The Middle Ages

c. 500-1300

The Middle Ages Dates and Places: •  5th century •  British Isles •  Migration period People: •  Germanic Angles

and Saxons invade British Isles (fuse with British tribes already in place)

•  Franks invade Gaul (France) Map of the Early Christian World and

Barbarian Invasions, c. 500

Early Medieval: Anglo-Saxon

Dates and Places: •  5th century •  British Isles •  Migration period People: •  Germanic Angles and

Saxons invade British Isles (fuse with British tribes already in place)

•  Franks invade Gaul (France) Sutton Hoo purse cover, from East Anglia,

England, c. 630. Gold with garnets and cloisonné originally on ivory or bone (since lost),

8” long. British Museum, London.

Early Medieval: Anglo-Saxon Example: •  Discovered in 1939 in Sutton

Hoo cemetery overlooking water

•  Burial ships (buried in earthen mound)

•  Wealthy and important member of Anglo-Saxon tribe

•  Migration art (small portable objects)

•  Art demonstrates mix of celtic, Roman and Germanic styles

•  Excel in metal work •  design echoes Early Christian

interlace patterns and certain Ancient Near Eastern iconography and themes

•  Symmetrical design

Sutton Hoo purse cover, from East Anglia, England, c. 630. Gold with garnets and

cloisonné originally on ivory or bone (since lost), 8” long. British Museum, London.

Early Medieval: Viking Era People: •  Scandinavian warriors inhabited

Norway, Sweden, and Denmark •  Known for paganism, vicious raids,

and violent nature •  Extensive travel related to

developments in boating •  Christianized late 8th-12th centuries Artwork: •  Elegant stylization •  Compact monumentality •  Part of objects found in burial ship •  Stylized animal bodies coupled with

interlacing patterns

Animal headpost, Oseburg, Norway, c. 825. Hardwood (probably limewood);

approx. 23 5/8” high. Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo,

Norway.

Early Medieval: Hiberno-Saxon

Dates and Places: •  7th-9th century •  British Isles

People: •  Christians •  In monasteries •  Working in scriptoria •  Living in isolation

Tunc Crucifixerant XPI, from the Book of Kells, fol. 124r, late 8th or early 9th century.

Illuminated manuscript on vellum; 9.5” x 13.” Trinity College Library, Dublin

Early Medieval: Hiberno-Saxon

Themes: •  Gospel books •  Symbolic images

Forms: •  Interlace inherited

from warrior lords •  Stylized human and

animal forms •  Illuminated Chi-rho-iota page, Book of Kells, late 8th or

early 9th century. Illuminated manuscript on vellum; 9.5” x 13.” Trinity College Library,

Dublin

Early Medieval: Hiberno-Saxon Example: •  Early example of medieval manuscript

illumination •  May have originated in Ireland, from

there permeated into England and western Europe

•  Illuminated manuscript author page before gospel text

•  Design-driven optical illusions created in interlace

•  Design seems independent of humanistic taste of Greco-Roman tradition

•  No narrative •  Stylization of animal •  Color patterns repeated in border

decoration Lion Symbol of Saint John, from the Book

of Durrow, fol. 191v, c. 650-700. Illuminated manuscript on vellum; 9 2/3” x

5 ¾.” Trinity College, Dublin.

Early Medieval: Hiberno-Saxon

Example: •  Illuminated manuscript •  Carpet page before gospel

text •  Interlace with zoomorphic

forms •  No narrative •  Generally regarded as the

finest example of the kingdom's unique style of religious art, a style that combined Anglo-Saxon and Celtic themes

Carpet page, Lindisfarne Gospels, ca. 698–721. British Library, London.

Early Medieval: Carolingian Example: •  Central plan inspired by Ravenna •  Byzantine style •  Renewal of architecture of Christian

Rome •  Charlemagne’s palace chapel •  Availability of ruler royal tradition

dating to Egypt and equates ruler with the sun

•  Architecture reinforces Charlemagne’s claim to Holy Roman Empire

Plan of the Palatine Chapel, Odo of Metz, Aachen, France, 792–805.

Early Medieval: Carolingian

Dates and Places: •  800-900 •  France People: •  Charlemagne, Emperor

Holy Roman Empire •  Education important aspect

of Charlemagne’s Roman revival

•  Manuscripts assist in revival •  Some maintenance of

Hellenistic traditions Four Evangelists, from the “Treasury

Gospels,” a Carolingian Gospel book, palace chapel school, Aachen, France ca. 800–810.

Aachen Cathedral Treasury, Aachen, Germany.

Early Medieval: Carolingian Example: •  Marriage of new interest in

naturalism and the persistence of medieval style

•  Architectural niche (Greco-Roman influence)

•  Drapery stylized with indication of organic form

•  Shading defines body •  Footstool evidence of

artist’s effort to reconcile the early medieval traditions with Greco-Roman tradition

Saint John, from the Coronation Gospels, fol. 178v, late 8th century. Parchment, 12 ¾” x 10.”

British Library, London.

Early Medieval: Ottonian

Dates and Places: •  900-1000 •  Territories included Germany

and northern Italy

People: •  Heirs of Carolingians •  Holy Roman Emperors •  Revived the disintegrated

Holy Roman Empire •  Inspired by Rome

Otto Enthroned, Aachen Gospels, 966. Aachen Cathedral Treasury, Aachen,

Germany.

Early Medieval: Ottonian Themes: •  Biblical themes •  Church

Forms: •  Stylized and

conceptual figures •  Expressive

exaggeration •  Basilica

Section and plan Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim, 1001–1031.

Early Medieval: Ottonian

Example: •  Ottonian Renaissance

(951-1024) •  Basilica •  Towers at both ends •  Alternate-support system •  Modular plan based on

crossing •  Two transepts •  Architecture bridges gap

between Carolingian and the superficial simplicity of the Romanesque

Saint Michael’s, restored abbey church, Hildesheim. 1001–1031. The building had

been destroyed during WWI.

Early Medieval: Ottonian

Example: •  Impact of Roman influence on

Bernward and Otto •  Patron is Bishop Bernward •  Inspired by Early Christian doors •  First large-scale work cast in

one piece since antiquity

Bronze doors Saint Michael’s abbey church, Hildesheim, 1015. Doors with relief panels. Bronze, 16’6” high.

Dom-Museum, Hildesheim.

Early Medieval: Ottonian Example: •  Commissioned by Bishop

Bernward •  Story of Original Sin and

redemption •  Prefiguration, emphasis on

typology in left-right pairing of Old and New Testament scenes

•  Relatively high relief •  Expressive exaggeration •  Figures maintain tradition of

Byzantine and Carolingian styles and foretells Romanesque aesthetic

•  New drama combined with linear, fluid rhythm

Adam and Eve reproached by God, detail from the bronze doors, Saint Michael’s abbey church, Hildesheim; completed 1015. Doors with relief panels. Bronze, 16’6” high. Dom-Museum,

Hildesheim.