You have received a beautiful Celtic cross as a gift. Before you wear it out, you are curious about the origins of this detailed piece of jewelry and you want to know what it symbolizes. There are a few things that may surprise you about the origins of Celtic jewelry.
Historians have not been able to determine an exact date on which Celtic jewelry was produced, but they have narrowed the dates down to sometime between 2000 BC to around 550 AD. Each piece of jewelry features a symbol that has a specific meaning. It can be crafted using a variety of metals, but silver and gold are used most often.
Celtic art images have been found on ancient tombstones, shields, and religious manuscripts.
Who were the Celtics?
The Celtics were ancient Irish and Scottish people whose civilization existed for 1500 years. They emerged during the iron age. Iron was a plentiful commodity in those days, and the Celts were a society of warriors and artists who used this precious metal to create many different objects.
There were three branches of this ancient culture Brythonic, Gaulic, and Gaelic, and each branch had its own language. Welsh and Gaelic are two of the languages that are still spoken today.
Historians believe the Celtics were polytheists and that there were men known as druids whose job was to figure out what the gods wanted. They used iron swords and shields in battle, and those swords and shields often had images on them that were designed to honor specific gods.
Archaeologists have found many artifacts with Celtic images on them. Many early artifacts have images of animals, and horses are especially associated with power.
Types of Celtic Jewelry
These are a few of the symbols you will typically see in Celtic jewelry.
Celtic Knots
Although they are known as trinity knots, Celtic knots preceded Christianity. The image consists of three interlocking arcs. They are thought to have represented mind, body, and sea or a beginning, middle, and end.
Celtic knot spirals are thought to represent the sun spiraling around the earth as they believed it did. It may also have represented three stages of human gestation, with each spiral representing a three-month period.
Celtic Cross
The ornate Celtic cross is not a Christian symbol, although it is used by the church today. It was around long before the birth of Christ. The circle in the middle represented the sun, and it was used by pagans who worshiped that light source. They were originally carved out of stone. Christians are said to have adopted the cross to convince pagans to follow Christ.
The Tree of Life
According to Celtic designs jewelry, the tree of life is probably one of the most well-known symbols in the world. It represents harmony and nature. Trees provided Celtic people with food and medicine. They also made shelters out of wood. The vegetation was considered their life source and they were known to have important gatherings and ceremonies under these trees.
Celtic Jewelry makes a fine gift for anyone who appreciates detailed artwork. You can find some inexpensive pieces that will look great on anyone.