Cover Slide
The Earth and
Its Peoples
3rd edition
Chapter 10
Christian Europe
Emerges,
300-1200
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Ardagh silver chalice, 800
Ardagh silver chalice, 800
This chalice formed part of the treasure of Ardagh Cathedral in County Limerick, Ireland. It has
been called one of the most sumptuous pieces of ecclesiastical metalwork to survive from early
medieval Europe. The circular filigree decoration resembles that of Irish manuscript
illumination. (National Museum of Ireland)
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Bayeux Tapestry
Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry was commissioned by the brother of William the Conqueror. This detailed
design of needlework is wool embroidery executed on eight bolts of natural linen cloth, employing
only two types of stitches. It narrates the story of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 from the
perspective of the Normans, depicting both the triumphs and brutality of war. Designed to run
clockwise around the nave of the Cathedral of Bayeux in Normandy, the tapestry is 230 feet long
and 20 inches high. Scholars assume that it was fashioned by the women of Queen Matilda's court.
This scene portrays the death of the Anglo-Saxon king, Edward, and the coronation of Harold. The
people on the left rejoice at the news of this event, whereas the people on the right view it as a
portent of disaster. (Reproduced with permission of the Tapisserie de Bayeux)
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Book of Kells
Book of Kells
The manuscript of the Book of Kells,
housed in the Trinity College Library,
Dublin, was illuminated between 760
and 820 in southeastern Ireland, at
Iona. This page, one of the most
famous, contains the first three Greek
letters of Christ's name: Chi (X), Rho
(P), and Iota (I). (Trinity College
Library, Dublin)
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Consecration of Cluny
Consecration of Cluny
This manuscript illumination depicts Pope Urban II surrounded by mitered bishops. Abbot
Hugh of Cluny (with cowled monks) is on the right. A French nobleman who had been a monk
of Cluny, Urban coined the term curia as the official designation of the central government of
the church. (Bibliotheque nationale de France)
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Crusades: Capture of Jerusalem
Crusades: Capture of Jerusalem
During the First Crusade western
armies and bands of followers crossed
the Balkans and the Byzantine Empire
in 1096 and 1097; in July 1099, after a
bitter siege, they entered Jerusalem.
This thirteenth-century miniature from
the manuscript of the History of
William of Tyre shows the siege and
capture. On the right soldiers bombard
the city with stones from a catapult
and attack the walls from a tower on
wheels. Above are scenes from the
Passion and, on the left, the Dormition
and Assumption of the Virgin.
(Bibliotheque nationale de France)
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Hagia Sophia, interior
Hagia Sophia, interior
The design of the interior of Hagia
Sophia blends the longitudinal axis of a
basilica with features of a centralized
plan. The nave was constructed using
four great piers on which were built four
great arches forming a basically square
unit. Half domes were placed at each end
of the nave to give the interior an
elliptical shape. At each level, the
windows flood the interior with an
ethereal light. (Werner Forman/Art
Resource, NY)
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Homage and fealty
Homage and fealty
Although the rite of entering a feudal relationship varied widely across Europe and sometimes
was entirely verbal, we have a few illustrations of it. Here the vassal kneels before the lord,
places his clasped hands between those of the lord, and declares "I become your man."
Sometimes the lord handed over a clump of earth, representing the fief, and the ceremony
concluded with a kiss, symbolizing peace between them. (Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek)
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Ivory with Pope Gregory
Ivory with Pope Gregory
One of the four "Doctors" (or Learned
Fathers) of the Latin church, Gregory (r.
590-604) is shown on this ivory book
cover writing at his desk while the Holy
Spirit, in the form of a dove, whispers in
his ear. Below, scribes copy Gregory's
works. (Kunsthistorisches Museum/Art
Resource, NY)
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Jelling Stone
Jelling Stone
King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark (d. ca. 984) erected the Jelling Stone with its
runic inscription as a memorial to his parents. It reads, "King Harald had this
monument made for his father Gorm and his mother Thyri. This was the Harald who
won for himself all Denmark and Norway, and made the Danes Christian." (National
Museum, Copenhagen)
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Justinian
Justinian
On the sidewalls of San Vitale is the processional mosaic of the Emperor Justinian. To the left
of the altar, Justinian is accompanied by courtiers, soldiers, and priests. He is robed in the
imperial purple and gazes serenely ahead as he offers Christ a golden bowl. (Scala/Art
Resource, NY)
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Layout of a manor
Layout of a manor
In 1440 Edmund Rede, lord of Boarstall
Manor, Buckinghamshire, had a map
made showing his ancestor receiving the
title from King Edward I (lower field).
Note the manor house, church, and
peasants' cottages along the central road.
In the common fields, divided by
hedges, peasants cultivated on a threeyear rotation cycle: winter wheat, spring
oats, a year fallow. Peasants' pigs grazed
freely in the woods, indicated by trees.
(Buckinghamshire Record Office,
Aylesbury)
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Matilda, Gregory, and Henry IV
Matilda, Gregory, and Henry IV
A staunch supporter of the reforming
ideals of the papacy, the Countess
Matilda of Tuscany (ca. 1046-1115)
arranged the dramatic meeting of the
pope and emperor at her castle at
Canossa near Reggio Emilia in the
Apennines. The arrangement of the
figures--with Henry IV kneeling,
Gregory lecturing, and Matilda
persuading--suggests contemporary
understanding of the scene where
Henry received absolution. Matilda's
vast estates in northern Italy and her
political contacts in Rome made her a
powerful figure in the late eleventh
century. (Biblioteca Apostolica
Vaticana)
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Monument to an early Turk
Monument to an early Turk
The Turks originated in the northern part of what is now Mongolia. The flat expanses of the
steppes, shown here in present-day Tuva, in Asiatic Southern Russia, suited the Turks and their
herds. Steppe geography allowed constant communication between eastern Iran and western
China. This monument to an unknown Turkic leader, probably of the late 500s, looks out over
lands similar to those through which the Silk Road passed. (Courtesy, Sergei I. Vainshtein,
Institute of Ethnography, Moscow)
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Mosaic, Vandal landowner
Mosaic, Vandal landowner
The Vandals settled in Spain for less than twenty years before entering North Africa in 429
where they successfully founded a national state centered in Carthage. This North African
mosaic, of the late fifth or sixth centuries, shows a prosperous Vandal landowner leaving his
villa. His costume and facial type are characteristically barbarian. (Courtesy of the Trustees of
the British Museum)
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Oseberg Ship
Oseberg Ship
Discovered in 1880, the Oseberg ship was buried in Norway in (probably) the tenth century.
The ship may have belonged to a king, and contained the remains of Queen Asa. It is 21.6
meters long and 5 meters wide. Its crew would have been thirty to forty men. (University
Museum of National Antiiquities, Oslo)
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Oxteam plowing
Oxteam plowing
From an eleventh-century calendar showing manorial occupations for each month,
this illustration for January--the time for sowing winter wheat--shows two pairs of
oxen pulling a wheeled plow, which was designed for deeper tillage. One man directs
the oxen, a second prods the animals, and a third drops seeds in the ground. (British
Library)
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Pantheon interior
Pantheon interior
The Pantheon in Rome is a very large round temple whose interior is the best preserved, as well
as the most impressive, of any surviving Roman structure. Originally a temple for the gods, it
later served as a Christian church. As such, it symbolizes the adaptation of pagan elements to
Christian purposes. (Alinari/Art Resource, NY)
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Plan of Charlemagne's palace
Plan of Charlemagne's palace
This model of Charlemagne's Palace in
Aachen shows, in the foreground, the
octagonal chapel and throne room. It is
joined by galleries to the residential
quarters in the background. The
models for these buildings were found
in Rome and Ravenna. (RomischeGermanisches Zentralmuseum)
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Saint Benedict, 7th c
Saint Benedict, 7th c
This illumination from a manuscript in
the Vatican Library depicts Saint
Benedict holding his Rule in his left
hand. The seated and cowled patriarch
of Western monasticism blesses a
monk with his right hand. His
monastery, Monte Cassino, is in the
background. (Biblioteca Apostolica
Vaticana)
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Saint Matthew, Gospel Book of Charlemagne, 800
Saint Matthew, Gospel Book of
Charlemagne, 800
The Gospel Book of Charlemagne
reputedly was found laying on
Charlemagne's knees when his tomb was
opened in 1000. Following the custom of
manuscripts of the Palace School, they
contain full-page portraits of the Gospel
writers. This portrait of Saint Matthew
shows him adorned in classical garb and
seated on a stool. In his left hand he
holds an inkhorn as he writes his Gospel
with his right hand. Were it not for the
large golden halo, this might almost be
mistaken for a classical author's portrait.
The landscape--with its soft brushwork
and gentle colors--harkens back to the
illusionistic tradition of the Romans.
(Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna)
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Theodora
Theodora
On the right of the altar of San Vitale is the mosaic of the empress Theodora and her
attendants. She, too, is robed in the imperial purple and offers Christ a golden
chalice. (Scala/Art Resource, NY)
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Virgin of Vladimir
Virgin of Vladimir
Along with the Orthodox faith, icon
painting spread throughout the Balkans
and Russia, where it continued to
flourish even after the disappearance of
the Byzantine Empire. The "Virgin of
Vladimir, " the holiest icon of Russia,
once the miraculous protector of the city
of Vladimir and later of Moscow, was
painted in Constantinople in 1131. Rus,
and later Russian, icons tended to follow
Byzantine traditions very closely.
(Scala/Art Resource, NY)
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Map: The Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire
The Sasanid kingdom of Persia spanned much of central Asia, while the Byzantine Empire straddled Asia and Europe. The
series of wars between the two powers brought neither of them lasting territorial acquisitions; the strife weakened them and
paved the way for Islamic conquest in the seventh century. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: The Carolingian World
The Carolingian World
The extent of Charlemagne's nominal jurisdiction was extraordinary. It was not equaled until the nineteenth century.
(Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: The Germanic Migrations
The Germanic Migrations
The Germanic tribes infiltrated and settled in all parts of western Europe. The Huns, who were not German ethnically,
originated in Central Asia. The Huns' victory over the Ostrogoths led the emperor to allow the Visigoths to settle within the
empire, a decision that proved disastrous for Rome. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: The Islands of Japan
The Islands of Japan
Korea and Japan are of similar latitude, but Korea's climate is more continental, with harsher winters. Of Japan's four islands,
Kyushu is closest to Korea and mainland Asia. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: Raid and Invasions in the Era of Political Disruption
Raid and Invasions in the Era of Political Disruption
Early invasions focused on the primary care centers of Roman imperial authority: Rome, Milan, Carthage, and
Constantinople. Later invasions reflect the shift of power to northern Europe. In contrast to raids in the northwest, extensive
Viking activity along the rivers of eastern Europe consisted partly of establishing authority over Slavic peoples and partly of
opening up trade routes to Byzantium and Iran. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: The Routes of the Crusades
The Routes of the Crusades
The Crusades led to a major cultural encounter between Muslim and Christian values. What significant intellectual and
economic effects resulted? (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: The Spread of Christianity
The Spread of Christianity
Originating in Judaea, the southern part of modern Israel and Jordan, Christianity spread throughout the Roman world.
Roman sea-lanes and roads facilitated the expansion. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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