NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Insular art

Insular art, also known as the Hiberno-Saxon style, is the style of art produced in the post-Roman history of the British Isles, and the term is also used in relation to the script used at the time. (The period in which they were produced is also called the Insular period in art). The term derives from insula, the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style different to that of the rest of Europe. Download high resolution version (760x1012, 238 KB) The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Download high resolution version (760x1012, 238 KB) The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... This page (folio 292r) contains the lavishly decorated text that opens the Gospel of John. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. ... Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeologists label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity. ... The beginning of the Gospel of Mark from the Book of Durrow. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

Most insular art originates from the Irish monasticism of the Celtic church, or metalwork for the secular elite, and the period begins around 600 AD, merging in England into Anglo-Saxon art around 900, whilst in Ireland the style continues until about 1200, when it merges into Romanesque art. Ireland, Scotland and the kingdom of Northumbria in Northern England are the most important centres, but examples were produced in Southern England and in Continental Europe, especially Gaul (modern France), in centres founded by the Celtic missionaries. The influence of Insular art affected all subsequent European medieval art, especially in the decorative elements of Romanesque and Gothic manuscripts. It has been suggested that SchottenklÃ¶ster be merged into this article or section. ... Celtic Christianity is Christianity as it was first received and practiced by communities with Celtic backgrounds that observed certain practices divergent from those in the rest of Europe. ... A map showing the general locations of the major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms The Anglo-Saxons were a group of Germanic tribes from Angeln, a peninsula in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Baltic Sea, and what is now Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, who achieved dominance in southern Britain from... Events University of Paris receives charter from Philip II of France The Kanem-Bornu Empire was established in northern Africa around the year 1200 Mongol victory over Northern China â€” 30,000,000 killed Births Al-Abhari, Persian philosopher and mathematician (died 1265) Ulrich von Liechtenstein, German nobleman and poet (died... Interior of the Saint-Saturnin church St-Sernin, Toulouse, 1080 â€“ 1120: elevation of the east end Romanesque sculpture, cloister of St. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Section from Shepherds map of the British Isles about 802 AD showing the kingdom of Northumbria Northumbria is primarily the name of a petty kingdom of Angles which was formed in Great Britain at the beginning of the 7th century, from two smaller kingdoms of Bernicia and Diera, and... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin: ) was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ...

Surviving examples of Insular art are mainly illuminated manuscripts, metalwork and carvings in stone, especially stone crosses. Surfaces are highly decorated with intricate patterning, with no attempt to give an impression of depth, volume or recession. The best examples include the Book of Kells, Lindisfarne Gospels, Book of Durrow, brooches such as the Tara Brooch and the Ruthwell Cross. Carpet pages are a characteristic feature of Insular manuscripts, although historiated intitials (an Insular invention), canon tables and figurative miniatures, especially Evangelist portraits, are also common. In the strictest definition of illuminated manuscript, only manuscripts decorated with gold or silver, like this miniature of Christ in Majesty from the Aberdeen Bestiary (folio 4v), would be considered illuminated. ... High Cross, Dysert, Co. ... This page (folio 292r) contains the lavishly decorated text that opens the Gospel of John. ... Folio 27r from the Lindisfarne Gospels contains the incipit from the Gospel of Matthew. ... The beginning of the Gospel of Mark from the Book of Durrow. ... The Tara Brooch. ... One or more images would improve this articles quality. ... Evangelism is the proclaiming of the Christian Gospel. ...

Background

Unlike contemporary Byzantine art, and that of most major periods, Insular art does not come from a society where common stylistic influences were spread across a great number of types of object in art, applied art and decorative art. Across all the islands society was effectively entirely rural, buildings were rudimentary, and architecture has no Insular style. Although related objects in many more perishable media certainly existed and have not survived, it is clear that both religious and secular Insular patrons expected individual objects of dazzling virtuousity, that were all the more dazzling because of the lack of visual sophistication in the world in which they were seen. The most famous of the surviving Byzantine mosaics of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople - the image of Christ Pantocrator on the walls of the upper southern gallery. ... Example of a cup figuring a tortise. ... The decorative arts are traditionally defined as ornamental and functional works in ceramic, wood, glass, metal, or textile. ...

Especially in Ireland, the clerical and secular elites were often very closely linked, some Irish abbacies being held for generations among a small kin-group. Ireland was divided into very small "kingdoms", almost too many for historians to keep track of, whilst in Britain there was a smaller number of much larger kingdoms. Both the Celtic (Irish and Pictish) and Anglo-Saxon elites had long traditions of metalwork of the finest quality, much of it used for the personal adornment of rulers. It is from the meeting of these two styles and their application to the book, which was a new type of object for both traditions, as well as to metalwork, that the Insular style arises. Abbots coat of arms The word abbot, meaning father, has been used as a Christian clerical title in various, mainly monastic, meanings. ... For the ancient tribe that inhabited what is now Scotland, see the Picts. ...

Insular metalwork

The majority of examples that survive have been found in archaeological contexts that suggest they were rapidly hidden, lost or abandoned. There are a few exceptions, notably portable shrines for books or relics, several of which have been continuously owned, mostly by churches on the Continent. In general it is clear that most survivals are only by chance, and that we have only fragments of some types of object - in particular the most portable. The highest quality survivals are either secular jewellery, much probably for male wearers, or tablewear or altarware in what were apparently very similar styles - some pieces cannot be confidently assigned between altar and royal dining-table. It seems possible, even likely, that the finest church pieces were made by secular workshops, though other pieces may have been made by monastic workshops. The evidence suggests that Irish metalworkers produced most of the best pieces. Image File history File links Tara_brooch. ... Image File history File links Tara_brooch. ... Eastern Orthodox shrine Buddhist shrine just outside Wat Phnom. ... A relic is an object, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of someone of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial, Relics are an important aspect of Buddhism, some denominations of Christianity, Hinduism, shamanism, and many other personal belief systems. ...

There are a number of brooches, including several of comparable quality to the Tara brooch. Almost all of these are in the National Museum of Ireland, the British Museum, the National Museum of Scotland, or local museums in the islands. Each of their designs is wholly individual in detail, and the workmanship is varied in technique and superb in quality. Many elements of the designs can be directly related to elements used in manuscripts. Almost all of the many techniques known in metalwork can be found in Insular work. The Tara Brooch. ... The National Museum of Ireland (NMI) is the main museum in Ireland. ... The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2000 to become the Great Court, with a tessellated glass roof by Buro Happold and Foster and Partners surrounding the original Reading Room. ... Museum of Scotland. ...

The Ardagh Chalice and the Derrynaflan Hoard of chalice, paten with stand, strainer, and basin (only discovered in 1980) are the most oustanding pieces of church metalware to survive (only three other chalices, and no other paten, survive). These pieces are thought to come from the 8th or 9th century - most dating of metalwork is uncertain, and comes largely from comparison with manuscripts. Only fragments remain from what were probably large pieces of church furniture, probably with metalwork on wooden frameworks, such as shrines, crosses and other items. The fittings of a major abbey church in the insular period remain hard to imagine; one thing that does seem clear is that the most fully decorated manuscripts were treated as decorative objects for display rather than as books for study. The most fully decorated of all, the Book of Kells, has several mistakes left uncorrected, the text headings necessary to make the Canon tables usable have not been added, and when it was stolen, in 1006 for its cover in precious metals, it was taken from the sacristy, not the library. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1086x888, 671 KB) Ardagh Chalice Created by Kglavin Feb 2005 File links The following pages link to this file: Ardagh Chalice Celtic art ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1086x888, 671 KB) Ardagh Chalice Created by Kglavin Feb 2005 File links The following pages link to this file: Ardagh Chalice Celtic art ... The Ardagh Chalice, which ranks with the Book of Kells as one of the finest known works of Celtic art, is thought to have been made in the 9th century AD. A large, two-handled silver cup, decorated with gold, gilt bronze, brass, lead pewter and enamel, assembled from 354... The Ardagh Chalice, which ranks with the Book of Kells as one of the finest known works of Celtic art, is thought to have been made in the 9th century AD. A large, two-handled silver cup, decorated with gold, gilt bronze, brass, lead pewter and enamel, assembled from 354... Derrynaflan Chalice The Derrynaflan Chalice is an 8th or 9th Century chalice, that was found 17 February 1980 near Killenaule in County Tipperary Ireland. ... A paten is a small plate, usually made of silver or gold, used to hold Eucharistic hosts. ... A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments (such as the cassock and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels and church treasures. ...

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Insular metalwork

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Insular metalwork

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