Tuesday September 07, 2010

Celtic Life

Celtic Design Origins and Traditions


Celtic knots are complete loops with no end or beginning. Celtic animal interlace is similar in construction but the cords terminate in feet, heads, tails etc. The animal designs are very much influenced by older Saxon and Pictish traditions of abstract beast forms that when combined with the new more sophisticated knotwork of the Celtic designers became known as 'Hiberno-Saxon'. A good Celtic artist will never leave a loose end on a strand unless it is stylized into a zoomorphic element or spiral. Pure knots should always be unending. On this point of ornamental grammar you can distinguish much that is made to look like Celtic design by designers who do not really know the tradition. The Coptic examples of knotwork that pre-date the early Irish work are consistent this way while the Roman and Germanic examples of knotwork that sometimes are cited as possible sources often have loose ends. The way that ribbons are colored in some of the early Irish work, particularly the BOOK OF DURROW is the same as the Coptic preference and there is a parallel evolution in Moorish design. The Book of Kells is the best known source of Celtic knots as well as other types of Celtic ornament. The Book of Kells is a fantastic collection of paintings that illuminate the four Gospels in Latin, penned circa 800 AD The incredible degree of ornament and detail caused Giraldus Cambrensis in the 13th century to call it: "the work not of men, but of angels" or as Umberto Eco wrote in 1990: "the product of a cold-blooded hallucination"

Celtic Information Pages

We've gathered lots of information on Celtic history, Celtic customs, Irish History and customs, the Gaelic language, and lots more. Feel free to poke around. Have fun with the triva page, or do in-depth research on Celtic art, lore, and traditions. You never know what you'll find. Keep in mind we use the term Celtic to loosely mean any of the original 7 Celtic Tribes. While some of the information isn't technically "Celtic" based, it is considered related by many people.

We have listed the source of the information where known.


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