The Unit
The art history component of this unit provides opportunities for students to gain in-depth knowledge of how a work of art and literature, specifically The Book of Kells, influences our everyday lives today. Students will have the opportunity to view slides of illuminated miniatures from the Book of Kells with slides of modern day tattoo art for discussion about how the two art forms are similar and different.
Although I am using the Book of Kells as the main inspiration in this unit, there is a wealth of iconography and symbolism in the Celtic culture that can also be used to support the theme of this unit. Other medieval illuminated manuscripts in the Insular art style include the Book of Durrow and the Book of Lindisfarne. The artifacts from Sutton Hoo, Celtic knot work, spiral designs, and jewelry are also excellent examples of how tattoo art resembles Celtic images.
Introduction to Celtic Tattoos
Before looking at the Book of Kells and tattoo art, I will discuss the guidelines and procedures on how classroom discussion will be conducted. It is important to establish at the beginning of the unit the way the class discussion will be conducted. Such topics as: waiting your turn, making thoughtful responses to another person’s comments, and using a respectful tone of voice are all areas that I would have to reinforce at my school. An outline of how to conduct a whole classroom critique can be found in the strategies section of this unit.
When beginning this unit, I would suggest starting with reviewing the history of tattoo art. Although my students think that they know a lot about tattoos, I want to show them tattoos that have a Celtic cultural influence. Later in the unit, this will be purposeful especially when students view the illuminated manuscript pages from the Book of Kells. Students will be expected to make connections between the two genres of art so a review of this material will be necessary to have engaging and meaningful conversations. There are many resources available on the history of tattoos. I have composed a short video and PowerPoint that tells how far back in history tattoo art can be traced. I also recommend an excellent book on this topic entitled, The History of Tattooing by Wilfred Dyson Hambly6. These resources can be found in the teacher resource area of this unit. I also suggest using the visuals below. The tattoos were created by tattoo artist Pat Fish. Her traditional Celtic tattoo art can be found on her website at www.luckyfish.com.7
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Book of Kells
After viewing images of Celtic tattoos, I will then introduce to my students the illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kells (Trinity College Dublin MS 58). It would take too many classes in the semester that I see my students to unfold all the contents of this artifact, so I intend to break this information down into what I believe would be the facts that my students will need for contributing to class discussion and for the creation of their art work. I also think that limiting the historical information to a summary of the book’s historical background and the visual elements will allow time for the art critiques and the interpretation of the images and texts found in the book, which is the central theme for this unit.
In my opinion, the most important piece of information when introducing the Book of Kells is to explain to the class the purpose of the book. The fact that the book was created as a sacred work of art instead of a book for educational purposes is an important concept to grasp before moving forward trying to interpret the meaning of images, letters, and colors. I intend to make connections to the sacred aspect of the artifact to the religious nature of the tattoos that many of have.
A great starting point would be to introduce the “who, what, where, when and how” of the book. I want to impress upon my students the importance of this artifact by exclaiming its historical value as one of the greatest treasures of medieval Europe and the pride of Ireland. It is an illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John of the New Testament in Latin.8 The book was created by Columban monks sometime between the 6th and 8th centuries and was named after a town in County Meath in Ireland. However, many people thought that it should be referred as the Book of Iona because many believed that monks from that Scottish island were the original artists.
The manuscript contains 340 pages (or folios) that are 13 inches wide by 10 inches high made from calfskin vellum. I know that my students will find it interesting that sixty pages are missing most likely because it was stolen from the monastery in Kells around 1006 only to be found “two months and twenty days later under sod.” 9 Stories such as this one make what we are discussing relatable and very memorable. Also, another interesting fact that the class could paint a visual picture in their head is that it is said to have taken the skins of 185 calves to make the book.
For an art class, discussing the decorative elements and Christian symbolism contained in the book is vital. To assist in this task, I have included at the end of this unit a worksheet that has many of the symbols pulled out of the book and would serve as a great visual resource to be placed on the art room tables for the students to view while working.
Explaining who the artists were in creating this book, as well as spending time discussing monks and monasteries might be necessary. Also, from images that the monks created in the artifact it would be important to define Christian symbols as Icons. Icons were early Christian art forms and they had a sacred significance. “The meanings, origins and ancient traditions surrounding early Christian art symbols date back to early times when the majority of ordinary people were not able to read or write and printing was unknown.”10 People were able to “read” the iconic image and understand the religious message. The symbol of the cross is a perfect example of this, but there are other iconic symbols that are not so intuitive and would need to be explained to students. Here are a few examples of symbols and their definition from the Book of Kells: The four Gospels were symbolized by these images: Matthew was symbolized by a male angel, Mark a lion, Luke an ox, and an eagle symbolizes John.11
The Book of Kells is full of animal symbols. The meaning of some of the animals can be interpreted because they trace back to the early Christian church. Early Christian history tells us that the butterfly represents the resurrection while the chrysalis or cocoon resembles the tomb where Jesus was placed after his crucifixion. Goats represents demonic wicked men, horses are a symbol of nobility, the lamb represents Christ, a dove is symbolized as the Holy Spirit, and the Pelican denotes sacrifice of Jesus.12 The PowerPoint entitled, “Symbolism in the Book of Kells” will be an excellent tool to convey this information. A link to my PowerPoint and handouts are in the teacher resource section.
Not only did animals in the book convey messages, there was also meaning in the letters and symbols. One symbol that my students will make a connection with is the Christian symbol of a fish. Even today, my students may have noticed “fish” stickers on cars owned by Christians. The Christian fish symbol is called Ichthus. This can inspire a rich conversation about why a fish is a symbol for being a Christian. The answer is very interesting. “The initials of the word Ichthus are also used as a Christian acronym of the following Greek words:
I=Jesus
Ch=Christ
Th=Theou (God’s)
U=Uios (Son)
S=Soter (Savior)
Using the Ichthus acronym IChThUS “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior”.13
Looking back at the earlier tattoos in figure 1, the tattoo artist Pat Fish was directly inspired by image Folio 29r from the Book of Kells. She calls this work, “The Celtic dog of nobility, grace and Celtic splendor.”5 Celtic hounds were dogs that were well respected by both warriors and nobility. They were given as gifts to men of honor to show their loyalty and courage. Hounds were also looked upon as guardian animals of “roads and crossways and are believed to protect and guide lost souls in the Otherworld”. In Celtic culture, it was an honor to be called a “hound.” Examples of this can be in famous Celtic heroes who were named “Hound of Culann,” “Hound of Ulster,” and “Hounds of Annwn,” just to name a few.14
The image in figure 2 is of a Celtic cross. In the Christian faith, the cross is a sacred symbol that denotes Christ’s death for the forgiveness of sins. However, when this image is intertwined into the art and symbolism in medieval illuminations, it transposes beyond just that message and it also becomes a message of honor, loyalty and courage. 15
A tattoo of a cross is popular with both men and women and can represent a plethora of different meanings. My students have taught me a great deal about the meaning of a cross in tattoos. I have learned that a cross with a heart represents love and faith, but it can also represent someone that they loved but passed away. A small, simple t-shape cross on the back of neck accounts for a deep Christian faith, while a tribal cross on a traditional tattoo design represents strength, dedication, and courage. The iron cross is rooted in German history, and when used in today’s modern tattoos it is a symbol of bravery.
The most popular cross design in today’s tattoo art is by far the Celtic cross, and that is why this curriculum unit is so culturally relevant to my students. Not only does the Celtic cross represent Christian faith, but this design also poses a connection between the physical world with the spiritual world. The knots found in the Celtic cross is what symbolically connects both worlds. There are so many variations of Celtic cross designs already created, but I believe that having my students create their version of a cross for a tattoo drawing would be a vibrant art and history activity.
Figure 3 is of a Celtic war horse. The horse is a common image in medieval art. I would spend time discussing this with my students so that they can analyze and predict why this is so. Questions such as, what do you think the horse represents? What was the purpose of the horse in this society? Is it a sacred symbol? Leading questions may draw the student to surmise that the horse is in the position of power, strength and nobility. We may never really know all the real meanings of all the symbols in the artifact, but it will be a great point for discussion in the classroom.
In addition to thinking about the history and symbols in this book, it is also important to introduce calligraphy and illuminated letters to the students. The first letter of texts is enlarged and decorated. This can be seen in the example, figure 4. Pages that often had an embedded cross in them and full designs with lavish illustrations started the four gospels and are called “carpet pages” as you can see below in figure 5. Medieval manuscripts often had elaborately decorated borders filled with pictures and repeated patterns. When looking at the borders in this manuscript, students will see a lot of intricate Celtic knot designs. I plan to view these beautiful borders with my students and open a discussion about how the images in the borders directly reflect the tattoo bands that are designed for the ankle, wrist or upper arms.
Close-up of an Illumination
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Example of a Carpet Page
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Along with the beautifully decorative lettering found in the manuscript, there is also a wide variety of colors including yellow, red, green, purple, blue, brown, black and white. The yellow used in the book is unique because it is more of a yellow ochre than a shade of yellow. Red was used the most throughout the book. The pigments were created from elderberries, blueberries, Brazil wood, and from various lichens. Brown was made from iron gall ink, black was produced from soot and sometimes burned bones. There are three shades of indigo found in the book, and they were made from mixtures that include Lapis Lazuli which can only be found in Afghanistan or Persia. This fact tells us that the monks put great effort into gathering the art supplies needed for making this illuminated manuscript.16
There are hundreds of pages in the Book of Kells, so I intend to focus on only a few pages, beginning first with the most popular page. The “Chi Rho” page which are the letters of the word Christ “The Word Made Flesh” in ancient Greek as seen in image C (BBC). On this page, students can look for images such as angels, butterfly, moths, and cats feeding their kittens. The text reads in Greek: "XPI autem generatio...." and is translated to “Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as his mother, Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost” (employees.oneonta.edu).17
The Chi Rho page is significant because it is one of their earliest cruciform symbols used by Christians. I remember seeing this image dress the pulpit of the protestant church that I attended when I was a child. I also have memories of it on our hymnals and prayer books. Possibly my students may have been exposed to this popular Christian iconic image. “It is formed by superimposing the first two letters of the word “Christ” in Greek, chi = ch and rho = r.”18
Students may comment that though it is not technically a cross, the Chi Rho does resemble the crucifixion of Jesus as seen in figure 6.
The cross is a favorite image found in today’s tattoos. Because of its popularity, I will spend time discussing with my students the different ways in which the cross and the Chi-Rho represents Christ. Because we will be examining the power of symbolism and icons in this unit, I want my students to compare symbols similar to the Chi Rho such as the Staurogram and the IX monogram. Another symbol is the Chi Rho with a circle. It can be seen on the 4th-century sarcophagus of Domitilla in Rome. The use of the circle around the Chi-Rho in this symbol represents the victory of the resurrection of Christ over death. I believe that the point here is that symbols can take different forms and convey meaning. Symbols are a language of their own and can be read by people without words.
Other pages that I will use as examples are the Gospel of John and the carpet page, folio 32, image D, showing Christ enthroned. Another interesting page is Folio 183 entitled, “Erat autem hora tertia” translated, “now it was the third hour.” It would be important to review for the students the purpose of this sacred book and remind them that it is a text of the four Gospels. That is why the carpet pages of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are so elaborate. The page will show the class an excellent example of letter, text, and images together on a page and should evoke a great discussion.19
Then, finally, to express how the world perceives this artifact, I think it would be important to mention that the many people consider the book “one of the most beautiful, intricate and ornate documents in existence” (The Book of Kells by Laura King). Referring to the four steps to art criticism laid out in the strategy section of this unit, student can describe, analyze, interpret and then make a judgment on how beautiful they feel the illuminated pages of the Book of Kells are to them.
Chi Rho: the first two letters of “Christ” in Greek
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A portrait of St. John the Apostle
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