The Clonmacnoise Crozier is a late-11th-century
Insular crozier
An Insular crozier is a type of processional bishop's staff (crozier) produced in Ireland and Scotland between and 1200. Such items can be distinguished from mainland European types by their curved and open crooks, and drop (that is, the hollo ...
that would have been used as a ceremonial staff for
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
s and mitred
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...
s. Its origins and medieval
provenance
Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...
are unknown. It was likely discovered in the late 18th or early 19th century in the monastery of
Clonmacnoise
Clonmacnoise ( Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th cen ...
in
County Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland ...
, Ireland. The crozier has two main parts: a long
shaft
Shaft may refer to:
Rotating machine elements
* Shaft (mechanical engineering), a rotating machine element used to transmit power
* Line shaft, a power transmission system
* Drive shaft, a shaft for transferring torque
* Axle, a shaft around whi ...
and a curved
crook. Its style reflects elements of
Viking art, especially the snake-like animals in
figure-of-eight patterns running on the sides of the body of the crook, and the ribbon of dog-like animals in
openwork
Openwork or open-work is a term in art history, architecture and related fields for any technique that produces decoration by creating holes, piercings, or gaps that go right through a solid material such as metal, wood, stone, pottery, cloth, l ...
(ornamentation with openings or holes) that form the crest at its top. Apart from a shortening to the staff length and the loss of some inserted gems, it is largely intact and is one of the best-preserved surviving pieces of
Insular metalwork.
The crozier may have been associated with
Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise (died CE), and was perhaps commissioned by
Tigernach Ua Braín
Tigernach Ua Braín (died 1088) was abbot of Clonmacnoise and abbot of Roscommon. He was once held to be the author of the ''Annals of Tigernach'', hence its name; this view is no longer sustainable, though the nature and extent of his involvemen ...
(died 1088),
Abbot of Clonmacnoise, but little is known of its origin or rediscovery. It was built in two phases: the original 11th-century structure received an addition sometime around the early 15th century. The staff is made from a wooden core wrapped in
copper-alloy (
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...
) tubes, fixed in place by binding strips, and three barrel-shaped
knops (protruding decorative metal fittings). The hook was concurrently but separately constructed before it was placed on top of the staff. The crozier's decorative attachments include the crest and terminal (or "
drop") on the crook, and the knops and
ferrule
A ferrule (a corruption of Latin ' "small bracelet", under the influence of ' "iron") is any of a number of types of objects, generally used for fastening, joining, sealing, or reinforcement. They are often narrow circular rings made from me ...
on the staff; these components are made from silver,
niello, glass and
enamel. The hook is further embellished with round blue glass studs and white and red
millefiori
Millefiori () is a glasswork technique which produces distinctive decorative patterns on glassware. The term millefiori is a combination of the Italian words "mille" (thousand) and "fiori" (flowers). Apsley Pellatt in his book ''Curiosities of ...
(glassware) insets.
The
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
and collector
Henry Charles Sirr,
Lord Mayor of Dublin
The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...
, held the crozier until his collection was acquired by the
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...
on his death in 1841. It was transferred to
the archaeology branch of the
National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thr ...
on
Kildare Street
Kildare Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland.
Location
Kildare Street is close to the principal shopping area of Grafton Street and Dawson Street, to which it is joined by Molesworth Street. Trinity College lies at the north end of the ...
on the branch's foundation in 1890. The archaeologist and art historian
Griffin Murray
Griffin Murray is an Irish archaeologist and art historian specialising in medieval Ireland and Insular art–especially metalwork–in the period between 400–1550 AD. His interests include identifying and contextualizing the social role of med ...
has described the crozier as "one of
hefinest examples of early medieval metalwork from Ireland".
[Murray (2021), p.1]
Function
Like all
Insular crozier
An Insular crozier is a type of processional bishop's staff (crozier) produced in Ireland and Scotland between and 1200. Such items can be distinguished from mainland European types by their curved and open crooks, and drop (that is, the hollo ...
s produced between CE, the Clonmacnoise crozier is in the shape of an open
shepherd's crook
A shepherd's crook is a long and sturdy stick with a hook at one end, often with the point flared outwards, used by a shepherd to manage and sometimes catch sheep. In addition, the crook may aid in defending against attack by predators. Wh ...
, a symbol of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
as the
Good Shepherd
The Good Shepherd ( el, ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, ''poimḗn ho kalós'') is an image used in the pericope of , in which Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23 ...
leading his flock.
[Murray, Griffin.]
Colmcille 1500 Lecture Series: St Columba's crozier: power and devotion in medieval Ireland
. National Museum of Ireland, 10 December 2021. 4:50–6:07. Retrieved 29 December 2021 Psalm 23 mentions a "rod" and a "staff", and from the 3rd century onwards Christian art often shows the shepherd holding a staff, including the 4th-century Sarcophagus of the Three Shepherds in the
Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...
in Rome, and the 6th-century
Throne of Maximian at the
Archiepiscopal Museum, Ravenna
The Archiepiscopal Museum ( it, Museo Arcivescovile) is located in Ravenna, Italy, next to the Baptistry of Neon and behind the Duomo of Ravenna. In the museum relics of early Christian Ravenna are preserved, including fragments of mosaic from ...
. The distinctive shape of Irish croziers evokes the function of shepherds' crooks in restraining wayward sheep, and according to the art historian
Rachel Moss is similar to the crook-headed sticks used by
cherub
A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the ...
s to grasp
vine branches in
Bacchic iconography.
[Moss (2014), p. 310]
Croziers became symbols of status for bishops and abbots when
Pope Celestine I linked them to the
episcopal office in a 431 letter to bishops in
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
. By tradition the first Irish example (lost since 1538)
[Ronan (1943), pp. 121–129] was the "
Bachal Isu
The Bachal Isu (from Latin ''baculus Iesu'', "Staff of Jesus") was a Christian relic. According to legend, St. Patrick brought his celebrated golden Crozier, which was consistently identified with the Staff Of Jesus, along with his Book of Gosp ...
" (Staff of Jesus) given by
God to
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints b ...
.
[Murray (2004), p. 27][Lucas (1986), p. 9] According to the archaeologist
A. T. Lucas, the croziers thus acted as "the principal vehicle of
atrick'spower, a kind of spiritual electrode through which he conveyed the holy energy by which he wrought the innumerable miracles attributed to him".
[Lucas (1986), p. 29] In a 2004 survey, the Clonmacnoise Crozier was one of an estimated twenty (or fewer) largely intact Insular croziers
in addition to some sixty fragments.
[Murray (2004), p. 24][Murray (2007), p. 82]
Origin and dating
The Irish antiquarian
George Petrie ( 1866) was the first to write about the crozier's discovery, and based on his sources placed the find-spot as in the "Temple Ciarán", a now ruined
oratory on the grounds of
Clonmacnoise monastery,
County Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland ...
. The oratory is said to contain the tomb of the monastery's founder
Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise ( ), and he is recorded as having appeared centuries after his death "to smite a would-be raider with his crozier".
Petrie recorded that it was found alongside a hoard including a silver
chalice
A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning.
R ...
dated to 1647, a wine vessel and an arm-shrine or relic of Ciarán's hand, all now lost except for the chalice.
[Murray (2021), p. 10] The objects would have been deposited individually at the burial site during the centuries after Ciarán's death. However there is no surviving documentary evidence to support Petrie's account of the find spot. The claim seems based on accounts from 1684 and 1739 which mention that a relic of Ciarán's hand had been found there,
while the crozier's style and production technique closely resemble two other contemporary fragmentary croziers sometimes associated with Clonmacnoise; the very similar and so-called
Frazer Crozier-head (catalog number NMI 1899:28) and a crozier-
knop
KNOP-TV (channel 2) is a television station in North Platte, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside two low-power stations: CBS affiliate KNPL-LD (channel 10) and Class A Fox affiliate KIIT-CD ( ...
in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
[Murray (2021), p. 18] The antiquarian
William Frazer wrote in 1891 that the Clonmacnoise Crozier was probably revered as holding a
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
of Saint Ciarán.
[Frazer (1891), p. 210]
![984 Clonmacnoise, County Offaly](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/984_Clonmacnoise%2C_County_Offaly.jpg)
Clonmacnoise monastery was founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán
in the territory of
Uí Maine where an ancient major east–west land route and early medieval political division (the Slighe Mhor) met at the
River Shannon
The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland.
The Sha ...
. This strategic location helped it become a thriving centre of religion, learning, craftsmanship and trade by the 9th century, and many of the
high kings of Tara () and of Connacht were buried here.
[Moss (2014), p. 126] Clonmacnoise was largely abandoned by the end of the 13th century. Today the site includes nine ruined churches, a castle, two
round tower
A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...
s and many carved stone crosses.
[Moss (2014), pp. 126–127]
The crozier's late 11th-century dating is based in part on its stylistic resemblance to the
Bell Shrine of St. Cuileáin and the early 12th-century
Shrine of Saint Lachtin's Arm
The Shrine of Saint Lachtin's Arm (known in Irish as Lámh Lachtaín) is an early 10th century Irish arm-shrine type reliquary made of wood and metal shaped as an outstretched forearm and clenched fist.Moss (2014), p. 291 St. Lachtin's dates to ...
,
[Lucas (1974), p. 140] as well as the
Romanesque elements sometimes found on
Insular art
Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from ''insula'', the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style dif ...
of the period.
Lucas places it shortly after 1125.
[Lucas (1974), p. 119]
Some historians suggest that the crozier was produced in Dublin, based on the so-called "
Dublin school" Hiberno-
Ringerike patterns on the crook. It also has
zoomorphic designs similar those on the Dublin-manufactured
Prosperous Crozier
The Prosperous Crozier is a late 9th-century or early 10-century Irish Insular crozier, Insular type crozier that would have been used as a ceremonial staff for bishops and high-status abbots.Bourke; Hook (2017), p. 136 Its origins and medieval ...
,
[Murray (2021), p. 19] on the shrine of the
Cathach of Saint Columba, which also contains stylistic resemblances to Dublin metalwork, in particular with those found during excavations at
High Street, Dublin
High Street is a street in the medieval area of Dublin, Ireland.
Location
High Street runs parallel to the River Liffey, on high ground about 200 metres to its south, with Christ Church Cathedral on its east side, in the heart of Medieval Dub ...
, during 1962 and 1963.
None of these links are definitive nor widely accepted.
[Moss (2014), p. 314] A significant metal workshop is known to have been in operation at Clonmacnoise in the 11th century, and the crozier contains design elements and motifs unique to contemporary objects found on or near the monastery's grounds. These include the
confronted lions with intertwined legs on collar below the top-most knop, that are also present on a
high cross
A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradit ...
in Temple Ciarán.
Description
The crozier is long (about the length of a walking stick) and the
crook wide.
[Murray (2007), p. 83] It was probably once 20 cm longer and had four knops, as with most other intact examples; the losses seem to result from its having been broken apart to make it easier to fold and thus hide from
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
and later
Norman invaders.
[Murray (2021), p. 6] The staff is formed from a wooden core overlaid by metal tubes, and comprises two main sections: the long shaft and the crook.
[Youngs (1989), p. 214] The crook ends in a vertical section called the
drop, with a drop-plate on the outward-facing side. The casing on the
shaft
Shaft may refer to:
Rotating machine elements
* Shaft (mechanical engineering), a rotating machine element used to transmit power
* Line shaft, a power transmission system
* Drive shaft, a shaft for transferring torque
* Axle, a shaft around whi ...
is attached by binding strips connected to each other by three knops, while a protective copper alloy
ferrule
A ferrule (a corruption of Latin ' "small bracelet", under the influence of ' "iron") is any of a number of types of objects, generally used for fastening, joining, sealing, or reinforcement. They are often narrow circular rings made from me ...
comprises the tip of the shaft's base.
[Murray (2007), p. 79] The shaft and crook cores are made from separate pieces of timber but date from the same period.
[Henry (1959–63), p. 9] The crook is fitted with an inner binding strip,
crest and drop-plate, each of which was independently made and, having no structural function, are purely decorative.
[Murray (2007), p. 90]
It was built in two phases: the early 11th-century structure was added to and refurbished in the 14th century, the later additions including the bishop and dragon in the drop-plate, and some of the ornamentation on the upper knop.
[De Paor (1977), p. 185] The first phase is designed in the Insular style, and contains
animal ornament,
interlace and
Celtic art
Celtic art is associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and styli ...
patterns.
[Moss (2014), p. 310] Several of the decorations are influenced by the late 10th-century Ringerike and 11th-century
Urnes styles of
Viking art, both of which are characterised by band-shaped animals (often snakes, dogs and birds),
acanthus-leaf foliage, crosses and spirals, and was adapted in Ireland via direct contact and contemporary
Anglo-Saxon art
Anglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norman ...
from Southern England. Moss describes the crozier as among the finest of the Irish Ringerike-influenced objects, along with the
Shrine of Miosach
The Shrine of Miosach (also known as The Misach, Irish: MíosachPetrie (1850–53), pp. 464–467) is an elaborately ornamented 11th-century Irish cumdach (book shrine). It originates from Clonmany, north County Donegal, and is first mentio ...
and the Cathach (both 11th-century ).
[Moss (2014), p. 44][Laing (2006), p. 186]
Although it has suffered some losses, damage and detrimental repair-work, it is in excellent condition overall. The original drop-plate was replaced in the late medieval period.
[Ó Floinn (1983), p. 166] The wood at the end of the crest is decayed, likely due to one of the rivets being exposed, which in turn led to further damage to the structure.
[Henry (1959–63), p. 10]
Crook
![Bastone pastorale di clonmacnoise, XI secolo 01 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Bastone_pastorale_di_clonmacnoise%2C_XI_secolo_01_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The crook is high, wide and has a maximum circumference of .
[Murray (2021), p. 3] It is composed of a single piece of wood, encased in copper alloy, with an inner binding and plates for the crest and drop.
[Wallace (2002), p. 220] Each side of the crook is decorated with four or five silver cast zoomorphic snake-like animals in rows of tightly bound
figure-eight knots and ribbon-shaped pale coloured bodies that intertwine and loop over each other. Designed in an Irish adaption of the Ringerike style,
[Bourke (1985), p. 151] they are outlined with thin strips of
niello that appear as
decorative flaps that, according to the archaeologist and art historian
Griffin Murray
Griffin Murray is an Irish archaeologist and art historian specialising in medieval Ireland and Insular art–especially metalwork–in the period between 400–1550 AD. His interests include identifying and contextualizing the social role of med ...
, "spring from their heads and bodies forming knotted vegetal-like designs around them"
before terminating in spiral patterns.
The crest is attached to the top of the crook by rivets and nails. Around half of it has broken away, but what remains is a openwork row of five crouching dog-like animals that extends from above the joining with the staff to just before the top of the crook – presumably the row once extended to the top of the drop, especially since the lead animal is the most badly damaged and missing its head, while those nearest are also damaged and have missing parts.
[ O'Toole, Fintan.]
A history of Ireland in 100 objects Clonmacnoise crozier, 11th century
. ''The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'', 10 December 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2021 The animals are forward-looking and positioned end-to-end, and rendered in the
Oseberg Style of Viking art. They each appear, in the words of the art historian
Máire de Paor
Máire is the Irish language form of the Latin Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek names Μαριαμ, or Mariam, and Μαρια, or Maria, found in the New Testament. Both New Testament names were forms of the Hebrew name or Mir ...
, as "grasping with
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offic ...
jaws the buttocks of the preceding animal".
Similarly, the Frazer Crozier-head contains dog-tooth patterns on the upper part of the crook, but these are thought to be 16th-century additions.
[Murray (2021), p. 8]
Drop
![Bastone pastorale di clonmacnoise, XI secolo 02 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Bastone_pastorale_di_clonmacnoise%2C_XI_secolo_02_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The original drop was presumably as highly decorated as the knops,
but is lost and was replaced sometime during the 14th or 15th centuries. The current plate, like the original, forms a hollow box-like extension that was fixed to the end of the crook. It is cast from copper alloy and consists of a cast figurative insert attached to a plain metal strip.
At its top is a looming, grotesque human head in
champlevé enamel.
Set into the cavity below is a figure added in the 14th or 15th century, who appears to be a bishop or cleric wearing a
mitre
The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
(a type of bishop's headgear). He has one hand raised in
blessing
In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will.
Etymology and Germanic paganism
The modern English language term ''bless'' likely ...
while the other holds a long crozier with a spiral crook, which he uses to
impale
Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in response to "crimes aga ...
an animal, probably a dragon, at his feet.
De Paor describes the cleric as a generic late-period Insular figure with "
pierced eyes, small ears, a large nose, and
heavy mustache and beard".
The positioning of the human figures is similar to the late 9th-century Prosperous Crozier.
[Thickpenny et al (2020), p. 55] The only other surviving example of such a figure is in the drop of the
River Laune Crozier; presumably other croziers once held similar figures but the components were damaged or removed.
It seems likely that the cleric is intended to represent the commemorated saint, thus "making the body of the founder saint visible and active",
[Lucas (1986), p. 12] and conferring the saint's authority to the crozier's current bearer.
[Hahn (2016), p. 73] The copper plate underneath the drop contain enamel double-spiral designs rendered in blue, green and yellows.
As the most visible portion of the crozier, the drops were the obvious focus point for
figure art, an element that is, apart from zoomorphism, otherwise almost entirely absent in Insular metalwork. This led to theories in the 19th century that the drops acted as containers for smaller relics of saints, while the metal casing held the saint's original wooden staffs; these claims have been in doubt since the mid-20th century, and there is no evidence to support the theories. An exception is the
Lismore Crozier
The Lismore Crozier is an Irish Insular type crozier dated to between 1100 and 1113 AD. It consists of a wooden tubular staff lined with copper-alloy plates; embellished with silver, gold, niello and glass; and capped by a crook with a decor ...
, where two small relics and a linen cloth were found inside the crook during a 1966 refurbishment.
[Murray (2007), pp. 85–86]
Shaft
![Bastone pastorale di clonmacnoise, XI secolo 03](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Bastone_pastorale_di_clonmacnoise%2C_XI_secolo_03.jpg)
The shaft is formed from a wooden core plated with two copper alloy tubes and narrows after the lowest knop.
[De Paor (1977), p. 186][Lucas (1974), p. 118] The tubing was originally sealed by two binding strips on the front which were probably of leather but are now lost, although a portion of a leather membrane between the wood and metal still exists.
[Murray (2007), p. 88] The shaft contains three large and ornately decorated barrel-shaped and individually
cast
Cast may refer to:
Music
* Cast (band), an English alternative rock band
* Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band
* The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis
* ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William
* ...
knops, each of which fully wraps around the staff.
They are positioned equally distant on the staff, separated by lengths of bare tubing. Each contains
openwork
Openwork or open-work is a term in art history, architecture and related fields for any technique that produces decoration by creating holes, piercings, or gaps that go right through a solid material such as metal, wood, stone, pottery, cloth, l ...
patterns and
chased or repoussé (i.e.
relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
hammered from the back) copper-alloy plates, a feature only otherwise found on the Prosperous Crozier.
The largest and uppermost knop is high and has a diameter of .
It is centred by a horizontal band of interlace and champlevé enamelling containing geometric and foliage patterns. It is lined with inserted triangular and rectangular plaques (some of which are missing) between which are blue glass studs.
The plaques are in copper and decorated with interlace and have borders lined with strips of twisted copper and silver wire. It contains a crest which has been trimmed to hold the base of the crook.
The crest below the upper knop is made of copper alloy and contains two pairs of large cat-like animals facing or confronting each other.
[Murray (2021), p. 21] The animals are rendered in relief and decorated with niello and inlaid silver. They have lion-like
manes
In ancient Roman religion, the ''Manes'' (, , ) or ''Di Manes'' are chthonic deities sometimes thought to represent souls of deceased loved ones. They were associated with the ''Lares'', ''Lemures,'' '' Genii'', and ''Di Penates'' as deities ('' ...
, upright ears, long necks and
talon
Talon or talons may refer to:
Science and technology
* Talon (anatomy), the claw of a bird of prey
* Brodifacoum, a rodenticide, also known as the brand Talon
* TALON (database), a database maintained by the US Air Force
* Talon, an anti-vehicle- ...
ed tails. Their intertwined legs begin from spirals which develop or knot into
triquetra
The triquetra ( ; from the Latin adjective ''triquetrus'' "three-cornered") is a triangular figure composed of three interlaced arcs, or (equivalently) three overlapping '' vesicae piscis'' lens shapes. It is used as an ornamental design in ar ...
arcs before merging with the corresponding animal on the opposite side.
Although usually identified as lions, the figures also bear a resemblance to
griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
s in an 8th-century Insular knop from Setnes in Norway.
[Murray (2015), pp. 115–116]
The central knop is in height and less decorated than the other two, but has bands of open Ringerike-style interlace made of inlaid silver that form series of knotted patterns. The lower knop measures in height, and like the upper knop is biconical (i.e. of two parts) and contains copper plaques separated by glass studs.
After the lower knop the shaft passes through a free ring and tapers (narrows) into the spiked ferrule (a protective metal-cast foot, here of copper alloy) that forms the crozier's basal point.
Unlike the other two Insular examples with surviving ferrules (Lismore and River Laune, both of which have more elaborate and complex endings) it is not cast into the lower knop, but is a separate piece.
Modern provenance
The location and year of the crozier's rediscovery is uncertain. Writing in 1821 in his ''Notes on the history of Clonmacnoise'', Petrie said that it had been found "some 30 years ago
.. nthe tomb of St. Ciaran", placing its finding .
[Henry (1959–63), p. 6] He continued that other objects discovered in the tomb included a chalice and wine vessel which, according to Petrie "fell into ignorant hands, and were probably deemed unworthy of preservation",
[Murray (2021), p. 14] indicating that their precious metal was melted and sold for its intrinsic value. The "St Ciaran's tomb" referred to by Petrie is most likely Clonmacnoise's Temple Ciarán, a shrine-chapel on the site.
The crozier was for a period in the collection of the
Lord Mayor of Dublin
The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...
and collector
Henry Charles Sirr (1764–1841), although the circumstances of his purchase are unknown.
[Murray (2021), pp. 11, 18] In 1970, the archaeologist
Françoise Henry
Françoise Henry (16 June 1902 – 10 February 1982) was a scholar of early Irish art, archaeologist, and art historian. While at University College Dublin (UCD), she founded the Department of History of European Painting in 1965, and was head u ...
speculated that Sirr "might have obtained it directly or indirectly from the family of its hereditary keepers"
[Henry (1970), p. 101] (a local family who would have looked after and protected the object over centuries), but there is no documentary evidence for this.
[Murray (2021), p. 12] In 1826, a
lithograph
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
representation appeared in ''Picturesque Views of the Antiquities of Ireland'', compiled in 1830 by the architect and draughtsman Robert O'Callaghan Newenham, where it was described as having been "dug up 100 years ago".
The crozier is described as an "ancient" and ornamental crozier, which once belonged to the Abbots of Clonmacnoise, in an 1841 catalogue for an exhibition of Sirr's collection at the
Rotunda Hospital
The Rotunda Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal an Rotunda; legally the Hospital for the Relief of Poor Lying-in Women, Dublin) is a maternity hospital on Parnell Street in Dublin, Ireland, now managed by RCSI Hospitals. The eponymous Rotunda in Parnell Squ ...
in Dublin, held shortly after his death.
It was acquired at that exhibition by the
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...
,
[Lucas (1986), p. 22] and transferred to the
National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thre ...
,
Kildare Street
Kildare Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland.
Location
Kildare Street is close to the principal shopping area of Grafton Street and Dawson Street, to which it is joined by Molesworth Street. Trinity College lies at the north end of the ...
, Dublin, on its founding in 1890. Today it is on permanent display in the Treasury Room, next to the Lismore and River Laune Croziers, where it is catalogued as R 2988. An early 20th-century replica is in the
Met Cloisters in New York.
[Crozier of Clonmacnoise, early 20th century, Irish]
. Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
. Retrieved 23 November 2021 Widely considered the most lavish and ornate of the surviving early medieval croziers, it appeared in 2011 in ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' and Royal Irish Academy's list of "
A History of Ireland in 100 Objects
''A History of Ireland in 100 Objects'' was a joint project by ''The Irish Times'', the National Museum of Ireland, and the Royal Irish Academy to define one hundred archaeological or cultural objects that are important in the history of Ireland ...
".
Gallery
File:Crozier of Clonmacnoise Knope detail.jpg, Detail of confronted cat-eared animals (probably intended as lions) on the panel below the upper knop
File:The Crozier of Clonmacnoise shaft detail2.jpg, Ringerike designs on the middle knop
File:Bastone pastorale di clonmacnoise, XI secolo 08.jpg, Lower knop and ferrule with loose ring and tapering spike
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
* Bourke, Cormac. "A Crozier and Bell from Inishmurray and Their Place in Ninth-Century Irish Archaeology". ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature''. Dublin:
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...
, volume 85C, 1985.
*
Byrne, Francis John. ''Irish Kings and High-Kings''. London: Batsford, 1973.
*
De Paor, Máire. "The Viking Impact". In:
Treasures of early Irish art, 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D: From the collections of the National Museum of Ireland, Royal Irish Academy, Trinity College Dublin'. NY:
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, 1977.
* Downham, Clare. ''Medieval Ireland''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
*
Frazer, William. "On an Irish Crozier, with Early Metal Crook, Probably the Missing Crozier of St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise". ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy'', volume 1, 1889–1891.
* Graham-Campbell, James. ''Viking Art (World of Art)''. London: Thames & Hudson, 2013.
* Hahn, Cynthia. "The Reliquary Effect: Enshrining the Sacred Object". London: Reaktion Books, 2016.
*
Henry, Françoise. ''Irish art in the Romanesque period (1020–1170 A.D.)''. London: Methuen, 1970.
* Henry, Françoise. ''Irish Art during the Viking Invasions (800–1020 A.D.)''. London: Methuen & Co, 1967
* Henry, Françoise.
Research notes and sketches relating to the Clonmacnoise Crozier (Papers of Françoise Henry (d.1982)).
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
, 1959–1963
*
Moss, Rachel. ''Medieval c. 400 – c. 1600: Art and Architecture of Ireland''. London: Yale University Press, 2014.
*
Ó Floinn, Raghnal. "Irish and Scandinavian art in the early medieval period". In: Larsen, Anne-Christine (ed.), ''The Vikings in Ireland''. Roskilde: Viking Ship Museum, 2001.
* Ó Floinn, Raghnal. "The Clonmacnoise crozier". In: Ryan, Michael (ed.), ''Treasures of Ireland: Irish art 3000 B.C. – 1500 A.D.''. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1983.
* O'Meadhra, Uaininn. "Copies or creations? Some shared elements in Hiberno-Norse and Scandinavian artwork". In: Clarke, Howard; Johnson, Ruth (eds.), ''The Vikings in Ireland and Beyond: Before and After the Battle of Clontarf''. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2015.
* Laing, Lloyd. ''The Archaeology of Celtic Britain and Ireland: c. AD 400–1200''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
*
Lucas, A. T. "The Social Role of Relics and Reliquaries in Ancient Ireland". ''The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland'', volume 116, 1986.
* Lucas, A. T. ''Treasures of Ireland; Irish pagan & early Christian art''. New York: Viking Press, 1974.
* Manning, Conleth. ''Clonmacnoise''. Dublin: Office of Public Works, 1998.
*
Murray, Griffin.
The history and provenance of two early medieval crosiers ascribed to Clonmacnoise. Dublin: ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature'', February 2021
* Murray, Griffin.
Insular crosiers from Viking-age Scandinavia. ''Acta Archaeologica'', 86(2), 2015.
* Murray, Griffin.
Insular-type crosiers: their construction and characteristics. ''Making and Meaning in Insular Art: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Insular Art'', 2007
* Murray, Griffin. "The 'Hidden Power' of the Irish Crosier". ''Archaeology Ireland'', volume 18, no. 1, Spring 2004.
* Ronan, Myles. "St. Patrick's Staff and Christ Church". ''Dublin Historical Record'', volume 5, no. 4, 1943.
* Thickpenny, Cynthia; Forsyth, Katherine; Geddes, Jane (eds). "Peopling Insular Art: Practice, Performance, Perception". London: Oxbow Books, 2021.
* Wallace, Patrick. "Viking Age Ireland, AD 850–1150". In Ó Floinn, Raghnal; Wallace, Patrick (eds). ''Treasures of the National Museum of Ireland: Irish Antiquities''. Dublin: National Museum of Ireland, 2002.
* Youngs, Susan. ''The Work of Angels: Masterpieces of Celtic Metalwork, 6th—9th centuries AD''. London:
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
Press, 1989.
External links
Viking Ireland 5: Legacy of the Vikings in Ireland National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology
{{Insular art
Insular croziers
Collection of the National Museum of Ireland