`Holye crossys': a catalogue of processional, altar, pendant and crucifix figures for late medieval Ireland

Considers the late medieval metalworker in Ireland. Reliquaries, paxes, badges, candlesticks, chalices and other liturgical implements have not received the attention deserved. Nearly forty metal processional, altar and pendant crosses and crucifix figures survive from the late medieval period in Ireland. The earliest surviving crosses date from the 1340s, but most come from the mid- to late-fifteenth century. Some of the Irish crosses are similar to Anglo-Norman examples and were made by the same metalsmiths working in the late medieval Gothic style. A number of these crosses that are now in British and Irish collections have probably been in their respective countries since the medieval period and can be traced to the same metalsmiths. Other crosses are more localised in iconography and style and form a subtle bridge between a style of representation found in twelfth-century Ireland and what was to follow in the sixteenth century. Instead of indicating connections outside of the country in this period, this latter group is said to show that the native tradition and creative spirit of metalworking were alive in late medieval Ireland.