The "Celtic Knot" is a stylized graphical representation of knots and braids used for decoration. Most commonly attributed to the ancient Celts, the art form is also commonly found in Norse and even Egyptian artifacts.  Although it is often a scholarly debate as to where the art form originated it is believed to have reached it's zenith in the early centuries A.D. when the Christian monks used them to illustrate and ornament written documents like the 8th century masterpiece, "The Book of Kells ."

     The while celticknot.com may not be a website about the art form known as "Celtic Knotwork" per se', I do have a great interest in the art form and do know of many resources for folks interested in learning more about them... So, after many emails requesting design information or a selection of knot work for use, I offer the following list...

     On top of the list is the "Celtic Knot Font." This is a true type font that contains most of the basic design elements and can be used with any word processing program the supports true-type fonts. The knotwork for this icon was made with my licensed copy of the font. Since I purchase it several years ago the line has been expanded from one font to four. If you want a quick way to come up with knotwork embellishments for a project, this is a definite must have. You can get it at: http://www.clanbadge.com/knots.htm

Google - just search for celtic knots and the list of returns will be HUGE.  Some of my favorites are:

Icons and Buttons: http://www.conjure.com/ICON/icons.html
 
General Images: http://www.celts.org/celtic-images/
 
Clip Art: http://www.ceolas.org/clipart.html
 
Background graphics: http://www2.webng.com/celticknots/introduction.html
 
Celtic Knot Design Chart - for needle point work: http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/stitching/celtic.htm

Amazon.com has several resources in the form of electronic clip art and royalty free designs:

• Celtic Designs for Artists and Craftspeople CD-ROM and Book (Dover Electronic Clip Art)
  by Dover
• Ready-to-Use Celtic Designs : 96 Different Copyright-Free Designs Printed One Side (Clip Art Series)
  by Mallory Pearce

Amazon.com also has a wide variety of art books on the topic of Celtic Knots. The two most prolific authors are the venerable George Bain and Aidan Meehan. Some of the top titles are as follows:

• Celtic Art : The Methods of Construction
  by George Bain
• Celtic Knots: Mastering the Traditional Patterns (Celtic Design)
  by Aidan Meehan
• Celtic Design: Knotwork : The Secret Method of the Scribes (Celtic Design)
  by Aidan Meehan

Enjoy!

Franklyn D. Garland
The Celtic Knot