Figures are enlargeable.
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In Celtic Art in Pagan and Christian Times, nineteenth-century archaeologist J. Romilly Allen describes the development of Celtic art from the Bronze Age through the Insular period.
"Celtic" refers to the people who spoke a Gaelic language, not to a racial group.
In the British Isles, they were the people living in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall and the Isle of Man (Allen xv).
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Allen presents the thesis that Celtic knotwork evolved from plaitwork after the Celts converted to Christianity.
Knotwork and plaitwork are types of interlace, a geometric decorative motif in which cords or strands, or lines representing cords or strands, are, or appear to be, interwoven.
In plaitwork, three or more cords are braided together. In knotwork, the interweaving gives rise to identifiable knots.
Plaitwork was used in the art of classical antiquity and adopted by many cultures.
Knotwork first appeared in Lombardy in the Early Byzantine period as an element of Christian art.
Celtic knotwork, while almost certainly inspired by Italo-Byzantine knotwork, nevertheless has a character and style of its own.
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"The theory of the evolution of Celtic knotwork out of plaitwork . . . is entirely original, and, simple as it appears when explained, took me quite twenty years to think out whilst classifying the patterns that occur on the early Christian monuments of Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland, nearly all of which I have examined personally" (Allen xvii).
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Allen uses the interlace patterns carved on stone monuments in Celtic regions of the British Isles to support his theory (Garrett 5).
The progression from plaitwork to the various types of knotwork used in Celtic art in the Insular period is painstakingly explained in diagrams.
In addition, Allen identifies eight elementary knots that were used in these interlace patterns and diagrams their derivations from plaits.
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Insular art, which Allen called Hiberno-Saxon art, is a style of art that developed in Britain about two hundred years after the introduction of Christianity.
It built on the Celtic and Saxon artwork that preceeded it and was sparked by contact with Christians in Italy, the Holy Land, Egypt, and elsewhere.
Once it appeared, it evolved very rapidly.
Insular motifs include the coiled spiral of the Bronze Age Celts, the plaitwork adopted by the Saxons during the Roman occupation of Britain, and several foreign motifs, including knotwork and step patterns (Allen 171).
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In pre-Christian Britain art was produced mainly for military and utilitarian purposes.
After the introduction of Christianity, art became an expression of spiritual aspiration, a form of devotional practice, and a means of conveying Christian precepts.
"The priest took the place of the warrior as the patron of the fine arts, and monopolised all the available time of the metalworker and enameller in making beautiful vessels for the service of the church" (Allen 171).
In addition to the other religious objects commissioned by the churches, monasteries, and their secular supporters, sacred manuscripts were copied and illuminated by monks (Allen 172).
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Illuminated manuscripts were produced over a period of about two hundred years, beginning in the middle of the seventh century, fifty years after the Sutton Hoo ship burial.
They have been linked to monasteries on the islands of Iona (in the Hebrides) and Lindisfarne (off the northeast coast of England), as well as to religious centers on the continent of Europe founded by Irish and Anglo-Saxon missionaries and their followers (Hull 26, Farr).
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Insular art began when Celtic Christians adopted Italo-Byzantine motifs taken from the Christian art that was being produced in Mediterranean countries.
This occurred after the Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity.
The Celts were Christianized around the middle of the fifth century, but there seems to have been no distinctively Christian art in Britain for the next two hundred years, until about 650.
In 597 Augustine arrived in Kent and shortly thereafter Æthelberht of Kent, the Anglo-Saxon king, converted to Christianity.
The center of Celtic Christianity moved from Ireland to lona, and from lona to Lindisfarne, which was founded in 635 (Allen163).
In the ninth century the Vikings invaded England.
They established small settlements in Wales, colonized the Isle of Man and the islands of Scotland, and raided and traded with the Irish.
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The Insular style is fully developed in the illuminated manuscripts of the eighth century and is evident in the works that artists produced in all media (Hull 25, 26).
In the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries the style was applied to sculptured stonework.
Cross-slabs (erect or recumbent stone monuments that feature crosses) from this period are common in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales and Cornwall (Allen 179).
They show a broad range of regional influences — Celtic, Pictish, Anglo-Saxon and Viking (Hull 26).
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Insular art includes the following elements (Allen 242):
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- Interlace (plaitwork, knotwork, etc.)
- Step patterns (linear patterns that feature stair-steps)
- Key patterns (linear patterns that feature diagonal "key slots")
- Spirals
- Zoomorphic (animal-like) designs
- Anthropomorphic (human-like) designs
- Phyllomorphic (plant-like) designs
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According to Allen, the spiral is the only motif used in Insular art that was not imported from a foreign source (Allen 254).
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These elements usually appear in separate panels.
The geometric elements (interlace, step and key patterns and spirals) were drawn using only a straightedge and compasses (Hull 14).
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When combined, repeated and elaborated, these relatively simple motifs give rise to complex and exotic designs.
"There is a subtle tension between order and chaos — of patterns that at one scale can be described by simple rules of repetition and symmetry and at another do not show any apparent signs of organisation or order" (Hull 20).
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Plaitwork is occasionally seen in the pre-Christian art of the British Isles.
Allen cites the following two examples (Allen 170).
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Above.
A Romano-British gold bracelet from Rhayader in Wales with 3-cord plait decoration, 1st or 2nd century, British Museum.
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Above.
A bronze hinge brooch from Ardakillen crannog near Stokestown, County Roscommon, possibly 6th century.
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In the Irish brooch, older Celtic motifs are combined with Anglo-Saxon interlace.
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Plaitwork was a motif used in Italian floor mosaics in Late Antiquity.
It was imported into Britain during the Roman occupation and adopted, presumably, by the pagan Anglo-Saxons living there (Allen 245, 246).
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Above.
Circular knotwork, Church of Santa Sabrina, Rome.
Allen, J. Romilly. Celtic Art in Pagan and Christian Times. London: Studio Editions, 1993. 244. Print.
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According to Hull, Insular interlace exhibits an adherence to two rules (1) what he calls the under-and-over principle, and (2) continuous paths.
The under-and-over principle requires that a line curving in one direction alternate regularly between under and over passes at intersections (Hull 119), like a lattice-weave piecrust.
Continuous paths refers to closed loops: Nearly every Insular interlace design is composed of one continuous cord (Hull 120).
In a few cases, it is evident that the artist has made changes in the design in order create a closed loop.
By breaking and joining intersecting cords, multiple cords can be converted into a single cord (Hull 114).
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Knotwork gradually evolved from plaitwork in Christian churches and monasteries in the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries.
It seems to have appeared first in Italy during the Lombard Kingdom with the introduction of the technique of breaking intersecting cords and joining them to one another (Allen 246, 258).
Allen was not aware of any Roman mosaic in Britain that included an interlace pattern with a break in a plait.
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Celtic interlace can be divided into the following categories (Allen 257):
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- Regular plaitwork
- Broken plaitwork (the breaks are made in an irregular way)
- Knotwork (the breaks give rise to knots)
- Circular knotwork
- Triangular knotwork
- Ringwork or chainwork
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Both plaitwork and knotwork are laid out on a grid of diagonal lines (see Figure 5).
In plaitwork, the lines of the cords are drawn over the diagonals following the under-and-over principle described in the previous section.
Knotwork requires the additional step of breaking both of the cords at a given intersection and joining the cut ends of one cord to the cut ends of the other cord.
There are only two ways the broken cords can be connected: vertically (by joining A to C and B to D, as shown in the figure below) or horizontally (by joining A to D and B to C).
All of the knots commonly used in Insular art can be derived from plaits by breaking and joining cords (Allen 259, 260).
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Above.
Method of making breaks in plaitwork (Allen 259).
The two diagrams on the right show the vertical break and the horizontal break.
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Above.
The diagram on the left shows regular plaitwork without breaks drawn over a grid of diagonal lines (Allen 259).
The diagram on the right shows regular plaitwork with one vertical break and one horizontal break (Allen 260).
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To make a regular plait that is one continuous cord, the cord must double back at the corners, as shown on the left in the figure above.
Irregular plaits, like the one shown on the right, are plaits that are broken in a seemingly random way.
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Above.
Cross shafts with broken plaitwork at Golden Grove and Llantwit Major in Wales (Allen 261).
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A plait becomes knotwork when the breaks create recognizable knots or, as in the case of cruciform (cross-shaped) breaks, recognizable negative spaces (Garrett 5).
Cruciform breaks are common in Insular interlace designs.
They occur when two horizontal breaks and two vertical breaks are made next to each other (Allen 265).
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Above.
The black crosses are crucifrom breaks in regular interlace patterns (Hull 164).
The design is from the Lindisfarne Gospels (f. 210v).
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Prick marks on the back of a cross-carpet page in the Lindisfarne Gospels (f. 210v) reveal how complex interlacing designs were laid out.
A primary grid was used for the overall design.
It included panels containing secondary and tertiary grids for laying out the details of the design in sections.
These grids were not aligned with one another but did conform to the primary grid (Hull 37, 38, 71).
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Left.
An interlace cross from f. 210v of the Lindisfarne Gospels laid out on a grid of squares (Hull 42).
Right.
Method of construction of the interlacing of the cross shaped panels.
A diagram showing how the interlacing was constructed. The black dots represent the prick marks that are visible on the back of the vellum (Hull 43).
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Allen observed that Celtic knotwork utilizes eight elementary knots.
Two of the knots are obtained by breaking and redrawing the cords of a three-cord plait, and the remaining six by breaking and redrawing the cords of a four-cord plait (Allen 265).
All eight of the knots are actual knots, and some have names.
For example, Knot 1 is called the overhand knot, Knot 2 is called the figure-eight knot, and Knot 3 is called a Carrick bend knot.
Knots 1 through 5 can be tightened into knots that retain their shape.
Knots 7 and 8 slip along one of the cords, and Knot 6 slips along both cords (Garrett 5).
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The knots derived from a three-cord plait, Knots 1 and 2, have two loose ends and, as a result, can be easily fitted together.
The knots derived from a four-cord plait, Knots 3 through 8, have four loose ends that allow for attachment to one another as well.
To connect Knot 1 or Knot 2 to any of the knots that have four loose ends requires that two instances be used.
Otherwise, Knot 1 or 2 will end the sequence (Garrett 178).
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Knots derived from a 3-cord plait.
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1 |
2 |
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Above.
Knots 1 and 2 (Allen 265).
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Knot 1 is obtained from a three-cord plait by making horizontal breaks on only one side of the plait.
To obtain Knot 2, the horizontal breaks are made on alternate sides of the plait (Allen 265).
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Above.
Knots 1 and 2 drived from a 3-cord plait (Allen 264).
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Knots derived from a 4-cord plait.
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Above.
Knots 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 (Allen 265).
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Knot 3 is created by making horizontal breaks in a four-cord plait at B and C.
Knot 4 is derived from Knot 3 by making a horizontal break in Knot 3 at A.
Knot 5 is derived by making vertical breaks in Knot 4 at B and C.
To derive Knot 6 from a four-cord plait, the break shown in Knot 3 at A is eliminated, leaving the horizontal breaks at B and C.
Knot 7 is obtained from Knot 6 by making a vertical break at B, and Knot 8 is obtained from Knot 6 by making vertical breaks at B and C (Allen 266).
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Above.
Knots 3 through 8 derived from a 4-cord plait (Allen 267, 268).
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If a series of knots repeated in a row is derived from a plait with n cords, then a series of knots repeated in a double row is derived from a plait with 2n cords.
For example, a pattern consisting of instances of Knot 1 arranged in a double row would be obtained from a six-cord plait, and a pattern consisting of instances of Knot 7 in a double row would be obtained from a plait of eight cords (Allen 266, 267).
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Above.
Evolution of Knot 1 from a 6-cord plait (Allen 269).
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Above.
Evolution of Knot 7 from an 8-cord plait (Allen 271).
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Knots that are longer than they are wide can be derived either vertically or horizontally from a plait.
For example, Knots 3 and 4 can be derived vertically from a four-cord plait or horizontally from a six-cord plait (Allen 276).
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Above.
Knots 3 and 4 derived from a 6-cord plait (Allen 269).
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Allen coined the term "circular knotwork" to describe a type of interlace pattern in which the cords are curved to create the appearance of circles or ellipses.
Circular knotwork is a common feature of early Medieval Irish and Scottish sculptured stone monuments.
It was also used to decorate Insular manuscripts (Allen 270, 271).
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Above.
Circular knotwork at the top of the the double cross carpet page (f. 1v) of the Book of Durrow, 650-700. Trinity College, Dublin.
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Left.
Ian G. Scott's drawing of the Pictish cross-slab at the parish church in Nigg, Easter Ross.
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Right.
The cross-slab's circular knotwork (Garrett 76).
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Above.
The circular knotwork on a stone cross in Saint Cuthbert's churchyard in Bewcastle, Cumbria, and a schematic showing how the design evolved (Hull 133).
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Circular knotwork can also be created by adding an outer circle to knotwork derived from plaits — that is, the cord(s) that make up the circle bend inward and form into knots (Allen 276).
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Above.
Detail from the jewelry page (f. 85v) of the Book of Durrow, 650-700. Trinity College, Dublin.
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Allen defines ringwork as an enclosed circle composed of circular, oval and looped rings interlaced symmetrically around a center point (Allen 277).
According to Brett Garrett, ringwork differs from other interlace patterns in two respects.
First, only two cords can intersect at a junction. Second, a cord that crosses over another cord at one junction must cross under it at the next junction (Garrett 5).
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Left.
Outline of a cross-slab near Glamis Castle, Scotland (Hull 166).
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Right.
The interlace design of the Glamis cross-slab's central medallion (Hull 167).
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Allen defines triangular knotwork as an interlace pattern consisting of triangles alone or triangles and diamond shapes.
To create the triangles, knots derived from plaits must be distorted.
The example he cites is the Ulster stone, which features a cross constructed of five squares, each of which is composed of four triquetra (trinity) knots set at right angles
Triangular knotwork is found in a few Insular manuscripts and on some Irish and Scottish sculptured stones (Allen 277).
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Left.
The interlace pattern on the cross on the back face of the Ulster stone (Hull 97).
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Right.
The triquetra or trinity knot.
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Allen regarded the Insular art of the Celts as a local variety of the Italo-Byzantine style (Allen 303).
The latter style, which appears to have been introduced into the British Isles after the Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity, added new decorative motifs to the ones already in use there.
The foreign elements were incorporated with such skill and taste into the native pagan styles that an entirely original art emerged, an art so exquisite and transfixing that ordinary people and artists alike are still fascinated by it.
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As for Allen's theory that knotwork evolved from plaitwork, his diagrams show that this must have been the case:
"What Allen demonstrated vividly is the remarkable ease with which a knot can be devised from breaks in a plait" (Garrett 178).
However, he did not show that the transition from plaitwork to knotwork is recorded on sculptured stone monuments.
The stones are difficult to date, even by modern methods.
And while some cross-slabs do not include knotwork, none have interlace panels composed only of regular plaits (Garrett 179).
The freestanding cross in Saint Brynach's churchyard in Nevern, Wales includes panels of all three types of Celtic interlace — regular plaitwork, irregular plaitwork and knotwork — suggesting that they were contemporary motifs (Garrett 9).
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Left.
Schematic drawing of the freestanding cross at Nevern, Wales (Garrett 9).
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Right.
The Nevern cross, Saint Brynach's churchyard, Nevern, Pembrokeshire, Wales.
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Allen, J. Romilly.
Celtic Art in Pagan and Christian Times.
London: Studio Editions, 1993.
Print.
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Farr, Carol A.
"Insular Manuscript Illumination."
Oxford Bibliographies Online (2012).
Web.
1 Nov. 2014.
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Garrett, Brett.
Celtic Knots With & Beyond J. Romilly Allen.
Zurich: Yazee Publication, 2009.
Print.
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Hull, Derek.
Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Art: Geometric Aspects.
Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2003.
Print.
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Above.
Knot 1 (Allen 265).
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Above.
Anglo-Saxon belt buckle from Crundale Down, Kent, mid-7th century. British Museum, London.
The fish was a Christian symbol and may have been meant as such on the large buckle.
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Above.
Carved stone at Meigle in Perthshire, Scotland.
Drawing by Geoge Bain. Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1973. 41.
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Above.
Knot 2 (Allen 265).
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Above.
Knot 2 flanked by two instances of Knot 1.
Book of Kells, folio 8r, late 8th century. Trinity College, Dublin.
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Above.
A design taken from the Lindisfarne Gospels (St. John ff. 210v-211).
“Celtic Knot”. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 8 September 2014. Web. 11 October 2014.
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Above.
Knot 3 (Allen 266).
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Above.
Cross slab fragment, late 10th or early 11th century. Blyborough, Lincolnshire.
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Above.
Drawing of the Great Wheel-Cross of Conbelin at Margam Abbey, Glamorganshire, by Worthington G. Smith.
Allen, J. Romilly. Celtic Art in Pagan and Christian Times. London: Studio Editions, 1993. 187. Print.
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Above.
Knot 4 (Allen 266).
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Above.
Book of Kells, folio 15v (detail), late 8th century. Trinity College, Dublin.
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Above.
Page from the Book of Dimma, 8th century. Trinity College, Dublin.
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Above.
Knot 5 (Allen 266).
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Above.
Book of Durrow carpet page (folio 125v), second half of the 7th century.
Trinity College, Dublin.
The construction of the right and left borders is based on Knot 5.
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Above.
Knot 6 (Allen 266).
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Above.
Gold filigree hilt fitting from the Staffordshire Hoard, 7th or 8th century.
Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery.
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Above.
Kirk Michael stone cross dated to the Viking Age.
Cumming, J. G., The Runic and Other Monumental Remains of the Isle of Man. London: Bell and Daldy, 1857. Plate 1.
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Above.
Knot 7 (Allen 266).
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Above.
Monymusk reliquary (left), c. 700. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.
On the right is a pendant sold by Asgard Crafts based on the design of the reliquary's discs.
http://www.asgardcrafts.co.uk/Celtic-Pendants/General/The-Monymusk-Knot.html
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Above.
The Ardagh chalice, 8th century. National Museum of Ireland, Dublin.
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Above.
Knot 8 (Allen 266).
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Above.
Detail of the "Chi-Rho" monogram at the start of the Gospel of Matthew, Lindisfarne Gospels, c. 700. British Library, London.
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Above.
Stonework detail at the Cathedral of Saint James in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem.
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