Celtic Design: Knotwork [Paperback]

Aidan Meehan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Celtic Design | Publication Date: June 1, 1991

Knotwork and plaitwork are examined in detail against the sacred background from which they sprang, and illustrations of motifs taken from famous brooches and carvings show how Celtic knots can be adapted for all manner craftwork.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Thames and Hudson (June 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500276307
• ISBN-13: 978-0500276303
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a Celtic artist who has written and illustrated 15 books on Celtic design, and now works as a full time artist exploring the art form in new ways, mainly as a painter. I also like to draw with the goose quill, and still enjoy doing calligraphy, mainly copperplate with the quill, and flourishing, which, it seems to me, is a continuation of the early Irish tradition, down through the centuries, by way of generations of scribes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very thorough introduction to Celtic Knotwork, October 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Celtic Design: Knotwork (Paperback)

Celtic Design: Knotwork. This book has over 400 illustrations, half of which are step-by-step instructions followed by analyses of knotwork patterns from traditional sources, such as a chapter on the knotwork carpet page from the book of Durrow, folio 1v, page 91, one of the earliest and most fundamental sources.The underlying plan of this design is superimposed on a step pattern from the Sutton Hoo hoard, an original insight. The rest of the book concentrates on examples drawn from historical sources, including The Book of Kells, folios 1r and 2r; the Ardagh Chalice; several from the Ardagh Brooch; the Lagore Crannog.

Chapter V is a valuable study in the craft geometry of building a panel by dividing a square by means of the half-diagonal star.

Fig. 96 is an ornamental serif from Lindisfarne Gospels, folio 3; fig. 101 shows "border design, full page format; adapted from the book of Durrow, drawn with a quill, as are most of the illustrations in this book.

Chapter 11, Spiral knot borders, includes Romilly Allen's twelve elementary knots, from the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquarians of Scotland, first published in 1883, unknown save by a handful of paleographers since - an invaluable source.

The author gives the knots according to the proper, scribal method, "the Secret of the Scribes", which until this book has never been published in any depth before. Figure 113 gives an analysis from a border from the South Cross, Clonmacnoise, in Ireland. The text ends with the eight cord border from the Book of Durrow. Untypically, he omitted to give the exact folio for this design. The appendix gives a selection of sixty variations of the triangular knot, of which several are from traditional sources, but most are original designs. He does not give a bibliography, unlike most of his other books on Celtic art, but this hardly matters as the sources are given in the captions to each figure, where they apply, and this book is primarily an original source book in itself. This book is a rarity in that it is written in the form of a modern illuminated manuscript, calligraphed with a quill throughout, and decorated with beautiful ornamental initial letters. The calligraphy is not as good as that of his later books - the first six are calligraphed, and the quality of the script improves throughout. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant, competent Foundational script, with captions in a Gothicized Irish hand, and as such is a good source book for calligraphers as well as those interested in Celtic Knotwork.

Of all Meehan's books published in the past ten years - over a dozen similar volumes, of which this was only the second - this one remains one of the most popular. It was written as a companion to the first volume, which covers all the other forms of Celtic Design in equal depth and with comparable style, except knotwork, which obviously required a volume all to itself, namely, "Celtic Design: Knotwork, the Secret Method of the Scribes".

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for those interested in Celtic Designs., March 30, 2001

By 

Aquaria.Info "Aquaria.Info - Aquarium Fish On... (Aquaria.Info) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Celtic Design: Knotwork (Paperback)

This is an excellent book for those looking to create celtic designs.

This book teaches the three grids, king Solomon's knot, the foundation knot, and the Josephine knot. It goes into extending knots, building a panel, the analysis of plaitwork, the division of a square, spiral knots, and spiral knot borders.

The book is best used when accompianied by Aidan's other Celtic Design books. I have 7 of the books in this series and love them all!

All in all this is a great book for someone looking to create celtic designs.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "What a tangled web we weave", November 15, 2002

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Celtic Design: Knotwork (Paperback)

Several years ago I was having a guitar made and wanted to use a Celtic theme for some of the inlay work. As usual, I discovered that this was a more complicated task than I had originally thought. Not all places on a guitar are equal, and trying to find a set of ideas that would work as a whole is almost as challenging as designing an illuminated manuscript page.

I my frantic search through the catalogs for books that provided more than pretty pictures, I stumbled across several volumes by Aidan Meehan, including this one on knotwork. Meehan's focus is as much on design as it is on imitation, which was perfect for what I was trying to do. The book is done in clean legible calligraphy with countless illustrations of both technique and results, making it a bit of an artwork itself.

Whether 'secret' or not, Meehan presents knots, their creation, and use in fine and methodical detail. He works through some important knots, then turns to panel design, plaitwork and spiral knots. Probably much more than I will ever need, but making this a valuable resource for the artist and the historian.