The Lismore Crozier is an Irish Insular-type crozier dated to between 1100 and 1113 AD. It consists of a wooden tubular staff lined with copper-alloy plates; embellished with silver, gold, niello and glass; and capped by a crook with a decorative openwork crest.[1] The inscriptions on the upper knope record that it was built by "Nechtain the craftsman" and commissioned by Niall mac Meic Aeducain, bishop of Lismore (d. 1113). This makes it the only extant insular crozier to be inscribed, and the only one whose date of origin can be closely approximated.[2] It was rediscovered in 1814, along with the 15th-century Book of Lismore, in a walled-up doorway in Lismore Castle, County Waterford, where it was probably hidden in the late Middle Ages during a period of either religious persecution or raids.
The crozier is 115cm high[5] and built from a wooden core, with added copper-alloy plates containing silver, gold, niello and glass. It is almost fully intact and in relatively good condition with little modern reworking.[1] Losses include gold foil panels decorated with interlacefiligree patterns from the sides of the crook and upper knops (the rounded metal projections on the staff); the gold was presumably stripped for sale sometime in the late medieval or early modern periods.[6][7]
The decoration and patterns across the object are influenced by Viking art, particularly the contemporary Urnes style, which characterised by slim and stylised animals interwoven with tight patterns. The art historian Máire de Paor described it as showing, like the Crozier of Dysert O'Dea, the "Irish-Urnes in its full development".[8]
Shaft, knops and ferrule
Its shaft is made from oak wood and contains three knops, the lower of which is cast into the ferrule (foot or base). This area is decorated with cast panels with zoomorphic figures, as well the heads and full figures of humans, the latter of which have been compared in style to the 7th- and 11th-century Bearnan Chulain shrine.[9] The upper knope contains holdings for insert panels, which are lost.[10]
Unusually for medieval croziers, the ferrule is fully intact and in place: the Dunloe and Clonmacnoise croziers are the only other surviving examples that have retained this element.[2] The Lisomore ferrule contains openwork patterns terminating with three legs.[2] It has a loose bronze ring around it, which rattles when the crozier is moved. According to art historian Griffin Murray, "there seems to be no other explanation for the presence of these rings except to produce this noise, which may point to the importance of sound in the use of crosiers in Christian rituals in early medieval Ireland".[11]
Crook and drop
The crook was cast as a single piece on a mostly hollow wooden core.[12] The crook is decorated on both sides with blue glass studs placed within gold collars that hold white, blue and red millefiori glass insets.[1][13][14] The missing panels probably contained gold filigree,[15] while the drop once held semi-precious stones fixed within gold collars.[14] The crest contains a procession of three open-jawed animals terminating in another animal head with blue eyes.[1][6] The front of the drop contains zoomorphic interlace panels, but is missing its original gold foil border.[12]
During refurbishment at the NMI in 1966, two small relics were found in the interior of the drop and crest's base, although they are probably secondary (i.e. added later). The reliquary inside the crest consists of a piece of wood, measuring 31mm in length, 16mm in width and is 6mm deep. The reliquary within the drop is slightly larger (width: 22mm, length: 18mm, depth: 15mm) and comprises a single sheet of copper-alloy folded into a box containing "tiny slivers of wood".[7] It is thin enough that it would have been slid in as an insert into the drop's side.[12] A piece of woven linen cloth measuring 40mm x 23mm was also found during the opening of the crook, and may been a brandeum, i.e. placed to represent the Holy shroud.[7]
Inscriptions and dating
Upper knop, with inscriptions. The Inisfallen Crozier is to the left
The crozier's two inscriptions are located on the crook and read "OR DON IAL MC MEICC AEDUCAIN LASAN[D]ERNAD I GRESA" ("Pray for Nial Mc Meicc Aeducain for whom this work was made"), and OR DO NECTAICERD DO RIGNE I GRESA" ("Pray for Nechtain, craftsman, who made this object").[16][17] recording the names of "Nechtain the craftsman" and the crozier's commissioner, Niall mac Meic Aeducain, a bishop of Lismore.[10][18] From this, art historians believed it was produced for the 1111 Synod of Ráth Breasail in County Tipperary, which confirmed Lismore as a diocese.[19] Art historians believe the crozier was constructed to enhance Lismore's chances of promotion.[10] Mac Meic Aeducain is known to have died in 1113, making this the latest possible date for the crozier's completion.[20][21]
Nechtain placed the inscriptions in a very narrow space and so had to use abbreviations, and in some instances omitted letters (for example "Niall" is spelled with only one "l", and "Lasandernad" is missing the central "d").[22] Based on style and technique, Nechtain is further associated with the early 12th-century Small's Reef sword guard, now in the National Museum of Wales; the Cross of Cloyne, now at the NMI; and a drinking-horn terminal, now in County Carlow.[23]
Provenance
Detail of one of the knopes
The Lismore Crozier, packed in a wooden box, was re-discovered in 1814 by workmen reconstructing Lismore Castle. It was found in a concealed doorway, alongside the 15th-century Book of Lismore.[24] The castle was built by King John of England in 1185 on the site of the former Lismore Abbey where the Bishops of Lismore resided; the crozier would have been produced in the abbey's scriptorium.[25]
It is believed that the crozier was hidden during the late medieval period, likely during a period of religious persecution, and forgotten about during a transfer of ownership of the castle. A number of other significant Irish insular period objects were found in this way: the Stowe Missal (Tipperary) was also found in a walled-up door, an early medieval altar plate was discovered in a gable at the nunnery of St. Catherine d'Conyl in County Limerick, while the Sheephouse hoard had been hidden in a quarry near Mellifont Abbey, County Louth.[26]
Johnson, Ruth. "Irish Crucifixion Plaques: Viking Age or Romanesque?". Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, volume 128, 1998. JSTOR25549845
Moss, Rachel. Medieval c. 400—c. 1600: Art and Architecture of Ireland. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014. ISBN978-0-3001-7919-4
Ó Floinn, Raghnal. "The Clonmacnoise crozier". In: Ryan, Michael (ed.), Treasures of Ireland: Irish art 3000 B.C. – 1500 A.D., 165–6". Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1983. ISBN978-0-9017-1447-3
De Paor, Máire (published as Máire MacDermott). "The Crosiers of St. Dympna and St. Mel and Tenth-Century Irish Metal-Work". Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature, volume 58, 1956. JSTOR25505072
Mitchell, Perette. "The Inscriptions on Pre-Norman Irish Reliquaries". Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature, volume 96C, no. 1, 1996. JSTOR25516156
Murray, Griffin. "Insular-type crosiers: their construction and characteristics". Making and Meaning in Insular Art: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Insular Art, 2007
Murray, Griffin. "The ‘hidden power’ of the Irish crosier". Archaeology Ireland, volume 17, issue 4, 2004
O'Neill, Timothy. The Irish Hand: Scribes and Their Manuscripts From the Earliest Times. Cork: Cork University Press, 2014. ISBN978-1-7820-5092-6
Stokes, Margaret. Early Christian Art in Ireland, Part 1. London: Chapman and Hall, 1887
The Stowe Missal, which is, strictly speaking, a sacramentary rather than a missal, is a small Irish illuminated manuscript written mainly in Latin with some Old Irish in the late eighth or early ninth century, probably after 792. In the mid-11th century, it was annotated and some pages rewritten at Lorrha Monastery in County Tipperary, Ireland. Between 1026 and 1033 the manuscript was encased within a protective cumdach, which was refurbished and embellished a number of times in the late medieval period, in particular before 1381, the year of death of Pilib O'Ceinneidigh, Lord of Ormond, who then had possession of the shrine.
Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from insula, the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style different from that of the rest of Europe. Art historians usually group Insular art as part of the Migration Period art movement as well as Early Medieval Western art, and it is the combination of these two traditions that gives the style its special character.
The Cross of Cong is an early 12th-century Irish Christian ornamented cusped processional cross, which was, as an inscription says, made for Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht and High King of Ireland to donate to the Cathedral church of the period that was located at Tuam, County Galway, Ireland. The cross was subsequently moved to Cong Abbey at Cong, County Mayo, from which it takes its name.
The National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology is a branch of the National Museum of Ireland located on Kildare Street in Dublin, Ireland, that specialises in Irish and other antiquities dating from the Stone Age to the Late Middle Ages.
The Kells crozier or British Museum Crozier is an early medieval Irish Insular crozier. It is often known as the "Kells Crozier", indicating an associating with the Abbey of Kells, although no evidence of this exists, and most historians accept that it is of uncertain providence. The crozier is fully intact, although some of the ornamentation is in poor condition.
The Soiscél Molaisse is an Irish cumdach that originated from an 8th-century wooden core embellished in the 11th and 15th centuries with metal plates decorated in the Insular style. Until the late 18th century, the shrine held a now-lost companion text, presumed to be a small illuminated gospel book associated with Saint Laisrén mac Nad Froích, also known as Molaisse or "Mo Laisse". In the 6th century, Molaisse founded a church on Devenish Island in the southern part of Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, with which the cumdach is associated.
House-shaped shrine are early medieval portable metal reliquary formed in the shape of the roof of a rectangular building. They originate from both Ireland and Scotland and mostly date from the 8th or 9th centuries. Typical example consist of a wooden core covered with silver and copper alloy plates, and were built to hold relics of saints or martyrs from the early Church era; a number held corporeal remains when found in the modern period, presumably they were parts of the saint's body. Others, including the Breac Maodhóg, held manuscripts associated with the commemorated saint. Like many Insular shrines, they were heavily reworked and embellished in the centuries following their initial construction, often with metal adornments or figures influenced by Romanesque sculpture.
Saint Manchan's Shrine is a large 12th-century Irish house-shaped shrine dedicated to Manchán of Lemanaghan, now in Boher Roman Catholic Church, outside Ballycumber, County Offaly. Built to hold human remains, still intact and presumably of Manchán himself, the relic container consists of a wooden core made of yew, placed on four cast bronze feet, overlain by sliver plates containing gilt, cast copper alloy and bronze decorations, with large bosses.
The Shrine of Saint Lachtin's Arm is an early 10th century Irish arm-shrine type reliquary made of wood and metal shaped as an outstretched forearm and clenched fist. St. Lachtin's dates to between 1118 and 1121 and is associated with his church in the village of Stuake, Donoughmore, County Cork, but probably originates from Kilnamartyra, also in Cork. It consists of a yew-wood core lined with decorated bronze and silver plates. The wood at the hand is hollowed out to create a reliquary cavity which once held the arm bone of St. Lachtin, but is now empty. The circular cap at its base contains a large transparent gemstone and is inlayed with silver decorated with filigree.
An Insular crozier is a type of processional bishop's staff (crozier) produced in Ireland and Scotland between 800 and 1200. Such items can be distinguished from mainland European types by their curved and open crooks, and drop. By the end of the 12th century, production of Irish croziers had largely ended, but examples continued to be reworked and added to throughout the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Although many of the croziers are associated with 5th- and 6th-century saints, the objects were not made until long after the saints had died. A majority originate from around the 9th century, and were often used as embellishment between the 11th and 13th centuries.
The Clonmacnoise Crozier is a late-11th-century Insular crozier that would have been used as a ceremonial staff for bishops and mitred abbots. Its origins and medieval provenance are unknown. It was likely discovered in the late 18th or early 19th century in the monastery of Clonmacnoise in County Offaly, Ireland. The crozier has two main parts: a long shaft and a curved crook. Its style reflects elements of Viking art, especially the snake-like animals in figure-of-eight patterns running on the sides of the body of the crook, and the ribbon of dog-like animals in openwork that form the crest at its top. Apart from a shortening to the staff length and the loss of some inserted gems, it is largely intact and is one of the best-preserved surviving pieces of Insular metalwork.
Griffin Murray is an Irish archaeologist and art historian specialising in medieval Ireland and Insular art–especially metalwork–in the period between 400–1550 AD. His interests include identifying and contextualizing the social role of medieval craftsmen, Viking art and the relations between insular and Scandinavian craftsmen, and he is a leading expert on both house-shaped shrines and insular croziers.
The Prosperous Crozier is a late 9th-century or early 10-century Irish Insular type crozier that would have been used as a ceremonial staff for bishops and high-status abbots. Its origins and medieval provenance are unknown until it was found fully intact by turf cutters c. 1831 near Prosperous, County Kildare. It but did not receive attention from antiquarians until 1851, but is today identified as one of the earliest fully extant and thus perhaps the most historically important European crozier.
The Rinnegan Crucifixion Plaque is a late 7th or early 8th century Irish gilt-bronze crucifixion plaque sculpture found in the 19th century in the churchyard of St. John’s on the head of Lough Ree in Rinnegan County Westmeath, and near Athlone, County Roscommon. It is one of the earliest extant representations of the crucifixion in Irish art, and outside of illuminated manuscripts, a rare example of both representation and a narrative scene in early Irish Insular art.
The River Laune Crozier is a late 11th-century Insular crozier, now at the Archaeology branch of the National Museum of Ireland. The object would have been commissioned as a staff of office for a senior clergyman, most likely a bishop. It consists of a wooden core decorated with fitted bronze and silver metal plates. Although the metalwork is somewhat corroded in parts, it is fully intact and considered one of the finest surviving Irish examples, alongside those found at Clonmacnoise and Lismore.
St. Mel's Crozier was a fully intact 10th or 11th century Insular crozier discovered in the mid-19th century on the grounds of an early medieval church in Ardagh, County Longford. It consisted of a wooden core lined with metal sheet tubing decorated with silver, coral and glass, as well as three knopes and a ring towards its base. The drop plate was formed by a separately formed wood block, and added to in the 12th century with a figure of a cleric or bishop wearing a mitre and holding a staff.
The term Crucifixion plaque refers to small early medieval sculptures with a central panel of the still alive but crucified Jesus surrounded by four smaller ancillary panels, consisting of Stephaton and Longinus in the lower quadrants, and two hovering attendant angels in the quadrants above his arms. Notable examples are found in classical Roman and 8th to mid-12th century Irish Insular art.
St. Columba's Crozer is fragment of an 8th or 9th century Irish Insular crozier fragment. It consists of a wooden core covered by sheet bronze tubes decorated with a bronze knope lined with silver and gilt. The wooden shaft measures four-feet and is elaborately decorated but incomplete: it was found broken in two and both its foot and crook are missing.
The Corp Naomh is an Irish bell shrine made in the 9th or 10th century to enclose a now-lost hand-bell, which probably dated to c. 600 to 900 AD and belonged to an early Irish saint. The shrine was rediscovered sometime before 1682 at Tristernagh Abbey, near Templecross, County Westmeath. The shrine is 23 cm (9.1 in) high and 12 cm (4.7 in) wide. It was heavily refurbished and added to during a second phase of embellishment in the 15th century, and now consists of cast and sheet bronze plates mounted on a wooden core decorated with silver, niello and rock crystal. It is severely damaged with extensive losses and wear across almost all of its parts, and when discovered a block of wood had been substituted for the bell itself. The remaining elements are considered of high historical and artistic value by archeologists and art historians.
The Shrine of St Patrick's Tooth is a medieval reliquary traditionally believed to contain a tooth belonging to Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, who lived in the 5th century. The shrine comprises a wooden case lined with bronze and decorated with gold, silver and amber fittings, and was built in two phases. Its basic structure and the central ringed crosses on either side are 12th century, while the purse-shaped form and most of the metal work, including the saints, were added in the 1370s when the object was substantially refurbished.
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