Design of the

Moors, Celts and

Vikings

Name: Regina Best

ID# 0002697
Course Code: ARTH 321
Course Title: History of Design
Tutor: L. Sten-Nicholson

December 5

2014

The world today has been greatly influenced by the people who came centuries ago.
Their way of living was very significant and paved the way for our lives. Majority of this
influence came from Africa and the Middle East where the people called Moors reigned. These
people can be viewed as the beginning of other peoples, civilisations and nations to come after.
They travelled far and wide in all directions and this resulted in other societies like the Celts and
Vikings. Together their lives and cultures produced incredible inventions, writings and art. As
time passed and generations flourished, their traditions either died or were passed on and lived
again. In this essay, their creative lives will be explored and the way they influenced the
Caribbean and the rest of the modern world.
The Moors were a ruling indigenous people of North Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
They were known for their dark complexion and were called various names including the
Berbers, Fomoors and Mauritanians. The Moors were often associated with Arabs especially
when speaking about their religion Islam. They were many kinds of Moors such as Egyptian
Moors who were very advanced, Muslim Moors and Christian
Moors among others. They travelled from Africa and the Middle
East to Europe and inhabited there from 711 AD until they were
forced out by the Spaniards around the time of Columbus. During
their time, the Moors enjoyed a very innovative way of living since
they had invented things like toothpaste and deodorant, as well as changed clothing according to
weather and season, emphasised proper hygiene and eating habits. They had street lighting,
running water, many hospitals, hydraulic engineering, medicine and tools along with public
baths, mosques and libraries. No matter how rich or poor a Moor was, everyone was literate.
The Moors even explored flight and the attempts made were successful in 875 AD. They

introduced many new foods and were very knowledgeable about agriculture and used plants to
make paper. The Moorish culture was way ahead of their time and it is noticed in their skills in
art and design. Their complex and new ways to the rest of Europe were jaw dropping especially
when they constructed their buildings like palaces and
churches; one such example is the Alhambra Palace.
Due to their religious backgrounds, their designs were
determined from that and they produced very
structured and geometrical patterns together with
symbols. Moorish designs were seen in plenty interiors in their architecture. Their floors were
tiled with brilliant designs and their ceilings, doors and windows trimmed with intricate carvings.
They spent time constructing detailed walls and roofs as well as courtyards which had much
symbolic meaning. Many of the patterns composed of simplified natural shapes combined with
geometric shapes. With every repetition, the design became more complicated yet there was
such beauty within each one. They were often very colourful and bright but still, many designs
consisted of neutrals, monotones and earth tones. Designs such as these were valuable and
sacred and stars, octagons and the like along with sinuous, vine-like motifs and calligraphy
became the vocabulary of choice of the Islamic world. (Owens, 2012) Moorish designs were
known for their interwoven features which further influenced the northern people to create their
own. Since the Moors travelled throughout Europe in places like Spain, Britain, Scotland etc.
they brought their skills and designs and intermingled with the people who lived there. Some of
these were the Celts.
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age Europe (Wikipedia,
2011) like the Moors. In fact some of the Celts were Moorish as these people had travelled to

the Iberian Peninsula and up north through to Scotland and as far east as Galatia. They went by
various names such as Gauls from France and Celtiberians from the Iberian Peninsula and spoke
numerous languages. With the vast area they inhabited it was probably difficult to communicate
with each other as well as identify their art. Each Celtic group produced different art and
designs. The Celts were also warriors and won many battles including one against Rome in 390
BC. It was said that they would psychologically distract their enemies by going into battle naked
and they had to be of a certain build. If a man was overweight he would be punished. Although
they were successful in battle at times, the Celts were eventually conquered by the Roman
Empire which led them to be Christianised. They were not very religious prior to Christianity
being introduced but they were pagans and they had druids. Druids were like the wise men for
the Celts, who knew claimed to know the movements of the earth and universe, what the gods
wanted and that there was second life for the dead. The Celts were also
very good at creating many designs which they used on their clothing,
tools and weapons, ceramics, jewellery and cemetery stone heads and
stelae. The designs were symbolic and were known as Celtic knots
which were very decorative and mindboggling because of its intricate features. There were
spirals, celtic crosses, eternity knot, lovers and heart knot. These designs long with other art
came about because of the fusion of European styles since the Celts had
done a lot of travelling. Many celtic art and design periods took on
artistic traditions, from the Balkans, the Greeks, the Etruscans, the
Romans, the Egyptians and many others Celtic artists and
metalworkers drew upon motifs, techniques and stylistic forms from
Anglo-Saxon and Germanic artists, as well as Christian figurative imagery. This combination,

known as Ultimate La Tene, Insular Art or Hiberno-Saxon Art, introduced the Golden Age in the
history of Irish Art. (Celtic Designs, n. d.) Viking art and design was then passed on by both the
Moors and Celts.
Although much of the literature about the Berbers was burned, their presence was
recorded by the Vikings and many others. (Bundy, 2009) The ancient Vikings were
Scandinavian farmers, fishers, herders and pirates and were mostly known to be very warlike.
They raided from Russia to North America between the years 800-1000 A. D. which in return
helped to shape the medieval period of the region. The Norse meaning of the word Viking was
one who raids, but they were also very decent builders. They constructed fortresses which were
recently found on the island of Zealand, as well as excellent boats and ships. It is marked that the
Viking Age started with the first raid on England, AD 793 and ended with the death of Harald
Hardrada in 1066. (Hirst, n. d.) The Vikings were also known as Normans or Northmen and
were usually seen wearing armour with helmets that had horns. The ones the Celts wore would
cover their faces. Both the Vikings and Celts had black Moors in their groups and they went to
parts of North Africa too. They fought for them in their battles and helped them in their boat
building. Boat building was a form of art because they would use their Norse designs to decorate
the boats and how they constructed them were very
artistic. The technology behind it lies within the shape
and structure i.e. they were long, narrow, light
wooden ships with a shallow draft designed for speed.
They were made from wood which was used from the
Oak tree planks for the hull to the mast and oars. Like the Celts and Moors, the Vikings designs
were first done with their pagan beliefs in mind. They had many gods like Thor and Odin, which

influenced the designs put on front of the ships like spirals and animal heads. The Vikings had a
good sense of navigation and had designed sun compasses on the ships. Some of the ships they
made were the drekar which was a dragon-headed longship, a knar used for cargo, a karve and a
faering. Viking ships were very significant to them and became a mainstay of the Viking pagan
religion, as they evolved into symbols of power and prowess. Since they were pagans it was no
problem for them to accept the Christian god alongside their own. With that came Viking
Christian symbols and designs which were found on much of their jewellery.
They were different in some ways to the Celts but were similar too in others.
They both were so intertwined and complex that they appeared like illusions.
However the Norse designs symbols were simpler and included animals at times. Celtic and
Vikings symbolic designs depicted strength, courage, loyalty and pride like the Moorish.
On the whole, these civilisations of old have all helped us in some way. Today the effect
from the Moorish architectural design and symbols, the Celtic knots on cemetery stones,
weapons, tools and jewellery and the Viking knots, ships and jewellery have all been used. For
example, people now have many tattoos of the symbols and knots from these ages and buy
clothing with the same designs. Interior dcor and design rely on many Moorish patterns an well
as fencing and gates that trim houses and churches. Even car companies use these for their logos
such as Mitsubishi which used the triceps symbol from the Vikings. Churches still uses these
designs as well which I noticed here I the Caribbean. Therefore it is definite that these people
had a great impact on the world.

Bibliography
Bundy, D. (2009, May 14). Identifying the Ethnicity of the Moors. Retrieved from Suite:
https://suite.io/dolores-bundy/1rzy2e7
Hirst, K. (n. d.). Who Were the Historic Vikings. Retrieved from About Education:
http://archaeology.about.com/od/vikings/qt/vikings.htm
Celtic Designs. (n. d.). Retrieved from Visual Arts Cork: http://www.visual-artscork.com/cultural-history-of-ireland/celtic-designs.htm
Owens, M. (2012, April 12). THE AESTHETE: EXPLORING GEOMETRIC PATTERNS IN
ISLAMIC ART. Retrieved from Architectural Digest:
http://www.architecturaldigest.com/blogs/the-aesthete/2012/04/geometric-patternsislamic-art
Wikipedia. (2011, April 28). The Celts. Retrieved from Ancient History Encyclopedia:
http://www.ancient.eu/celt/
Jarus, O. (2014, April 07). History of the Celts. Retrieved from Live Science:
http://www.livescience.com/44666-history-of-the-celts.html
ABS Staff. (2013. October 07). When Black Men Ruled the World: 8 Things The Moors Brought
to Europe. Retrieved from Atlanta Black Star: http://atlantablackstar.com/2013/10/07/whenblack-men-ruled-the-world-moors/