Celtic Knotwork Tattoos and Celtic Tattoo Designs: History and Significance in Modern Tattoo Design

Tuesday 17th of March 2009 10:26:09 AM [Add To This Article]

Celtic knotwork tattoos are extremely popular and highly symbolic, and have been for many years. These highly ornamental styles of tattoo are very common in a wide variety of images and patterns, and many people enjoy customizing Celtic knotwork to fit their own ideas and tattoo designs. Celtic knotwork originated as a metalworking technique hundreds and hundreds of years ago, and it originally became popular in Roman times when Celtic druids were used as tutors and companions for the children of the Roman aristocracy. The beautiful and elaborate knots which have no beginning and no end were used to decorate jewelry, shields and weapons. The elaborate knots and spirals created two levels of artwork: an image that was evident from far away, and an intricate craftsmanship that beguiled the eye and drew appreciation from viewers from close up.

In tattoo design, Celtic knotwork serves a variety of functions:

•    Many artists will customize an image by turning it into a Celtic knot.

While a clover tattoo or a leopard tattoo is interesting and fun for many people, if you want to add an additional dimension to your tattoo and potentially give a nod to Celtic (Irish, Scottish or Welsh) heritage, then you might have your tattoo turned into a Celtic knotwork design. These tattoos are usually custom made, but if you want to get ideas for some images that are popularly turned into knotwork, then you might look online for images like clover tattoos, cat tattoos, horse tattoos and cross tattoos.

•    Celtic knots make great frames for portrait and memorial tattoos.

If you want to really set off a portrait tattoo or any other tattoo that is particularly special to you, then framing it with an intricate Celtic knot may be the ideal way to show off your tattoo design. Celtic knot frames are usually fairly simple (as far as Celtic knots go) and, as is traditional, have no beginning and no end. These frames can be thin and simple or very thick and complex. They are sometimes adorned with botanical imagery like thistles or clover in addition to the knotwork itself.

•    Celtic knotwork is a popular background.

If you have several tattoos fairly close to one another and are considering turning them into a sleeve, then remember to include Celtic knotwork as a potential background when you are envisioning your tattoo design. While probably the most popular background for sleeves are Japanese tattoo style clouds, Celtic knotwork can be highly stylized to create a beautiful background for your sleeve that also indicates your appreciation for Celtic culture or reminds you of your Celtic heritage.

While Celtic knotwork is probably the most popular form of Celtic art in tattooing, there are also a number of related designs that also appear in conjunction with classic Celtic knots. These often are similar to the style of knotwork adopted by the Vikings, who transformed Celtic knotwork to suit their own preferences by creating a style known as interlace, which is much simpler and has a beginning and end. In interlace tattoos, the ends of the strands tend to be the feet, tails and heads of animals. This is called animal interlace and is very popular in animal tattoo designs. Any custom tattoo artist can transform a pattern into animal interlace, but since most tattoo artists do not specialize in this form of tattoo design, it may be better for the authenticity of your tattoo to locate a specialist and purchase a stencil of your desired Celtic knotwork tattoo or animal interlace tattoo directly from the expert.

Celtic tattoos are popular on a symbolic level as well as an aesthetic one. Because the loops have no beginning and no end, they are often used to indicate the permanence of love and the cycle – or circle – of life. They are also popular when it comes to religious tattoos because Celtic cross tattoos indicate the limitless nature of God’s love for His creation and also the unending mercy that God shows in the Bible for those who believe in Him. Even people who are not particularly spiritual enjoy these images because of the incredible depth of history in Celtic cross tattoos and the intense emotions that these images evoke. Whether you are simply appreciative of the artisanship that went into Celtic knotwork and goes into the design of Celtic knot tattoos or if you find religious significance in Celtic knot tattoos as well, these Celtic knot tattoo designs can help you find the perfect tattoo for you.

Related Tattoo Wiki Articles

• Read about uses for Celtic Knotwork
• Read about Celtic Knotwork Symbolism