The art of Scotland spans not only centuries ,but millennia, from the very ancient designs and images on stones ,through all of the various movements of the Western World, right down to our own time. Very often we are apt to think of the ancient ‘spiral and trumpet ‘designs or the interlacings and knotwork patterns of the great standing crosses or the same type of design found on the pages of very early manuscripts, as the true ‘Celtic’ or traditional Scottish art, yet these represent only a tiny fragment of Scotland’s visual artistic expression. Throughout the ages, while standing slightly at the periphery of ‘Western Civilization’, Scotland has also acted as a guide to the nations of the West of Europe which have had larger populations and often more in the way of tangible wealth….ever sending forth her sons and daughters to act as tutors, guides, counselors and planners to those other nations. As a result, Scotland has had the advantage of having been able to maintain her own unique culture within her own borders, yet standing shoulder to shoulder with other nations throughout the various stages of cultural development. We can offer but little more than a thin slice of Scotland’s artistic contributions, but bear this very important consideration in mind. Scotland was never able to afford much in the way of frivolity such as is evidenced by the very great shows of the monarchs and nobles of the continent. Scotland’s art has been tailored to fit the needs of her people, which is to say that it has only recently been the art of collectors, and throughout the centuries, even with a French Queen and her court in Edinburgh, the opportunities for lavish or ostentatious displays have been few and far between. More often it has been what people lived with in their daily lives. It was not merely the pragmatism of the Reformation which brought caution to outward display. Scotland's people have had to dance to the rhythm of the earth’s desperate limitations which time and circumstances had imposed . As a result there has been an economy in line and form which, after all is said and done, is the very hall-mark of good design. It is only when Scots artists have become infatuated with the art styles of other lands that they truly seem to lose their heads….perhaps a lesson for any of us at any time in history.
Some sites and articles you may wish to look at:
CELTIC ART (Christian)
MEDIEVAL STONES and BURIAL SLABS
SCOTTISH WEAPONRY and HERALDIC ART
18th and 19th CENTURY ARTISTS
CHARLES RENNIE MACINTOSH
Scotland is filled with signs of human habitation; of mankind’s daily life, religious experience and ceremony which go back, if not to the "childhood of the human race", for at least over 5,000 years. In every part of this most ancient of the Western world’s kingdoms , a visitor would not have to travel any great distance to come face to face with the evidence of some ancient people who once dwelt in the area at hand. The remains are varied, yet can be classified by archaeologists into types representative of given time periods and particular groups of such ancient folk.Siol nan Gaidheal can do little more than to point you in the direction of this very fascinating and absorbing study at this time. We leave it to our visitors to determine how deeply each of you may wish to delve. Be warned however, that once one starts to follow even one thread, that individual may well be entering into a life-long study.
The Following are merely a very few suggested sites to start you on your way:
www.brand-dd.com/stones/index.html (Try this first!....an excellent site for stones, stone circles, etc.)
For Lowland Scotland try:
www.themodernantiquarian.com/browse.php?site_id=417
For
Highland Scotland try:
www.themodernantiquarian.com/browse.php?site_id=418
The term, "Celtic Art " is a misnomer for the word ‘Celtic’ is more apt to be applied as a means of identifying a linguistic group rather than an ethnic one. We are forced to utilize the designation however, since it has come to be widely used and also equally widely understood to indicate a mode of artistic expression which has come to be identified with the "Celtic" countries: Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Man and Brittany….and to some extent, Gallicia in Spain’s north west corner.
Prior to the arrival of the Christian Faith to the land of our ancestors, there does not seem to have been any of the ‘knot-work’ or ‘inter-lacing ‘designs which are seen in our own time to be the hallmarks of Celtic art. Up to the Christian era, and into the early stages of that new religion, the so-called ‘spiral and trumpet’ designs were the most frequently used; not only in metal work, but also in stone, wood, and such other materials which were at hand. It is pretty safe to assume that such patterns were also used for embroideries, stamped or carved leather and pottery. The Picts especially show us by their stone carvings , that they had reached a high degree of skill in designing the complex ‘key’ patterns.
"Spiral and Trumpet" PatternKnot-work patterns seem to have come into Ireland and Scotland from the Coptic Christians of the Near East, and apparently by way of Tours in Gaul, where St. Martin had established a great center of learning,….a veritable ‘clearing house’ or supply center for Christian thought, liturgy, teachers and artists at that distant time, the 4th century A.D.
Knotwork Pattern (in stone)Never before in the history of the Western world has there been such a proliferation of ‘Celtic" art, music and lore. No one seems to be able to explain this phenomenon, or why the various manifestations of our ancestral culture seems to be so much in demand. It was not all that long ago that Scottish jewelry , belt buckles, brooches and such, translated to the oft-seen tangle of thistles in silver; for the most part designs unchanged since the mid-19th century. The Celtic cross remained ,for the most part, confined to markers in graveyards ,and the inter-laced designs were usually found only on the odd book cover or as embroidery on the dresses and shoulder plaids of Irish dancers. If one were to search diligently enough in a college library, he or she could find images of ‘Keltic’ art in the Art History section under the heading of Barbarian Art or Art of the Dark Ages. Of course, there had been a very few people such as Alexander Richie on the Isle of Iona, or George Bain, who were working away in a workshop or among students, carefully reproducing the old interweaves and, to a lesser extent, the old pre-Christian "Spiral and Trumpet "designs. Even so, the work of such craftsmen remained in the realm of curiosities; remnants of an ancient culture. After all, it was expected that a visitor to a place like Iona would want to come away with a silver cross or a souvenir brooch or spoon bearing an interlaced pattern, and of course with the advent of independence for Ireland, reproductions of patterns derived from artifacts such as the Book of Kells, the Ardagh Chalice or Tara Brooch , became emblematic of Ireland’s greatness long before the terrible years of English rule. The young folk admired it, but like the ceilidh bands and the country dance music, it was not an art form which they took to their hearts., for such were the manifestations of remembrance ; the province of the older generations.
In the past quarter of a century The outpouring of "Celtic" jewelry, prints, shawls, crosses, quaichs, wood-carvings, paintings, illustrations and everything imaginable , have come onto the market places like an avalanche….and interestingly enough, it is the younger people who seem to be taking all of this to their hearts and homes. It is amazing how many young couples have been seen recently with Celtic knot-work wedding bands, and silver Celtic crosses are worn by men and women alike ; by Protestants and Catholics alike as well. It is as if also, a bridge is being rebuilt between the various Celtic peoples. Once again, Scots, Irish, Welsh, Cornish, Bretons and Manx folk share the same art forms.
Some sites to look at in regard to Celtic Art:
CELTIC CROSSES in STONE: (Standing Crosses and Slab Crosses ):
Rosemarkie Stone………. www.kratz.freeserve.co.uk
The ‘Daniel Stone’(at Rosemarkie……www.cali.co.uk
The Kildalton Cross……..www.aboutbritain.com/KildaltonCross.htm
Aberlemno Stone ……….www.darkisle.com/a/aberlemno/aberlemno.html
CELTIC CROSSES TO WEAR , to HANG UP or STAND UP :
The very best site that we know of for a wide range of Celtic Jewelry and other great Celtic gear from both sides of the Atlantic is Walker Metal-Smiths in Andover, N.Y. Steve also provides a tremendous amount of information on everything from traditions to Highland Weddings!
www.celtarts.comThe Scottish Lion (online catalog)
CELTIC ART in WOOD :
Clive O’Gibney, Traditional Celtic Woodcarver : www.celtic-woodcarving.com
Alec MacCrea…Woodcarvings and Illustration: www.celtic-woodcraft.com
Medieval Stones and Burial Slabs
Killmory SlabsKilmartin, in Western Argyll ,is noted for its very ancient stones and monuments which go back in time to the very dawn of culture in Scotland. Yet, much less attention seems very often to be given to another of its truly great treasures :the stone Burial Slabs which date from the late Medieval Period, bearing record of warriors, knights and chiefs even into the seventeenth century. These long, rectangular slabs are often decorated with carvings in low relief, of foliage, swords,galleys, human figures in battle gear or ecclesiastical vestments, not to mention the odd symbol which may be found from time to time which would appear to have some essoteric meaning. Some of these are believed to have connections to the Templars, that much discussed and rather obscure group of warrior-monks who seem to keep cropping up throughout Scotland's long history, only to disappear again into the shadows of obscurity , leaving us to wonder and to speculate. Siol nanGaidheal will refrain from speculation as to wht there may such a great number of such stones and their symbols to be found at Kilmartin and other areas in the West of Scotland.Let it suffice to say that here, in this very ancient cross-roads of many peoples, where Gael, Viking, Briton and Pict met and made their wars, their treaties and intermarried ; where just a short distance to the South the Dalriadic Kings held sway and were innaugurated on the hill of Dun Aad, there is bound to have been a great many mysteries .Close by the present parish church there is to be found a rather extensive collection of such slabs. They show us the pride of former days, when the MacDonald Lords of the Isles had a fleet of ships greater than that of the King of England, when these Lords held court and signed their treaties with Danish and Norwegian kings. We see MacNeil chiefs and MacDugalls, Macleans and Campbells. The MacMhurrich chieftains, Bards to MacDonnel of ClanRanald ,whose harps and recitations had come down in a steady stream since the days of Neil of the Nine Hostages, they too were native to this area, their clan seat at Kilberry being just a bit farther south.. Most of the stones at Kilmartin are stood up now, so that the visitor may look directly across at these ghosts in stone from a misty past.
South of Kilmartin,close by the Point of Knap on the Knapdale Peninsula, there is a small but relatively important collection of burial slabs and some standing cross slabs at Kilmory. It is not an easy place to reach, but is well worth the side trip. Here, in the shell of an old church which has been roofed over with a translucent material, one can see the stones arranged along the walls.The Church with its stones is not far from the road, but if the weather is rainy, you would be well advised to have some boots to pull on, as you have to go a short distance into a cattle pasture. The cattle and sheep will not bother you, but the mire and animal droppings may not be too agreeable. Anyway, no one ever said that researching ancient stones in Scotland is for the faint-hearted!
Stone Slabs at Killmory, ArgyllKilberry is another site which is well worth seeing for the burial slabs which are kept there.Although this hamlet is also situated on Knapdale, it is impossible to drive from Kilmory to Kilberry. Route A83 south from Lochgilphead is the way to go , taking a right-hand secondary road ( B8024 ) . A sign will show the way to the stones and Kilberry Castle . There is a small inn in Kilberry, the Cuisine of which is one of the best-kept secrets in the West of Scotland, by the way. The stones here at Kilberry are arranged in an open-air, but roofed site, quite well set up for viewing and photographing.
Near LochAline, just across the Sound of Mull by ferry from Mull's north-east 'corner' is the very old churchyard of Kiel Morvern. Most of the stones here date from the 14th century, at the time when the MacDonald Lordship of the Isles, which clan's chiefs had a residence and stronghold at nearby Ardtournish Castle. There is a very thin, graceful High Cross in the churchyard which dates from the 14th century.The remains of some older Medieval structures can be found at the edge of the churchyard, attesting to there having been an ecclesiastic establishment of some importance here at one time. Next to the old parish church, a smaller building serves to house some very impressive stone slabs. The carvings which are to be found at Kiel are said to be of the "Iona School" of art and decoration.More will be mentioned of Iona later on in this presentation.
There is a sizeable leap in design to be seen between the early Christian art of the Celtic church with all of the impressive knot-work and spiral and trumpet designs, to the styles employed on these low-relief carvings which date from the 12th century onward. Even on Iona, which had been a continual burial ground through the years, the transition seems to have been a bit more sudden than one might expect there to have been.Of course, Iona had once been the very center of Scotland's Columban church, but had been a Roman Catholic monastic site for quite some time,complete with a Monastary and Convent where the Roman Liturgy had been in use sinc the 9th century at least. In addition to the outward change in the church, Western Scotland had been pulled kicking and screaming into the mainstream of Scottish and continental politics.The clan wars and the power-plays between the Lords of the Isles and the mainland Earls had finally reached the attention of the central government in Edinburgh. Where the church had remained supreme for at least three centuries, the warrior function had rushed in and filled the vacuum.Contact with the royal court at Edinburgh, knights from France and England, had given rise to the use of armorial bearings, and chiefs which had formerly used devices on their shields for the sake of decoration now began to use particular bearings ; shields emblazoned with designs which had become the established and registered marks of their particular families and positions. From time to time we see the shield of a chief or a great lord on these slabs...along with twisting and turning foliage which is somewhat reminiscent of the earlier knot-work. Often, very often, we see the outline of a broadsword or a galley. The galley designs are interesting in themselves, because there was a different kind of ship design used for each Island Chief.
The use of the stone slabs to cover and mark he graves of important personages was common throughout Scotland, so common in fact that right up into our own age they have been very much taken for granted.Over the years, some of them had been overgrown and broken and often parts of such slabs were taken away to be used in the construction of walls and stone dykes. It is only very recently that steps have been taken to ensure the preservation of these markers for future generations, by removing them to some kind of shelter against the ravages of time and even visitors.There are many who feel that the stones should not be removed from their original sites, while others feel that such an important part of Scotland's heritage must be saved at all cost. Even within the Siol nan Gaidheal , our won membership is found to be just about equally divided on this particular point. In any case, the stone slabs are a very important part of Scotland's Art History.
Unusual Crucifix Stone at Killmory
Work in Progress.......
.jpg)