Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 7.djvu/36

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24

IRISH ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS.

a stone, which is seen about to strike the head of Goliath.^[1] The figure of the latter, although very strange, is sufficiently expressive. By figuring him kneeling upon one knee, the artist has contrived to introduce him into the picture of a larger size; whilst this attitude, combined with his shut eye, and his hand held up to protect his face, indicate his fear of the coming stone.

David playing on the Harp.

He wears a conical helmet, his beard is long and plaited, and he carries a small circular shield, ornamented

↑ I am informed by Mr. Eugene Curry that a discussion has recently been carried on in the pages of "Saunders' News Letter," respecting the nature of the ancient Irish sling, Mr. Clibborn considering it to have been nothing else than a stick slit at the end. The drawing before us will set the question at rest. The Anglo-Saxon MS. (Cotton. MS. Claudius, B. iv.,) of the tenth century, also contains a figure of a man using a sling of nearly similar form, copied by Strutt. (Horda, pl. xvii., fig. 4, and in his Sports and Pastimes.)

[1] I am informed by Mr. Eugene Curry that a discussion has recently been carried on in the pages of "Saunders' News Letter," respecting the nature of the ancient Irish sling, Mr. Clibborn considering it to have been nothing else than a stick slit at the end. The drawing before us will set the question at rest. The Anglo-Saxon MS. (Cotton. MS. Claudius, B. iv.,) of the tenth century, also contains a figure of a man using a sling of nearly similar form, copied by Strutt. (Horda, pl. xvii., fig. 4, and in his Sports and Pastimes.)

[1]