Anglo Saxon Art
Celtic and Anglo-Saxon art display similar aesthetic qualities and media, including architecture and metalwork.
By the end of this module you will be able to:
- Describe the form, content, and context of Anglo Saxon Art
- Define critical terms related to Anglo Saxon Art
- Compare elements of Anglo-Saxon and Hiberno-Saxon art
- Describe the history and characteristics of illuminated manuscripts in Insular art
Anglo-Saxon art emerged when the Anglo-Saxons migrated from the continent in the fifth century and ended in 1066 with the Norman Conquest. Anglo-Saxon art, which favoured brightness and colour, survives mostly in architecture and metalwork.
Anglo-Saxon Metalwork
Anglo-Saxon metalwork consisted of Germanic-style jewelry and armour, which was commonly placed in burials. After the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in the seventh century, the fusion of Germanic Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and Early Christian techniques created the Hiberno-Saxon style (or Insular art) in the form of sculpted crosses and liturgical metalwork. Insular art is characterized by detailed geometric designs, interlace, and stylized animal decoration.
Anglo-Saxon metalwork initially used the Germanic Animal Style decoration that would be expected from recent immigrants, but gradually developed a distinctive Anglo-Saxon character. For instance, round disk brooches were preferred for the grandest Anglo-Saxon pieces, over continental styles of fibulae and Romano-British penannular brooches. Decoration included cloisonné (“cell work”) in gold and garnet for high-status pieces. Despite a considerable number of other finds, the discovery of the ship burial at Sutton Hoo transformed the history of Anglo-Saxon art, showing a level of sophistication and quality that was wholly unexpected at this date. Among the most famous finds from Sutton Hoo are a helmet and an ornamental purse lid.
Anglo-Saxon Architecture
Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing. No universally accepted example survives aboveground. There are, however, many remains of Anglo-Saxon church architecture. At least fifty churches of Anglo-Saxon origin display the culture’s major architectural features, although in some cases these aspects are small and significantly altered. The round-tower church and tower-nave church are distinctive Anglo-Saxon types. All surviving churches, except one timber church, are built of stone or brick, and in some cases show evidence of reused Roman work.
The architectural character of Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastical buildings ranges from influence from Celtic and Early Christian styles. Later Anglo-Saxon architecture is characterized by pilasters, blank arcading, baluster shafts and triangular-headed openings. In the final decades of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, a more general Romanesque style was introduced from the Continent, as in the additions to Westminster Abbey made from 1050 onwards.
Celt