The Makers of Church Metalwork in Early Medieval Ireland: Their Identity and Status

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14The Makers of Church Metalwork in EarlyMedieval Ireland: Their Identity and Status

Griffin Murray

Objects such as the Ardagh Chalice, the Derrynaflan Paten, the Shrine of St Patrick’s Belland the Cross of Cong are celebrated today for their artistic beauty, as well as the technicalskills they display. They demonstrate that early medieval Irish society was a culturally richand sophisticated one. However, in the modern scholarly literature on these objects thecraftsmen responsible for these marvels of early medieval Ireland are generally excludedfrom the discussion. Indeed, early medieval metalwork is often written about in anabstract way, without any discussion of the people who were responsible for an object’screation and use. This paper concentrates on a single category of person involved in thecreation of these treasures, the craftsmen, by examining their identity and status in earlymedieval Irish society.

Some of the scholars who have briefly mentioned craftsmen in the course of theirdiscussion on particular objects have presumed that there was a dichotomy between thedesign and manufacture of an object. Robert Organ made this presumption in hisimportant technical paper on the Ardagh Chalice. For instance, when he was discussingthe construction of the foot of the chalice he commented that: ‘it seems likely that thedesigner’s intentions had been frustrated by lack of skill on the part of the worker.’1 Theimplication is that an educated, talented or inspired individual designed the chalice, whilea craftsman separately carried out the work. While discussing the assembly marks on theDerrynaflan Paten, which includes a number of letters, Michelle Brown states that themarks are a ‘clear indication of the interaction of craftsman and literate supervisor, orpatron’.2 While discussing the same assembly marks, Michael Ryan comments: ‘It seemsthat a literate scholarly individual, perhaps a cleric, played a part in the design of thepiece—the use of a sequence of letters, carefully inscribed, as a code for assembling thepiece signals this clearly.’3 In their respective studies both Brown and Ryan link theevidence of literacy in the case of the Derrynaflan Paten with design rather thanmanufacture, even though the function of assembly marks is to assist the craftsman in themanufacturing process.4 Ryan later comments that: ‘The impression given by theDerrynaflan Paten is that materials were not freely available, and the technical range ofthe artificers was being stretched to the limit to achieve the ambition of the patron or

1 Organ, 1973: 2552 Brown, 1993: 1643 Ryan, 1983a: 304 Subsequently Ryan has modified his views on the assembly marks, see Ryan, 1993a: 7; 1997:

547–48

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designer.’5

Did such a dichotomy between design and manufacture exist in early medievalIreland, or are such comments influenced by later medieval, early modern andcontemporary attitudes towards art and craftsmanship, which has seen preciousmetalworking demoted in relation to what are considered the ‘Fine Arts’, in other words,painting and sculpture? Indeed, modern scholars of Insular art are certainly less hesitantin discussing the individuals responsible for Irish manuscript illumination and high crosssculpture, where no such dichotomy between design and execution has been envisaged.6

In order to try to understand the craftsmen and the processes that may have been involvedin the creation of fine Church metalwork it is crucial that the evidence we have for theseindividuals is fully examined. There are two main sources of information: inscriptions onthe metalwork they created and early Irish law.

The Cerd in Early Irish LawOne of the major difficulties in identifying fine metalworkers in early Irish literature isthat, while the Irish word cerd most frequently means a gold- or silversmith, it was alsoused in a more general sense to mean a craftsman or artisan.7 The early Irish laws providethe most information on the status of the cerd. Indeed, there was a specific law tract onthese individuals, the Bretha Crédine, but unfortunately this does not survive.8 What doessurvive are the laws about craftsmen generally that are contained in the Uraicecht Becc.This law tract sets out that the cerd had the same honour-price as the coppersmith(umaige), the blacksmith (gobae), and the wright (sáer), namely: 7 sét, which wasequivalent to 3½ milch cows.9

The same tract states that while the same honour-price applied to the wright, who isskilled in church-building, mill-construction, boat-building or manufacturing articles inyew-wood, this would rise to 10 sét if he could practise two or three of these skills, andto 15 sét if he has all four. This was later glossed to include blacksmiths and fine metal-workers whose status could also increase relative to their skill. However, the wright, if hehad further qualifications, may be classed as a ‘chief expert wright’ (ollam suad saírsi) withan honour-price of 20 sét, which was greater than that of the highest grade of lawyer(brithem), being equal to that of a high lord (aire ard). It is conceivable that a similar statusof ‘chief expert’ applied to fine metalworkers.

It appears that craftsmen could be sent to learn their trade from a master (fithidir)for a fee. Even though, as Fergus Kelly points out, it is likely that the father would be acraftsman himself, it would be beneficial to expose the pupil/apprentice (felmac) to

5 Ryan, 1997: 5476 For example: Henry, 1967; Farr, 2007; Stalley, 2007; Harbison, 2011; 20127 Quinn, 1983: 1098 McLeod, 2004: 103–1049 Kelly, 1988: 63

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different skills and techniques.10 Later glosses on the Uraicecht Becc state that craftsmenprovided apprentices with instruction, food, and clothing and received in return the entireearnings of the apprentice and their first earnings after leaving the master’s house, as wellas support in their old age.11 While craftsmen were usually male, if a particular craftsmanhad no son, his daughter could be trained in his profession and there are records of femalewrights (bansáer).12

Considering that there was a system of apprenticeship in place in early medievalIreland, it is reasonable to consider the existence of workshops where a number of finemetalworkers practised their craft in the service of a patron or patrons. This was certainlythe case withwrights in earlymedieval Ireland.13While it is impossible to prove howmanyindividuals were involved in any particular workshop, archaeological excavations haveshown that there was significant finemetalworking activity at a number of important sites.Notable examples include Garranes, Co. Cork,14 Lagore, Co. Meath,15 and ChristChurch Place in Dublin,16 where the material recovered suggests that there were a numberof fine metalworkers operating simultaneously. It seems likely, therefore, that there wouldhave been more than one person working on a complex piece such as the Ardagh Chalice,but that all of the workwas under the direction of amaster craftsman. Indeed, this appearsto have been the case with the Shrine of St Patrick’s Bell, which, as its inscription reveals,was made by Cú Duilig and his sons (see Table 1). The understudies in such cases mayhave been apprentices and/or fully trained craftsmen. Such help would have ensured thatcommissions were made relatively quickly, as it is unlikely that secular and ecclesiasticalpatrons would have had the patience to wait long periods for works to be completed.Indeed, Françoise Henry’s suggestion that it took around five or more years to producethe Cross of Cong seems very unrealistic.17 While it is impossible to know exactly howlong it took to produce works such as the Ardagh Chalice or Cross of Cong, with a teamof craftsmen working on them we should probably be considering the length of time interms of months rather than years.

Inscriptions and IdentitiesIf the assembly marks on the Derrynaflan Paten indicate that the craftsman responsiblefor it was literate, the Latin inscription around the bowl of the Ardagh Chalice namingeleven of the Apostles and St Paul most certainly does.18 Evidence for literate craftsmen is

10 Kelly, 1988: 9111 Mac Lean, 1995: 13012 Kelly, 1988: 77, 9113 Mac Lean, 1995; Ní Ghrádaigh, 200714 Ó Ríordáin, 194215 Hencken et al., 1950; Comber, 200416 Ó Ríordáin, 1976: 138; O’Meadhra, 1987: 43, 49–53, fig. 2417 Henry, 1970: 10918 Dunraven, 1873: 440–44; Gogan, 1932: 47–56


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something that becomes more pronounced with the appearance later of dedicatoryinscriptions on early medieval Irish Church metalwork from the late-ninth centuryonwards. These inscriptions, almost exclusively in Irish, ask for prayers for individuals,usually those involved with the commissioning and making of the pieces. They ofteninclude the craftsman’s name and suggest that the master craftsmen responsible for thesetreasures were educated, literate individuals. They may also be seen as part of a widertrend of dedicatory or commemorative inscriptions beginning with the words OR[ÓIT]DO (a prayer for), that occur in ecclesiastical contexts in Ireland from the late-ninth totwelfth centuries. The occurrence of such inscriptions seems to be linked with an increasein votive masses during the period;19 besides Church metalwork, inscriptions using theformula are also found on grave slabs,20 and occasionally on high crosses,21 andRomanesque churches.22

In terms of Church metalwork, the inscriptions now mainly occur on elaboratereliquaries and crosiers, although probably the earliest surviving example in metalworkoccurs on a late ninth- or very early tenth-century bronze hand-bell from Terryhoogan,Co. Armagh.23 There is evidence which indicates that such inscriptions also occurred onaltar plate by the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Indeed, while no chalices or patenssurvive from these centuries, a dedicatory inscription occurs on a small altar vessel fromBallypriormore in Islandmagee, Co. Antrim,24 while the account of a silver chalice stolenfrom the altar at Clonmacnoise in 1129 implies that it featured an inscription naming itspatron, who was a sister to King Turlough O’Connor.25 In all cases, the inscriptionsappeal to the clerics of the relevant foundations to pray for the souls of those mentioned.By the eleventh century the inscriptions found on reliquaries usually included the name ofa king, who inmost cases appears to have been the patron, the name of an abbot or bishop,who was the head of the relevant ecclesiastical foundation, and the name of the craftsmanwho made the piece. In most cases, but not all, the craftsman’s name occurs at the end ofthe inscription, which is logical, as he would be of lower status than a king or abbot. Table1 lists the examples of early medieval Irish Church metalwork that bear, or bore, the nameof the craftsman in their inscriptions.

Perhaps the earliest example of an inscription on a piece of Church metalwork thatnamed the craftsman was that on the, now lost, shrine or cover of the Book of Durrow,26

which was recorded by Roderick O’Flaherty in 1677.27 This inscription seems to have

19 T. Ó Carragáin, 2010: 208–21120 Lionard, 1960–1961; Ó Floinn, 1995: 25421 Henry, 1970: 123–24; Harbison, 1999b22 Petrie, 1878: 85–89; O’Keeffe, 1997: 65–66; 2003: 254, pl. 155; a fragmentary inscription may

also be seen on the chancel arch of the western church on Inisfallen, Co. Kerry23 Bourke, 1980: 57–5824 Petrie, 1878, 119–20, fig. 102; Ní Bhrolcháin, 1986: 9; Bourke, 2006: 190, n. 2525 O’Donovan, 1856a: 2. 1032–33; Murphy, 1896: 19026 Dublin: Trinity College Library, MS 5727 Lhuyd, 1707: 432


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asked for a prayer for King Flann Sinna, who reigned between 879 and 916.28 Flannpatronised the building of Clonmacnoise cathedral in 909, Ireland’s largest survivingpre-Romanesque church, and he is also mentioned in the inscription on the contemporaryCross of the Scriptures at the site, one of the most accomplished of the Irish high crosses.29

Unfortunately, O’Flaherty did not record the craftsman’s name at the time, but merelynoted that a section of the inscription named him.

The inscription on the tenth-century St Dympna’s crosier from Tednavnet, Co.Monaghan is too fragmentary to be informative and although Macalister’s reading andsuggested restoration of it implies that the craftsman was named in it, this cannot beconfirmed.30 Therefore, the earliest legible inscription on a surviving piece of Churchmetalwork that names the craftsman is that on the Soiscéal Molaise, a magnificentbook-shrine from Devenish, Co. Fermanagh.31 The dedicatory inscription names GillaBaithín as the craftsman (DO GILLABAITHÍN CHERD DO RIGNI GRESA).32 Theshrine can be dated on the basis of another section of its inscription to between the years1001 and 1025.33 An early drawing by George Petrie, probably dating from 1843,34

28 Petrie, 1878: 158; Ryan, 1988: 36; Harbison, 1999b: 4529 Henry, 1980; Ó Murchadha, 1980; Manning, 1998; T. Ó Carragáin, 2010: 121–2230 Macalister, 1949: 127; MacDermott, 1957: 17131 Stokes, 1871; McKenna, 1931: 33–40; Ó Floinn, 1989; Mullarkey, 2004; 200732 Ó Floinn, 1989: 5833 Petrie, 1878: 90; Bourke, 2005: 34, n. 7234 See Stokes, 1868: 276–77; Ó Floinn, 1989: 51

Table 1: Examples of early medieval Irish Church metalworkthat feature, or featured, inscriptions naming the craftsman

Shrine/crosier Name of cerd Date Reference

Shrine of the Book Unknown Between 879–916 ? Lhuyd, 1707: 432of Durrow (now lost)

Soiscéal Molaise Gilla Baithín Between 1001–1025 Ó Floinn, 1989: 58

Shrine of the Lorrha Donnchadh Ua Between 1026–1033 Ó Floinn, 1983: 165; Ó Riain, 1991(Stowe) Missal Taccáin of the

community ofCluain

Shrine of the Cathach Sitric Mac Between 1062–1094 Lawlor and Armstrong, 1916: 391Meic Áeda

Bann bell-shrine crest Maíléne Late eleventh century Ó Riain and Murray, 2006

Shrine of St Patrick’s bell Cú Duilig Ua Between 1094–1105 Ó Floinn, 1983: 167–68hInmainen andsons

Lismore crosier Nechtan Before 1113 Macalister, 1949: 109

Cross of Cong Máel Ísu mac 1123 Ó Riain and Murray, 2005: 20Bratáin Uí Echach


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shows the inscription in a slightly more complete condition than it is today (compareColour Figs 14.1a and b). Raghnall Ó Floinn suggested, in his detailed account of theshrine and its history, that a now missing section of the inscription may have recorded thename UA SCANLAN and on this basis suggested a shorter date span of between 1001 and1011.35 However, in Petrie’s drawing of the shrine this section of the inscription is shownintact and clearly does not record this name, so the wider date range of between 1001 and1025 must remain.

Unfortunately, in the cases where only a first name is recorded, little can be saidabout the craftsman’s background. However, in the inscriptions where a family name isgiven, in most cases members of their family can be traced in the annals, proving they wereindividuals of reasonably high status who came from important families. One suchindividual is the maker of the Shrine of the Lorrha (Stowe) Missal, which was made forLorrha, Co. Tipperary, sometime between 1026 and 1033.36 In the inscription the crafts-man is recorded as ‘Donnchadh Ua Taccain of the community of Cluain’ (OR[ÓIT] DODUNCHADH U TACCAIN DO MUINTIR CLUANA DORIGNI).37 It seems mostprobable that he was a member of the religious community at Clonmacnoise. Indeed,Raghnall Ó Floinn has noted the death of Dubhthach Ua Tadhgain, priest ofClonmacnoise, in 996 and the death of Flann Ua Tacáin, erenagh of Durrow, in 1022.38

Sitric Mac Meic Áeda, who is recorded as the craftsman in the inscription on the Shrineof the Cathach (DO SITTRIUC MAC MEIC AEDA DO RIGNE),39 was apparentlyresident at Kells. This has be deduced from the fact that the abbot of Kells is alsomentioned in the inscription, while mention of his relatives, ‘Mac Áeda Cerd’ and ‘Flann,the son of Mac Aedha,’ is preserved in a property transaction in a Kells charter of theperiod.40 The Shrine of St Patrick’s Bell was made by Cú Duilig Ua hInmainen and hissons (DO CHONDULIG U INMAINEN CONA MACCAIB RO CUMTAIG) around1100,41 confirming, along with the evidence from Kells and the law tracts, that the craftwas hereditary.42Ó Floinn has noted that the death of aDúnadachUa hInmainén, erenaghof Tullylease, Co. Cork, is recorded in 1059, suggesting that the craftsmen responsible forthe enshrinement of one of Armagh’s most cherished relics may have come from the southof the country.43 Notably, the sons in this case are not named individually, that honouronly falling to Cú Duilig, who was presumably the master craftsman. The reason his

35 Ó Floinn, 1989: 6136 Ó Riain, 199137 Petrie, 1878: 94; Ó Floinn, 1983: 16538 O’Donovan, 1856a: 2. 736–37; Mac Airt, 1944: 190–91; Ó Floinn, 1987a: 17939 Lawlor and Armstrong, 1916: 39140 O’Donovan, 1846: 14141 Ó Floinn, 1983: 16842 There was a kin-group in Ulster in the ninth and tenth centuries known as the descendants of

Conall the Goldsmith (cerd); see O’Donovan, 1856a: 1. 498–99, 2. 722–23; Mac Airt andMacNiocall, 1983: 320–21, 422–23

43 Mac Airt, 1944: 218–19; Ó Floinn, 1987a: 186



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assistants are mentioned is probably because they were his sons. Indeed, there are no otherknown examples of assistants being named in an inscription on a piece of early medievalIrish metalwork.

Commissioned by King Turlough O’Connor, the Cross of Cong was made atRoscommon in 1123 by Máel Ísu mac Bratáin Uí Echach (OR[ÓIT] DO MAÉL ÍSUM[A]C BRATDAN U ECHA[C]H DORIGNI IN GRES SA).44 John O’Donovan,following George Petrie’s reading of the craftsman’s name as ‘Uí Echan,’ identified him asGillachríst Ua hEcháin, whose death is recorded in the annals in 1136, and who hesuggests was the abbot of Clooncraff, Co. Roscommon.45 While both WilliamWilde andFrançoise Henry followed this identification, Michael Ryan has strongly doubted it andPerette Michelli has dismissed it.46 The identification of Gillachríst Ua hEcháin as theAbbot of Clooncraff is speculative, as he is mentioned in the annals only as the ‘successorof Finnen’ and so is more likely to have belonged to Clonard, Co. Meath. Indeed, evengiven that the names Máel Ísu and Gillachrist have the same meaning (servant or devoteeof Christ), the surnames are different (Ua hEcháin and Mac Bratáin Ua hEchach). Thereis thus no firm evidence to suggest that this is the individual in question.

Máel Ísu mac Bratáin Uí Echach may, however, have originally come fromMunster,where a family of that name is documented. The Annals of Inisfallen record that an‘Amlaíb Ua hEchach’ was slain in a battle between the Mac Carthys and the O’Briens in1118, and the same Munster annals note the killing of a ‘Donnchad Hua Echach’ in1058.47 It may not have been that unusual to have a craftsman from Munster workingunder the direction of Turlough O’Connor, a Connacht king, as, for instance, the chiefpoet of Connacht at the time was a Mac Carthy.48

The craftsmen who made the Cross of Cong, the Shrine of the Cathach, the Shrineof St Patrick’s Bell, and the Shrine of the Lorrha Missal, all appear to have come fromhistorically known families, indicating that these individuals were of high statusindependent of their craft. The individual who made the Shrine of the Lorrha Missal wasa cleric and, as such, hemay not have been unique. In the case of the Shrine of the Cathach,the Shrine of St Patrick’s Bell, and the Cross of Cong, the craftsmen, apart from that factthat they were producing major pieces of Church metalwork, all have other directconnections with the Church, be it through the locations where they worked or throughtheir family members who are known to have held ecclesiastical office. Furthermore, thefact that all the craftsmen in Table 1 put inscriptions on their work suggests that they wereclerically trained. However, there is another factor that may connect a number of thesemen with the Church, and that is their names.

The names Gilla and Máel mean ‘servant, devotee’ and both are usually followed by

44 Ó Riain and Murray, 2005; Murray, 200645 Petrie, 1850: 578; O’Donovan, 1856a: 2. 1052–53; 1856b: 3946 Wilde, 1867: 195; Henry, 1970: 108; Ryan, 1988: 35–6; Michelli, 1996: 2847 Mac Airt, 1944: 216–17, 276–7748 O’Donovan, 1856a: 2. 1036–37; Hennessy, 1871: 1. 130–31


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either the name of a saint or Christ (or Ísu, Jesus). The individual who made the Cross ofCong at the monastery of Roscommon in 1123 was namedMáel Ísu, while the individualwho made the Soiscéal Molaise in the early-eleventh century was named Gilla Baithín.Indeed, there are also a number of wrights recorded from eleventh- and twelfth-centuryIreland who either built churches or sculpted high crosses whose names also began witheither Gilla or Máel: Gillachrist O’Toole, for example, who is named in the inscription onthe shaft of one of the twelfth-century high crosses at Tuam, Co. Galway (OR[ÓIT] DONTHAER DO GILLU CR[IST] U THUATHAIL);49 and Gillachrist Ua Mochain, the sáerwho enshrined the relics of St Colmán at Lynn, Co. Westmeath, presumably in a shrinechapel, in 1122.50 Kevin Murray has argued that these were names that were taken forChristian life, and would have been different from original birth names.51 However,although religious names, they were not used exclusively by clerics, as a number of kingsof the period were similarly named.52 Thus, while such names cannot be used to identifywhether an individual was a cleric, they may indicate in certain instances a connectionwith the Church.

Clerics and Fine MetalworkingDonnchadh Ua Taccain, maker of the Shrine of the Lorrha Missal, was certainly not theonly cleric in early medieval Ireland to produce highly accomplished pieces of Churchmetalwork. The iconography of the shrine is surely a reflection of his clerical training,ecclesiastical environment and his deep religious thought and beliefs.53 Where theiconography and symbolism of early medieval Irish Church metalwork has been revealedby scholars, it has become apparent that these objects were made for religiouscontemplation. Early Irish clerics who were also fine metalworkers include Anniaraid, ‘afamous goldsmith of the community of Tech Conan,’ who, while at Lynn, ‘made a bridlewith gold and with silver for the king of Offaly’,54 and Assicus, who was St Patrick’s cerdand the first bishop of Elphin.55 Also, St Connlaedh is described as bishop of Kildare andSt Bridget’s cerd in his obit in 519,56 and St Daig mac Cairill, who died in 587, is recordedas a cerd and said to have made bells, crosiers, crosses, reliquaries, pyxes, chalices, patens,portable altars, chrismatories and book-covers.57 Furthermore, the death of Robartach

49 Macalister, 1949: 2, no. 522; Stalley, 1981: 13350 Meyer, 1911: vi. Muirchertach ÓgMac Eochagáin destroyed the monastery, church and shrine

with the saint’s relics at Lynn in 1394; Lucas, 1986: 35. On the subject of shrine chapels see T.Ó Carragáin, 2003

51 Murray, 2004: 151–5252 Byrne, 2001: 168, 330, 33353 Mullarkey, 200754 Araile scél forathmentar sund .i. certt amræ robói do muindtir Tigi Conán hic Laind .i.

Anníaraid a ainm-sen, co ndernæ srían co n-ór & co n-airget do rígHúa Failgi & berid buddessdía reic (Meyer, 1911: 38–39; Ó Floinn, 1987a: 179)

55 Ryan, 1988: 3656 O’Donovan, 1856a: 1. 170–7157 Mac Airt and Mac Niocaill, 1983: 92–93; Bitel, 1990: 130; Bourke, 2005: 31, n. 48



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son of the cerd, bishop of Kildare, is recorded in the annals in 875.58

To have clerics practising as fine metalworkers and craftsmen in the medieval periodwas not unusual. St Eligius, the patron saint of goldsmiths, is probably the best knownexample. He was bishop of Noyon in France in the seventh century, as well as being anaccomplished goldsmith.59 Indeed, the most important Western treatise on painting,glassmaking, and metalworking from medieval times was written by a monk, Theophilus,around the time of the manufacture of the Cross of Cong. Indeed, it has been suggestedthat Theophilus was actually Roger of Helmarshausen, the Benedictine monk andaccomplished fine metalworker, although this identification has not been fully accepted.60

In England in the eleventh century, Mannig, Abbot of Evesham, was skilled in calligraphy,painting and goldsmith’s work, while Spearhafoc, Abbot of Abingdon, was described as‘outstanding in painting, gold-engraving and goldsmithing’.61 Of themonks recorded fromthe tenth and eleventh century at New Minster, Winchester, three were goldsmiths.62 Anearlier example was ‘Billfrith the anchorite’ who ‘forged the ornaments’ on the cover of theLindisfarne Gospels and ‘adorned it with gold and gems and also with gilded [...] silver’.63

While some craftsmen were clerics, it does not follow that all craftsmen involved incommissions for the early medieval Irish Church were ecclesiastics. Neither does it followthat those who were clerics were involved solely in producing liturgical and religiousobjects. In this light it is interesting to note that some craftsmen operating in thelate-eleventh/early-twelfth centuries, at least, seem to have been producing for bothreligious and secular needs. For instance, the handle of a sword found on the bed of LoughDerg near Curraghmore, Co. Tipperary (Colour Fig. 14. 2),64 on both stylistic andtechnical grounds, appears to have been produced by the same craftsman that producedthe Bearnán Chúláin, an early twelfth-century bell-shrine from Glenkeen, Co. Tipperary(Colour Fig. 14.3).65 Similarly, based on stylistic grounds, Nechtan, the master craftsmanwho made the Lismore crosier,66 appears to have also been responsible for a cross fromCloyne, Co. Cork,67 the Small’s Reef sword guard68 (Fig. 14.4) and a drinking-hornterminal (Fig. 14.5).69

58 Mac Airt and Mac Niocall, 1983: 330–3159 Nees, 2002: 107–10960 Hawthorne and Smith, 1963: xv–xvii; Cherry, 2011: 1261 Dodwell, 1982: 55; Coatsworth and Pindar, 2002: 208–20962 Dodwell, 1982: 5263 billfrið se oncræ gesmioðade ða gihrino ða on ðe útan on sint 7 hit gihrínade mið golde 7 mið

gimmum æc mið sulfre of gylded faconleas feh (Coatsworth and Pindar, 2002: 222)64 Ryan, 1991: 152, 215; Roesdahl and Wilson, 1992: 340, no. 43165 Cooke, 1825; Henry, 1970: 102–103, pls 18, K66 Macalister, 1949: 109; Henry, 1970: 97–99, pls 25–26; Ó Floinn, 1983: 64, 68, 170–71, 183,

no. 8167 Ó Floinn, 1983: 171–72, no. 8268 Cradock, 1995; Redknap, 2000: 58–59, 85–87, 9169 Carlow County Museum Reg, No. 83–108; Prendergast, 1996: 80; Graham-Campbell, 2008:

44


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Figure 14.4: Sword guard from Small’s Reef off the coast of Wales(Photo: By permission of the National Museum of Wales)

Figure 14.5: Drinking-horn terminal from the Carlow based Jackson Collection(Photo: © Carlow County Museum)



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StatusFrom this review we have seen that the honour price of a craftsman increased relative tohis level of skill in early medieval Ireland. There can be no doubt that the craftsmenresponsible for the Ardagh Chalice, Cross of Cong, and other early medieval Irish Churchtreasures were highly skilled individuals and so it might be expected that they held a highstatus in society on that basis, one perhaps equal to that of a high lord (aire ard). Whereknown, these individuals belonged to historically documented families that had strong tieswith the Church, proving that they would have also had status independent of their craft.Those who were clerics would also have been of high status on that basis. None of themhowever, it seems, were important enough to receive obits in the annals, even though anumber of them were attached to important monasteries. Nevertheless, on the basis of theinscriptions alone, where prayers are asked for them alongside kings and abbots, it can beconcluded that these individuals were held in very high esteem by the Church and thattheir work was seen as a service to God for which they would be perpetually remembered.Therefore, their creations should not be seen as merely commercial acts, but as works ofdevotion, in the same manner as illuminated manuscripts. Indeed, a minute inscription onthe Derrynaflan Paten,70 and the hidden Byzantine cross recently rediscovered on thewooden core of the Cross of Cong,71 are best explained as ritual acts, emphasising thedevotional nature of the creation of these objects. Although discussing Anglo-SaxonEngland, the words of Charles Reginald Dodwell are also particularly relevant in an Irishcontext:

Before the Conquest, there was no feeling that the craftsman was inferior to theintellectual: no patronising of the gifts of the hands by those endowed with gifts ofthe head. All such talents derived from the same God.72

ConclusionWhile we know very little about fine metalworkers in early medieval Ireland, it is crucialthat the arguments and conclusions we develop in relation to them are based on earlymedieval evidence. In that regard there is nothing to suggest, as has sometimes beenimplied, that there was a dichotomy between the design and execution of these objects.Rather, it seems that the craftsmen who created the elaborate Church metalwork of earlymedieval Ireland were educated individuals of reasonably high status, whose creationswere made, not as commercially driven commissions, but as devotional acts. Indeed, tofully comprehend the significance of elaborate Church metalwork for early medieval Irishsociety, it is imperative to understand not only who made it, but also the context in whichit was made.

70 Brown, 1993: 16571 Murray, Forthcoming72 Dodwell, 1982: 47


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AcknowledgmentsI would like to thank Jane Hawkes for organising a stimulating, engaging and sociableconference and I very much appreciate the constructive comments of Michael Ryan,Niamh Whitfield and others following my presentation. I am very grateful to Ned Kelly,Keeper of Irish Antiquities, and his colleagues in the NMI for facilitating my examinationof many of the objects discussed as part of this study, and to Cormac Bourke, formerly ofthe Ulster Museum, and Leslie Webster, formerly of the BM, for facilitating myexamination of material in the Ulster Museum and BM respectively. This paper is largelybased on a section of my PhD thesis, which was conducted in the Department ofArchaeology, University College Cork, under the supervision of John Sheehan and withthe support of a scholarship from the Irish Research Council for theHumanities and SocialSciences.73

73 Murray, 2007: 1. 103–116


The Makers of Church Metalwork in Early Medieval Ireland: Their Identity and Status

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