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Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from insula, the Latin language term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style different from that of the rest of Europe. Art historians usually group Insular art as part of the Migration Period art movement as well as Early Medieval Western art, and it is the combination of these two traditions that gives the style its special character.Honour & Fleming, 244–247; Pächt, 65–66; Walies & Zoll, 27–30
Most Insular art originates from the Irish monastic movement of Celtic Christianity, or metalwork for the secular elite, and the period begins around 600 with the combining of Celtic art and Anglo-Saxon art styles. One major distinctive feature is interlace decoration, in particular the interlace decoration as found at Sutton Hoo, in East Anglia. This is now applied to decorating new types of objects mostly copied from the Mediterranean world, above all the codex or book.No manuscripts are commonly dated before 600, but some jewellery, mostly Irish, is dated to the 6th century. Youngs 20–22. The early history of Anglo-Saxon metalwork is dominated by the early-7th-century finds at Sutton Hoo, but it is clear these were the product of a well-established tradition of which only smaller pieces survive. Wilson, 16–27. The earliest Pictish stones may date from the fifth century however. Laing, 55–56.
The finest period of the style was brought to an end by the disruption to monastic centres and aristocratic life caused by the Viking expansion which began in the late 8th century. These are presumed to have interrupted work on the Book of Kells; no later Gospel books are as heavily or finely illuminated as the masterpieces of the 8th century.Dodwell (1993), 85, 90; Wilson, 141 In England the style merged into Anglo-Saxon art around 900, whilst in Ireland the style continued until the 12th century, when it merged into Romanesque art.Ryan Ireland, Scotland and the kingdom of Northumbria in Northern England are the most important centres, but examples were found also in southern England, WalesThe late Ricemarch Psalter is certainly Welsh in origin, and the much earlier Hereford Gospels is believed by many to be Welsh (see Grove Art Online, S2); the 10th-century Book of Deer, the earliest manuscript with Scottish Gaelic, is an Insular product of eastern Scotland (Grove). and in Continental Europe, especially Gaul (modern France), in centres founded by the Hiberno-Scottish mission and Anglo-Saxon missions. The influence of Insular art affected all subsequent European medieval art, especially in the decorative elements of Romanesque and Gothic manuscripts.Henderson, 63–71
Surviving examples of Insular art are mainly illuminated manuscripts, metalwork and carvings in stone, especially High cross. 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 initials (an Insular invention), and figurative miniatures, especially Evangelist portraits, are also common.
Some sources distinguish between a "wider period between the 5th and 11th centuries, from the departure of the Romans to the beginnings of the Romanesque style" and a "more specific phase from the 6th to 9th centuries, between the conversion to Christianity and the Viking settlements".Hicks C. R. Dodwell, on the other hand, says that in Ireland "the Insular style continued almost unchallenged until the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1170; indeed examples of it occur even as late as the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries".Dodwell (1993), 90.
There is no attempt to represent depth in manuscript painting, with all the emphasis on a brilliantly patterned surface. In early works the human figure was shown in the same geometric fashion as animal figures, but reflections of a classical figure style spread as the period went on, probably mostly from the southern Anglo-Saxon regions, though northern areas also had direct contacts with the Continent.Grove, Wilson, 38–40, Nordenfalk, 13–26, Calkins Chapter 1, Laing 346–351 The origins of the overall format of the carpet page have often been related to Roman floor mosaics,Henderson, 97–100 Coptic carpets and manuscript paintings,Nordenfalk, 19–22, Schapiro, 205–206 without general agreement being reached among scholars.
Especially in Ireland, the clerical and secular elites were often very closely linked; some Irish Abbot were held for generations among a small kin-group.Youngs, 13–14 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 generally larger kingdoms. Both the Celtic (Irish and ) and Anglo-Saxon elites had long traditions of metalwork of the finest quality, much of it used for the personal adornment of both sexes of the elite. The Insular style arises from the meeting of their two styles, Celtic and Anglo-Saxon animal style, in a Christian context, and with some awareness of Late Antique style. This was especially so in their application to the book, which was a new type of object for both traditions, as well as to metalwork.Youngs, 15–16, 72; Nordenfalk, 7–11, Pächt, 65–66
The role of the Kingdom of Northumbria in the formation of the new style appears to have been pivotal. The northernmost Anglo-Saxon kingdom continued to expand into areas with Celtic populations, but often leaving those populations largely intact in areas such as Dál Riata, Elmet and the Kingdom of Strathclyde. The Irish monastery at Iona was established by Saint Columba (Colum Cille) in 563, when Iona was part of a Dál Riata that included territory in both Ireland and modern Scotland. Although the first conversion of a Northumbrian king, that of Edwin in 627, was effected by clergy from the Gregorian Mission to Kent, it was the Celtic Christianity of Iona that was initially more influential in Northumbria, founding Lindisfarne on the eastern coast as a satellite in 635. However Northumbria remained in direct contact with Rome and other important monastic centres were founded by Wilfrid and Benedict Biscop who looked to Rome, and at the Synod of Whitby it was the Roman practices that were upheld, while the Iona contingent walked out, not adopting the Roman Easter dating until 715.Nordenfalk, 8–9; Schapiro, 167–173
What had finally settled into a broad consensus as to the origins of the style may be disturbed by the continuing assessment of the large numbers of decorated metalwork finds in the Staffordshire Hoard, found in 2009, and to a lesser extent the Prittlewell princely burial from Essex, found in 2003.Hendersons
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 largest and least portable. The highest quality survivals are either secular jewellery, the largest and most elaborate pieces probably for male wearers, or tableware 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, often attached to a royal household, though other pieces were made by monastic workshops.Youngs, 15–16, 125 The evidence suggests that Irish metalworkers produced most of the best pieces,Youngs, 53 however the finds from the royal burial at Sutton Hoo, from the far east of England and at the beginning of the period, are as fine in design and workmanship as any Irish pieces.Wilson, 16–25 Even excepting the existence of workshops in the mid-to-late medieval period, the craftsman may not always have had been responsible for the full design of the works, for example the execution of portions of the Ardagh Chalice evidences a lack of skill compared to the rest of the piece.Murray (2011), pp. 162, 164
There are a number of large penannular brooches, including several of comparable quality to the Tara brooch. Almost all of these are in the British Museum, the National Museum of Ireland, 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. Surviving stones used in decoration are semi-precious ones, with amber and rock crystal among the commonest, and some . Coloured glass, Vitreous enamel and millefiori glass, probably imported, are also used, as seen in the late 6th century Ballinderry Brooch.Youngs, 72–115, and 170–174 on techniques; Ryan, Michael in Oxford Art Online, S2, Wilson, 113–114, 120–130
The gilt-bronze Rinnegan Crucifixion Plaque (NMI, late 7th or early 8th century) is the best known of a group of nine recorded Irish metal Crucifixion plaques and is comparable in style to figures on many high crosses; it may well have come from a book cover or formed part of a larger altar frontal or high cross.Johnson, Ruth. Irish Crucifixion Plaques: Viking Age or Romanesque?, The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 128, (1998), pp. 95–106. JSTOR. Image Ó Floinn; Wallace (2002), p. 187
The Ardagh Chalice and the Derrynaflan Hoard of chalice, paten with stand, strainer, and basin (only discovered in 1980) are the most outstanding 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, but 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.Youngs, 125–130, and catalogue entries following, including the Derrynaflan Hoard. The Insular crozier had a distinctive shape; the survivals, such as the Kells Crozier and Lismore Crozier all appear to be Irish or Scottish, and from rather late in the Insular period. These later works, which also including the 11th century River Laune and Clonmacnoise Croziers are heavily influenced by Viking art and have interlace patterns in the Ringerike or Urnes styles.Murray (2010), p. 50Ó Floinn; Wallace (2002), p. 220
The Cross of Cong is a 12th-century Irish processional cross and reliquary that shows Insular decoration, possibly added in a deliberately revivalist spirit.Rigby, 562
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. The book was recovered, but not the cover, as also happened with the Book of Lindisfarne. None of the major Insular manuscripts have preserved their elaborate jewelled metal covers, but we know from documentary evidence that these were as spectacular as the few remaining continental examples.Calkins 57–60. The 8th-century pocket gospel book Book of Dimma has a fine 12th-century cover. The re-used metal back cover of the Lindau Gospels (now in the Morgan Library, New York) was made in southern Germany in the late 8th or early 9th century, under heavy Insular influence, and is perhaps the best indication as to the appearance of the original covers of the great Insular manuscripts, although one gold and garnet piece from the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard, found in 2009, may be the corner of a book-cover. The Lindau design is dominated by a cross, but the whole surface of the cover is decorated, with interlace panels between the arms of the cross. The cloisonné enamel shows Italian influence, and is not found in work from the Insular homelands, but the overall effect is very like a carpet page.Lasko, 8–9, and plate 2; Lindau Gospels cover , from Morgan Library
Durham Gospel Book Fragment. The earliest painted Insular manuscript to survive, produced in Lindisfarne c. 650, but with only seven leaves of the book remaining, not all with illuminations. This introduces interlace, and also uses Celtic motifs drawn from metalwork. The design of two of the surviving pages relates them as a two-page spread.Calkins, 32–33; Nordenfalk, 14–15, 28, 32–33
Book of Durrow. The earliest surviving Gospel Book with a full programme of decoration (though not all has survived): six extant carpet pages, a full-page miniature of the four evangelist's symbols, four full-page miniatures of the evangelists' symbols, four pages with very large initials, and decorated text on other pages. Many minor initial groups are decorated. Its date and place of origin remain subjects of debate, with 650–690 and Durrow in Ireland, Iona or Lindisfarne being the normal contenders. The influences on the decoration are also highly controversial, especially regarding or other Near Eastern influence.Calkins, 33–63 gives a full account with many illustrations; Nordenfalk, 34–47, and 19–22 on Coptic influences; see also Schapiro Index (under Dublin), Wilson, 32–36 and index.
The manuscript is decorated by cross motifs, ribbon interlace, lattice work, carpet pages, and the evangelist symbols. After large initials the following letters on the same line, or for some lines beyond, continue to be decorated at a smaller size. Dots around the outside of large initials are much used. The figures are highly stylised, and some pages use Germanic interlaced animal ornament, whilst others use the full repertoire of Celtic geometric spirals. Each page uses a different and coherent set of decorative motifs. Only four colours are used, but the viewer is hardly conscious of any limitation from this. All the elements of Insular manuscript style are already in place. The execution, though of high quality, is not as refined as in the best later books, nor is the scale of detail as small.Calkins, 33–63 gives a full account with many illustrations; Nordenfalk, 34–47.
Lindisfarne Gospels Produced in Lindisfarne by Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne, between about 690 and his death in 721 (perhaps towards the end of this period), this is a Gospel Book in the style of the Book of Durrow, but more elaborate and complex. All the letters on the pages beginning the Gospels are highly decorated in a single composition, and many two-page openings are designed as a unit, with carpet pages facing an incipit ("Here begins..") initial page at the start of each Gospel. Eadfrith was almost certainly the scribe as well as the artist. There are four Evangelist portraits, clearly derived from the classical tradition but treated without any sense of depth; the borders around them are far plainer than the decoration of the text pages, and there is clearly a sense of two styles which Eadfrith does not attempt to integrate wholly. The carpet-pages are enormously complex, and superbly executed.Calkins, 63–78; Nordenfalk, 60–75
Lichfield Gospels Likely made in Lichfield around 730, this deluxe gospel-book contains eight major decorated pages, including a stunning cross-carpet page and portraits of the evangelists Mark and Luke. The gospels of Matthew and Mark and the beginning of Luke survives. From its time in Wales, pages include marginalia representing some of the earliest examples of Old Welsh writing. The manuscript has been at Lichfield Cathedral since the late 10th century, except for a brief period during the English Civil War.
St Petersburg Bede. Attributed to Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey in Northumbria between about 730–746, this contains larger opening letters in which metalwork styles of decoration can clearly be seen. There are thin bands of interlace within the members of letters. It also contains the earliest historiated initial, a bust probably of Pope Gregory I, which like some other elements of the decoration, clearly derives from a Mediterranean model. Colour is used, although in a relatively restrained way.Schapiro, 199–224; Wilson, 63
Book of Kells Usually dated to around 800, although sometimes up to a century earlier, the place of origin is disputed between Iona and Kells, or other locations.Dodwell, 84 It is also often thought to have been begun in Iona and then continued in Ireland, after disruption from Viking raids; the book survives nearly intact but the decoration is not finished, with some parts in outline only. It is far more comprehensively decorated than any previous manuscript in any tradition, with every page (except two) having many small decorated letters. Although there is only one carpet page, the incipit initials are so densely decorated, with only a few letters on the page, that they rather take over this function. Human figures are more numerous than before, though treated in a thoroughly stylised fashion, and closely surrounded, even hemmed in, by decoration as crowded as on the initial pages. Books, however, are the most directly depicted objects in the illustrations. A few scenes such as the Temptation and Arrest of Christ are included, as well as a Madonna and Child, surrounded by angels (the earliest Madonna in a Western book). More miniatures may have been planned or executed and lost. Colours are very bright and the decoration has tremendous energy, with spiral forms predominating. Gold and silver are not used.Calkins, 78–92; Nordenfalk, 108–125 The Book of Kells is held in Trinity College Dublin.
A lesser known Insular manuscript in Trinity College Dublin's library is the Garland of Howth, which is in a damaged condition. Two of its illuminated pages remain, decorated with the common motifs of the Insular style.
Both Anglo-Saxon and Irish manuscripts have a distinctive rougher finish to their vellum, compared to the smooth-polished surface of contemporary continental and all late-medieval vellum.Wilson, 32 It appears that, in contrast to later periods, the scribes copying the text were often also the artists of the illuminations, and might include the most senior figures of their monastery.Alexander, 9 and 72. The tradition that St Cuthbert copied the Stonyhurst Gospel himself may be correct, though that attributing the Book of Kells to St Columba himself seems impossible. For other high-ranking Anglo-Saxon monastic artists see Eadfrith of Lindisfarne, Spearhafoc and Dunstan, all bishops.
Many Anglo-Saxon manuscripts written in the south, and later the north, of England show strong Insular influences until the 10th century or beyond, but the pre-dominant stylistic impulse comes from the continent of Europe; carpet-pages are not found, but many large figurative miniatures are. Panels of interlace and other Insular motifs continue to be used as one element in borders and frames ultimately classical in derivation. Many continental manuscripts, especially in areas influenced by the Celtic missions, also show such features well into the early Romanesque period. "Franco-Saxon" is a term for a school of late Carolingian illumination in north-eastern France that used Insular-style decoration, including super-large initials, sometimes in combination with figurative images typical of contemporary French styles. The "most tenacious of all the Carolingian styles", it continued until as late as the 11th century.Dodwell (1998), 74(quote)–75, and see index.; Pächt, 72–73
Later Insular carvings found throughout Britain and Ireland were almost entirely geometrical, as was the decoration on the earliest crosses. By the 9th century figures are carved, and the largest crosses have very many figures in scenes on all surfaces, often from the Old Testament on the east side, and the New on the west, with a Crucifixion at the centre of the cross. The 10th-century Muiredach's High Cross at Monasterboice is usually regarded as the peak of the Irish crosses. In later examples the figures become fewer and larger, and their style begins to merge with the Romanesque, as at the Dysert Cross in Ireland.Grove
The 8th-century Ruthwell Cross, unfortunately damaged by Presbyterian iconoclasm, is the most impressive remaining Anglo-Saxon art cross, though as with most Anglo-Saxon crosses the original cross head is missing. Many Anglo-Saxon crosses were much smaller and more slender than the Irish ones, and therefore only had room for carved foliage, but the Bewcastle Cross, Easby Cross and Sandbach Crosses are other survivals with considerable areas of figurative , with larger-scale figures than any early Irish examples. Even early Anglo-Saxon examples mix vine-scroll decoration of Continental origin with interlace panels, and in later ones the former type becomes the norm, just as in manuscripts. There is literary evidence for considerable numbers of carved stone crosses across the whole of England, and also straight shafts, often as grave-markers, but most survivals are in the northernmost counties. There are remains of other works of monumental sculpture in Anglo-Saxon art, even from the earlier periods, but nothing comparable from Ireland.Wilson deals extensively with the sculptural remains, 74–84 for the 8th century, 105–108, 141–152, 195–210 for later periods.
There are also a few examples of similar decoration on Pictish silver jewellery, notably the Norrie's Law Hoard, of the 7th century or perhaps earlier, much of which was melted down on discovery,Youngs, 26–27 and the 8th-century St Ninian's Isle Hoard, with many brooches and bowls.Wilson, 117–118; Youngs, 108–112, see also Shetland museum images The surviving items from both are now held by the National Museum of Scotland.
Unmistakable Insular influence can be seen in Carolingian art manuscripts, even though these were also trying to copy the Imperial styles of Rome and Byzantium. Greatly enlarged initials, sometimes inhabited, were retained, as well as far more abstract decoration than found in classical models. These features continue in Ottonian and contemporary French illumination and metalwork, before the Romanesque period further removed classical restraints, especially in manuscripts, and the capitals of columns.Pächt, 72–73, and Henderson 63–71
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