Volume II. Guth na Bliadhna ' leabhar II.]

0 fhuil is fheoil Gaedheal na hEireann do shiolruigh a lan de mhuinntir Alban, agus ni ro-fhada o ghlaoidhti Scotia ar Eirinn, agus gairm-tear cineadh Scuit ar Ghaedhealaibh Eireann gus i ndiu. Ni docha go bhfuil duine ainmighthe i stair na hAlban gur mo le radh e ag Gaedhealaibh na tire sin 'na Colum Cille do chaith a lan da shaoghal i n-Oilean I agus fuair bas naomha ann. Is e Colum Cille do leath fior-chreideamh Chriost ar fuaid tuaiscirt na hAlban; agus is iomdha mainistear do chuir se ar bun chum solus leighinn agus naomhthachta d'fhadughadh is do choimead ar bhuan-lasadh i mease garbh-chnoc na duithche. Agus nar bh'Eireannach Colum Cille, nar bh' Eireannaigh na manaigh do chuidigh leis is do lean a reir is do chuir crioch ar an deagh-obair do chuir se ar bun. Ni fhagfaidh cail is gniomh-artha Choluim Cille croidhe na nAlbanach is na nEireannach an fhaid is bheidh mor-chnuc 'n-a sheasamh os cionn locha i nDun na nGhall na i d-tuaisceart Eireann; an fhaid is bheidh fiadhain-tonn na fairrge da radadh fein an thraigh-charr-aigeachaibh I an fhaid is bheidh Iomradh fraoich arshleasaibh Shleibhe Shneachta an fhaid is bheidh cioch os cionn cloiche i nDoire. Baineann Colum naomhtha le hAlbain is le hEirinn agus an fhaid fhanfaidh a chuimhne againn is ceart do mhuintir na hEireann agus do mhuinntir na hAlban bheith snaidhmighthe i ndluth-charadas le cheile.

Is deacair a radh cia 'ca na hEireannaigh no na hAlbanaigh is mo d'fhulaing fa dhaorsmacht na Sasannach. 'Se mo thuairim-se fein gur mo d'fhulaing na hEireannaigh; gur mo an tsainnt do bhi ar na Sasannachaibh chum Gaedhil Eireann do chradh is do cheasadh 'na Gaedhil Alban. Is mo an fhuath a bhi ag na Sasannachaibh-riamh ar chreideamh na nEireannach na ar chreideamh na nAlbanach.

Acht na tighearnaidhe talmhan saidhbhre neamh-thruaighbheileacha. ni miste a radh na gur dheineadar leirscrios ar gach taob de'n fhairrge. Is iomdha Gaedheal breagh corach calma do chuir-eadar le fuacht is le fan a criochaibh Eoghain is Airt agus a tuaisceart Alban. Do thug Gaedhil Eireann is Alban a gcuid fola go fuidheach ar mhaichre an choimheascair chum a gceart d'fhaghail do Sheamas is do Shearlas. Bhi Gaedhil Alban ullamh chum teacht go hEirinn chum cuis an riogh do phleidhe i bfochair a lucht comhgais. Acht b'e toil De gur " lom an cuireath an cluiche ar an righ coroinneach" agus gur luigheadh trom-chos ar Ghaedhealaibh agus gur fhanadar fa an-bhruid is fa dhaor-smacht go dti le deidheanaighe.

Da mbudh is na beadh aon nidh eile san sceal acht stair an lae-i-ndiu fein, budh cheart d'Eireann-achaibh baidh do bheith aca le hAlbain mar is mor da sliocht i gcathrachaibh is i mbailtidhibh mora na duithche sin. Eirigh go Glascu; seas­aimh i gcuinne sraide moire eigin: tabhair na daoine gheobhaidh thart fa ndeara. Eireannaigh is eadh a leath, de'n chuid is lugha agus is e an sceal ceadna e i gcathrachaibh eile.

Ar na hadhbhraibh sin go leir is dearbhtha gur cheart do mhuinntir na hEireann is do mhuinntir na hAlban baidh dhith-cheangailte do bheith aca le cheile gur cheart doibh eolas cinnte do chur ar a cheile agus cabhrughadh le cheile i ngach cruadhtan. Deallruigheann an sceal go bhfuil an chuid is measa da saoghal caithte ag an da chineadh agus go mheidh feabhas ag teacht ortha feasta. Acht fairior craidhte, ta teanga a sinsear ag dul uatha i mbathadh, o bhliadhain go bliadhain agus gan dul ar i shaoradh o'n mbas, muna rud e go ndeanfar imshniomh di i n-am agus iarracht do thabhairt chum a saortha is a saoruighthe. Ni gan cruadh-obair a saorfar teanga na nGaedheal agus mara saorfar i n-am i beidh si galaruighthe tar foir. Ni haon mhaitheas maise na breaghthacht tire na bionn greim ar a dteangain fein aici.

Da mbeadh saothrughadh mar is coir da thabh­airt ar an Ghaedhilg tail is i bhf us is mo an rath is an bhail do bheadh ar Ghaedhealaibh ar fuaid an domhain na mar ata. Ni hi an f hirinne d'aithristear ortha i gcomhnuidhe i starthaibh Bearla. Ni'l o'n Sasannach acht cos do luighe ortha agus a dteanga do ciunughadh 'n-a gceann agus annsain a chruth fein do chur ar an sceal. Ma imthigheann an teanga imtheochaidh fior-spioraid na nGaedheal is ni fhanfaidh i nGaedhealaibh acht driodar balbh na beidh aca chum a ngno saoghalta do dheanamh acht droich-bhearla.

Ni'l aon deifridheacht mhor idir Ghaedhilg na hEireann is Ghaedhilg na hAlban leightear is tuigtear Gaedhealg na hEireann i nAlbain; leigh­tear is tuigtear Gaedhealg na hAlban i nEirinn bionn meas ar cheoltoiridhibh is ar amhranuidh­thibh Eireann i nAlbain agus meas ar cheol-: toiridhibh is amhranuidhthibh Alban i nEirinn? Is ionann a dteanga; is ionann a gcuid fonn; isi ionann a gceol; is ionann a sinsear—no a lan de—■ agus budh choir gur bh'ionann an croidhe bheadhl aca is gur bh'ionann a spioraid. Nar leigidh Dial go dtiocfaidh eascairdeas eatortha go deo.

Padraig Ua Duinnin.
gaelic arts and crafts

ARCHITECTURE

I. ECCLESIASTICAL

Fergusson, in his Histwy of Architecture, pays a high tribute to the artistic genius and other brilliant distinctive characteristics of the Celtic race. HeS goes so far as to say that the pre-eminence of thej western nations of Europe in art, poetry, music, de-1 ductive insight, politeness, valour and patriotism isj entirely due to the existence of the Celtic elemenn in the population, and he says that the larger the] proportion of this element, the more distinguished] will a nation be for these qualities. This last ideal however, seems to be carrying the eulogy too far,] and to be hardly consistent with actual experience.] Fergusson admits that there is one defect in Celtic] character which has hitherto prevented the evolution] of a perfect nationality, namely, an inability—a disinclination—to submit to those restraints which] community on a large scale imposes. Hence tha disunited Celtic tribes were gradually broken ua before the more stolid and homogeneous races bjj whom they were opposed and, in many casesl ultimately absorbed. For, unlike the Semite, the Celt is sympathetic, and, coalescing with other races, produces a combination which can hardly be excelled. But the excellence of the result of that combination depends, in my opinion, not so much on the proportion of the Celtic element, as Fergusson suggests, as on the inherent qualities of the associated races.

This view is confirmed by a reference to the history of art in our own country. In early times, 'when both Ireland and Scotland might be correctly described as Celtic, there was evidence of artistic appreciation, but not much of artistic performance, [except in the departments of jewellery and illumin­ation. It was not till a large infusion of alien blood pad modified the purely Celtic character of the [population that an approach to settled government [and peace made any exhibition of the higher 'branches of art practicable, and introduced certain [valuable elements into our national life which the iCeltic idiosyncrasy lacked.

It was not the preponderance of the Celtic [element which raised Scotland to the proud position she holds among the nations, but the excellent quali­fies of the blended nationalities,—Scandinavian, [Saxon, and Norman—who became identified with [the native race. Such national pre-eminence could never have been reached whilst the country remained purely Celtic—whilst Celtic architecture prevailed and ran its very restricted course. No doubt many circumstances combined to interfere with its development: internecine wars and foreign [invasions left little leisure for peaceful pursuits, and [even in Ireland, where the style was retained longer pan in Scotland, the chance of its ever developing nnto a noble national style was lost by the intro­duction of Norman architecture in the first instance, and by the distracted state of the country in the reign of Elizabeth, and subsequently.There can be little doubt that Celtic architecture did not appear in Scotland till after the introduction of Christianity by St. Columba ; and it is probable that it did not first appear in the Sacred Isle.

It is, of course, extremely difficult for us now­adays to realise the conditions under which the Columban missionaries had to carry on their stupendous task in the face of dangers and diffi­culties innumerable and, indeed, inconceivable to us. Their first care would be to build houses for their own protection and comfort. These would resemble the houses of the natives rather than houses in the land they came from, for the con­struction of which no materials available at Iona
]} With all due respect to this author, whose opinions in many ways are respectable, we cannot here approve of what he says. Dr. Honeyman can hardly have pushed his investigations and his reading so far as to embrace our earlier Gaelic literature, in which will be found abundant evidence tending to establish the very contrary of what he here, somewhat dogmatically, asserts. His contention that Celtic proficiency in the arts and crafts was confined to the " departments of jewellery and illumination " is strikingly disproved by the remains of our early literature, as we shall have occasion to show in the course of subsequent papers on these topics. It is evident that Dr. Honeyman has here based his conclusions on the results obtained not from the latest, but from earlier investigations into the particular field of whioh he is treating. With his remark that the growth of Celtic Arts was arrested by political disturbances, we agree. But it by no means follows from thence, as he seems to imagine, that the Celtic peoples could never have become proficients in these respects. His notion, too, which he here gravely sets forth, that the Celtic peoples required the assistance of foreigners, who, from the point of view of civilisation, were notoriously vastly inferior to them, to teach them how to become artists and crafts­men is equally antiquated and whimsical.—Ed. G. N. B.~\ might be suitable. They had no need of a church, but only of an oratory which was probably little different from their dwellings—unless, knowing, as the first missionaries did before they emigrated, of stone structures in common use in Ireland, built in horizontal courses overlapping each other till they met in the centre in the form of a vault, they adopted this form of building for their oratories. Evidence of the existence of such buildings, either circular or rectangular in plan, exists in several parts of Scotland. Such buildings, however, can­not be classed as architecture of any kind. They are curious and interesting from an archaeological and anthropological point of view, but the only art they exhibit is the art of the mechanic, not of the architect, in which we look for art of a higher kind. The grace of architectural refinement was reserved for the service of the Church and for several genera­tions was not required, as the policy adhered to by Columba and his successors was simply that pre­scribed by our Lord when He said, " Go and preach the Gospel. Do not go and ask people to come to church to hear you preach. Search for them and teach them." In this way they had to traverse the whole of Scotland and a large portion of England and Wales. They had to make haste and scatter the good seed as they went, leaving it to their disciples under more settled conditions to set a seal, as it were, to their profession of faith by the erection of permanent places of worship, after the model of sister churches in Ireland, and displaying similar artistic adornments. It seems a reasonable conclusion that no examples of Celtic ecclesiastical architecture existed in Scotland before the seventh or eighth century; and the fragmentary remains which still exist were for the most part not

erected till the tenth and eleventh centuries, and, iul a short period thereafter, the distinctive character­istics of Celtic architecture gradually disappear till the Columban Church loses its identity in the embrace of the Catholic Church.

My readers hardly require to be told that the religion of Ireland, from whence our Celtic branch! of the Church came, traced its origin to the Eastern! section of the Church, and the details of its archi­tecture confirm this belief; such details being in many particulars unlike the contemporaneous Romanesque of the Western Church.

So long as the Celtic Church had a corporate existence it maintained its distinctive character and its aversion to the encroachments of the Roman Church.<sup>1

1</sup> Its existence is recognised, though not emphasised, by His Grace the late Lord Arch­bishop of Glasgow in his interesting life of St Cuthbert, one of the most distinguished of Colum­ban missionaries. One difference in the practice of the two Churches which had an important influence on Celtic architecture, and which pre­vailed even after the Catholic faith had been fully accepted as the religion of the country, was the result of the Eastern origin of the rule. I refer to the small size of its ecclesiastical buildings. The cathedral was a Roman idea. Its genesis has been skilfully traced back to a quite natural evolution from the Roman Scholse to the magnificent Basilica and modifications, by Professor Baldwin Brown.

The Greek Churches and those of Asia Minor adopted a totally different course. They made no

[' Pray, where and when was this alleged " aversion" shown? When Patrick received his commission from Borne, or when St. Columba daily offered up Mass in conformity with tìle tenets of the Universal Church?—Ed. G. N. B.] attempt to make an impression by the magnificence of their buildings, but thought it better to multiply the number of their churches and restrict their size; and naturally the Irish and Scottish Celtic Churches adopted this practice, with the result that we have no cathedrals in Scotland exhibiting any traces of Celtic architecture.

Another circumstance which left its mark on the early architecture of our country was the absolute despotism of reigning kings and chiefs. They were supreme in religious, as well as in secular, affairs. Columba—a man of kingly birth himself— was quite aware of this and wisely devoted all his-energy in the first instance to the task of convert­ing to the faith the most powerful ruler of his time. The risk was great, but was more than justified by the result. Again, a significant change occurs in the architecture of the country owing to the king's change of views. We are told that Nechtan, having jn'ven up his adhesion to the Celtic Church, wrote letters to the Pope asking him to send artificers to enable him to erect churches here in the Roman style.' But Nechtan was succeeded by monarchs

P Our readers do not require to be told that there was no inch thing as a " Celtic Church " having a separate corporate existence, and independent of Eome. Nechtan expelled certain Columban clergy because they had become corrupt; but this tact no more affected the religious tenets of the displaced clergy than it did those of the originator of these drastic measures. It seems to be well-nigh impossible to get a Protestant to under­stand the difference between Dogma and Discipline, including forms and ceremonies. We have yet to learn that the sup­pression of the Jesuits by the Holy See signified a change of faith on the part of either the Pope or the members of the-suppressed order. Both events were merely in the nature of disciplinary measures; and, as such, had nothing to do with articles of Faith. Dr. Honeyman here alludes to the employ­ment of Irish clergy and architects as though it were something who harked back to the older national cult, and went so far as to induce many of the Irish clergy to settle in Scotland, bringing with them artificers skilled in the Celtic style, to whom we are in­debted for—among other things—the round towers at Brechin and Abernethy. But the pendulum swings again, and once more a sweeping change is made through the influence of a sovereign less gifted with despotic power than her predecessors, but armed with the omnipotent panoply of Faith .and Love—the saintly wife of Malcolm Canmore. Such weapons, for the first time in the history of the Church, had been used and the resulting change was permanent. Men changed, not because they were ordered to do so, but because they were persuaded. But, as in other cases, the change in belief involved a change in the prevailing archi­tectural style. Letters from Queen Margaret to Turgot, Prior of Durham, her Father Confessor, are extant which prove that it is to her we owe the introduction of the Norman style into Scotland. And so we arrive at this general conclusion regard­ing the prevalence of Celtic architecture that it extended from the close of the sixth century till the middle of the eleventh—or in some remote places rather later. Celtic art in the form of sculptured slabs and crosses was of course con­tinued till a much later period—down even to the •sixteenth century.

The remaining examples of Celtic architecture

■extraordinary, instead of being, as it was, the most natural thing in the world. Was not Columba himself an Irish Oael? Throughout these pages, otherwise so commendable, Dr. Honeyman gives many proofs that he has not yet taken .to heart the vulgar saying touching the tailor and his last.— JEd. 0. N. B.] in Scotland are so few and so much mutilated that to convey an intelligible idea of the style it may be necessary to generalise and describe a typical ex­ample. From what has been already said it will be understood that the Celtic chapel or oratory was a small building, usually about thirty feet by fifteen feet and correspondingly low. It was in­tended for devotion only—to enable the monastic worshipper or the missionary in the distant settle­ment to obey the direction of the Master: " Thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy cell". For such a use the cell was admirably adapted. Some ap­proximation to the usual orientation was generally adopted. The door was placed sometimes in the west gable, but more frequently in the north wall near the west end, while the "dim religious light" which alone was required was supplied by two very small windows, one in each side wall close to the east end, so as faintly to illuminate the altar, while the rest of the interior was in deep shade. Such a place of retirement could not fail to be attractive to the religious worn out by the incessant worries of a missionary life. But this does not seem to me to justify the tradition, usually attached to the remains of such primitive cells—that they were, in effect, her­mitages to which holy men of old resorted to spend their lives in prayer and meditation. I have formed a totally different conception of the men who reared these humble oratories. They had something else to do than to spend lives in meditative indolence. If they wished the doctrines they sought to pro­mulgate to make any permanent impression on the natives, they knew that direct personal contact for teaching and persuading was necessary, if not also for controverting the opposing doctrines of the heathen. It was no time for day-dreamers when these cells were built; but the circumstances de­manded the constant activity of physical and mental powers of strong, courageous, God-fearing men, de-l voted to their cause and upheld by the conscious-1 ness of heaven's approval: such were the men who I could best appreciate, and most lovingly long for, the hour of secret devotion in the consecrated ceill The principal architectural feature in the chapel was the doorway—sometimes a mere plain opening with sloping jambs and lintel, but more frequently having moulded jambs bearing a semicircular arch. At first sight the door might be mistaken for a] Norman doorway, but the difference is easily de-J tected. If we take a door with two orders, for example, we find in the Norman example that the! arch mouldings rest on columns which are less in diameter than the face or the soffite of these mouldings, so that in both directions the mouldings project beyond the face of the column, and, there J fore, the capital of the column has to be brought out over the column to the same extent as the superimposed mouldings. The same arrangement is maintained in each order. The chief difference! between this arrangement and that exhibited in I the Celtic doorway is that, in the latter, the jambsl are not recessed under the arch mouldings, but arel carried down to the base with the same projection both ways, whether moulded or not. Generally a I large bead on each angle of the jambs takes thel place and has very much the appearance of al column. But its face is flush with the super­imposed archstone although separated from it byl a few horizontal mouldings having very little pro­jection, which can hardly be said to form a capital,! but, as an impost moulding, serves to disconnect! the mouldings of the arch from those of the jamb.

When these mouldings are introduced over large ■angle beads and the projecting angle is carved, as it generally is, some effect of a capital is obtained in perspective, but to eyes accustomed to the grace­ful capitals and overhanging mouldings of later times the absence of such projections in Celtic arches has an effect which is at once distinctive and disagreeable. Those without some technical knowledge will not readily understand a mere verbal explanation of this peculiar feature, but the effect will be at once appreciated by any one who compares the arched openings in the church of Leuchars with those in the small church of St. Begulus at St. Andrews, one of the latest examples extant of our Celtic architecture.

The church of St. Regulus may be regarded as •one of the results of the last Celtic revival, and reference to it throws light on several interesting points in the history of the style.

It is evident that the altered circumstances of the kingdom, and the freer intercourse with England and other countries, had gradually led to changes in the methods, if not in the tenets, of the Columban Church; and the need for churches for congrega­tional use had been recognised as we see by all the fragmentary remains of buildings erected after the tenth century. But a comparison between Leuchars and St. Regulus brings out another im­portant point, that, although the Norman succeeded the Celtic, there was at that period a distinct break in the continuity of style. There was no transition, such as we see between the Norman of Leuchars and the Transitional of the eastern end of St. Andrews Cathedral, nor was there any need either for cathedrals or cathedral builders in either Scot­land or Ireland till the prevailing influence of the

Western Church spread northwards, even to distant Kirkwall, and the Romanesque of Italy, transformed by the Celtic genius of Northern France, emerged as the foundation style of Gothic architecture.

In McGibbon and Ross's well-known work on The Ecclesiastical Architecture of Scotland a con­siderable list of early churches is given; but many of these have no pretension to architectural treat­ment, and hardly any are recognisable as examples of Celtic art. Even at Iona, where numerous ora­tories were at one time to be found, there is not now one entire example, the nearest approach to this being St. Oran's Chapel. Other remains there are; but so completely ruined that they can with difficulty be identified.

Returning to our verbal description, the arch mouldings are generally enriched with sculpture in very low relief- little more than incisions—of lines, in various combinations or flat moulded bands with balls or nail-head ornaments sparingly introduced, the treatment being more refined though less effec­tive than in the succeeding style.

There is no apparent indication in the few re­maining examples which may be regarded as original that the small side-lights of these chapels were even glazed; but there are, or, at least, there were (at Oransay) small windows each cut out of a single slab of slate which had shallow checks all round into which horn may probably have been fitted. In one of the small chapels at Iona where the win­dows have not been glazed, shutters have been used.

The purpose for which these small churches were erected is obvious as has already been indi­cated ; and there is therefore no difficulty in ac­counting for their multiplication in monasteries where the brethren were numerous.

_I

The round tower was not introduced into Scot­land till a comparatively late period. They prob­ably owed their introduction towards the close of the tenth century to circumstances already referred to. We have only two examples corresponding to the round towers so numerous in the sister isle; and, as the design of these undoubtedly came from Ireland, we may be content with that step back­ward in their history and not exhaust the reader's patience by discussing the question whether we are to seek their prototypes at Ravenna or Corsica, in Afghanistan or Delhi. The Brechin example is the most perfect, and I may briefly describe it.

This remarkable monument stands on the brow of a ravine at the south-west corner of the cathedral. It measures 16 feet in diameter and tapers slightly towards the top which is crowned by a conical roof, which, however, is not original. The total height is 103 feet. It is built of large courses of well-dressed freestone of good quality, and is in an excellent state of preservation. As usual in such structures, the door-sill is about 7 feet above the ground; and it is in the decoration of the doorway that the characteristic features of the style are exhibited. A broad back fillet with a beaded border on each side surrounds the opening, on which a crucifix is sculptured, and at a lower level two figures, presumably the Blessed Virgin and St. John, all in low relief. These sculptures are now much weather-worn but are sufficiently recognisable. It is an interesting fact that although this tower was not erected till about the year 1000 the design of its doorway and the details of its sculpture seem as archaic as on examples in Ireland many centuries older. Indeed, the persistence of style during the Celtic period is very remarkable ;

and in this respect it comes into striking contrast with the styles which followed each other in rapid succession after the Norman Conquest, where de­velopment was continuous whilst the supremacy of the Roman Church was recognised. I must briefly refer to another feature of this interesting structure, which seems to throw some light on the vexed question of its purpose. A few years ago I had an opportunity of examining its foundations. An accumulation of rubbish was cleared out of the inside, and at a depth of about a foot below the external surface of the ground we came upon a layer of small field boulders, not exceeding a foot in diameter, covering the whole area and extend­ing apparently under the walls. On excavating outside we found that they did continue under the walls, and that this thin course of rounded loose stones with some traces of clay on the top of them actually formed the foundation of this imposing building. This being so it can hardly be supposed that the tower was reared as a stronghold. The truth is that a few hours' work in removing the soft till from under these loose stones would suffice to hurl the tower, and all its contents, into the ravine, on the edge of which it stands.

These round towers may, or may not, have served many different purposes. There is one only, in regard to which we need have no doubt—they were designed to be landmarks. To understand this we must go back in imagination to the state of society at the time of their erection. It is not easy to do this as we gaze, for example, on the magnificent group of consecrated buildings which overlook the city of Durham, and which seem coeval with the rocks on which they rest. We feel it hardly possible to imagine a time when only one tail pillar pointing heavenwards occupied the site of the venerable pile, the only sign of the Bethel there, and the only guide to the sacred spot oyer miles of trackless plains and moors in all directions. Nothing could be better designed for its purpose, and that it was designed for this purpose I have no doubt.

There can be little doubt that the distinctive character of Celtic architecture was not due to the study of pre-existing buildings, but rather to the study of the representations of buildings in the illuminated manuscripts of the time. Many of these manuscripts came from countries where archi­tecture had reached a high state of perfection ; but the illuminating artists were not architectural draughtsmen, and they represented architectural details incorrectly, just as most artists of the present day do. Hence one of the most striking peculiarities of the style which stuck to it till the last—the absence of projecting capitals with corre­spondingly projecting arch voussoirs. The illumi­nator represented his capitals by two or three straight fines, sometimes plain, sometimes enriched, and the architect copied this treatment, which we find appearing in other ways, revealing the source from which the suggestion had been derived. So on the artistic side of architecture we have copyism and the usual result, whereas on the constructional side—where originality was indispensable—we have progress and a large measure of attainment.

Whilst there is something like unanimity re­garding the source from which the religion of Ireland came, I am not prepared to dogmatise regarding the origin of the distinctive varieties of its religious art. We can find architectural pro­totypes in Lombardy, as well as in Byzantium, and

making allowance for the limited range of develop­ment possible in the construction of small chapels during many centuries, while the religious motive was missionary, rather than devotional, we can quite well understand that while the characteristics which for centuries predominated may have origin­ated, as I have suggested, from the linear representa­tion of buildings regardless of perspective, a clearer light regarding many features would gradually be obtained from many sources as civilisation spread, and intercourse between the Christianised nations increased. Some of the most common ornaments in Celtic work are not peculiar to any style or period. They are found alike on the cinerary urns of our aborigines, the marble capitals of Justinian's time, the walls of Pisa, and the carved prow of the Maori's war-canoe. There is little wonder, then, that with one variety of such ornament we should have long been familiar—the complicated inter­lacing work which retained its fascination for the Celt after all other trace of the peculiarities of Celtic architecture had disappeared.

The history of Celtic architecture is indissolubly connected with the history of the Celtic Church. With it it came into existence and with it it dis­appeared, shortly after the reign of St. Margaret of Blessed Memory.