 Insular art , or Hiberno @-@ Saxon art , is the name given to the common style produced in Scotland , Britain and Anglo @-@ Saxon England from the seventh century , with the combining of Celtic and Anglo @-@ Saxon forms . Surviving examples of Insular art are found in metalwork , carving , but mainly in illuminated manuscripts . In manuscripts surfaces are highly decorated with intricate <unk> , with no attempt to give an impression of depth , volume or recession . The best examples include the Book of Kells , which may have been wholly or partly created in Iona , and the Book of <unk> , which may be from Ireland or Northumbria . <unk> pages are a characteristic feature of Insular manuscripts , although <unk> initials ( an Insular invention ) , canon tables and <unk> miniatures , especially Evangelist portraits , are also common . The finest era of the style was brought to an end by the disruption to monastic centres and aristocratic life of the Viking raids in the late eighth century . 
