Witness, for instance, the Carew, or the Nevern Cross,
described in the _Journal of the Archoelogical Institute_, iii. 71, which
might be taken to represent an initial "I" wrought in stone. There is no
foliage, no plant form at all. It is not, therefore, derivable from
Romanesque, Byzantine, or Oriental ornament. It is indigenous, if not to
Ireland, at least to those prehistoric Aryan tribes of which the Irish
were a branch. Its basis is the art of weaving, and in some respects
resembles the matting of Polynesia much more closely that the vine-stems
of Sicily or the arabesques of Byzantium. Spirals occur that bewilder
the eye, yet are so faultlessly perfect that only the magnifying-glass
brings out the incredible accuracy of the drawing. Among them are
mythological and allegorical beasts, snakes, and lizards--thought to
represent demons, like the gargoyles of Gothic architecture--in every
conceivable attitude of contortion and agony. There are also doves and
fishes, but the latter, being sacred emblems together with the lamb, are
seldom made grotesque. It was a monkish legend that the devil could take
the shape of any bird or beast, except those of the dove and the lamb.
CHAPTER VII
CELTIC ILLUMINATION--_continued_
The Iona Gospels--Contrast with Roman and Byzantine--Details--Treatment
of animal forms--Colour schemes--The Gospel-book of St.
Pages:
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67