Book_of_Durrow

http://www.uni-due.de/DI/Manuscripts.htm

Scribes
Influence...
Byzantine
Anglo Saxon
Germanic

The Eagle
the man
the calf

"paper was made of calf skins... 100 animals used to create the Book of Kells... only the young animal was good enough since they do not have fat spots

Roman tonsure

Tonsure is the traditional practice ofChristian churches of cutting or shaving thehair from the scalp(while leaving some parts uncut) of clerics,monastics, and, in theEastern Orthodox Church, all baptizedmembers. Tonsure, usually qualified by the name of the religion concerned, is now sometimes used more generally for such cutting or shaving for monks, devotees, or mystics of other religions as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem, e.g., by Buddhist novices andmonks, and some Hindu streams.

Exhibition

Tara Brooch
Cast silver gilt, with added amber, gold, glass, and copper
Bettystown, County Meath, Ireland
Eighth Century, C.E.
Early Medieval, Celtic
22.5 cm.
The National Museum of Ireland, Dublin
Although given the name the Tara Brooch, this Irish national treasure was not found at Tara, but was found at Bettystown, County Meath. The discovery at Bettystown resulted from the collapsing of cliffs due to wave erosion. A jeweler who studied the brooch is credited with the misnomer. Given the exquisite nature of the brooch it is not surprising that it was thought to come from Tara, since Tara was the official residence of the High kings of ancient Ireland.
The Tara Brooch is an annular brooch, synonymous with the term ring brooch. It is termed an annular brooch since its ring completes a full circle and closes in on itself. The Tara brooch is paramount in its exquisite detail. Created from gilted bronze, and intricate swirling, curvilinear pattern containing animal designs runs along the surface. The design is miniaturist in detail and is complemented by four raised knobs, presumably amber or glass. The patterns running along the surface are gold filigree with interlace. The brooch adopts stylistic elements for the La Tène tradition, in its appropriation of animal heads and silver and copper intaglio design on the underside. It is noted that originally the underside was a copper red set against a silver background. The brooch was recently restored at the laboratories of the British Museum in London where they identified minute details of human heads as well.
The Tara brooch epitomizes the high quality among Irish brooches of the Early Medieval period. This brooch has served as a prototype of eighth century skill in jewelry making, and has been copied many times. This surviving brooch is one of a pair of brooches. Brooches were often worn in pairs, linked by a chain, in order to hold a cloak on the shoulders.

gold filigree

Escutcheon may refer to:

Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms
Escutcheon (furniture), an item of door furniture that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder

Ardagh Chalice

On our first trip to Ireland, we saw our first round tower at Turlough, just outside of Castlebar in County Mayo. Standing proud on the top of a cemetery ridge, it was visible for quite some distance. That it had survived for well over 800 years was incredible to me. Even knowing that it's conical stone cap had been replaced, it was amazing that the structure hadn't been blown down, blown apart by lightning, succumbed to battles of all sorts, or cleared away by overzealous local government trying to protect the public from what could be considered a safety hazard. More amazing still was the quality of workmanship in such a tall structure and that it hadn't been defaced by grafitti, or chipped at by bored local youths over hundreds of years. The fact that I was looking at a tower that was essentially the same as it had been when it was built was fascinating, and has fascinated me ever since. - K. Schorr