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The inscription 'Behold the mighty king buried here, who slew this dragon' accompanies a depiction of a knight on horseback on carved door dating from 1200 AD. This magnificent door came from a church at Valthjófsstaðir in eastern Iceland. The entwined dragon has similarities in design to earlier ninth century Viking art.
Celtic and Anglo Saxon ornamentation is currently enjoying a revival in popularity and, in fact looks quite modern to most of us.
The abstract dog design is taken from the Codex Aureus written around 750 AD The highly imaginative decorative symbols within the codex are characteristic of Celtic designs which first appeared in Switzerland between the fourth and fifth century BC This style, known as La Tene, is credited with being the inspiration for the artists who settled in the British Isles 1,000 years later.
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