Above : A Page Of View From Book Of Kells

Besides the Book of Kells we have as specimens of the exquisite Irish art of illumination the Book ef Durrow, the Book of Armagh, the Stowe Missal, the Book of MacDurnan, the Garland of Howth, the Book of Dinina, and the Book of St. Moling. The Book of Durrow shows fewer varieties of design than the Book of Kells, but those which it does display belong to the most ancient ami char­acteristic style of Irish Art. The ornamental portions of the Book of Armagh equal, if they do not in some points surpass, the grace and delicate execution of the Book of Kells. It was written by a scribe named Ferdorunach, and the record of his death in the ‘ Annals of the Four Masters ‘ points to the fact that even at the finest period of this art in Ireland, he was recognised as an artist of superior power. His death is recorded as follows:—" A.D. 844, Ferdomnach, a sage and choice scribe of the Church of Armagh, died." In the ‘Garland of Ilowth’ the art of decoration is larger and bolder than we usually meet in Irish manuscripts.

The designs and ornaments used by the artists who worked in metal in Ireland after the intro­duction of Christianity were similar to those used in the manuscripts, and they showed the same exquisite skill and taste. The most beautiful specimens of their art that have been preserved are the Tara Brooch, the Ardagh Chalice, and the Cross of Cong. " The Tara Brooch," says Dr. Petrie, " is superior to any hitherto found in the variety of its ornaments and in the exquisite delicacy and perfection of its execution." The Ardagh Chalice is an almost unique example of the two-handled chalice used in the earliest animal beneath which is a sperically ornamented ball in which was inserted the pole for carrying the cross. The Irish artists who worked in metal have also left us many beautiful crosiers elaborately wrought, shrmes for the lives and relics of venerated saints, and other articles which show that they had attained a complete mastery of material. The Shrine of St. Manchan was con­sidered to be one of the most beautiful productions of Celtic Art. The Crosier of Lismore is a magni­ficent example of the work of our goldsmiths, and the cases made to contain the Gospels of St. Molaise and the Stowe Missal, show the high standard that had been attained in ornamental and decora­tive designs in the eleventh century.