Early Medieval Art and Culture: Insights and Quizzes

1. CHAPTER 11Early MEDIEVAL

2. Test Friday • Cue Cards due Friday

3. Map of the Mediterranean region, Islam, and northern Europe circa 800 Map of Germanic Invasions. 4th-8th centuries

4. AP Quiz • For Fun 

5. 1. Often the early medieval metalworkers so successfully integrated what type of element into their designs? • A. vellum • B. codemorphic • C. zoomorphic • D. polymorphic

6. 2. Saint Matthew’s symbol as depicted in Lindisfarne Gospels: St. Matthew, cross-carpet page. • A. a tree, symbolizing human ancestry • B. an ox • C. a winged animal, possibly an eagle • D. a winged man or angel

7. 3. Fibulae are normally found in… • A. the ruins of medieval palaces • B. the ruins of medieval churches • C. along medieval roads • D. grave sites

8. 4. The Lindisfarne Gospels was created in which stage of early medieval art? • A. Warrior Lords • B. Hiberno- Saxon • C. Carlingian • D. Ottonian

9. 5. A fibulae.. • A. is used to fasten garments • B. is a type of architectural element, specific to medieval art • C. are decorative earrings only for women • D. are decorative earrings for both men and women

10. MEDIEVALStylistic Characteristics • Vikings (AKA Germanic): zoomorphic, cloisonné, interlace, geometric, organic, abstract, decorative • Hiberno-Saxon – mix of Christian & Germanic - ornamentalized vegetation interlace, zoomorphic • Carolingian – mix of Christian, Germanic, and classical features – energetic • Ottonian – revived monumental sculpture & architecture • Illuminated manuscripts • Christian New Testament images • figures shortened, stylized

11. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Western Europe entered what is known as the Dark Ages. • Power became decentralized, dispersed among various nomadic tribes. • Trade among towns and outposts collapsed because the Roman legions were no longer present to maintain order.

12. The early Middle Ages include four stages: • 1. Art of the Warrior Lords • 2. Hiberno- Saxon • 3. Carolingian • 4. Ottonian

13. Art of the Warrior-Lords • In Western Europe, the power of the Roman Empire was declining. Tribes from Asia, Eastern and Central Europe immigrated into the region. • The tribes continued to migrate, because even as they settled on one region, another tribe followed behind, pushing them on to another part of Europe.

14. Art of the Warrior- Lords • Warfare among these tribes was frequent. • Because of their migratory nature, various cultures- Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Lombands, Franks, Anglo- Saxons, and Celts- produced art that was small and portable.

15. Art of the Warrior- Lords • Such items have been discovered in ship burials in northern Europe, buried with men who must have held a high status in their time, judging by the sheer amount of treasure that was buried with them.

16. Merovingian looped fibula Other fibula Zoomorphic- having or representing animal forms or gods of animal forms Frankish round fibula. 6th & 7th centuries l

17. Turn to your partner, discuss the Merovingian looped fibula Think Cue Cards info.

18. Khan Academy Quiz on the fibulae (pins used to fasten a cloak, usually at the shoulder)

19. Hiberno-Saxon ArtAKA Insular

20. Hiberno- Saxon Art • Produced in Britain and Ireland around the years 700 to 800. • Hiberno refers to Ireland, and the Saxons settled in England. • Visually, Hiberno- Saxon Art bears a striking resemblance to the Art of the Warrior Lords: it contains interlacing and incorporates abstract animal forms

21. Hiberno- Saxon Art • However, it differs from the art of the warrior-kings in its infusion of Christian symbolism. • In 432, Saint Patrick, who was a missionary from Rome, established a church in Ireland. From Ireland, missionaries began to spread Christianity throughout the British Isles. These missionaries also established monasteries on the smaller islands of Britain.

22. Monasteries were one of the primary sources of learning and literacy and their scriptoria produced beautifully illustrated and decorated Bibles, written by hands of monks.

23. The books they produced are called illuminated manuscripts because the pictures and decorations are supposed to illuminate the Christian concepts. • Thus, the spread of Christianity in the British Isles affected the art of the region.

24. Lindisfarne Gospels Another Cross and Carpet Page Front Cover Cross and Carpet Page

25. One fine example of Hiberno- Saxon Art is the cross and carpet page from the Lindisfarne Gospels. Art historians refer to it as a carpet page because its intricate interlacing occupying the entire page resembles oriental carpets.

26. The Lindisfarne Gospels is one of the most famous illuminated manuscripts produced during the Hiberno- Saxon Period. One of the first noticeable characteristics is the page’s intricate network of interlacing blue, pink, orange, red, and green ribbons.

27. This interlacing contains tremendous details. Several ribbons contain abstract animal forms that twist and even bite the ribbons. The monk who painted these illuminations also included a Celtic cross in the center of the page, reflecting the influence of Christianity.

28. The cross and the border provide a geometric quality that balances against the winding interlace design, similar to the way Christianity brought order to the lives of the pagan Celts of Ireland.

29. Pages such as this carpet page resulted from meticulous planning. The artist created a grid of lines and notches onto which he drew the design square by square. The valuable pigment, some of which was imported by Afghanistan, was then carefully applied to fill in the drawing without going outside of the lines. The Celtic cross was outlined and contains more interlacing. The care that monks took in creating such illuminations reflected their zeal for the Christian scriptures.

30. Lindisfarne Gospels- Handout, then Khan quiz Saint Luke incipit Saint Luke Saint Matthew

31. Emeterius and Ende, Last Judgement, Illustration from The Beatus Apocalypse of Gerona

32. This manuscript was illustrated by Emeterius, a brother and a priest. And by En or Ende, a woman artist and servant of God. • The text was written on thick parchment and contains 114 illustrations.

33. The Carolingian Period, ca 750-987

34. Carolingian Art • In western Europe in 800, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the pope. • Charlemagne, King of the Franks and later Holy Roman Emperor, instigated a cultural revival known as the Carolingian Renaissance that continues to impact the way European languages are written, the structure of modern law and the very notion of Europe itself.

35. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/latin-western-europe/carolingian1/v/charlemagne-an-introductionhttps://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/latin-western-europe/carolingian1/v/charlemagne-an-introduction • 8 min • https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/latin-western-europe/carolingian1/v/charlemagne-and-the-carolingian-revival • 11 min.

36. Harley Golden Gospels • Material: Parchment paper • This early-9th-century gospel book is written entirely in gold ink (not real gold), and each text-page is enclosed in a frame of gold, silver and other colors, often with interlace or animal patterns.

38. Two Scenes of Christ and the Apostles In the age of Charlemagne and his successors, biblical themes frequently conveyed political, moral, or ecclesiastical messages. This exquisite ivory carving portrays two unusual scenes focusing on Christ, the apostles, and a mantle. Since Christ traditionally wears only a tunic, he is presumably giving his mantle to an apostle in the presence of others.

39. The episode does not seem to conform to a specific Gospel; it probably refers more generally to Christ's charge to his apostles to continue his ministry by accepting the mantle, or pallium, as an emblem of "apostolic mission" (Matthew 10:1–14). The message may also recall Isaiah (61:10), "my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation . . . [and] with the robe of righteousness."

40. A possible political sentiment may also be conveyed, as when Christ says, "they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses" (Matthew 11:8). Probably made to decorate the cover of a liturgical manuscript, the ivory has striking narrative power. The narrow stage space, flowing groundline, and fleshy figures in garments with soft, curving edges exemplify some of the main stylistic trends of the second half of the ninth century associated with the court school of Charles the Bald (r. 840–77). The school's exact location in northern France is debated.

41. Ottonian Empire – 10th to 13th c. Ottonian empire - blue Ninth and tenth centuries blog.empas.com/jdyi8589/read.html?a=31029778

42. Ottonian Art • The tenth century marked a chaotic time for Western Europe. Invasions were creating chaos. The church was dealing with its own problems of disorganization and corruption.

43. Ottonian Art • Order was restored with the rise of a line of Saxon kings collectively known as the Ottonians, after the 3 greatest rulers among them.

44. Ottonian Art • The Ottonians admired Charlemagne and the Franks, and each Otto dreamed of forming a new Christian Roman empire. • The 3 Ottos dealt effectively with the Viking and Magyar invasions, established diplomatic relations with the Byzantine Empire, and sponsored monastic reforms, all of which established a renewed period of stability and artistic creativity.

45. Magdeburg PanelThe Raising of the Widow’s Son from the Dead This panel is one of a group of sixteen ivory plaques depicting a cycle of scenes from the Life of Christ. The original set, numbering forty or fifty, decorated a large piece of church furniture in Magdeburg Cathedral.

46. It shows a scene from St Luke's Gospel. Christ and a group of disciples meet the bier being carried out of the city gate. The weeping mother appears beneath the bier, with the heads of other mourners visible above. The background is pierced with a diaper of equal-armed crosses. Christ is disproportionally larger than the other figures with a severe, almost expressionless face. The panel would originally have been backed with gold or copper.