The Middle Ages - Celtic/Christian EuropeAfter the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe saw the years of the 'Dark Ages' or 'Early Medieval' during this time supposedly the population halved due to the plagues that occurred, Europe turned to the Christian Church and Christianity began to spread Northwards across Europe from Rome.

Insular art which comes from the Latin word 'Insula' meaning Island refers to the art produced during the time that Great Britain and Ireland had similar cultures, most of the art produced during this time was influenced by Celtic Christianity which was the merge of both Anglo Saxon (English) and Celtic styles.

The Book Of Kell's

The book of Kell's is one of the most popular masterpieces of insular art. It is an illuminated manuscript that was created in Medieval Britain it contains the four gospels of the new testament in Latin.It is a religious gospel influenced by Christianity with artwork such as humans and animals yet it is made up of Celtic style patterns and knots and therefore the two styles are merged.




                                                         Examples of Celtic Knots 

                                                                     

 The image (right, bello) is taken from the book of kells and it is the Chi Rho monogram. The artwork has bold lines and the main feature is the figure in the centre due to the fact that it is the boldest because of its size and the bright purple outline and it is illuminated with yellow in the middle all the illustrations in surrounding the figure are also illuminated with yellow which makes the figure stand out and there are Celtic patterns throughout the whole picture and lots of Celtic knots.
The combination of this illuminated figure and the Celtic knots shows the relationship between the Celtic Culture and Christianity and it is an example of insular art.

The image (right) is from the opening to the gospel of John in the Book of Kell's it is a brightly illuminated manuscript with vibrant colours that make up the detailed patterns.
This piece of art is made up of mainly red, lilac, purple and yellow which are the most common colours and most dominant throughout the book of kells, these vivid colours compliment each other in making the manuscript appear illuminated. 
The Celtic influence is obvious in this piece of art work as Celtic knots make up the majority of the image; filling almost every shape and gap.
With the illustrations and Celtic patterns and knots the merge of the two styles can be identified clearly although they work well together.