CELTIC ART OF THE CHRISTIAN PERIOD (A.D. 450 to 1066)
THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN, AND ITS EFFECT ON NATIVE
ART
It must always be borne in mind that the conversion of the inhabitants
of Britain from Paganism to Christianity was a very gradual process,
extending over a period of two hundred years at least. It seems
probable that during the last hundred years or so of the Roman
occupation of Britain the Christian faith may have been accepted by a
limited number of the native population; but almost as soon as the new
religion began to take root in England it was entirely swept away by
the Saxon conquest, and the few converts who were not exterminated by
the ruthless Pagan invaders fled for refuge to Wales and Cornwall. The
archæological evidence of the existence of Romano-British Christianity
is extremely scanty. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of inscribed and
sculptured monuments belonging to the period of the Roman occupation
of Britain there is not one which bears a Christian symbol or shows a
trace of Christian art. There are only two instances of the occurrence
of a Christian symbol on a Romano-British structure, namely, (1) at
Chedworth,[349] where the Chi-Rho Monogram is carved twice upon a stone
in the foundation of the steps leading into the corridor of a Roman
villa there; and (2) at Frampton,[350] Dorsetshire, where the same
Monogram forms part of the decoration of a mosaic pavement in one of
the rooms of a Roman villa. As Romano-British Christianity produced no
effect on the art of this country, we are not further concerned with it.
[349] _Journ. Brit. Archæol. Assoc._, vol. xxiii., p. 228.
[350] S. Lysons’ _Reliquiæ Brittanico Romanæ_, No. 3, pl. 5.
Whilst England remained under the dominion of Saxon Pagandom for a
century and a half in some parts, and for nearly two centuries in
others, Christianity spread rapidly from Gaul to Cornwall, Wales, and
the south-west of Scotland, and thence to Ireland. After the Saxons
were converted by St. Augustine, in A.D. 597, there was a return
wave of Celtic Christianity from Ireland to Iona, and from Iona to
Lindisfarne, in Northumbria, which was founded A.D. 635. The localities
where Christianity was first planted in Britain are indicated
archæologically by the geographical distribution of monuments bearing
the Chi-Rho Monogram, which is as follows:—
CORNWALL. St. Just.
St. Helen’s Chapel.
Phillack.
Southill.
CARNARVONSHIRE. Penmachno.
WIGTOWNSHIRE. Kirkmadrine.
Whithorn.
As the Chi-Rho Monogram does not occur on the early inscribed stones of
Ireland, but in place of it the cross with equal arms expanded at the
ends, enclosed in a circle, which is derived from the Monogram,[351]
it naturally follows that Irish Christianity is later than that of
Cornwall, Wales, and the south-west of Scotland.
[351] See J. R. Allen’s _Christian Symbolism_, p. 94. The Chi-Rho
Monogram occurs on inscribed monuments in Gaul between A.D. 377 and
493.
Setting aside the vague and unsatisfactory statements of the mythical
period (such as the one about the presence of three British at the
Council of Arles in A.D. 314), we find that the real history of the
Christianising of this country begins with the opening years of the
fifth century, and that it followed directly from the foundation of the
school of learning and centre of missionary enterprise by St. Martin
at Tours, in France. In A.D. 397 St. Martin died, and not long after,
in A.D. 412, his disciple, St. Ninian, built a stone church dedicated
to his master at Whithorn, Wigtownshire. In A.D. 429 Germanus, Bishop
of Auxerre, and Lupus, Bishop of Troyes, visited Britain in order to
suppress the Pelagian heresy. About the same time the conversion of
Ireland is believed to have been commenced by either St. Patrick or
by St. Palladius (_circa_ A.D. 432). The sixth century witnessed the
foundation of the great school of ecclesiastical learning at Llantwit
Major, Glamorganshire, where St. David, St. Samson, and Gildas the
historian were educated; but an event of even greater importance was
the landing of St. Columba at Iona in A.D. 563, and the subsequent
conversion of the northern Picts. The sixth century ends with the
conversion of Kent by St. Augustine in A.D. 597. It was eighty-four
years more before the South Saxons accepted Christianity and the
conversion of England became complete. In the meantime the differences
between the Saxon and Celtic Churches had been settled in favour of the
former at the Synod of Whitby in A.D. 664.
Reviewing the historical facts just mentioned, it appears that
for about 200 years (from A.D. 450 to 650) there was a separate
Celtic Church in Britain, which may appropriately be called the
pre-Augustinian Church. The question now naturally suggests itself, to
what extent did the introduction of Christianity influence the native
art of Britain during the 200 years which followed the departure of
the Romans from its shores? The answer supplied by archæology is that
before about A.D. 650 there was no distinctively Christian art existing
in this country.
The monuments belonging to the pre-Augustinian Church consist of
rude pillar-stones with incised crosses of early form, or with
Latin inscriptions in debased Roman capitals, sometimes with Celtic
inscription in Ogams in addition. The monuments of this class do not,
as a rule, show any trace of ornament or sculpture beyond the crosses
and inscriptions. The only recorded exceptions are—
An Ogam-inscribed stone from Pentre Poeth,[352] Brecknockshire,
now in the British Museum, having on one face a bishop with his
crozier, St. Michael and the Dragon, and very rude zigzag ornament.
An Ogam-inscribed stone from Glenfahan,[353] Co. Kerry, now in the
Dublin Museum, with rude spiral ornament, a figure of a man, a
looped pattern, and several crosses.
An Ogam-inscribed stone at Killeen Cormac,[354] Co. Kildare,
lying prostrate near the entrance gate, with a bust of Christ
carrying the cross over the right shoulder.
St. Gobnet’s Stone at Ballyvourney,[355] Co. Cork, with a cross
enclosed in a circle, surmounted by the figure of a bishop holding
his crozier.
A stone, with a minuscule inscription, at Reask,[356] Co. Kerry,
having on the same face a cross in a circle, with incised spiral
ornament at each side of the shaft.
[352] _Archæologia Cambrensis_, ser. 6, vol. i., p. 240.
[353] _Trans. Royal Irish Academy_, vol. xxxi., p. 318.
[354] _Journ. R. Hist. and A. A. of Ireland_, ser. 4, vol. ii., p. 546.
[355] _Archæol. Jour._, vol. xii., p. 86.
[356] _Archæologia Cambrensis_, ser. 5, vol. ix., p. 147.
The stones, with incised symbols of unknown meaning, which are so
common in the north-east of Scotland, possibly belong to the same early
period. The ornament on some of them has a very marked Late-Celtic
character.
[Illustration: Enamelled Handles of Bronze Bowl found at Barlaston,
Staffordshire
Now in the possession of Miss Amy Wedgwood. Scale 1/1 linear]
[Illustration: Enamelled Handle of Bronze Bowl from
Chesterton-on-Fossway, Warwickshire
Now in the Warwick Museum. Scale 1/1 linear]
There are no Celtic MSS. with illuminations or ornament of any kind
to which a date earlier than A.D. 650 can be assigned, but there are
a certain number of metal objects which illustrate the overlap of the
Pagan and Christian styles of Celtic art. Amongst the most important
of these are the bronze bowls with enamelled mountings and zoömorphic
handles which have been described at some length by the author in
the _Archæologia_ (vol. lvi., p. 43). The chief peculiarities of the
bowls is the hollow moulding just below the rim and the three or four
handles with rings for suspension. The upper part of each handle is
like a hook, terminating in a beast’s head, which rests on the rim of
the bowl and projects inwards over it. The lower part of each handle
is circular, or in the shape of the body of a bird, and is fixed to
the convex sides of the bowl. The circular form is most common in
the examples found in England, and the disc is either ornamented
with _champlevé_ enamel[357] or with piercings, giving a cruciform
appearance.[358]
[357] As in the specimens from Barlaston, Staffordshire;
Chesterton-on-the-Fossway, Warwickshire; Barrington, Cambridgeshire;
Crosthwaite, Cumberland; Middleton Moor, Derbyshire; Oxford; and
Greenwich.
[358] As in the specimens from Wilton, Wilts; and Faversham, Kent.
[Illustration: Enamelled Handle of Bronze Bowl from
Chesterton-on-Fossway, Warwickshire
Now in the Warwick Museum. Scale 1/1 linear]
The earliest of the series from Barlaston, Staffordshire, now in the
possession of Miss Wedgwood, has three handles all alike, ornamented
with discs of enamel, the designs on which are distinctly Late-Celtic
in style, and consist of small circles connected by =C=- and =S=-shaped
curves. In the case of the enamelled handles of the other specimens,
closely coiled spirals of the Bronze Age type take the place of the
circles, and by this trifling alteration the character of the design
is so completely changed as to be almost identical with the spiral
decoration of the Book of Durrow and other Irish MSS. of the same
period. We see here exactly when and how the flamboyant ornament
of Pagan Celtic art became transformed into the spiralwork of the
Christian illuminated MSS. which was afterwards applied to the
decoration of the sculptured crosses and ecclesiastical metalwork. The
circumstances under which the bowls have been found show that they
belong to the Pagan Saxon period between A.D. 450 and 600.
[Illustration: Spiral Ornament from the Book of Durrow]
In the museum of the Society of Antiquaries at Burlington House there
is the cast of an object from the collection of Mr. Albert Way, the
well-known antiquary, which exhibits a curious mixture of styles. Where
the original is, or where it came from, is unfortunately not known, but
it has every appearance of having been of metal. In the middle of the
object is a square panel of triangular pierced work, exactly like that
on the cover of the Stowe Missal[359] (made A.D. 1023 to 1052); whilst
at each of the rounded ends are curved designs with trumpet-shaped
expansions of pronounced Late-Celtic type.
Plaitwork, which is, of course, one of the leading motives of Celtic
art of the Christian period, occurs occasionally in association with
Pagan flamboyant ornament, as on a brooch from the Ardakillen[360]
crannog, near Stokestown, Co. Roscommon (now in the Dublin Museum), and
on a gold armlet from Rhayader,[361] Radnorshire (now in the British
Museum).
Amongst objects belonging to the early Christian Celtic period
before A.D. 600, may probably be classed the leaf-shaped silver
plates engraved with symbols from Norrie’s Law,[362] Forfarshire,
and the terminal link of a silver chain, also engraved with symbols,
from Crawfordjohn,[363] Lanarkshire (all in the Edinburgh Museum
of Antiquities). The hammer-headed pins also, a list of which has
already been given (p. 108), seem, from the enamelled designs upon
them, to belong to the transitional period between Celtic Paganism and
Christianity.
[359] Miss M. Stokes’ _Early Christian Art in Ireland_, p. 92. The
Stowe Missal is in the Museum of the R.I.A. at Dublin.
[360] Sir W. Wilde’s _Catal. Mus. R.I.A._, p. 569.
[361] _Archæologia Cambrensis_, ser. 5, vol. xvi., p. 261.
[362] Dr. J. Anderson’s _Scotland in Early Christian Times_, 2nd ser.,
p. 38.
[363] _Ibid._, p. 44.
[Illustration: CAST OF METAL OBJECT (LOCALITY UNKNOWN) FROM THE ALBERT
WAY COLLECTION; NOW IN THE MUSEUM OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES,
BURLINGTON HOUSE, LONDON]
[Illustration: COVER OF THE STOWE MISSAL IN THE MUSEUM OF THE ROYAL
IRISH ACADEMY, DUBLIN (A.D. 1023 TO 1052)]
Although, as we have just seen, the introduction of Christianity
into Britain did not immediately affect the native Pagan art to any
appreciable extent, yet as soon as the Saxons were converted and
communication with the Continent became easier and therefore more
frequent, an entirely new style of decoration came into existence with
extraordinary rapidity. The flamboyant designs of the Late-Celtic
period were modified by combining them with the closely coiled spiral
of the Bronze Age, and several new motives, such as interlaced-work,
key-patterns, zoömorphs, and foliage, were introduced from foreign
sources. At the same time a complete revolution took place in the class
of objects to the decoration of which the skill of the artificer was
applied. 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. Then, too, with Christianity came the art of writing and
illuminating ecclesiastical MSS., which was unknown to the Pagan Celt.
The influence of the draughtsman upon other arts was now possible for
the first time, and the introduction of MSS. soon worked far-reaching
changes. Fresh motives could be more easily transferred from one
art centre to another, and decorative designs could be combined
and elaborated in a way that was impossible when working in such
intractable materials as metal or stone instead of drawing on parchment
with a facile pen. The new Celtic style of the Christian period soon
took a definite shape, and after the patterns had been fully developed
in the illuminated MSS. they were afterwards applied to decorative work
in stone and metal.
GENERAL NATURE OF THE MATERIALS AVAILABLE FOR THE STUDY
OF CELTIC ART OF THE CHRISTIAN PERIOD IN GREAT BRITAIN
The materials available for the study of Celtic Art of the Christian
period may be divided into four classes, namely:—
(1) Illuminated MSS.
(2) Sculptured Stones.
(3) Metalwork.
(4) Leatherwork, Woodwork, and Bonework.
The most important collections of Irish and Hiberno-Saxon MSS. in
this country are in the libraries of Trinity College, Dublin; of the
Royal Irish Academy, Dublin; and the British Museum, London. There
are other smaller collections, or in some cases single volumes only,
in the University and College libraries of Oxford and Cambridge; in
the Cathedral libraries at Durham, Lichfield, and Hereford; and in
the Archiepiscopal library at Lambeth. The chief libraries on the
Continent which are fortunate enough to possess specimens of Irish
calligraphy and illumination (either acquired by purchase or still the
property of monasteries originally founded by Irish missionaries) are
at Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Paris, St. Gall and Basle in Switzerland,
and at Nuremberg, Fulda, and Trèves in Germany. The Irish MSS. from the
monastery founded by St. Columbanus in A.D. 613 at Bobio, in Piedmont,
are distributed over the libraries at Milan, Turin, and Naples.
For descriptions and illustrations of these MSS. the reader may be
referred to Prof. J. O. Westwood’s _Palæographia Pictoria Sacra_ and
_Miniatures of the Anglo-Saxon and Irish MSS._; C. Purton Cooper’s
_Report on Rymer’s Fœdera, Appendix A_, Sir H. James’ _Facsimiles of
the National MSS. of Ireland_; _Publications of the Palæographical
Society_; Miss Margaret Stokes’ _Early Christian Art in Ireland_; Dr.
J. Stuart’s _Book of Deer_, published by the Spalding Club of Aberdeen;
J. A. Bruun’s _Illuminated Manuscripts of the Middle Ages_; and Dr. W.
Reeve’s paper on “Early Irish Calligraphy” in the _Ulster Journal of
Archæology_, vol. viii., p. 210.
The following is a list of Irish MSS. selected on account of the beauty
of their illuminated pages:—
GOSPELS
Book of Lindisfarne British Museum (Nero D. iv.).
Book of Kells Trinity College, Dublin.
Book of Durrow _Ibid._
Book of Armagh Royal Irish Academy, Dublin.
Book of St. Chad Lichfield.
Book of MacRegol Bodleian, Oxford.
Book of MacDurnan Lambeth.
Book of Deer Public Library, Cambridge.
Codex No. 51 St. Gall, Switzerland.
Golden Gospels Royal Library, Stockholm.
Gospels Imperial Library, St. Petersburg.
Gospels of St. Arnoul, Metz Nuremberg.
PSALTERS
Vespasian A. i. British Museum.
Vitellius F. xi. _Ibid._
Psalter of St. John’s College Cambridge.
Psalter of Ricemarchus Trinity College, Dublin.
Some of the above MSS. can be dated by means of entries giving the name
of the scribe or other person, who can be identified by contemporary
or nearly contemporary historical record. The oldest MS. with
illuminations in the Hiberno-Saxon style which can be thus dated is the
Lindisfarne Book. It contains two entries written in an English hand of
the tenth century, which show that the volume was written by Eadfrith,
Bishop of Lindisfarne; that Æthilwold, Bishop of Lindisfarne, made the
cover for it; that Billfrith, the anchorite, wrought the metalwork for
it; and that Aldred, the priest, over-glossed it in English for the
love of God and St. Cuthbert. Eadfrith held the see of Lindisfarne
from A.D. 698 to 721, and was then succeeded by Æthilwold, who held
the bishopric of the island until his death in A.D. 740. The Book of
Lindisfarne, therefore, must have been written either during the last
two years of the seventh century or the first twenty-one years of the
eighth century. This may be looked upon as the starting-point of all
Hiberno-Saxon art, and its origin may be fairly traced to Lindisfarne,
where the Scotic and Anglo-Saxon schools were able to mingle, each
reinvigorating the other to their mutual advantage.
The Book of Kells makes its first appearance in history in A.D. 1006,
during which year it is recorded in the _Annals of the Four Masters_
that the Great Gospels of Columkille was stolen. Although the name
of the scribe who wrote and illuminated this book is unknown, it is
probable, from the style of the decoration and lettering, that it
belongs to about the same period as the Lindisfarne Book, but somewhat
later, as the Book of Kells contains foliage amongst the ornament, and
is altogether more elaborate.
The Book of Durrow was written by a scribe named Columba, who can
hardly have been the celebrated Saint of that name, as his time is far
too early for it. Since the spiral patterns in the Book of Durrow
approximate more nearly to the flamboyant designs of the Pagan Celtic
metalwork than those in any other MS., it cannot be dated later than
the eighth century.
The Book of St. Chad should more properly be called the Book of St.
Teilo, as it contains an entry stating that the volume was purchased by
Gelhi, son of Arihtuid, from Cingal for his best horse, and dedicated
to God and St. Teilo. Before it was at Lichfield it lay on the altar of
Teilo, at Llandaff. This MS. has also a good claim to be of the eighth
century.
The Book of Armagh and the Golden Gospels of Stockholm are of the ninth
century. The former was written by Ferdomnach, “a sage and choice
scribe of Armagh,” who died in A.D. 844. The Stockholm Gospels contains
a deed of gift, which shows that the volume was bought by the Earl
Ælfred and Wetburg his wife from a Viking, and presented by them to the
Cathedral of Canterbury. The deed is signed by Ælfred, Wetburg, and
their daughter Alhtryth, who have all been identified by the will of
Ælfred, which is attested by Ældered, Archbishop of Canterbury, from
A.D. 871-9. The Gospels of MacRegol also belongs to the ninth century,
if the identification of the scribe who wrote it with “MacRiagoil nepos
Magleni, Scriba et Episcopus Abbas Biror” can be relied upon. His death
is recorded in the Irish Annals under the year A.D. 820.
The Gospels of MacDurnan is of the tenth century. It has an inscription
on one of the blank pages of the MS. showing that the book was either
written for, or was in the possession of, Maelbrigid MacDurnan,
and that it was given by King Athelstan to the city of Canterbury.
Maelbrigid MacDurnan was Abbot of Derry in the ninth century, and was
afterwards promoted to the see of Armagh in A.D. 927. He died in A.D.
927. Athelstan reigned from A.D. 925 to 941.
The Psalter of Ricemarchus is of the eleventh century. It contains a
Latin poem, from which we gather that the book was written by Ricemarch
Sulgenson, with the assistance of Ithael, “whose name makes learning
golden,” and that the initial letters were illuminated by John.
Ricemarch, or Rhyddmarch, succeeded his father Sulgen in the see of St.
Davids in A.D. 1089, and died in A.D. 1096.
The examples given afford a very good series arranged in chronological
order, showing the modifications which the style underwent in the
course of the four centuries between A.D. 650 and 1050. We are somewhat
sceptical as to there having been any fine illuminated Hiberno-Saxon
MSS. before A.D. 700; but assuming that there may have been some which
are no longer in existence, the best period is from A.D. 650 to 850;
then from A.D. 850 to 950 there is a middle period of rather inferior
excellence; and, lastly, from A.D. 950 to 1050 a distinct period of
decline which went on with increasing decadence for a century or two
after the Norman Conquest.
The number of illuminated pages in the different MSS. varies
considerably, sometimes because the volumes are imperfect, but also
because they were less lavishly illustrated in the first instance. The
illuminated pages in the copies of the Gospels are of the following
kinds:—
(1) Initial pages.
(2) Ornamental or Cross-pages.
(3) Symbols of the Evangelists.
(4) Portraits of the Evangelists.
(5) Scenes from the Life of Christ.
(6) Tables of Eusebian Canons.
As an instance of a very completely illustrated MS. of the Gospels we
may take the Lindisfarne Book, which contains twenty-three full pages
of illumination as specified below:—
Four portraits of the Evangelists with their Symbols, one
for each Gospel.
Five ornamental pages, one before St. Jerome’s Epistle
and one before each Gospel.
Six _Initial pages_, namely—
“Novum opus,” commencing St. Jerome’s Epistle.
“Liber generationis,” commencing St. Matthew’s Gospel.
___
“XPI autem generatio,” commencing the Genealogy
of Christ in St. Matthew’s Gospel.
“Initium Evangelii,” commencing St. Mark’s Gospel.
“Quoniam quidem,” commencing St. Luke’s Gospel.
“In principio erat,” commencing St. John’s Gospel.
Eight pages of tables of Eusebian Canons.
The Book of Durrow has sixteen illuminated pages, namely, four of
the Symbols of the Evangelists; six ornamental pages, one at the
frontispiece, one before the Preface of St. Jerome, and one before each
Gospel; and the usual six initial pages.
The Book of Kells is more profusely illustrated than any other Irish
MS. in existence. Besides innumerable large and small initials, it
contains three portraits of the Evangelists, three combined symbols
of the Four Evangelists, three scenes from the Life of Christ—namely,
the Virgin and Child, Christ seized by the Jews, and the Temptation of
Christ, and eight pages of Eusebian Canons.
The St. Gall Gospels (Codex No. 51) has twelve full pages of
illumination, namely, four portraits of the Evangelists, five initial
pages, one ornamental cross-page, and two scenes from the Life of
Christ—the Crucifixion and Christ in Glory.
As an instance of the method of illustrating the Irish MSS. of the
Psalter we may take the one in the library of St. John’s College,
Cambridge. This has six illuminated pages, namely—
(1) “Beatus vir,” commencing the 1st Psalm.
(2) “Quid gloriaris” ” ” 51st ”
(3) “Dne exaudi” ” ” 101st ”
(4) Miniature of the Crucifixion.
(5) ” David and Goliath.
(6) ” David and the Lion.
The Vit. F. xi. Psalter in the British Museum has two initial pages and
two miniatures, namely, David and Goliath, and David playing the harp.
The Vesp. A. i. Psalter in the British Museum has only one miniature,
namely, David playing the harp; but it has a great number of extremely
beautiful initial letters ornamented with spiralwork of the best
quality. Figure subjects (one of David and the Lion) are introduced in
the initials of the 26th, 52nd, 68th, 97th, and 109th Psalms.
The details of the ornamental patterns in the MSS. will be dealt
with when we come to consider the leading characteristics of the
style; all that we need do now, therefore, is to point out the
manner in which the patterns are distributed. The treatment of the
miniatures of the Evangelists and of the scenes from the Life of
Christ and the Life of David is very simple; the picture is enclosed
within a rectangular frame divided into panels, each filled in with
a separate piece of ornament complete in itself. Sometimes, as in
the case of the miniatures of Christ seized by the Jews in the Book
of Kells, and David playing the harp in the Vesp. A. i. Psalter,
the figures are placed beneath an arch supported by columns at each
side. The architectural origin of the design is entirely concealed
by converting the columns and the arch into pieces of flat ornament
arranged in panels. The pages of Eusebian Canons are also treated
architecturally, the tables being placed under arcading so disguised
by the incrustations of ornament as to be almost unrecognisable.
The initial pages of the Gospels are only partially surrounded by a
rectangular frame, so as to allow the tops of the large capital letters
to project beyond the frame into the margin. The incomplete portion of
the frame on the right side of the page is converted into a zoömorph in
a characteristically Celtic manner by adding the head of a monster at
the top and a fish-like tail at the bottom. The frame and the larger
initials within it are covered with panels of ornament. The pages of
ornament are generally arranged in rectangular panels, so as to give
the appearance of a cross; or sometimes, as in the Book of Durrow,
there is a small equal-armed cross within a circle in the middle of the
page, the remainder of which is entirely filled up with ornament. In
many cases where the miniatures, etc., are surrounded by a rectangular
frame the outer margins are extended and formed into ornamental knots
at each of the four corners.
After the Celtic style of decorative art of the Christian period had
been fully developed in the Irish and Hiberno-Saxon illuminated MSS. of
the eighth century, it was afterwards applied to sculptured stonework
in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries. There are so few details
of pre-Norman Celtic buildings[364] which afford examples of ornamental
sculpture that they are hardly worth considering, so that we need only
take cognisance of the sepulchral and other monuments. These are of the
following different kinds:—
(1) Recumbent cross-slabs.
(2) Recumbent hog-backed and coped stones.
(3) Erect cross-slabs.
(4) Erect wheel-crosses.
(5) Erect free-standing crosses.
(6) Erect pillar crosses, with shafts of round or square
cross-section.
[364] The sculptured architectural details of the Round Towers and
early churches in Ireland and Scotland consist chiefly of crosses or
crucifixes over the doorways and terminal heads.
The recumbent cross-slabs are confined almost exclusively to Ireland,
although there are one or two in Cornwall, Wales, and Scotland. Much
the largest collection is at Clonmacnois, King’s Co., where there are
not far short of 200 sepulchral cross-slabs with inscriptions in Irish
minuscule letters, giving the name of the deceased and requesting a
prayer for his or her soul. A considerable number of the names on the
slabs have been identified on sufficiently satisfactory evidence,
thus giving reliable dates for a series arranged in chronological
order. Clonmacnois was founded by St. Ciaran in A.D. 554, but the
greater part of the dated cross-slabs belong to the ninth, tenth,
and eleventh centuries. The earliest of these inscribed cross-slabs
which exhibits any decorative features is that of Tuathgal,[365] who
has been identified with the seventh abbot of Clonmacnois. The death
of abbot Tuathgal took place in A.D. 806. There are, therefore, no
ornamental cross-slabs at Clonmacnois older than the beginning of
the ninth century. The best examples of recumbent cross-slabs with
Celtic ornament in Ireland to which reliable dates can be assigned
are those of Suibine McMailæhumai[366] at Clonmacnois (A.D. 887), and
St. Berechtir[367] at Tullylease, Co. Cork. The latter is specially
interesting as having upon it a combination of interlaced-work,
key-patterns, and spiral ornament.
[365] Petrie’s _Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language_, vol. i.,
pl. 12, No. 29.
[366] _Ibid._, vol. i., pl. 31, No. 82.
[367] _Ibid._, vol. ii., pl. 30.
[Illustration: Cross-slab from Pen-Arthur, Pembrokeshire
Now in St. David’s Cathedral. Scale ⅛linear]
Outside the limits of Ireland there are slabs of the same type, but of
unknown date, at Camborne,[368] Cornwall; Pen-Arthur[369] (now in St.
David’s Cathedral), Pembrokeshire; and Baglan,[370] Glamorganshire.
The recumbent hog-backed or coped stones are more likely to be of
Anglian or Scandinavian origin than Celtic. They are most common in the
north of England; there are one or two in Wales, and none in Ireland.
As instances of coped stones with Celtic ornament we have those at
Meigle,[371] Perthshire; and Lanivet,[372] Cornwall.
The erect cross-slabs are, with a few unimportant exceptions, peculiar
to Scotland and the Isle of Man. They are probably older than the
free-standing crosses, because the erect cross-slabs are not treated
architecturally (as the high crosses of Ireland are), but resemble more
nearly than anything else ornamental pages from the Celtic illuminated
MSS. directly transferred to stone with hardly any modification
whatever to suit the requirements of the new material to which the
decoration was applied. A particularly good instance of this is
afforded by the erect cross-slab at Nigg,[373] Ross-shire. On one side
of the monument is a cross with the ornament arranged in rectangular
panels exactly as it is in the cross-pages of the Irish Gospels; and on
the other a figure subject (David and the Lion) surrounded by a frame,
also divided into panels, as in those of the miniatures in the Book of
Kells.
[368] _Archæologia Cambrensis_, ser. 5, vol. vi., p. 357.
[369] Prof. J. O. Westwood’s _Lapidarium Walliæ_, pl. 60.
[370] _Ibid._, pl. 14.
[371] Dr. J. Stuart’s _Sculptured Stones of Scotland_, vol. ii., pl.
131.
[372] A. G. Langdon’s _Old Cornish Crosses_, p. 412.
[373] Dr. J. Stuart’s _Sculptured Stones of Scotland_, vol. i., p. 28.
See also casts in the South Kensington and Edinburgh Museums.
[Illustration: Erect Cross-Slab at St. Madoes, Perthshire
Scale ¹/₁₂ linear]
The following is a list of some of the best specimens of erect
cross-slabs in Scotland:—
NORTHERN PICT-LAND
Papil (now at Edinburgh) Shetland.
Ulbster (now at Thurso) Caithness.
Farr Sutherland.
Golspie ”
Hilton of Cadboll (now at Invergordon) Ross-shire.
Nigg ”
Rosemarkie ”
Shandwick ”
Brodie Elginshire.
Forres ”
Aboyne Aberdeenshire.
Dyce ”
The Maiden Stone ”
Migvie ”
SOUTHERN PICT-LAND
Aberlemno Forfarshire.
Cossins ”
Farnell ”
Glamis ”
Inchbrayock (now at Montrose) ”
Invergowrie ”
Monifieth (now at Edinburgh) ”
St. Vigeans ”
Woodwray (now at Abbotsford) ”
St. Madoes Perthshire.
Meigle ”
Rossie Priory ”
Dunfallandy ”
DALRIADIC SCOTLAND
Ardchattan Argyllshire.
[Illustration: ERECT CROSS-SLAB IN ABERLEMNO CHURCHYARD, FORFARSHIRE
_John Patrick of Edinburgh, photo._]
[Illustration: Front]
[Illustration: Back
Cross at Penmon, Anglesey
Drawn by Harold Hughes
Scale ¹/₁₆ linear]
The erect cross-slabs of the Isle of Man show a mixture of Celtic and
Scandinavian art, but there are a few which appear to be purely Celtic,
as, for instance, those at Kirk Maughold[374] (on the village green)
and at Kirk Bride.[375]
The erect free-standing cross seems to have been evolved from the
erect cross-slab by removing one part of the background of the cross
after another, until at last nothing but the cross itself was left.
We see the first stage in the Papil stone from Shetland, now in the
Edinburgh Museum of Antiquities. Here the top of the slab is rounded
to suit the curve of the circle, within which the head of the cross
is enclosed. The wheel-cross comes next, in which the portion of the
background of the cross on each side of the shaft is dispensed with,
as in the specimens at Margam[376] and Llantwit Major,[377] both in
Glamorganshire. Then the ends of the arms of the cross are allowed to
project beyond the circular ring, as at Penmon,[378] Anglesey. Lastly,
the portions of the background of the cross between the quadrants of
the ring and the arms are pierced right through the slab, thus giving
us the “four-hole” cross of Cornwall[379] and the typical High Cross of
Ireland.[380]
[374] J. G. Cumming’s _Runic Remains of the Isle of Man_.
[375] _Ibid._
[376] Prof. J. O. Westwood’s _Lapidarium Walliæ_, pl. 15.
[377] _Ibid._, pl. 5.
[378] _Ibid._, pl. 84.
[379] A. G. Langdon’s _Old Cornish Crosses_.
[380] H. O’Neill’s _Ancient Crosses of Ireland_.
We have used the term “wheel-cross” to describe the class of monuments
with a round head and a shaft of less width than the diameter of
the head rather because it is convenient than on account of its
appropriateness. Perhaps “disc-cross” would be more accurate, but
in order to avoid confusion it may be as well to adhere to the term
“wheel-cross,” which has been adopted by previous writers on the
subject.
[Illustration: Great Wheel-Cross of Conbelin at Margam Abbey,
Glamorganshire
Drawn by Worthington G. Smith
Scale ¹/₁₆ linear]
The wheel-crosses are peculiar to Wales, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man,
there being none either in Ireland or Scotland. The wheel-crosses of
Wales and the Isle of Man have round heads of large diameter and very
short shafts; those of Cornwall have heads of much smaller diameter
with a taller shaft. The best examples of wheel-crosses are at Margam
and Llantwit Major, Glamorganshire; and at Kirk Braddan and Lonan, Isle
of Man.
The free-standing crosses, in which the outline of the stone
corresponds with the outline of the cross, are the most highly
developed type of Celtic sculptured monument of the Christian period,
and are therefore presumably the latest, with the exception of those
of the decadent period just before and after the Norman Conquest.
The free-standing crosses show the influence of the architect rather
than that of the monkish scribe who embellished the early Irish and
Hiberno-Saxon illuminated MSS. The sculpture is less flat, and the
mouldings round the panels of ornament are more elaborate than on the
earlier erect cross-slabs.
The free-standing crosses also, instead of being monolithic, are
constructed of two or more separate pieces of stone fixed together by
means of mortice and tenon joints. In the larger of the High Crosses of
Ireland the base forms one block, the shaft another, the head a third,
and sometimes the top arm a fourth.
[Illustration: Front]
[Illustration: Back
Cross at Neuadd Siarman, near Builth, Brecknockshire
Scale ¹/₁₂ linear]
The High Crosses of Ireland are in most cases associated with a
characteristic set of ecclesiastical structures consisting of a Round
Tower and several small churches. This class of monument consequently
belongs to the time when the artistic talents of the Celtic monks,
which had been previously entirely absorbed in illuminating MSS.,
was directed into the new channel of architecture. The High Cross of
Muiredach[381] at Monasterboice, Co. Louth, and that of King Fland[382]
at Clonmacnois, King’s Co., are proved by the inscriptions upon them to
have been erected during the first quarter of the tenth century. There
is such a general family likeness between most of the High Crosses of
Ireland that they are probably all of about the same date.
There is a peculiarity in the design of some of the High Crosses of
Ireland which should not pass unnoticed, namely, the semicircular
projection in each of the four hollows between the arms.[383] In a
stone cross these projections have no use or meaning, but in the metal
crosses of the same period projections of this kind serve to disguise
the rivets by means of which the metal plates on each side of the cross
are held together.[384] From this it would appear that the art of the
worker in metal to some extent influenced the sculptors by whom the
stone crosses were made.
Some of the Cornish crosses have triangular projections in a similar
position, giving an appearance not unlike the cusping in Gothic window
tracery.
[381] Petrie’s _Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language_, vol.
ii., p. 66.
[382] _Ibid._, vol. i., p. 43.
[383] As on the crosses at Monasterboice, Co. Louth, and Durrow, King’s
Co.
[384] As on the Cross of Cong in the Dublin Museum, and on the pectoral
cross of St. Cuthbert in the Library of Durham Cathedral.
[Illustration: Cross at Nevern, Pembrokeshire
Scale ¹/₂₄ linear]
The free-standing crosses of Wales and Cornwall differ from those
of Ireland in having heads of much smaller diameter in proportion
to the height of the shaft, and bases are the exception rather than
the rule. In the Welsh and Cornish crosses figure-sculpture is made
altogether subordinate to ornament, whilst in the Irish crosses exactly
the reverse is the case. The fronts and backs of the Irish crosses,
and sometimes the sides also, are entirely covered with panels of
symbolical figure subjects forming a cycle, which does not occur in
the illuminated MSS., although evidently borrowed from a Byzantine
source. The subordination of ornament to figure subjects on the Irish
crosses shows that they are further removed from the MSS. than the
Welsh, Cornish, and Scottish crosses, and therefore of later date. The
free-standing crosses of Scotland seem to belong to the Irish group.
The following list gives the best examples of free-standing crosses:—
IRELAND
Kells Co. Meath.
Monasterboice Co. Louth.
Termonfechin Co. Louth.
Clonmacnois King’s Co.
Durrow King’s Co.
Castle Dermot Co. Kildare.
Moone Abbey Co. Kildare.
Kilklispeen Co. Kilkenny.
Kilfenora Co. Clare.
Drumcliff Co. Sligo.
SCOTLAND
Iona Argyllshire.
Kildalton Islay.
Barrochan Renfrewshire.
Dupplin Perthshire.
WALES
Penmon Anglesey.
Maen Achyfan Flintshire.
Neuadd Siarman Brecknockshire.
Llanbadarn Fawr Cardiganshire.
Llantwit Major Glamorganshire.
Margam ”
Carew Pembrokeshire.
Nevern ”
Penally ”
The shafts of the erect free-standing crosses which have just been
described are rectangular in section, but there are a few exceptional
monuments with shafts of square section or of round section, or partly
of square and partly of round section. As an instance of a cross
of square section we have the one at Llandough, Glamorganshire. At
Llantwit Major, in the same county, is a cylindrical pillar with a
vertical groove down one side of it, the use of which has caused much
futile speculation amongst antiquaries. The pillar of Eliseg at Valle
Crucis, Denbighshire, is round at the bottom and square at the top,
thus corresponding in shape to a well-known type of monument which is
common in Mercia. These round pillar crosses usually occur in pairs.
There are a few unique monuments that cannot be classed with any of
those already described, such as the ornamented stone coffin at Govan,
Renfrewshire, and the altar tomb at St. Andrews, Fifeshire.
Descriptions and illustrations of nearly all the monuments mentioned
will be found in Dr. J. Stuart’s _Sculptured Stones of Scotland_
(published by the Spalding Club of Aberdeen); Dr. J. Anderson and J.
R. Allen’s _Early Christian Monuments of Scotland_ (published by the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland); R. C. Graham’s _Carved Stones
of Islay_; H. O’Neill’s _Sculptured Crosses of Ancient Ireland_; Dr.
Petrie’s _Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language_ (published by
the R. Soc. Ant. of Ireland); Miss M. Stokes’ _Early Christian Art in
Ireland_; Prof. J. O. Westwood’s _Lapidarium Walliæ_; A. G. Langdon’s
_Old Cornish Crosses_; J. G. Cumming’s _Runic Remains of the Isle of
Man_.
The Celtic metalwork of the Christian period may be arranged under the
following heads:—
Bells. Book-shrines.
Croziers. Relic shrines.
Chalices. Plaques for book-covers.
Processional crosses. Penannular brooches.
Bell-shrines. Hammer-headed pins.
With a few exceptions all the existing specimens are now preserved in
the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin, the National Museum of
Antiquities of Scotland in Edinburgh, and the British Museum in London.
Ecclesiastical bells are of two different kinds, namely, (1) _portable_
bells, sufficiently light to be carried in the hand; and (2) _fixed_
bells, whose weight renders a trussed framework of wood necessary for
their support. Each kind of bell can be rung in two separate ways,
namely, (1) by holding the bell stationary and striking it on the
outside with a hammer; or (2) by providing the bell with a tongue, or
clapper, suspended from the inside and swinging the bell backwards and
forwards, so as to cause the clapper to strike against the interior
and thus produce sound. The method of bell-ringing by means of a
hammer is frequently illustrated in the illuminated psalters of the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and is also to be seen on the
sculptured capitals in the Abbey of St. George’s de Boscherville,[385]
in Normandy. The great bells of the Kremlin at Moscow, and in other
Greek churches throughout Russia, are rung in this fashion. Portable
bells with clappers have a handle at the top, by which they can be
swung backwards and forwards in the hand, in the manner depicted upon
the Bayeux Tapestry.[386] Fixed bells with clappers have loops at the
top for suspension by iron bands to a horizontal wooden axle or rocking
bar working in bearings supported on a trussed framework of timber,
usually within a masonry tower. The required rocking motion is given by
a lever and rope or a grooved wheel and rope.
The bells used in the Celtic Church seem to have belonged exclusively
to the class of portable bells rung by hand. During the earlier period
of Christianity in Ireland, when the monks lived together in small
isolated communities, bells which were intended to carry sound to a
great distance would be unnecessary, so that the absence of belfries in
connection with the primitive dry-built stone oratories of the sixth
and seventh centuries is easily explained. When, however, at a later
period, the congregations became larger and more widely scattered, the
lofty tower served a useful purpose in greatly increasing the area over
which the sound of the bell could be heard.
[385] Didron’s _Annales Archéologiques_, vol. vi., p. 315.
[386] F. R. Fowke’s _Bayeux Tapestry_, pl. 31.
The commencement of the building of belfries in Ireland coincides
with the introduction of Lombardo-Byzantine architecture into that
country, and the Irish round tower is obviously nothing more than a
local variety of the Italian campanile. The Viking invasions at the
same time gave an additional impetus to the erection of structures
which could be used not only for ecclesiastical purposes, but also
as watch-towers to detect the approach of the enemy, as bell-towers
to alarm the neighbourhood, and as towers of defence to secure the
lives and property of the congregation. The fact that the Irish round
towers are called by the name of _cloiccthec_, or bell-house, in the
ancient annals is sufficient proof they were used as belfries, but it
does not appear to be known whether the bells were rung by swinging
in the hand or fixed to a framework and swung on pivots. At any rate,
no Irish bells of this period (A.D. 800 to 1000) have survived except
the portable hand-bells. If any mechanical appliance was employed for
bell-ringing in the Irish round towers it was probably constructed
by fixing an ordinary hand-bell to a horizontal axle-bar of wood or
iron, working in two bearings, and swung backwards and forwards by
means of a rocking lever with a rope attached to it, as is done in
many village churches at the present day. The large, heavy metal bells
made specially with a view to being fixed in a tower and rung by a
grooved wheel and cord belong to a much later period, after the Norman
Conquest, when the art of making castings in bronze of great size had
been learnt.
The portable bell of the early Celtic Church is merely an ordinary
cattle bell,[387] such as would, no doubt, be common in Pagan times,
adapted to ecclesiastical purposes and slightly modified to suit the
requirements of the monks. It differs hardly at all, except as regards
size, from the common sheep-bell still to be found in many parts of
England. Dr. Joseph Anderson tersely sums up the peculiarities of the
Celtic ecclesiastical bell, as regards its material, manufacture, form,
and size, in his _Scotland in Early Christian Times_ (first series), p.
183, somewhat as follows:—
[387] Probably the earliest representation of a cow-bell in Great
Britain is on the pre-Norman cross at Fowlis Wester, near Crieff,
Perthshire.
(1) _Material_—iron coated with bronze.
(2) _Manufacture_—hammered and riveted; coating of
bronze put on by means of a process analogous to tinning.
(3) _Form_—tall, narrow, tapering, four-sided; ends flattened;
sides bulged.
(4) _Size_—portable; provided with handle so as to be easily
swung by hand.
The original home of ecclesiastical bells of this type was in Ireland,
where there are still the greatest number in existence, and thence they
spread to Scotland, Wales, England, Brittany, France, and Switzerland.
The largest iron bell of this kind is preserved in the Church of
Birnie, near Elgin, N.B. It is 1 foot 2 inches high, and 7 inches by
5 inches at the bottom, tapering to 4½ inches by 3 inches at the top.
It is riveted down each of the narrow sides with four rivets, and the
handle is fixed to the top by four much smaller rivets. As a rule,
however, the height of such bells rarely exceeds 1 foot or is less than
8 inches.
The Celtic ecclesiastical bell of wrought-iron was afterwards copied
in cast bronze. It is reasonable to suppose that the bronze bells are
of later date than those of iron (1) because the rectangular shape is
useless and meaningless in the case of a bronze bell, and results from
copying an iron bell, in which the rectangular shape is necessitated
by its method of construction; (2) because the bronze bells are of
more refined shape and better manufacture than those of iron; and (3)
because the bronze bells are in many cases ornamented.
Celtic ecclesiastical bells of cast bronze may be divided into the
following classes:—
(1) Bronze bells without ornament.
(2) Bronze bells without ornament, but inscribed.
(3) Bronze bells with ornamented handles.
(4) Bronze bells with ornamented bodies.
Examples of Celtic quadrangular bells of cast bronze without ornament
have been recorded at the following places:—
WALES—
Llanrhyddlad, Anglesey
(_Archæologia Cambrensis_, 4th ser., vol. ii., p. 275).
Llangystenyn, Carnarvonshire;
now in the Powysland Museum at Welshpool
(_Montgomeryshire Collections_, vol. xxv., p. 327).
SCOTLAND—
Eilean Finan, Loch Shiel, Argyllshire
(Dr. J. Anderson’s _Scotland in Early Christian Times_,
1st ser., p. 198).
Insh, near Kingussie, Inverness-shire (_Ibid._, p. 195).
Little Dunkeld, Perthshire (_Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot._,
vol. xxiii., p. 119).
Forteviot, Perthshire (_Ibid._, vol. xxvi., p. 434).
IRELAND—
Garton, Co. Donegal
(Rev. H. T. Ellacombe’s _Church Bells of Devon—Supplement_,
p. 342).
Lower Badony, Co. Tyrone (_Ibid._, p. 344).
Scattery Island, Co. Clare; now in the British Museum
(_Ibid._, p. 344).
Kilbroney, Rostrevor, Co. Down
(R. Welch, photo. No. 1,932; _Jour. R. Soc. Ant. of Ireland_,
vol. xxxiii., P. 55).
Kilmainham (_Jour. R. Soc. Ant. of Ireland_, 5th ser.,
vol. x., p. 41).
Cappagh, Co. Tyrone (_Jour. R. Soc. Ant. of Ireland_,
vol. xxxiii., p. 52).
Drumragh, Co. Tyrone (_Ibid._, vol. xxxiii., p. 54).
FRANCE—
Goulien, Finistère (_Ibid._, 5th ser., vol. viii., p. 167).
As has already been pointed out, the bells of cast bronze are copies
in another material of the wrought-iron bells, the quadrangular form
of which had its origin in the method of construction out of a thin
sheet of metal with riveted joints being still adhered to in the bronze
bell, where joints were not required. The only difference in the shape
of the iron and the bronze bells is that the latter have in most cases
a flange, or an expansion and thickening of the metal round the mouth.
The handles vary from those which are almost rectangular to those which
are quite round. The bell still preserved in the church at Insh, near
Kingussie, Inverness-shire, may be taken as a fair sample of the Celtic
quadrangular bell of cast bronze without ornament. It is 10 inches
high, and measures 9 inches by 7¾ inches at the mouth. The handle is
oval and the mouth expanded. The remaining bells of the same class vary
from 4 inches to 11 inches in height, with their other dimensions in
proportion.
There are three Celtic quadrangular bells of cast bronze without
ornament, but inscribed, at the following places:—
IRELAND—
Clogher, Co. Tyrone
(H. T. Ellacombe’s _Church Bells of Devon—Supplement_, p. 369).
Armagh; now in the Museum of the R.I.A. at Dublin
(M. Stokes’ _Early Christian Art in Ireland_, p. 65).
BRITTANY—
Stival
(_Mémoires de l’Institut Impériale de France; Académie des
Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres_, vol. xxiv., pt. ii., p. 387).
The bell of Clogher is inscribed, in one horizontal line, with Roman
capital letters—
PATRICI
The bell of Armagh is inscribed, in three horizontal lines, with
Hiberno-Saxon minuscules—
✠ oroit ar chu
mascach ṁ
ailello
“✠ A prayer for Cumascach, son of Ailell.”
The bell of Stival is inscribed, in one vertical line, with
Carlovingian minuscules—
pirtur ficifti
“Pirtur made this” (?).
Or, according to the Vicomte Hersart de la Villemarqué:
pir turfic is ti
“Sweet-sounding art thou.”
The Cumascach mentioned on the bell of Armagh was probably the steward
of Armagh, who, according to the _Annals of the Four Masters_, died in
A.D. 904, thus fixing the date of at least one of the bells of this
class.
Celtic quadrangular bells of cast bronze with ornamented handles exist
at the following places:—
WALES—
Llangwynodl, Carnarvonshire; now in the possession
of W. C. Yale-Jones-Parry, Esq., of Madryn Castle,
Pwllheli, Carnarvonshire (_Archæologia Cambrensis_,
1st ser., vol. iv., p. 167; and 4th ser., vol. ii., p. 274).
SCOTLAND—
Strathfillan (Bell of St. Fillan), Perthshire; now in the
National Museum at Edinburgh (Dr. J. Anderson’s
_Scotland in Early Christian Times_, 1st ser., p. 186).
IRELAND—
Lorrha (Bell of St. Ruadhan), Co. Tipperary; now in
the British Museum (H. T. Ellacombe’s _Church Bells
of Devon—Supplement_, p. 344).
FRANCE—
St. Pol de Léon (Bell of St. Meriadec) (Rohault de Fleury’s
_La Messe_, vol. vi., pl. CDXVIII.; Ellacombe, p. 383).
The ornament on the handles is of two kinds—zoömorphic and
phyllomorphic. The former consists of the head of a beast at each end
of the loop handle where it joins the body of the bell, and the latter
of a leaf in the same position. The bell of Llangwynodl[388] has a good
typical example of a zoömorphic handle, and the bell of St. Pol de Léon
is the only one with leaf terminations to the handle. The Llangwynodl
bell is 5 inches high, and measures 6½ inches by 4 inches across the
mouth; and the St. Pol de Léon bell is 9½ inches high, and measures
6½ inches across the mouth. St. Fillan’s bell is 1 foot high, and St.
Ruadhan’s bell only 2 inches or 3 inches high.
[388] We are indebted to Mr. W. Corbet Yale-Jones-Parry, of Madryn
Castle, Pwllheli, the present owner of the Bell, for permission to
reproduce the photograph.
Celtic quadrangular bells of cast bronze with ornamented bodies exist
at the following places:—
IRELAND—
Lough Lene Castle, Co. Westmeath; now in the Museum
of the R.I.A. at Dublin; Bangor, Co. Down (_Ulster
Journal of Archæology_, vol. i., p. 179; Ellacombe, p. 340).
Cashel; now at Adare Manor (Lady Dunraven’s _Memorials
of Adare Manor_, p. 152; Ellacombe, p. 340).
By the courtesy of Mr. George Coffey, M.R.I.A., of the Museum of the
Royal Irish Academy, we are able to illustrate the bell from Lough Lene
Castle.
It is 1 foot 1¼ inches high, including the handle, and measures 8⅛
inches by 7¾ inches across the mouth. The shape of the body of the
bell resembles that of the iron quadrangular bells, but exhibits
much greater refinement in the delicate and almost imperceptible
curves of the sides. The handle is semicircular. The cross of the
well-known Irish type, with a border of key-pattern below, round the
mouth of the bell, on one of the border faces; and a border of angular
interlaced-work in a similar position on each of the narrower faces.
The bell of Bangor was found at the place of that name, in Co. Louth,
and was subsequently in the possession of Dr. Stephenson, of Belfast.
It now belongs to Colonel MacCance, of Knocknagoney House, Holywood,
Co. Down.[389] It is 1 foot 2½ inches high, and measures 9 inches by 8
inches across the mouth.
[389] Mr. R. Welch, of Belfast, tells me that it is kept in a
fire-proof safe, and that over £300 was refused for it.
This bell is also ornamented with a cross and key-patterns, like the
one just described, the only difference being that the cross is not
combined with a circular ring, and the design of the key-pattern is not
quite the same.
[Illustration: BRONZE BELL WITH ENGRAVED ORNAMENT FROM LOUGH LENE
CASTLE, CO. WESTMEATH, IN THE MUSEUM OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY]
The bell of Cashel was found at the place of that name, in Co.
Tipperary, in 1849, and is now preserved at Lord Dunraven’s house at
Adare Manor, Co. Limerick. It resembles the bell of Bangor almost
exactly, except that there are four round dots in the hollows between
the arms of the cross. The handle is broken off, and without this the
bell is 1 foot high. Its dimensions across the mouth are 9½ inches by
6¼ inches.
These three bells are so nearly alike as regards their size, shape, and
ornamentation that they are probably all the same date, and may even
have been the work of one artificer in metal. A peculiarity occurs in
the key-patterns on the bells from Lough Lene Castle and from Bangor
which may perhaps help to fix the date. It will be noticed that the
square spaces in the middle of the key-patterns are filled in with an
almond-shaped figure. This is also a feature of the key-patterns in the
Irish Gospels (Codex No. 51) at St. Gall, in Switzerland.[390]
[390] R. Purton Cooper’s Appendix A to Rymer’s _Fœdera_, p. 90 and pl.
7 (St. Mark miniature), and pl. 10 (initial page of St. John’s Gospel).
There is in the British Museum a Celtic quadrangular bell of iron
with an ornamental bronze cap fixed to the top of it, but it is not
clear whether the cap forms part of the original design or was added
subsequently. This bell is called the Bell of Conall Gael, and came
from Inishkeel, in the Barony of Boylagh, Co. Donegal. It was enclosed
within a metal shrine in the fifteenth century.
All the other Celtic ecclesiastical bells which have been enshrined
are entirely of iron, a fact tending to show that the bronze bells are
of later date than the iron ones, because the enshrined bells were
those belonging as a general rule to the saint who founded the church.
The bronze bells probably came into use long after most of the older
churches had been founded.
It may be interesting to give a list of the bell-shrines still in
existence:—
IRELAND—
Shrine of the Bell of St. Patrick’s Will; now in the Museum of
the R.I.A. at Dublin (H. O’Neill’s _Fine Arts of Ancient
Ireland_, p. 46).
Shrine of the Bell of St. Culan, called the _Barnaan Cuilaun_;
now in the British Museum (_Transactions of the Royal Irish
Academy_, vol. xiv., p. 31).
Shrine of the Bell of St. Mogue.
Shrine of the Bell of Maelbrigde (Miss M. Stokes’
_Early Christian Art in Ireland_, p. 67).
Shrine of the Bell of St. Mura, from the Abbey of
Fahan, Co. Donegal (_Ulster Journal of Archæology_,
vol. i., p. 274).
Shrine of the Bell of Conall Gael, from Inishkeel,
Co. Donegal; now in the British Museum (H. T.
Ellacombe’s _Church Bells of Devon—Supplement_, p. 365).
SCOTLAND—
Bell-shrine of Kilmichael Glassary, Argyllshire, dug up on
Torrebhlaurn Farm in 1814; now in the National Museum at
Edinburgh (Dr. J. Anderson’s _Scotland in Early Christian
Times_, 1st ser., p. 207).
Bell-shrine, preserved at Guthrie Castle, Forfarshire
(_Ibid._, p. 209).
[Illustration: THE SHRINE OF THE BELL OF ST. PATRICK’S WILL IN THE
MUSEUM OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY, DUBLIN A.D. 1091 TO 1105]
The bells of the Celtic Church, whether they be of iron or bronze,
whether devoid of lettering or inscribed, ornamented or plain,
possess a far higher interest than that attaching to ordinary museum
specimens, because most of them have an authentic history, going back
in some cases to the time when Christianity was first introduced into
this country. The bell, the book, and the crozier which belonged to
the Celtic saints who founded churches, were always looked upon with
the highest veneration, and were used for a variety of superstitious
purposes, such as healing the sick, procuring victory in battle, and
the solemnising of oaths. The relics of the saints of the fifth, sixth,
and seventh centuries were enclosed in costly metal shrines, generally
a few hundred years after the death of the saint, and an hereditary
keeper was appointed to be responsible for the safety of the relics
when borrowed for effecting cures and other purposes. The shrines and
their contents were thus handed down from generation to generation, and
in most cases sold by their last hereditary keepers to collectors of
antiquities, from whom they were acquired by the national museums of
England, Scotland, and Ireland. The relics still bear the names of the
saints to whom they originally belonged; the names of their hereditary
keepers are well known, and they have been obtained from the localities
where the saint founded his church, and where the relics remained for
centuries afterwards undisturbed. No class of antiquities, therefore,
possesses a better record or a more satisfactory pedigree.
The Irish and Scottish bell-shrines which have been enumerated are
cases of metal of the same shape as the bell they contain, having
four sloping sides and an arched top. The sides are usually made of
bronze plates ornamented with gold, silver, enamel, and settings of
crystal and precious stones. Two features which are characteristic of
the ornamental bronze bells are repeated in the shrines, namely, the
zoömorphic terminations of the handles and the cross on the body of
the bell. In the two Scottish bell-shrines the Crucifixion takes the
place of the Cross. The ornament on the bell-shrines is much further
removed in style from that of the illuminated MSS. than is the case
with the sculptured stones. This is only what might be expected,
considering the late date of the bell-shrines as compared with that of
the crosses. On two of the bell-shrines Scandinavian influence may be
clearly detected in the ornament upon them. Thus on the Shrine of the
Bell of St. Patrick’s Will the pear-shaped eyes of the beast’s heads
on each side of the arched top are placed with the point outwards in
the Scandinavian fashion; and on the Shrine of the Bell of St. Mura the
“tendril pattern,” which is so common on the Rune-inscribed monuments
of the Isle of Man, may be noticed.
The dates of three of the bell-shrines have been ascertained by means
of the inscriptions upon them, namely, Maelbrigde’s Bell-shrine,
_circa_ A.D. 954; the Shrine of the Bell of St. Patrick’s Will, A.D.
1091 to 1105; and the Guthrie Bell-shrine, 14th century. Judging merely
from the style of the ornament, the Shrine of the Bell of St. Culanus
should be of the twelfth century, and the Shrines of the Bell of St.
Mura and of Kilmichael Glassary perhaps as late as the beginning of the
thirteenth century.
The metal croziers of the Celtic Church are in reality shrines
enclosing the wooden pastoral staffs of the different saints, whose
names most of them still bear. The chief peculiarity of the Celtic
crozier is the shape of the head, which is like the hook of a modern
walking-stick, but with a remarkable flattened end. The inside curve of
the hook is nearly circular, but the outside curve is only partially
semicircular, and suddenly changes to a nearly vertical straight line
just before the end of the crook is reached. At the bottom of the
crozier is a pointed ferrule, and the straight portion consists of two
cylindrical tubes of thin metal joined together in the middle by a
bulbous collar. The upper tube is joined to the head at the top by a
similar bulbous collar, and the lower tube is joined to the ferrule at
the bottom by a third bulbous collar.
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE LISMORE CORZIER AT LISMORE CASTLE, CO.
WATERFORD A.D. 1090 TO 1113]
One of the most perfect of the Irish croziers is preserved at Lismore
Castle,[391] Co. Waterford. It bears an inscription showing that it was
made by Nectan, the artisan, for Niall, son of MacAeducain. Mac Mic
Aeducain was Bishop of Lismore from A.D. 1090 to 1113. Another fine
crozier in the British Museum[392] has an inscription asking a prayer
for Maelfinnia and Condulig. The former was Bishop of Kells, and died
in A.D. 967. Condulig was an ecclesiastic of the same monastery, and
died in A.D. 1047.
The best examples of uninscribed croziers are the croziers of
Clonmacnois[393] and of St. Berach in the Museum of the Royal Irish
Academy in Dublin, and a crozier now in the possession of the Roman
Catholic Bishop of Killarney. Besides the complete croziers mentioned
there are several heads and other portions of croziers in the Museum
of the Royal Irish Academy, and in the Edinburgh Museum of Antiquities
may be seen the head of the crozier of St. Fillan,[394] which has an
unusually interesting history.
[391] Petrie’s _Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language_, vol.
ii., p. 118; and H. O’Neill’s _Fine Arts of Ancient Ireland_, p. 42.
[392] Petrie’s _Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language_, vol.
ii., p. 116.
[393] Miss M. Stokes’ _Early Christian Art in Ireland_, p. 105.
[394] Dr. J. Anderson’s _Scotland in Early Christian Times_, 1st ser.,
p. 219.
The decoration of the Celtic croziers is concentrated on the head, the
ferrule, and the collars round the straight portion of the staff. Most
of the croziers have a zoömorphic cresting[395] on the outside curve
of the head, sometimes consisting of a procession of beasts one behind
the other, and sometimes only having terminal beasts’ heads at each
end.[396] The flat portion of the crook of the crozier at the end is
decorated in some cases with the head of the saint or bishop, and a
crystal setting below.[397] Zoömorphism enters very largely into the
ornamentation of the Celtic croziers, and the beasts with only two
toes instead of three on the Crozier of Clonmacnois obviously betray
their Scandinavian origin by this detail. The decoration of the heads
of the croziers is treated in at least three different ways: (1) the
head of the Lismore crozier is divided into rectangular panels with
raised bosses of enamel at the intersections of the bands, which form
the divisions between the panels; (2) the heads of the croziers of
Dysert, Blathmac, and St. Fillan are divided into lozenge-shaped panels
by a sort of raised lattice-work; and (3) the head of the crozier
of Clonmacnois is not divided into panels, but the surface entirely
covered with zoömorphic strapwork.
[395] As on the croziers of Lismore, Clonmacnois, and Dysert.
[396] As on St. Fillan’s crozier.
[397] As on St. Fillan’s crozier.
The croziers are all of the eleventh century or later, and their
decoration has little in common with that of the early illuminated MSS.
“Cumdachs,” or book-shrines, are peculiar to Ireland. Three MSS. still
in existence are known, from historical evidence, to have had cumdachs,
although they have been lost.
These are:—
The Book of Durrow enshrined A.D. 877 to 914.
The Book of Armagh ” A.D. 938.
The Book of Kells ” before A.D. 1007.
The existing cumdachs are as follows:—
_In the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy._
Cumdach of Molaise’s Gospels A.D. 1001 to 1025.
” ” the Stowe Missal A.D. 1023.
” ” Columba’s Psalter A.D. 1084.
” ” St. Patrick’s Gospels.
_In the Library of Trinity College, Dublin._
Cumdach of Dimma’s Book A.D. 1150.
The cumdachs are simply rectangular boxes, sufficiently large to hold
the MS., made either of wood or bronze and plated with silver. The
decoration of the principal face of the cumdach is generally arranged
in the form of a cross, the treatment being much the same as in the
ornamental pages of the MSS. of the Gospels. The cross on the cumdach
of Molaise’s Gospels is formed of a flat silver plate with panels
pierced right through the thickness of the metal, and filled in with
interlaced patterns in filigree-work. The cross in the middle is
surrounded by the Symbols of the Four Evangelists, with their names
inscribed at the side of each. The centre of the cross and the ends of
the four arms are ornamented with settings of crystal.
On one of the narrow faces of this cumdach are some very curious
figures of two ecclesiastics, one holding a bell and the other a
pastoral staff; and a harper, with an angel above his head, between
them.
The cumdach of the Stowe Missal has upon the principal face a cross
within a rectangular frame. The centre of the cross is ornamented with
a crystal setting, and the recessed panels of the background are filled
in with a peculiar kind of triangular and square chequerwork made of
pierced metal plates.
The cumdach of Dimma’s Book has also on the principal face a cross
surrounded by a rectangular frame, and ornamented with thirteen crystal
settings. The four recessed panels of the background of the cross are
filled in with zoömorphic designs in the same style as those on the
High Cross of Tuam,[398] Co. Galway, which is of about the same period,
having been erected in A.D. 1123.
The relic shrines of the Celtic Church are of two kinds, namely,
(1) those made in the shape of the portion of the body of the saint
enshrined; and (2) those made in the shape of a small oratory or house
with a steep pitched roof having hipped ends. As an example of the
first kind we have the Shrine of St. Lachtin’s Arm.[399]
[398] H. O’Neill’s _Sculptured Crosses of Ancient Ireland_, pl. 12.
[399] _Vetusta Monumenta_, vol. vi., pl. 19.
[Illustration: CELTIC QUADRANGULAR BELL OF BRONZE WITH ZOÖMORPHIC
HANDLES FROM LLANGWYNODL CHURCH, CARNARVONSHIRE; NOW IN THE POSSESSION
OF W. CORBET YALE-JONES-PARRY, ESQ., OF MADRYN CASTLE, PWLLHELI
_W. Morgan Evans, of Pwllheli, photo._]
[Illustration: BRONZE RELIQUARY FROM LOWER LOUGH ERNE; NOW IN THE
POSSESSION OF T. PLUNKETT, ESQ., OF ENNISKILLEN
7 INS. LONG BY 5⅞ INS. HIGH BY 3½ INS. WIDE
_R. Welch, of Belfast, photo._]
The most beautiful and perfect example of a reliquary in the form of a
small oratory is the one now in the possession of Sir Archibald Grant,
and preserved at Monymusk House,[400] Aberdeenshire. It is a wooden
box, hollowed out of the solid, and covered with plates of bronze and
silver. It is decorated with enamel, settings of precious stones, and
raised circular medallions and rectangular plaques of interlaced-work
on a chased background of zoömorphic designs. Another reliquary of
the same kind was found in Lough Erne,[401] between Enniskillen and
Belleek, in 1891, and belongs to Mr. T. Plunkett, of Enniskillen. It
is 7 inches long by 3½ inches wide by 5⅞ inches high, and is made of
plates of bronze covering an inner box scooped out of two solid pieces
of yew-wood. The decoration, which consists of interlaced-work, is
concentrated upon the ridge-piece of the roof; upon a band concealing
the joint between the eaves of the roof and the sides; upon six
circular raised medallions, one on each of the longest sloping faces
of the roof and two on each of the longest sides; and upon the hinges
at each end of the box to which the bars for suspending the shrine
round the neck of its hereditary keeper were attached. There is a third
reliquary, like the two just described, from Norway, in the Copenhagen
Museum.[402] It has raised circular medallions arranged in the same
way as on the Lough Erne shrine, but they are decorated with spiral
designs, and the background, instead of being plain, is covered with
elaborate interlaced-work. An inscription in later Runes on this shrine
reads “Ranvaig owns this casket.” The Edinburgh Museum possesses a
fourth shrine of the same class found in the Shannon[403] in a very
dilapidated condition.
[400] Dr. J. Anderson’s _Scotland in Early Christian Times_, 1st ser.,
p. 249.
[401] _Journ. R. Soc. Ant. of Ireland_, 5th ser., vol. ii. (1892), p.
349.
[402] J. J. A. Worsaae’s _Nordiske Oldsager i det Kongelige Museum i
Kjöbenhavn_, p. 129, Fig. 524.
[403] Dr. J. Anderson’s _Scotland in Early Christian Times_, 1st ser.,
p. 246.
Dr. J. Anderson[404] has pointed out the identity of the form of the
Temple at Jerusalem, as represented in the Book of Kells, with the form
of this particular class of reliquary.
The Breac Moedoc,[405] or shrine of St. Mogue, from Drumlane, now
in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy at Dublin, resembles the
reliquaries of the Monymusk type in shape except that the roof is
gabled instead of being hipped, and the method of applying the
decoration also is entirely different. It is 7¼ inches long by 8⅞
inches wide by 3½ inches wide, and is made of bronze, with decorations
of bronze-gilt, enamel, and glass. The front is divided into
rectangular panels, each containing a group of figures of male and
female saints numbering twenty-one altogether; and on one of the gabled
ends is a bearded figure playing a harp on which a bird is perched. The
back and bottom of the shrine are ornamented with cruciform patterns in
pierced work, as on the shrines of the Bell of St. Patrick’s Will, of
the Stowe Missal, and of Dimma’s Book.
[404] _Ibid._, p. 247.
[405] _Archæologia_, vol. xliii., p. 131.
The relic-shrine of St. Manchan[406] differs from all those previously
described in being considerably larger, and in being shaped like the
gabled roof of a house, but without any house; that is to say, it has
two rectangular faces meeting in a horizontal ridge and two nearly
vertical triangular ends. It was formerly in the keeping of the ancient
Irish family of Mooney, of the Doon, but it is now preserved in the
Roman Catholic Church of Boher, in the parish of Lemanaghan, near
Clara, King’s Co. The Shrine of St. Manchan is 1 foot 11 inches long
by 1 foot 1 inch wide by 1 foot 7 inches high. The framework of the
shrine is made of yew boards. The front and back are each ornamented
with an equal-armed cross having large circular raised bosses in the
centre, and on the ends of the four arms. The four spaces forming the
background of each of the crosses are filled in with rows of small
figures fixed to the bronze plate behind with rivets. The front, back,
and two ends of the shrine are partially surrounded by a border of
zoömorphic ornament. The bosses in relief of the crosses on the front
and back, and the recessed triangular panels on the two ends are also
elaborately decorated with zoömorphs. At each of the four corners of
the base is a circular ring, probably for carrying the shrine about.
The clamps of the rings, the borders round the bottom of the shrine,
and the narrow parts of the arms of the crosses have step-patterns in
red and yellow enamel upon them. The whole of the bronze was originally
gilt. The style of the ornament is so similar to that on the Cross of
Cong that we shall not be far wrong if we attribute the shrine of St.
Manchan to the same period, namely, the twelfth century.
[406] _The Reliquary_, vol. xv. (1875), p. 193.
There is only a single example of a processional cross belonging to the
Celtic Church now in existence, namely, the Cross of Cong[407] in the
Museum of the Royal Irish Academy at Dublin. It is 2 feet 6 inches high
by 1 foot 6¾ inches across the arms by 1¾ inches thick. The cross is
of oak covered with copper plates, and has a boss of rock-crystal in
the centre, beneath which the portion of the true cross was enshrined.
The outer margin of the cross is formed by a roll moulding of silver,
with eighteen small enamelled knobs at intervals to emphasise the
cuspings of the outline of the cross. The face of the cross within the
margin is divided into two rows of panels by a narrow longitudinal
band in the middle of the arms, with enamelled bosses of enamel in
relief and circular silver discs alternately marking the points where
the cross-bars branch off at right angles to the central stem, so as
to divide the surface into panels. The eight panels surrounding the
boss of rock-crystal in the centre of the cross are filled in with
scrolls of gold filigree-work, and the remaining thirty-eight panels
on the arms and shaft are filled in with zoömorphic designs in cast
bronze gilt, riveted to the copper plates beneath. At the bottom of
the cross is a beast’s head with a bulbous projection between it and
the socket to receive the staff. The bulbous portion is ornamented
with small bosses of blue enamel and panels of zoömorphic designs. The
general effect of the whole is extremely rich, and shows great artistic
feeling. The prevalence of the zoömorphic element in the design and
the arrangement of the panels reminds us of the croziers of the same
period, more especially the one at Lismore Castle, Co. Waterford.
[407] _Proc. R.I.A._, vol. ii., p. 113, and vol. iv., p. 572; Petrie’s
_Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language_, vol. ii., p. 118; Miss
M. Stokes’ _Early Christian Art in Ireland_, p. 108; and _Journ. R.
Soc. Ant. Ireland_, vol. xxxi. (1901), p. 40.
The inscriptions on the Cross of Cong, of which the first is in Latin
(twice repeated) and the remaining four in Irish, may be thus rendered
in English:—
(1) “This Cross covers the Cross on which the Saviour
of the World suffered.”
(2) “Pray for Murdoch O’Duffy, the Senior of Ireland.”
(3) “Pray for Turloch O’Connor, for the King of
Ireland, for whom this shrine was made.”
(4) “Pray for Donnell M’Flannagan O’Duffy, for the
Bishop of Connaught, for the successor of Coman and
Ciaran, under whose superintendence this shrine was made.”
(5) “Pray for Maeljesu MacBratdan O’Echan, who made
this shrine.”
Murdoch O’Duffy, Archbishop of Connaught, died in A.D. 1150, and it is
recorded in the _Annals of Innisfallen_ that in the year 1123 a bit of
the true cross came into Ireland and was enshrined by Turlogh O’Connor,
thus fixing the date of the Cross of Cong some time in the first half
of the twelfth century. The cross was removed from Tuam to Cong either
by Archbishop O’Duffy or King Roderic O’Conor, and was found there in
1839, when it was purchased by Prof. Mac Cullach and presented by him
to the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy.
Chalices of earlier date than the Norman Conquest are of extreme rarity
either in Great Britain or on the Continent. Perhaps the three most
ancient specimens abroad are (1) the chalice, found with gold coins of
Justinian (A.D. 508 to 527), at Gourdon,[408] Chalons-sur-Saône, and
now in the National Library at Paris; (2) the chalice of Tassilo,[409]
Duke of Bavaria (A.D. 757 to 781), at Kremsmünster in Lower Austria;
and (3) the chalice of St. Gozlin[410] of Toul (A.D. 922 to 962), now
in the treasury of the Cathedral of Nancy. The first and last of these
have two handles. The chalice of Tassilo, however, has no handles. It
is profusely decorated with interlaced-work, zoömorphic designs, and
figure subjects, and has round the foot the following inscription in
capital letters, not unlike those used in the Hiberno-Saxon MSS:—
“+ TASSILO DVX FORTIS LVITPIRC VIRGA REGALIS.”
[408] De Caumont’s _Abécédaire d’Archéologie Architecture Religieuse_,
p. 117.
[409] Dr. R. Munro’s _Boznia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia_, p. 292.
[410] De Caumont, _loc. cit._, p. 118.
The lady referred to was Luitberga, wife of Duke Tassilo, and daughter
of Desiderius, the last king of the Lombards. The chalice is 10 inches
high and is made of copper ornamented with gold, silver, and niello.
The figures are placed in oval medallions round the bowl and the base.
The principal figure is that of Christ giving the benediction, and the
remainder appear to be those of saints. The style of the decoration
resembles that of the Irish metalwork to a certain extent, and the
chalice of Tassilo may very possibly have been made abroad under the
direction of some Irish monk.
Only one metal chalice of undoubted Irish work has been preserved
until the present time, namely, the Ardagh Chalice[411] in the Museum
of the Royal Irish Academy at Dublin. It was found in 1868 in a rath
in the townland of Reerasta, in the parish of Ardagh, Co. Limerick.
The chalice belongs to the two-handled type, and has a hemispherical
bowl, a very short cylindrical stem, and a conical base with a flat rim
round the bottom. It is 7 inches high by 9½ inches in diameter at the
top, and 6½ inches in diameter at the bottom, the bowl being 4 inches
deep and of sufficient capacity to hold three pints of liquid. The
chalice is composed of gold (1 oz. 2 dwts.), silver (20 ozs. 13 dwts.),
bronze (9 ozs.), lead, enamel, glass, amber, and mica. No less than 354
different pieces, including 20 rivets, are used in the construction of
the vessel.
[411] Petrie’s _Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language_, vol.
ii., p. 123; _Trans. R.I.A._, vol. xxiv., p. 433; Miss M. Stokes’
_Early Christian Art in Ireland_, p. 83.
The exterior of the bowl of the Ardagh chalice is inscribed with the
names of the Twelve Apostles in Hiberno-Saxon capitals, finely engraved
on the silver. The forms of the letters correspond with those used in
the Books of Kells, Dimma, St. Chad, Durham, and MacRegol.
[Illustration: BRONZE FIBULA WITH PLAITWORK AND LATE-CELTIC ORNAMENT
FROM THE ARDAKILLEN CRANNOG, NEAR STROKESTOWN, CO. ROSCOMMON; NOW IN
THE MUSEUM OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY, DUBLIN]
[Illustration: DETAIL OF ORNAMENT ON THE UNDER SIDE OF THE FOOT OF THE
ARDAGH CHALICE IN THE MUSEUM OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY, DUBLIN]
The raised decoration of the chalice, which is made in separate pieces
and fixed on with rivets, is concentrated on the following parts:—
(1) A horizontal band just below the rim and running through
the handles.
(2) The two handles.
(3) Two circular medallions on the lower side of the bowl
midway between the handles.
(4) The stem.
(5) The flat rim at the bottom of the base.
(6) The under side of the flat rim round the base.
(7) The circular medallion in the centre of the under side
of the conical base.
The ornament consists of interlaced-work, step-patterns, key-patterns,
spiralwork, zoömorphic designs, and scrollwork, arranged in panels
after the usual Celtic fashion. The step-patterns are confined to the
plaques and bosses of enamel, and the other patterns are executed in
delicate gold filigree-work on a repoussé background of gold. On the
under side of the flat rim round the base panels of most beautifully
plaited silver wire are introduced. Amber is used on the handles for
the borders round the raised bosses of enamel, and there is a narrow
ring of the same material between the concentric rings of ornament in
the middle of the under side of the base. The heads of the rivets by
which the circular medallions on the sides of the bowl are fixed are
concealed by two small bosses of blue glass and two of amber. The heads
of the rivets for securing the two handles in place are disguised in
a similar manner. The stem and supports of the chalice are of bronze
gilt, highly ornamented. They are attached to the bowl by a bronze-gilt
ball, with a strong square tang, and most ingeniously fastened by an
iron bolt which secures all together. A plate of lead is inserted
between the upper and under sides of the flat rim round the base to
give weight and stability. The flat rim round the base is ornamented
with gold and bronze-gilt plaques of open work on a background of mica,
in order to show up the beauty of the patterns. The flat rim round the
base has on its under side, between the panels of ornament, rectangular
tablets of blue glass, underneath which are decorated pieces of
wrought-silver, which give a brilliant appearance in a strong light.
In the centre of the under side of the base is a circular setting of
rock-crystal. The rim of the bowl of the chalice is of brass.
Enough has been said of the elaborate nature of the construction and
ornamentation of the Ardagh Chalice to show that it is a masterpiece
of Celtic art metalwork of the best period. The style of the lettering
of the inscription upon it and the general character of the decorative
features indicate that it belongs to the same school as the Book of
Kells, the Durham Book, St. Chad’s Gospels, and the Tara Brooch, and
cannot consequently be of much later date than the eighth century. It
will be noticed that in the decoration of the Ardagh Chalice spiral
patterns of the best quality are present, and that the zoömorphs are
kept under proper restraint so as not to swamp the whole design. Both
these points are an indication of early date.
There are at least three examples known of bronze plaques with
representations upon them of the Crucifixion treated in the archaic
Irish fashion. The most interesting of these was found at Athlone,[412]
and is now in the Museum of the Irish Academy in Dublin. The Saviour is
shown wearing a tunic, the surface of which is almost entirely covered
with spirals, key-patterns, and interlaced-work. Another smaller and
less ornamental plaque with the Crucifixion may be seen in the same
museum;[413] and a third, belonging to Mr. M. J. Arketell, has been
illustrated by Prof. J. O. Westwood in his _Miniatures and Ornaments of
the Anglo-Saxon and Irish MSS._[414]
[412] Dr. J. Stuart’s _Sculptured Stones of Scotland_, vol. ii., pl. 10.
[413] _Miniatures_, pl. 51. Fig. 7.
[414] Pl. 51, Fig. 8.
Leaving Celtic ecclesiastical metalwork, we come to personal
ornaments, which, although exhibiting the same style of decoration,
were not necessarily intended to be worn by persons taking part in
the ceremonies of the Church. These personal ornaments consist of
pins, brooches, and buckles. We have previously given a list of the
hammer-headed pins, which may either be Pagan or Christian. Another
peculiarly Celtic type of pin consisted of three parts, namely, (1)
a long pin; (2) a kite-shaped pendant; and (3) a short bar hinged at
one end to the top of the pin, and at the other to the rounded top of
the pendant. A remarkably fine pin of this description was found about
1883 at Clonmacnois,[415] King’s Co., and is now in the possession
of the Rev. Timothy Lee, of Limerick. The pin is 7½ inches long, the
coupling-bar ¾ inch long, and the kite-shaped pendant 2½ inches long by
1⅛ inches wide by ⅙ inch thick. The whole is of silver, decorated with
gold filigree, enamel, niello, and settings of claret-coloured glass
or precious stone. The coupling-bar has on one side a lozenge-shaped
panel of filigree-work, and on the other an interlaced pattern in
niello. The front of the pendant is ornamented with a cross having
a large rectangular setting of glass in the centre, three smaller
rectangular settings at the ends of the top and two side arms, and a
small triangular setting at the bottom of the shaft. The background of
the cross consists of four panels of interlaced filigree-work, three
of which are missing. The point of the kite-shaped pendant terminates
in a beast’s head. On the back of the pendant there is a cross of
similar shape to that on the front, but with an ornamental border of
spiralwork round it, and the whole design executed in niello. At the
pointed end at the bottom is fixed a small ring through which passes
a silver plaited chain of Trichinopoly-work, like the one attached to
the Tara Brooch. There is another pin of similar shape ornamented with
zoömorphic designs in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy,[416] in
Dublin.
[415] _Journ. R. Soc. Ant. Ireland_, ser. 5, vol. i. (1890-1), p. 318.
[416] R.I.A. photo, A 165.
Dr. Hans Hildebrand, in his excellent South Kensington handbook of
_The Industrial Arts of Scandinavia_ (p. 21), remarks that “every
work of human art, higher as well as lower, has its shape determined
by two agents: the end which it is to serve, and the taste of the
people and the time of which it is a fruit.” In other words, there is
a utilitarian as well as an ornamental side to almost every object
fashioned by man to satisfy his wants. The form of an object must
depend primarily upon the practical use to which it is intended to be
put, and the decorative features generally follow afterwards in due
course. The function of the decorative features, however, should be to
add grace and beauty to the original form of the object, but not to
attempt to disguise the utilitarian purpose it fulfils.
No relics of antiquity are more deserving of study than personal
ornaments, and of all personal ornaments perhaps the brooch is the most
important as affording an insight into the character of the people by
whom it was worn. Their ingenuity can be measured by the perfection of
the mechanism of the working parts, their culture by the refinement
of the ornament, and their skill as craftsmen by the finish of the
workmanship. Much, again, is to be learnt of the habits of the people
by investigating the different methods of wearing the brooch. Thus it
is that almost every age and every country possesses its typical form
of brooch.
[Illustration: Pin-brooch from Clonmacnois, King’s Co.
Now in the possession of the Rev. Timothy Lee, of Limerick
Drawn by R. Cochrane, F.S.A.]
Looked at from its practical side, a brooch is a contrivance for
fastening together temporarily any two points on a garment. It is
obviously a higher development of the pin. Going back to first
principles, the pin may have been suggested by the natural spikes,
or thorns, found in the vegetable world. It would not require much
intelligence to see that a small knob added to the blunt end of the
pin would facilitate its removal from the fabric when it was required
to be withdrawn, and would also prevent the pin going further than
was desirable through the fabric. The problem which was solved by the
invention of the brooch, however, was one of much greater complexity,
namely, how to secure the pin in position so as to prevent it from
slipping out of the fabric in the direction of the head. This might
have been effected either by fixing a removable knob, or stop of some
kind, on the pointed end after it had been inserted in the fabric, or
by connecting the head with the point temporarily, so as to form a
complete ring for the time being. In the brooch the latter alternative
is chosen. The pin must necessarily be straight, so as to pierce
the fabric with the least amount of resistance, and the temporary
connection between the head and the point has to be approximately
semicircular, the whole forming a ring shaped like a bow, the pin
corresponding to the string and the body of the brooch to the bow.
[Illustration: SILVER PENANNULAR BROOCH FROM IRELAND; NOW IN THE
BRITISH MUSEUM
SCALE ¾ LINEAR]
In order to be able to remove the brooch from the fabric at pleasure,
some contrivance must be hit upon by which a gap, or break, can be
made in the ring, and be closed up again whenever it is desired to do
so. The opening is attained by placing a hinge where the head of a pin
joins the body of the brooch, and the closing by having a groove-shaped
catch at the opposite extremity. A spring is also required to prevent
the pin coming unfastened accidentally from the catch. These different
contrivances constitute the essential parts of a brooch, which,
divested of its ornamental appendages, is represented by the ordinary
“safety-pin” of the present day.
If the rigid bow-like connection between the head and point of the pin
be doubled we get an annular brooch, and if the central portion of the
ring be filled in we get the discoidal brooch. In these cases the ring
or disc is placed parallel to the plane of the fabric instead of at
right angles to it.
The somewhat dry disquisition just inflicted upon the unsuspecting
reader is necessary in order to place him in a position to fully
understand the mechanism of the typical Celtic brooch, the leading
characteristics of which are that the ring has a break in its
continuity (whence the name “penannular”), and that the length of the
pin considerably exceeds the diameter of the ring. The object of the
break in the continuity of the ring is that it enables the spring-catch
to be dispensed with, the method of fixing the brooch in the dress
being as follows: First, the long pin is inserted in the fabric at
two points close together, in such a manner that the apex goes right
through it and appears again above the surface; the pin is then forced
through the break, and the ring is given a turn through a right angle
in the plane of the fabric, thus fixing the brooch by the friction
produced by the drag of the weight of the garment on the pin.
We are now brought face to face with the question as to how the
Celtic penannular brooch was worn. This can not only be conjecturally
determined by an examination of the specimens to be found in museums,
but fortunately can be settled beyond a shadow of a doubt in two
ways, each of which confirms the other. First, there are at least two
contemporary representations of persons actually wearing a penannular
brooch (one on a cross at Monasterboice, Co. Louth, and the other on
a cross at Kells, Co. Meath, in Ireland); and this ancient form of
fibula has survived, and is in use at the present time in Algeria and
elsewhere.
The example at Monasterboice[417] is on the bottom panel of the side of
the shaft of the cross of Muiredach (or Murdoch), which was erected in
A.D. 924. The scene represented on the panel has been conjectured by
the late Prof. J. O. Westwood, from its similarity to a miniature in
the Book of Kells at Trinity College, Dublin, to be intended for Christ
seized by the Jews. If this be so, the central figure is our Lord, and
on each side is a soldier armed with a drawn sword. The sculpture is
in good preservation, considering its great age, and the details of
the costume, which are very elaborate, can be made out fairly well.
Our Lord wears a sort of cloak with a penannular brooch fixed on His
right shoulder. The split in the ring of the brooch faces downwards,
and the pin is inclined upwards at an angle of about 30 degrees to the
horizontal, the point being outwards. Probably the heavy head of the
pin is placed downwards because its weight would always tend to bring
it to this position, as the one of most stable equilibrium, but it may
also have been to avoid injury from the point of the long pin.
[417] _Illustrated Archæologist_ for 1893, p. 164.
[Illustration: BISKRA WOMAN WEARING A PAIR OF PENANNULAR BROOCHES, THE
ENDS OF THE PINS POINTING UPWARDS]
The second example is on the bottom panel of the side of the broken
cross-shaft in Kells[418] churchyard. The exact date of this monument
is unknown, but it is probably of the ninth or tenth century. The
subject on the panel is the Baptism of Christ, with the sources of the
two imaginary rivers, Jor and Dan, which, when united, were supposed to
contribute their waters to the Jordan, indicated conventionally in a
most remarkable manner. John the Baptist pours the water over the head
of Christ with a sort of ladle. Above is the Holy Dove, and on the left
are two figures wearing penannular brooches exactly in the same manner
as on the Monasterboice cross, with the pin pointing upwards. In the
case of the figure furthest to the left, the end of the long pin is
inserted a second time into the fabric of the dress, beyond the ring.
The method of wearing the penannular brooch at the present day in
Algeria is clearly indicated on the reproduction of a photograph[419]
here given. The only difference in the way of wearing the brooch in
Algeria and in ancient Ireland is, that in the former case they are
worn in pairs instead of singly, and there is a connecting chain with
a small pendant scent-box hung from the middle. The size of the box is
exaggerated out of all proportion by being placed nearer the camera
than the rest of the figure.
[418] _Illustrated Archæologist_ for 1893, p. 165.
[419] Obtained from Albert Hautecœur, 2, Boulevard des Capucines,
Paris.
In Great Britain the penannular brooches appear to have been worn
singly, as they are never found in pairs; thus offering a contrast to
the Scandinavian bowl-shaped brooches, which are always found in pairs,
and were connected by a chain, as in the case of the Algerian brooches.
It would be interesting to know how the penannular form of brooch was
first introduced into this country, for its seems hardly conceivable
that it could have been invented here, or else it would not be found
in Algeria, which never had any connection with Great Britain, it
being extremely unlikely that so peculiar a type of brooch was evolved
independently in the two countries.
The most probable suggestion is that the Algerians and the ancient
Irish got it from a common source, namely, the East, and that its
introduction into our own islands dates from the time when the traffic
in silver bullion from the East commenced. The existence of a trade
route which was made use of by the dealers in silver bullion is made
clear by the number of finds of Mahomedan silver coins associated
with ingots, rings, and ornaments of silver, made both in Scandinavia
and in Great Britain. Dr. Hans Hildebrand, in his _Industrial Arts of
Scandinavia_ (p. 81), informs us that “considerable stores of such
coins, most of them of the Samanid dynasty, have been found in Sweden.
It is satisfactorily proved by Russian finds, that these coins were
brought from states near the Caspian Sea, through Russia to the shores
of the Baltic Sea, and thence to the commerce established by the
inhabitants of Gotland over to that island. From Gotland, and probably
also by direct intercourse with Russia, the Mahomedan coins were spread
over Scandinavia, being of course more common in the eastern provinces
of Sweden than in the western and in Norway.” No less than 20,000
Mahomedan silver coins have already been discovered in Sweden, mostly
dating between A.D. 880 and 955, the latest belonging to the year A.D.
1010.
[Illustration: DETAIL OF ORNAMENT ON THE TARA BROOCH]
[Illustration: DETAIL OF ORNAMENT ON THE TARA BROOCH]
[Illustration: DETAIL OF ORNAMENT ON THE TARA BROOCH]
Penannular brooches have been found in association with Mahomedan coins
of the ninth and tenth centuries, at Skaill, in Orkney; at Storr, in
Skye; and at Cuerdale, near Preston, in Lancashire.
Although the general form of the penannular brooch is probably of
Eastern origin, the decorative features vary according to the race of
people who adopted it. Thus the examples from Algeria have Mahomedan
ornament; those from Gotland, Scandinavian patterns; whilst those
from Ireland and Scotland are thoroughly Celtic in design. With the
decoration of the foreign specimens we are not now concerned, but a few
words with regard to the various types found in Great Britain will form
a fitting conclusion to this article.
The finest collections of penannular brooches are to be seen in the
British Museum, the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, in
Edinburgh, and in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin. A
few good specimens are in private hands, and there is a splendid one
from Orton Scar,[420] in Westmoreland, in the Museum of the Society of
Antiquaries at Burlington House.
[420] _Reliquary_ for 1903, p. 203.
The portions of the brooch, the forms of which are altered so as to
adapt them better to the reception of ornament, are the head of the pin
and the two terminations of the ring, where the break occurs. The two
chief ways of altering the shapes of these parts are (1) by making them
spherical, and (2) by expanding into a wide flat surface; the object
in both cases being to increase the area available for decoration.
Sometimes, also, the ring and the long end of the pin are flattened and
widened for a similar purpose.
As an example of a penannular brooch with bulbous terminations
to the ring and head of the pin, we have one from Co. Kildare in
Ireland (R.I.A. photo, B 172). The knobs are covered with a prickly
ornament produced by incised lines drawn diagonally in two directions,
crossing each other, giving the whole the appearance of the head of
a thistle. Several brooches of this kind have been obtained from
different localities in Ireland, and there was one along with the
three brooches of the type with flattened and expanded ends found with
the Ardagh Chalice—a hoard of objects of purely Irish types—but their
ornamentation appears to be more Scandinavian than Celtic. One of the
best specimens from Skaill, in Orkney, now in the Edinburgh Museum,
has a pin 1 foot 3 inches long, and the bulbous ends covered with
zoömorphic designs similar to those on the Manx crosses, and on an iron
axe-head inlaid with silver from the Mammen How,[421] Denmark.
[421] Dr. J. Anderson’s _Scotland in Pagan Times: Iron Age_, p. 97.
We next come to brooches with discoidal terminations, of a date not
later than the beginning of the ninth century, as the simplest example
of which may be taken one from Croy, in Inverness-shire (_Scotland in
Early Christian Times_, 2nd ser., p. 23). Another, found near Perth
(_ibid._, p. 21), has three raised heads on each disc; whilst one from
Rogart, in Sutherlandshire (_ibid._, p. 7), has four raised heads
outside the circumference of the disc, so that the terminations are
altered into the shape of a quatrefoil.
[Illustration: DETAIL OF ORNAMENT ON THE TARA BROOCH IN THE DUBLIN
MUSEUM]
[Illustration: DETAIL OF ORNAMENT ON THE TARA BROOCH IN THE DUBLIN
MUSEUM]
Lastly, we have brooches with flat expanded ends to the ring, of which
kind three specimens in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy at Dublin
are illustrated, in order to show the way of ornamenting the expansions
with one, four, and five raised bosses, having zoömorphic designs on
the background (R.I.A. photos, B 163 and B 164). The area of the head
of the pin available for decoration is increased by making it into a
cylindrical tube.
In the final stage of the development of the penannular brooch in
Ireland it ceased to be penannular, if we may be permitted to use such
an Irish expression. The break in the ring was entirely filled up,
although its position can still be traced by the method of arranging
the pattern, which survived in its old form long after the split had
disappeared. The celebrated Tara Brooch, in the Museum of the Royal
Irish Academy (R.I.A. photo, A 161), affords a striking example of
this. The doing away of the break in the ring must have entirely
defeated the original purpose the brooch was intended to serve, and
it would, therefore, appear that these highly decorated brooches were
made rather for ceremonial use, than to be of any practical value as
dress-fasteners.
It may be pointed out that all the characteristic modifications of the
form of the penannular brooch made by the Celtic artist arose from his
desire to provide more space for the ornamental patterns, which were
the very salt of his existence.
Dr. Joseph Anderson contributes the following note apropos of the long
pin:—
“In the _Brehon Laws_, vol. iii., p. 291, men are
exempted from liability to fine for injury from the
pin of their brooch (in a crush? or at a fair?) if
they have the brooch on their shoulder so as not to
project beyond it. Women also are exempt if they have
their brooch similarly on their bosom.” Vol. iv., p.
323, “a precious brooch worth an ounce [of silver?] is
enumerated among the customary insignia of a chief.”
The Tara Brooch[422] was found in 1850 by some children whilst
playing on the strand near Drogheda, Co. Meath. It was offered by
the mother of the children to a dealer in metals in Drogheda, but he
refused to purchase it, after which she took it to a watchmaker in
the town, who gave her a trifle for it. The watchmaker cleaned it
up, and subsequently sold it to Messrs. Waterhouse, of Dame Street,
Dublin. The Tara Brooch is now in the Museum of the Royal Irish
Academy. The body of the brooch is made of an alloy of copper and tin
called white bronze, and the decorations with which it is encrusted
consist of gold filigree in small recessed panels, niello, enamel, and
settings of amber and glass. The ornament includes interlaced-work,
spirals, step-patterns, scrollwork, zoömorphs, and anthropomorphs. The
spiralwork is of the best kind, such as is only found in MSS. like
the Book of Kells. The designs on the back of the brooch appear to
be chased or cut into the solid metal of the body, and not composed
of plaques fixed on with rivets. Attention should be particularly
directed to the rows of birds, each biting the leg of the one in
front of it, on the back of the brooch. Similar designs occur in the
Lindisfarne Gospels[423] and on a cross-shaft from Aberlady,[424] now
at Carlowrie Castle, near Kirkliston, Linlithgowshire, clearly showing
Northumbrian influence, as bird-motived ornament of this kind is in no
way characteristic of pure Irish work.
[422] H. O’Neill’s _Fine Arts of Ancient Ireland_, p. 49.
[423] _Publication of the Palæographical Soc._, and G. F. Warner’s
_Illuminated Manuscripts in the British Museum_, 3rd series.
[424] Allen and Anderson’s _Early Christian Monuments of Scotland_, p.
428.
[Illustration: DETAIL OF ORNAMENT ON THE TARA BROOCH IN THE MUSEUM OF
THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY, DUBLIN]
There are several beautiful penannular brooches in the National Museum
of Antiquities of Scotland, at Edinburgh, most of which are described
and illustrated in Dr. J. Anderson’s _Scotland in Early Christian
Times_ series. The finest of these is the Hunterston Brooch,[425] which
has a Runic inscription upon it and is decorated with interlaced-work,
zoömorphs, and spiralwork almost equal to that on the Tara Brooch. The
Cadboll Brooch[426] from Rogart, Sutherlandshire, and a brooch from
Perth[427] are also very beautiful examples.
The best examples of early Irish ornamental leatherwork are the
satchel of the Book of Armagh[428] in the Library of Trinity
College, Dublin, and the satchel of St. Moedog’s reliquary[429] in
the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy. The patterns on the former
consist of interlaced-work and zoömorphs, and those on the latter of
interlaced-work only. There are also specimens of leather shoes in the
Museum of the Royal Irish Academy with Celtic ornament upon them.[430]
There are very few objects of wood or bone now in existence which
exhibit Celtic ornament of the Christian period.
[425] Dr. J. Anderson’s _Scotland in Early Christian Times_, 2nd ser.,
p. 2.
[426] _Ibid._, p. 7.
[427] _Ibid._, p. 21.
[428] Rev. J. P. Mahaffy’s _Book of Trinity College_.
[429] _Archælogia_, vol. xliii., p. 131.
[430] Sir W. Wilde’s _Catal. Mus. R.I.A._, p. 284.