The Remarkable Celtic Designs

For centuries, the illuminated manuscripts of the Irish Catholic Church, such as the Book of Kells, have delighted and perplexed scholars, clergy, and laypeople alike. A Cornell University paleontologist, John Cisne, has examined these manuscripts to identify what makes the designs so fascinating. Besides the colors and compelling motifs, the illustrations were created in such a way as to look 3-D or "works not of men, but of angels."

The deconstruction of the monks' techniques is fascinating. It's also humbling, considerating the primitive technology they had to work with. In an age without computers or microscopes, these illuminated manuscripts were often copied from templates, with mere millimeters separating some of the linework. So the next time you use a printer or copy machine, or design something fabulous with Photoshop or GIMP, think of all those monks, those hundreds of years ago, creating works of immortal beauty in the damp, the dark, the cold.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!