The features of Insular art produced in Ireland and Scotland are broadly recognisable: monumental ring crosses, energetic animal ornament, interlace, distinctive end elegant lettering. Their moments of glory were around the 9th and late 19th centuries with an efflorescence in the late middle ages too.
What happened in between those high moments and caused the revivals? This richly developed book provides a nuanced explanation of the political, religious and social factors which sustained Insular art not only as a distinct style but also through a range of revered objects. It demonstrates how these artefacts perpetuated belief, opinion, ancient knowledge, social status and national identity.
- Jane Geddes, Professor Emerita, University of Aberdeen,
This greatly anticipated volume examines, among other concepts, the perceptions of authenticity in the early medieval Irish and Scottish material and more recent ‘Celtic’ artefacts and is to be welcomed. The entrenched reverence for the past continues to influence contemporary views that may not consider the life or lives of the objects under examination. It is refreshing to experience this compilation of contributors who give sight to new understandings.
- Kelly Fitzgerald, University College Dublin,