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Celtic knots (, , , ) are a variety of and stylized representations of knots used for decoration, used extensively in the style of Insular art. These knots are most known for their adaptation for use in the ornamentation of Christian and , such as the 8th-century St. Teilo Gospels, the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. Most are , and many are varieties of basket weave knots.
, step patterns, and are dominant motifs in Celtic art before the Christian influence on the Celts, which began around 450. These designs found their way into early Christian manuscripts and artwork with the addition of depictions from life, such as , and even . In the beginning, the were intricate interwoven cords, called Braid, which can also be found in other areas of Europe, such as Italy, in the 6th century. A fragment of a Gospel Book, now in the Durham Cathedral library and created in northern Great Britain in the 7th century, contains the earliest example of true knotted designs in the Celtic manner.
Examples of plait work (a woven, unbroken cord design) predate knotwork designs in several cultures around the world, but the broken and reconnected plait work that is characteristic of true knotwork began in northern Italy and southern Gaul and spread to Ireland by the 7th century. The style is most commonly associated with the Celtic lands which included England and was then exported to Europe by Irish and Northumbrian monastic activities on the continent. J. Romilly Allen has identified "eight elementary knots which form the basis of nearly all the interlaced patterns in Celtic decorative art".
The Celtic knot as a tattoo design became popular in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.
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