CHAPTER VI

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.