Christianity Arrives In Ireland

Christianity Arrives In Ireland

Not much factual history is known previous to the arrival of the Christians to Ireland as they had become the first people to actually document historic events here.

By the time of their arrival in Ireland, approx 430AD, the country was dominated by the Celtic culture that had arrived during the Iron Age period. The people in Ireland were druids including the Kings and nobles, a challenge for any Christian.

Who brought Christianity to Ireland?

Many people believe that St Patrick was the one responsible for bringing Christianity to Ireland. Although he made a major impact on Christian Ireland he certainly wasn’t the first to arrive here. St Palladius was the first Christian to arrive in Ireland sent over from Rome by the Pope in 430AD, two years previous to St Patrick’s arrival. St Palladius wasn’t as successful in converting the Irish and Celtic druids to Christianity as St Patrick.

The monastic movement in Ireland

Christian’s in Ireland become known for their monastic (simple) lifestyle, they changed the way Christianity would be taught but also how they lived. They would build monasteries in remote places, away from main villages or towns and they themselves would become the centre of their own community.  The monks were extremely intelligent, the spoke and wrote Latin but also had great skills in art as proven with the creation of some of the finest illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells. These places of worship help produce many Irish saints who would go to spread the word of the lord throughout Ireland, Europe and in some cases further.

Monks also loved to write and they started recording important events that were occurring in Ireland during their time. They were also known to record stories or ancient that had been handed down to families over generations and some of the stories date back when the Celts had become settled in Ireland. This was extremely important in terms of documents history, without the records from the monks we today would know very little about Ireland its early history.

After Christianity was introduced to Ireland the Irish Church set about re-introducing Christianity to Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire, they set-up religious settlements in France, and Italy. They spread the gospel to places like Germany and beyond where previously the word Christianity had not been heard.

The Golden Age 7^th and 8^th Centuries

http://www.100objects.ie/

Monasteries as patrons of the arts

The seventh century saw the start of the Irish Golden Age when schools of art, learning and missionary endeavour sprang up throughout Ireland. Under the patronage of monasteries and the wealthy elite Irish craftsmen produced some of Europe’s finest early medieval decorated manuscripts and artefacts of gold, silver and stone.

Schools of art

In this period continental and Anglo-Saxon art influences were combined by Irish craft workers to create an insular art style. ( The term derives from insula, the Latin term for "island"; in this period Great Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style different from that of the rest of Europe. ) Innovations in sculpture, ornamental metalwork, manuscript illumination and architecture, coincided with developments in literature, language and grammar and the establishment of new church practices.

Styles of art

The elaborate motifs and scenes executed in stone on the High Crosses reflect not only the skill of the stonemasons but also highlight the transfer of artistic concepts and designs between the crafts of stone, metal and manuscript illumination of the period. As free standing sculptures, Irish high crosses dominated the architecture of Ireland’s main church settlements

Although the Romans never invaded Ireland their influences travelled through trade and contact with them. One feature that travelled was writing based on the Roman alphabet known as ‘ogham’.

Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the so-called "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries), and later the Old Irish language (so-called scholastic ogham, 6th to 9th centuries). There are roughly 400 surviving orthodox inscriptions on stone monuments throughout Ireland and western Britain; the bulk of them are in the south of Ireland, in Counties Kerry, Cork and Waterford. We developed into a civilisation getting the island the title of ‘Saints and Scholars’.

 Metalwork 8^th-12^th

^{•          During the Christian era, new artistic traditions developed in Ireland}

fusing Germanic art with traditions from the Roman world and traditions around the Mediterranean. These fused to the La Tene style art. This style was found in manuscript illumination i.e. the Book of Durrow. And so began the link between the style of manuscripts and metalwork of the 7th and 8th centuries.

^•        

   ^{600 A.D. fine Irish craftsmen changed considerably from the late Iron Age. Solid silver objects had appeared, enamel was used more and the new technique of millefori glass (method of producing motifs by covering a cane of glass with layers of different coloured glass and cutting into short lengths) had been adopted.}

^{•           Now new types of objects were fashionable i.e. large pins for fastening garments and penannular brooches. There were workshops all over the country i.e. monastic site at Armagh and Ballinderry Crannog Co. Offaly. Penannular brooch got its name because of the gap in the ring which was developed from a Roman military-style brooch.}

^{•           Motifs in metalwork were also suitable for manuscripts. The colouring in manuscripts was approached in the coloured enamel in metalwork.}

^{•           8th century shows a huge range of techniques, all over decorations various effects found in other traditions.}

^{•           New techniques such as:}  

    ^{Gold Filigree}

     Filigree is a delicate kind of jewellery metalwork, usually of gold and silver, made with tiny beads or twisted threads, or both in combination, soldered together or to the surface of an object of the same metal and arranged in artistic motifs.

Gilding 

The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold.

^{•           Early 8th century era known as the ‘Golden Age’…… time of perfection.} 

^{Ballinderry Brooch}

^{•           Ballinderry Brooch, Co. Offaly 600A.D. National Museum of Ireland.}

^{•           Millefori glass in the little plate on the terminals, along with sunken areas of red enamel.}

^{•           Decorated with bands of lines, hatching and herringbone design.}

^{•           Full circle of bronze with a pin attached which would fasten through the garment.}

^{Rinnagan Crucifixion Plaque}

^{•           Rinnagan, Co. Rosscommon. National Museum of Ireland. Late 7th century.}

^{•           Also known as St. John’s crucifixion plaque.}

^{•           Possibly acted as a book cover suggested by several holes surrounding the piece.}

^{•           Made from bronze. Main attention directed to the face of Christ. Nailed feet point downwards, arms outstretched and nailed to the cross.}

^{•           Design combines herringbone pattern, spirals and zigzags. Ornament on the garment is La Tene style. Christ wears a long sleeved garment with interlace at the wrists. Around Christ small angels, they attend to Christ with spiral designs on their wings too.}

^{Ardagh Chalice}

^{•           Ardagh Chalice, National Museum of Ireland}

^{•           Found in 1868 near Ardagh, Co. Limerick by a boy digging potatoes. It was found with four brooches and a bronze chalice. Must have been part of the collection of a rich monastery.}

^{•           Simple design using gold and silver, moulded coloured glass and light engraving. There are large areas free of decoration. But the decoration used elsewhere involves plain interlace and animal interlace, scrolls, plaits and frets in gold wire filigree. Other techniques used are engraving, casting, enamelling and cloisonne, a method of enamelling which separates the colours with thin strips of metal.}

^{•           The three main elements of the chalice are the bowl, stem and broad foot.}

^{•           Complex gold filigree work forms a band around the chalice broken by red and blue glass studs. Under this band, engraved lightly into the silver, are the names of all the apostles except Judas.}

^{•           The bowl of the chalice is joined to the base by a thick bronze stem. Stem is heavily gilded (thin layer of gold impressed on to the metal). Here the decoration is the most intricate and involved of all. The base is formed by a cone-shaped foot around which is a decorated flange for extra stability. This flange has square blocks of the blue glass separated by panels of interlace and geometric ornament.}

^{•           In the centre of the underside of the base is a circular crystal surrounded by gold filigree and green enamels. The outer edge of the flange underside is divided into eight, with six copper studs and two silver.}

^{•           The handles on both sides are a concentrated area of rich colours and patterns. Decorated with coloured glass panels in red, blue, green and yellow, in between are tiny panels of complex and skilled gold wire filigree work, coloured glass and a cloisonne enamelled stud in the centre.}

^{•           The gold filigrees of the Ardagh Chalice and the Tara Brooch were apparently derived from Germanic work, reaching new heights of elaboration and minuteness}

^{Tara Brooch}

^{•           Tara Brooch, National Museum of Ire, 8th century}

^{•           Found near the seashore of Bettystown Co. Meath after the cliff collapsed by a jeweller and named it Tara and it remained.}

^{•           It’s a form of penannular brooch based on a Roman design. No particular Christian connection. Most likely to be made for the personal adornment of a queen or king or bishop.}

^{•           It is tiny and is a ring brooch. And there is no gap which the pin can pass through so it is called a pseudo-brooch chains and loops are needed for fastening a chain like this.}

^{•           The point where the chain joins the brooch is beautifully decorated: two glass studs in the form of human heads.}

^{•           Made of bronze, back covered in copper and glass studs, front with gold, amber and glass. Gold is worked into filigree panels, some of which have fallen off.}

^{•           Decorated with spirals, loops, animal and bird heads.}

^{•           Back of brooch is also highly decorated. There are two plates. La Tene style is dark against a silver background. Chain is attached to the brooch by two animal heads at each end of a little plate. Two human heads lie in the centre of this plate. These human faces are purple.}

^{•           Straight pin with triangular head with gold filigree, amber and glass.}

^{•           Cast and gilded kerbschnitt ornament appears on the shaft and head of the pin. Occurs also on the inner and outer edges of the ring. Kerbschnitt is a method of casting which imitates wood carving - chip carving.}

^{Derrynaflan Hoard}

^{•           National Museum of Ire, mid 8th century. Found at an ancient monastery of Derrynaflan, Co. Tipperary in recent years.}

^{•           The hoard contained a chalice very similar to the Ardagh Chalice. Suggesting this may have been a common design to the Irish Church. The hoard also contained a silver paten and a beautiful strainer-ladle}

^{•           The paten contains such techniques as filigree, enamelling, casting, stamping of thin gold and knitting of wire mesh.}

 The Viking Invasion – 9^th & 10^th Century

The Vikings conducted extensive raids in Ireland at first they founded Limerick in 812, then established a settlement near Waterford in 853, invaded Dublin and maintained control until 1169, and founded trading ports in Cork in the 9th century. The Vikings and Scandinavians settled down and intermixed with the Irish. Literature, crafts, and decorative styles in Ireland and Britain reflected Scandinavian culture. Vikings traded at Irish markets in Dublin. Excavations found imported fabrics from England, Byzantium, Persia and central Asia. Dublin became so crowded by the 11th century that houses were constructed outside the town walls.

The Vikings pillaged monasteries on Ireland's west coast in 795 and then spread out to cover the rest of the coastline. The north and east of the island were most affected. During the first 40 years, the raids were conducted by small, mobile Viking groups. By 830, the groups consisted of large fleets of Viking ships. From 840, the Vikings began establishing permanent bases at the coasts. Dublin was the most significant settlement in the long term. The Irish became accustomed to the Viking presence. In some cases they became allies and married each other.

^{Metalwork 11th and 12th Century}

^{•           Artistic production declined during the 9th and 10th century but continued in the production of stone crosses.}

^{•           The 11th and 12th century was a period of peace between the Vikings and the coming of the Normans, stoneworkers and metalworkers produced works of art equally.}

^{•           Almost all metalwork was produced for the church consisting mainly of highly ornamented shrines and reliquaries connected with Irish saints.}

^{•           Shrines like the Cross of Cong and the Shine of St Patrick’s Bell} 

^{were made to hold objects  or relics associated with the saints such as books or bells. While objects like the Shrine of St Lachtin’s arm may have been to hold bones of a saint.}

^{•           Processional cross, in the centre a crystal rock set in the silver mount and surrounded by gold filigree. Tubular silver edging surrounds the gently curved outline of the cross punctuated by bossed rivets. Cross surface divided into sections of cast bronze thread-like snakes holding animal shapes.}

^{•           The staff and cross are linked by animal jaws biting the base of the cross. animals have scaled heads, pointed ribbed snouts, little curved ears and blue glass eyes. Below these heads is an ornate knob similar to that found on croziers.}

^{•           Shrine of St Patrick’s Bell (first picture)}

^{•           Clonmacnoise crozier (second picture)}

^{•           Great care was taken creating these objects.}

^{•           In the Irish Christian Church, croziers were held in great reverence. It is one of the finest in Europe of this time.}

^{•           One notable feature of the metalwork is the blend of Scandinavian influences, seen through the use of animal imagery, with native Irish work.}

^{•           Craftsmanship shows high patronage by the rich and well-to-do clans and royalty.}

^{•           Shrine of St Patrick’s Bell, early 12th century. Has a tapering body and curved top. Front covered with a gilt silver frame in which there were originally 30 gold filigree panels. Variety of intertwined single or animal pairs forming regular figure eight shapes. Large rock crystal occupies the centre space. On the back, series of interlocking crosses pierced into a silver frame against a bronze background. Sides are decorated with panels of animal interlace separated by a circular cross. Rings at sides suggest it was meant to be carried.}

^{•           Clonmacnoise crozier, early 12th century}

^{Formed by two tubes of bronze wrapped around a wooden staff finished with a curved crook. Crook is hollow with animal interlace in silver, edged with niello (}black mixture of copper, silver, and lead sulphides) inlay down the sides. Front of crook, grotesque bearded human head with staring eyes. Behind this a crest running down the curve of the crook. The crest formed by a series of dog-like animals. Base of the crook, front and back formed with grotesque animal heads. Under the base, two pairs of cat-like animals standing with arched backs and legs entertwined and twisted tails