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Home , Boii, Celtic art, Celtic Christianity, Celtic cross, Celtic Revival, Chi Rho

Masaryk University

Faculty of Education

Department of English Language and Literature

The

Bachelor Thesis

Brno 2012

Supervisor: Written by:

Mgr. Lucie Podroužková, Ph.D. Eliška Vaníčková Declaration: Prohlašuji, že jsem závěrečnou (bakalářskou) práci vypracovala samostatně, s využitím pouze citovaných literárních pramenů, dalších informací a zdrojů v souladu s Disciplinárním řádem pro studenty Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity a se zákonem č. 121/2000 Sb., o právu autorském, o právech souvisejících s právem autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon), ve znění pozdějších předpisů. V Brně, 20. dubna 2013

______Eliška Vaníčková Acknowledgements: I would like to thank my tutor Lucie Podroužková for her continuous support and helpful advice. I am grateful to my family for patience and stimulus for my work. I am also grateful to the Masaryk University libraries: Faculty of Education library and Faculty of Art library, especially the Department of Linguistics and Baltic Languages library for kindly lending me the books I would otherwise have difficulties to gain. I would also like to thank people who share their knowledge about Celtic and related topics on their web pages, some of them being important sources of information for this work. The Outline

Introduction...... 5 The Goal of the Work...... 5 General Introduction to the Topic...... 7 ...... 7 Who Were ...... 14 Sources About Celts...... 16 ...... 17 The Arrival of Celts to Britain and Ireland...... 18 Celtic Importance for the Czech Culture...... 19 pre-Roman and post-Roman...... 20 Main Body...... 25 The Cross as a Sign...... 25 The ...... 35 The “Simple” Celtic Cross...... 35 High Celtic Cross in Ireland...... 37 Art of the High Crosses...... 43 Where High Crosses Can Be Found, How Old Are They...... 44 Function of the ...... 46 Meaning of the High Cross...... 47 Some of the Most Well Known Irish High Crosses...... 51 ...... 61 The Modern Celtic Crosses...... 63 Usage of the Celtic Cross in Celtic Revival...... 64 Literature and Drama...... 65 Festivals and Films...... 68 Revival...... 68 Misuse of the Celtic Cross...... 69 Conclusion...... 71 References...... 73 Czech Sources...... 73 English Sources...... 74 Pictures and Supplement Cited...... 76 Introduction

The Goal of the Work

The author of the work decided to write a thesis about the Celtic cross due to several impulses. One of the first incentives was that she visited Ireland and could feel the culture difference which was caused among other factors by the Celtic historical background. She is further interested in Celts because they are not a phenomena of English speaking countries only as they have a deep roots in Czech culture as well, which can be seen in archaeological findings in Czech lands. Also, Celtic cross is an important symbol of faith for her and she was interested in its origin and connections to Celtic culture, most particularly in Irish high stone crosses. What is more, current Celtic revival touches almost the whole of Western Europe, so it is an interesting phenomena worth of investigation.

The work is based on extensive secondary sources research. The integral part of the work will be a comparison of these sources in terms of quality and credibility of given information and for the content itself. As shall be seen mainly in the area about the meaning of the Irish high crosses, even some confident claims may be disclaimed by another source.

The introduction to the topic is longer than the common practice because it has been written with regard to the facts that the topic requires the clarification of main points, for example the outline of and culture in Ireland, explanation of the main terms such as Celtic cross and Celticism, Celtic religion, Celtic art and other facts that relate to the development of the Irish

Celtic crosses before it can approach to a more detail description of the Celtic cross.

The main body of the work consists of several parts that look at the Celtic cross from different perspectives. First it looks at a cross as a sign throughout history showing the attitude and usage of the cross as a sign in different cultures and finishes with the usage in Christianity. Second part is aimed at the Celtic cross in general explaining its origin, meaning and general shape and

– 5 – function. The third part is aimed at Irish high crosses, their functions, age and appearance. There is also a sub-chapter about stone works as such to illustrate stone monuments in Ireland. In the chapter

Meaning of the High Celtic Cross the work tried to introduce the different points of view on the cross and indicate the relationship of the cross with Celtic religion and Christian . The chapter about Irish high crosses follows from the general description to the specific examples from

Ireland. Finally, the last part is devoted to 'Celtic' influence nowadays – the Celtic revival – where connections appear between medieval stone crosses and contemporary culture. Some misconceptions and myths about Celtic culture which are commonly handed down among people and which are worth mentioning are discussed there.

At the end of the work, in references, Czech and English sources are divided for clarity because the Czech sources have been translated for the purpose of this work by the author of the thesis.

In the supplement there are pictures of twelve chosen Irish high crosses mentioned in the chapter Examples of some well known Irish high crosses. There is also a map of Irish high crosses, that have been modified by the author of the thesis, which indicates where in Ireland they can be found and viewed. The map together with a part of the work aimed at Irish high crosses can be used as a basis for several teaching activities throughout curriculum, for example in History, Geography, or English. Other parts of the thesis can be used in teaching as well as a base for a lesson or for a discussion. The author hopes that the work will serve as an inspiration for further research for individuals and will make the work easier for the teachers who would like to create a lesson about

Ireland, Celts or Celtic crosses.

– 6 – General Introduction to the Topic

It is challenging to look at the Celtic cross, a symbol of faith or religion, from the scientific point of view. It is known that science has limits, such as the material limitation: it operates only with the material world. On the other hand, religion speaks usually about the “other world” that can not be measured by science. The Celts had very strong belief in this “other world” and their whole life and the cycle of the year was influenced by this belief.

The Celtic cross stands somewhere between. It exists in this material world, as very tangible, carved in stones, made of bronze, wood and currently as pendants and decoration from many other materials; but it represents something higher, something that cannot be measured by the means of this world. Despite this difficulty and a lack of material for some historical periods, with the help of the scientists, some idea about the Celtic cross and the Celtic culture can emerge.

In the general introduction some important moments from Irish history connected to religion and art will be shown. It is not intended to be a complete list of Irish history, not even a full list of or religious history. This part should introduce some of the important historical events (to help answer the questions 'why' and 'where') connected to the Celtic crosses and to sketch the atmosphere of those times.

Ireland

Up to 10th century, Ireland was also called Scotia Maior, Greater , unlike Scotia

Minor, today's 'smaller' Scotland. (Bauerová 243) Because of this, up to the 12th or 14th century a man called Scott was usually an Irishmen. (Ellis 175) “The existence of Ireland was known in ancient Greece, where it was called Hiern (Ierne), what probably came from the local expression for

Ireland, Éire.” (Ellis 168)

The before the Christian period is not clear. The first known Irish historian was Silnán Moccu Min, an in , who died 607 AD. (Ellis 166) According to

– 7 – Koch (2: 761), Ireland became known to the between the 6th century BC and 4th century BC.

Detailed geographic information comes with Ptolemy (2nd century AD, using 1st century sources), who includes 16 tribal names. These tribes ruled the whole Ireland which was divided into parts.

The character of the country was not based on cities as it was the case in Europe, but on scattered villages:

The main political unit in Ireland was tuath (= people) – a small kingdom. In the 5th

century there was about 150 of these kingdoms and each of them was ruled by a king.

Tuatha joined to free confederations and created stronger local kingdoms ruled by more

powerful kings (over-kings). These confederations again joined and created provincial

kingdoms which were ruled by provincial kings. There was no sovereign king for the

whole island. Despite this political fragmentation, language, habits and religion were in

tuaths mostly similar. There were no cities in Ireland in those times, only huge abbeys

could resemble cities. (Vopatrný 9 – see works cited page for translation)

Literary tradition in Ireland was significantly influenced by religion. , as the highest clergy in Celtic faith, had a philosophy of oral learning. The first mention about druids is from the third century BC. (Ellis 20) Druids were the most powerful religious leaders in Celtic society.

Romans and Greeks have seen druids only as priests, but druids also fulfilled political tasks. It took twenty years to learn the entire druidic canon, (Ellis 20) “since druid did not act only as an interpreter of the spiritual doctrine of immortality and all the associated moral system, but also as a philosopher, teacher, naturalist and guardian and interpreter of laws.” (Ellis 21)

There are many superstitions about druids because of the lack of historical materials about them. “The truth is, apart form certain Classical comments of a limited nature, on this pagan priestly order, and some rather vague references in the vernacular tradition, we really know very little about the druids.” (Ross 185) For example, in comparison with the prevalent idea that Celts performed their rites in the countryside, the evidence serves to indicate that Celts did in fact have a variety of

– 8 – built structures in which they performed their rites. (Ross 182) “There is also quite a body of evidence for wooden temples, constructed within these banked, earthen enclosures.” (Ross 182)

This, however, does not mean that the Celts never worshipped their deities in the open space.

Romans have spoken about dark druid groves in which they were afraid to enter because druids performed their bloody rituals there. (Ellis 20)

What can be taken as truth about the Celtic religion, according to the body of literature both academic and popular, one of the main features of the Celtic religion was a strong relationship to the countryside and nature. According to Pennick, nature was very important for Celts. They recognized many natural places as a sacred places with special power; for example, they had a great respect for certain trees, mountains, lakes and wells. They believed in many natural beings such as and elves.

According to Ross (185) It is not known whether druids were common in the entire Celtic world or only in some parts; whether they were the only important priests or there were other people who could also decide about religious issues; whether they functioned only in particular period of time in history or whether they were part of Celtic culture since it began. All that is known is that at some period of time some of the Celtic peoples had powerful priests of this name, who

“kept the often hostile forces of the Other-world at bay, and knew the correct ritual which could canalise these powers for the good and benefit of mankind in general and the tribe in particular.”

Ellis (166) wrote, as elsewhere in the Celtic world, knowledge was transmitted orally in

Ireland. The only written records were stone inscriptions in an alphabet called . Writings were inscribed especially on boundary stones or memorial stones and we can find them especially in the south of the country (Ireland).

Since knowledge was aimed only at small number of druids and candidates for Druidism, it was undesirable to spread this sacred knowledge; thus any written records were banned. However; this does not mean that the literary tradition was poor. The knowledge transmitted orally was

– 9 – precise and deep so when the first texts began to be written down they had a huge literary development and tradition behind them. As Ellis (166) wrote, “What is certain is that the rhythmic verses of the extant from the sixth century AD clearly show a long literary development.” It is closely connected with another group of people called bards. They were not as high on the social ladder as druids but their occupation was very important as well. This group of people included poets and singers and their main task was to preserve Celtic history, legends, and poetry. They were a professional group with perfect training. (Ellis 21) We can understand the importance of these poets and singers when we realize that there were no written record in Celtic world. The whole literature and tradition was transmitted orally. Consequently, the training of bards was based on memory learning of the literary works. Therefore we can not be surprised that Celts were known for their excellent memory. “Celts had a strong natural talent for learning and training their intellect. Greek and writers often pay attention to this feature of their nature because it contrasted with what they saw as Celtic uncouth material civilization. They praised their refinement and elegance in the use of language, their linguistic skilfulness.” (Ellis 21)

Together with the literacy development, the law of the was written down for the first time. For hundreds of years it was transmitted orally and it is the oldest preserved legal system in Europe rooted in Indo-European tradition and not in . In some parts of Ireland these laws were preserved till the the 17th century AD when the English suppressed them. (Ellis 171)

One of the remarkable things about an Irish law is the Code of , which contains immensely complex passages about medical practice and hospital administration. St. Fabiola has gained a place in European history by founding the first hospital in , 4th century BC, but it can be clearly demonstrated that hospitals had existed in Ireland long before this time. According to

Brehon Code only qualified staff could work in hospitals, hospitals should not have any debts, they should have four doors and fresh water and they should offer services to all ill, feeble, over-aged and also orphans. Thanks to the Brehon Code nobody in the early Irish society have to fear that in

– 10 – case of illness he will be left to his destiny. Not only that he had guaranteed his medical treatment and hospitalization but the state also thought about the ill person's family and support them with food and means of subsistence. (Ellis 171) On the other hand, one of the negative things about

Ireland to say is that slavery was much more common there that in Germanic and Latin Europe.

(Koch 1: 369)

It is not known exactly when first reached Ireland, but Christian communities existed in Britain by the late 2nd century; therefore any time after that is possible. It is most likely that the first contact between Irish people and Christianity happened through traders, and later through slaves brought from Britain. (Koch 2: 409) However; by the evidence of tables with equal- armed cross, imported in the 5th century, found in in the south-west Britain give evidence that no later than between 400 and 600 AD the Brythonic kingdoms of what is now

Scotland (Alba) had been covered to Christianity. (Koch 1: 98) What is known is that in the fifth century AD there were enough Christians in Ireland for a need of a to minister them and for this need the a hearing was given in Rome. (Koch 2: 409) This was the time when the first were send to Ireland. Although the first bishop Palladius was sent to – some of them already

Christian – Irish people in 431 AD (by the Celestine І.), the legendary bishop became the second one, the well known Patrick. (Bauerová 243). His influence is great. He was said to baptised the nation transforming it from being a pagan into a Christian one. (Koch 2: 408)

Patrick's own life is interesting and we can learn more about him in his book Confessio.

According to Koch (2: 409) “Patrick's own perception is that he is the harbinger of 's Second

Coming, rather than that he is the 'apostle of the Irish', and we must assume that he was but one among many bishops and working in Ireland in the 5th century. Quite probably, Patrick was an erratic among that group because of his apocalypticism, a feature of his ministry that would explain why he was criticised by other bishops”

Since the time St. Patrick came to Ireland, Christianity was prospering well. From 7th

– 11 – century there is much better evidence, and through contemporary there are accurate dates.

Monasteries grew to become the great centres of learning and economic life, and Christianity can be seen emerging as the intellectual form of the society. (Koch 2: 410) “By the later 7th century Ireland had a vibrant theological community whose works were having an impact on the rest of the Latin

Church.” (Koch 2: 410) With the arrival of Christianity, everything changed. There came a new writing system and literacy increased – mostly in monasteries. According to Bauerová (243) the culture centres were monasteries and they were growing fast. We know that many Celtic legends and customs were written down there by monks. In addition, Celtic was further developed there – book illustrations, arts and crafts and, finally, architecture. From the 6th century AD the indigenous literary tradition begins. As an example of the work of monks can be taken a famous

Book of Kells, with particularly beautiful illustrations almost on each double page which shows the skilfulness of the painters then.

(“Illuminating Celtic (“Illuminating Celtic (“Illuminating Celtic Manuscripts-Book”) Manuscripts-Madonna”) Manuscripts-Writings”)

Because of its island isolation and a stout-hearted Celtic resistance in Caledonia (Scotland),

Ireland was not only never occupied by Roman soldiers (Ellis 175) but also, according to Bauerová

(244), the 'Green Island' was spared the terrible long time called 'migration of nations'. In this series of disasters – affecting the continent from the end of 4th to the 6th century AD – was besides other things destroyed the overwhelming majority of libraries (even the one at St. Peter's in Rome).

– 12 – Consequently, copying books in Irish monasteries began and it soon spread also to the famous of by the west shore of Scotland. Iona, with its extensive school (at the time) became the forerunner of later European universities. According to Ellis (176), in the so-called Dark

Ages, i. e. the , the Celts in Ireland experienced a period full of enlightened cultural development. At a time when European Christian centres were destroyed by hordes of barbarians, who conquered the entire continent, Ireland became the centre of learning. The monks began to leave Ireland and revive faith in Europe. They copied the books and travelled to the continent to transmit their knowledge and give books to people. As Bauerová (244) write, “From the 6th century,

Irish-Scotsmen started travelling to war-torn Europe. Although their goals were mainly

(peregrinari pro Christo, for Christ), they frequently brought copies of books not only religious, but also writings of the ancient classics (and thanks to them many of the paramount books had survived).” Ellis (176) writes that they founded monasteries and churches even in the far east, in Ukraine, in the south of , in the north in the Faeroe Islands and in Iceland. It is an irony that

Ireland held the Greek and Roman education alive until the Renaissance and Irish ancestors brought

Christianity and the English literacy. In this time, many English kings sent their children to religious schools in Ireland to be educated.

Celtic populations in Ireland grew into a strong cultural nation. Only in 795 AD Ireland should suffer the first serious invasion of the who founded small towns there. But in 1041

AD the high king Brian Boroimhe defeated the combined armies of Norsemen at the Battle of

Clontarf near and removed the threat once and for all. (Ellis 175, 176)

The cultural flourishing continued also in later times. During the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries the economic development in Ireland was considerably more rapid than elsewhere. There are more reasons for this. Ireland had more people and more evenly spread population than other

Celtic countries. Its large and powerful monasteries stimulated production of many kinds and

Viking settlement and interests then intensified the rate of this change. (Koch 1: 370)

– 13 – Who Were Celts

The term 'Celtic' must first be defined before any attempt to talk about the Celtic cross occurs. Originally, according to Koch (1: 89), the word Celtic is in the conventional sense represented by the Greek 'Keltoi' and Roman 'Celti' for 'Celt' is a name given to pre-illiterate peoples in regions of western and in the last five centuries BC.

The word 'Celtic' can be looked at in at least three perspectives:

1. Descendants of Celts and everything they do nowadays can be considered as 'Celtic'. “As a

conventional term, 'the Celtic countries' means Ireland, Scotland, , , the Isle of

Man, and . The first four of these have an unofficial primary status, largely due to

their historical importance as politically and culturally distinct areas, and also possessing

Celtic languages which have survived continuously to the present.” (Koch 1: 335)

2. People in those areas and other (also in Europe) who consider themselves to be 'Celts' – are

proud of their origin and try to preserve as much of the original 'Celtic' culture as possible.

Their religious practices and art is considered 'Celtic'. They can be called 'Celtic revival'

people.

3. Things and culture preserved from original '', not mixed with other cultures.

Historical point of view. “For archaeologists Celts are people who are recognisable as such

on account of their distinctive material culture, and who are also known to have been Celts

from written sources outside their own society.” (Ross 18)

When we talk about 'Celtic culture', 'Celtic art' or 'Celtic crosses' we must bear this in mind and define exactly which type of 'Celts' we have in mind to prevent misunderstanding. When not stated differently, in this work will be mostly spoken about the third concept, the historical point of view, except the Celtic revival where the 'Celtic group' broadens considerably to the first and second perspective mentioned above.

– 14 – Ellis defines Celts form the historical point of view (7), “The Celts are the first Europeans living north of the , who appear in written sources. In their time, they ruled the ancient world from west to east, from Ireland to Turkey and north to south from Belgium to and Italy.” They also founded a state called in Asia Minor in the third century BC. Thanks to this we have the first information about Celtic political institutions.

What is the origin of the word 'Celt'? “First, the Greeks called them Keltoi. uses the term , which came to be used in his time. The Romans called them either 'Galli' or

'Celtae' . . . (100-400 BC) records that in his time, refer to themselves as 'Celtae'

– Celts.” (Ellis 13) Ellis writes that there are almost no doubts that the word 'Celts' is of Celtic origin. There is a similar word in 'ceilt' meaning 'a secret' and it suggests Celts as a nation with a secret which corresponds to a Celtic ban of writing their profound knowledge down.

(13)

Two terms, Celticism and Celticity, should be defined. According to Koch (1: 378),

Celticism means “interests and activities stimulated by an awareness of, or belief in, Celticity”, whereas Celticity “refers not to an intellectual movement, but rather to the 'quality of being Celtic'”.

Celticity can refer to “influential, but dubious, ideals such as supposed ethnic, and even psychological and physiological, similarities of the ancient Celts to the latter-day inhabitants of

Ireland (Éire), Scotland (Alba), the (Ellan Vannin), Wales (Cymru), Brittany (Breizh), and Cornwall (Kernow).“ (Koch 1: 389) The concept of Celticity and Celtic heritage can be studied at universities. “As an interdisciplinary field, include linguistics, the study of literature, history, archaeology, and . . . The modern field has its origins in the 16th and

17th centuries.” (Koch 1: 385)

– 15 – Sources About Celts

The knowledge about Celtic tribes and peoples is strictly limited. Celts, “the nation who came out of the darkness, which is a fitting title of one book” (Staudte-Lauber 8), had not left any written records. During the research of their history archaeologists and historians are reliant on archaeological findings and antique records. However; when interpreting them, it is important to be cautious. (Staudte-Lauber 8) “The mentions about Celts are sometimes mistaken – and always one- sided. A space that gapes before the written history must be filled by the archaeology.” (Ellis 14)

The first mentions about Celts can be found only in the sixth and fifth centuries BC, when they began to interact with Mediterranean culture. Until the beginning of the Christian era the Celts had left almost no written records in their own language. Celtic history, philosophy, law, genealogy and science were transmitted exclusively orally. It was not because the Celts were illiterate, but because of religious prohibition. (Ellis 13)

Therefore, all we know about Celts is derived from archaeology and written records of some ancient people, mostly Romans, who valued Celts according to their own values. “The earliest, and perhaps the most reliable, although strictly limited source of information is the archaeological record. Later, the historical comments of the Greeks and the Romans on Celtic manners and customs” (Ross 18, 19) Later as another source can serve the early Irish literary tradition, which is also flavoured by one-sided view because this first Irish art was written by monks who were Christians. “What can be derived from the early Irish literary tradition give us further details and help to bring more human element into the somewhat austere outline sketch which the archaeological evidence can depict.” (Ross 18, 19) Finally, there are non-academical sources, for example memories of people transmitted orally and some religious beliefs that can not be easily proven for the late Celtic ancestors.

– 16 – Celtic Languages

“The Celtic languages form a subgroup of the Indo-European family which can be defined by a special combination of changes that affected the inherited sound system.” (Koch 1: 371)

It can be assumed that at a certain stage of historical development Celts spoke one common language. Experts in Celtic studies assume that this “general Celtic” was spoken just before the beginning of the first millennium BC. Then, very soon emerged two very different branches, which now refer to as Goidelic and Brittonic (and sometimes also because of the characteristic sound changes as Q-Celtic and P-Celtic). Goidelic group today is represented by Irish,

Manx and ; Brittonic is represented by Welsh, Cornish and Breton. (Ellis 15) “It has been argued that the older form is Goidelic branch and that Brittonic languages that are naturally closely related to an extinct continental Gaelic had evolved from it in the later periods.” (Ellis 15)

Because there is no certainty about how the Celtic languages developed, in particular, whether the British or Brythonic group, to which Breton and Welsh belong, are more closely aligned with Gaulish or with the Goidelic group, to which Irish and Scottish Gaelic belong,” (Koch

1: 372) all stadia before the two Celtic language branches divided are called Proto-Celtic languages.

This language division is very important because it enables scientists to estimate the arrival of Celts to Britain and Ireland. One group suggests the arrival in the , another date the arrival of Celts to approximately three centuries BC.

Henri Hubert argued that the separation of the Celtic dialects is a very important fact,

which manifests a great division of the Celtic nations, suggesting that long ago, centuries

before historically documented Brittonic speaking Celts arrived, Britain and Ireland were

occupied by the Celts speaking Goidelic. Hubert thus using linguistic arguments supports

archaeological evidences that the Celts, represented by the Urn-field culture people, settled

in Britain before 1000 BC. (Ellis 15,16)

– 17 – The Arrival of Celts to Britain and Ireland

It is known that agricultural settlements existed in Ireland since the period around 3000

BC, which was the time when the oldest megalithic structures were also created. With the Bronze

Age, which began around 1500 BC, the exports of Irish metal products to the European mainland began. And to the Bronze Age scientists place the early Celtic society. (Ellis 167, 168) Vopatrný (8) agrees that Celts came to Ireland probably in the 6th century BC.

Some Irish scholars, however, still hold the view that the Celts came to Ireland much later.

For example, David Greene dates the arrival of the Celts back to the third century BC. (Ellis 167,

168) “Dr. Green admitted that neither tradition nor archaeological material will help us in terms of finding out what language people spoke, but he hold the opinion that the year 300 BC is a reasonable estimation and should not differ from reality by more than two centuries.” (Ellis 167,

168) However; we are discouraged by the linguistic evidence from the statement, that the Celts came in the third century BC.

If Goidelic speaking Celts came to Ireland from Europe only in the third century BC, it

would mean that the continental evolution of language from Celtic Brittonic branch to

Goidelic had to start before this time. But from the linguistic evidence found on the

continent we know that the development towards what is referred to as a form of Celtic

Brittonic, and specifically to Gaelic, was taking place in the third century. How then could

the descendants of the Celts in Gaul, who came to this country just in the third century,

speak a language resembling the language of the Celts of northern Gaul, if the

development of the language had not taken place before? (Ellis 168)

In addition, Ellis says that there are also lists of the ancient Irish kings, going back for centuries before the third century BC. “For example Heremon (also Eremon), is listed as the eleventh and the first Irish king of or Gael, who ruled around 1015 BC. If the lists of kings can be taken as

– 18 – reliable, then it certainly agrees better with theories about the arrival of the Celts in the Bronze Age.

The lists of kings, however, come from the Christian era – Mael Muru, the first known author who wrote about the Irish kings in the past, lived between 820 – 884/886 AD.” (168)

Celtic Importance for the Czech Culture

When considering the importance of Celtic people for Czech countries, the first thing that will probably come in mind is the name of the Czech country “”. Though it is not called by this name internationally today, it is an old and long used name that can tell the Czech people something about their history. The Celtic tribe living in the greater part of Bohemia which gave this country its name 'Boiohaemum', 'Bohemia' – was that called themselves . (Bauerová 12) Also some of the names of the Czech mountains, e. g. 'Říp', 'Šárka' (Weiser), and rivers, for example

'Jizera' and 'Ohře' (Šmilauer), are of Celtic origin.

Bauerová (9) says, “Celtic history is as an integral part of our past as any of the later major historical periods. It even stands out among them. For in the north from the Alps – and in high measure in our country – Celts created something like a boarding area where they began their long journey . . .” From our lands, Celts started their migration west.

A remarkable feature of Celtic heritage in Czech lands is the evidence of highly developed

Celtic metallurgy. It has a Europe-wide importance. “More than two thousand years ago there worked on our land a number of mills with the whole complexes of ironmonger furnaces (very old tradition has an area around Kladno). In the ironmonger's manufacturing, smithery, iron founding and other, often artistic techniques, were our predecessors masters.” (Bauerová 9) But not only metallurgy, also Celtic carpenters, coopers, farmers, tanners and weavers were skilled. (Bauerová 9)

A typical Celtic settlement in a shape called '' was represented in our country and some of them were large in size. In many place in Bohemia and Moravia remains of those oppida can be found. According to Bauerová (10), “in their time it were (oppida) scattered throughout the

Celtic world – from and France through , Switzerland, , Bohemia,

– 19 – Moravia, to the south-western part of .”(Bauerová 10)

From the Celtic art found in Czech lands a Head of the Celt founded next 'Mšecké

Žehrovice' and Celtic coins from 'Křivoklát' and form an oppidum in 'Strakonice' can be taken as examples.

(Čižmářová, “Celtic Coin”) (“Celtic Head”)

Celtic Art pre-Roman and post-Roman

Two main periods in the history of the Celts in general in the time BC can be distinguished. The first is the Hallstatt period of the European (700 – 500 BC). It is named after the city in Switzerland where archaeological material was found. The foundlings were well preserved because there were salt mines which conserved many artefacts as well as human remains.

(Edwards and Macpherson) Art from this time was primarily geometric in nature and incorporated symbols such as stylized lunar and solar motifs and water birds. Much of the hand-made pottery was also painted with figural or even narrative elements. (Koch 1: 90) Examples from the Hallstatt period are a Bronze Flagon and Hallstatt Bowl.

– 20 – (“Hallstatt Bowl”)

(“Bronze Flagon”)

The second period (450 – 1st century BC) is named after La Tène, the lake in western

Switzerland, where many material was found after the water in the lake decreased. The art of La

Tène is full of ambiguities. What is for sure that mostly swords and scabbards were found with primarily curvilinear character. (Koch 1: 90) The Prunay Vase and a Gold Cup from La Tène period can be seen below.

(“Prunay Vase”) (“Gold Cup”)

According to Koch, (1: 89, 90) when the Celtic art is looked at in general, it has the character of small-scale art and can mostly be found on objects of personal adornment such as fibulae (safety-pin brooches for fastening clothing), neck rings – typical Celtic torcs (can be seen below) – arm rings and finger rings both for men and women. It also appears on items of military use such as sword scabbards, knives, spearheads and shields, as well as objects used for holding

– 21 – wine for feasting, such as flagons or drinking horns. in stone is infrequent in Celtic society, often crude and rarely representational, though probably symbolic, while few wooden carvings survive except as offerings in water from the Roman period. “By modern definitions, such items are craft rather than art, since they are objects in daily use rather than rarefied items to be looked at, but, like all art, they expressed beliefs embedded in the society.” As for the material used for daily life items of craft and art, such as personal ornaments, scabbards and drinking vessels, gold and bronze were favoured. (Koch 1: 90)

(Wikipedia contributors, (“”) “Bronze Torc”)

Setting an art into Ireland,very few or settlements have been found and most of the material lacks any datable context. There is a torc found in with an iron core and sheets of gold over it which is clearly late La Tène product from the middle Rhine, but, as it was an isolated find, it is impossible to determine when it was deposited or even imported. Also weapons were found in Ireland, most of them in rivers and lakes that had presumably served as offerings, but they are impossible to date precisely. (Koch 1: 96)

Until the Romans came the Celtic art was more or less coherent in style and content, but with the Roman arrival (and with the arrival of Christianity as well) the art was dominated by new and intrusive elements which usually suppressed what might be regarded as Celtic. The development of post- happened from the 5th to the 10th centuries AD and is termed as

'Hiberno-Saxon' or '' because it exhibits two lasting external influences: that of Saxon and

– 22 – Germanic settlers from the north-west of Europe and that of a new religion – Christianity. (Koch 1:

98) These two influences deeply influenced the 'Celtic' art, it depends only on individual point of view at Celticity whether the art since this time can still be called 'Celtic' or not. “The time when all those influences, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and continental mixed together is called the Irish Golden

Age. “The seventh century saw the start of the Irish Golden Age when schools of art, learning and missionary endeavour sprang up throughout Ireland. In this period continental and Anglo-Saxon art influences were combined by Irish craft workers to create an insular art style.” (National Museum of Ireland 5) The art manifested in innovations in sculpture, ornamental metalwork, manuscript illumination and architecture coincided with developments in literature, language and grammar and the establishment of church practices. (National Museum of Ireland 5)

With regard to this thesis, the are the most important because high Irish stone crosses are counted within this group. “The elaborate motifs and scenes executed in stone on the high crosses reflect not only the skill of the stonemasons but also highlight the transfer of artistic concepts and designs between the crafts of stone, metal and manuscript illumination of the period.

As free standing sculptures, Irish high crosses dominated the 's main church settlements.” (National Museum of Ireland 5) Here a great difference can be seen between the art of the Hallstatt and La Tène period when stone works were rather poor.

In the post-Roman Celtic art human depictions remain rare but the depiction of Christ and scenes form the were usual. There is a difference in depicting the scene of in the

Celtic west and in general used by Rome. While in general iconography, the cross with supporting angels and the two Roman soldiers, Stephaton and Longitus, is centred in the suffering of the Christ, showing Christ as semi-naked Messiah, in the Celtic west Christ is shown as a fully clothed Celt in full frontal view with stylized, ringed hair, is less centred on Christ's pain and does not depict it so explicitly. (Koch 1: 103) This phenomena is illustrated by examples in the chapter “Some of the most well known Irish high crosses”.

– 23 – In the 8th century, after the post-Roman age ended, Vikings invaded Ireland. The impact of these raids were in one hand disastrous because they plundered monasteries and destroyed some precious artistic pieces but on the other hand it can be assumed that thanks to them the Irish craftsmen aimed more at high crosses that started to flourish. “Although it is a simplistic observation, it is possibly true that the decline of excellence in portable precious works and the broadly simultaneous heyday of the lavishly decorated and ponderous high crosses were a direct response to Viking raids.” (Koch 2: 717) The answer why this change happened is obvious, monument stone crosses could not be so easily damaged and dragged away.

– 24 – Main Body

There are many different opinions on the Celtic cross among people. “Cross is a symbol of a crucifixion of the ” say some people. “Cross is a symbol of God, his Will and Truth” say others. “Cross is a unity of masculine power with a female power in general sense” is another opinion. In this part of the work some of the possible answers and points of view will try to be given.

The Cross as a Sign

Cross is one of the easiest signs. Only one line and another one crossing it at an angle of ninety degrees. Which line is longer or which arm is longer? We can choose whatever suits best our ideas about what the cross should represent.

(“Different Types of Crosses”)

The equal arm cross has the horizontal line of the same length as the vertical line, consequently it makes the impression of harmony. When all religious knowledge is forgotten and the cross is looked at from the unbiased perspective, what should it symbolize for us? It will probably be the same what it have symbolized for our bygone ancestors: When the cross stands on one of its arms, the vertical line then points to heaven or it can be said that it connects the earth and the heaven. Horizontal line then could represent the life that exists on earth and is subordinate to be born and to die. The crossing of those lines then shows the goal of our life – to live subordinately to the laws of universe and at the same time strive for heaven. Those who manage to live according to this rule can live in harmony and therefore in peace and happiness. “According to Breton tradition, the cross itself is a ladder from earth to heaven, down which Christ came and up which human souls

– 25 – can travel to paradise.” (Pennick 48,49)

This is what one can understand simply by contemplating the cross shape. But then, when understanding comes to this point, other question starts to emerge. We want to know more about the heaven, the sky and we wonder where we come from and where we belong to. When people try to answer these questions they may come to the God as a creator and keeper of the universe. Then the become the sign of God who represents aforementioned values.

The cross can be also understood as symbol of two energies that meets in our world, which in some extent corresponds with the previous view. These two forces have different names, for example in Asia they call them Jin and Jang, in Western European culture these two forces are called positive and negative or male and female. Both lines of the cross has the same importance, it follows from the equal length of the lines. When those two energies meet there is a harmony, understanding.

In the East, the early explorers of India and Asian countries recognized the pa-kwa and as basic variants of the cross (Healey 289), representing the same principles but in other form, typical for a nation. “The pa-kwa of Chinese philosophy divides the universe into yin and yang, black and white, negative and positive, female and male. In Japan, the same symbol was known as tomoye and was coloured red and yellow. It appears on the Republic of Korea flag as blue and red.” (Healey 294) The swastika of India is the same sign with the curves straightened and the circle opened. (Healey 294) Though it is supposed to represent the same we can clearly see the difference. The pa-kwa is more rounded, more gentle and it also contains a small dot of the opposite force in a field of the prevailing one. Many things can be understood only by contemplating this symbol. The swastika is not so explicit, however, it offers to its observer something what is not so easy to see in pa-kwa; the direction. It rotates to the right, showing the right direction where to go in a higher sense. Swastika was awfully abused by the Nazi who turned it over (it rotated to the left then) and used in their interpretation as a symbol for their political

– 26 – purposes. Consequently, since the second world war the use of swastika has been very limited and it is even hard to find the original one, rotating to the right.

(Garonque, (Vilihjarmr,

“Yin and “Swastika”)

Yang”)

However; in the , more than Yin and yang or Swastika, cross is used. Cross as a sign has a very long history. Despite the fact that the equal arm cross is usually taken as a sign of Christianity, there is a body of evidence that the cross was used as a sign long before Christ. It is a simple sign and it presumably has been used by people since the time they began to drew signs into dust and sand and their first writing systems began to develop. What this symbol meant for the ancient civilization we are not always sure but according to their records researchers are able to decode some meanings. From the time of Egyptians since this time, the cross has been used as a symbol for divinity and higher power.

There are proofs that the cross was found in many nations before Christianity, some of them are well known such as Egyptians and their Cross, some of them less. Below is a pattern how the Egyptian Ankh Cross looks like.

(“Ankh

Cross”)

– 27 – “The Egyptians and Persians had a cross on their banner and the standard set up by Moses in the desert is called a Cross . . . The is so called from the Greek capital (tau), but other names for it include the the Egyptian Cross and St. Anthony's Cross.” (Healey 289)

(Wikipedia

contributors,

“Cross of Tau”)

There are many forms of crosses. Every nation, church or philosophical group adapted the cross according to their own understanding of the universe.

The crosses can be found at placed where no one would expect to see them. “When Cortez'

Spaniards first landed in Yucatan, Mexico, to bring Christianity to the heathens in return for stripping them of their wealth, they came across large stone crosses erected on the Mexican plains.”

(Healey 289) Staying in America, even the Sun-symbol of Incas was interpreted as a cross embellished with additional rays. (Healey 289) What did this crosses mean to the local inhabitants?

Why they were there? We do not know exactly. But one think is sure, the cross was adapted by many cultures independently from each other and therefore its meaning as such must have had some deeper sense that was valuable for people.

In Christianity, the sign of the cross dates from the 2nd century when it served as a secret sign amongst the early Christians. Even at that time, however, the cross was not used as a written sign, for it is not found on any Christian monument. Later, the cross began to replace fish symbol taken from the cross shape of χ(), first letter of "Christos" written in Greek, which nevertheless remained the main Christian sign for the first six centuries. (Healey 289) Healey adds that a Chi

– 28 – cross drawn quickly in the dust looks like a fish.

(Bartlett,

“Christian Fish

Symbol”)

From the 4th century the cross became a common symbol of Christianity. The Emperor

Constantine who made the Christianity the official religion of the used as his emblem the Chi- in a laurel wreath. (Walker, “Celtic Cross History”). “The diagonal members of the Chi were eventually conventionalized into a simple circle. There are examples of this where the loop of the Rho is also conventionalized into a shepherd's crook.” It is typical of many Welsh crosses of the early Christian period which followed the Roman withdrawal from Britain. (Walker,

“Celtic Cross History”)

(“Chi-Rho”)

Since the beginning the symbol of Chi-Rho, later replaced by the , was used also for the military purposes, symbolizing Christ's victory. Constantine used it as a victory symbol as well. It is probable this military use of the cross that descends from the shields and standards of the Roman Empire. (Walker, “Celtic Cross History”)

The evolution of the cross from the Chi-Rho coincides with other theories about the origin of the cross and its meaning. (Walker, “Celtic Cross History”) It cannot be proven now how the

Christian cross really evolved.

– 29 – When the cross is looked at in more detail, many different types of crosses exist according to their shape as they arose during the history representing different groups of people and different monastic orders. The first group originated from the Greek Cross (the equal arm cross). Some of these crosses were originally an armorial decoration. (Healey)

(Gocek, “Greek

Cross”)

“When the ends of the Greek Cross are 'turned round both ways', we have the Cross

Molinée.” (Healey 291) It is a type of with prongs terminating each of the four arms, which is eight together what reminds us of the eight beatitudes. (Eight beatitudes were listed by

Jesus in his first sermon – the Sermon of the Mount. They can be found in Matt. 5: 3-11.) The term

“Moline” comes from the Latin “molere” – to grind and “molinum” – mill. It is because the shape of the cross is similar to the iron bar that supports a millstone. (“Moline cross”) When Moline cross is used as a mark of cadency it signifies an eight son. (Wikipedia contributors, “”)

Other crosses with different ending are for example or Cross of Cleves, which has a fleer-de-lys on the end of each arm and the , which is worn upon the breast, results.

(Healey 291)

(Healey, (Healey, (Healey,

“Cross “Cross “Cross

Molinée”) Fleury”) Potent”)

– 30 – Another type of the cross is the cross or pendant cross of the Roman church, properly called the Cross Patonée. It has three points at each extremity. As a Christian sign it might have been the sign of the formed into the cross or it could have been simply a decoration variant, however, among the Toltecs in ancient Mexico it was a fertility sign and it could have also had links with Mayan culture. (Healey 291)

(Healey, “Cross

Patonée”)

The ultimate in the Greek Cross is the Cross Crosslet, which is a Greek Cross bearing a

cross as each extremity. It was also known as the German or Holy Cross and was a sign

amongst the Gnostics of the four-fold mystery. A somewhat similar cross appears on the

state flag of the state of Maryland in the U.S.A., where the clubbed ends of the Cross

Boutoneé or Treflée are a development of the Cross Crosslet. It is taken on this flag from the

arms of George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, who founded the state by royal charter in 1684. A

reduction of this figure gives the Cross Pommée or Cross Pommelly. (Healey 291)

(Healey, “Cross (Healey, “Cross (Healey, “Cross Crosslet”) Boutonée”) Pommée”)

Other variants of the Greek Cross includes the . It was the emblem of the

Knights of St. John of , which was an order founded in 1048 to guard pilgrims to the Holy

– 31 – Sepulchre at Jerusalem. They eventually settled in Malta and singe that time are called the Knights of Malta. The variant of the Maltese Cross with flat ends at the extremities is called the Cross

Pattée or Spire cross. (Healey 291)

(Healey, (Healey,

“Maltese “Spire

Cross”) Cross”)

Significant variation of the Greek Cross is the Crux Decussata, which is a Greek Cross turned by forty five degrees. . . It is the capital letter known in as a saltier and forms St.

Andrew's Cross (white on blue) and St. Patrick's Cross (red on white).” (Healey 291) St. Georges

Cross, which is a red cross on a white background, was adopted on the coat of arms and flags by several countries and cities, for example Georgia, England and Barcelona. (Wikipedia commons,

“St. George's Cross”) On many state flags there is some form of a cross, for example in Danish flag it is called Dannebrog. It is a white Scandinavian cross on the red background. (Wikipedia commons, “Flag of Denmark”)

(Healey, “The (Healey, “St. Andrew's or (Healey, “St. Dannebrog Cross”) St. Patrick's Cross”) George's Cross”)

– 32 – While the first series of cross variations was based upon Greek equal arm cross, the next series is based upon the Latin cross, which is formed by lengthening the stem of the Greek Cross.

When we imagine a standing person with their arms spread, the silhouette is very similar to this cross. Is it only a coincidence or should it say something to us? Does the cross represent our human destiny with all sorrows and delights? That is also why the cross on which Jesus was crucified had its shape. The interpretation of the Christian Church is that the cross symbolizes the Christ's suffering and also redemption for people who would believe in Christ. In Christianity the Latin cross usually accompanied with the figure of crucified Jesus as we can also see on most of the Irish high crosses.

The heraldic term for the Latin Cross is 'crux immisa', but in Church symbolism it is referred to as the Cross of passion and the Triumphal Cross. (Healey 291)

(Gocek,

“Latin

Cross”)

Several types of the Latin Cross can be distinguished. Cross of is technically a double Greek Cross and it can be regarded as a combination of the Greek Cross and Latin Cross.

(Healey 292)

It was the house badge of the Dukes of Lorraine and it was chosen in 1940 by Charles De

Gaulle as a sign of the Free French Forces in the Second World War. In the Orthodox Church

it is called Patriarch's Cross, but in the Roman it is carried before the

cardinal and is known as a Cardinal's Cross. The cross of the patriarch of the Roman

Catholic Church is a triple Greek Cross called the Pope's Cross. It is carried before the Pope

– 33 – and it is referred to as the Cross of St. Peter, the first Pope. (Healey 292)

(Healey, (Healey,

“Cross of “Cross of St.

Lorraine”) Peter”)

An unusual cross was used by the Order of Teutonic Knights. “They wore white robes with their distinctive black crosses of eight points embroidered upon it. The eight points, like those in

Cross Molinée, signify the beatitudes.” (Healey 293) The Thieves' Cross is a medieval sign for the

Trinity and is also a Pythagorean emblem of the course of life, showing a rising path with forks leading to Good or Evil. (Healey 293) With its three arms it belongs to the signs emphasizing the

Trinity or member of three which is present in many cultures, for example: Sun, Moon and Venus

(Aztecs), fire, light and air or spirit (Hebrews), Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Christians), Osiris,

Issis and Horus (Egyptian) and from everyday life: a man, a woman and a child. (Healey 293)

(Healey, (Healey, “The

“Cross of the Thieves'

Teutonic Cross”)

Knights”)

– 34 – The Celtic Cross

The Celtic cross is typical for a ring surrounding the intersection. Where does this ring come from? Some suggests that is was added to the cross for practical reasons, it was easier to build it from stone in this way, the ring supporting the cross. However; all signs should have some deeper sense, especially all signs with a cross included, so there are other suggestions what the ring should mean and why it was added to a cross.

(“Simplified Celtic Crosses”)

For the purpose of clarity an artificial division of the crosses can be made into two main groups. The first is the “simple” Celtic cross. This cross has all arms equal and is historically older.

The second type of the Celtic cross can be also called 'High cross', 'Irish cross' or it can be called

'Celtic-'. It consists of a Latin cross, with a ring that travels completely around the cross intersection. (O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses”)

The “Simple” Celtic Cross

The shape of the Celtic cross existed long before Christianity and functioned as a symbol of universe powers of sun and moon, probably accompanied by the meaning of the cross as a symbol of higher forces or the Godfather, who are some Celtic tribes said to have worshipped. In ancient Celtic view, the cross and a circle were associated with prosperity and fertility. “The cross representing the sun, male generative power and the circle the moon, female.“ (Celtic Cross Tile)

According to Pennick (47, 48) the shape of the high cross has inspirations in older art

– 35 – forms. An example can be Coptic iconography – ankh cross in many ways foreshadows the typical

Celtic cross. “It amalgamates wheel and cross, decorating it with the and diaper-work that became and remains today the hallmark of the art of the Celtic Church.” (Pennick 47, 48)

According to Pennick (48) various pillars erected by Saxons were the forerunners of the

Christian high cross. The most sacred pillar, called Irminsul, stood at the Eresburg (now Ober-

Marsberg in Wesphalia). Later, in France, England and Scotland, the column reappeared topped by a stone ball, a symbol of the sun. (Pennick 48) In Celt- Jupiter columns were erected to honour the sky-god. Carved figures should represent the four seasons and sometimes the deities of the weekdays were present. “Above them rises the column which is surmounted by a capital, sometimes with Celtic heads, acorns and oak leaves . . . The mounted sky-father appears to be a singularly Celtic interpretation of the Roman deity.” (Pennick 47, 48)

Heinz (193) says about the cross and a circle “As a representation of the structure of the world is the cross just as elementary as a circle. If both are connected, they are called also wheeled cross, which appeared already at rock drawings – and not just with the Celts.”

In Celtic world, the shape of the circle was connected with protection, consequently some of the Celtic buildings were build in circular shape. “The circle is typical not only for the Celtic cross but also for Celtic buildings – they used a circular way of building fortifications, forts on the hills and first homes as such (round huts and circular dwellings).” (Heinz 195) The cross was also important for the Celtic understanding of the nature of time and life. (O'Donohue 129) The Celts saw their life as a circle in many ways. Year itself has a circular nature. “Winter retreats spring, the spring blooms into summer and in autumn the year matures. Time circle has no crack. A day has also a circular rhythm. From the darkness morning is born, the light still increase when it's noon, then the light decrease, the day is coming to the evening and after evening the night starts again.”

(O'Donohue 129) The time, according to Celts, has the shape of a circle as it can be seen in our life.

“From nowhere we are born on the Earth, we live there and eventually we go back into the

– 36 – unknown.” (O'Donohue 129) Celts had an elaborated system of “other ”, the world was divided into three areas. “Below the surface of the earth was the underworld nature. There lived

Tuatha Dé Danann – a nation of fairies and good beings. World of people was in the midway between the underworld and the transcendent heaven realm. Among these words were no impermeable boundaries: the mutually pervaded and influenced each other.” (O'Donohue 129) A rhythm can be seen also in the nature, the oceans are moving in the rhythm and tide floods the cost repeatedly – it goes up and down and maintain its rhythm. This rhythm can be seen in human breathing, too. We inhale, fill our lungs with air and exhale. (O'Donohue 129)

High Celtic Cross in Ireland

According to O'Shaughnessy (“Celtic Crosses (2)”), there are at least

60 high crosses in Ireland and a number of ruins. However; National

Museum of Ireland (11) states, that almost three hundred Irish high crosses

are known. Koch (1: 106) is somewhere between the previous estimations,

saying that there are around two hundred high crosses in Ireland.

The crosses that survived to these days in Ireland and United

Kingdom, known as high crosses, are all made of stone. In Ireland there are (Gocek, “Celtic Cross”) also other stone monuments and for the purpose of clarity and broader context of stone crosses, the following chapter will aim at a brief summary of different stone monuments that can be found in

Ireland.

According to Pennick (39), stones are considered the symbols of everlasting, they are the fabric of the earth. “They are the fundamental structure that supports all the other aspects of physical existence and contains traces of earlier earthly life-forms.” That is probably why stone was chosen as a material for the crosses that should have lasted long. However; even the stone is not everlasting. As will be mentioned later, some of the crosses are already damaged by the weather conditions.

– 37 – Natural stones were used mainly to mark boundaries. When a stone is seen in an open landscape, it is often difficult to determine whether their forms stem from nature or result from human activity. (Pennick 39)

Footprint stones are stones with two feet imprinted in them. Pennick (40) writes, “At many places in the Celtic realms we can see human-size footprints carved into the living rock or upon detached slabs. Carved footprints are known from megalithic times onwards.” They were said to be the footprints of or kings and their function was to protect travellers. Thus, before a traveller started his journey, he placed his feet into the footprints to give him luck and a chance to come back and repeat the ritual at the end of his journey. Kings used to show their power by standing on footprint stones. “Saxo notes: 'the ancients, when they were to choose a king, stood on stones placed in the ground to proclaim their votes, signifying from the steadfastness of the stones that the deed would be lasting.'” (Pennick 40) This habit survived in Scotland into later centuries.

When a new Scottish king was to be announced, he or she have to step on coronation stone which is thoroughly guarded together with crown jewels. (Edwards and Macpherson) This coronation stone has had an adventurous history. It originally comes from Ireland, later was stolen by the English and returned back in 1996. (Je posvátný kámen pouhá atrapa?) The coronation stone was used for the last time in 1651 for the coronation of Charles II. (Přibylová)

Natural stone water containers are in the Celtic tradition another type of the sacred stones. They contain water inside them without a water source. The water from them is believed to possess curative powers. (Pennick 42)

Stone chairs were either natural or modified stone “seats”. “Such rock chairs are reputed to be places where kings or priests sat to meditate or command. They are infused with the primal strength of the rock from which they are cut, imparting their power to any who would sit in them.

Because of this, some are ascribed healing qualities.” Some of them, for example, were famous for healing fever. (Pennick 42)

– 38 – Rocking stones are another type of sacred stones. “Large boulders perched on others in such a way that they rocked but did not fall were the focus of numerous legends. Although today they are recognized as natural, in past times they were deemed to be artificial: giants, saints and heroes had erected them as monuments and places of worship.” (Pennick 51) In earlier times, there were several notable rocking stones in . “The Cornish stone Men Amber was so well balanced that a child could put it in motion . . .” (Pennick 51) Sadly, because they were considered objects of superstition, many rocking stones were overthrown by the , especially during the

English Civil war, and many of them were destroyed by vandalism. (Pennick 52)

Dolmen is another type of the stone monument. Its name means “stone table”, 'dol' – table,

'men' – stone, from the Breton Celtic language. It is also known as a portal tomb or portal grave because it is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb. It usually consists of three or more upright stones supporting a large flat horizontal capstone (table). Most date from the early period

(4000 to 3000 BC). (“”) Dolmen is a pair of long massive limestone slabs lying parallel to each other. Above them, a rooftop is created by another huge stone (O´Donohue). Those beautiful stone formations can be found in many places in Ireland. Famous are for example from country Claire, Dolmen of the Four Maols, country Mayo, and Kilclooney dolmen, country Donegal. (Arosio & Meozzi)

According to O´Donohue, the Celtic tradition calls these Leaba Dhiarmada agus

Gráinne, the bed of Diarmuid and Gráinne. A legend says that Gráinne should marry Fionn, who was the leader of the Fianna, the legendary group of Celtic warriors. But Gráinne fell in love with

Diarmuid and threatened him that she will destroy him by her magic if he refuses to flee with her.

So they escaped together and were chased across Ireland by Fianna. Animals helped them and wise men counselled them to escape pursuers. For example, they were advised to sleep no longer than one night in one place. When they stayed somewhere for the night, Diarmuid is said to build dolmen at this place as a shelter for his sweetheart. That is how dolmens were build according to the

– 39 – legend. Despite this, current archaeological research shows that in fact it was a place. But the legend is more touching. “It is a beautiful display of helplessness that sometimes accompanies love.“ (O´Donohue, front cover – inside)

Menhirs are erected standing stones of all sizes. In Ireland “perhaps ten thousand now survive, ranging from less than one metre high to more than seven metres.” (Weir) When these stones are formed in a shape of a circle they can be called . “Without associated burials, megaliths are hard to date, but it is likely that many of Ireland's standing stone alignments and circles, such as the complex at Swarthmore, Co. Tyrone, date from the early bronze age.” (Koch 2: 711, 712)

Megalith “is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. The word 'megalithic' describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.” (Wikipedia contributors,

“”) In Ireland we can find for example Drombeg , country Cork, Kenmare stone circle, country Kerry, Beltany stone circle in country Donegal and Dooncarton stone circle in country Mayo. (Arosio & Meozzi) “To secular people, megaliths were respected as places of the ancestors and spirits at which the deities of the elder faith were acknowledged. Until recently, many people worshipped the spirit of stones as well as going to church on Sundays.” (Pennick 52, 53)

Attitudes towards the standing stone monuments, as well as to stone crosses, were ambivalent.

Christian church allowed many of them remain, lightly Christianized, but puritanical Protestants tended to see them more as foci of traditional pagan worship, and many were overthrown by them, especially in the seventeenth century. However; during the same period, non-Christian people continued to erect stones. (Pennick 53) In the early days of the Church, megaliths used to be marked with crosses to be Christianized. “Perhaps many megaliths were carved into crosses, but surviving examples in Brittany are late. There, megaliths were still being converted into crosses well into the seventeenth century . . .” (Pennick 48,49)

– 40 – We may assume that in their time High Crosses have also been made from wood, probably derived from timber or composite wood, and metal prototypes, however the wooden crosses have not survived to the present day. (National Museum of Ireland 11) “Large wooden crosses would also have been made, but none is extant, though a carved boss which may have been part of one was found in Viking Dublin.” (Stalley in Koch 3: 916)

As mentioned earlier, the crosses were made mostly of stones. “The material used for constructing high crosses was usually sandstone or granite.” (O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses”)

Stone crosses were carved from one or more blocks of stone and noted for the ring – originally intended for support – that encircles the arms and upper shaft.” (National Museum of Ireland 11) All the surviving Celtic crosses and cross slabs are carved from stone. Both granite and sandstone are susceptible to weather elements, however, granite is more resistant. O'Shaughnessy (“Celtic

Crosses”) adds, “This has left some crosses in varying stages of wear - ranging from the borderline pristine, to crosses where determining the characters in the images is extremely difficult.” Some of the crosses had only a panel remaining.

These monuments are of shape and may be monolithic or composite, the pieces

joined with mortices and tenons, thereby demonstrating the influence of carpentry

techniques. A distinctive feature are the cross heads, which usually have the arms linked by

a ring; the resultant form is considered characteristically Celtic. In Ireland many crosses

also have capstones; some are house-shaped and may represent reliquaries. Cross shafts

may be quadrangular or slab shaped, according to the properties of the stone, and are either

set in the ground or stand in a base. (Stalley in Koch 3: 916)

The high of the crosses varies from relatively small ones to several metres tall. The tallest

– 41 – (O'Shaughnessy, “Major

Components of the Celtic Cross”) cross is at , Co. Louth, which is 6.45 metres tall. (Stalley in Koch 3: 916)

O'Shaughnessy (“Celtic Crosses”) writes about the structure of the Celtic high cross: “Construction of the Celtic cross normally starts with the cross base, which is an extremely heavy stone. Often times, the base had another life before being carved for the cross, such as being used as a millstone.

The high cross is seated into a carved socket in the stone base by means of a tenon, forming a very secure and strong joint.” Above the base there is a panel, the longest arm, and the intersection of the cross, where “the ring is added, giving the Celtic cross its classic and world-renowned look. Most crosses feature a pierced ring, but the are variants that do not have any open space between the inner circumference of the ring, and the cross intersection.” (O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses”)

Finally, at the top of the highest arm, there is a capstone. “An additional tenon joint is commonly found above the ring, seating the capstone. The capstone is often portrayed as a small house, complete with roof. This forms the architectural finial of the cross.” (O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic

Crosses”)

– 42 – In the medieval period artists in Ireland were working and creating things of beauty as well as crosses in metal, vellum and stone. (National Museum of Ireland)

Art of the High Crosses

The beauty of these crosses is not just in their basic shape, but also in the intricate carvings found on many of them. The monumental stone crosses of early medieval Ireland and western

Scotland are a unique artistic legacy (Werner 98) with the level of detail, and the quality of the artwork. (O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses (2)”)

The crosses are usually decorated with a series of panels that show important biblical scenes (figural iconography) or traditional Celtic design patterns. (O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses”;

Koch 3: 915) In Ireland the ornament on many crosses of the 9th and 10th centuries is dominated by

Christian iconography, mainly from the Old and New Testaments. (Koch 3: 917) Some crosses are more decorated, some less, depending on the dating of the cross and its purpose. Traditional Celtic pattern depicts typically interlace ornaments, spirals, frets and cheque-board patterns – constructed with the aid of compass, ruler and grids; (Koch 3: 917) sometimes animals and occasionally plant motifs. (Koch 3: 915) “The style of the crosses was especially in the 8th century clearly influenced by interwoven golden and bronze ornaments. In the early Christian Ireland they are the apex of artistic creation.” (Heinz 193) According to Koch (1: 106) those boss and interlace ornaments are in their pattern very close to the .

There is a small but important series form the west of Scotland – are decorated almost

exclusively with interlace designs, again clearly reflecting contemporary metalwork, and

those such as the North Cross at , Co. Tipperary, have been considered as earlier

that the figural examples, which usually depict scenes from both the Old and New

Testaments. (Koch 1: 106)

Some of the crosses with figural examples can even be said to be 'narrative crosses' because

– 43 – they depict and 'narrate' in pictures scenes from the Bible, for example the Passion, the Eucharist, and the Last Judgement. (Koch 1: 106)

The earliest crosses did not usually have panels with biblical scenes but were decorated by interlace patterns. “The low Irish crosses of the 8th and 9th centuries are preceded by pillar- stones, usually decorated only with a simple cross, but sometimes with an inscription. Sometimes, there happened to be more ornately decorated erratics.“ (Koch 1: 105, 106)

Some of the crosses have inscriptions which suggest dates for their construction or repair.

(Koch 3: 915) Inscriptions are usually in Latin, the Ogham alphabet is very rare.

Where High Crosses Can Be Found, How Old Are They

Another criteria how the high crosses can be divided is according to the place where they can be found and their age.

The high crosses can generally be found in Ireland, especially in the east and south-east, then in Scotland, Wales (mainly in coastal areas and predominantly in the south), the Isle of Man, and Cornwall. “There is a parallel tradition of similar crosses in Anglo-Saxon and Viking England.”

(Koch 3: 915) The majority of the crosses are dated by means of this style to the ninth and tenth centuries. (National Museum of Ireland 11)

The Celtic cross has an importance in Irish history, they are reminders of the Celtic heritage and along with the Claddagh and Harp, one of the best known Irish (or Celtic) symbols.

“The Celtic crosses that are seen today were primarily commissioned and constructed up from the

7th century until the mid 12th century. After the end of the 12th century, construction of these crosses all but disappeared.” (O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses (2)”)

Monasteries usually ordered the cross to be made. “Although their distribution is more widespread in some areas in the Viking period, most are concentrated on significant ecclesiastical sites of monastic character, e.g. Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly and Iona, Argyll, the foundations which had the resources and commanded to patronage to produce them.” (Hamlin in Koch 3: 916) “The

– 44 – crosses would have been carved either in monastic workshops or by itinerant sculptors. The more elaborate examples would have taken considerable time and resources to produce. The main carving tools were flat and pointed chisels, and the surfaces were smoothed with with abrasives. Finished monuments may have been painted.” (Stalles in Koch 3: 917) Many of the Irish high crosses have so shallow design that some historians think that they must have been painted in order to show their pattern clearly to the audience.

The places where the crosses stood were various. “Some stood adjacent to the church or in the . Others were located at gateways, in market-places, on boundaries and on ecclesiastical land.” (Hamlin in Koch 3: 916)

Many crosses were ruined by the weather conditions, however, the weather was not the biggest destroyer of the crosses. The same as it was for rocking stones, megaliths and other stone monuments mentioned above, the biggest destroyer of the stone crosses was human activity.

The majority of stone crosses that existed in England and Wales were destroyed by

Puritans for religious reasons or by treasure-hunters who believed that riches were

deposited beneath them. An English anti-witchcraft law of 1542 refers to people who had

'digged up and pulled down an infinite number of crosses within this realm, for despite of

Christ, or for love of money. This craze continued well into the seventeenth century.

However, the practice of erecting stone crosses as memorials were not completely

suppressed by , as many nineteenth- and twentieth-century examples attest.

(Pennick 49)

There is no exact dating of the Celtic crosses, most of the crosses are difficult to date. To build up a chronological framework, inscriptions on the crosses, their language and epigraphy were important.

The building technology as well as historical and architectural context may also be relevant. “It is generally believed that the earliest Anglo-Saxon crosses date from the 8th century. These may have given rise to their Celtic counterparts, though some would prefer to see this as a parallel

– 45 – development.” (Edvards in Koch 3: 918)

The oldest cross datable by inscription in Ireland is in Baelin. The inscriptions in two crosses at Clonmacnoise name kings, consequently the dates of the later 9th and early 10th centuries can be deduced. “In Ireland there appears to have been a revival in cross-carving in the late 11th and 12th centuries.” (Koch 3: 918, 919)

Function of the High Cross

Crosses are generally considered as symbols of power, protection, piety and patronage

(Hamlin in Koch 3: 916), however, if they possessed all those functions also in the Middle Ages is not clear.

The usage of the high crosses as grave stones is questionable. According to Hamlin in

Koch (3: 916) the crosses may have been used as grave markers. “They could act as foci for graves, among the Viking at least, as individual grave-markers.” This oppose O'Shaughnessy (Celtic

Crosses (2)) and Walker (Celtic Revival Crosses) who both states that the high crosses were not used as grave stones until 1850s. According to them, the crosses were used mainly as a public monument in the medieval period.

O'Shaughnessy, (Celtic Crosses (2)) suggests that the usage of the crosses was as boundary markers, for example where intersected, or as monuments surrounding monasteries, , or churches; being in harmony with Hamlin in Koch (3: 916) who states, “they might have been objects of contemplation and were possibly incorporated into Christian ritual. They could also commemorate events, mark areas of sanctuary and record a land ownership.” Some of the crosses are even named after their place, for example, . Also the National

Museum of Ireland (11) suggests that the function of high crosses was to mark sacred areas, to aid in teaching of Christianity and to symbolize secular and ecclesiastical wealth, represent the church, its authority, its power and influence.

Last but not least, high Crosses were in their time intended to educate people. Literacy was

– 46 – not common among poor people and inscriptions on the crosses were able to show and remind people some important events from the Bible clearly.

As the time proceeded, with the Celtic revival in the in the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, the Celtic crosses started to function as national symbols and symbols of

Celticity rather than church symbols. (Koch 3: 919)

Meaning of the High Cross

When the current literature is looked at, there is a strange tendency in claiming that the cross is either Christian origin or pagan (Celtic) origin. The goal of this work is not to reveal “the truth” but to question the issue and show the points of view that researchers as well as public have about this topic. One of the most typical points of view on the meaning of the Celtic cross are these:

Catholic point of view explains that the Celtic cross is “A symbol of eternity that emphasizes the endlessness of God’s love as shown through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.”

(Walker, “Celtic Cross History”) The other explanation is that the circle represents a halo. The explanation continues that the “crucifixion is important not just as an event at a certain point in time but, as the circle symbolizes, as the unending mystery of how through the crucifixion and resurrection Christ continues to offer the hope of salvation to the faithful throughout all time.”

(Walker, “Celtic Cross History”)

Some people in Ireland see a symbolism of the high crosses in another way. They say that

“the great stone Celtic Crosses were carved from the standing stones of the Druids and were originally phallic symbols, just carved into crosses to disguise their original purpose.” (Walker,

“Celtic Cross History”) For this theory, there is no proof.

Another group of people see the meaning of the high stone crosses as continuation in pagan (or pre-Christian) tradition, despite the fact that the crosses were build mostly by the Church and some of them depict Biblical scenes. The symbol of the sun or moon, embodiment of the nature powers, is then seen in the crosses. They say the symbol was appropriated by the Christians.

– 47 – (Walker, “Celtic Cross History”)

Werner says that the most convincing among many hypotheses about the meaning of the

Celtic cross are those insisting on the influence of Christian iconography. As an example may be taken the thesis proposed by Helen Roe “Of an origin for the form of the scripture cross in the

Crucifixion/Resurrection imagery of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. For her, the large, quadrangular bases of the Irish stone crosses symbolize the marble steps on Golgotha hill leading to the Crux Gemmala erected in the fifth century.” There is evidence in a fifth- to seventh- century

Coptic textile which displays a set on a stepped base with a wreath of leaves and fruit centred around the crossing. This cross arrangement was most likely introduced to the British isles before the mid-eight century. Thus, this simplified Golgotha Cross was replicated to serve as inspiration for the monumental 'Celtic' crosses. (Werner 98, 99) It is in agreement with the view of the National Museum of Ireland (15) which is also based on a cross as a symbol of Christianity but combined together with Celtic heritage origin.

The origin of the high cross is closely connected with the arrival of .

As shown above, in the discussion about the origin of the high crosses, whether they are pagan or Christian, there are different opinions. They were erected in monasteries and should i. a. represent the power of the Church. Also their carvings are mostly with Christian themes. However; the ring around the cross suggests that there is some pagan origin. To find it, we must go back to the

5th century when St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland.

There is a legend about St. Patrick how he introduced Christianity in Ireland. He had a sermon in the open space and he saw a circle drawn in the stone that represented the sun or the moon which people there worshipped. He drawn a cross into the circle highlighting the importance of the cross in combination with the symbol of life, enabling people to understand it better.

(O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses”). The Celtic cross began to function as Christian cross. “Pre- dating even Christianity, the Celtic Crosses would eventually become incorporated into the

– 48 – Christian religion. Most of the magnificent Celtic Crosses that can be found today were commissioned by Christians.” (O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses ” (2)) As National Museum of

Ireland (3) says, “The High Crosses are some of the greatest examples of how powerful religious communities supported and encouraged art in Early Christian Ireland.”

Since this time the usage of the is probable to become the symbol of the

'', concept of which remains unclear and highly individual. “'Celtic Christianity' is a phrase used, with varying degrees of specificity, to designate a complex of features held to have been common to the Celtic-speaking countries in the .” (Koch 2: 431)

According to Koch (2: 432) Celtic Christianity can be understood in three ways:

• as a separate institution within Christianity – a specific Celtic Christian Church

which can be contrasted with the Roman Church or the Orthodox Churches of the

East

• as a body of distinctive beliefs and practices

• as a more impalpable assemblage of attitudes and values, not a material Church

As it can be seen, the concept of the Celtic Church is not always clear. In addition, according to Koch (2: 410) in historical writings about Irish Christianity there has been a tendency for several centuries to note as many differences between Ireland and Latin West as possible to support the idea of distinctive 'Celtic Christianity' or 'Celtic Church', “uniting the Celtic-speaking peoples with one another and dividing them from the rest of the “ (Koch 1: 333). In contrast; for this claim there is no persuasive evidence (Koch 1: 333). This approach may suit particular religious agenda, however, it is flawed as a way of understanding the past because it is based on three wrong preconditions.

First, is assumes that there were “monolithic institutions in the past: one 'Roman', the other

'Celtic', whereas we should note that there was a spectrum of rites, practices, and favoured

– 49 – approaches across western Europe and that those patterns were continually shifting.” (Koch 2: 410)

Second, Irish Christians did not perceive themselves as religiously separate from the Latin

Church which was seen in the number of peregrini who went to the Continent and settled there as monks and teachers, teaching Latin Christianity. (Koch 2: 410)

Third, from the early Irish learning and fragments of liturgy we can see Latin culture had a clear influence on Irish Church. (Koch 2: 410)

It can be assumed that Celtic Christianity differed in some ways from the 'other

Christianities' because of the distinctive approach of St. Patrick who allowed some elements from the Celtic religion to be mixed with the new Christian learning. It would be more appropriate to say that he took the Celtic religion as an antecedent of Christianity, it smoothly followed from one to another. This smooth conversion can be seen in a way that Christianity was accepted in Ireland very peacefully. Soon after the first bishops came into Ireland, Christianity was accepted by the majority of people. This fact supports a presumption of both Vopatrný (10) and Bauerová (225) that either

Celtic religion was not much different from Christianity or some parts of Christian doctrine and knowledge was already a part of the knowledge of druids.

One of the similarities in those two religions can be as Ellis (20) suggests, “Celtic religion was one of the first to came to the doctrine of immortality. It said that death is nothing more than changing place and that life continues in another world, the world of the dead . . . Caesar as a pragmatic commander notes that this doctrine undoubtedly contributed to the Celts careless heroism in battle.” It is also supposed that some Celtic tribes knew some kind of triune form and also the only God, the Father. Koch (2: 434) adds that one of the features assigned to 'Celtic Christian' mentality is a sense of the natural world as God's handiwork which leads to a celebrating the creation. “It is indeed the case that such an attitude is reflected in much Irish and devotional poetry, and also in the cosmological interest evident in some theological writings.”

The easy acceptance of Christianity on Ireland must coincide also with the fact that Ireland

– 50 – was never invaded by Romans. In other Celtic lands, such as in Britain and Gaul, Celts had to resist to the Roman occupation and they did not want to accept the religion of the conquerors. According to Bauerová (225) there was a great resistance against the Roman occupation in Gaul, where druids were considered a stir up against Roman occupation and consequently were banned by Rome. Also in Britain was a great resistance, part of which was the well known rebellion of the Queen

Boadicea.

Some of the Most Well Known Irish High Crosses

On the Internet there are many data concerning high crosses in Ireland. For the first try in an search engine, plenty of information can be found about all high crosses including their photos, maps and detail description. Therefore, the goal of this part of the work in not to quote all those information and oversupply the reader but rather exemplify some parts of the previous theory on a selected sample of the high crosses. There have been chosen only twelve high crosses among many more to demonstrate their appearance and uniqueness. Black and white photos of these crosses can be found in the supplement as well as a map with their position in the Ireland. Numbers of the crosses correspond with numbers on the map.

Celtic high crosses can be divided according to their location and age into similar groups.

One of the first groups are Clonmacnoise and Ossory groups. The rest of the crosses are usually called “scripture crosses” because of their elaborate scriptures. “They are characterized by complex narrative programs (narrative crosses) and small house-shaped capstones with gabled roofs.”

(Werner 98)

Ossory group date from the 8th to 9th centuries. They include two Ahenny crosses, the

North and South Cross which can be found in the monastic site of Kilclispeen at Ahenny in Co

Tipperary. The crosses are in the field immediately to the right of the church. (Dempsey) “More elaborate character employ many decorative and figural panels, cubic or stepped bases, and beehive-shaped capstones.” (Werner 98) What is very interesting at Ahenny crosses is that there is

– 51 – nothing in the Annals or any other records to tell us why the crosses were build. However; local people know that there once were three crosses and someone shipped one of them (the most beautiful one) to an unknown place and it was probably lost in the way. Local people also continue to explain that the three crosses marked the burial place of seven bishops of the early Irish Church.

That is an unusual usage of the high crosses because they served mostly for the celebration of living people or large monastic communities. (History of the Celtic Cross) The South Cross (see the supplement – fig. 1) is 3.90 metres high, the North Cross (see the supplement – fig. 2) stands at

3.13 metres high. Made of sandstone, some of their relief is not as clear as it used to be, the figure sculpture on both crosses appears only on the base and it is difficult to identify, however, the faces of the crosses are beautifully decorated with elaborate designs, spirals and interlace. ( Dempsey;

History of the Celtic Cross) The South cross appears in better condition that the North cross but its capstone is missing. For the North cross, part of the ring is no longer part of the monument.

Nevertheless, both crosses display beautiful intricate geometrical design in their panels. (Dempsey;

O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses”) In the photo (figure 2) you can also see the replica of the Ahenny

North Cross exhibited in the National Museum of Ireland. Inscriptions at the base of the replica can be clearly seen.

The second group of crosses, Clonmacnoise crosses, include North Cross, South Cross and

Cross of Scriptures. “They are situated in country Offaly, on the eastern banks of the river Shannon,

11.5 kilometres south of Athlone.” (Dempsey) Original crosses were moved to the visitor's centre and replicas were erected on their original places. A visitor can see both original in the museum and replicas outside. The Cross of Scriptures (see the supplement – fig. 3), also known as King Flann's

Cross, was carved from a single piece of sandstone around the 10th century. (O'Shaughnessy,

“Celtic Crosses”) The dating is known because the cross was mentioned twice in the annals of the

Four Masters, first in 957 and later in 1060. (Dempsey). In the west side pictured in the figure 3 you can see these scenes shown from the bottom panel up: “Soldiers guarding the tomb of Christ, the

– 52 – arrest of Christ, Flagellation and in the centre of the ring the Crucifixion.” (Dempsey) The cross is decorated with figure sculpture on all four sides. This is what can be seen on the East side, “At the centre of the head on East face is the Last Judgement, and at the top of the East shaft is a panel showing Christ with Peter and Paul. Below this panel are two more panels bearing iconography that are still open to interpretation. On the base are three riders facing left and two chariots facing right.”

(Dempsey) One of the interpretation of the scripture that is not clear may be as follows according to

“History of the Celtic Cross” a depiction of a custom that is lost now, “One panel on the East face shows an ecclesiastic and a warrior with a sword, and between them a staff with leaves or flowers.

It is intriguing to think that this may depict St. Ciaran's staff, and that the panel may be showing 'a swearing on the staff', a custom which is known to have existed but the details of which are lost.”

There is an inscription on the cross at the bottom of the shaft that now become very hard to see, it is a prayer for the king Flann and a person who commissioned the cross, called Colman. “OR DO

COLMAN DORRO . . . CROSSA AR RIG FL.ND, A prayer for Colman who had the cross erected on King Flann” (Dempsey; O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses”)

From the many remaining “Scripture” crosses, Muiredach's Cross (see the supplement – fig. 4) from the group of Monasterboice Crosses is considered as one of Ireland's finest. It is a ringed cross with a house reliquary capstone and a massive stepped base. The cross is located beside the shores of Lough Neagh, at the top of a small hill. (O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses”) The cross is around 5.2 metres high, made of sandstone and date to around the 10th century. It is beautifully decorated on both sides with scenes from the Bible. In general the east side of the high cross contain scenes from the , for example, Adam and Eve in the garden, Cain

Slaying Abel, David smiting Goliath and Moses striking water from the rock. (Dempsey;

O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses”) In the picture below you can see the placement of inscriptions on the Cross of Muiredach.

The iconography on the head of the cross depicts the last judgement, at the centre is Christ

– 53 – (Harbison, “Detail of Muiredach's

Cross”)

in Majesty and to his right David with his harp upon which sits a dove (The )

and on the arm to David's right are the good souls all facing Christ. To the left of Christ is

Gabriel ? and on the left arm behind Gabriel a devil with a trident pushes the bad souls

who have turned away from Christ to eternal damnation. Just below Christ St. Michael is

weighing the souls and a devil tries to pull them away from Christ. Above Christ sits a

dove (the Holy Spirit). At the top of the head sits a house with a shingled roof that bears

unidentified two figures. The base on the eastern side features decoration at the bottom

with animals and two men wrestling above. (Dempsey)

“The scenes on the shaft of the cross are read from the bottom up. These are said to represent Christ seized in the Garden; The Incredulity of Thomas is said to be thrusting his hand into Our Lord's side; and Christ seated between Peter and Paul, giving the keys to the one and The

Book of the to the other.” (History of the Celtic Cross”) Christ is again depicted as clothed and without pain. The west side contain scenes from the , for example Christ the

King, Lord of the Earth and Christ being mocked by Roman soldiers. (Dempsey) This was one

– 54 – interpretation of the iconography, however, according to “History of the Celtic Cross” there is also a different interpretation of the inscriptions. “This interpretation would see the panel as representing two Viking soldiers and suggests that the central figure is the Celtic Abbot whom they are seizing roughly.” Other panels as well show some scenes Vikings, for example the story of encounter of the

Abbot with the Viking invaders. “History of the Celtic Cross” explains why this theory is probable:

There is some historical support for this theory. One of the first permanent Viking

settlements, a fortified stronghold, was made eight miles from Monasterboice at

Annagassan on the Louth coast in AD 840. It is recorded that from there the Vikings

plundered Clonmacnoise in the west in 841 and in the North in 850. Yet

Monasterboice, a couple of hours march away, was never plundered by them. They

remained at Annagassan until 925 and must have had contact with the monastery. If indeed

some of their number became Christians and then Monks, then Monasterboice's immunity

from attack is explained.

There are also other discrepancies that indicate that the “story of Viking converts” could be right, for example some figures have Viking moustache and Christ have a wound on the left side instead of the right one. (History of the Celtic Cross) The cross has its name after an inscription at the base of the west face, saying it was erected by Muiredach. The name “Muiredach” is inscribed at the base. It asks for a prayer for Muiredach, for whom the cross was made: OR DO

MUIREDACH LASNDERNAD IN CHROS. (Dempsey) Muiredach was probably the patron who commissioned the work. (Walker, “Descriptions and Symbolism”) Most scholars think that this applied to Muiredach, son of Domhaill, an abbot of Monasterboice who died about AD 922.

(“History of the Celtic Cross”)

The Tall Cross (see the supplement – fig. 5) or the West Cross is another cross from

Monasterboice area. Being 6.45 metres high, it is the tallest high cross in the Ireland. The figure of the Christ is again depicted fully clothed. Thanks to it's size the cross has more iconography than

– 55 – any other cross in the Ireland. There is, for example, Moses smiting the water from a rock, Samson toppling the pillars of the temple, David with the head of Goliath, the Temptation of St. Anthony, the of Christ, Christ in the tomb, Samuel David and Pilate washing his hands.

(Dempsey)

Another interesting cross which does not have the typical ring around the intersection is

Cardonagh Cross (see the supplement – fig. 6) or St. Patrick's Cross. The cross is located in

Cardonagh city in the church grounds next to the church. (Dempsey) Nice shelter have been built above the cross to protect it and also the ground around the cross have been paved with stones. The cross is carved of red sandstone, 2,5 metres high and accompanied by two short pillars. There was long a mistake in dating of this cross, it was thought that because it misses the ring it must have been erected in the 7th or 8th centuries being the forerunner of the ringed cross. (History of the

Celtic Cross) Dempsey says that it dates to the 7th century “since the braid pattern is similar to the interlace on the c. 650 Book of Durrow.” However; “when scholars consider the quality of the carving they believe that the cross was made in the 9th or 10th century.” (History of the Celtic

Cross) But still, this cross is very important in the understanding of the evolution of high crosses in

Ireland because the earlier crosses were carved on slabs and Cardonagh Cross represents the transition from crosses carved on slabs to the crosses that are cut out of the slab. (Dempsey) In the photo (figure 6) the east face of the cross can be seen. “The east face of the re-erected cross depicts bands of broad ribbon interlace (symbolic of the tree of life), 3 birds under each arm of the cross and 8 simplified figures in low relief.” (Dempsey) This arrangement of three birds can be called

“trikitras”. In the corresponding corners above the arms are knots that are frequently referred to as

“” which was the common term for the symbol in the late 19th century. It is the only that has a traditional name. (Walker, “Descriptions and Symbolism”) Although the central image may depict a Crucifixion scene (arms outstretched), it does not portray Christ in a suffering position but, as typical at Irish high crosses, show Christ, as Dempsey says, as a victor over death.

– 56 – There are two figures on the sides of the Christ, they could either be Mary and Joseph, the two thieves or possibly the soldiers. The figures next the head of the Christ are thought to be angels.

Below this scene are three figures wearing cowls and long robes, they may represented the holy women who visited Christ's tomb after the Resurrection. (Dempsey) The west face of the cross is completely covered with interlacing and have no figure carving. The two pillar stones standing at the sides of the cross are carved with figures. On the south pillar, the west face depicts a figure holding a bell in one hand and a satchel or book in the other. These symbols are probable to represent a . On the south face is a trifold knot and a medieval creature with large ears or horns carrying a hammer. On the north side is a head in profile and a fish, this can possibly represent Jonah and the Whale. (Dempsey) “On the north pillar King David is represented as a harpist on the east side and as a warrior on the west side, although some argue that the warrior could represent Goliath. On the north side of this pillar is a large fish and a small bird, and the south side depicts spirals.” (Dempsey)

In Moone, country Kildare, stands the second tallest cross, 5.6 meters high Cross of

Moone (see the supplement – fig. 7). It was made of granite in the 8th or 9th century. (Walker,

“Descriptions and Symbolism”) Its shape and history is unique because it consists of three parts that were found separately. “The Cross of Moone was lost for centuries, buried in pieces.” (“History of the Celtic Cross”) The upper part and a base were discovered in the middle of nineteenth century in the graveyard of the . According to “History of the Celtic Cross” the local mason was taking slabs of stone from the ruins in the Abbey for building purposes when he unearthed the base and head of the cross. A few years later, other workmen were digging in the graveyard for the purpose of a grave and discovered the shaft of the cross. Later, the pieces were skilfully put together by the

O'Shaughnessy family and the cross was finally reconstructed in its original size. (Dempsey;

“History of the Celtic Cross”) The cross is situated inside the ruins of a monastery, which is believed to be founded by St. Palladius in the 5th century and dedicated to St. Columcille.

– 57 – (Dempsey) “The theme of the cross is the help of God, how God came to their assistance in their hour of need, Daniel in the lion pit, the three children in the fiery furnace and the miracle of the loaves and fishes amongst the scenes depicted.” (Dempsey) Bases have a beautiful inscriptions and can be seen as well in the supplement. On the base, there are inscriptions of twelve apostles on the west side, the temptation of St. Anthony and a six-headed beast on the North base, east face showing Daniel in the lions pit and the sacrifice of and on the south face the miracle of the loaves and fish and the flight into Egypt can be found. (Dempsey) The shaft is decorated with intertwined beasts on the east and four panels with animal symbols on the west. (Walker,

“Descriptions and Symbolism”) “Scholars say that it is the first cross on which the scenes from the

Old Testament occur in a regular programme, an important development in the history of the Irish

High Crosses.” (History of the Celtic Cross)

Near the centre of Duleek village, Country Meath, stands a small high cross made of sandstone – a Duleek Cross (see the supplement – fig. 8). The cross is only 1.82 metres high and known as “the smallest high cross in Ireland”. Its base is buried and a capstone is missing, but the tenor that held the cap stone remains. It dates from the 9th century. (Dempsey; Walker,

“Descriptions and Symbolism”) On the west face are figure sculptures, the crucifixion scene is at the centre of the head. The rest of the west side illustrations is not clear, Dempsey states that the

Irish archaeologist Peter Harbison believes that the panels illustrates the early life of virgin Mary.

The east face of the cross is classic Celtic ornament of knotwork, spirals and key patterns. (Walker

“Descriptions and Symbolism”) The sides of the cross has some beautifully inscribed geometrical designs as well as a winged creatures at the end of the arms. (Dempsey) The creatures are named griffins in the article by Walker (“Descriptions and Symbolism”). At the top of the cross is a scene from the story of the monastery. “St. Adamnon visited the tomb of St. Ciaran's body, he broke the rule and touched the body and his eye was struck out. Later as he fasted as a his eye was miraculously restored.” (History of the Celtic Cross)

– 58 – The beautifully situated Ardboe Cross (see the supplement – fig. 9), the third highest cross in Ireland, 5.3 metres high sandstone cross from the 10th century, is located on a small hill besides the shores of Lough Neagh, Country Tyrone in the area of the former monastery. It stands at the entrance to the graveyard, overlooking the ruins of a church. Both sides picture biblical scenes, some of them are difficult to recognize, the east face being more weathered than the west face.

(Dempsey; O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses”) In the photo (figure 9) you can see the east face.

The East face shows Daniel between two lions, the Sacrifice of Isaac, the Children in Fiery

Furnace, Adam and Eve, two souls in scales above the flames of Hell (as at

Monasterboice) and, surrounding Christ in Judgement, the Twelve Apostles in groups of

four. The South side has old Testament scenes including Cain and Abel, and scenes from

the life of David, including David with an open sling before Goliath on his knees, as at

Monasterboice. The North side has New Testament scenes, including the Baptism of Christ

at the bottom, and a child held between soldiers, representing the Massacre of the

Innocents. The West face also has New Testament scenes, including the Adoration of the

Magi; the Last Supper; Christ entering Jerusalem; the Arrest of Christ; and the Crucifixion.

The scene of the Arrest appears to be repeated on each arm of the cross. (“History of the

Celtic Cross”)

The Monastery in Kells was founded in 804 AD by monks from Colmcille's Iona. The monastery is famous for the Book of Kells, finished here around the 9th century, Round Tower and

High Crosses - the Cross of St. Patrick and St. , The West Cross, The East Cross, and

Market Cross. (Dempsey) The most ornate and preserved are The Cross of St. Patrick and St.

Columba and the Market Cross. The Cross of St. Patrick and St. Columba (see the supplement – fig. 10), also known as the South Cross, is around 3.3 metres high and was erected in the 9th century. On the east face can be seen Adam and Eve, Cain slaying Abel, the Three Children in the

Furnace and Daniel in the Lions' Den. It is the earliest of Kells crosses. (Dempsey) In its centre

– 59 – there are seven protruding points in form of a flower.

The Market Cross (see the supplement – fig. 11 where you can see the west face of the cross) is a 3.3 metres high sandstone cross. The cross has been moved on several occasions, its present location is outside the Heritage Centre in Kells (Dempsey) under a free-standing roof.

(O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses”)

At the centre of the head on the east face, is Daniel in the lions den to the left, the sacrifice

of Isaac, to the right the temptation of St. Anthony, immediately below Daniel is David

with lyre and below that Adam and Eve on the left and Cain Slaying Abel right. The base

shows four horsemen with shields, above that are spirals and directly above that is Christ

in the tomb. The large iconographic in the centre of the shaft is open to interpretation, is it

Christ, David or Goliath. The west face bears the crucifixion on the head, below that the

Loaves and Fishes and the left of the head may represent St. Anthony tempted by a woman

? On the base is a scene depicting a deer hunt or a man herding animals. (Dempsey)

The sides of the cross, the north and south face, also bear iconography. “The north base features birds, animals and Centaurs; the southern base a battle scene.” (Dempsey)

Glendalough is a name from the Irish “Gleann da locha” meaning the Glen of two Lakes. It is a historical place with extensive monastic ruins. The monastery was founded by St. Kevin in the

6th century. Among other historical remains are two high crosses, a Market Cross and St. Kevin's

Cross. (Dempsey) The Market Cross is similar to the crosses that have been already mentioned, decorated with figure and ornate carvings. St. Kevin's Cross (see the supplement - 12) is a fine example of a cross that has no carvings – a plain cross. (Dempsey) Thanks to this it remains relatively well-preserved. (O'Shaughnessy, “Celtic Crosses”) It is carved from a single granite stone, the arms of the cross being over a metre in length and the height of the cross 2.5 metres. It can be estimated that the cross marked the boundary of the cemetery in which stands the priests' house. There is a legend about St. Kevin's Cross saying that anyone who can wrap their arms

– 60 – around the entire width of the cross body and touch their fingertips will have their wishes granted.

(Dempsey)

Celtic Revival

An important phenomenon related to high crosses is the occurrence of their replicas. It is connected to the whole Celtic revival movement. The Celtic Revival in the 19th century was stimulated by two events. In 1853 casts of several historical high crosses were exhibited at the

Dublin Industrial Exhibition. The exhibition was very successful and in 1857 Henry O'Neill published Illustrations of the Most Interesting of the Sculptured Crosses in Ancient Ireland. The public started to consider the Celtic cross as a symbol of Irish and the use and creation of the Celtic crosses greatly increased. (Walker, “Celtic Revival Crosses”)

The Celtic cross started to be used widely as an individual grave-marker and was considered a fashionable thing to have in a cemetery. What is more, the Celtic cross started to be understood as an emblem of Celtic identity, in addition to its more traditional religious symbolism.

This fashion and enthusiasm started in Dublin and soon spread to the rest of the country and beyond. (Walker, “Celtic Revival Crosses”) “From the second half of the 19th century, Cetlicism also became the base of the Pan-Celtic movement which sought to strengthen the bonds between the modern Celtic countries and went as far as demanding the creation of a political unit based on

Celticity. The movement experienced its heyday in the early 20th century, but lives on in organizations such as the .” (Koch 1: 389)

What is interesting is that the whole concept of Celticity as general Celtic identity seems to be false. At the end of the 20th century, the notion of Celticity began to be examinated in detail by archaeologists and some of them denied the existence of the phenomenon.

Having failed to found a sound alternative, the majority of linguists and archaeologists

continue to find the concept of Celticity useful. For the modern Celtic countries, it

provides an attractive point of identification and a focus for national aspirations. In a

– 61 – recent volume dedicated to Celtism it was described as a 'multi-genre, multi-national

phenomenon', an interdisciplinary project of high importance in the history of European

thought. (Koch 1: 389)

Also writers in this period began to re-examine the assumptions and stereotypes about 'Celticity' which had been laid down by some of the 19th century writers.

In the context of imperialism and , these glamorized views of the of 'the Celts'

as a coherent race or tribe whose enhanced sense of magic and the natural world made

them distinctively different from the sober industrialized of England

worked to position 'the Celts' as charmingly primitive and exotic 'others'. . . This imperial

viewpoint has been maintained up to the present time in much of the '' writing

about Celts, where constructions of an ancient Celtic spirituality are grounded in a 'druidic'

past invented in the 18th century. The tendency in this has been to ignore recent re-

examination of the ancient and medieval literary descriptions of druids. (Koch 2: 500)

According to Koch (2: 500), the change came when P. Sims-Williams wrote an article The

Visionary Celt: The Construction of an Ethnic Preconception containing a detail critique of the previous view and its cultural and imperial basis. “Since then, further work in both archaeology and textual criticism, the latter drawing particularly on post-colonial theory, has continued the work of redefining the Celtic-speaking peoples into groups identifiable by language, location, and cultural practice.” (Koch 2: 500)

– 62 – The Modern Celtic Crosses

In the 19th and 20th centuries growing awareness of national identity let to a growing interest in heritage and archaeology across Europe. Enthusiast began to make reproductions of ancient objects to educate audiences at home and abroad. (National Museum of Ireland 3,11)

Celtic culture could not have obviously been missed from this interest and making reproductions of Irish high crosses began. Of all the Irish reproductions manufactured for exhibitions at this time, the most impressive are the plaster-of-Paris casts. These copies were transported to the National Museum of Ireland that still take care of them and their copies were transported to England, America and . These crosses, which range in date from the ninth to centuries AD, have been chosen to represent the finest examples of Early Medieval sculpture from Ireland. “They include two crosses from Ahenny, Co. Tipperary, two from

Monasterboice, Co. Lough and single crosses from Drumcliffe, Co. Sligo and Dysart O'Dea, Co.

Clare. The centrepiece is the 6.5-metre high cross from Monasterboice.” (National Museum of

Ireland 3) This selection of High Crosses casts is sometimes moved to the exhibition in another country to teach people about ancient times and places. In recent years it was displayed in Nagoya,

Japan, where more that two million people saw them. (National Museum of Ireland 3)

Although many new constructed crosses are a success, some of them provoke criticism, according to Pennick (49) an example can be the concrete replica of St. John's Cross on Iona, erected in 1970 in front of the Chapel of St. Columba which substitute for the original, which had been blown several times by storms. “Modern restorations sometimes violate the spirit of the place and it would be better to do without them.” (Pennick 49)

By the 1890s the Celtic Crosses began to appear in and churches around the world, wherever there was a Scottish or population. Irish cemeteries now seem to be filled with the Celtic Cross monuments. However; most of them are from the 20th century and those erected prior to 1900 marked usually the graves of the priests. (Walker, “Celtic Revival Crosses”)

– 63 – Usage of the Celtic Cross in Celtic Revival

The Celtic Cross is now one of the most popular emblems of Celtic design. The symbol of the ancient crosses has been changed into a new symbol of Celtic heritage and its usage and meaning can constantly change according to the creativity and values of the people using it.

Concerning the decoration of the Celtic revival crosses, they are often adorned with Celtic knotwork and also with contemporary religious and national symbols. Harps and are present on many of the earlier Celtic Revival examples. Messages such as 'Rest in Peace' or 'IHS' (a shortage for “Jesus” in Greek) also appear and can serve as an evidence that these monuments have become a traditional form for expressing conventional fashions and sentiments.

(Walker, “Celtic Revival Crosses”)

Except for extensive usage in homes as a decoration, for example wallpaper with Celtic interlaces or tiles with Celtic motives (see Celtic Cross Tile), and personal usage such as tattoos and pendants – in the 1840s reproductions of historical Celtic began to be produced and sold in Ireland (Walker, “Celtic Revival Crosses”) – the Celtic revival concerns all means of art, such as literature, drama, film and music as well as religion in the revival of “pagan” beliefs and Druidism.

Many people start to see the Celtic culture as valuable and enriching and want to be a part of it.

“This new interest in native antiquities was the beginning of a renewed interest in past Irish cultural achievements and grew into a literary and artistic movement known as “The Celtic Revival”.

(Walker, “Celtic Revival Crosses”)

With the emergence of the new social sciences of philology and archaeology and the rise

of the Romantic Movement, Celticism gained increasing currency. The 'Celts' were

contrasted with what was assumed to be the more masculine and utilitarian nature of the

'Anglo-Saxon peoples'. Like orientalism, Cetlicism thus become a tool used to explain the

necessity of the conquest and subjugation of the Celts. However; Celticism was also

employed by the 19th century academics and nationalists in the Celtic Countries to bolster

– 64 – Celtic claims to nationhood. Celtic themes were chosen for the development of a national

art and literature, as well as national dress. (Koch 1: 389)

Koch (1: 335, 336) considers the concept of 'Celtic countries' a useful concept, in a part justifiable by the geography because Celtic-speaking territory remained remarkably stable between the mid-7th century AD and early modern times. “Furthermore, all the territories that were Celtic speaking within the historical period had been Celtic speaking for a millennium or more prior to that. Thus, in a historical linguistic sense at least, these six places (meaning Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, the Isle of Man, and Cornwall) are very Celtic indeed.”

Literature and Drama

With the hunger for knowledge about Celtic culture, many books started to emerge. There have been both works that tried to provide reliable evidence for their claims and a popular literature.

Concerning popular Celtic literature sources, there are many books that did not show any interest in showing evidence for their claims and are therefore not reliable to believe, though some of them offer interesting ideas for contemplation and can be useful in this way. It is well known that not for everything in our life can be shown material evidence, especially not for the most important question of religion and personal faith.

It seems that most people who know about Celtic Art as part of their personal heritage

have the sort of knowledge that the academic cannot cite as fact since the source is mainly

oral tradition. This does not prevent common knowledge from being strongly, even

passionately believed nor does it mean that it is not true. Where the scholars fears to

venture writers who are more interested in satisfying fantasy views of history and

mysticism have fewer qualms. Right or wrong all this information adds to the modern

folklore of what Celtic Art means. (Walker, “Celtic Cross History”)

The belief of most people in things that are not based on evidence is called romanticism or Celtic

– 65 – romanticism. This romanticism appears to remain with people for its natural beauty regardless all scientific facts. “Despite the adamant rejection of the academics – or perhaps partly because of it – the literacy of literary romanticism has proved persistent, especially in popular books and television documentaries about the ancient Celts.” (Koch 1: 386) As an example of those romantic ideas about

Celtic culture can serve an image of druids having their ceremony in , the famous ancient megaliths stone formation in England. This is the image that still remains with public despite the fact that it was proven that Stonehenge is much older and was in England long before the first Celtic people came from the continent. When a roots of this idea are looked at, several books published in 1740s can be found, stating that the Stonehenge was a druid temple. They were written by Stukeley and called: “Stonehenge, a Temple restor'd to the British Druids” (1740) and

“Abury, a Temple of the British Druids, with Some Others, Described” (1743). (Koch 1: 385, 386)

In these works, he promoted the now widely discredited idea that these ancient megaliths

were temples of British druids. However, since the scientific study of the Stone Age was at

its infancy at the time and since Stukeley's advocacy of his beliefs was so emphatic, the

druidic origins of these megaliths soon become widely accepted as a fact. By the time

scholars understood that the megaliths pre-dated documentary evidence for the Celts and

druids over 1000 years, Stukeley's notions were too firmly entrenched in the public mind

to be expunged completely. (Koch 1: 385, 386)

To illustrate the myth about Stonehenge mentioned above, in these two pictures can be seen a cover of a DVD and a CD with Celtic topics – they both have Stonehenge on the front cover:

– 66 – ("The Best of Celtic Moods") ("The Celts")

Bauerová (159) provides an example of Celtic revival can be opera Norma, composed by

Vincenzo Bellini according to libretto by Felice Romani, a love story between the daughter of a

Celtic Druid and an officer of the Roman occupation army. It celebrated amazing achievements.

“The first act takes place in Druidic oak grove but when the opera was introduced in England, the old oaks set stage were replaced by the set piece of Stonehenge.” However; Stonehenge is not the only mistake of the Celtic revival movement. As Bauerová (159) says, “numerous monuments not only older but also much younger were considered Celtic by 'antiquarians'. And thus in Europe took place a movement called Celtomania.”

Not only books but also journals were/are published, for example Ériu. It is one of the principal Irish journals devoted to Celtic studies. “Founded in 1904 as the journal of the journal of the School of Irish Learning, it is now published annually by the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.”

(Koch 2: 718)

– 67 – Festivals and Films

As well as many book are on display, there are also DVD documentaries about Celtic

Heritage. There exists also a the Celtic Film and Television Festival. It was established in 1980 as a forum for the promotion of the cultures and languages of the Celtic countries in the areas of film, television, radio, and new media. The festival is a peripatetic one, and is arranged in a different

Celtic country on an a annual basis, held over a four-day period. It is a celebration of excellence in broadcasting and film in the Celtic countries.” (Koch 1: 371)

Koch (2: 435) writes about Inner-Celtic festival called Yn Chruinnaght which is held annually in Ramsey, in the Isle of Man. It was established in 1920s. “Based on competitions, it thrived until the outbreak of the second world war when it fell into abeyance. The 1970s saw a cultural resurgence in the Isle of Man, and in 1977 Mona Douglas and a team of co-workers decided to revive the festival. They organized a three-day event. . . which featured a re-enactment of a traditional Manx wedding, complete with dancing and music. This was the precursor of the five-day event held the following year called Yn Chruinnaght.” It continues also nowadays and it takes a fortnight full of Manx music, literature, dancing and other elements of Celtic culture.

Druid Revival

Druids as the most important persons in Celtic religion could not be omitted during the

Celtic revival. Thanks to the support of literature and other media people become interested in

Druidism and even some new Druidic societies and communities have been formed.

“The pre-eminence given to the Druids in modern times stems entirely from the activities

of antiquarian writers dating from the sixteenth century onwards. The whole cult of Druids

was bound up with the concept of the . . . Such modern gatherings as the

Eisteddfod, the annual Welsh festival of music and native culture, and other such festivals

throughout the surviving Celtic world, have served to perpetuate the image of the idealised

– 68 – Druid, but it is an essentially false image, based on revival rather than survival.” (Ross

185)

When we look in the twentieth century, we can see the continuation of the Celtic revival that is happening even nowadays and not only in former Celtic lands but also other countries are inspired by it, especially in middle and western Europe. Popular films have been filmed ( and Obelix, documentaries), and popular Celtic literature is flourishing.

Misuse of the Celtic Cross

A misuse of the Celtic Cross means any usage that does not represent the religious or cultural values connected with the Celtic Cross. In history there appeared to be many misuses of the

Celtic Cross.

The Cross in many forms has been used in different wars as a sign. The very line of the hilt and the blade crossed by the guard is in the shape of a cross. The most famous misuse of the cross in wars was in the . (Healey 293)

(“Swords Crossed”)

(“Knight Crussader”)

In the 20th century, in Germany, the form of a cross – swastika – was adopted by a prohibited political party (VSBD/PdA) leading to a ban of the symbol if used within a racist context. (Wikipedia contributors, “Celtic cross”)

– 69 – One of the more recent misuses are white nationalists: Neo- and white pride who use it as a logo for their website .org. (Wikipedia contributors, “Celtic cross”) and in the

USA a fiery cross was also used by the racist group , originating among whites in the south. (Healey 293)

– 70 – Conclusion.

The objective of the thesis was to introduce the Celtic cross and its varieties, outline its history and links to Celtic religion both for the cross as a symbol and for the Irish high crosses. The aim of the thesis was to identify the usage and symbolic meanings of the past and present of the

Celtic cross and connect the information about of the Celtic cross from various sources to allow readers to understand the Celtic cross as a holistic symbol. Practical examples of high crosses from

Ireland were presented both in writing and visually in the supplement.

Celtic cross is a very old symbol. It is appreciated by many religious institutions and also single individuals who give it meaning according to their opinion. What all these opinions have in common is that the original meaning of the equal arm cross in a circle represents some higher values or forces present in this world but given from above.

Irish high crosses are a unique combination of religious and culture influences. They were primarily constructed as Christian monuments, showing scenes from the Bible and demonstrating the power of the Church, however, the ring around the cross can be seen as a remainder of the Celtic religion and original symbolism of the 'pagan' ring. What is more the high crosses represent also the skilfulness of the artists and are unique history treasures. They are considered the part of Irish historical heritage of Irish people and other Celtic nations. Thanks to this union of Celtic and

Christian past, together with an island isolation, Irish culture is different from the others.

An interesting phenomena is a formation of new revival Celtic crosses that try to imitate the old ones and maintain the tradition. A person interested in high crosses can find those replicas in museums and also in cemeteries as grave-markers. The original high crosses can be found mostly in their original sites, usually well marked and taken cared of; some of them have been moved to the visitors' centres for protection.

The purpose of the thesis was also to compare sources and offer a selection of information relevant to the topic. As can be seen from the work, the most cited printed sources were by Koch,

– 71 – Bauerová, Pennick, Healey, Ross, Ellis and O'Donohue; from the Internet sources it was Walker,

O'Shaughnessy, and Dempsey. These sources have a different degree of academic English and scientific approach. The most elaborate, five-volume work written by Koch – a huge encyclopedia about the Celtic culture – is a reliable source and accurate in style. It was the main source for the work. Other publications were usually specialized on some part of the Celtic culture, for example

Bauerová wrote about the Celtic culture in Czech lends and Healey wrote about different types of the cross. The author of the work studied also some sources that can not be taken as reliable, though can bring interesting ideas or can serve as a source for general understanding of the topic. They were for example Wikipedia commons web pages or a book by Heinz listed in bibliography (Heinz,

“Keltské symboly: Magická síla symbolů Ι.”), that has no references and whose statements thus being questionable.

In some parts of the work, there appeared to be only one source prominent. It was not because the author has not studied other sources but because she considered the source most relevant, often containing and widening information from other sources. As an example can be taken Koch or Dempsey; Koch being academically reliable and precise in providing many useful information and Dempsey being not strictly academical in style but providing together the facts that were scattered on many other web pages.

During the research the author has come across some misconceptions such as a wrong consideration of a Stonehenge as a Celtic place and a number of myths about Druids.

Celtic people were (and are) a diverse group of peoples. The whole concept of Celticity is questionable as well as an appurtenance to the nation of the 'Celts' is felt as individually different.

Despite those unclear criteria, many people feel like 'Celts' and are proud of their Celtic past, which is demonstrated mostly in Celtic revival culture by a body of literature, films and festivals with

Celtic topics as well as in a high popularity of Celtic crosses both as pendants and new stone high crosses.

– 72 – References

Czech Sources

(Citations from Czech sources published in this thesis were translated by the author of the thesis.)

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Cunliffe, Barry. Keltové. Dokořán, 2009. Trans. Stanislav Pavlíček. Print. ISBN: 978-80-7363-162-

8

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1996. Trans. Richard Podaný. Print. ISBN: 80-859-46-7

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“Je posvátný kámen pouhá atrapa?” Historieweb.cz. Web. 4 Feb. 2013

Matthews, John. Keltský šaman. Praha: Alternativa, 1991. Trans. Jana Novotná. Print. ISBN: 80-

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Mauduit J. A. Keltové. Trans. Liana Veselá. Praha: Panorama, 1979. Print.

O'Donohue, John. Kniha keltské moudrosti. Praha: Portál, 2002. Trans. Marie Polasková. Print.

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Přibylová, J. “Edinburg Castle”. Světadíly.cz. Web. 4 Feb. 2013

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– 73 –

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– 74 –

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– – –. “Megalith.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 4 Feb.

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– 75 – Pictures and Supplement Cited

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– – –. “Base East Face.” Image. Irish High Crosses. 8 Jul. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.

– – –. “Base North Face.” Image. Irish High Crosses. 8 Jul. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.

– – –. “Base South Face.” Image. Irish High Crosses. 8 Jul. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.

– 76 – – – –. “Base West Face.” Image. Irish High Crosses. 8 Jul. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.

– – –. “Before .” Image. Irish High Crosses. 8 Jul. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.

– – –. “Cardonagh Cross” Image. Irish High Crosses. 8 Jul. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.

– – –. “Cross of Scriptures, original on the left.” Image. Irish High Crosses. 8 Jul. 2012. Web. 13

Apr. 2013.

– – –. “The Cross of St. Patrick and St. Columba.” Image. Irish High Crosses. 8 Jul. 2012. Web. 13

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