An Insular crozier is a type of processional bishop's staff (crozier)Often spelled as "crosier", including by Irish art historians produced in Ireland and Scotland between 800 and 1200. They are distinguished from mainland European types by their curved and open crooks, and drop (the hollow box-like extension at the end of the crook).Youngs (1989), p. 214Murray (2007a), p. 81 By the end of the 12th century, production of Irish croziers had largely ended, but examples continued to be reworked and added to throughout the Romanesque and Gothic periods.Murray (2007a), p. 89 Although many of the croziers are associated with 5th- and 6th-century saints, the objects were not made until long after the saints had died. A majority originate from around the 9th century, with a number further embellished between the 11th and 13th centuries.
Croziers were symbols of office for bishops or abbots. Their form is based on the idea of the shepherd as pastor of his flock and was popular from the early days of Christianity. The first known mention of the attribute in relation to Ireland is from 431 CE, and in the context of the conversion of the Irish population to Christianity.Moss (2014), p. 310 The first Insular staffs were produced in the 9th and 10th centuries during periods of political and religious upheaval in Ireland, when authority was often seen as needing to be made explicit, including during the Viking invasions. A number of examples, such as the Cath Bhuaidh, found in Iona, are known to have been carried into battle against the Vikings as talismans. Insular croziers tend to be around 1.2 meters in length, the same size as a large walking stick.
Most have an inner wooden core onto which tubular copper alloy (bronze) plates were attached. The crooks tend to be highly decorated with elements such as openwork and animal designs. As of 2014, fewer than 20 surviving fully intact examples were known, in addition to 60 fragments in various states of completeness.Murray (2007a), p. 82
The major extant examples include the Clonmacnoise Crozier (thought to be amongst the first examples of Irish metalwork of the medieval period), the Kells Crozier (9th to 11th centuries), St Mel's Crozier (10th and 12th century), the River Laune Crozier (late 10th century), the Lismore Crozier (c. 1100), and the Scottish Coigreach and St Fillan’s Crozier.McIntyre; Oddy (1973), pp. 35–46Murray (2007a), p. 80Moss (2014), p. 312–315 The majority of surviving Insular croziers are held in the National Museum of Ireland, National Museum of Scotland and the British Museum.
Ecclesiastical and secular functions It is unknown exactly what their function in Irish medieval society was, but they were probably of ceremonial use, and some may have held relics in their drops.Murray (2021), p. 1 As the art historian Anthony T. Lucas points out, at the time the "most prestigious of all Irish relics and the one most frequently mentioned down the years was ... the Bachall Iosa or Staff of Jesus ... [said ] to have been received directly from Heaven by St. Patrick."Lucas (1986), p. 9 Although the croziers are often associated with early Christian Irish saints from the 600-800 era, it is not thought that the wooden cores of the staffs date from that period. However some (but not all) historians think that the drops may have been constructed as containers for relics.
As undoubted symbols of wealth and power,"The Lismore Crozier, AD 1100 ". National Museum of Ireland. Retrieved 18 August 2021 the croziers may have at times been used for solemnising treaties, swearing oaths, or even as battle talismans.Moss (2014), p. 312Lucas (1986), p. 18 The antiquarian George Petrie noted how, in Ireland, relics of saints "used to be carried to distant places on solemn occasions, in order that rival chieftains might be sworn upon them, so much that the word mionna, which means enshrined relics, came to denote both a relic and an oath."Stuart (1877), p. 12Lucas (1986), p. 8 The annuals recounting the life of St. Finnchu of Brigown, County Cork, mentions a battle against a king of Ulaid where the saint approaches the field with a crozier as a talisman.
The earliest known Irish crozier, dating to 596 AD and entirely made of wood, was found in a bog at Lemanaghan, County Offaly.O'Carroll; Condit (2000), p. 24 Representations of croziers appear in multiple other Insular art formats, including manuscripts, high crosses and stone carvings.O'Carroll; Condit (2000), p. 25
Characteristics
Insular croziers were probably made in workshops specialising in metal inlay techniques. The art historian Griffin Murray speculates that the master craftsman behind the Clonmacnoise Crozier may also be responsible for two other extant examples.Murray (2021), p. 24 The croziers vary in size, material, and amount and quality of decoration. A typical length is 1.2 meters, with the Prosperous Crozier from County Kildare being both the oldest and 1.33 meters the longest.Murray (2021), pp. 113–114 The major components are the shaft or staff and attached base, crook, and knop, with the crook, knop and ferrule being the most decorated elements.Murray (2004), p. 26
Only five croziers have inscriptions. Of these, only the Kells and Lismore Croziers have the lettering that is still legible.Murray (2007a), p. 88The other three are the St Dympna's, Prosperous and Ardagh croziers, see Murray (2007a), p. 88 The Lismore Crozier contains both the name of the smith (Nechtan),Ó Floinn; Wallace (2002), p. 221 and the name of the Bishop of Lismore who commissioned it,Ó Floinn; Wallace (2002), p. 235 while the Kells Crozier names the smith as Conduilig, and its commissioner as Malfinnen, Archbishop of Leinster."Kells Crozier". British Museum. Retrieved 19 August 2021
Crook The crooks are positioned on top of the shaft and are typically highly decorated with silver, gold, glass, and niello-style inlay and openwork crests, while the crook of the Aghadoe crozier is crafted from walrus ivory.Moss (2014), p. 314 They ornamented may include interlace designs, geometric patterns and zoomorphic (portraying humans as non-human animals) figures. The animal designs in the earliest example are depicted in a naturalistic manner, while many of the later examples bear influence from both the Ringerike and later Urnes styles of Viking art.Bourke (1985), p. 151Ó Floinn; Wallace (2002), p. 220 Some of the Ringerike style animals bear close resemblance to figures on the margins of ninth-century Insular brooches.Bourke (1985), p. 153
The designs on the crook of the Clonmacnoise Crozier are in the Ringerike style and include snake-like animals with ribbon-shaped bodies arranged, according to art historian Patrick Wallace, "in tightly woven knots", while the crest contains a series of "gripping dogs". The Lismore Crozier contains three open-mouthed animals "connected in an Urnes-style mesh."
Drop The majority of Insular crozier's crooks terminate with a flat drop, typically formed from an inserted and functional metal plaque, and a highly ornate openwork drop plate, studded with jewels, as with the Lismore Crook. The plaques often have an animal (or, less often human) head at the top, below which a separate structure (known as the drop-plate) was attached.Murray (2007a), p. 84 Based on carvings on a number of high crosses, including that at Ahenny, County Tipperary, it can be assumed that the clerics held the staffs with both hands at chest height, with the drop facing outward.Murray (2007a), p. 83 As thus the most visible portion of the crozier, the drops were the obvious focus point for figurative art, an element that is, apart from zoomorphism, otherwise almost entirely absent in Insular metalwork. While a number of examples retain their precious metal jewels, in general most of the Insular crozier have lost their drops, presumably through plunder.Murray (2007a), p. 85
This led to theories in the 19th century that the drops acted as containers for smaller relics of saints, while the metal casing held the saint's original wooden staffs. However, these claims have been in doubt since the mid-20th century, and there is no evidence to support the theories.Murray (2004), pp. 24, 26 An exception is the Lismore Crozier, where two small relics and a linen cloth were found inside the crook during a 1966 refurbishment.Murray (2007a), pp. 85–86
Shaft The shaft is generally formed from a wooden core, usually of yew wood, sheeted with metal tubing, and often millefiori discs and inlaid glass bosses.Moss (2014), p. 315 This core was used to support the weight of the hook, given that the metal casing is usually comparatively thin. The tubing was typically fitted with metal plating, usually of copper-alloy or silver, and attached by nails and rivets.Murray (2007a), p. 79Moss (2014), p. 311McIntyre; Oddy (1973), p. 38 In earlier examples, the hook was formed from two separate plates fastened by a crest (coat of arms) and a binding strip, while the drop (the plate at the front end of the hook) was attached separately. In some Romanesque crosiers, the crest is on the same plate as the crook, with only the drop as a separate attachment.Murray (2007a), p. 89
The shaft gets progressively narrower after the lowest knope before tapering to spike or ferrule.
Knops The shafts of the extant croziers are lined with between three and five decorative knops; that is separately cast, protruding barrel-shaped metal fittings.Murray (2007a), p. 86 They all cast in bronze and are either cylindrical or biconical and fully wrap around the shaft.Murray (2004), p. 25 Typical decorative elements include inserted triangular and rectangular plaques ornamented with inlaid silver, interlace, glass studs, and enamel. The individual knopes are usually placed equally distant from each other and separated by lengths of open, plain copper-alloy. Four seems to have been the usual number, while those, such as the Clonmacnoise crozier, that have three are usually shorter overall and may have lost some of their length at some stage (probably when they were broken apart to make them easier to fold and thus hide from Viking and later Norman invaders).Murray (2021), p. 6 Knops were some times reused and attached to other croziers, the usual case for those that have five. Examples containing re-used knops include St. Dympna’s and St. Columba’s croziers.Murray (2007a), pp. 81–82
In all Insular examples, the upper and middle knopes are separately cast, while (excepting the Clonmacnoise Crosier) the lower knope is fused with the ferrule. The designs on the upper knop of the Clonmacnoise and River Laune croziers are similar to those at the lower portion of their crooks. Both the Clonmacnoise and St. Columba’s croziers have decorative collars below their upper knopes.Murray (2007a), p. 90 Knops are not unique to Insular croziers and can be found in many contemporary and later European examples.
Surviving examples Like many Irish medieval religious objects, particularly shrines, some of the croziers (Irish language: bachall)Foclóir Nua Béarla-Gaeilge: https://www.teanglann.ie/ga/fgb/bachall were built in single phases, while others were first built in the 9th century and added to or reworked across the 10th and 11th centuries. Many of the croziers were held over the centuries by hereditary keepers, usually generations of a local family, until re-discovered by antiquarians in the early 19th century.Murray (2008), pp. 114–116Murray (2007b), p. 146Mitchell (1996), p. 6
The art historian Griffith Murray estimates that there is "physical evidence for at least thirty-one Insular-type crosiers from Ireland", and around 20 other fragments composed of shafts, knops and base (ferrule). In addition there are fragments of four eighth-century Insular crosiers in Scandinavia.Murray (2007a), p. 82
Irish The Prosperous Crozier