
terminals are engraved on the cup under the gold band, and
discrete panels of filigree animals can be found. It
shows evidence of style similar to the Derrynaflan. The
animals are characteristically Irish in stylisation but
the surrounding
filigree patterns are Mediterranean style vine-scroll
suggesting a link with the Lindisfarne Gospel.
Another chalice that is close stylistically to the
Ardagh Chalice is the Derrynaflan Chalice (Fig 30). The
layout of its ornament is similar, however it has no
filigree animal interlace. Animals on this are cast beasts
or single filigree animals, often griffon type creatures.
The lack of animal interlace suggests that it was created
after the eighth century or close to the end of it, at the
start of the Viking occupation.
Metalwork evidence suggests that the initial impetus
for the creation of the Celtic creature came from this
craft, however ecclesiastical illuminations have continued
the trend, developing the creature which is seen in
metalwork. Although, for example, the Book of Durrow
creature was developed into the Lindisfarne beasts.
Objects such as the Lough Ravel Crannog penannular brooch
show the parallel survival of the Durrow beast. Other
examples of this are found on the Moylough reliquary,
although the animal on the boss is far more Germanic in
style, and would appear to have been derived from sources
with a greater Saxon input. Metalworking craftsman were
artists in their own right. Yet they worked hand in hand
with the ecclesiastical scriptoriums created the
insular style.
Conclusion : The Final Chapter
" After many hours of research, reading and study;
after desperate battles with recalcitrant computers, we
reach the final chapter..."
We have seen the start of the Golden years of Irish
Art, the dawn of a tradition which is still revered today as
one which has produced articles of outstanding
workmanship.One which has
affected an entire island group and one which has
reflected the thoughts, beliefs, and ideals of a culture.
The development of the Insular style of art is one which
took many years to develop, the majority of them in a state
of isolation. Yet this has led to a richer form of
communication, and this art unlike others has had the
flexibility ,not only to bend under the wind of other
cultures but to absorb into itself elements which it
transformed in many cases from the broken lifeless forms
that they were in to a a joyous melee of color ,
movement and activity.
Starting at the Cathach of St. Columba one can
follow the development of animal forms from
hesitant,disjointed and unreal
monsters brought in by the Germanic traditions through the
rigidly controlled forms of beasts found around the time of
the Durrow Manuscript, to the acrobatic lively and colorful
creatures of the Lindisfarne Gospels. Metalwork follows
step showing the intermanuscript development stages,
while adding other forms which are created by the
ever present flow of ideas and influences.
Ecclesiastical metalwork shows the earliest evidence of the
beast form of the period - hot off the press as it were,
but secular designs seem to provide the new inspiration for
the ecclesiastical artists to work with.
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