Celtic Knotwork

James Bernhard

This talk will be an introduction to knot theory via some of the knots and links which occur in traditional Celtic ornamental art. Our first task will be to find a mathematical way to describe a class of Celtic knots and links, and from there we will investigate some questions relating to the classification of such knots and links. In the process, we will encounter some basic knot-theoretical invariants, such as the linking number and knot polynomials.