Download and print activity sheets to learn the basics of how calligraphers and craftspeople wrote and decorated manuscripts and objects in early medieval Ireland.
In each of these four activity sheets, learn the first steps on how to write in the script of insular majuscule, the script used by scribes to write manuscripts in early medieval Ireland, discover how letters were coloured and decorated, and learn the 'secret method' of creating interlace, knotwork and spirals used to decorate manuscripts, fine metal objects, and even high crosses.
These worksheets are adapted from The Irish art of Calligraphy by Timothy O’Neill published by the Royal Irish Academy. Produced for the exhibition by the National Museum of Ireland: ‘Words on the Wave: Ireland and St Gallen in Early Medieval Europe’.
Activity Sheet - Insular Majuscule
Activity Sheet - Decorating Letters
Activity Sheet - Interlace and the 'Secret' Method
Activity Sheet - Sprials and Knotwork