Robert D.
Stevick
2017
2013
2004
2000
Dividers and straight-edge had an obvious rôle in laying down the straight lines and circular arcs of Irish high crosses. Understanding of their rôle in the practical geometry that governs the forms of those crosses—the lengths of their structural lines and the distances between them—went missing a long time ago. The shared geometry of the Duleek Cross and the Tynan Island Cross make them specially instructive in recovering an understanding of the designs of high crosses, designs which share essential traits with the designs of illuminations in the early Insular gospel codices, and other fine artifacts from the same milieu.
Dividers and straight-edge had an obvious rôle in laying down the straight lines and circular arcs of Irish high crosses. Understanding of their rôle in the practical geometry that governs the forms of those crosses—the lengths of their structural lines and the distances between them—went missing a long time ago. The shared geometry of the Duleek Cross and the Tynan Island Cross make them specially instructive in recovering an understanding of the designs of high crosses, designs which share essential traits with the designs of illuminations in the early Insular gospel codices, and other fine artifacts from the same milieu.