The
Celts who were left ended up in Wales, Scotland, and across the
Channel in Brittany. During the seventh century the Saxons tried
to keep going north. Up there they found a mixed bag of Picts
- who'd been in Britain longer than the Celts - Britons, raiders
from over in Ireland, and Scandinavians. The Saxons came up from
the south and the fact is that no one knows exactly what happened.
For
an entire generation, all written records just... stopped. And
at the end of that time things had settled down. The Picts and
Britons and the Gaels from Ireland had become more or less one
people, who turned out to be the Scots. The Saxons and the Scandinavians
had become more or less one people, who turned out to be the English.
Right along the Scottish border things were a bit more mixed up.
But they weren't all killing each other any more.
And
something wonderful finally happened. When you get that many different
kinds of people mixing together you see a lot of traditions mingling
and brewing up something new. So at the end of this truly awful
period of history we see the Germanic and Pictish and Celtic traditions
combining, and all of a sudden there's new music, new art, and
new poetry. The three-sided frame harp came out of this mess.
And so did what we call Celtic knotwork.
That's
why, way up above the history, we said that it's not uniquely,
or originally, Celtic. This is a style of art that a lot of people
paid a high price to create. And once they had, it appeared on
everything they did, from stone monuments to jewelry and metalwork
to some of the most beautiful books - handmade, illuminated manuscripts
- that anyone has ever penned.
And
it's endured. The Saga Shirts designs draw on that tradition but
it's never stopped changing with the times. In fact these designs
owe a lot to the Celtic Revival from the early twentieth century
- a blend of Celtic art, Art Nouveau, and the Arts and Crafts
style. A hundred years later and we've got it on Biohazard symbols,
pirate flags, and who knows what, next. We're looking forward
to finding out.
At Celtic Art & Retro-Futuristic Design you can find Celtic art posters, archival art prints, greeting cards and calendars decorated with intricate full color Celtic knotwork designs.
For
an entire generation, all written records just... stopped. And
at the end of that time things had settled down. The Picts and
Britons and the Gaels from Ireland had become more or less one
people, who turned out to be the Scots. The Saxons and the Scandinavians
had become more or less one people, who turned out to be the English.
Right along the Scottish border things were a bit more mixed up.
But they weren't all killing each other any more.
And
it's endured. The Saga Shirts designs draw on that tradition but
it's never stopped changing with the times. In fact these designs
owe a lot to the Celtic Revival from the early twentieth century
- a blend of Celtic art, Art Nouveau, and the Arts and Crafts
style. A hundred years later and we've got it on Biohazard symbols,
pirate flags, and who knows what, next. We're looking forward
to finding out.
