As you may imagine, Celtic calligraphy has a long and storied history. However, Celtic calligraphy differs in many ways from other forms of calligraphy. Celtic style calligraphy is known not just for its unique Celtic calligraphy letters and alphabet, but also for its often ornate knotwork that accompanies much Celtic calligraphy writing samples.
Celtic Calligraphy History
Writing began as a set of pictograms, pictures that stood for live objects or activities. The Phoenicians invented letter-based writing in Europe around 1000BC, although the Chinese had calligraphy 4000 years ago, and the oldest Japanese calligraphy traces back 3000 years.
Like much of European history, Celtic calligraphy traces its roots to the Romans who conquered lands up into England where its writing forms and styles were learned, and then expanded upon and modified once the Romans retreated back to the European mainland. Then, poetically, Irish missionaries took the script with them when they ventured to continental Europe and founded their own monasteries.
Roman styles of lettering from that time period are uncial and half uncial. Typically, Celtic calligraphy means the insular majuscule style of writing and letters which was developed by Christian Monks in Ireland, usually while copying some or all of the bible. Famous works of Celtic calligraphy include the Book of Durrow and the Book of Kells which is housed in the astoundingly beautiful Old Library in Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.
Celtic Calligraphy Letters
Celtic calligraphy letters are bold and rounded. This contrasts with earlier calligraphy composed of shorter, angular marks that could be written on rough, unforgiving surfaces like stone or papyrus. With the development of smoother, more consistent writing surfaces like parchment and vellum, lettering was free to move beyond the realm of straight and diagonal lines.
As with earlier calligraphy, Celtic calligraphy involves writing motions limited to drawing the pen or brush right and down (curves back to the left in a clockwise motion not withstanding). However, in some strokes we can see the freedom that arose from consistent writing surfaces and inks. Some letterforms include short movements to the left, although you still won’t find strokes going up. Only today’s felt tip calligraphy pens can make such marks without either juttering across the paper or strangely manipulating either the pen or hand.
Celtic calligraphy capital letters are simply lowercase letters made larger. (Or if you prefer, making the uppercase letters smaller produces lower case letters.) The exception will be familiar to modern day writers. Both the I and J lose their dots when making them capital letters, just like you learned in school.
Celtic Calligraphy Knots
While Celtic calligraphy lettering is beautiful in its own right, the real star of Celtic calligraphy is the border flourish known as Celtic knotwork. The Celtic calligraphy borders can be incredibly ornate. However, they are also often repetitive with each cycle, or knot, connected to the next. The continuous line is sometimes called the unending knot and symbolizes pretty much anything that is supposed to last forever. This makes Celtic knots a popular decoration on marriage themed calligraphy, or engagement calligraphy. It also tricks the eye into thinking the knot pattern is more complicated than it really is. Look at any Celtic knot border and your brain will see hundreds of lines and shapes when there is really only one.
Basic knotwork can be as simple as repeating circles interlaced around the artwork. More complicated knotwork such as figures of eight or waves make for a more stunning design when used properly. However, such styles take a steady hand and a lot of patience. Although meditation wasn’t necessarily a commonly known practice in the Middle Ages, there is no doubt that monk set to his purpose creating perfectly repeating shapes over and over and over again could find a calmness of mind just like the meditative effects of Japanese calligraphy meditation.
When applied to religious manuscripts this knotwork is referred to as illumination. Illumination is not specific to Celtic calligraphy and describes any manuscript that is “illuminated” with decoration.
Celtic Calligraphy Projects and Art
The earliest existing artworks were books, of course, The bible in particular was a favorite of monks to copy in the Middle Ages. As Gutenberg’s printing press expanded across Europe with more improvements, hand copied books and manuscripts became unnecessary. Fortunately, not only were historic artworks saved, but a new category also developed. The wealthy commissioned handwritten and drawn works from professional calligraphers and calligraphy artists. Often, the patron was included in the work marking it as his high-class art forever.
Find A Calligrapher Near Me
Answering the question, “How do I find a calligraphy artist near me,” often corresponds to how large the city you live in is, and how far you are willing to consider as near. Finding a Celtic calligraphy expert is no different than finding other artists. Online searches may give you some names to run down. Seeing work at a gallery or art show is even better.
Like the patrons of the Middle Ages, expect a calligraphy commission to be pricey. The bigger and more ornate, the more expensive. They often say that you can have fast, good, or free, but you may only pick two. So seek the calligrapher to hire early and allow plenty of time for your creation to achieve its beautiful potential.
Calligraphy Books
There are numerous pages of Celtic calligraphy practice pages and examples. In addition, printable practice sheets have become a popular method for mastering technique. Essentially, tracing along the faint existing lines using proper pen strokes (down and right… with only the tiniest bit of left on serifs) develops your eye and hand to produce your own Celtic calligraphy works of art.
There are also many Celtic calligraphy books available. The sort of gold standard is Celtic Calligraphy Viviene Lunniss, although some people find it somewhat dated. Your local library likely has several books about calligraphy, many of which will have a section about Celtic calligraphy in them. I recommend looking at these books before deciding what you want your Calligraphy books to look like.
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