It is not possible to speak of the Celts in general, nor of their art in particular, without defining what exactly distinguishes them from their mediterranean contemperaries. The origions of the Celts, now lost in the midst of time, were undoubtably European; they spoke ancient Indo-European language-Celtic-that is still alive in the British Isles. As the Celtic group expanded from the nordic plains and the Mediterranean coast, their own particular art forms developed and flourished(Glen 43).

ival of the Roman Empire in the West determined both his political aims and his artistic program. His strong patronage of the arts gave impetus to a remarkable return to Roman classicism in the copying of Early Christian models and the influence of contemporary Byzantine and Greco-Roman styles, although the classicism was modified by local traditions favouring linearity and patterning and by Carolingian innovations are really a renovation rather than a true rebirth of classicism. It was, nevertheless, important for having revived the antique heritage in the West and for transmitting that interest to subsequent art. By the death of Charlemagne, the style was well defined, and even though local schools became more independent as the central authority of the empire weakened, the line of development continued until the chaotic late 9th century(Car 1html).

Self-similarity is apparent throughout Celtic art. The magnificent bull-headed torc found at Trichtingen in Germany is a fine example of how the principle of self-similarity operates. Each of the bull-head terminals on the torc wears a torc around its neck, the terminals of which are torcs, and so on. In Christian Ireland, the same principal was ovserved in the construction of shrines which were contained in identical, but larger, sacred containers, which themselves were kept in churches of the same form. In turn, the churches were designed symbolically to be images of the body of Christ and also the form of God's creation, the cosmos(Greenspun 276-277).

Among the great works of art of the ancient world, many stand out as being uniquely Celtic. This art was developed in a temperate climate. It also favored a fertile agriculture and stock-raising economy and provided a bountiful supply of water, and ample quantities of iron and stone. In their representations, the Celts showed a clear preference for gods and goddesses, powerful beasts, imagianary monsters, strangly stylized animals and twisting, intertwined plants, while the male figure was all but ignored. Frequent motifs included the lotus, palmettos, mistletoe, root madder, the thick foilage of wood, and yew, an evergreen with red berries, the lifespan of which is hundreds of years. The main features of Celtic art were closely tied to the most ancient forms of Celtic pagenism, and were repeated with increasing frequency in the course of half millenium before Christ(Greenspun 275).

Celtic art today offers works that are distinct from other forms found in western antiquity. It displays a unity that is shared by the different countries of temperate Europe. Strangely, we recognize its taste for allusion, curved forms and ambiguity because we find the same traits in contemporary art. But we have yet to discover all the treasures of the Celts. Many are still buried, and others have been unearthed but not yet sufficiently studied to be properly identified. It is surprising to learn that the names of very many modern cities are of Celtic origion, London, Dublin, Paris and Milan for example. Undoubtedly there are yet more Celtic works of art awaiting discovery in the vast expanse of Europe, and perhaps even in territories beyond the seas(Celt notes01.htm).

The earliest liturgical manuscripts of the Carolingian period, such as the Gospel book signed by the scribe Godescalc (written between 781 and 783), are characterized by a tentative and not always successful fusion of ornamental motifs of chiefly Anglo-Saxon and Irish origin and by figures derived from antiquity. Full-page portraits of the four evangelists were often designed. Later Carolingian miniatures show an increasing familiarity with the heritage of late antiquity and in some instances are perhaps influenced by Byzantine art. The manuscripts owe much of their beauty to the new minuscule form of writing, remarkable for its clarity and form. The most influential work was the Utrecht Psalter, illustrated in a mode of nervous and flickering intensity qui

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Approximate Word count = 3203
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)