The Irish Script on Screen is a great resource and inspiration for me. It is a collection of images of manuscripts written in the Insular minuscule script, which is one of my favorite scripts – it’s the one I use most often in my art. It’s a delightfully quirky script, and is entirely unique to the British Isles. The script was first developed towards the end of the 6th century, when the Romans brought Christianity and Latin to Ireland and Great Britain. By the 10th century the script had fallen out of favor in England, Scotland, and Wales, but the Irish continued to use this script into the 17th century, as you will see if you browse the images in The Irish Script on Screen.
Manuscripts written in Insular minuscule are often decorated with Celtic knots and fantastical creatures, but many of them are quite plain. I enjoy the plain ones just as much as the elaborately decorated ones – even without any ornamentation, they have an amazing grace and beauty.
In my calligraphy, I simplify the Insular minuscule script. The form of it used in the Middle Ages is rather difficult for modern eyes to read (“g” and “r” are especially strange-looking), so I have done my best to simplify it for modern eyes, while retaining the original quirkiness of the medieval script.
