This page (folio 292r) of the Book of Kells contains the lavishly decorated text that opens the Gospel of John.David from the Durham Cassiodorus, early 8th century (?), Jarrow[1]
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 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.[2]
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 and Anglo-Saxon 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.[3]
The finest period of the style was brought to an end by the disruption to monastic centres and aristocratic life caused by the Viking raids 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.[4] 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.[5] Ireland, Scotland and the kingdom of Northumbria in Northern England are the most important centres, but examples were found also in southern England, Wales[6] 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.[7]
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 initials (an Insular invention), canon tables and figurative miniatures, especially Evangelist portraits, are also common.
^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.
^Dodwell (1993), 85, 90; Wilson, 141
^Ryan
^The 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).
Insularart, 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...
which were influenced by English missionaries. They are associated with Insularart, of which most surviving examples are illuminated manuscripts. It greatly...
English-speaking world, is called Insularart in art history. This is the best-known part, but not the whole of, the Celtic art of the Early Middle Ages, which...
Early Christian art, Migration Period art, Byzantine art, Insularart, Pre-Romanesque, Romanesque art, and Gothic art, as well as many other periods within...
parochial Insular may also refer to: Insular Chile Insular region of Colombia Insular Ecuador, administratively known as Galápagos Province Insular Region...
Britain and Ireland, that is what "Celtic art" evokes for much of the general public, is called Insularart in art history. Both styles absorbed considerable...
Insular illumination refers to the production of illuminated manuscripts in the monasteries of Ireland and Great Britain between the 6th and 9th centuries...
traditional Christian iconography with the ornate swirling motifs typical of Insularart. Figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts, together with Celtic...
triangles, found in the same context. The triquetra is often found in insularart, most notably metal work and in illuminated manuscripts like the Book...
characterized by its bright colouring and zoomorphic interlace patterns. Insularart, rich in symbolism and meaning, is characterized by its concern for geometric...
The Insular Celts were speakers of the Insular Celtic languages in the British Isles and Brittany. The term is mostly used for the Celtic peoples of the...
Romanesque art was also greatly influenced by Byzantine art, especially in painting, and by the anti-classical energy of the decoration of the Insularart of...
manuscript is one of the finest works in the unique style of Hiberno-Saxon or Insularart, combining Mediterranean, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic elements. The Lindisfarne...
start of the Insularart or Hiberno-Saxon art of the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic fusion in Britain and Ireland. It covers many different styles of art including...
received considerable influence, via continental mission centres, from the Insularart of the British Isles, as well as a number of Byzantine artists who appear...
of knots used for decoration, used extensively in the Celtic style of Insularart. These knots are most known for their adaptation for use in the ornamentation...
missionaries, from the ninth through the 12th centuries. A staple of Insularart, the Celtic cross is essentially a Latin cross with a nimbus surrounding...
Some highly distinctive monumental and ornamental art, culminating in the development of the Insularart style, are common across Britain and Ireland. The...
patterns woven into them. In addition, extant examples of early medieval Insularart, such as stone decorations and illuminated manuscripts, as well as Japanese...
particular regions. The term typically denotes the regional practices among the insular churches and their associates rather than actual theological differences...
increasing influences from the Insularart of 7th and 8th century Ireland and Northumbria, and then Anglo-Saxon and Irish art as the Early Medieval period...
were renowned centres of learning and played a key role in developing Insularart; Gaelic missionaries and scholars were highly influential in western...
music, dance, sport and art can be identified, with Irish art later merging with Anglo-Saxon styles to create Insularart. Gaelic Ireland was initially...
An Insular crozier is a type of processional bishop's staff (crozier) produced in Ireland and Scotland between 800 and 1200. Such items can be distinguished...
which acted as centres of scholarship, and led to the flowering of the Insularart style with its highly decorative illuminated manuscripts, metalwork and...
enabling Celtic motifs to resurface with new vigour in the Christian Insularart from the 6th century onwards. The sophisticated Etruscan culture developed...
with the Book of Kells as one of the finest known works of Insularart, indeed of Celtic art in general, and is thought to have been made in the 8th century...
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