Celtic Information

We have included some tit-bits of information here, regarding the Celts and the Irish.  More is to come:

Celtic Art has become very popular - especially in the design of jewellery.  The recurring symbols, circles and knots that appear in all Celtic art has a beginning - all of the symbols have meaning but the exact meaning has been lost over the many years.  Celtic jewelry involves symbolic themes of love, friendship, loyalty, eternity and the crossing of spiritual and physical lives. Read below to find out about some of traditions, legends and symbols why they appear in contemporary designed Irish and Celtic jewelry today.

Have you ever wondered about the recurring symbols, circles and knots that appear in all of Celtic Jewelry?   Here are just a few answers below:

The Celtic Knot 

Historical sources show that the Celtic Knot dates back as far as the 5th Century. The interlaced and unbroken lines have no beginning and no end and it is believed that it symbolizes man's spiritual growth, eternal life and never ending love. The interlacing of the different strands in the Celtic knot are said to represent our lives crossing with others. Although there are different shapes of knots which have been interpreted into different meanings, but the Irish maintain that Irish knots are all lovers knots.  The intricate design of the never ending knot has been used extensively to decorate the famous Book of Kells, around 800 AD.

The Book of Kells, c800AD

The Book of Kells was believed to be the masterpiece of the era. At this time manuscript painting was considered a renowned art and monks illuminated and decorated their scriptual books in several ways. Within the text, initial letters were enlarged and adorned sometimes they contained figures and scenes and shaped into animal like (zoomorphic) figures and imaginary beings. 

It contains an illuminated and graphic depiction of the four gospels, written on vellum and at this present time contains 680 pages. Just two of the pages are without ornament, while about thirty pages have been lost. Experts are really uncertain where the Book of Kells first began, but we know it would have taken a long period of time to produce and is thought to have been written in a monastery on the Isle of Iona and later, during the Viking raids of the 9th century, it was moved for its protection to Kells Monastery, County Meath, Ireland. The manuscript was given to Trinity College, Dublin in the 17th century and since 1953 has been restored, bound in four volumes and is available for public display.

Legends of the ancient Celts were passed down orally, and it may have been from this source that later medieval monks gathered tales and retold ancient myths and legends with a Christian twist. To a large extent, the great reputation and popularity with which Celtic jewelry and design have today is based on the exceptional quality of the images found in the ancient Book of Kells.

And now an Irish blesssing:

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields, and
Until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of His hand
May you have warm words on a cold evening
A full moon on a dark night
and road downhill all the way to your door

May your glass be ever full
May the roof over your head be always strong
And may you be in heaven -
Half an hour before the devil knows your dead
As you slide down the banisters of life
May the splinters never point the wrong way
May St.Patrick guard you wherever you go
and guide you in whatever you do
and may his loving protection be a blessing to you always

May the Irish hills caress you
May her lakes and rivers bless you
May the luck of the Irish enfold you
May the blessings of St. Patrick behold you
May you have love that never ends
Lots of money and lots of friends
Health be yours, whatever you do
and may God send blessings to you
May your pockets be heavy and heart be light
May good luck pursue you each morning and night!

Author (unknown)