Lacertine

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A detail of lacertine decorations from folio 124r in the Book of Kells KellsFol124rTuncCrucixerant detail.png
A detail of lacertine decorations from folio 124r in the Book of Kells

Lacertines, most commonly found in Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Insular art, are interlaces created by zoomorphic forms. [1] [2] [3] While the term "lacertine" itself means "lizard-like," [4] its use to describe interlace is a 19th-century neologism and not limited to interlace of reptilian forms. [2] [5] In addition to lizards, [6] lacertine decoration often features animals such as birds, lions, and dogs. [7] [8]

Although examples of lacertine have been found in stone sculpture and architecture, [9] [10] [11] such as in a fragment from the Church of St. Mary of the Rock, [12] [13] it is more comment to find lacertines in illuminated manuscripts. [14] Notable examples of lacertine decoration can be found in the Book of Kells, Book of Durrow, the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Lichfield or St. Chad Gospels, and the Mac Durnan Gospels. [3] [14] [15]

References

  1. ↑ Karkov, Catherine E. (2011). The art of Anglo-Saxon England. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press. p. 5. ISBN   978-1-84383-628-5. OCLC   663952876.
  2. 1 2 Clarke, Catherine A. M. (2012). Writing Power in Anglo-Saxon England: Texts, Hierarchies, Economies. Vol. 17. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN   978-1-84384-319-1. JSTOR   10.7722/j.ctt81qz9.
  3. 1 2 Miner, Dorothy (1951). "The Book of Kells". Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisitions. 8 (4): 3–8. ISSN   0090-0095. JSTOR   29780636.
  4. ↑ "lacertine, adj. and n.". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. March 2017.
  5. ↑ Kessler, Herbert L.; Suckale, Robert (2020). "The Montalcino Bible's Steep Mountain of Mysteries" . Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome. 65: 307–371. doi:10.2307/27031301. ISSN   0065-6801. JSTOR   27031301.
  6. ↑ Davenport, Cyril (1912). "Illuminated Manuscripts". Journal of the Royal Society of Arts. 60 (3087): 245–251. ISSN   0035-9114. JSTOR   41339989.
  7. ↑ Gilbert, John, T. (1879). Sullivan, Edward (ed.). National Manuscripts of Ireland: Account of Facsimiles of National Manuscripts of Ireland, from the Earliest Extant Specimens to A.D. 1719 (2nd ed.). London: H.M. Stationery Office.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ Leyerle, John (1967). "The Interlace Structure of Beowulf" . University of Toronto Quarterly. 37 (1): 1–17. doi:10.3138/utq.37.1.1. ISSN   1712-5278. S2CID   162194120.
  9. ↑ Allen, J. Romilly (John Romilly); Anderson, Joseph; Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1903). The early Christian monuments of Scotland. Getty Research Institute. Edinburgh, Printed by Neill & co., limited.
  10. ↑ Way, Albert (1869). "Notices of Certain Bronze Relics, of a Peculiar Type Assigned to the Late Celtic Period". Archaeological Journal. 26 (1): 52–83. doi:10.1080/00665983.1869.10851446. ISSN   0066-5983.
  11. ↑ Megrew, Alden F. (1968). "A Church of Berry: The Abbey of St. Martin at Plaimpied" . Gesta. 7: 29–35. doi:10.2307/766606. ISSN   0016-920X. JSTOR   766606. S2CID   193434059.
  12. ↑ Kenworthy, J. (1981). "A further fragment of early Christian sculpture from St Mary of the Rock, St Andrews, Fife". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 110: 356–363. doi:10.9750/PSAS.110.356.363. ISSN   2056-743X.
  13. ↑ Westwood, J. O. (1853). "On the Distinctive Character of the Various Styles of Ornamentation Employed by the Early British, Anglo-Saxon and Irish Artists". Archaeological Journal. 10 (1): 275–301. doi:10.1080/00665983.1853.10850906. ISSN   0066-5983.
  14. 1 2 Westwood, John Obadiah; Tymms, William Robert (1868). Fac-similes of the miniatures & ornaments of Anglo-Saxon & Irish manuscripts. London: B. Quartich.
  15. ↑ Bain, George (1973). The methods of construction of Celtic art. New York: Dover Publications. p. 101. ISBN   0-486-22923-8. OCLC   695803.


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