Elsewhere I have read that Celtic knots are a Nordic import (specifically Viking era), that Celtic designs relied heavily on spirals. I don't know how reliable that source was or if they overstated their claim. You mentioned an earlier Germanic and Byzantine influence as well. It's something I've been meaning to ask you about. So, it was a pleasure to see the subject come up.…I don't take your thoughts on the ancient world as authoritative—nor anyone else's—but I know you've dug deeply through a vast array of sources and are more trustworthy than many people writing on the subject. I think this is where I say something about wishing your pieces were longer and more in depth. I know, that goes against your plan for these posts to be just a taste. I'm a glutton by nature. Especially for information and ideas.…A really enjoyable piece.
Like the knots, it all gets pretty tangled. I mean I was looking at Sumerian art earlier today and there was a sequence of knots – but whether these influenced art thousands of years later is hard to say really. However, I have seen many pieces of knot work in Pre-Christian Roman mosaic work, like that at Aquileia in northern Italy. Byzantium art is rife with it, and so too is Islamic art (and I do recall seeing double-knot carvings on the temple steps of Uxmal in Mexico).
You might also like this too Michael. I've still to peruse her book, and I'm still uncertain if I'm convinced as solely diffusion, but it's interesting.
It's such a relief that in recent years scholars can look at the big picture again. Mid-20th century is one of the intellectual low points of human knowledge and thinking.
I really love this piece, thank you for sharing it. This quote especially I agree with "Sometimes I have the uncanny feeling that at an instinctual, intuitive level the ancient peoples grasped fundamental principles of existence. Not fully understanding the physics behind the metaphors, they identified its essence in their cosmologies all the same."
Elsewhere I have read that Celtic knots are a Nordic import (specifically Viking era), that Celtic designs relied heavily on spirals. I don't know how reliable that source was or if they overstated their claim. You mentioned an earlier Germanic and Byzantine influence as well. It's something I've been meaning to ask you about. So, it was a pleasure to see the subject come up.…I don't take your thoughts on the ancient world as authoritative—nor anyone else's—but I know you've dug deeply through a vast array of sources and are more trustworthy than many people writing on the subject. I think this is where I say something about wishing your pieces were longer and more in depth. I know, that goes against your plan for these posts to be just a taste. I'm a glutton by nature. Especially for information and ideas.…A really enjoyable piece.
Like the knots, it all gets pretty tangled. I mean I was looking at Sumerian art earlier today and there was a sequence of knots – but whether these influenced art thousands of years later is hard to say really. However, I have seen many pieces of knot work in Pre-Christian Roman mosaic work, like that at Aquileia in northern Italy. Byzantium art is rife with it, and so too is Islamic art (and I do recall seeing double-knot carvings on the temple steps of Uxmal in Mexico).
You might also like this too Michael. I've still to peruse her book, and I'm still uncertain if I'm convinced as solely diffusion, but it's interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJnEQCMA5Sg
It's such a relief that in recent years scholars can look at the big picture again. Mid-20th century is one of the intellectual low points of human knowledge and thinking.
I really love this piece, thank you for sharing it. This quote especially I agree with "Sometimes I have the uncanny feeling that at an instinctual, intuitive level the ancient peoples grasped fundamental principles of existence. Not fully understanding the physics behind the metaphors, they identified its essence in their cosmologies all the same."
Thank you Grace, I'm glad that resonated with you. D