Celtic Design : Illuminated Letters

The step-by-step instructions provide an invaluable resource for artists, designers, and craftspeople—a unique blend of history, anecdote, and practical instruction that recreates the schooling of the Celtic illuminator.

The Celtic scribes of the sixth to ninth centuries, whose intelligence and artistry we admire today in their sacred manuscripts, worked from instructions and master-copies, handed down from generation to generation. In this authoritative reference manual, the sources and symbolism of their ornament are made accessible. From elucidation of the pages of the Cathach of St. Columba to the Celtic animal alphabet, this unique blend of history, anecdote and practical instruction recreates the schooling of the Celtic illuminator.

Aidan Meehan has been researching and practicing Celtic knot design since discovering the triple-grid method of Celtic knot design in 1974. He is the author of the eight-volume Celtic Design series and many other books on the subject.