IRISH CALIGRAPHY.

355 sixth centuries. Westwood shows that the letters so long supposed to be peculiar to the Irish and Anglo-Saxons (round-hand as well as running-hand), occur ia almost exactly the same forms in the oldest Lombardic and Gaelic manuscripts. The Irish handwriting appears in two different forms, varying as regards their use, namely, the minuscule, or round-hand, and the more angular running-hand. The former exhibits several varieties. One of these, the form of round-hand, which is seen in the Gospels of Lindisfarne, St. Chad, and those of St. Columba in Dublin, as those in the Missal of St. Columbanus at Milan, approaches the round uncial writing; while another small and delicate style of letter, such as appears in the Leabhar Dimma, the Book of Armagh, and the Gospels of Mac Durnan, has more analogy to the running-hand.

"The character of the uncial writing, from the roundness and graceful curve of the lines, acquires a softness very pleasing to the eye, as contrasted with the Frankish style, which presents more angularity, gradually passing into the stiffness and abruptness of what is called the Gothic style. Moreover, the symmetry of this kind of handwriting is remarkable, as exhibited in the distance of the several letters from each other, and in their well-proportioned height. The shading and tinting of the different letters is also managed with much skill and taste. The runninghand, for which a tolerably elastic pen was used, seems, notwithstanding its regularity, to have been written with freedom and ease. The large hooked rectangular broken letters (litera quadrate angulose') which are introduced for variety, occur only in the initial words of chapters, and seem in some respects peculiar to the Irish.

"The Irish Runic or Ogham character, which is often met with on stone monuments, as in inscriptions upon tombs, and was sometimes also used in writing and counting, though chiefly as a cipher, consists of perpendicular and slanting strokes arranged on a horizontal line.

"On the whole it must be admitted that Irish caligraphy, in that stage of its development which produced the examples contained in the accompanying plates, had attained a high degree of cultivation, which certainly did not result from the genius of single individuals, but from the emulation of numerous schools of writing. and the improvement of several generations. There is not a single letter in the entire alphabet which does not give evidence, both in its general form and its minuter parts, of the sound judgment and taste of the penman.

"In the oldest manuscripts of the West which have come down to us, we already find the initial letter, or the first line of the work, and of each new chapter, written in a larger hand, and occasionally with some ornaments. In the sixth and seventh centuries, the distinction of the initial words becomes still greater, and they sometimes appeared in variegated colours. This art of caligraphic decoration was carried to its greatest extreme by the Irish scribes. In their manuscripts the initials often reach an enormous size, and the interlacings of bands, serpents, and lizards, which are quite peculiar to them, are exhibited with a fineness, sharpness, and elegance of execution and a compilation which borders on the incredible.

"In contrast to the style of the Continent, no Irish manuscripts are written on coloured parchment, nor with silver ink. Instead of this, the interior portions of the letters are variously coloured, as on the Continent, and the strokes are surrounded with red points or dots. Another peculiarity is that, as already remarked, the first words stand out in huge rectangular broken letters, which are frequently drawn into one another, and placed unconnectedly, so as to be hardly intelligible. The letters at the end of the line, when space is wanting, are often joined together in the oddest manner.

"With respect to orthography, the Irish books written in the Latin language, presents various peculiarities, as well as oversights and errors. The letters o and u are often confounded, as in diabulus, for diabolus; f put for ph, as in farisei, profeta; bt instead of pt, as baptizo, scribtura; v for b, and the reverse, as gravatum for grabatum; i instead of y, as Egiptus, and so on. Examples of faults in orthography are: cessar, tentatio, thensaures, torcetur (for torquetur), locitur (for loquitur), consulari (for consolari), delussus (for delusus), &c. Prepositions and particles are almost always joined to the words to which they belong. Three dots () mark a period; two dots and a comma (..,) a semicolon; and one dot at half the height of the letters is a comma.

"The following notices show how early the caligraphic art flourished in Ireland: Dageus, Abbot of Inniskeltra, who died in the year 387 (ten years before the death of Columba), is mentioned as 'scriptor liborum peritissimus.' Ultan, who died in 655, was also renowned as a caligrapher, as we learn from a metrical epistle of Ethelwolf's to Egbert, who was staying in Ireland for the purpose of collecting manuscripts.

"Ex quibus est Ultan preclarus nomine dictus,
Comptis qui potuit notis ornare libellos.'"

SAXON Invasion of Ireland.-A Famine and Storms.-First Danish Invasion.-Cruelties of the Danes.-The Black and White Gentiles.-King Cormac Mac Cullinan.-Rock of Cashel. -Death of Cormac.-Danish Invasion.-Curious Prophecies.-Prophecy of St. Bercan.-Further Ravages by the Danes.-Early Literary Compositions.-The Danes Settle in Cork.-Excesses of the Danes.-Invasion of Meath and Ossory.-Extracts from the Annals.-The Danes at Limerick.-Treachery of Sitric.-The Battle of Dundalk.-Supposed Conversion of the Danes. -Brian Boroimhe and the Dalcassians.-Murder of Mahoun.-The Gospel of Barri.-Elegy of Brian Boroimhe.-Brian avenges the Death of Mahoun.-Banishment of the Danes from Erin. -Brian's Challenge to Maelmuadh.-Malachy II., Nominal King of Ireland.-Capture of Maelmordha.-Brian deposes Malachy.-Gormflaith is "grim" against Brian.-Maelmordha's Revolt against Brian.-Preparations for Battle.-Battle of the Fishing Weir of Clontarf.-Death of Murrough.- Death of Brian.-Dalcassian Bravery and Death of Malachy.-Danish Armour and Brian's Troops.-Raids on Cork.-Miracle by St. Ciaran.

IVILIZATION was at its highest stage in the period which elapsed before the commencement of the seventh century and the Danish invasions, but there are not many events of interest. Obituaries of ecclesiastics and details of foreign missions, which we have already recorded, are its salient points. The wars of the Saxon Heptarchy and the Celtic Pentarchy almost synchronize, though we find several Irish kings influenced by the examples of sanctity with which they were surrounded, and distinguished for piety, while Charlemagne pronounces their neighbours a perfidious and perverse race, worse than pagans. There can be no doubt that Charlemagne's high opinion of the Irish was caused by the fact, that so many of the heads of his schools were of that nation, which was then in the vanguard of civilization and progress. The cloister, always the nursery of art, the religious, always the promoters of learning, were pre-eminent in this age for their devotion to literary pursuits.

The revolution of social feeling which was effected in Ireland by the introduction of Christianity, is strongly marked. Before the advent of St. Patrick, few Irish monarchs died a natural death-ambition or treachery proved a sufficient motive for murder and assassination; while of six kings who reigned during the eighth and ninth centuries, only one died a violent death, and that death was an exception, which evidently proved the rule, for Nial was drowned in a generous effort to save the life of one of his own servants.