CHAPTER 11

Early MEDIEVAL

• Test Thursday• Cue Cards due Thursday• Timeline due Thursday• Potluck Party Friday… Halloween• ________________________________

Right now:

1.finish timeline

2.go over study guides to make sure you know everything

3.work on cue cards

Map of the Mediterranean region, Islam, and northern Europe circa 800

homepages.utoledo.edu/.../arth2020/arth2020.htm Gardner’s Art Through the Ageshttp://instructional1.calstatela.edu/bevans/Art101/Art101B-7-EarlyMedieval/WebPage-Full.00022.html

Map of Germanic Invasions. 4th-8th centuries

Quiz

• Grab a half sheet of paper

• title: Ch. 11 Quiz

• Don’t forget your name

1. Often the early medieval metalworkers so successfully integrated what type of element

into their designs? • A. vellum

• B. codemorphic

• C. zoomorphic

• D. polymorphic

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

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

4. The Lindisfarne Gospels was created in which stage of early

medieval art?

•A. Warrior Lords

•B. Hiberno- Saxon

•C. Carlingian

•D. Ottonian

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

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

• 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.

• The early Middle Ages include four stages:

• 1. Art of the Warrior Lords

• 2. Hiberno- Saxon

• 3. Carolingian

• 4. Ottonian

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.

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.

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.

Gardner’s Art Through the Ages

http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/bevans/Art101/Art101B-7-EarlyMedieval/WebPage-Full.00022.html

Merovingian looped fibula

Other fibula

Zoomorphic- having or representing animal forms or gods of animal forms

Frankish round fibula. 6th & 7th centuries

Turn to your partner, discuss the Merovingian looped fibula

Think Cue Cards info.

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

Hiberno-Saxon ArtAKA Insular

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

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.

• 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.

• 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.

Cross and Carpet Page

http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/bevans/Art101/Art101B-7-EarlyMedieval/WebPage-Full.00022.htmlhttp://www.ritilan.com/archives/images/2005/02/12/Lindisfarne-Gospels.pngwww.lindisfarne.org.uk/gospels/ www.earlybritishkingdoms.com

Front Cover

Lindisfarne Gospels

Another Cross and Carpet Page

Flashcard

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Gardner’s 11th ed.

http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/bevans/Art101/Art101B-7-EarlyMedieval/WebPage-Full.00022.html

Saint Luke

Lindisfarne Gospels- Handout

Saint Matthew

Flashcard

Saint Luke incipit

Book of the Kells

• Although the Lindisfarne Gospels is well known, the Book of Kells is even more famous.

• The Book of Kells was created around 800.

• Within this illuminated manuscript are 680 pages.

Turbulent History

• First, the Book of Kells had to be moved in 875 from the island of Iona, where most if not all of it was produced, because of Viking raids. It was moved to Kells on the Irish mainland.

• In 1006, it was stolen, most likely for its golden and jewel- encrusted cover.

• A few months later, the Book of Kells was recovered from under clods of mud in a swamp with its cover and several pages missing.

• Approximately 60 pages of the book, several with detailed illuminations, are lost.

• Today it is restored, rebound, and displayed in Trinity College Library in Ireland.

Symbols of the Four Evangelists from the Book of Kells

Matthew is represented by the Man, Mark by the Lion, Luke by the Calf, and John by the Eagle. The symbols have haloes and wings, a double set in the case of the Calf. The symbol of Matthew holds a flabellum, an instrument used in the early church to protect the Eucharist and its vessels from impurities.

• The Eagle perches on a footstool. The symbols are in framed panels around a cross, with another, stepped cross at its centre. Interlaced snakes twist in four T-shaped panels at each extremity of the cross. In the corner pieces at the top right and lower left of the frame, a Eucharistic chalice sprouts vine tendrils which are bitten by perching peacocks.

•  Interlaced human figures are compressed within the corresponding corner-pieces at the top left and lower right of the frame. In the box lower right, four figures stand within the confines of their frame, their necks unnaturally elongated and their heads hanging down in what may be intended to recall the Crucifixion. In the box at the top left of the page are four men with red triangles on their cheeks; with knees bent, they pull each other’s beards.

The Carolingian Period, ca 750-987

history.howstuffworks.com/european-history/hi.. blog.empas.com/jdyi8589/read.html?a=31029778

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.

• https://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.

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.

The group of books to which this manuscript belongs is closely associated with the emperor

Charlemagne (800-14), the first sovereign of the revived Christian empire of the West, and with his capital Aachen. Like its fellows, the Gospels

appears to reflect the personal initiative and tastes of the emperor. Its text is written entirely

in gold. As a full-page frontispiece to Mark’s Gospel, the Evangelist is portrayed dipping his

pen into an inkwell. He holds a book open at the text of chapter 13:35-36, the last words of which spill over onto the background. Above him, his

symbol, the lion, holds open a scroll bearing the beginning of Mark.

 

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.

• 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."

• 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.

Ottonian Empire – 10th to 13th c.

Ottonian empire - blueNinth and tenth centuries

blog.empas.com/jdyi8589/read.html?a=31029778

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.

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.

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.

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.

• 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.