The Roman Origins of Celtic Christian Art

The repertoire of ornamental devices employed in Celtic Christian art of the fifth to seventh centuries AD is reviewed, and it is argued that these motifs were in use in Roman Britain into the fourth century. This tradition survived in ornamental metalwork into the fifth century in a number of areas within Britannia, particularly in the Bristol Channel region and the South- West, during the period of the Anglo- Saxon settlements, and gave rise to the style of ornament usually termed ` Christian Celtic' that was developed in Britain and more particularly Ireland from the seventh century onwards. It was possibly an ornamental style that was equated with the Roman past and with status, rather than bearing any connotations of native tradition among its users.