Knotwork

The origin of knotwork panels, borders and buttons can clearly be found in the imitation of the three-dimensional arts of plaiting, weaving and basketry. It has been established that these arts were known to our ancestors far earlier than we had, until recently, thought. Various styles of imitation of these crafts can be found in the art of many early peoples. It has been conjectured that the taboos surrounding the portrayal of natural objects led to a concentration on the abstract; in many cultures interlacing patterns became symbols of continuity.

How the exquisite Celtic symbols developed, where the geometry which allowed this development came from, and why the 'Pictish School' developed knotwork so intricate that the finesse of it's detail is all but invisible to the naked eye, remains a mystery. That they had tools more sophisticated than we can as yet reconstruct, and aids to eyesight which we are still unable to understand, still provides us with interesting challenges. Referring to a page in the "Book of Armagh," Professor J.O. Westwood wrote, "In a space of about a quarter of an inch superficial, I counted with a magnifying glass no less than one hundred and fifty-eight interlacements of a slender ribbon pattern formed of white lines edged with black upon a black ground. No wonder that tradition should allege that these unerring lines should have been traced by angels."

Thanks to the work of people like J.Romilly Allen, Eoghan Carmichael, John Duncan, and George Bain some of the skills of our ancestors have been re-discovered, some however remain mysterious. Recent publications by authors such as Aidan Meehan have done much to re-popularise this ancient art-form. Aesthetically, these busy forms may not be to everyone's taste, but in learning the few methods of their construction which we have been able to discern, we can certainly move towards a closer degree of understanding of the Iron-Age cultures of Scotland and Ireland.

For a short tutorial on knot construction please click here.