Buy Jewelry Online - Celtic Wedding Rings
Celtic wedding rings employ the knot, a motif unique to Celtic art and a perfect symbolic representation of matrimony. Before we discuss Celtic wedding rings, a brief discussion of the origins of the form is in order. The term "Celts" refers to a large number of different ethnic and tribal groups united by the Celtic language. The Celtic language is, more properly, a group of Indo-European languages identified by linguists as being of common origin.
The Celtic nations are essentially the British Isles with the exception of Ireland. In England the Celtic tradition was subsumed by Anglo-Saxon culture. The long held belief that all Cetic culture trace back to a common tribe has been disproved by genetic investigators and it is now believed Celtic culture was spread by conquering other unrelated tribes or through simple cultural influence of neighboring peoples.
Celtic art in modern usage refers to the designs and motifs that came to prominence during the Celtic art revival of the eighteenth century. This revival was born out of the desire by the Welsh and Scottish to assert their cultural identities in the face of the dominance of English culture in political and religious areas.
The Celts were not influenced by Greco-Roman representational art traditions and evolved a distinct stylized abstract form of decoration that has more in common with Arabic decorative traditions, save for the rare use of symmetry. The frequent use of endlessly repeating, narrow, linear patterns was adopted by the Western European Catholic Church and is seen in Christian manuscripts, churches and cathedrals throughout the world.
A common and unique motif in Celtic art is the knot. It is used to symbolize infinity, eternity and union. It is this that makes Celtic bands uniquely suited for matrimonial jewelry.
Contemporary designers using the Celtic knot motif for ring designs are highly creative because of the opportunities the knot patterns allow for incorporating open space within the band itself. Gemstones are the exception rather than the rule, making Celtic wedding rings practical for everyday wear.
Common patterns used in Celtic wedding bands are the Infinity Motif (a two strand braid), the Trinity Knot (three interlocked petal-shapes, commonly found in Catholic Churches and similar to the universal sign representation for nuclear), the Celtic Knot, the Celtic Circle, the Newgrange Spiral, the Celtic Spiral and the Celtic Heart. The number of possible combinations of these designs is extremely large. When we add the ingenuity of modern artisans in edging styles and gem insets, Celtic wedding rings for every taste are available.