KEEPER OP IRISH ANTIQUITIES IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, AND CURATOR OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY COLLECTION

DUBLIN

PREFACE

The famous Collection of the Eoyal Irish Academy was begun about the year 1840. The Council, in their Annualnbsp;Eeport for 1841, state that �the Council are of opinion thatnbsp;the formation of a National Museum of Antiquities is an objectnbsp;which the Academy should continue steadily to pursue.� Thenbsp;collection was shortly afterwards definitely organized as anbsp;Museum of Irish Antiquities.

Sir William Wilde�s well-known Catalogue, the first part of which was published in 1857, mentions but few of the objectsnbsp;described in this Guide, many of which were acquired subsequently to its publication. On the death of that distinguishednbsp;antiquary. Dr. Petrie, in 1866, his private collection, whichnbsp;embraced some of the most important antiquities of thenbsp;Christian period described in the following pages, wasnbsp;acquired by private subscription. Dean Dawson�s valuablenbsp;collection had been obtained in the first years of the Museumnbsp;in a similar manner.

When the present Museum was built in Kildare Street in 1890, the collection was transferred to the new buildingsnbsp;(now the National Museum of Science and Art, under thenbsp;Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction); butnbsp;the Academy continues to add to their collection; manynbsp;important objects were given or purchased by the Academynbsp;in recent years.

This Guide is not merely intended to point out the principal objects to casnal visitors, but is written for those who take annbsp;interest in the study of Irish Antiquities, and to give somenbsp;information as to the history of the Irish interlaced style.

It should, perhaps, be mentioned that the illustrations for the first chapter were prepared some time before the Britishnbsp;Museum brought out its very excellent Guide to the Ironnbsp;Age, which contains a full description of the archaeology ofnbsp;the La T�ne period ; the pointing out the importance of thenbsp;connexion between the classical Palmette and the La T�nenbsp;ornament of the Celts is due chiefly to the writings ofnbsp;Dr. Arthur Evans.

The inscriptions on the shrines have been re-examined by Mr. E. I. Best, of the School of Irish Learning, to whomnbsp;many thanks are due for the care he has taken in the matter.nbsp;Thanks are also due to the Eoyal Society of Antiquaries ofnbsp;Ireland, who have kindly allowed several blocks to be used.

The photographs for plates, probably the best that have yet been taken of the objects, are the work of Mr. A. M'Googan,nbsp;and have been supplied by the Museum.

Special thanks are due to Mr. E. C. K. Armstrong, Assistant for Irish Antiquities in the National Museum, for muchnbsp;assistance in preparing the work.

(X)NTENTS.

St. Tola of Dysert 0�Dea, St. Mums of Fahan,nbsp;Abbots of Clonmacnois,nbsp;Tau Crosier,

PAGE

iii, iv vii-ixnbsp;1-19nbsp;20nbsp;20-23nbsp;21, 25nbsp;25nbsp;32nbsp;33-36

37-11

42-57

42-44

44, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;45

45, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;46nbsp;47-49nbsp;50-53

53, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;54

54, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;55nbsp;55-57

58-64

60, 61 61nbsp;61

61, 62 62, 63

65-67

PAGE

68-77

78-84

78, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;79

79, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;80

80, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;81nbsp;82-84

85-90

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

5. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Kepouss� ornaments, Aylesford, and La ��ne,nbsp;Bronze Disk,

Plate XVII.�Donmach Airgid, top and front. Fig. 86. Crucifix found at Woodford,

I'AOK

70 70nbsp;70

72 72nbsp;72nbsp;72

73 73nbsp;73nbsp;73

76 78nbsp;80nbsp;81nbsp;83

84 84nbsp;88nbsp;88nbsp;90

CELTIC ANTIQUITIES OF THE CHPJSTIAN PEIHOH.

At the beginning of the fourth century before the Christian Era the Celts, known to history as Galates or Gauls, burst throughnbsp;the barriers of the Alps, and poured into Italy. In 390 b.c., havingnbsp;defeated the Romans at the long-remembered battle of Allia, theynbsp;sacked and burned Rome.

During the next century the Celtic teiTor was a very real thing. In confederation with the Etruscans, their former enemies, and thenbsp;Samnites, the Celts joined in resisting the growing power of Rome^nbsp;till finally overcome in the third Samnite war, at the battle ofnbsp;Sentinum, in 295 b.c. Prior to the invasion of Brennus we hear of thenbsp;Celts in friendly relations with the Greeks of Massillia (Marseilles),nbsp;and later generally in friendly relations with the Greeks of Greecenbsp;proper, until they outraged the Greek mind by the folly of theirnbsp;destruction of Delphi.

There is even a tradition of an earlier invasion of Northern Italy, and, no doubt, objects from the Greek and Italian lands passed upnbsp;into the inner parts of the Celtic countries before the fourthnbsp;century. It is, however, rather to the closer contact from 400 b.c.nbsp;that it is usual to date the influence of the classical anthemionnbsp;and meander patterns, modified by the Celtic love of spiral andnbsp;scroll patterns.

from the name of a Celtic stronghold at the head of Lake Ifeuchatel, where objects of that class attracted attention. It was adapted withnbsp;great ingenuity and artistic feeling hy the Celts of Britain, where itnbsp;is known as the Late Celtic style. In Ireland this ornament, especiallynbsp;the derived patterns in the early illuminated mss., has heen generallynbsp;called divergent spiral or trumpet pattern. The name Late Celticnbsp;would not have any definite meaning in Ireland, where the Celticnbsp;culture remained in many parts almost unimpaired down to the endnbsp;of the sixteenth century.

Perhaps the most instructive example of the influence of the palmette and meander patterns in forming the Celtic style is shownnbsp;in the ornament on a helmet from Berru in the Department of Marne,

ascribed to the fourth century n.c. The long swelling curves and S-turns of the style are well marked (fig. 1). Other examples arenbsp;from a grave-find at Waldalgesheim in the Bhine Province of Germanynbsp;(Lindenschmit, Alt. u. h. Vorz., Band iii., Heft, i., Taf. i.). Thenbsp;palmette on a bronze vessel in this find (fig. 2) already displaysnbsp;some debasement from the refined Greek type, and the ornament on anbsp;gold tore (fig. 2) in the same find shows considerable advance towardsnbsp;the trumpet pattern. The form is explained by the accompanying diagrams; the large fan-shaped swelling at the end of thenbsp;curves bossed up in repousse work, becomes emphasized as the

characteristic trumpet form. When two of these, that is to say two trumpet mouths, are brought together, we get the pointed oval of

the trumpet pattern�one oval often doing duty for two or more trumpet forms, sometimes marked in relief work by a dividing line

The trumpet form is well seen on ornaments in hronze and silver, of which numbers have been found in South-west Germany (fig. 3).

It is not to be supposed that a series of progressive forms always corresponds to a series of dates. The whole series of changes oftennbsp;appears to have been run through with great rapidity. .Ifter thenbsp;final form has been reached, earlier stages may re-appear; the wholenbsp;series forming a stock of ornament from which the artist could draw.nbsp;All that can be claimed is, that, if the series be viewed as a whole,nbsp;a certain tendency for some forms to disappear and others to supersede them can be detected in the progression of the series.

In the final development of the ornament, the form (called for convenience trumpet end) is set free, and figures as an independent

The spiral S-turn, which is a characteristic feature of the style, was probably first derived from the more eastern Celts. The simplified spiral with large S-turn seems first to have appeared on thenbsp;bronze sword-hilts of Hungary (Haue, � Vorromisclien Sohwerter,�nbsp;Tafel xxiv.. No. 8), dated to the middle of the Bronze Age. Thenbsp;comma-like spaces into which the circle of the spiral is thus dividednbsp;yield, when bossed up in repousse work, forms which are well seen innbsp;repousse bronze ornaments on a pail from Aylesford in Kent, andnbsp;on a bronze sword-sheath from La T�ne (fig. 5).

The La T�ne style in use by the Celts in Ireland, in the centuries before the Christian period, is well shown on the stone at Turoe, County

Galway, a cast of wliieli is in the Museum (Koom III.). The derivation of the La T�ne motive from the authemion and meander patterns

can be clearly traced with the help of the preceding examples. The marking of the trumpet ends, which are not yet developed, and which

do not appear to be an accentuated feature of the early stage, is well shown in the large bronze disks from County Kildare (fig. 6). j

Fig. 7, a detail of an ornament from the Petrie Collection, perhaps the finest example of workmanship of the period, and equalnbsp;to the best Japanese casting in bronze, exhibits the use of the

long curves and trumpet pattern in the highest degree, and a sureness of line and sweetness of curve that are the forerunners of the later work.

The Celts of the west were famous workers in enamel, an art unknown to the Eomans prior to their contact with them.

In the fifth and fourth centuries b.c. the Celts frequently used red coral, which' they employed to decorate their bronze objects,nbsp;such as fibulae, shields, harness trappings, amp;c., in incrustations,nbsp;large settings, and studs attached by small rivets. The coral, muchnbsp;valued for its many superstitious virtues, was no doubt traded by thenbsp;merchants of Marseilles up the Ehone Valley. It was broughtnbsp;probably from the Mediterranean shores near Marseilles, famousnbsp;for their coral, or possibly from the western coast of Italy. Pliny,nbsp;in his Vatural History, speaks of the coral fisheries of the Stoechadcsnbsp;(lies d�Hy�res). In the third century its use practically ceases,nbsp;owing it is supposed to scarcity, caused through the diversion of thenbsp;trade by new demands, and it is replaced by red enamel. It is oftennbsp;difficult to distinguish between the early red enamels and true coral,nbsp;the lumps of red enamel being used at first in the same way, as innbsp;the case of some curved pins from Lisnacrogher crannog. Countynbsp;Antrim, decorated with lumps of red enamel. (The subject is fullynbsp;discussed by M. Salomon Eeinach in � Eevue Celtique,� 1899, p. 13.)

The Celts of Britain, during some two centuries before the Eoman occupation, brought the art of enamelling to great perfection, filling

ttie fields of raised bronze designs with opaque enamel. The colour chiefly used was a bright sealing-wax red, but yellow and sometimesnbsp;blue are known. In the Christian period translucent blue was muchnbsp;used, and cloisons of a fret-like character were employed.

A passage from the � leones� of Philostratus, � They say that the barbarians who live in the ocean pour these colours on heated brass,nbsp;and that they adhere, become hard as stone, and preserve the designsnbsp;that are made upon them,� has been thought to refer to the Britons,nbsp;but no doubt also embraced the Celts of Ireland, who likewise practisednbsp;the art with great skill; nor should we omit the Gauls, for althoughnbsp;enamels on such an extensive scale as in Britain have not been foundnbsp;in Fi'ance, yot workshops with the crude enamel in preparation havenbsp;been discovered at Bibracte (Mt. Beuvray), and it is probable that the

art was more extensively used than appears. In Ireland, to judge from the objects that have been found, the Celts seem to have exercisednbsp;a restrained taste in their use of enamel; still from the large numbernbsp;of objects from which the enamel has perished, but in which thenbsp;blind sinkings prove the original enamelling, it is probable that itsnbsp;use was more general than would have been thought at first.

In a late period of the style are placed certain bronze pins with curious heads, sometimes called � hand type � from a fancied resemblance of form to a partly closed hand. A good series of these is shownnbsp;in the collection (fig. 8). The field of the La T�ne ornament on thenbsp;head is generally filled with enamel. They have been found also innbsp;Scotland, but rarely in England. To this period also belongs the bronze

disk (fig. 9), the central spiral of which tends rather to the spiral forms of the manuscripts; the central part, also the outer border of spirals,nbsp;�were originally filled with red enamel, a few fragments of whiclinbsp;may still be detected. The disk perhaps has some analogy to thenbsp;bronze enamelled hook-handle disks affixed to bronze howls found innbsp;Britain, which show so close a resemblance to the circular panels ofnbsp;trumpet pattern of the early illuminated Jiss. as to suggest that thenbsp;latter have been taken from them. They are dated between thenbsp;middle of the fifth and the end [of the seventh century, and form anbsp;connecting link between the metalworknbsp;and the manuscripts.

In the seventh and during the eighth century, a new style of ornamentnbsp;was introduced:�Interlaced Patterns.

At first it shares with the older style in the decoration of the time, butnbsp;gradually displaces the La Tone survivals, till about the eleventh centurynbsp;it completely supersedes and excludesnbsp;them, after which time it is quite exceptional to find any trace of La Tonenbsp;elements in Celtic, oi-, as wc may nownbsp;call it, Irish ornament.

Pig. 10, from the �Book of Burrow,� shows a good example of interlaced patterns in company with derivationsnbsp;of the La T�ne style common in thenbsp;illuminated mss. of the first period ofnbsp;the new style.

The style was probably first fully developed with all its wonderful invention under the more elastic technique of the penmanship and brushwork of the illuminated mss., though the wondrous work of thenbsp;Tara Brooch may perhaps give us reason to pause in this conjecture.nbsp;A greater desire for close spiral forms was also manifested as distinguished from the looser style of the earlier work. However, thenbsp;close spiral of many turns is found occasionally in the La T�ne period.

.and was not unknown in the sixth and seventh centuries of Byzantine �decoration. Thu older writers regarded these spirals as locallynbsp;developed in Ireland from the spirals at iMewgrange, which theynbsp;looked on as the beginning of the Celtic spiral ornament. (See castsnbsp;in Boom III.) The spirals at Hewgrange have, however, no directnbsp;connexion with the later spiral motives. The Hcwgrange spiralsnbsp;are recognized as an extension of the great jEgean spiral motive,

wliich spread through so great a part of Europe in early Bronze Age times. It was introduced into Ireland as early as 1000 or 1500 n.c.,nbsp;where it apxiears to have rapidly come to an end without any development. There is thus a long gap between the Newgrauge spiral and thenbsp;spiral motives introduced in the La Tune period and developed in earlynbsp;Christian times. Any connexion between the latter and the originalnbsp;^gean parent stem, of which it was a younger and independentnbsp;branch, must he sought towards the eastern part of the Continent.

say tliat the Irish mss. (with which are included the Hiherno-Saxon MSS. in the production of which Irish scribes took so large a part)nbsp;admittedly stand in quite the first place among early mss. for thenbsp;excellence of their penmanship and illuminations.

The genesis of these interlaced patterns is not clear in all its details. Plait-work is extremely rare in the early period ofnbsp;ancient art; it is occasionally found in the best period of Greek art,nbsp;and the guilloche jiattern is common. In the mosaic pavements ofnbsp;Homan times, both in Italy and the provinces�many such are knownnbsp;in Britain�plaits are very common for borders and panels (fig. 11).nbsp;Some full-sized drawings of these patterns from Verona are shownnbsp;in the Museum.

In Italy, in the sixth century, notwithstanding the protracted wars of Justinian, which ended in the complete overthrow of thenbsp;Gothic kingdom and the destruction of the power consolidated bynbsp;the great Ostrogoth, Theodoric, we find some good examples of classical guilloche ornament and panels of plait-work, still to he seen in

fragments remaining from the early churches (Basilieao), especially at Home and Havenna (fig. 12); also some basket-work capitals, andnbsp;open-work parapets of concentric circular interlinked hands, whichnbsp;betray Byzantine or Greek influence. Then soon after the death ofnbsp;Justinian in 565, in the wide-spread disasters brought by the Lombardnbsp;invasions, and in the frequent succession of plagues, famines, andnbsp;inundations, which well-nigh depopulated the country, architectural

enterprise necessarily ceased; and a period set in, as Cattaneo says, in �which art declined from abyss to abyss.

When at last, from the eighth century to the eleventh, architectural decoration begins to a'wake again, in what is called the Italian Byzantine style, the most conspicuous feature of the new decorationnbsp;is the knot-work, or interlacing bands, so common in churches ofnbsp;northern Italy. (See Cattaneo, �Architecture in Italy.�)

but many more might be given, and several casts of interlaced details are shown in the Museum (on the Gallery). But the stylenbsp;was not further developed in Italy than we see, and not at all in anbsp;manner to compare with that wealth of invention, which exhausts thenbsp;possibilities of the style, as developed by the Irish workers of thenbsp;same period. This fact has sometimes led to the hasty thought thatnbsp;the interlaced style in Italy was due to the Irish missionary activitynbsp;of these carlv centuries. A little consideration will, however, furnish

sufficient objections to this suggestion. Interlaced work does not appear in Italy on the tombs of Irishmen before the eighth century.nbsp;Patterns, such as the trumpet pattern, in full vigour in Ireland at thenbsp;time of the first interlacements, did not travel to Italy ; and the distinctive stepped, triangle, and skew frets are absolutely wanting innbsp;Italian work. It has been sought to fill up the gap between thenbsp;remains of the sixth century and the knot-work and interlaced ornament of the eighth, by reference to tlie Byzantine ornament and knot-work in the churches in Greece and in the many ruined cliurclies innbsp;central Syria of the sixth and seventli centuries, well dated as notnbsp;later, through their destruction by the Saracen invasion of the latternbsp;century. The scanty publication of tlic remains of these centuries innbsp;the Greek provinces of the Empire precludes us from expressing anbsp;final opinion. But, without seeking a distinct line of descent, we maynbsp;embrace tlie whole subject provisionally in another view. The stylenbsp;of knots and interlacements arose between the sixtli and eighth centuries as part of the repertory of ornament and symbolism generalnbsp;in the Christian Church at that time, and was in fact a part of thenbsp;style of the epoch. It spread with the general spread of Christiannbsp;art throughout Europe and the Byzantine Empire, aided not a littlenbsp;by the dispersion of Greek artists caused by the iconoclastic persecutions of tlie eighth century, and developed into more distinct schoolsnbsp;of design in Ireland than elsewhere.

There is one point, however, which may be mentioned in this connexion. Guilloche ornament is cliannelled along the centre of the bands which intertwine the ends of rods, the edges of the bandsnbsp;being raised, thus giving it the appearance of two ridges. Thisnbsp;is a persistent tradition from classical times in stone-carving. In thenbsp;Italian knot or interlaced work, however, the bands are divided intonbsp;tliree ridges, no doubt derived from the usual form of the basket-plaitnbsp;(see figs. 12 and 13). So marked is this distinction of bands in two,nbsp;from those divided in three in Italy, that out of some fifty examplesnbsp;illustrated by Cattaneo, a band divided into two only has to be searchednbsp;for with some diligence, and is rarely found in a characteristic interlacement. Examples figured by Miss Stokes in � Six Months innbsp;the Apennines,� such as on the tombs at Bobbio, appear as if thenbsp;band was only divided into two; but these drawings are from

rubbings (in tbe Museum), and are really negatives, the rubbings taking only the raised parts�the line drawn as dividing the handnbsp;being raised, and with the outer lines giving a band of three. Anbsp;division of two should show as two dark lines divided by a whitenbsp;line.

But outside Italy the case is quite different. (Those in Dalmatia may he included with the Italian, and among the Teutonic races northnbsp;of Italy, as we might expect, interlaced bands of three divisions arenbsp;often found as far as Scandinavia.) In Byzantine art round thenbsp;eastern end of the Mediterranean, though the examples at presentnbsp;available are hardly sufficient for a general survey, it is interestingnbsp;to note that in Syria, although the knot patterns scarcely extendnbsp;beyond simple twists and kinks, the bands when not- plain arenbsp;divided into two only, not into three ; some exception has possiblynbsp;to be made in regard to circular knot panels of the type (fig. 12) atnbsp;Constantinople or elsewhere. The Coptic art of Egypt should also henbsp;studied in this connexion. The double band is there dominant, andnbsp;elaborate plait-work was known. (See Strzygowski, � Cat. Caironbsp;Museum, Koptische Kunst.� Vienna, 1904.) It may be mentionednbsp;that �Byzantine� is not used in any local or restricted sense: thenbsp;word is derived from Byzantium, the original Greek name ofnbsp;Constantinople. In art it is employed to denote the style in generalnbsp;use in the Eastern Empire from the early centuries of the Christiannbsp;Period. Local distinctions of style need not be considered.

Kow again in Ireland the interlaced hands are either plain or divided into two only�whether in illuminated mss., metal-work, ornbsp;stone-carving. Some crosses in Donegal are erroneously drawn asnbsp;having bands of three divisions (Proc. B.I.A., vol. ii., 3rd Ser., p. 100).nbsp;On examination of the photographs of these crosses the bandsnbsp;are seen to be plain with marginal lines, a known form and not tonbsp;be mistaken for the threefold band. The same is true for the Celticnbsp;interlacements in England and of course Scotland; some exceptions,nbsp;as at Sherbourne, Oxfoi�dshire, and Eastleach, Gloucestershire, alsonbsp;on some late fonts in Norfolk, do not affect the general question.nbsp;This seems to indicate that the Celtic interlaced patterns did not comenbsp;through Italy. On the whole, it seems that single and double bandsnbsp;pertain rather to the Byzantine tradition surviving from the early

centuries as contrasted with the threefold band of the Italian tradition. In the countries beyond the influence of Italian ornament, the singlenbsp;and double hand are more usual. Although probably at the commencement prompted by the simple intertwined hand patterns ofnbsp;Byzantine art, they developed with great rapidity as an independentnbsp;style. The interlacements, as we know them, begin fully equipped,nbsp;implying the existence of a school of artists still working in thenbsp;older style; and we must not forget, as J. II. Green says of the earlynbsp;part of the seventh century, � The science and Biblical knowledgenbsp;which fled from the Continent took refuge in famous schools whichnbsp;made Durrow and Armagh Universities of the West.� (� The Makingnbsp;of England,� p. 288.)

In the La Tone or Late Celtic period of Britain and Ireland animal forms were very rarely used, though they arc more frequent on thenbsp;Continent, especially towards Italy and among the Eastern Celts onnbsp;the Danube. But in Byzantine art, which spread everywhere withinnbsp;the bounds of early Christianity, the use of animals as symbols andnbsp;types became universal. The well-known symbols of the fournbsp;Evangelists are a good instance. Animal forms were admirablynbsp;adapted by the Celtic artists of the mss. and rapidly stylised, under tlienbsp;influence of interlaced designs, including even the human figure. Thenbsp;nocks of birds (generally with eagle beaks), tails and limbs of beasts,nbsp;amp;c., were fantastically turned on themselves and interlaced, thenbsp;serpent, which needs little modification, being a most frequent device.

A few words on the animal motives and interlacements of Germany and Scandinavia may be expected, hut the subject is too difficult andnbsp;complicated to be adequately discussed here.

Shortly after the destruction of the Western Empire, though the great tradition of the Eoman style, however disturbed and debased,nbsp;still lingered on in the ornamentation of objects, yet from the fifthnbsp;century it was freely modified by a more fantastic and barbarous style

�if the word � style� can be used in such a sense. Figures of animals, birds, reptiles, and sometimes of men were employed�a changenbsp;taking place in which the classical chapter may be said to he closed,nbsp;while a grotesque element, which we usually think of as associatednbsp;with medieval art, makes its appearance. Though broken up innbsp;the barbarous art of the new times, we often detect in many of thenbsp;old German, Frankish, and Burgundian objects elements which cannbsp;bo traced back to the Homan style, and, especially across Hungary,nbsp;Byzantine and Eastern motives. (See in respect to the latter, Hampel�snbsp;�TJngarische Alterthfimer.�)

Homan plait-work had long been familiar in the lands which had been embraced by the Empire ; and we may often notice in figure-of-eight plaits, and guilloche-suggested twists, or forms such as thenbsp;plait in the circular panel (fig. 11), many debased survivals from thenbsp;Homan style. These may he remarked in the patterns of the belt-buckles, and scabbard parts (chiefly of iron inlaid with silver) figurednbsp;by Lindenschmit under the general names of Old German, Frankish,nbsp;and Burgundian grave-finds (sixth to eighth centuries).

The fibula was much modified, and the great long cruciform Teutonic brooch, with grotesque animal head at the base, comes morenbsp;and more into evidence as time advances. The ornament on many ofnbsp;the objects looks at first sight like interlaced patterns; and it has

been sometimes assumed that the origin of the Celtic interlaced style is to he referred to the German lands. It may be doubted, however,nbsp;if any true, logical, and organized interlacements can he attributednbsp;to a time much preceding the eighth century. (Those who desire tO'nbsp;study the subject may refer to Dr. Salin�swork, � Die altgermanischenbsp;Tier orn am entik. �)

The imperfect interlacements on the objects mentioned present a broken or stencil-like appearance, and show no sign of a developingnbsp;art, but, on the contrary, many signs of degeneration from older formsnbsp;�of descent rather than ascent�and the stimulus of a new stylenbsp;seems hardly to have entered into them as yet. As we have indicatednbsp;and should expect, the bands are constantly marked longitudinally bynbsp;three, and a twofold band is rare.

It may be mentioned that the stone fragments at Coire (eighth century) on the east of Switzerland, which are perhaps sometimes'nbsp;given an Irish reference on account of the proximity of the Irishnbsp;foundation of St. Gall (early seventh century), are from their architecture clearly an extension of the neighbouring Italian influence, andnbsp;the bands are marked in three.

Whether the imperfect interlacements and degenerate plaits, in conjunction with the grotesque animals of Germany and Scandinavia, independently developed into a true logical interlaced style without Irishnbsp;contact, or to what extent the Irish style may have reached the Balticnbsp;before the Viking period, as is now generally believed by the northernnbsp;antiquaries, are questions of too controversial a nature for discussion.nbsp;But it may be mentioned that the theory of German origin hardlynbsp;explains certain of the facts. Widespread as may have been thenbsp;northern animal motives, and although earlier and more directlynbsp;derived from Roman forms, yet in Ireland animal motives admittedlynbsp;display from the first a higher degree of excellence in artistic stylization than elsewhere (� Book of Durrow�). The artistic refinement ofnbsp;the Irish interlacements, compared with the more barbaric appearancenbsp;of the northern ornaments, is also noticeable; and the exclusive usenbsp;(with a very few doubtful exceptions) of the twofold band asnbsp;distinguished from the three-marked band of the Continent, is verynbsp;distinct. These facts, especially the two last, rather point awaynbsp;from Germany as the originating source, and turn our thoughts in

other directions. Moreover, as soon as the Irish style obtains a recognized position in Scandinavia, the division of hands into two isnbsp;numerous, plain or twofold hands (not three) being the Celtic tradition.

Irish objects were raided in great numbers and carried to Scandinavia, affecting the local crafts there; and after the Norse andnbsp;Danes had made good their settlement in Ireland in the ninth century, the Irish interlaced patterns were influenced by a Scandinaviannbsp;return element, especially in the prevalence of serpent or worm-dragon types. A more flamboyant, or it may be called barbaric,nbsp;flavour may also be detected as compared with the earlier morenbsp;restrained style of the Irish school.

One of the earliest examples of the illuminated siss. of Ireland is the famous � Book of Durrow,� in the Library of Trinity College,nbsp;Dublin. It is, from the style of the illuminations, attributed to thenbsp;later half of the seventh century ; and the survivals it contains ofnbsp;the previous La T�ne ornament are very beautiful and striking.nbsp;It is interesting to note that the pointed oval of the trumpet endsnbsp;may be seen constantly in white on black, or black on white, set freenbsp;as an independent ornament resembling a leaf.

The Hiberno-Saxon �Book of Lindisfarne� is another famous example of the Celtic Church. Lindisfarne, founded by St. Aidan,nbsp;was the centre of Irish missionary effort in the north of England. Asnbsp;J. B. Green again says, speaking of the conversion of Saxon Englandnbsp;in the seventh century�the real life and energy of the new Christianitynbsp;was concentrated in the north, and the north looked for its religiousnbsp;centre to Ireland; � To cross the Irish Channel, whether for pietynbsp;or for learning, became a fashion in the north, while fresh missionariesnbsp;streamed over in turn to wander into the wildest spots where Englishnbsp;heathendom found a hold.� (�The Making of England,� p. 312.)nbsp;The Book of Lindisfarne is stated to have been written by Eadfrith,nbsp;Archbishop of Lindisfarne, from 698 to 721 A.n.

The � Book of Kells,� the most elaborate of all the illuminated MSS., is usually attributed to about the same period; hut from thenbsp;occurrence in it of foliage, it possibly belongs to the eighth or evennbsp;ninth century (Bruun).

It may be noted that the panel and architectural treatment of the ornament in these books is strongly reminiscent of the mosaic

Pigs. 16 to 18 show the great variety of fret forms in use. Though we do not intend to imply that the various forms were originated innbsp;the great School of Clonmacnois, the genesis of many of the forms maynbsp;he seen upon the large series of sculptured gravestones there.

The square rectangular fret�a survival from the universally favoured fret of classical times�was, no doubt, introduced from thenbsp;Continent (fig. 16). When, however, it is used, as at Clonmacnois, tonbsp;fill semicircles of cross-ends, and curved border-patterns, the traditionalnbsp;form was broken, and all possible variations were entered upon, as wenbsp;see in the mss., metal, and stone work (fig. 18).

The divided ring-broocli, which may be regarded as a form of buckle, was ia use in different parts of Europe about the first century, andnbsp;probably for some time earlier. Such brooches arenbsp;common among Roman remains ; and their wide distribution is shown by finds in Austria-Hungary,

Northern Europe, and Spain. They are small compared with the Celtic brooch of a somewhat later time. Somenbsp;examples are dated from the associated objects tonbsp;about 200 B.c. The original centre of the type, whichnbsp;seems to be chiefly provincial, is not quite certain :nbsp;examples are numerous among the Roman remains innbsp;the Museums at Mainz and Z�rich. But the type isnbsp;well shown by the small plain brooch, fig. 19, from Fjo. i9(\V.246).nbsp;Ireland�in this case, no doubt, a good deal later. Thenbsp;pin is much longer than is usual with the earlier examples referred to.

In some examples, the retorted terminations of the ring present some analogy to the tumed-up tail terminations of the La Tonenbsp;brooch; and there is a special Spanish form of brooch which combinesnbsp;the bow-type with the ring-brooch.

It has been suggested that the Celtic penannular brooch may have been derived from North Africa and the East, as these broochesnbsp;are still worn in Algeria (J. R. Allen, �Celtic Art �). In the absencenbsp;of evidence, this is, however, a very doubtful conjecture.

The penannular brooch was developed to a great size by the Celts of these islands. It became their most characteristic ornament.nbsp;A small bronze example of an early Celtic type, slightly expanded atnbsp;the flat ends, was found in the Broch of Okstrow, Birsay, with fragments of Samian pottery, so that this brooch possibly dates fromnbsp;the Roman occupation of Britain.

In the development of the Celtic brooch the terminal ends of the ring become much expanded; and the flat plates thus formed arenbsp;richly ornamented with spiral and other forms, which continue thenbsp;La Tone style of the preceding period. At the springing of the

plates, the ring displays strongly marked cusps derived from the La T�ne style; and the head of the pin is often treated in a bold formnbsp;of the same style. The ring is round in section, and often markednbsp;by fine transverse lines, or � wormed,�� a survival from older formsnbsp;of treatment of rings. Many of the terminal plates are prepared fornbsp;enamel, fragments of which frequently survive in the ornament or innbsp;the .settings. The Celtic use of enamel in the La T�ne period, thenbsp;Heroic period of Ireland, is thus continued without interruption intonbsp;early Christian times.

In figs. 20 to 28 a number of these brooches are given. From the complete absence of any trace of interlaced ornament on them, asnbsp;well as the many La T�ne elements surviving in their decoration,nbsp;they can be safely claimed as not later than about 700 a.d.nbsp;Many of them are no doubt earlier, and follow more closely the Pagannbsp;period in Ireland. Possibly some may go back to a time precedingnbsp;the coming of St. Patrick in the fifth century; but we shall have tonbsp;wait for finds of associated objects for more precise dates.

ornament was usually enriched with enamel, though it has now completely perished inmost cases, and that it was formerly applied to them may be easily overlooked. Fig. 26 has two small tubular settings or

The relation of the spiral and curved forms to the older style is very evident on the other brooches; and the heads of the pins innbsp;several examples carry a distinct La T�ne suggestion (figs. 22, 25, 27).nbsp;The lines of worming are well marked in many cases. Fig. 20, thenbsp;ends of which are not much expanded, is probably an early example ;

Fig. 27 retains most of its enamel, which consists of square pieces of red enamel placed in a cruciform manner ; the centre pieces have anbsp;small, dark cross in the centres; the ring has a loose coil of wirenbsp;upon it similar to one of the � latchet� brooches, an example of whichnbsp;is illustrated on page 14. The ring is wormed ; and the head of thenbsp;pin shows a well-marked La T�ne form ; it may be noticed that onnbsp;the back two simple wheel-forms are engraved. It is only necessarynbsp;to mention the small equal-armed crosses on fig. 28 of Byzantinenbsp;aspect. The field in this example is, as usual, sunk and �keyed �nbsp;for enamel.

We may mention here the bronze finger-ring found at Bathbally, Blessington, Co. Wicklow (fig. 29). This is the only example in thenbsp;collection, and clearly belongs to the same period as some of thenbsp;brooches; it has been prepared for enamel.

It should ho mentioned that some of the brooches were silvered, or coated with a silver-like metal, so that they must have had a brightnbsp;and plated appearance. This has in most cases been worn away, ornbsp;destroyed by the patina of the bronze; but careful examination willnbsp;reveal traces of it in several, especially on the back of the smallnbsp;stout class, which were possibly somewhat later, and on which itnbsp;seems to have been more usual.

It is difficult to say to how early a time this method of coating bronze can he put back in Ireland; hut it was in common use in thenbsp;ninth century, as may he seen from many objects in the Danish finds.

About the time interlaced ornament came into vogue at the end of the seventh century, becoming universal in the subsequentnbsp;centuries, the practical intention of the brooch was modified by thenbsp;closing of the divided ring. The pin could no longer be passednbsp;from front to back through the division in the ring of the brooch,nbsp;which must have acted now as a large ring-pin, and could only havenbsp;been used as a brooch by passing a band or a piece of the stuff throughnbsp;the ring over the pin, and then back through the ring. The pinnbsp;may, however, have been detached at the head to enable the ring tonbsp;be fixed as a brooch, and afterwards, when the pin was securely fixednbsp;again, the brooch may have remained as a permanent ornament on thenbsp;garment.

Probably as early as 700 a.d. the divided brooch-ring began to be closed up by straps of metal.

The circular section of the old form was also abandoned, and the ring became flat, the terminations being greatly enlarged, taking thenbsp;form of sub-triangular plates ; and the hcadjof the pin was altered tonbsp;a flat triangular form. It should be noticed that this modificationnbsp;of form was accom,plished at the same time that the change in thenbsp;ornament takes place, though the divided ring was occasionally usednbsp;through the subsequent time.

The brooch became much larger and much more ornate, being enriched with settings of enamel and amber, and insertions of goldnbsp;filigree-work. The size of the ringoften runsto 5 or 6 inches in diameter,nbsp;with pins from 7 to 9 inches in length. As has been stated above,nbsp;the first stage towards closing the brooch was joining the terminalsnbsp;by connecting straps of metal (fig. 30), the division of the two terminalnbsp;plates being subsequently retained as an ornamental form. This broochnbsp;is of gilt bronze, silvered on the back ; and though wo cannot clearlynbsp;date the example, it shows very plainly the course followed in unitingnbsp;the divided ring. The difficulty in forming a series in order of progression must be allowed for as due in no small part to the devastationnbsp;of the country caused by the Viking raids in the ninth century, andnbsp;the subsequent Danish wars. The constant plundering of churches

and monastic settlements during that time is frequently mentioned by the old chroniclers.

The manner in which the brooch was worn is shown on the sculptured figures of the High Crosses in at least three instances�nbsp;Clonmacnois (a.d. 914), Monasterhoice (a.b. 924), and Kells. (See

casts and photographs in the Museum.) The pin was turned outwards, no doubt for convenience.

When the ring is entirely closed, the original division of the brooch is marked by the segments of the ornament, as in the Taranbsp;Brooch (Plates I., II.). This celebrated brooch was found in 18.50nbsp;on the strand at Betaghstown (now Bettystown), near Drogheda,nbsp;county Meath. It has no connexion with Tara, and was merely namednbsp;� Boyal Tara Brooch � hy the jeweller to whom it was sold. Thenbsp;body of the hrooch is of hronze, and is decorated with panels in fine

gold filigree-work, enamel, and settings of amber and glass. The ornament includes spirals, interlaced work, human heads, and animalnbsp;forms. On the front the ornament is mostly confined to interlacednbsp;work; the trumpet-pattern may he noticed, however, at the base ofnbsp;the pin-head, and round the outer margin of the brooch.

The back of the brooch (Plate II.), which is freer in stylo than the front, has many examples of scroll- and trumpet-pattern. The two principal panels are formed of a hard, white bronze, and are inlaid with finenbsp;spirals, apparently of a copper alloy. The fineness of the work shown

in this brooch is beyond belief. On the front, attention may bo directed to the settings of amber, and blue and purple glass, and tonbsp;the ohlong amber insertions which frame the principal panels on thenbsp;body of the brooch and the pin-head. Fine eloisonn� enamels of darknbsp;blue and red are seen on the back. Two small, finely formed headsnbsp;of purple glass, which are set in the chain-attachment, should not benbsp;overlooked. The inlay of scrolls on the back is equal to penmanship;nbsp;and it cannot be too much insisted upon that the patterns and worknbsp;of this brooch are quite equal in their own class to the work of thenbsp;best MSS. The extraordinary fineness of the gold work and the perfection of the soldering will he understood by an expert, when it isnbsp;said that much of the work on the front may be classed with thenbsp;filigree and granulm of ancient jewollery. Thus the fine wires ofnbsp;the interlaced patterns carry a minute beading, which can hardly benbsp;detected by the eye, but needs a strong glass to make it apparent.nbsp;Even the thin gold ribbons of the central interlacements, and of thosenbsp;on the head of the pin, which are set on edge, have a similar minutenbsp;beading on the edge of the ribbon. The greatly enlarged diagramnbsp;(fig. 31) may serve to indicate the kind of work, which, strangely

�nough, has been overlooked in previous notices of the brooch. This at once carries the mind back to Etruscan and Greek jewellery, andnbsp;that from the lands at the eastern end of the Mediterranean; and itnbsp;is of much interest to notice the old tradition of fine gold worknbsp;appearing in Ireland in the full Celtic style.

A piece of chain of the form known as Trichinopoly-work it attached to the side of the brooch. It may be supposed that this classnbsp;of work is not Irish; but the discovery of fine gold chains of thenbsp;same form in the Limavady find, and fine silver chains of the samenbsp;class attached to Late Celtic fibute in England, as well as an examplenbsp;attached to a pin from Clonmacnois, makes it probable that this class ofnbsp;work was done also in Ireland; and the excellence of the brooch showsnbsp;that no technical difficulty was likely to have been too great. The formnbsp;of the chain may have been, perhaps, first introduced from the East.

The ornament on this masterpiece of jeweller�s art presents such a �close analogy to the patterns of the � Book of Burrow,� and especiallynbsp;to those of the � Book of Kells,� that it is usual to assign it to aboutnbsp;700 A.D. The gaps in the record are, however, so many that, in thenbsp;absence of dated objects, we hesitate to affix a definite date, furthernbsp;than to say that the style and patterns of the brooch are better placednbsp;in the period before the Viking raids and Danish invasions, from thenbsp;end of the eighth century (795 A.n.), than in the tenth, or among thenbsp;dated shrines of the eleventh century.

There are many other brooches in the collection of bronze, sometimes gilt, and of silver, which deserve attention. It is unnecessary here to describe them at length ; several have settings of amber andnbsp;of enamel; and some of the silver brooches have small insets of goldnbsp;filigree, the work often very good.

The largest is the silver brooch found at Killamery, county Kilkenny, in 1858 (Plate III., Ho. 2). It is interesting on account of the hardly noticeable inscription slightly cut or scored on the back. Thenbsp;inscription reads; �or ar chikmac,� �aprayer for Kerwick�or �Kirby.�nbsp;This and the Ballyspellan brooch, with an Ogam inscription to benbsp;presently described, are the only examples of brooches in the collection with any inscription or indication of former ownership upon them.nbsp;Unfortunately in neither case docs the inscription help in dating thenbsp;brooches.

Fig. 32 illustrates an example of a survival of the divided ring-brooch ; it is said to have been found at Kilmainham, county Dublin.

The silver-gilt brooch, Plate III., Ho. 1, said to have been found in county Cavan, is generally known as the � Queen�s brooch,� a copy ofnbsp;it having been presented to Queen Victoria. The two small humannbsp;heads at the Junction of the ring-plates remind us of those on thenbsp;Tara brooch, and should he noticed. Attention may also be directednbsp;to the similarity between the highly raised curves of the principal

bosses on this brooch to those on the bronze brooch from Dunshaughlin crannog (fig. 30).

About the tenth century, a form of the divided silver ring-brooch was in use, differing somewhat from the preceding.

The expanded flat-ring terminals of these brooches are decorated with bosses, generally three on each terminal plate, in the shape ofnbsp;plain caps. (See Plate IV.)

The bosses are joined by strap-work, dividing the terminal plate into panels filled with zoomorpbic ornament.

The decoration of these brooches recalls that of the Scandinavian Tortoise brooches of the ninth and tenth centuries. (See casenbsp;containing Danish objects.)

The backs of those brooches are usually ornamented with animal-heads at the junction of the ring and the terminal plates. Plate IV., No. 2, is a fine example of the usual form of this class of brooch. Itnbsp;was found at Eallyspellan, county Kilkenny, in 1806. On the backnbsp;(fig. 33) are four lines of Ogam writing; and it is the only specimennbsp;so inscribed. They have been read (by Erash)�

The inscription, with the exception of the second word, apparently consists of proper names only. Conjectural attempts have beennbsp;made to identify them with persons living about 1100 a.d., but withnbsp;doubtful success.

The interlaced bands on one specimen (Plate IV., No. 1) are exceptional in being divided into three, one of the very few cases in which this form of band is found in Ireland.

This class of brooch is dated to about tenth century from associated coins (at Cuerdale, Lancs.), and, with the next type of brooch, isnbsp;possibly of northern origin or suggestion. There are several complete

At about the same time, another form of silrer penannular brooch was in use (fig. 34). These brooches have been found in the same hoardsnbsp;as the preceding (Cuerdale, Lancs., 910 a.d.) The pin-heads andnbsp;ring-terminals are ornamented with large bosses or bulbs decoratednbsp;with thistle ornament. In some cases interlacing bands, enclosed in anbsp;circle and divided into quadrants, replace the thistle ornament on onenbsp;side of the bulbs. The ring was developed to a great size, and the pinsnbsp;to a great length ; the pin of the brooch-head from Kilkenny (fig. 35),nbsp;if in proportion, would have been 2 feet long, and the ring fullynbsp;10 inches in diameter.

obliged to curtail the length of their brooch-pins. The passage, as translated by O�Curry, runs : � Men are guiltless of pins upon theirnbsp;shoulders or upon their breasts; provided they don�t project too farnbsp;beyond it.�

These brooches have been found in hoards in Lancashire, Yorkshire, the Isle of Man, and Orkney, in association with coins dating fromnbsp;910 to 975 A.D.

The brooches found with the Ardagh Chalice included a brooch of this type, like fig. 34, but smaller.

This bulbous form of brooch is found in Norway, and from the usual absence of living forms in the decoration, and the number of Cufic

coins found in Scandinavia, it has been suggested that these brooches may have been worn by the merchants on the trade route betweennbsp;the Caspian or Black Sea and the Baltic. (Smith, Proc. S. A. Lond.,nbsp;Series II., vol. xix., p. 304, and vol. xxi., p. 70.)

Some large silver pin-brooches may be mentioned here ; their heads, relatively small, have a hinge-joint enabling them to be usednbsp;as a brooch (fig. 36). There is also in the 11.1. A. collection a pin-brooch similar to that found at Clonmacnois, figured by J. llomillynbsp;Allen, in �Celtic Art,� p. 221. The Clonmacnois pin has a chain

attached of Trichinopoly-work passing through a ring at the end of the kite-shaped head, and, no doubt, the brooch in the collection wasnbsp;originally furnished with a similar chain. The interlaced ornamentnbsp;on the Clonmacnois and the similar pin-brooch in the Academy�snbsp;collection is of a fine character, and the work of a more Irish formnbsp;than on the much larger pin-brooches, whose pins measure 22 andnbsp;20 Jr inches in length ; they also have a ring at the back of the end ofnbsp;the head.

Some simple iron penannular brooches have been occasionally found, and may be mentioned. (See Dunshaughlin crannog finds.)

Bronze pins have been found in practically all parts of the country ; but it would he tedious to attempt to classify them closely.nbsp;The tenth to the eleventh century may be taken as the approximatenbsp;date to which most of them may be ascribed. There are, however,nbsp;some which can be assigned to an earlier period, such as the � hand-type � pin mentioned at page 7, and other pins of that class, whichnbsp;show ornament earlier than the interlaced style. Among the fewnbsp;silver pins in the collection is also the very finely ornamented pin,nbsp;fig. 45, which may be attributed to an early date, from both itsnbsp;shape and ornament.

sections of glass canes, not enamels, formed by placing a number of rods of different-coloured glass together, and drawing the bundle outnbsp;in a single rod, so that a section of the combined rod shows a various-coloured pattern. We may quote Miss Stokes�s description of thisnbsp;pin: �The pin is of bronze, inlaid with ornaments of glass . . .;nbsp;a rose pattern, white on blue ground, h inch diameter, is set atnbsp;either side of a diamond-shaped ornament . . , , consisting of a centrenbsp;of translucent crimson glass on a diaper pattern of yellow andnbsp;white ; [around the head] is a star of crimson and blue, whichnbsp;ornament is repeated six times along the side of the pin. Here itnbsp;would seem that these pieces of coloured glass were put together so

as to form a mosaic-work of canes of different colours ; that tney were fused together and drawn out; and the pieces used in the ornamentnbsp;are sections of the canes when drawn out.� (� Early Christian Art innbsp;Ireland,� p. 79.) The bronze of the pin shows traces of having beennbsp;silvered on the head.

Another pin, with a simple flat head, has two remarkably fine settings of similar glass canes (fig. 37).

This beautiful process, generally called � millefiori,� was known to the Egyptians, from whom it appears to have been borrowed by

the Romans, who employed it to a considerable extent, fragments of the glass canes being still occasionally found at Rome. There

are several examples of this class of work among the Roman remains at Mainz; also in the British Museum, and elsewhere.

In the subsequent interlaced period many of the pins adopt the general features of the brooch, from which they are chiefly distinguished by their diminished size. They are often enriched with interlaced ornaments and with settings of amber (figs. 40, 41, 42).

There are many otlier pins with various forms of attached ornamental ring-heads (fig. 43). The first, with a curious close-fitting movable ring or loop, has been considered to be an early form.nbsp;Several examples are tinned or silver-plated. The heads of thenbsp;smaller pins, without any rings or other attachments, are often

simple, but sometimes very ornamental and various (fig. 44). Many have been found in the sandhills of coast settlements, in crannogs,nbsp;and other formerly inhabited sites.

Great numbers of these small pins were found in the excavations connected with Christ Church, and in other street excavations in oldnbsp;parts of Dublin.

There is no reason why the form of the more simple of these pins should have suddenly ceased; and their use may have lasted later thannbsp;is sometimes supposed.

Silver pins, and bronze pins inlaid with silver, are rare; hut a few are contained in the collection.

The ArdagL cBalice, together with a hronze vessel and four brooches, was found in 1868, when digging potatoes at the rath of Reerastra,nbsp;close to the village of Ardagh, Co. Limerick. The brooches and thenbsp;hronze vessel were inside the chalice, which is described as havingnbsp;been found laid in the earth with a rough flagstone on one side of it.nbsp;The small bronze vessel was damaged by the spade of the digger ; thenbsp;other objects were not much injured by the Anders.

The chalice is composed chiefly of gold, silver, and hronze, with rich settings of enamel and amber. It is of the two-handlednbsp;minstral form in use in the early Church. It measures 7 inches innbsp;height and inches in diameter ; the foot is 6^ inches in diameter,nbsp;and the cup 4 inches deep. Chalices of this early period arenbsp;extremely rare; the examples existing throughout Europe can benbsp;counted on one hand. The Ardagh Chalice is not only rare hutnbsp;unique, being the only Celtic example which has survived down tonbsp;our own times.

In its construction, 354 different pieces, with twenty rivets, are included. It is fully described in Lord Dunraven�s paper, where thenbsp;chalice is technically described by Mr. Johnson, and the enamels bynbsp;Professor Sullivan. (Trans. R.I.A., vol. xxiv., p. 4^3.)

The following description will, with the help of the plates, convey to the reader a sufficient idea of the chalice and the othernbsp;objects.

The hand that surrounds the bowl between the two silver rings with punched dots above the inscription of the Apostles� names,nbsp;consists of panels of fine filigree work, interlaced and zoomorphicnbsp;patterns, divided by half-heads of cloisonne enamel.

Below the inscription is an ornament consisting of interlacements terminating in dogs� heads; this goes round the handles and the central bosses. It is cut with a chisel and hammer, as is shownnbsp;by the lines being slightly raised up at each side, and, though in goodnbsp;preservation, is very faint. At the lower part of the curve of the cupnbsp;is a fillet of Greek fret cut in the same way as the ornament. The

ornaments on each, side of the chalice are divided into panels, and decorated with gold spirals which are finely beaded. In thenbsp;centres are fine cloisonne enamels; and on the margin of the circlenbsp;are four small settings, two of amber, and two of blue glass.

The stem of gilt bronze is decorated with interlaced work; but the lower part should be noticed for its beautiful decoration of fretnbsp;and trumpet-pattern. Round the margin of the foot are places fornbsp;eight panels. Pour pierced plates of gilt bronze remain, backed bynbsp;pieces of mica, which throw out the fret designs. Enamels fill thenbsp;intermediate spaces.

The very beautiful design on the under side of the foot is richly ornamented with interlaced patterns, trumpet and zoomorphic ornament ; the two last divided by a circle of amber surrounding a largenbsp;crystal set in a second circle of amber. The margin of the undernbsp;side is ornamented with panels of interlaced work, fret-patterns, andnbsp;a remarkable kind of work resembling Trichinopoly chain-work, andnbsp;similar to that which surrounds the enamelled bosses of the handles.nbsp;The panels are divided from one another by square settings of bluenbsp;glass backed by rusticated silver plates. The enamels on the chalicenbsp;are very interesting; they have been technically described at length,nbsp;as previously mentioned, by Professor Sullivan in Lord Dunraven�snbsp;paper (extracted at length by Miss Stokes in � Early Christian Art innbsp;Ireland�; and see account in Mrs. Nelson Dawson�s book, � Enamels �).nbsp;They consist of champlev� and two kinds of cloisonn�; the handlesnbsp;are especially finely decorated, the panels of enamel being shaped tonbsp;their curves. Below each handle are three fine bosses of cloisonn�nbsp;enamel, surrounded by a circle of amber.

The centres of the lowest of these bosses are filled with large gold granulse work, impressed on the enamel when soft. Similarnbsp;work may be noticed on the enamelled half-beads on the base, wherenbsp;it takes the form of spirals.

The names of the Apostles occur on the bowl in the following order:�Peiei, Pauli, Anbei, Jacobi, Johannis, Piliphi, Baetholomei,nbsp;Thoma:, Mathei, Jacobi, Tatheus, Simon, and are of much interest,nbsp;as furnishing some idea of the probable date of the chalice. Thenbsp;letters are rather more than an inch in length, and, as mentioned,nbsp;although well preserved, are hardly visible. They can be studied in

the drawing in Lord Dunraven�s paper. The forms of the letters correspond with those used in the Book of Kells, the Book of Dimma,nbsp;the Book of St. Moling, and the Book of Armagh.

Lord Dunraven dates the chalice from the ninth to the tenth century; hut Miss Stokes adduces various reasons for believing itnbsp;to be contemporary with the Tara brooch; while J. Eomilly Allen isnbsp;inclined to place it not much later than the eighth century.

The chalice is especially perfect in its proportions, and the work is only surpassed by tlie Tara brooch, the artistic balance of the

design being beyond all question. Some of the interlacements on the handles almost anticipate Gothic tracery (Plate VI.).

The way in which the design on the under part of the foot is balanced and graduated, from simple interlacement through trumpetnbsp;pattern to zoomorphio interlacement, has perhaps never been surpassednbsp;in Celtic art, and gives a good idea of the power of design possible innbsp;Irish art of the best period. Anyone who knows the difficulty ofnbsp;obtaining a combined unity of patterns will recognize this.

The BRONZE VESSEL (fig. 48) found with the chalice is exceptionally well made ; it is perfectly plain and is of the same shape as the chalice,nbsp;into which it just fits.

They do not at all approach the chalice in fineness of work. They are of silver, partly gilt. The largest one is a fine piece of design.nbsp;The three raised birds (the head of one is broken off) on the body ofnbsp;this brooch are remarkable, and the spiral-work on their wings, andnbsp;some engraved S-spirals on their breasts, perhaps point to this broochnbsp;not being so far removed in date from the chalice, though it is muchnbsp;inferior in workmanship. It measures 13J inches in length, andnbsp;inches in breadth (Plate VII.).

The other brooches figured are smaller and much less richly ornamented : one is like the Killamery brooch. They have been usually considered somewhat later than the chalice�an opinion ehiefly basednbsp;upon the absence of trumpet pattern. However, the secondary andnbsp;subordinate position occupied by the trumpet-pattern on the chalicenbsp;renders this at least doubtful.

The Thistle brooch is a somewhat late form, and probably belongs to the ninth or tenth centuiy.

ly.�SHEINES.

The Lough Erne Shrine is the earliest shrine that has been found in Ireland. It was discovered in the spring of 1891 by some fishermen who wore engaged in their trade on the western shore ofnbsp;Lower Lough Erne, about half-way between Belleek and Enniskillen,nbsp;by becoming entangled in one of their lines, and being drawn out ofnbsp;the water. The find was communicated to Mr.' Thomas Plunkett,nbsp;M.E.I.A., who obtained the shrine, and it was procured from him bynbsp;tlie Eoyal Irish Academy.

The shrine measures 7 inches in length, inches wide, and 5-j- inches in height. It consists of a yew-wood box, covered by bronzenbsp;plates, apparently tinned, and has the remains of a hinge for suspensionnbsp;at each end. Inside it was found a smaller undecorated box ofnbsp;similar shape, measuring 44 inches long, IJ inches wide, and 21- inchesnbsp;in height, and also having remains of hinges.

The shrine, which resembles in shape the well-known hipped-roofed temple in the Book of Kells, was apparently ornamented on either side with three circular medallions, having amber centresnbsp;surrounded by a pattern of interlaced work. One of these remains,nbsp;and traces of the others can be observed. The corners are coverednbsp;with curved bronze mountings; and a metal band decorated withnbsp;an interlaced pattern covers the joining between the sides and thenbsp;eaves of the roof. A bronze bar, ornamented with interlaced work,nbsp;and terminating in projecting gable ends, on which may be seen thenbsp;triquetra, a form of interlacement usually considered to he a symbolnbsp;of the Trinity, is placed horizontally upon the apex of the roof andnbsp;forms a roof ridge.

This last important find is fully described by Th. Peterson,' in � Det. Kyi. Norske Videnskaters Selskabs Skrifter-,� 1907, No. 8.nbsp;In addition to the five shrines enumerated, there are in the Academy�snbsp;collection two ridge-pieces that probably belonged to shrines of thenbsp;same type.

The Melhus Shrine is decorated with trumpet-pattern, and shows no trace of interlaced or zoomorphic work. Th. Peterson, on thisnbsp;account, considers that shrine the earliest of this type of reliquary,nbsp;and dates it to the seventh century, and thinks it was probably carriednbsp;to Norway some time in the early part of the ninth century.

The Monymusk Shrine -displays zoomorphic designs, and must be placed somewhat later; and the Lough Erne Shrine, which shows

no trace of trumpet pattern, but is decorated witb restrained interlacements, without zoormorphic ornaments, may be dated perhaps to about the ninth century.

We now come to the inscribed shrines�Cumdachs and Bell Shrines, amp;c.�dated by their inscriptions to the eleventh and subsequent century.

In cases where the shrines are not inscribed they have been often known traditionally by the fact that it was customary to appoint annbsp;hereditary keeper, to whom certain privileges, such as grants of land,nbsp;amp;c., appertained, as custodian of the relic. A change in the keeper-ship of the relic is often mentioned in the Annals. Many of thenbsp;shrines were obtained by the Academy from a descendant when thenbsp;family had fallen into decay.

This shrine was made for a copy of the Gospels, believed to have belonged to 8t. Moiaise (died a.d. 563), founder of the monastery onnbsp;the island of Devenish, Lough Erne, and of many churches. Thisnbsp;manuscript is not known to exist at the present time.

The shrine is made in the form of a small ohlong box, measuring 5J inches by 3J- inches by 4J inches; it is made of five plates ofnbsp;bronze, covered with worked silver plates. The sixth, which wouldnbsp;form the lid, is missing. The panels, which were inlaid in these,nbsp;have mostly disappeared, but, on the front, some of them remain,nbsp;and are filled with interlaced ornaments in large gold filigree ; thatnbsp;on the right contains a carbuncle in a cabouchon setting, and therenbsp;were probably at one time five of these settings.

The following inscription is engraved on three sides of the bottom of the case (Plate VIII.):�

Translation :�A prayer for [Cen]nfaelad, the successor of Moiaise, by whom this case (was made), for . . . and for Gilla Baithfn, thenbsp;artisan who did the work.

Cennfaelad, Abbot of Devenish, succeeded Catbalan TJa Corcorain as Abbot in tbe year 1001; and his death is recorded in the � Annals ofnbsp;the Four Masters,� and �Annals of Ulster,� at the year 1025. Thenbsp;shrine appears to have been made therefore between the years 1001nbsp;and 1025.

The design on the front face consists of an Irish cross, in the outer quarters of which are represented, in a somewhat Byzantine manner,nbsp;the four Evangelistic symbols.

The names of the symbols, Leo, Aquila, Homo, can still be read, also those of the Evangelists, Marc, Johan, Math, Lucas. The trumpetnbsp;pattern may be noticed on the front of the dress of the winged mannbsp;symbolising St. Matthew. On the left end of the case is a figure ofnbsp;an ecclesiastic, probably St. Molaise, wearing a chasuble, and holdingnbsp;a book, and what is supposed to he an aspersory.

The hinge by which the case was suspended was decorated with red enamel, portions of which remain. The silver panels are richlynbsp;decorated with interlaced zoomorphic work. On the right side thenbsp;central panel is missing; the designs of interlaced and zoomorphicnbsp;patterns are of fine workmanship. The ornamentation on the backnbsp;consists of a parallelogram of pierced rectangular crosses covering anbsp;plate of copper or bronze, ornamented with various small designs.nbsp;This is a usual design for the backs of shrines of this period, and cannbsp;be noticed on the Shrine of St. Patrick�s Bell and the Shrine ofnbsp;St. Moedoc.

All the principal panels on the bottom of the case are missing; the sQver plate cut with interlaced and zoomorphic designs, and thenbsp;inscription described above, alone remain.

The shrine was purchased in 1859 from a member of the family of the 0�Mithideins or Meehans, the hereditary keepers. (Miss Margaretnbsp;Stokes, � Archeeologia,� 43.)

There is one other Cumdach in the Academy�s collection in the Museum�the Domnaoh Airgid. Its original intention as a case fornbsp;a book has been doubted. It consists of a yew case covered withnbsp;bronze, and plated. The interlaced pattern with which this is

decorated can be seen at the ends; lastly, a richly decorated silver case was placed on the shrine about 1350, the work of John 0�Barrdan.

The older case was known as belonging to the See of Clogher in the eleventh century. The detailed consideration of the later case isnbsp;postponed.

The MS. contained in the shrine was long believed to date from the time of St. Patrick, and to be the oldest copy of the Gospelsnbsp;extant in Ireland ; but it is now considered to be not earlier than thenbsp;eighth century; the yew case could not have been made to containnbsp;it, as the ms. measures 9 inches by 6^ inches, and the case onlynbsp;7f inches x 5f inches x 2|- inches. (Dean Bernard, Trans. B..I.A.,nbsp;vol. XXX., p. 303.)

Cumdachs are peculiar to Ireland ; and it may be of interest to give a list of those at present known to exist or to have existednbsp;formerly. The following existing mss. are known to have liadnbsp;Cumdachs, from references in the Irish Annals, though the later havenbsp;not been preserved :�

The Book of Durrow, enshrined a.d. 877 to 914. The Book of Armagh, enshrined a.d. 938.

There are two Cumdachs in the R. I. A. collection preserved in the national Museum:�

Cumdach of St. Molaise�s Gospels, a.d. 1001 to 1025. Cumdach of St. Patrick�s Gospels (Domnach Airgid).

In addition to these there are preserved in the E. I. A. Library : � Cumdach of the Stowe Missal, a.d. 1023.

The Bell is quadrilateral, and was formed of two plates of sheet-iron, which were bent over so as to meet, and fastened together by large-headed iron rivets, the bell being then dipped in bronze. Thenbsp;handle is of iron let into the top of the bell. The clapper is apparentlynbsp;of later date than the body of the bell. The bell measures 6 inchesnbsp;high, 4f inches hroad at the shoulder, and 5 inches at the foot. Thenbsp;handle is 3 inches long, and 1J inches high.

This hell is that traditionally believed to have been buried in St. Patrick�s grave, and removed from thence by St. Colomcille.nbsp;It is mentioned in the �Annals of Ulster� under the year 552 A.n.,nbsp;where, on the authority of the �Book of Guana,� it is stated thatnbsp;three reliquaries, including the Bell of the Will, were taken fromnbsp;St. Patrick�s tomb by St. Colomcille. (The bell was placed atnbsp;Armagh.) This passage is supposed to be referred to in a statement

in the Book of Armagh before 807. It is probable that the distinctive epithet �Bell of the Will� had its origin in the disposition of it to Armagh.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;^

According to Bishop Beeves, it �in all probability is fourteen hundred years old.�

In the eleventh century, to quote Bishop Beeves, � it was judged worthy of being enshrined in a manner suited to its noble origin. . . .nbsp;The parties to this act of veneration were the Sovereign of Ireland andnbsp;the Archbishop of Armagh, who, in doing honour to the reliquary,nbsp;testified that it commanded at that time the greatest respect, bothnbsp;secular and religious.�

The framework of the shrine is formed of bronze plates, to which the decorated portions are secured by rivets.

The upper or handle portion of the shrine is of silver, and deserves especial attention as an example of decorative treatment. At thenbsp;top is a setting of enamel with a cloisonn� centre. The back of thenbsp;handle portion of the shrine is treated with great freedom ; the lowernbsp;portion is divided into a semicircle, in each half of which is a conventionalized figure of a bird somewhat like a peacock, surroundednbsp;with interlaced lines. The upper portion is decorated with scrollwork in silver.

The front of the shrine is composed of thirty-one compartments. A crystal set in a framework of silver, of later work than the rest ofnbsp;the shrine, occupies the centre. Below this, on the left, is an ovalnbsp;crystal with a late setting. Seventeen of the compartments retainnbsp;their original decorations of gold filigree and interlaced work. Boundnbsp;the front are four cabuohon settings of red stones, originally eight;nbsp;they may be doubted as having formed part of the original design.

The sides of the shrine are in admirable preservation; and the articulation of the animals with small blue glass settings is worthy ofnbsp;special study.

On each side above and below the eircle which surrounds the handles are ornaments representing serpents interlaced, their eyesnbsp;formed of blue glass. The handles are composed of a knob andnbsp;ring for suspension. The interlacements within the rings are heavilynbsp;plated with gold.

in a cruciform pattern. This ornament, as has been mentioned (p. 45), is usual on shrines of this period. The base of the shrine is formednbsp;of a sliding plate of bronze, which closed the shrine, and in whichnbsp;in one corner a large hole has been worn by the end of the clapper.nbsp;The shrine has been said to betray Danish influence, which, from itsnbsp;date, is more than probable. Bound the margin of the hack isnbsp;engraved the following inscription (the words run on without bi'eaknbsp;on the shrine);�

OE nODOMNAlL UIACHLAIND lASINDEENAD INCLOCSA || OC�S DODOMNALL CHOMAEBA PHATEAIC ICONDEENAD OCUS DODCHAIirALAN UMAELCUALLANDnbsp;DOMAEE INCHLUIC 1| OCUS DOCHONDULIamp; UINMAINEN- CONAMACCAIBnbsp;EOCUMTAie.

� A prayer for Domnall Da Lachlainn, by whom this hell [shrine] was made, and for Domnall, successor of Patrick, by whom it wasnbsp;made, and for (dod sic) Cathalan Da Maelchallann, the keeper of thenbsp;bell, and for Cudulig Da Inmainen with his sons who fashioned it.�

The reign of Donnell 0�Loughlin or MacLoughlin, King of Ireland (at whose expense it would seem the shrine was made), is dated bynbsp;the Pour Masters, 1088 to 1121 a.d. Donnell MacAulay, Bishop ofnbsp;Armagh (successor of St. Patrick), filled that see from 1091 to 1105.

The shrine was therefore made some time between the years 1091 and 1105. The name of the artificer and his sons (Cudulignbsp;0�lnmainen) is given according to the custom of the time. The familynbsp;of 0�lnmainen was a southern one.

The family of 0�Mellan were hereditary keepers of the bell till the year 1441, at which date it is recorded in the Annals that on accountnbsp;of some misdemeanour on 0�Mellan�s part, the custody of the bellnbsp;was committed to 0�Mulchallyn (0�Mulholland). The bell and shrinenbsp;were then removed to the barony of Loughinsholin, Co. Derry, wherenbsp;the head of the Mulholland family had settled. They remained innbsp;the possession of that family till 1758, and were bequeathed by Henrynbsp;Mulholland to Mr. Adam M'Clean, of Belfast, from whose executorsnbsp;they were purchased by the Eev. James Henthorn Todd, n.n., f.t.c.d.,nbsp;after whose death they were purchased by the Royal Irish Academy.

This very interesting shrine is probably of the eleventh century, though some points are uncertain. It is known as the Breac Moedog,nbsp;and is reputed to be the shrine in which were preserved the relicsnbsp;brought from Rome by St. Molaise, and given by him to St. Moedoc.

The shrine is said to have received its name from a story related in the �Life of St. Molaise � (�Silva Gadelica,� i. 32), which statesnbsp;that when St. Molaise returned to Ireland he gave Moedoc manynbsp;relics; and that Moedoc on receiving them said : �Is breac go maithnbsp;uait me anossa,� �I am well assorted by thee now.� Then, speakingnbsp;of the reliquary, he said: �Breac Maedoig shall be its namenbsp;for ever.�

The shrine was formerly preserved in the Church of St. Moedoc, at Drumlane ; it was afterwards purchased by Dr. Petrie from anbsp;Dublin jeweller, and passed with the Petrie Collection to the Royalnbsp;Irish Academy.

It resembles in shape shrines of the Loch Erne type, but it is larger and the roof is not hipped. It is of bronze; to the front arenbsp;attached plates of bronze with figures of saints in high relief. Therenbsp;were originally twenty-one of these figures, but only eleven, withnbsp;three fragments, remain.

The ends were decorated in the same way, hut only one figure remains. This, a seated figure (King David), playing a harp, andnbsp;a bird (in gilt bronze), are of much interest, the former as an earlynbsp;representation of that instrument; it is one for which both hands arenbsp;required�the left for treble, and the right for bass�and so accuratenbsp;is the representation, that the manner of playing, by pulling thenbsp;strings with the nails, is clearly shown. (K. B. Annstrong, � The Irishnbsp;and the Highland Harps,� p. 24.)

The figures on the front of the shrine are of great interest. The male figures are, with one exception, bearded, and hold in their handsnbsp;various objects�such as hooks, sceptres, and swords. The hems ofnbsp;their robes are ornamented with skew frets and interlaced patterns,nbsp;and some interlaced knots intertwine their feet. One of the patternsnbsp;is perhaps derived from trumpet pattern. These Irish details makenbsp;it certain that the work was done in Ireland, and show that the artnbsp;of designing figures in relief had made considerable advance.

The group of female figures represents three saints in uniform costume, with their hair hanging in long plaits.

The practice of cutting off the hair in the profession of holy virgins was not adopted generally as early as the regulation - ofnbsp;wearing a particular habit. An historical notice in the � Chronicumnbsp;Scotorum� refers to this custom�� a.d. 888, change of cutting of hairnbsp;by the virgins of Erin.� The figures have the general appearancenbsp;of being enclosed in arcading, as in some of the continental shrines�nbsp;see the twelfth-century shrines illustrated in � Tresor de 1�Abbayenbsp;de Saint-Maurice D�Agaune,��and the work between some of themnbsp;reminds us of the wall-arcades of Cormac�s Chapel at Cashel. Onnbsp;each side of one of the male figures are well-worked cherubim andnbsp;birds of prey, resembling the cherubim and ill-omened birds on thenbsp;illumination of the Crucifixion in an Irish ms. of the eighth century,nbsp;preserved in the Library of W�rzburg. (Miss Stokes, Observationsnbsp;on the Breac Moedog, � Archmologia,� 43.)

The back of the shrine was covered with a plate, pierced with rectangular crosses, the marks of which can still be seen, similar tonbsp;the back of the Shrine of St. Patrick�s Bell. The same design isnbsp;found on the bottom of the shrine, enclosed in a border of interlacednbsp;rectangles inlaid with enamel and millefiori -work. In the centre ofnbsp;the border at one side is a boss on which is a � swastica� in bluenbsp;enamel.

( 1 )

Polaire.�By tlie side of the shrine is exhibited a leather case or satchel (fig. 53), ornamented with different patterns on each sidenbsp;and at the ends, in which the shrine was carried. It is of exceptionalnbsp;interest, as very few such satchels of leather, or polaires, have beennbsp;preserved; others that may be mentioned are the satchel of the Irishnbsp;Missal at Corpus Christ! College, Cambridge, and that of the Book ofnbsp;Armagh in Trinity College.

This shrine was made about A.n. 1118-1127, to enshrine the hand of St. Lachtin (seventh century), patron of Donaghmore Church,nbsp;Muskerry, county Cork, and Abbot or Bishop of Preshford, countynbsp;Kilkenny. It is of hronze, inlaid with gold and silver (only a fewnbsp;fragments of gold remain); the hand, which is riveted to the armnbsp;at the wrist, being inlaid at the nails, also in the palm, and at thenbsp;back and round the wrist, with silver, which is ornamented with scroll-and knot-work; the upper end of the arm has a setting of bluenbsp;stones. Round the centre of the arm is a band of large interlacements, which, with the inscriptions,, divides the arm into twelvenbsp;large panels, decorated with interlacements in silver and niello; thenbsp;base is surrounded by hands of zoomorphic and interlaced work. Thenbsp;end of the arm was closed by a circular cap fastened with four pins;nbsp;this was inlaid with silver, the centre having mosaic work surroundednbsp;with silver filigree. The ancient wooden case which contained thenbsp;hand, as far as the wrist, is still preserved in the shrine. Thenbsp;inscriptions, which have been defaced and are quite illegible on thenbsp;upper portion of the arm, are as follows :�

1. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;)b DOMABLSECHNAILL UCELLACHaI nOARDEIG UANEC . A . . . M . . .

2. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;)D0CH01iM:AC MC MEIC CAE�HA1G I nORIOnANU MUMAN nOKAT(HAiE ?)

1. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A prayer for Maelsechnaill TJa Cellachain, higli-king of the Ua

4. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;[A prayer] for Diarmait son of Mac Denise, the successor of . . .

Cormac Mac Carthaig, mentioned in the above inscription, King-Bishop of Ireland, was builder of the church known as Cormao�s Chapel on the Eock of Cashel (1127); his death is recorded in thenbsp;�Annals of the Pour Masters,� at the year a.d. 1138. The exhaustion ofnbsp;the interlaced and coming of a new style are indicated by this shrine.

The shrine was preserved at St. Lachtin�s Church, Donaghmore, till about 1750, when it was acquired by Sir Andrew Eountaine, ofnbsp;Narford Hall, Norfolk. It was purchased by the Government at thenbsp;Eountaine sale, and deposited with the Eoyal Irish Academy, 1884.

Another shrine, which completes the pre-Norman work in the collection preserved in the Museum, may bo mentioned, the � Corpnbsp;Naomh� (Holy Body). It has been much added to in medieval times,nbsp;but retains some portions of earlier work. It is a bell shrine; thenbsp;front of the upper portion is decorated with a figure of an ecclesiasticnbsp;holding a book. This figure has on each shoulder a cross in a circle,nbsp;supposed by some to be early examples of St. Patrick�s crosses; it is ofnbsp;interest to students of ecclesiastical dress. On each side of this figurenbsp;is a horseman, and above each of these a large bird. The interlacednbsp;work which fills the spaces between the horse�s legs, amp;c., should benbsp;noticed. The ridge of the shrine is decorated with open interlaced

r?-'*. ..■

• ^- nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;*'L.‘nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;y , 'f ■'

V-^ . ■- '.•/ *

■ -' '' *'■ . ‘. • • *” ' -' nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;v/;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;■

v^'-vAv-v.'.quot;

■«t

work. This upper part of the shrine which we reproduce (fig. 54) is original; the rest, with some possible exceptions, is medieval.

The shrine formerly belonged to the Church of Temple Cross, County Meath, and was obtained by the Academy in 1887.

The Cross of Cong is one of the greatest treasures of the Eoyal Irish Academy Collection. It was made about the year a.d. 1123,nbsp;for Turlogh O�Conor, King of Connaught and Ireland (a.d 1106-1156).

The cross was made to enshrine a portion of the �true cross,� pi'esented by the Pope ; and it was recorded in the � Annals ofnbsp;Inisfallen,� at the year a.d. 1123, that �a portion of the true crossnbsp;came into Ireland, and was enshrined at Eoscommon by Turloghnbsp;O�Conor.� It appears to have been originally made for the Churchnbsp;of Tuam, the seat of the Archbishopric of Connaught; and it wasnbsp;probably transferred to the Augustinian Abbey of Cong (where it wasnbsp;afterwards preserved) either by Archbishop Muiredach O�DuSy, whonbsp;died there a.d. 1150, or by King Eoderic O�Conor, who founded and

endowed the Abbey. The series of inscriptions, tlie first of which is in Latin, run all along the edge of the cross, and are as follows :�

OE nODOMNULL MO FLANNACAN HDUB DEPSKUP CONNACHT BOCHOMAEBA CHOMMAN ACtrS CHIAbAn ICANEEENAB INGE�SSA.

In tins cross is preserved the cross on which the founder of the world suffered.

A prayer for Terdelbach Ua Conchobair, King of Ireland, by whom this work was made.

A prayer for Domnall son of Klannacan Ua Dub[thaig], Bishop of Connacht and successor of Gomman and Ciaran, by whomnbsp;this work was made.

(The Latin inscription is repeated on another side of the cross. The first letter read as p in epsklip is strange in form, or is blunderednbsp;by the engraver.)

The cross measures 2 feet 6 inches in height, and the breadth of the arms is 1 foot inches; it is formed of oak, encased with coppernbsp;plates, enriched with interlaced ornaments of gilt bronze; the sidesnbsp;are framed in silver, the whole being held together by nails ornamented with little heads of animals.

On the front, the shaft and arms are divided into a number of small panels by silver strap-work decorated at its intersections w'ithnbsp;settings alternated with flat silver discs in niello work. A crystalnbsp;of quartz set in the centre of the front face of the cross probablynbsp;covered the relic. The enrichment of filigree work in the panelsnbsp;immediately adjoining the setting of the crystal is of gold, andnbsp;the spiral pattern contrasts with the interlaced designs of the other

panels. Thirteen settings remain of the eighteen which were originally placed at intervals along the edges of the shaft and arms. Two ofnbsp;the four which surrounded the central hoss remain.

The shaft is held in the mouth of a grotesque animal surmounting a hoss which carries down the interlacements and settings of the shaft,nbsp;and terminates in four small grotesque heads, the whole forming anbsp;socket in which was inserted the pole for carrying the cross.

The interlaced ornaments in the panels on the front of the cross are designed in pairs, the panel on one side of the central line beingnbsp;a reversed copy of that on the other side (Blot work). The designnbsp;of each pair of panels is different and in no instance repeated.

On the back of the cross, along the projecting silver rim, and corresponding with the settings on the front, are flat disks of enamelnbsp;with simple geometrical designs. The shaft and arms are not dividednbsp;into panels as on the front, hut are covered by single bronze platesnbsp;(three of which remain), which were connected at the centre by annbsp;ornament now missing. The interlaced ornament of gilt bronze atnbsp;the hack is larger and more vigorous in treatment than on the front,nbsp;as is often the ease in the work of the period.

The cross was purchased by Professor MacCullagh, f.e.s., f.t.c.d., from the successor of the last abbot of Cong and representative of thenbsp;Augnstinian Order in Connaught, and presented by him to the Hoyalnbsp;Irish Academy in 1839.

The Pastoral Staff or Crosier was one of the earliest Christian symbols; it appears upon gems in company with the fish and palm-branch and in representations of the Good Shepherd. The latter isnbsp;one of the commonest figures painted in the catacombs of about thenbsp;third century a.d., the wand being either straight or the ordinarynbsp;curved shepherd�s crook.

Pope Celestine�s letter to the Bishops of Jl�arbonne and Vienne, probably the earliest reference, shows Pastoral Staves to have been innbsp;use by the episcopal order in the fifth century. They are, therefore,nbsp;amongst the first emblems prescribed by the Church for her ministers.

Some writers have considered the lituus of the Eoman augurs as a possible origin of the crosier. It is, however, more probable that thenbsp;crosier was suggested by the symbolism of the shepherd and his fiock.

Crosiers were carried by Abbots as well as by Bishops and Archbishops, and, up to the tenth century, by the Pope. Thenbsp;representations of crosiers on Early Christian monuments show greatnbsp;variety in the shape of the head. By the seventh century, however,nbsp;the crook shape had become the usual one, although tau-shapednbsp;episcopal staves were in use down to the twelfth century, as theynbsp;are at present in the Greek Church. After the twelfth centuiy,nbsp;the tau cross appears to have been regarded as the distinctive staffnbsp;of Abbots.

The form of the Irish crosier, preserved to us from pre-Norman times, differs distinctly from that of the usualnbsp;medieval crosier. Its form is shown on the base of onenbsp;of the crosses at Ahenny, Co. Tipperary (fig. 55).

It was not designed to represent the conventional shepherd�s crook, but was a shrine or metal coveringnbsp;made to protect the old pilgrim�s staff, or crooked sticknbsp;of the saint, which was venerated and carefully preservednbsp;in the district. IrVithin the metal casings, the originalnbsp;stick can be seen in several examples. The richly decorated metal casings of the crosiers are, as a rule, thenbsp;work of the eleventh century, and therefore much laternbsp;than the enclosed staff by whose name the crosier wasnbsp;traditionally known ; but some fragments and plainnbsp;crosiers, which have lost their ornaments, may date fromnbsp;preceding times, and there is literary evidence that thenbsp;metal crosier was known in Ireland in the ninth century,nbsp;if not earlier.

The authenticity of these ancient Irish crosiers generally rests on the fact that, as in the case of the ecclesiastical bells, the keepership of the crosiers was liereditary in a particular family. Certain privileges, grants of landnbsp;and others, pertained to the custodianship of the relic,nbsp;originally committed to some person associated with thenbsp;church or monasteiy, in whoso family the office and itsnbsp;privileges descended from generation to generation.

One of the largest crosiers in the ll.I.A. collection formerly belonged to the Abbey of Durrow, King�s Co.,nbsp;and is supposed to be the crosier of St. Columba. Thisnbsp;crosier, although unfortunately much mutilated, is ofnbsp;great interest; it still retains some traces of its originalnbsp;magnificence, and must have been a beautiful specimen ofnbsp;ancient Irish art. It was preserved since the dissolutionnbsp;of the monasteries by the Maegeoghan family, representednbsp;by Sir Richard Nagle, Bart., at whose death it becamenbsp;the property of Mr. Nugent, from whom it was obtained

with the exception of the head of the Crosier of St. Blathmac, the only specimen of the larger crosiers in the collection. The ornament onnbsp;this crosier is of a refined and restrained character, and appears to benbsp;somewhat earlier than the hold and free decoration of the later period.

Figure 57 is supposed to be the head of Crosier of St. Blathmac, of Bath-Blathmac, near Corofin, Co. Clare. Its height is Ilf inches, andnbsp;the drop is 3f inches long. It was purchased by the E.. I. Academy,nbsp;with the crosier from Burrow, in 1851. The metal case is of bronzenbsp;inlaid with strips of silver, forming a lattice pattern. Through annbsp;open space in the bronze covering may be seen a decayed wooden staffnbsp;wrapped in a cloth, now almost turned to dust. For detailed description of crosier, see T. J. Yfestropp, Journ. B.S.A.I., 1894, p. 337.

Of the small crosiers several are of great historical interest, but they have suffered much in the course of centuries, and have lostnbsp;portions and ornaments. Some are probably earlier than the eleventhnbsp;century, but are now little more than plain metal casings.

Figure 58 represents wliat is known as the Gearr Berach or Short Crosier of St. Berach. St. Berach, to whom this ecclesiastical staff isnbsp;ascribed, lived in a.d. 580. The crosier measures 2 feet 4^- inches, thenbsp;staff is yew, cased in bronze. The cresting is wanting, otherwisenbsp;the crosier is in good condition, though practically unornamented.

J�

It was purchased by the E. I. Academy from its hereditary keepers, the O�Hanlys of Sliabh Bawn, Co. Eoscommou, in 1863.

A very interesting crosier is that of St. Eympna, of Tedavnet, county Monaghan, Abbess (sixth centuiy), Patron Saint of the Oriels,nbsp;and of several churches in Belgium, Ghael among others. Thenbsp;metal casing of the crosier dates from the late tenth or eleventh century. It is imperfect, part of the curve of the head being wanting ;nbsp;the silver termination on the drop is a later addition. The crosier isnbsp;ornamented with bosses, connected by a strip upon part of which thenbsp;remains of an inscription can be seen ; it is decorated with plain andnbsp;zoomorphic interlaced work in panels; and the head is ornamented innbsp;a similar manner. This crosier measures 2 feet 2 inches in height.nbsp;The family of 0�Luan in county Monaghan were its hereditary keepers.nbsp;It was purchased by Dr. Petrie from the last representative of thenbsp;family, whose name had been anglicized to Lamb.

The head of the Crosier of the Dysert 0�Dea Monastery, Co. Clare, is of bronze with traces of gilding (fig. 59). The crook is dividednbsp;into a number of lozenge-shaped spaces, from which the decorativenbsp;panels are now missing. The lower boss is ornamented with twonbsp;shield-shaped settings in enamel. The zoomorphic cresting is almostnbsp;perfect (Westropp, Journ. E.8.A.I., 1894, p. 339). This crosier-headnbsp;was purchased from its hereditary keepers, the O�Quinns, and wasnbsp;formerly in the Petrie collection.

The Crosier of St. Mums of Pahan, co. Donegal, Patron Saint of the O�Heills, measures 2 feet 4 inches in height. Pahan or Pahan-mura was a monastery dedicated to St. Murus or Muranus, andnbsp;founded by St. Columba. St. Murus, second abbot, lived in thenbsp;early part of the seventh century. In the time of Colgan, 1645, whonbsp;wrote the life of this saint, his shrine, books, crosier, chain, and bell were

in existence. St. Murus� bell is now in tbe British Museum; the shrine and hooks are unknown. The chain as well as the crosier is in thenbsp;K. I. Academy collection. The chain, which is bronze, is remarkable,nbsp;being 7 feet 5 inches in length and t inches in breadth, composednbsp;of a number of small riveted links. The crosier was presented tonbsp;Dr. Petrie by Mr. Woods of Sligo. The metal casing is of bronze,

the head is ornamented with panels of interlaced work, and has a crestingnbsp;whose derivation from the zoomorphicnbsp;type can be distinguished.

The most comjjlete crosier in the collection is known as the Crosier ofnbsp;the Abbots of Clonmacnois (PI. XV.).nbsp;It was formerly in the collection ofnbsp;Major Sirr, but its history previous

to this is unknown. The crosier measures 3 feet inches in length. It is of hronze, and the bosses at the foot, centre of the staff, andnbsp;head are decorated in the bold, free manner of the late or Hiberno-Danish style, with inlays of silver, niello, and bead-settings of bluenbsp;glass. The small human figure (Plate XV.) shows the design on thenbsp;fl.attened head of the crosier. This is a representation of a mitred

figure, holding a crosier of the scroll type, which is also seen upon the High Cross of Tuam, showing that form of crosier to have comenbsp;into use about this time.

The zoomorphic cresting of this crosier should he noticed. In other examples, when the spaces of the cresting are filled up, the animalnbsp;forms disappear, being replaced by panels of interlaced work andnbsp;settings of enamel. (See the crosier (fig. 60) deposited with thenbsp;Academy by Trinity College, Dublin, which in its divisions betraysnbsp;the origin of the type from the zoomorphic crest: history unknown.)nbsp;An intermediate type is seen on the Crosier of the Dysert 0�Deanbsp;monastery and on the Crosier of the 0�Bradys, which should benbsp;compared with the former.

An interesting crosier-head (No. 28: 1899), made out of two parts of entirely different workmanship,nbsp;should be noticed. The knobnbsp;and portion of the crook immediately above it are of bronze,nbsp;inlaid with silver interlacednbsp;decoration. The top of thenbsp;crook is decorated with quitenbsp;different incised interlacednbsp;ornament. The terminal endnbsp;bears a head in high reliefnbsp;surmounted by a mitre of earlynbsp;pattern. This crosier was formerly in the collection ofnbsp;Dr. Drazer, who purchased itnbsp;in London. It has been alludednbsp;to as the missing crosier ofnbsp;St. Ciaran, and is said to havenbsp;been found at Clonmacnois.

The only Celtic tau-shaped crosier that has come down to us is composed of bronze, inlaid with silver (fig. 61); the crutch-shapednbsp;head terminates in two grotesque animal heads with silver studs andnbsp;enamel settings in the eyes. Drom the style of the panels of thisnbsp;crosier, which resemble those of the Cross of Cong, it may benbsp;ascribed to the end of the eleventh century. This crosier was formerlynbsp;in the Kilkenny Museum, and was deposited in the Academy�snbsp;collection by the Iloyal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.

Tau-shaped crosiers were in use down to the twelfth century, and are still retained in the Greek and Coptic Churches. There are twonbsp;tau crosses of stone in Ireland : one is on Tory Island, Co. Donegal;nbsp;and the other is the well-known cross, carved with two faces, atnbsp;Kilnahoy, Co. Clare.

Among the portions of crosiers in the collection is one found in CO. Cavan, and known as the Crosier of the 0�Bradys ; another is thenbsp;lower portion of a crosier figured hy Miss Stokes in � Early Christian

Art in Ireland,� p. 104, which may he earlier than the eleventh century ;nbsp;it has some trumpet pattern, and smallnbsp;interlaced work upon it. There isnbsp;also a portion of a crosier, of silver ornbsp;white metal, known as the Crosiernbsp;of St. Aodh Mao Brio ; and anothernbsp;partly plated with silver, whose history is unknown, deposited hy Trinitynbsp;College,Dublin. The material of thesenbsp;two last is unusual.

Figure 62, supposed head of the Crosier of Cormao MacCarthy, King-Bishop of Cashel, who died 1138 a.d.,nbsp;was found in a stone tomb in annbsp;outside recess at Corinac�s Chapel onnbsp;the Eock of Cashel; it measuresnbsp;ll-f� in length, and 4|quot; broad at thenbsp;head.

Cormac�s Chapel was consecrated about 1134 A.D., and is contemporarynbsp;with the High Cross of Tiiam, at thenbsp;base of which is a representation ofnbsp;a crosier of this form, similar to the figure on the Crosier of thenbsp;Abbots of Clonmacnois previously described. This crosier is of thenbsp;scroll type, and is decorated with Limoges enamel-work of thenbsp;twelfth century. The terminal hook is formed hy a serpent bendingnbsp;round a figure of St. Michael and the dragon. (See Petrie, � Thenbsp;Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland,� etc., pp. 303-311.)

TLe form of the portable Ecclesiastical Bells, so numerous in Ireland, can be well seen on a panel of the cross at Old Kilcullen,nbsp;Co. Kildare, where it figures with the book and crosier, the threenbsp;most revered relics of the early teachers of Christianity. Thenbsp;bells are simply cattle bells adapted to ecclesiastical purposes, andnbsp;differ little from the former, except in the size of the larger ones.

They appear to have been first made of iron, hammered and riveted, their joints being afterwards filled, and the whole consolidated bynbsp;being dipped in bronze, as is done with some modern sheep bells.

The type, as an ecclesiastical bell, belongs especially to Ireland, where these bells are found in great numbers, and whence they spreadnbsp;to England and Scotland and parts of the continent. These old ironnbsp;bells vary in height from about 4i inches to 14 inches including thenbsp;handle, and from 2i inches by 24- inches to 9 inches by GJ inches atnbsp;across the mouth. They were probably at first sounded by beingnbsp;struck from the outside. Some of the larger bells may have beennbsp;used in the round towers, as is implied by the name mentioned in our

Irisli Annals, cloictheacli (bell-tower), but there is no evidence that they were mounted on them. The earliest bell of which we havenbsp;evidence is the celebrated Bell of St. Patrick (fig. 51), enshrined aboutnbsp;1100 A.n., as already described (p. 48).

There are many iron bells of this type in the collection, and it was customary about the eleventh century to enshrine such of them asnbsp;were known by the names of the saints associated with them ; manynbsp;are recorded at that time as being in a gapped or broken state, whichnbsp;shows the veneration in which they were held. They are now scattered in different museums and places. The Black Bell of St. Patrick,nbsp;formerly in the keepership of the Mac Beolans of Galway, is in thenbsp;Academy collection, though in a much damaged condition.

At least as early as the end of the ninth century, bells were cast of bronze in the same quadrilateral form as the iron ones, which did not,nbsp;however, go out of use. We may infer that the iron form is earliernbsp;than the bronze from its shape, which is necessary in the case of ironnbsp;but unsuitable for cast bronze. In bronze the type becomes morenbsp;graceful in its lines, and there are some very fine specimens in thenbsp;collection. Among these are the inscribed bells of Clogher andnbsp;Armagh.

The Bell of Clogher (fig. 64) measures 9|- inches in height, including the handle, which is of bronze, and 6f inches by 4f inches at the mouth. It is said to have been given to St. Mac Carthan, Bishopnbsp;of Clogher, by St. Patrick, and was formerly preserved at Donagh-

more Church, Co. Tyrone, by the 0�Mellans, its hereditary keepers; it was obtained from a descendant of this family by Dr. Petrie, andnbsp;passed with his collection to the Academy. It is inscribed in Eomannbsp;letters with the name PATEICI, and a date, 1272, on the other side ;nbsp;but the inscription is later than the bell.

The Bell of Armagh (fig. 65) measures Ilf inches in height and 8f inches by 11 inches at the mouth; its body is of cast bronze, butnbsp;its handle and clapper are iron. It is inscribed in minuscules in threenbsp;lines:�

Cumascach son of Ailill was steward in the Monastery of .Armagh, and his death is recorded in the � Annals of Ulster � at the yearnbsp;908 A.r.

The most beautiful bell in the collection is the ornamented hut uninscribed Bell ofnbsp;Lough Lene Castle, Co. Westmeath (fig. 66).

It measures ISf inches high, including the handle, and 8^ inches by 7f inches at thenbsp;mouth. It is decorated on each of its twonbsp;large faces with an incised cross, and itsnbsp;mouth is surrounded by a border composednbsp;of fret-patterns on the two larger facesnbsp;and straight interlacements on the smaller.

This bell is said to have been found on Castle Island, Lough Lene, and was purchased from the finder in 1881. Two othernbsp;bells very similar to this are known, one

found at Bangor, Co. Down, now in the possession of Colonel MacCance, of Holy-wood, Co. Down, and the other at Cashel,

Co. Tipperary, now in the possession of the Earl of Dunraven, at Adare Manor, Co. Limerick.

There are several other bronze hells in the collection of various sizes, some quite small. These have no history beyond the localitiesnbsp;where they were found; and though they will bear study, they neednbsp;not he more particularly described.

One of tlie most interesting objects that may be treated under tiiis head is a bronze plaque representing the Crucifixion, found atnbsp;Athlone (Plate XVI.). It was probably the mounting for a hook-cover, , and the early character of the plaque is indicated by the goodnbsp;trumpet pattern with which it is decorated, resembling that of thenbsp;MSS. Three other small bronze plaques of the Crucifixion, which arenbsp;probably later, may be noticed; two are figured by J. Eomilly Allennbsp;in � Christian Symbolism.�

A most important example of cloisonne enamel is a piece formerly in St. Columba�s College (fig. 67). The enamels of this are verynbsp;interesting, and probably not later than the tenth century. Theynbsp;will repay study, and are striking in colour. They are enclosed in annbsp;outer border of red enamel, which frames the panels. The frets arenbsp;of an opaque yellow, and the other spaces are alternately sage greennbsp;with dark spots, and dark blue with a network of minute whitenbsp;spots. These panels do not seem to bo really enamels ; the dots arenbsp;square and go right through ; as Mr. Lewis Day says, in �Enamelling,� they have more the appearance of glass-work. They werenbsp;probably put together after the manner of millefiori work. Some

figures of Gallo-Roman or Merovingian millefiori work should be compared with this piece, which is illustrated in part by Mr. Day. Itnbsp;may be doubted if these panels could have been done in the same waynbsp;as ordinary enamel. Some interlacements, including a fish, arenbsp;slightly engraved on the back: it may have been a finial. Thisnbsp;piece presents certain analogies to the enamel and millefiori work onnbsp;the mounts of a bucket in the recently found Viking vessel at Oseberg,nbsp;Norway; the latter is dated not later than the ninth century. Thenbsp;western origin of the bucket, probably Ireland, is inferred from thenbsp;distribution of other finds. See Professor Gabriel Gustafson (Saga-Book, Viking Club, vol v., part ii., 1908).

The fine ornaments found at Navan in 1848 should be noticed; the trumpet pattern on some of them places the objects probablynbsp;before the tenth century (figs. 68-71). They were found with humannbsp;remains and the skull of a horse. The plate for the chariot (carbat)nbsp;belonging to the same find, a bronze bit, a bronze portion of the harnessnbsp;and four iron rings, are very interesting. The plate for the chariotnbsp;consists of a flat disk, plated with white metal, from which projects anbsp;bronze stud in the shape of a dog�s head, H inches long, with a humannbsp;face engraved at its extremity (fig. 70).

The only specimen of a Eunic inscription found in Ireland is on a bronze piece found at Gk-eenmount, Castlebelling-ham, Co. Louth, probably not later than the tenthnbsp;century. The inscription has been read domnal

Two figures from shrines may be noticed, and several pieces of buckles and book-mountings, including the fragment of a knife-handle; one of the

few examples of enamel (yellow) on iron, figured in � Early Christian Art in Ireland,� p. 112. Fig. 72 represents a highly decorated andnbsp;enamelled button (full size); and fig. 73 a bronze hook, one of thenbsp;most beautiful specimens of inlaying bronze with silver and niello innbsp;the collection.

Fragments such as these show how frequently enamel and niello were used in Ireland, and how artistically they were applied.

Crannogs form a special subject, but many items of information on the work and dress of the period may be gleaned from a study of thenbsp;pre-Horman relics found in them. We may notice some leather shoesnbsp;found with several other fragments of shoes, etc., in the mud of thenbsp;kitchen-midden at Craigywarren crannog, which cannot be later thannbsp;the tenth century (fig. 74).

We have seen the art of enamelling beginning in Ireland with the red sealing-wax enamels towards the end of the pre-Christian period,nbsp;tlien culminating in the marvellous enamels of the Tara Brooch andnbsp;tlie Ardagh Chalice of early Christian times. It will be asked, havenbsp;not some traces of the practice of the art been found in the country ?nbsp;Many small crucibles and fragments are often found in crannogs.

These may be fragments from the equipment tof enamellers and metal workers in the cran-nogs. A great lump of raw or exhaustednbsp;sealing-wax red enamel was found at or nearnbsp;Tara, and this may be the red enamel of earlynbsp;times. The sealing-wax red colour, due tonbsp;copper, is the despair of modern enamellers,nbsp;who have discovered no method of gettingnbsp;the right shade. This piece measures in its

Co. Heath, and Strokestown crannog, Co. Koscommon, were found a number of bones, some incised with finenbsp;carvings of interlaced and animal designs. It has been conjectured

these were intended merely as specimens of the designer�s or engraver�s art. (See figs. 76-82.)

The four pails and some portions of others in the wall case in Room IV should be noticed. The date of these is uncertain, Thenbsp;trumpet pattern on one of them may point to their being of somenbsp;antiquity; but its workmanship is not very good. This highlynbsp;decorated example (fig. 83) was found in the river at Kinnegad,

imTu:

near the old cathedral at Clonard, and was presented to the Academy by Dr. Barker, ai.n.i.A. It measnres inches in height and of inchesnbsp;across at the mouth. Its sides were made from one block of yew-wood, and are surrounded by four thin metal bands decorated withnbsp;open-work trumpet and lattice patterns. The kite-shaped mounts fornbsp;attaching the handle are ornamented with spirals, and appear to havenbsp;been enriched with amber, two half-bead settings of which remain.

The two smaller vessels are each made from a single block of wood ; the larger, which is if inches in height, was found in the River Glyde,nbsp;and presented by the Board of quot;Works. It is hound with thin bronzenbsp;bands with lozenge-shaped perforations, and the handle mounts arenbsp;cruciform in shape. The smaller is inches high, and is in goodnbsp;condition ; its handles are engraved with concentric circles, and it isnbsp;bound with thin, narrow bands. It was found in Clonfree crannog,nbsp;Co. Roscommon, and presented by Mrs. Ferns.

The High Crosses may be studied in the series of photographs presented by Mr. H. 8. Crawford. This almost exhaustive series of high and lesser crosses, numbering about 160, has been arranged for the Academynbsp;by counties, and the sites are marked on maps of the provinces.

The question as to the origin of the free wheel-cross with projecting arms has given rise to some speculation. In Ireland it is an almost distinct type, known as the Irish Cross, but on the continent the form is unknown. The developed free-standing type isnbsp;known at least from the beginning of the tenth century, when it maynbsp;be treated as a branch of architecture, to which the discussion of thenbsp;High Crosses more properly belongs. One of the most beautiful is thatnbsp;of Monasterboice, a.d. 924, which is constructed in three architecturalnbsp;pieces base, shaft and cross, and head. It shows no signs of anbsp;beginning, and the type must have been fixed by that date. Judgingnbsp;from the incised crosses at Clonmacnois, the type was fixed beforenbsp;A.D. 800 (see Abbot Tuathgal tomb, a.d. 806 (fig. 16), p. 18.

The wheel-cross is believed to be derived from the Chi-Rho symbol. The monogram is often enclosed in a circle or even a circular wreathnbsp;on the early Byzantine and Italian monuments. The unperforatednbsp;wheel-cross of the Isle of Man and elsewhere in Britain is explainednbsp;in this way, and thence the Irish circle-cross is derived. (See J. Romillynbsp;Allen, �Christian Symbolism,� Lecture II.) But Miss Margaret Stokesnbsp;expresses reason for doubting the early dates which have been assignednbsp;to many of the crosses in Britain. (See �Early Christian Art in Ireland,�nbsp;p. 125.)

There is a tendency among modern archaeologists to believe that, if objects can be arranged in a series of development, the development

raust have proceeded along the line so determined regardless of local gaps and cross-currents. The theory outlined above does notnbsp;explain how it is that the unperforated -wheel-cross, as distinguishednbsp;from the disk-cross, should he rare in Ireland, or -why the Irish disk-and circle-cross should be so common in Ireland and infrequent innbsp;other places -where the -wheel-cross is known.

There is another possible explanation. It is a widespread belief among symbolists that symbols�of, say, a beneficent meaning�tendnbsp;to run together and adopt analogous meanings, though originally quitenbsp;distinct. At the end of the pagan period the circle with a centrenbsp;was commonly used as a sun symbol, and generally as a beneficentnbsp;s3rmbol. The tendency of the cross not to obliterate but to absorbnbsp;this is quite in accordance with the principles of the early Church,nbsp;which often allowed pagan customs to continue, and gave them anbsp;harmless meaning, converting them to Christian uses.

Dalkey, and other places, with concentric circles and cup-centres, we appear to have something of this,nbsp;idea (Journ. II. S. A. I., 1901); and we seem to see Inbsp;the same idea carried out on the sculptured cross atnbsp;Eallymore-Eustace, Co. Kildare (fig. 84). Earliernbsp;examples may be instanced, and the disk-crossnbsp;appears to be more common in Ireland than hasnbsp;generally been supposed.

Both explanations may have played contributing parts in determining the type of the Irish circle-cross; but the subject is too large, and too muchnbsp;outside the limits of the present work, to be dis- Fig. 84.nbsp;cussed further. quot;We merely indicate some of thenbsp;lines upon which it may be pursued and studied in Mr. Crawford�snbsp;series of photographs.

In the left-hand wall-case in Eoom IV may be noticed a number of stone lamps of various shapes, several of which were found uponnbsp;old church sites. Some of these have been described and illustratednbsp;as stone chalices (fig. 85) ; but their weight, their Komanesque ornamentation, and the absorbent stone from which they are carved, show

they had a different use. Chalices of glass and hronze are said to have been used in the early Church, hut afterwards hy various decreesnbsp;chalices were ordered to be made of gold or silver. That the stonenbsp;vessels were lamps is evident from the blackening and burning ofnbsp;which all of them show traces. There is no evidence that any of themnbsp;have been used for burning incense.

Some stone drinking-cups (five), with single perforated handles similar to those often found in Scotland, which are ascribed to thenbsp;Iron Age, or even later, may be seen in the left-hand wall-case innbsp;Eoom IV. One, Ho. 266 : 1905, found at Clonmany, Co. Donegal,nbsp;is ornamented with a band of fret pattern on the outside, so itnbsp;evidently belongs to the Christian period. These vessels werenbsp;probably in use as drinking-cups.

The merit of Celtic design is often supposed to consist in a marvellous complexity and in the fineness of the lines of the spirals and interlacements, which are the despair of imitators. This excellencenbsp;appeals chiefly to the reason, but the artistic interest will lie in othernbsp;things. The swing and life of the curves, and the perfection of theirnbsp;quickening as they approach completion or run to a spiral, give them

a feeling of life comparable to skating, coupled with a fineness and sureness of line which endow them with a rare perfection.

In the interlaced style, while a general balance is preserved, the individual patterns in the best period are rarely repeated; somenbsp;difference or change is subtly introduced, so that, though appearing atnbsp;first to be similar, on examination there is always a variety. Thisnbsp;principle is of the first importance, and generally lost sight of in modernnbsp;work. It introduces an unexplored element in ancient design, sO'nbsp;that the interest is not exhausted in a single glance, but new elementsnbsp;reveal themselves on closer examination. This element is a perpetualnbsp;delight, and it gives a feeling of life to the design, enlisting ournbsp;sympathy in a way that repetitions fail to do. quot;We feel the design wasnbsp;always a source of joy to the artist unexhausted in imagination andnbsp;taking no interest in the mechanical work of copying his own patterns.

It is always a sign of exhaustion of motives preceding a break-up or change of style when repetitions and blot-work become common,nbsp;the same pattern doing duty for the four corners of a design suitablenbsp;to our modern mechanical but inartistic work.

The subject may be pursued by examining some of the High Crosses. The bossiness of the sculpture is well felt out by thenbsp;artist, and, as we should say, the effect of freehand work is finelynbsp;given throughout. How we are accustomed to think of the irregularities of the lines in the panels and the spacing of figures as duenbsp;to the incompetency of the artist, forgetting that symmetry was notnbsp;valued at that time, consciously or unconsciously, but the law ofnbsp;life-balance and a constant change in details was always sought. Lifenbsp;and, as we should say, free-hand efiect was the main thing that wasnbsp;aimed at. We cannot suppose that the men who struck out thesenbsp;noble crosses could not have made the details exact if they had sonbsp;desired. The way that the sculpture is subordinated to the effect ofnbsp;the cross as a whole, yet made to tell by its bossiness and light andnbsp;shade, is a true piece of artistic feeling.

The symmetry and dead effect, as of a steel die in modern work, will not be lost until we abandon the use of the mechanical exactnessnbsp;of rule and compass for details, and so recover the joy and life ofnbsp;freehand work.

From tlie time of the Anglo-Norman invasion (1172) tLe Hiberno-Danish style may be said to have ceased, and to have been soon replaced by the general Romanesque and Gothic styles, indicationsnbsp;of the coming change being apparent some time earlier. Few piecesnbsp;of good work of the period following the invasion have survived tonbsp;us. For, although the skill of the native craftsman still remained,nbsp;the disappearance of objects of the later times can be explained bynbsp;many circumstances.

From the inscription on the outer case of the Domnach Airgid (see p. 45), we know it was the work of a native craftsman, Johnnbsp;0�Rarrdan, living about the middle of the fourteenth century. Thenbsp;inscription is as follows;�

The death of John 0�Carbry, Abbot of Clones, is recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters at the year a.d. 1353.

On the front of the shrine'is a representation of the Crucifixion, surmounted by a shield, on which are the implements of the Passion.nbsp;At the head of the Saviour is a dove in gold, on a blue enamellednbsp;ground, and above this a small reliijuavy covered with a crystal.nbsp;In the panels right and left, are the figures of eleven saints�nbsp;SS. Columba, Bridget, and Patrick, James, Peter and Paul, Michael,nbsp;and the Virgin and Child ; St. Patrick presenting a copy of thenbsp;Gospels to St. Mao Carthen; and a female figure whose name isnbsp;unknown.

The top of the shrine is enriched with three bosses, ornamented with figures of grotesque animals, etc., blue enamel and settings of

uncut crystals filling tlie spaces; between tbe bosses are tbe figures of four horsemen in tbe costume of tbe fourteenth century.

Tbe sides bave lost tbe outer casing and show tbe inner case, decorated with interlaced ornament.

On tbe bottom of tbe shrine are the figures of St. John the Baptist, St. Catherine, and, probably, St. Mac Cartben or St.nbsp;Tigbernacb.

The back of tbe shrine is of bronze, and bears a large plain cross, on which is an inscription ending with the word cloachae; thenbsp;rest is illegible.

This shrine contains some portions of early work, but most of it is of the fourteenth century. It was made to contain the tooth ofnbsp;St. Patrick, believed to be that which is said to have fallen on thenbsp;door-sill of the church of St. Brone, at Killaspugbrone, Carbury,nbsp;Co. Sligo.

THOMAS DE : BEAMIGHEM : DNS : DE | ATHUNEYj ME FECIT � OENAEI � P [e] ISCA | PAEIB. \

(Thomas de Bramighem, Lord of Athunry, caused me to be ornamented in the original portion.)

Thomas de Bramighem, Baron of Athenry, died in the year 1376, and was the only baron of Athenry who bore this name.

The shrine is of silver, richly decorated with figures in bas-relief and settings of crystals, coloured glass, and amber. It has suffered much. On the front face is a figure of the Crucifixion innbsp;full relief, accompanied by eight saints in bas-relief. The names ofnbsp;the four saints in the upper compartment are illegible ; in the lowernbsp;they are�

The figure of St. Brigld is missing. The design on the back of the shrine is cruciform, with remains of a setting of gold in thenbsp;centre, and panels of silver filigree. In two compartments of thenbsp;cross figures of ecclesiastics are engraved. The other two compartments are filled by figures in bas-relief. One of these, the lower left,

represents King David playing on the harp. It is of much interest as a representation of that instrument in the fourteenth century. (Seenbsp;�The Irish and the Highland Harps,� by E. B. Armstrong, p. 24.)nbsp;The shrine is mentioned as the most venerated relic of the province, innbsp;a seventeenth-century account of Connaught. It was for some timenbsp;in the possession of the Abbot of Cong, and afterwards preserved bynbsp;the Blake family at Blake Hall, near Cong; thence it was removed tonbsp;Menlough, to the care of a member of the same family, who bequeathednbsp;it to Dr. William Stokes of Dublin, by whom it was deposited in thenbsp;Koyal Irish Academy.

Among the medieval crucifixes an interesting one should be � noticed. It was found in a stream opposite Woodford Castle, Co.nbsp;Galway, in 1853. This crucifix, which measures 16J inches by

71 inches, is one of the earliest found in the country subsequent to the interlaced style. The jewels with which it was studded hare allnbsp;disappeared, but the places where they were fixed can he seen.

Fio. 87.�Processional Cross, Ball}loi'gford, Co. Keiry. (I.tnl ty E. S. A. I.)

Processional Cross, 1479.�This cross (fig. 87) is made of brass soldered together, and gilt, and measures 26Jinches high, and 18^- inches

�wide. It was found in 1871 near Ballylongford, Co. Kerry. It has an inscription in Latin upon the front, which was read as follows hynbsp;G. I. Hewson, in his paper in the Journal of the Koyal Historicalnbsp;and Archseologioal Association of Ireland, vol. v., 4th series :�

�Cornelius filius Johannis Y Conchyr sue naconis capitanius et X Julina Alia militis me fieri fecer�t p man� quot;Wllialmi Cornelinbsp;TVTcXXr 00000 X Juno iu.�

(Cornelius, son of John O�Connor, chief of his sept, and Juli[a]na, daughter of the Knight, caused me to he made by the hand ofnbsp;WLi]lliam [the son o/] Cornel[i]us. June IV., MCCCCLXXIX.)

In a table of descents of the O�Connors, Kerry, as given by the late Archdeacon Eowan, from the Madden iis. in Trinity College,nbsp;Dublin, it appears that Conor, Fundator de Carrigafoil, son ofnbsp;Johannis, Fundator de Lislaghten (A.n. 1478), married Johanna, filianbsp;de Thomas Fitzgerald Equit. Valis. It is thought that Conor may benbsp;the person mentioned in the inscription, as the place whei e the crossnbsp;was found is only two miles from the Abbey of Lislaghtin, foundednbsp;by Conor�s father, and to which it is probable that the cross originallynbsp;belonged.

Of the maker of the cross, 'William, son of Cornelius, unfortunately nothing is known. Some animals and a piece of simple plait ornbsp;knot-work are inserted in the inscriptions.

Of much interest is a waxed-tablet case found in a bog near Maghera, Co. Londonderry, and presented to the Academy in 1845,nbsp;by the Kev. J. Spencer Knox. It consists of a wooden cover dividednbsp;into compartments for holding the materials (fig. 88), containing thinnbsp;wooden leaves, waxed and inscribed on both sides with a sharp pointnbsp;or stilus. (Some of the pins mentioned in the previous section werenbsp;intended to be used as stili, the heads being often shaped for erasing.)nbsp;Some fragments of leather, ornamented with patterns, which probablynbsp;formed an outer cover for the book, were found with the case. Thenbsp;tablets are written in Latin in Irish characters. Dr. J. H. Toddnbsp;examined the tablets, and succeeded in deciphering most of thenbsp;writing, though much of the Latin was meaningless. One leafnbsp;(fig. 89) contained, with others, the following words;�

He concluded that � the book .... was probably the property of some schoolmaster, or scholar, who had inscribed upon it, amongstnbsp;other things, his exercises in grammar and dialectics. The contents,nbsp;as far as they are legible, are of no interest or value, and do not evennbsp;aid us much in forming an estimate of the age of these curious relics :nbsp;nevertheless, it can scarcely be doubted, judging from the chai�acters

inscribed on them, that the tablets are at least as old as the thirteenth or fourteenth century.� (Transactions E.I.A., vol. xxi., Antiquities,nbsp;p. 3.)

It is not necessary to mention particularly the other objects collected by the Academy, such as many stone querns (various dates)nbsp;and a large collection of wooden objects, some of them used asnbsp;receptacles for bog butter. A number of the typical Irish woodennbsp;methers, often mentioned in the tales, may be seen; most of them arenbsp;late, but some may go back to earlier times. They vary in heightnbsp;from 6 to 12 inches, and, together with the handles, are formed of anbsp;single piece ; the bottom was separate, and inserted into a groove.nbsp;Figs. 90 and 91 show the two-handled and four-handled varieties.

Ogams are a special study to whicli some scholars have devoted considerable time.

It is one which involves questions of much linguistic value, and, though the inscriptions contain few words except names, they are thenbsp;oldest examples of the Irish language that have come down to us, goingnbsp;back to probably Roman times.

Sir John Rhys, a leading authority, has published full descriptions of the Academy�s collection of Ogams in the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland for 1902. Some reprints ofnbsp;this publication have been made for the Museum, from which we takenbsp;a few extracts of the more complete readings, concerning which therenbsp;is a general agreement among scholars. quot;We also print Sir John Rhys�nbsp;introductory remarks almost in full. Figs. 92, 93, and 94 are kindlynbsp;lent by the Society:�

� In the following notes an attempt is chiefly made to give some account in detail of the Ogam-inscribed stones collected by the Royalnbsp;Irish Academy . . . and as they form the largest collection of thenbsp;kind in existence, I may perhaps be allowed a few words of preface.nbsp;In the first place may be mentioned the distribution of Ogams, fornbsp;besides those found in Ireland, others have been found in Britain,nbsp;numbering as follows:�(a) Wales, 26, of which 13 belong tonbsp;Pembrokeshire alone, and 1 only to North Wales ; (h) Devon andnbsp;Cornwall, 5; (c) the South of England, 1, which was found in thenbsp;Roman town of Calleva, or Silchester ; ((f) Pictland, or the east ofnbsp;Scotland, and the islands of Orkney and Shetland, 15; (e) Westnbsp;Scotland, 1, which is in the island of Gigha, to the west of thenbsp;peninsula of Kintyre; (�) the Isle of Man, 6. Of these 54 Ogam-inscribed stones, perhaps the most important and instructive arenbsp;those of Wales and the South-west, as they are, in the majority ofnbsp;instances, accompanied with legends in Latin.

�To come back to Ireland, this country alone numbers nearly five times as many as all the other British Isles together: they are nearlynbsp;all on stone, and comparatively few are known to be lost or destroyed.

On tte other hand, hardly a year passes hut that an Ogam or two is brought to light. . . .

� It is often asked where the key to the Ogam alphabet was found, but as a matter of fact it was never lost: it was always accessible innbsp;several of the ancient manuscripts of Ireland, but it has been helpednbsp;in some important respects by the bilingual inscriptions found innbsp;Wales and Dumnonia. A study of the twofold evidence enables onenbsp;approximately to give the early values of the Ogam scores asnbsp;follows;�

/ II /// //// mil (iii) / // III nil /////

� As the scoring never exceeded live in any one case, and as twenty symbols at least were wanted, the alphabet is divided as above intonbsp;four groups or families, each called an aicme, and the foregoing is thenbsp;order followed in the tracts on them, especially the elaborate one innbsp;the Book of Ballymote of the fifteenth century : see folios 308-14.

� But besides the above twenty Ogams there was at least one other occasionally wanted, namely, for the consonant and for this twonbsp;symbols seem to have been extemporized, to wit X and 4\. Thus thenbsp;total of the Ogam alphabet reaches the number 21; but even then thenbsp;alphabet was found inadequate, and digraphs were resorted to (consisting mostly of Ogam symbols doubled), or else the same symbol hadnbsp;to represent more than one sound : instances of both kinds of spellingnbsp;will come under the reader�s notice in due course.

� It ought to be mentioned that, in nearly all the early inscriptions, the Ogams are on or near the edge, or arris, of the stone on whichnbsp;they are carved; the B-group occupy the right of the edge and thenbsp;AT-group the left, while those of the Jf-group slope across the edge,nbsp;and the vowels are usually notches in the edge itself. In the foregoing table the continuous line represents the natural edge of thenbsp;stone on which the writing occurs.

� On the 11th of August, 1899, Mrs. llhys and I began a careful examination of the Ogam stones in the Dublin Museum. . . . Wenbsp;had seen most of them before in 1883, when they were lying in the

cellars of the Royal Irish Academy�s House. The following notes embody our readings as revised by me in April and September,nbsp;1901. ...�

Sir John Rhys then describes thirty-one stones in detail, from which we extract the three following, with some omissions :�

Monaxaggaet.�� This Ogam has its scores inverted, and reads as follows, with an accidental and modern scratch in front of the firstnbsp;I-�

That should mean � The Monument of Riachra, kin of Glunlegget.� The first vowel has one notch too many.

� The inscription does not belong to the oldest class of Ogams by any means, as may be inferred from its using q for c in moqoi, and fornbsp;ch in Veqrcq ; for the name is doubtless that written later, Fiachrach,nbsp;genitive of Fiachra. . . . The use, moreover, of moqoi, that is rnocoi,nbsp;the genitive of mocu or muco, without maqui, reminds one ofnbsp;Adamnan�s application of the same vocable as in Finteniis, gentenbsp;Mocumoie (p. 20), Lugleus Mocumin (p. 43), and Oisseneo nomine,nbsp;FrnanifiUo, gente Mocu Neth Corb (p. 22). At first sight one wouldnbsp;say that our inscription comes much nearer to the early Ogams ofnbsp;Ireland than Adamnan�s formulae with mocu always undeclined; butnbsp;as regards Adamnan, other considerations enter whicli cannot benbsp;discussed here ; see the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries ofnbsp;Scotland, vol. xxxii., pp. 353, 354. On the whole I should regardnbsp;this inscription as belonging to the seventh century, and forming anbsp;specimen of the transition from the early Ogams to the Old Irish ofnbsp;the eighth or ninth centuries.

� An account of the finding of the Monataggart stones will be found contributed by the late Sir Samuel Rerguson and his correspondentsnbsp;to the second series of the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy,nbsp;i., 289-94.�

Killoeslin.��A stone presented by the late Bishop Graves, who says in a letter published in the Royal Irish Academy�s Proceedings,nbsp;vol. ii., S.S., p. 279, that it was found by a young man named

Fitzgerald, in 1877, near Killorglin : in a letter to me in 1884 lie statesnbsp;more exactly that it was found �innbsp;a rath cave.� He was positive in thenbsp;published letter that it reads Galetos,nbsp;nothing more or less. . . . Our recentnbsp;reading is as follows :�

//'ll

�. . . Now as to Galeatos or Galeotos, taking it to he the genitivenbsp;of Galeatus or Galeotus, in which onenbsp;cannot help seeing the Latin word

gale�tm, � a helmed soldier, a man who wore a ffctlea or helmet.� The occurrence of such a name is very remarkable as proving the influencenbsp;of Eoman civilization to have extended to Ireland. The name maynbsp;have been used simply to translate a native one, but it is morenbsp;probable that it was first given to a Goidel who had worn the Homannbsp;galea, that is one who had served in the Roman army. For onenbsp;cannot help comparing it with Qoeddorian-i as connected withnbsp;Petrianm, and the name Saggitarius, of which the genitive Saggitarinbsp;was found in Ogam on a stone discovered at Burnfort, in the neighbourhood of Mallow, in Co. Cork. All three names are, presumably,nbsp;to be explained on the supposition of Goidelic touch with Romannbsp;institutions, especially the military system; not to mention suchnbsp;Latin names as Marianne, Latinm, and Columhanus, or their significance, so to say, in this context.�

Ballinvohee, in Corkaouiny, � where the stone was found of which Bishop Graves has given an account in the Third Series of thenbsp;Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. iii., pp. 374-9. He readnbsp;it as follows, and I find no correction to make :�

.../.nil

�quot;7'

It reads up the left edge and round the top with every Ogam perfect, which makes it the harder to suppose that the second name wasnbsp;originally written Fitalini, as one would have expected: we couldnbsp;not satisfy ourselves that the n ever had a vowel following it.nbsp;Coimagni is the genitive of Coimagn, found written later C�emdn andnbsp;Caemdn, which, with the m reduced as usual into v, has given its namenbsp;to Ard Cavan in Wexford, which, according to Stokes, comes fromnbsp;Ard Coemdin, � the Height or Hill of St. C�eman.� The Bishopnbsp;passes under review seven saints of the name C�eman, five of whomnbsp;belonged to the Patrician period and two to the sixth century, ofnbsp;whom one died in 614. He did not venture, however, to identifynbsp;any one of the seven with our Coimagn-i. But he was successful innbsp;discovering the later form of Vitalin, namely, in the man�s namenbsp;Fidlin; his references are to the Book of Leinster, fo. 272*�, 372', and

the Book of Bullymote, fo. 21 S'quot; 12: the same is evidently of somewhat rare occurrence.�

be found many papers on Ogams, including those hy the Rev. Edmondnbsp;Barry; and among recent writers onnbsp;the general subject of Ogams, maynbsp;he mentioned Mr. E. A. Stewartnbsp;Macalister, �Studies in Irish Epigraphy,� vol. i, 1897 ; vol. ii, 1902 ;nbsp;vol.iii, 1907; and Mr. John MacNeill,nbsp;in Proceedings R.I.A., vol. xxvii, Section C, p. 239. The latter ascribes

the bulk of the Ogams to the fifth and sixth centuries, and hesitates to place the date of any known inscription earlier than the fifthnbsp;century, though many contain forms which maybe a century older.

1555 8509

GUIDE

CELTIC ANTIQUITIES OF THE CHRISTIAN PERIOD

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, DUBLIN

GEORGE COFFEY, M.R.I.A.,

DUBLIN

PREFACE

(X)NTENTS.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

CELTIC ANTIQUITIES OF THE CHPJSTIAN PEIHOH.

'I'o face p. 30.

.1

To face p. 38.

To face p. 40

ly.�SHEINES.

To jace p. 48.

Plate X.

io face p. 49

( 1 )

2. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;)D0CH01iM:AC MC MEIC CAE�HA1G I nORIOnANU MUMAN nOKAT(HAiE ?)

,'.'v v'-quot;'

v^'-vAv-v.'.quot;

■«t

J�

To face p. 62.

imTu:

I�LATE XVII.

To face p. 78.

/ II /// //// mil (iii) / // III nil /////

E,

/////,

I/quot;

I/////

7/

II

//'ll

.../.nil

�quot;7'

K.

O.

Q.

K.