SAN FRANCISCO LIC LIBRARY

C61X1C ALPHABETS

Aldaa Meehaa was bora la 1951 la Northera Irelaad, aad

educated la Newry aad at Queea’s Ualverslty, Belfast. After
leavlag Irelaad la 1973, he discovered a deep laterest la Celtic
deslga, which led to his eight-volume Celtic Design Series aad
Celtic Tatterns for Tainting and Crafts,
also published by Thames aad Hudsoa.
 Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2020 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation

https://archive.org/details/celticalphabetsOOOOmeeh
 aioan meeHAN
With 502 lllustrations

Thames arid Hudson

 Pon PfnolA

Any copy of this book Issued by the publisher as a paperback

Is sold subject to the condition that It shall not by way of
trade or otherwise be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise
circulated without the publisher's prior consent In any
form of binding or cover other than that In which It Is
published and without a similar condition Including
these words being Imposed on a subsequent purchaser.

artwork and typography copyright © 1997 Aldan Meehan

First published In the United States of America In 1997 by

Thames and Hudson Inc. , 500 Fifth Avenue,
New York, New York 10110

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 97-60249

ISBN 0- 500- 27980-2

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted In any form or by any means
electronic or mechanical, Including photocopy, recording
or any other Information storage and retrieval system,
without prior permission In writing from the publisher.

Printed and bound In Spain

3 1223 07520 6590

Intaobuction b
Alphabet 1: €el Caps 19
Alphabet 2: Cathach 23
Alphabet 3: Spfaals 27
Alphabet 4: Bi ab Heab 31
Alphabet 5: Oo£ Heab 35
Alphabet b: Lace Knot 39
Alphabet 7: Oo£S 43
Alphabet 8: Cels 47
Alphabet 9-' Scoash Knots 53
Alphabet 10: taepofl 57
Alphabet 11: Human Heab bl
Alphabet 12: Humans b5
Alphabet 13: Rabbi t Heab 71
Alphabet 14: Lion Heab 75
Alphabet 15: Blabs 79
Alphabet lb: Oaaco &7
Appenbfx: Skeleton Halp-Uncials 94

5
 HIS BOOK Is one I had In mind for over a decade,

developing the Idea throughout the Celtic

Design series. The decorated letter Is the main

application of Celtic art, and so It seemed

natural to explore ornamental letters, not only In the book

on lUAiminated betters, but In the decoration of all the other

books In the series.

While searching The Book of Kells for examples of

Illuminated letters, I discovered an almost complete

alphabet of lions. Almost complete, because some letters do

not happen to occur In the text, and others such as J, K/ T,

W had not yet come Into general use. There were more than

enough there, though, to suggest that a complete alphabet

had once existed, and that such an alphabet of animal letters

could be usefully reinvented by a modern scribe.

7
1nrao6ucrfon

Again In 'Illuminated letters, 1 collected ampersands, or

"&s", of very varied design, some with lions and birds, but

mostly serpentine fish forms. These last perhaps

represented the germ of another new alphabet, never

completed. From these examples, I Imagined that a whole

alphabet of Interlaced eels could be re-created, given a

knowledge of the letterforms of the time (see 'Alphabet &: Eds ).

These letterforms were easily found. Large black letters In

Irish Majuscule were used extensively In manuscripts of the

period, decorated with all kinds of Celtic designs.

Sometimes two or three share the same motifs, so well-

matched as to suggest other complete alphabets, such as

might once have been collected In a Celtic ABC book copied

from library to library. No example of such a book has

survived, but collections of alphabets are likely to have

existed as textbooks In a school of scribes. Celtic artists

today would find such a manual extremely valuable, should

one ever be discovered.

1 felt Ln the meantime that 1 could assemble such a set of

alphabets, adapted to the modern alphabet and complete.

This would supply the modern designer with a reference for

a particular letter In a particular Celtic style of ornament -

knotwork, animal, spiral, maze or plant - where perhaps It

might be mussing from the surviving sources.

6
 1 nr aoducu on

In making my own books, from the beginning 1 designed

decorated Initials to lead Into each chapter, starting with

Individual letters, each different, and as the series

progressed the Initials all took on a family resemblance, as

If they belonged to the same alphabet, although at the time 1

was just designing each as required for the text. You can

see some examples of these early experiments on the

following pages, figs 1 and 2. They are taken from the first

six books of the Celtic Design series. In the seventh, 1 used

letters from the animal alphabet of 'Illuminated. 'Letters, and

then felt a need for a complete alphabet. In 'The Tree of Tife,

1 designed an alphabet based on modern capitals, decorated

with eel knots -'Alphabet I: Eel Caps - the first alphabet In

this book. Alphabet 2: Cathach (pronounced "Ca-hak"),

which Is called after the famous manuscript of that name,

returns to Celtic script, as do the remaining alphabets.

Alphabet 3: Spirals Is modelled on the Book of Durrow;

Alphabet Turd Head on the Book of Durham; and

Alphabets' Dog Head Is modelled on the Book of Llndlsfarne.

The rest are based on letters from The Book of Kells, except

for the last, which Is based on the 12th-century Harley

manuscript. Since The Dragon and the Griffin Is the only book

In the series without Its own Initials, 1 have called this

final alphabet Draco. Many of these alphabets have been

given a second colour, reminiscent of the red-painted letters

or "rubrlcatu>nM of Illuminated manuscripts.

9
Introduction
Fi£. 1: DecoRAn ve InmALs prom the Celtic Design Series

Four letters from "A'Beginner's AAanuaV

Four letters from "Knotwork "

Four letters from "Animal Tat terns"

10
 1ncao6ucrfon

Pig,. 2: Oecoruxcive Initials paom rhe Celric Design Seaies

^Jour letters from "'Illuminated "Letters"

four letters from "Spiral Tatter rs"

Jour letters from "Maze Tatterns"

11
1nrao6ucrion
Pig,. 3: Decorative InrtuxLs poom the Ceitic Design Seaies

Four letters from "The Dragon and the Griffin"

Four letters from "The Tree of 'Ll fe "

12
 Inrao^ucrfon

As 1 mentioned, the Book of Kells has a great number of

letters based on animal patterns, and the lion was clearly a

favourite choice. While I was collecting all the examples

of letters from the Book of Kells that I could find for

the animal alphabet chapter In illuminated "Letters, there

were so many more lions than birds or other creatures, I

began to think of It as a lion alphabet. Although It was In

fact missing quite a few letters, other letters that occurred

frequently were represented by half a dozen or so

examples. At one point, 1 suggested how some of the missing

letters could be made up to match any one of the existing

lion letters, although 1 left It to the reader to Invent their

own letters 0, W, X, 'Y, and Z.. illuminated Letters was

really a collection of studies from traditional sources,

but 1 also realized that the model 1 had suggested was

only one of many. Such a variety of alphabets could be

built on so many other examples from the animal alphabet

from this one manuscript, why single out just one?

Indeed, 1 was able to find all the Initials 1 needed for

fThe Dragon and the Griffin from that animal alphabet alone.

It seemed to fit the subject of the book, In which the Viking

lion plays such a large role. However, as you can also see

on the previous page, the lions from the Book of Kells take

many forms. Some of them are whole animal figures

arranged to suggest letters, and others are black letters

13
1ntao6ucrfon

with lions’ heads attached to the ends of the pen strokes, as

a decorative serif only. These two such different treatments

work well In an Illuminated manuscript filled with

hundreds of different designs, but might not mix so well In

the context of a single alphabet. Other letters are quite

separate from their ornament, and just enclose a space with

lions tied together Inside, as pure decoration. It would be

easy to Imagine the centre part of the letter D, at the top of

page 12, as having been taken from the design of a brooch or

some other familiar object, adopted by the artist to fill the

oval void of the letter.

This letter D In particular also has a fine spiral pattern

decorating the serif. It Inspired me to make 'Alphabet 7;

Dogs, In which I made the other letters of the alphabet

to match It. Where some letters do not naturally enclose

a space that could be filled with lions, 1 could use the

spiral serifs to link the different kinds of letters together

In the same alphabet. It seems a good Idea to start off

with two or three distinctive features that can be shared

or alternated throughout a series In this way. 1 should

mention In passing that although I was Inspired by the lion,

1 also had In mind the dog which was used a lot In other

manuscripts of the time, and the lion knot lent Itself

easily to the dog pattern I wanted to use.

14
 1 nr Reduction

In Celtic animal patterns, dogs and cats are interchangeable,

being more or less the same shape, except that the dog has a

longer nose and the lion has a tufted tail. While the lion

seems to have been almost a trade mark of the Book of kells,

the dog was preferred in the Book of Lind is fame. 1 like them

both, so 1 have took the construction of the animals from

the one book, and borrowed the style of drawing from

the other.

While the lion letters from the Book of Kells easily suggest

a whole alphabet on their own, it is quite a problem to try

to complete such an alphabet. There are so many variations

among the letters in the original, it seems that they were

drawn from a number of alphabets, some with lions as

secondary motifs, some with lion heads, and some all lions'

bodies, so that several different alphabets suggest

themselves. In fact, 1 found quite a few letters with a lion’s

head serif, and these together inspired 'Alphabet 14: 'Lion

Head, so that 1 cannot say for certain that 1 had any

particular letter in mind.

That is not to say the lion is the only animal head we can

use to decorate a serif. In the Book of Kells, bird heads and

human heads are used in the same way, even a rabbit head

appears here and there, munching on a sprig. This

appearance of the rabbit head was so startling to come

15
Inraoducrfon

across In the context that It always stuck In my mind as a

most unusual treatment. It adds a touch of humour in

otherwise serious surroundings. 'Alphabet 13: 'Rabbit Head

may well serve the same purpose in this book.

The foliage which the Kells rabbit always seems to be

nibbling suggested the Tree of Life to me, which is a motif I

like to use a lot, and although there are very few examples

of it used exclusively in a letter, 1 found one with a

triangular knotwork serif with leaves sprouting from it

that provided an excuse for Alphabet 10: 'Trefoil, and which

1 have used throughout this book for the chapter title pages,

because it is such a pleasure to draw.

1 liked another lion-head letter from the Book of Kells , also

included in fig. 3, more for its abstract filler. This filler

with a wavy line was also used without the animal head,

with a simple, woven-line swash. This is the idea behind

Alphabet 9: Swash Knots. 1 took this name from a kind of

wavy line decoration used to embellish calUgraphy since

Renaissance times, and which 1 suppose had its origin in the

Celtic manuscripts. Incidentally, similarly looping swash

knots were still in widespread use until quite recently, as

gold-braid trim on military uniforms, for example. In the

eighteenth century such braid was nick-named "macaroni'1.

lb
 IrrtRoducuon

While lions were more often bent out of shape to make

letters than any other animal form, they were not the only

one, birds and human figures being the other main

candidates In the Book of Kells, and dogs Instead of human

figures In the most other Celtic manuscripts. Towards the

end of the making of the Book of Kells - the late eighth

century - we start to see human figures being used to

define letters. They are hard to do, as It Is Important to

maintain some Integrity of the human form. If the limbs

are twisted too unnaturally, you cannot help but Identify

with the little figure, and the contortion will seem

strained. Occasionally you come across figures like this

which are obviously satirical, Intended to make you wince

or chuckle. But mostly the figures are plausible, suggesting

natural postures, or movements In a dance. 1 have tried to

keep to this code of conduct In Alphabet 12: Humans. The

other thing to notice about the treatment of the human

figure In Celtic patterns Is that It Is usually presented In

profile, and this convention extends to the features as well.

I had collected a number of studies of the human head from

various sources, so the fact that there were several examples

of letters with human heads for decorative serifs was a good

excuse to draw Alphabet II' Human Heads. This Is the only

alphabet 1 had to do twice over. The first time, 1 fell Into

the trap of caricaturing my relatives, but thought better of

It, and revised my plan.

17
1nrao6ucrfon

The bird Is the oldest motif In Celtic animal art, common to

all the schools of the time. It Is the most universally

widespread motif, and the bird was bent Into letterforms In

the same way as the lion or the dog, and likewise used just

as a serif, or as a filler. 1 chose the latter option for

Alphabet 15: 'Birds, which 1 drew without any particular

traditional source In mind, as birds have long been my

favourite Celtic subject.

The last alphabet In this book Is representative of the late

style that developed In Ireland In the twelfth century.

Although the creature Is really a very stylized lion, It has

absorbed some of that fantastic, heraldic energy which was

Introduced Into Celtic art by the Vikings and which, as Irish

Romanesque, was the style that flourished just before the

Gothic. I Included some examples of the style In 'The Dragon

and the Griffin, but the one I had In mind for this alphabet

appears as the letter E on page 53 of my painting book, and 1

built ALphabet lb: Draco very closely around that one letter.

I hope that these sixteen Celtic alphabets will be useful as

models, and will also Inspire fresh adaptation of this blend

of Celtic art and letters.

18
19
Alphabet 1: Eel Caps

20
 Alph^ber 1: €ei C^ps

21
Alphabet 1: €eb C<\p$

22
23
AlphAber 2: CAthAch

24
 Alphabet 2: CacH-acH

25
AlphAber 2: CArhAch

\*i*\

2b
27
Alphabet 3: SpfraLs

26
 Alph^ber 3-' SpirusLs

29
Alphabet y SpiRAls

30
31
Alphabet 4: Dia6 He^x5

32
 Alphabet 4: 3fn6 He^\6

33
AlphAber 4:

34
35
Alphabet 5: Oo£ He^\5

3b
 Alphabet 5: He^6

37
Alphabet: 5 : O05 He^\d

38
39
40
Alphabet b: La.ce Knot
AlphAber b: l Ace Knot
43
AlphAber 7: Dogs

44
 Alph^ber 7: Oo£S

45
Alphabet 7: Do£S

46
47
Alphabet 8: 6eis

46
 Alphabet 8: £ets

49
AlphAber 6: Eels

50
 Alphabet 8: €eis

51
Alphabet: 6: 6 els

52
53
AlphAber 9: SooasH Knocs

54
 Alphabet: 9: Su>asH Knors

0) 55
AlphAber 9- SuJAsh Knors

5b
57
Alphabet 10: taepoiT

58
 Alphabet 10: Caepofl

59
Alphabet 10: ^aepofl

b0
bl
Alphabet: 11: Huiruxn HeA&

b2
 Alphabet 11: Human Hea6

t>3
Alphabet 11: Human Hea6

54
65
AlphAber 12: Humans

bb
 AlphAber 12: HumAns

67
Alphabet: 12: Humans

b8
 Alphabet 12: Humans

t>9
Alphuvber 12: HumAns

70
71
Alphabet 13: Uabbfr HeA6

72
 Alphabet 13-' l^Abbi'r

73
AlphAbec 13: UAbbfr HeA6

74
75
Alphabet: 14: Lion HeA&

7b
 Alphuxber 14: Lion Hca6

77
AlpHaber 14: Lion He&fr

78
79
Alphabet 15: 3ir65

80
 AlphAber 15: Bia6s

01
Alphabet 15: Bia6s

82
 AlphAbec 15:

63
Alphabet 15: Bia&s

84
 AlphAbet 15: Bir6s

85
Alpbuxber 15: 13ia6s

8b
87
Alphabet: 1b: Draco

68
 AlphAber 16: Draco

89
AtpVuxber 16: Draco

90
 Alphabet 1b: Draco

91
Alphabet lb: Draco

92
 Alphabet 1b: Draco

93
Appendix
Pig. 4; Skeleton HAlp- UnciiaIs as OnAum torch Ooo Pencils

Here Is how to draw the basic Celtic alphabet In skeleton

form using two pencils tied together at a slight angle. Thus

Is a good way to draw the letters If you want to preserve

the feeling of the pen-made script. Many of the alphabets,

such as the early ones, and of course those made of animal

or human forms, are just drawn with a pencil In the usual

way, but It Is helpful to know how to construct the uncial

letters themselves, as these

give Celtic letters their

distinctive character.

1 have already described

the order for making the

pen strokes of Irish Half-Uncials

In chapter 5 of the 'Beginner's 7V\a

to which this appendix may serve

a footnote.

'Tape or bind two pencils together as shown so that the right is

slightly shorter than the left

94
 Appendix
Pig. 5: SkeLeron Half- Uncials

95
Appendix

Other books by the author containing examples of decorated

letters:

Celtic Design: A 'Beginner's 7V\anual

Celtic Design: Knotwork

Celtic Design: Animal Tatterns

Celtic Design: Illuminated letters

Celtic Design: Spiral Tatterns

Celtic Design: TWaze Tatterns

Celtic Design: The Dragon and the Griffin

Celtic Design: The Tree of Tife

Celtic Tatterns for Tainting and Crafts

9b
 Of all the ornamental applications of Celtic art, the decorated
letter Is perhaps the richest. This wonderful collection of
sixteen complete alphabets, created by Aidan Meehan from hts
deep knowledge of Celtic Illuminated letters and styles,
Includes knotwork, animal and plant forms, spirals, and
human figures.

From seventh-century spirals to twelfth-century leonine

dragons, from early uncials decorated with bird heads to
modern capitals laced with Celtic eel knots, over five
hundred drawings cover the whole spectrum of Celtic
ornament In Its most useful form.

Artists, designers, calligraphers and craftspeople will find this

an Invaluable work of reference and Inspiration.

With 502 Illustrations

Also by Aldan Meehan

The Celtic Destgn series:

A 'Beginner's TSAanual
Knotwork
Animal Tatterns
'Illuminated letters
Spiral Tatterns
AAaze Tatterns
The Dragon and the Griffin
The Tree of Tiff

Celtic Tatterns for Tainting and Crafts

On the cover: Celtic Alphabets by Aldan Meehan

Thames and Hudson

500 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10110 ISBN 0-500-27980-2
9 0000

$15.95

Printed In Spain 9 780500 279809