The transformation of Celtic stone carving into the great tradition of insular art in the early medieval period striking developments in the history of European art. The carved pillar stones of the late Iron Age and Gallo-Roman period, the elaborate funerary sculpture of the Romano-Celtic world, the Christian sculpture of the late Roman and sub-Roman British Isles, and the great high crosses of the eighth and ninth centuries together form a continuous tradition that culminates in the high point of the insular art of the monasteries of Ireland, Iona, and Northumbria. This transformation is at the heart of the tradition of Celtic stone carving and high crosses and is part of the broader Celtic art and craftsmanship tradition, drawing on the ornamental vocabulary of the Hallstatt and La Tène art styles and merging with the developed Christian visual culture of the early medieval west. The carved ornament of the high crosses and the manuscripts draws heavily on the older tradition of Celtic knotwork and symbolism, and the same motifs appear in the surviving Celtic metalwork and jewelry of the period.
The Continental Background
The story begins with the great carved pillar stones of late Iron Age and Gallo-Roman Gaul, including the Pilier des Nautes in Paris, the Pillar of Pfalzfeld in the Hunsrück, and the Jupiter columns of the Rhineland. These monuments, dating from the late second century BCE to the early second century CE, combine Celtic and Roman iconographic conventions, and they include a rich repertoire of carved ornament that drew on the older La Tène vocabulary of spirals, plant-scrolls, and animal forms.
The continuation of the pillar stone tradition in the Gallo-Roman period provided the immediate background to the later stone carving of the British Isles. The monuments of Roman Britain, including the Pedestal of the Four Seasons at Cirencester, the Hedda Stone at Hartlepool, and the various votive reliefs from the sanctuaries of Hadrian’s Wall, show the persistence of the older Celtic iconographic vocabulary in the Roman provincial context, and they provide many of the motifs that would later be developed in the early medieval stone carving of the British Isles.
The Sub-Roman and Early Christian Sculpture of Britain
The withdrawal of the Roman administration from Britain in the early fifth century CE did not bring the stone carving tradition to an end. The sub-Roman sculpture of the fifth and sixth centuries, including the inscribed stones of the Welsh and Cornish Celtic-speaking regions and the carved monuments of the British church in the age of the saints, continues many of the older conventions. The inscribed stones of the Welsh tradition, including the Carew Stone in Pembrokeshire and the Trallwng Stone in Powys, show the survival of the Latin epigraphic tradition combined with older Celtic motifs.
The most important development of the sub-Roman and early Christian period is the appearance of the inscribed and carved cross-slab, a vertical stone slab with a carved Latin cross and an inscription commemorating a person, often a member of the local elite. The cross-slab tradition developed in the Celtic-speaking regions of the west in the fifth and sixth centuries, and it spread to Ireland, Scotland, and the north of England, where it provided the immediate background to the great high cross tradition of the eighth and ninth centuries.
The Early Irish Cross-Slabs
The early medieval Irish cross-slab, dating from the seventh and eighth centuries, is a key transitional form between the older inscribed stones of the sub-Roman British tradition and the great high crosses of the eighth and ninth centuries. The early Irish cross-slabs, including the Fahan Mura slab in County Donegal, the Kilree slab in County Kilkenny, and the Lorrha slabs in County Tipperary, show the gradual development of a distinctive Irish Christian stone-carving tradition that drew on both the older British cross-slab tradition and the new Christian iconography of the Mediterranean world.
The early Irish cross-slabs often include both a Latin cross and older Celtic motifs, including spirals, triskeles, key patterns, and interlace. The combination of the Christian symbol and the older Celtic ornament distinctive features of the early Irish tradition, and it is the immediate background to the great high crosses of the eighth and ninth centuries. The most elaborate of the early Irish cross-slabs, such as the Fahan Mura slab, are already complex compositions that include both figural and ornamental elements, and they show the technical and artistic skill of the Irish stone carver of the seventh and eighth centuries.
The High Crosses of the Eighth and Ninth Centuries
The high cross, the great free-standing stone cross of the early medieval Irish, Scottish, and Northumbrian monasteries, is the most spectacular development of the Celtic stone carving tradition. The earliest high crosses, dating from the eighth century, include the Durrow Cross in County Offaly, the Kells crosses in County Meath, and the Iona crosses. These early crosses are relatively simple in form, with a limited range of carved ornament and a small number of scriptural scenes, and they show the gradual development of the high cross tradition from the older cross-slab.
The later high crosses, dating from the ninth and tenth centuries, are far more elaborate. The Cross of Muiredach at Monasterboice, the Cross of the Scriptures at Clonmacnoise, the Moone High Cross in County Kildare, the Ahenny High Crosses in County Tipperary, and the Castledermot High Crosses in County Kildare are all major monuments of the high cross tradition, with extensive carved panels showing complex scriptural scenes, saints, and donors, all framed by bands of elaborate interlace, key pattern, and spiral ornament. The combination of figural composition and ornamental frame distinctive features of the high cross tradition, and it represents the high point of the insular stone-carving achievement.
The Manuscripts and the Unification of the Insular Tradition
The carved ornament of the high crosses is part of a wider visual culture that includes the illuminated manuscripts of the same period. The Book of Durrow, the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Book of Kells, and the Echternach Gospels are all products of the same monastic world that produced the high crosses, and the motifs, the techniques, and the iconographic conventions of the one appear in the other. The spiral, the triskele, the interlace, the key pattern, the animal interlace, and the inhabited vine scroll that decorate the high crosses are the same motifs that appear in the carpet pages, the canon tables, and the illuminated initials of the manuscripts.
The unification of the stone-carving and manuscript traditions of the early medieval Celtic world remarkable features of the period. The same craftsmen, drawing on the same repertoire of motifs, produced both the carved stone crosses and the illuminated manuscripts, and the high cross of Muiredach at Monasterboice and the Book of Kells at Trinity College Dublin are products of a single artistic culture that represents the high point of the insular achievement.
The Legacy of the Insular Stone-Carving Tradition
The insular stone-carving tradition did not end with the Viking raids of the ninth century or the political upheavals of the tenth and eleventh centuries, and the production of high crosses and other carved monuments continued in Ireland, Scotland, and the north of England throughout the central Middle Ages. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries saw a revival of stone carving in the Celtic-speaking regions, with the Romanesque churches of the Anglo-Norman lords and the Gaelic revival producing new kinds of carved stone monuments that drew on the older insular tradition, and the late medieval high crosses of County Mayo and County Tipperary show the continuing vitality of the tradition.
The survival of the insular stone-carving tradition striking continuities in the history of European art, and the monuments produced by it, from the pillar stones of late Iron Age Gaul to the high crosses of the Irish and Scottish medieval period, are an essential part of the Celtic art and craftsmanship tradition.
Related Topics
- The Celtic stone carving and high crosses tradition of which the insular monuments are the most spectacular surviving expression.
- The Celtic knotwork and symbolism that decorates the high crosses and the manuscripts of the insular period.
- The Celtic metalwork and jewelry of the early medieval period, which shares many ornamental motifs with the high crosses.
- The Hallstatt and La Tène art styles from which the older elements of the insular stone-carving vocabulary descend.
- The broader Celtic art and craftsmanship tradition in which the insular stone-carving tradition is a major landmark.