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Northern Northern Medieval Art Medieval Art

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The Middle Ages

The Carolingian Empire at the death of Charlemagne in 814

• The Middle Ages, or medieval era (“medieval” is derived from the Latin words for “middle ages”), is the time period between the end of Classical Antiquity (which ended with the Roman Empire in approximately 500 CE) and the beginning of the Renaissance (varies depending upon location, but roughly 1500 CE). • Classical Antiquity – Middle Ages - Renaissance• Early medieval art in western Europe was the result of a unique tripartite fusion of the classical heritage of Rome’s northwestern provinces, the cultures of the non-Roman peoples north of the Alps, and Christianity.• After the decline of Imperial Rome, various groups fought over the regions of western Europe, displacing one another frequently, and leading to a high level of mobility/migration.• Because of the frequent moving and changes in power, there is little in the way of monumental architecture or art. What remains consists mostly of small, portable “status symbols” – weapons, jewelry, and other craft items, usually found in burial sites, which could have also been traded as currency amongst various groups.

Merovingian Fibulae

One of a Pair of Merovingian looped

fibulae, from Jouy-le-Comte, France, c. 550.

Silver gilt worked in filigree, with inlays of

garnets and other stones. 4”.

• This is an example of a fibula (one of a pair), a type of pin used by men and women to fasten robes at the shoulder (dating back to Etruscan times).• The level of ornamentation indicated a person’s importance or rank (notice how Justinian’s fibula is more ornate than his advisors’). • This fibula dates to when the Merovingian kings ruled France.• This fibula (and its match) were buried with a wealthy woman, accompanying her into the afterlife.• Artists at the time incorporated abstracted animal-shaped (zoomorphic) designs into their work. The inclusion of abstracted animals into designs is referred to as animal style. Can you spot any animals in the fibula?• This fibula is also decorated with tiny designs made from fine gold wire (filigree), and inlays (attachments) of precious stones like garnets.

Sutton Hoo Ship Burial Purse Cover from the Sutton Hoo ship burialSuffolk, England, c. 625. Gold, glass, cloisonne garnets. 7.5” long.

• In medieval Western Europe, it was not common for warriors to be set afloat in a burning boat, however they were sometimes burned in a pyre, and sometimes the very wealthy men were buried in a boat.

• One such ship burial was unearthed in England near present-day Suffolk, underneath an earthen mound (tumulus).

• Found on the ship were a gold belt buckle, 10 silver bowls, a silver plate, 40 gold coins (to pay the oarsmen), 2 silver spoons inscribed Saulos and Paulos (St. Paul’s names before and after baptism, an allusion to conversion to Christianity), and a helmet.

• The purse holder is an example of cloisonné, a technique in which fine strips of metal (called cloisons, French for “partitions”) were soldered onto a larger piece, then the spaces between the metal were filled with precious stones, pieces of glass, or enamel (glass paste that melted to fill the space when fired in a kiln).

Sutton Hoo Ship Burial Purse Cover from the Sutton Hoo ship burialSuffolk, England, c. 625. Gold, glass, cloisonne garnets. 7.5” long.

Heraldic composition of a

frontal man flanked by two

profile beasts

Eagle attacking a duck. Note how the beaks fit together so they at fist appear to be one design.

A purely linear design

An interlaced pattern in which the interlacements evolve into writhing animal figures.

Vikings• The pre-Christian traders and pirates of Scandinavia were known as Vikings (named after the “viks” – coves or trading places of the Norwegian shoreline) or Norsemen (Northmen). • From approximately 800 CE – 1050 CE, the Vikings attacked and pillaged the coastal communities of England and Scotland.• Their fast, seaworthy longboats enabled them to travel far (some even made it to North America, long before Columbus).• During this time, the Vikings also began to colonize the lands they invaded, until they had large settlements in England, France (became the Normans of Normandy), Ireland, as well as the Baltic regions and Russia.• An example of Viking woodcarving comes from another ship burial (also found under a mound of earth). The vessel contained the remains of two women of high status. Any treasures aside from the boat itself were looted long ago.• The Animal-head post incorporates at once the fearsome roaring head of a beast, and the complex, controlled pattern of tightly interwoven animals that writhe, gripping and snapping, in serpentine (snake-like) fashion. It is an example of the union of two fundamental motifs of the warrior lords’ art: the animal style and the interlaced pattern.

Animal-head post, from the Viking ship burial

Oseberg, Norway, c. 825. Wood.

Stave Church at Urnes

Wooden portal of the stave church at Urnes, Norwayc. 1050

• Although much of Scandinavia had become Christian by the 11th century, Viking artistic traditions persisted, as evidenced by the portal of the stave church at Urnes in Norway.• Staves are wedge-shaped timbers placed vertically.• The elaborately carved wooden portal on the north wall of the church is from the original church from 1050 (most of the rest is from a rebuilding of the church in 1130). • The carving depicts abstracted animals and an intricate interwoven pattern. There are several possible interpretations of the design.• One interpretation is that the four-legged animal in the bottom left is a lion (a symbol of Christ) biting a snake (a symbol of Satan), thus depicting the struggle of good vs. evil.• Another interpretation is based more on Norse mythology. The animal may be interpreted as Nidhogg (a dragon or serpent) eating the roots of Yggdrasil (tree of life). The appearance of Nidhogg portends the Ragnarok (end of the world).

Illuminated Manuscripts• At the same time that Scandinavian, Merovingian, and Anglo-Saxon warlords were amassing artworks dominated by abstract animal motifs, Christian missionaries were establishing monasteries in northern Europe and sponsoring artworks of Christian content.• Although nominally subject to the Roman popes, Irish Celts who converted to Christianity began setting up monasteries in distant, inhospitable locations, where they could carry on their duties far from worldly distractions.• Monasteries became centers for knowledge in a society that was mostly illiterate. • Monks created and copied illuminated Christian books by hand (“manuscripts,” from the Latin manu scriptus meaning “hand-written”) in a special monastery writing room called a scriptoria.• Because society was mostly illiterate, the illustrations in Christian books were highly admired, and served as an important tool for converting new believers in Britain, Scotland, and Ireland.• The books themselves were jealously guarded treasures.

Book of Durrow, possibly from Iona, Scotland, c. 700. Ink and tempera on parchment.

Book of Durrow• One of the earliest Hiberno-Saxon (Irish) illuminated manuscripts, a Gospel book, possibly made in the scriptorium at Iona (monastery). • Located in the late Middle Ages in the monastery in Durrow, Ireland.• Contains full pages dedicated not to text or illustration, but pure embellishment and decorative designs. Because of their resemblance to woven carpets, these decorative pages are known as carpet pages.• In the Book of Durrow, each of the four gospels has a carpet page and a page dedicated to the symbol of the evangelist who wrote that gospel.• The text of each gospel also begins with an elaborately decorated first letter. To make the size of the first letter fit in better, scribes would make the first line of text large, then each line smaller in a process called dimenuendo.• The symbol of Matthew is highly stylized and flat, with the head and body frontal and the feet to the side.

Man (symbol of St. Matthew), folio 21 verso of the Book of Durrow, possibly from Iona, Scotland,

c. 700. Ink and tempera on parchment.

carpet page

The Lindisfarne Gospels• The Lindisfarne Gospels were created in the Northumbrian (northeastern English) monastery on Lindisfarne Island. • Like the Book of Durrow, the Lindisfarne Gospels contained the four gospel texts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). Each was preceded by a carpet page and an image of each author.• This image depicts Matthew (accompanied by his symbol of an angel) writing his account of the life of Jesus.• The curtain informs us that this scene is set indoors.• The man behind the curtain is probably either Jesus, St. Cuthbert (whose relics were at Lindisfarne), or Moses, holding the closed Old Testament (in juxtaposition with the open New Testament).• The theme of the evangelist being depicted as an author, as well as the angled perspective used on the bench, indicate that this composition is probably based on another one from Italy or Greece, however this artist has flattened and simplified the composition beyond what the original may have looked like.• The inscription includes a combination of Greek and Latin words (although all written in Latin letters), perhaps to lend the page the prestige of two classical languages.

Saint Matthew, folio 25 verso of the Lindisfarne Gospels, from Northumbria, England, c. 700.

Tempera on vellum.

The Lindisfarne Gospels• The carpet pages of the Lindisfarne Gospels are even more intricate than the Book of Durrow.• On this page, zoomorphic serpentine interlacements of fantastic animals devour each other, curling over and returning on their writhing, elastic shapes.• The rhythm of expanding and contracting forms creates an effect of motion and change• The movement of the serpentine shapes is held in check by the regularity of the dominating motif of the cross. • As such, the cross, as a symbol of religion, creates a sense of stability.• As with jewelry, it was believed that the more highly intricate the decoration, the more prestigious the book.

Cross-inscribed carpet page, folio 26 verso of the Lindisfarne Gospels, from Northumbria, England.

c. 700. Tempera on vellum.

The Book of Kells• Contains an unprecedented number of full page illuminations, including carpet pages, evangelist symbols, portrayals of the Virgin Mary and of Christ, New Testament narrative scenes, and several instances of monumentalized words from the Bible.• Book was displayed on the church altar.• The text (in parts abbreviated) reads “Now this is how the birth of Christ came about.”• Which gospel does this page precede? How can you tell?

Chi-rho-iota (XPI) page, folio 34 recto of the Book of Kells, probably from Iona, Scotland, c. 900. Tempera

on vellum. 1’1” x 9.5”.

High Crosses• The high crosses of Ireland and England were set up between the 8th and 10th centuries.• Some are over 20 feet high, and they preside over burial grounds adjacent to monasteries.• The Monasterboice cross contains extensive narrative relief decorations.• The circle surrounding the cross identifies the type as Celtic.• At the center of the cross, one side depicts Christ being crucified, and the other side depicts the risen Christ as judge of humanity, hope of the dead.• Intricate woven patterns decorate the sides.• Muiredach (whose name is inscribed on the base) probably is an influential Irish cleric of the same name who was abbot of Monasterboice and died in 923. The cross probably marks his grave.

High Cross of Muiredach (east face),

Monasterboice, Ireland, 923.

Sandstone, 18’ high.