Early Medieval Europe

cloisonné

metalworking technique wherein strips of metal are soldered onto a metal plate edge-up in patterns then filled in with enamel in order to form a design

westwork

multi-storied façade of a church's main entrance surmounted by towers.

crossing

the area in a church where the transept intersects the nave.

3 Factors influence Medieval Period

1. Classical patrimony of Roman provinces of Northern Europe 2. Nomadic non-Roman population m/ of Alp mtn. range 3. Intro to Christianity

St. Matthew from the Coronation Gospels

Artist: Unknown Year: Carolingian Art (800-810) Location: Aachen, Germany Form: Ink and tempera on vellum, full page 1' 3/4" × 10"; details 8 3/4" high *Folio 15 recto of the Coronation Gospels (Gospel Book of Charlemagne) *The books produced for Charlemagne's court reveal the legacy of classical art. *Painter used light, shade, and perspective to create the illusion of three-dimensional form.

St. Matthew from the Ebbo Gospels

Artist: Unknown Year: Carolingian Art (816-835) Location: the abbey of Saint Peter, Haut-villers, France Form: Ink and tempera on vellum, full page 10 1/4" × 8 3/4"; detail 7 3/4" high *Folio 18 verso of the Ebbo Gospels (Gospel Book of Archbishop Ebbo of Reims) *Saint Matthew writes frantically, and the folds of his drapery writhe and vibrate. *Even the landscape rears up alive. *The painter merged classical illusionism with the northern European linear tradition.

Equestrian portrait of Charlemagne or Charles the Bald

Artist: Unknown Year: Carolingian Art (9th century) Location: Metz, France Form: Bronze, originally gilt, 9 1/2" high *Sought to revive the glory and imagery of the Roman Empire. *Depicts a crowned emperor holding a globe, the symbol of world dominion.

Schematic plan for a monastery, from St. Gall

Artist: Unknown Year: Carolingian Art (c. 819) Location: Saint Gall, Switzerland Form: Red ink on parchment, 2' 4" × 3' 8 1/8" *The purpose of this plan for an ideal, self-sufficient Benedictine monastery was to separate the monks from the laity. *Near the center is the church with its cloister, the monks' earthly paradise.

Cross-inscribed carpet page from the Lindesfarne Gospels

Artist: Unknown Year: Hiberno-Saxon (698-721) Location: Northumbria, England Form: Tempera on vellum, 1' 1 1/2" × 9 1/4" *The cross-inscribed carpet page of the Lindisfarne Gospels exemplifies the way Hiberno-Saxon illuminators married Christian imagery and the animal-and-interlace style of the early medieval warlords.

Chi Rho Iota Page from the Book of Kells

Artist: Unknown Year: Hiberno-Saxon (late 8th early 9th century) Location: Iona, Scotland Form: Tempera on vellum, 1' 1" × 9 1/2" *The painter transformed the biblical text into abstract pattern, literally making God's words beautiful. *The intricate design recalls early medieval metalwork.

Wooden portal of the stave church at Urnes

Artist: Unknown Year: Merovingian/Anglo-Saxon or Migration ("Animal Style") (1050-1070) Location: Urnes, Norway *Scandinavia had become mostly Christian, but Viking artistic traditions persisted, as in the intertwining animal-and-plant decoration of this Norwegian church portal. *Almost all that remain from the mid-11th-century church.

Purse Cover from Sutton Hoo Ship Burial

Artist: Unknown Year: Merovingian/Anglo-Saxon or Migration ("Animal Style") (c. 625) Location: Suffolk, England Form: Gold, glass, and cloisonne garnets, 7 1 2" wide *This purse cover with cloisonne ornamentation comes from a treasure-laden royal burial ship. *The combination of abstract interlace with animal figures is the hallmark of early medieval art in western Europe.

Pair of Merovingian looped fibulae

Artist: Unknown Year: Merovingian/Anglo-Saxon or Migration ("Animal Style") (mid 6th century) Location: Jouy-le-Comte, France Form: Silver gilt worked in filigree, with inlays of garnets and other stones, 4" high *Early medieval jeweled fibulae were status symbols for elite patrons. *This pair, probably owned by a Merovingian woman, features eagle heads and fish integrated into a highly decorative design.

Annunciation to the Shepherds

Artist: Unknown Year: Ottonian Art (1002-1014) Form: Reichenau, Germany Form: Tempera on vellum, full page 1' 5" × 1' 1"; detail 10 1/2" high *Folio in the Lectionary of Henry II *The full-page illuminations in the Lectionary of Henry II fuse elements of Late Antique landscapes *The Carolingian-Ottonian anecdotal narrative tradition, and the golden background of Byzantine art.

Doors with relief panels commissioned by Bishop Bernward

Artist: Unknown Year: Ottonian Art (1015) Location: Hildesheim, Germany Form: Bronze, 15' 5 3/4" high *Genesis, left door; life of Christ, right door *Tell the story of original sin and redemption, and draw parallels between the Old and New Testaments, as in the expulsion from Paradise and the infancy and suffering of Christ.

Otto III Enthroned

Artist: Unknown Year: Ottonian Art (997-1000) Location: Reichenau, Germany Form: Tempera on vellum, full page 1' 1" × 9 3/8"; details 8 1/4" high *Emperor Otto III, descended from both German and Byzantine imperial lines *Appears in this Gospel book enthroned and holding the scepter and cross-inscribed orb signifying his universal authority.

Abbess Uta dedicating her codex to the Virgin

Artist: Unknown Year: Ottonian Art (c. 1025) Location: Regensburg, Germany Form: Tempera on parchment, 9 5/8" × 5 1/8" *Folio 2 recto of the Uta Code x *Illustrates the important role that women played both in religious life and as patrons of the arts. *The dedicatory page shows Abbess Uta presenting her codex to the Virgin Mary.

ambulatory

a covered walkway enclosing a cloister or courtyard

cloister

a monastery courtyard, usually enclosed by an ambulatory.

illumination

decoration of drawing or painting on the pages of a manuscript.

fibula (plural, fibulae)

decorative metal pin used to fasten garments, usually made of precious materials.

carpet page

illumination that resembles a carpet or textile

tracery

linear design in 2-d art that consists of curving, organic rope-like lines often of uniform thickness.

scriptoria

place, often in a monastery, where illuminated manuscripts are produced.

Renovatio Imperii Romani

renewal of the Roman Empire, Charlemagne's goal

cabochon gemstones

stones that are polished smooth instead of cut

stave

wedge-shaped vertical timbers used in Viking architecture