The seven centuries of the Anglo-Saxon period in England, roughly AD 400-1100, were a time of extraordinary and profound transformation in almost every aspect of its culture, culminating in a dramatic shift from a barbarian society to a recognizably medieval civilization. This book traces the changing nature of that art, the different roles it played in Anglo-Saxon culture, and the various ways it both reflected and influenced the changing context in which it was created.

An interdisciplinary collection of essays examining Irish and Anglo-Saxon art in the early medieval period.

Providing a fresh appraisal of the art of Anglo-Saxon England, this text looks at its influence upon the creation of an identity as a nation.

Anglo-Saxon Art to A.D. 900 (1972) was the first account to be written of art in England in the period of Celtic, Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon styles. Famous illuminated manuscripts, the best of the sculptured stone crosses, and many splendid pieces early metalwork are examined in this extensively-illustrated survey.

Much of early medieval Celtic and Anglo-Saxon art is based on the display of motifs – key, interlacing, spiral and zoomorphic – in well-defined panels in simple and complex arrays. A study of the arrangement of the panels and the fine detail of the motifs indicates that the artists relied on geometric methods and principles first used by Egyptians and Greeks. This book reflects Derek Hull’s life-long interest in interpreting the exciting and exotic patterns revealed by scientific studies using light and electron microscopes. His interest in Celtic and Anglo-Saxon art started with a casual observation of an interlacing pattern on an early medieval stone cross set in a churchyard. There followed many years of exploration of art in metal, stone and vellum from all parts of the British Isles and Ireland, resulting in some fascinating discoveries. Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Art reveals new and intriguing facets of these works that add to our appreciation of the beauty of the art and the skills of the artists. "This is a book for lovers of Celtic art, design and calligraphy, and will both delight and captivate... A must-have for both the cognoscenti and enthusiasts of Celtic religious art."—Cambria