The Early Medieval Period

The Age of Faith

• The Medieval people were fixed on one all important goal – preparation for eternal life after death

• The church guided the people in the quest• The church influenced the lives of kings and

peasants, everyone was born into the faith

3 Period of the Middle Ages * EARLY MEDIEVAL • 50TH CENTURY – 11TH CENTURY

• ROMANESQUE • 11TH CENTURY- 12TH CENTURY

• GOTHIC• 12TH CENTURY- 16TH CENTURY

• The fall of Rome is considered the start of the Early Medieval Period

• The period was marked by conflicts, open warfare, and mass migrations of foreigners into the across lands formerly controlled by the Romans

• The Carolingian dynasty cam to rule and with it came the ruler Charles the Great or also known as Charlemagne• He became the first of the

Holy Roman Emperors • His domain grew until it

included all of the Western part of the old Roman Empire except Britain, Spain, southern Italy and Africa

the equestrian statue of Charlemagne, first emperor to be crowned in St. Peter's, on Christmas eve of 800.

Charlemagne • Charlemagne encouraged

learning and the arts • He ordered every monastery

and Abby to establish a school were students could learn arithmetic, grammar and the psalms

• His most important achievement many have been the preservation of ancient manuscripts

• He invited scholars from England and Ireland to his court to rewrite old tests and prepare new ones

• His capital was Aix-la-Chapelle in present day Germany

• In his capital he restored the splendors of ancient Rome

• Statues were brought from Italy, baths were constructed, an a chapel was built that closely resembled the famous Roman church at Ravenna

• After his death in 814 the empire collapsed

Palatine Chapel in the cathedral at Aachen, Ger. The central portion of the structure was built by Charlemagne, and the other sections were built later.

FeudalismFeudalism was a system in which weak nobleman gave up their lands and much of their freedom to more powerful lords in return for protection• The lord allowed the

former owner to remain on the land as his administrator – who was the servant or vassal to the lord

• Vassal- pledged his loyalty and military assistance to the lord

Most of the people were serfs, or poor peasants who did not have land to give in return for protection* These people worked the lands and were handed over with it when the land passed from one nobleman to another.

Ceiling of the Octagon within the Palatine Chapel, Aachen, Germany. The Romanesque circular chandelier was a gift from the Holy Roman emperor Frederick I in the 12th century.

Basilica Design• A basilica featured a rectangular

plan, which was divided on the inside to form a nave or central aisle, and two or more side aisles.

• Light from windows in the walls of the nave above the side aisles in the interior of the building

• At one of the nave was the main entrance and the opposite end was a semicircular area known as the apse

• An altar was placed in the apse in plain view

• Some churches were built with a transept, another aisle that cut directly across the nave and the side aisles

• It gave the church a shape of the cross from above.

• The transept increased the space inside the building but also added to its symbolic appearance

• Occasionally, towers were also added to the exteriors of the churches

• Most churches of the period were made with timber and very few still exist

• http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_pietro/vr_tour/index-en.html

The spread of Monasticism• Monasticism – these people began to feel

that the Church had become too worldly• Originated in the near East in the 3rd

centuries• These people formed religious

communities far removed from the rest of society where whey spent their lives in quiet contemplation and prayer

• The Monks often decorated manuscripts pages with mini painting done in sliver, gold, and rich colors with illuminations, or manuscript paintings

Characteristics of the Monastery Structure• Most famous is the monastery

San Juan de la Pena in Spain• From the outside looks like a

fortress with stone walls and small windows

• Inside it is dark and damp • The walls are marked with dark

smoke stains from the torches that were once used to light the interior

• Had a cloister, an open court or garden and the covered walkway surrounding it

• Much emphasis was placed on private prayer and contemplation

Illuminations • Illuminations became the most important paintings produced in western

Europe• Wrote in Latin • Were created by dedicated men who worked anonymously to record and

illustrate history • Medieval monks passed on the ideas of classical writers and church

fathers. Often they phrased these ideas in beautiful and complex ways • Manuscripts of the Gospels were illustrated with small painting of the four

Evangelists • A symbol was usually used to help the reader identify each Gospel writers

• Matthew a angel, mark a lion, Luke a bull and John a eagle • The Church was the center for art and learning as well as religion during the

Medieval period• It favored art that could teach and inspire the people in their faith • The illustration were intended fro those who could not read the manuscripts

were meant for those who could• The Illustration had to be simple and familiar so everyone could understand

them, often biblical

Romanesque PeriodThe Effects of Feudalism• The feudal system, was developed

in the 9th century reached its peak during the Romanesque Period

• Nobles, lords and kings fought constantly to protect or add to the land under their control

• Castles• Towers of stone were built by the

late 11th century and by the 12th century the now familiar stone castle had evolved

• The castle became the symbol of authority during the Romanesque Period

Life in the Castles • The Main purpose of the caste

was protection which eliminated the possibility of windows

• The thick outer walls were pierced only by narrow slots through which archers could fire on attackers

• Stairs were steep and passageways dark and narrow

• The rooms were ususally sparsely furnished and lacked decoration

• Occasionally tapestries, textile wall hangings that were woven, painted or embroidered with colorful scenes, were hung to keep the dampness out

The Growth of cities• Castles remained important as long as

the feudal system flourished • But the growth of trade and industry

in the 13th century brought about an economy based on money rather than land

• Cities came up and castles became obsolete

Romanesque Churches• All towns had one thing in

common: the center had a church

• The church increased its influence on the daily lives of the people

• It offered comfort in this life and salvation in the next life

• PILGRIMAGE CHURCHES• The church at this time

placed great importance on piety and encouraged people to take part in pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place

• People banded together and traveled to pay homage to saints and relics in far off churches

• Worshipers believed that praying before the sacred remains of a saint could assure a plentiful harvest, cure diseases, solve personal problems and secure salvation

• The Pilgrimage's brought large crowds• To increase the size of a Romanesque

church builders extended both the nave and transept and added two more aisle one on each side

• The often added an ambulatory, an aisle curving around behind the main altar

• Curved chapels built along the transept and the ambulatory were also built

The Church of Saint Sernin in ToulouseIt was in France that the Romanesque style reached its peak in architecture – The Church of Saint Sernin in Toulouse • The church appears large and solid • Inside the church is spacious but dark and

gloomy • Closely spaced piers line the nave and

separate it from the aisles on either side • These lead to the main altar at the far end

of the church

The Revival of Sculpture and PaintingMany of the churches along the pilgrimage routes used relief sculptures as another way to teach the faith to people many where illiterate • Like manuscripts illustrations stone

carvings reminded people of the familiar stores from Scripture it was easier for people to see then read

• 2 architectural features were found to be ideal places for relief carvings • The tympanum, the half round panel

that fills the space between the lintel and the arch over the doorway of the church

• People naturally lifted their eyes as they entered the building

• Usually had a large figure n the middle smaller figures on either side

Capital DecorationInside churches and in cloisters the capitals of columns were another excellent place for carving • The weight of the ceiling was

met by the upward thrust of the columns the roving eyes of the faithful came to rest

• Many carving were biblical scenes, human figures, birds, and animals

• Romanesque capitals are often a curious mixture of skilled craftwork and quaint storytelling

Church Wall PaintingsA bold use of line, brilliant colors, and a sensitive feeling for pattern are reminders of the manuscript illuminations in a lot of different paintings of churches* Painting of the time were concerned with easy to understand religious symbols

Christ in Majesty wall painting from San Clemente, Tahull, Spain 12th century

Gothic Style• Gothic is a terms used to

identify a period that began around the middle of the 12th century and lasted to the end of the 15th century and on some places into the 16th • Because the Goths and

barbarian tribes had brought about the fall of Rome the term Gothic was given to building that replaced classical forms

• It was misleading name• Many of the building and

churches that were started in the Romanesque Period were finished as Gothic

• During the 13th century French architects developed the pointed arch, piers and the flying buttress

• Gothic builders discovered that they could reduce the sideways pressure or thrust of a stone roof by replacing the round arch with a pointed one

• Additional support is provided by buttresses, a support or brace that counteracts the outward thrust of an arch or vault

• Because they had to reach over the side aisles of the church, thses braces came to be known as “flying buttresses” • The flying buttresses allowed a

counterthrust system that supported the ceilings

• There was no longer a need for solid walls so windows could be build

Gothic Churches• Stained Glass Windows• The walls of glass, which builders were now free

to use between the piers let light flow into the cathedrals

• They were also an ideal way to impress sand instruct the faithful congregation through images created with pieces of colored glass

• Gothic interiors of churches are most radiant at sunset

• Gothic cathedrals were both expressions of religious devotions and symbols of civic pride

• They were products of the new and prospering cities

• They served as churches for bishops

• Everyone wanted to participate in the building of the churches

• They were all throughout Europe

Gothic Sculptures and Books• The upward tendency is noted everywhere, in the pillars, pointed

arches and windows of the Goth cathedrals• Sculptures where elongated, or stretched out• The repeated, long folds on their sculptured garments emphasize

the vertical movement of these figures • Romanesque carvers made their figures appear firmly attached to

the wall; Gothic sculptors, by contrast, made theirs project outward into space

• Most sculptures were easily recognized by anyone familiar with the Bible

• A sense for sculptures to show emotions spread

Sculptures• The sculptures had a

fascination with the Virgin Mary

• Gargoyles, the grotesque flying monsters that project out from the upper portions of the huge churches started to be created

• Gargoyles are actually rain spouts intended to carry rainwater from the roofs of the churches

• Painting of the Goth Period are mainly frescos a painting created when pigment is applied to a wall spread with fresh plaster

• Fresco technique required that painting had to be completed before the plaster dried,

• Giotto and Duccio’s where the painters of Fresco of the time

Quiz1. What is monasticism? Where and When did it originate?2. Name and describe the decorations used on Early Medieval

manuscript pages.3. Describe the reign of Charlemagne?4. Describe the architecture of the Early Medieval period.5. What was the primary purpose of a Romanesque castle?6. Why was it necessary to increase the size of Romanesque

churches?7. What part of the church building is the tympanum? Where is it

located? Why was this feature added?8. Name two architectural features found to be ideal places for relief

carvings. 9. Explain why the term Gothic was give to the art of the this period.10. What is a flying buttress?11. List 3 ways a gothic cathedral differed from a Romanesque church 12. What structural features enabled Gothic builders to add windows

to their cathedrals?13. What is a fresco painting?