Early Medieval Europe
Merovingian and Anglo-Saxon(410-768)
 After the fall of Rome, Merovingian and Anglo-Saxon artists produce costly portable
items of personal adornment featuring cloisonné ornamentation and intertwined animaland-interlace patterns
 Pair of Merovingian looped fibulae, from Jouy-le-Comte, France, mid-sixth
century(Fig.11-2): silver gilt worked in filigree, with inlays of garnets and other
stones. Probably owned by a Merovingian woman, features eagle heads and fish
integrated into a highly decorative design.
 The cross-inscribed carpet page of the Lindisfarne Gospels, 698-721(Fig.117): exemplifies the way that Hiberno-Saxon illuminators married Christian
imagery and the animal-and-interlace style of the early medieval warlords.
Serpentine interlacements of fantastic animals devour each other, curling over
and returning on their writhing, elastic shapes. The rhythm of expanding and
contracting forms produces a vivid effect of motion and change, but the painter
held it in check by the regularity of the design and by the dominating motif of the
inscribed cross
 The Gospels (“good news”) are the New Testament works of Saints Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John ( “The Four Evangelists,” page 331) and tell the story of
Christ’s life, death, and resurrection ( “The Life of Jesus in Art,” pages 244–245).
Medieval Gospel books often contain canon tables—a concordance, or matching,
of the corresponding passages of the four Gospels, which Eusebius of Caesarea
(d. ca. 339) compiled in the fourth century
 Portraits of the authors of the four accounts of Christ’s life frequently appeared in
Gospel books
 The Hiberno-Saxon depiction of the evangelist Matthew with his symbol derives
directly or indirectly from an image in a Mediterranean book (Fig.11-8,Saint
Matthew, folio 25 verso of the Lindisfarne Gospels, from Northumbria, England,
ca. 698–721)
 Anglo-Saxon kings are laid to rest in treasure-laden ship burials, a tradition reflected in
the Beowulf saga
Hibernian-Saxon Carolingian(768-919)
 Christian missionaries commission sumptuous illuminated manuscripts featuring full
pages devoted to embellishing the word of God
 Charlemagne and his Carolingian successors (768–877) initiate a conscious revival of
the art and culture of Early Christian Rome
 Equestrian portrait of Charlemagne or Charles the Bald(Fig.11-12): depicts a
crowned emperor holding a globe, the symbol of world dominion.
 Coronation Gospels, also known as the Gospel Book of Charlemagne, 800810(Fig.11-13, Saint Matthew, folio 15 recto of Coronation Gospels): a text
written in gold letters. The major full page illuminations, which show the four
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Gospel authors at work. The Carolingian painter used light, shade, and
perspective in this representation of the evangelists at work.
 The Ebbo Gospels(Gospel Book of Archbishop Ebbo of Reims): replaced the
classical calm and solidity of the Coronation Gospels evangelist with an energy
approaching frenzy. Saint Matthew, folio 18 verso of the Ebbo Gospels from
the abbey of Saint Peter, 816-835(Fig.11-14): the winged man in the upper right
corner writes in frantic haste. His hair stands on end, his eyes open wide, the
folds of his drapery writhe and vibrate, and the landscape behind him rears up
alive.
 Utrecht Psalter, from Saint Peter’s abbey in Hautvillers, France, ca. 820-835
(Figs.11-14A and 11-15): the text reproduces the psalms of King David in three
columns of Latin capital letters in emulation of the script and page organization of
ancient books. The artist illustrated each psalm with a pen-and-ink drawing
stretching across the width of the page.
 Crucifixion, front cover of the Lindau Gospels, from Saint Gall,Switzerland,
ca.870 (Fig.11-16): gold-and-jeweled Carolingian book cover revives the Early
Christian imagery of the youthful Christ (fig. 8-16). The statuesque crucified
Christ, heedless of pain, is classical in conception and style
 Palatine Chape of Charlemagne,792-805 (Figs.11-17, 11-18, 11-19): the first
vaulted medieval structure north of the Alps. Odo of Metz, the architect,
transformed the complexity and lightness of San Vitale’s interior (fig. 9-1) into
simple, massive geometric form. The innovative design features cylindrical
towers with spiral staircases flanking the entrance portal (compare fig.11-17),
foreshadowing later medieval dual-tower church facades
Carolingian architects introduce the twin-tower west work(a monumental western facade
incorporating two towers),and modular plans for basilican churches
 Westwork of the abbey church, Corvey, Germany, 873–885(Fig.11-21): stairs in
each tower provided access to the upper stories. On the second floor is a twostory chapel with an aisle and a gallery on three sides. As at Aachen, the chapel
opens onto the nave, and from it the visiting emperor and his entourage could
watch and participate in the service below
Ottonian(919-1024)
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Ottonian architects introduce the alternate-support system, in which heavy square
piers alternate with columns, dividing the nave into vertical units.
Ottonian builders modified the interior elevation of Early Christian basilicas.
 Nave of the church of Saint Cyriakus, Gernrode, Germany, 961–973(Fig.11-23):
the Gernrode designer added a gallery above the nave arcade and adopted an
alternate-support system of piers and columns
Bishop Bernward, a great art patron,adorns Saint Michael’s at Hildesheim with bronze
doors and a freestanding bronze column covered with figural reliefs. Bernward’s doors
tell the story of Original Sin and redemption, and draw parallels between the Old and
New Testaments, juxtaposing, for example, Eve nursing Cain with Mary and the infant
Christ(Fig.11-26, Doors with relief panels:Genesis, left door; life of Christ, right door)
The church’s two apses, two transepts, and multiple towers give it a distinctive
profile(Fig.11-24).
The entrances to Saint Michael’s are on the side. Alternating piers and columns divide
the space in the nave into vertical units. These features transformed the tunnel-like
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horizontality of Early Christian basilicas(Fig.11-25, Longitudinal section (top) and plan
(bottom) of the abbey church of Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim, Germany, 1001–1031)
Ottonian painters and sculptors produce illuminated manuscripts and ivory reliefs
inspired by Late Antique and Byzantine sources
 Otto I presenting Magdeburg Cathedral to Christ, panel from an altar or pulpit in
Magdeburg Cathedral, Magdeburg, Germany(Fig.11-28): the ivory panel was
affixed to an altar or pulpit dedicated by Otto I in Magdeburg Cathedral. It shows
Saint Mauritius introducing the emperor to Christ, to whom Otto presents the new
cathedral
 Christ blessing Otto II and Theophanu, 972(Fig.11-29): Commemorating the
marriage of Otto II and Theophanu, this ivory plaque is Byzantine in style and
iconography. Theophanu came from Constantinople and promoted Byzantine art
at the Ottonian court
 Crucifix commissioned by Archbishop Gero, also known as Gero Crucifix,
Cologne Cathedral, Cologne, Germany, ca. 970(Fig.11-30): large-scale sculpture
and reliquary( a shrine for sacred relics). Carved in oak, then painted and gilded,
the 6-foot-tall image of Christ nailed to the cross. The intense agony of Christ’s
ordeal on the cross was depicted with unprecedented emotional power.
 Otto III enthroned, folio 24 recto of the Gospel Book of Otto lll(Fig.11-31):
Emperor Otto III, descended from both German and Byzantine imperial lines,
appears in this Gospel book enthroned and holding the scepter and crossinscribed orb signifying his universal authority
Romanesque Europe
France and Northern Spain
 The passing of the year 1000, the growth of towns, and the popularity of pilgrimages
foster a surge in church construction: “Pilgrimage churches” have longer and wider
naves and aisles, as well as transepts and ambulatories with radiating chapels for
viewing relics
 Saint-Étienne (Saint Stephen),Vignory, France, 1050–1057(Figs.12-3 and 12-4):
the interior(Fig.12-3) reveals a kinship with the three-story timber-roofed
churches of the Ottonian era. The second story is not a true tribune (gallery over
the aisle opening onto the nave) but rather a screen with alternating piers and
columns opening onto very tall flanking aisles. The east end of the church, by
contrast, has an innovative plan (fig.12-4) with an ambulatory around the choir
and three semicircular radiating chapels opening onto it for the display of relics
 Plan of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, France, ca. 1070–1120(Fig.12-6): plan is
extremely regular and geometrically precise. The crossing square, flanked by
massive piers and marked off by heavy arches, served as the module for the
entire church.
 Romanesque architects replace the timber roofs of churches with barrel vaults in the
nave and groin vaults in the aisles
 Interior of Saint-Sernin (looking east),Toulouse, France, 1070-1120(Fig.12-7):
the engaged columns rise from the bottom of the compound piers to the vault’s
springing (the lowest stone of an arch) and continue across the nave as
transverse arches. As a result, the Saint-Sernin nave gives the impression of
being numerous identical vertical volumes of space placed one behind the other,
marching down the building’s length in orderly procession. The articulation of the
building’s exterior walls (fig. 12-5), where buttresses frame each bay, also
reflects the segmentation of the nave.
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Romanesque sculptors revive large-scale stone relief carving, especially on church
facades, usually greeting worshipers with a vision of Christ as Last Judge
 The parts of church portals that Romanesque sculptors regularly decorated with
figural reliefs(Fig.12-12):
- Tympanum (Figs. 12-1, 12-11, 12-12B, and 12-15), the prominent semicircular
lunette above the doorway proper,comparable in importance to the triangular
pediment of a Greco-Roman temple
 Gislebertus, Christ, detail of Last Judgment(Fig.12-14), west tympanum (Fig.121) of Saint-Lazare, Autun, France, ca. 1120–1135: Christ presides over the
separation of the blessed from the damned in Gislebertus’s dramatic vision of the
Last Judgment (fig. 12-1), designed to terrify those guilty of sin and beckon them
into the church
- Voussoirs (Fig. 12-15), the wedge-shaped blocks that together form the archivolts
of the arch framing the tympanum
Lintel (Figs. 12-1, 12-9A, 12-15, and 12-15C), the horizontal beam above the doorway
- Trumeau, the center post supporting the lintel in the middle of the doorway(Figs. 1211 and 12 -13).
 Old Testament prophet (Jeremiah or Isaiah), right side of the trumeau of the
south portal (fig. 12-11) of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, France, ca. 1115–1130(Fig.1213): the animated prophet displays the scroll recounting his vision. His position
below the apparition of Christ as Last Judge is in keeping with the tradition of
pairing Old and New Testament themes
- Jambs (fig. 12-11), the side posts of the doorway
The veneration of relics created a demand for small-scale images of the holy family and
saints to be placed on chapel altars.
 Virgin and Child (Morgan Madonna), from Auvergne, France, second half of
12th century(Fig.12-20): painted wood statuette depicts the Virgin as the “throne
of wisdom”. Christ holds a Bible in his left hand and raises his right arm in
blessing (both hands are broken off ). He is the embodiment of the divine wisdom
contained in holy scripture. His seated mother is in turn the throne of wisdom
because her lap is the Christ Child’s throne.
Italy
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Piza Complex, Pisa, Italy(Fig.12-29): cathedral begun 1063. Resembles an Early
Christian basilica with a timber roof, columnar arcade, and clerestory. The broadly
projecting transept with apses, the crossing dome, and the facade’s multiple arcaded
galleries- Romanesque; baptistery begun 1153; campanile (Leaning Tower,fig. 12-29A)
begun 1174. Detached in the standard Italian fashion. Graceful arcaded galleries mark
the tower’s stages and repeat the cathedral facade’s motif, effectively relating the round
campanile to its mother building.
Normandy and England
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Durham Cathedral, Durham, England (figs. 12-36 and 12-37): begun aroun 1093. Long,
slender proportions. The nave, simple pillars alternate with compound piers that support
the transverse arches of the seven-part groin vaults. Durham Cathedral boasts the first
examples of rib groin vaults placed over a three-story nave. The builders replaced groin
vaults in the tribune with quadrant arches as buttresses of the nave vaults
Bayeux Tapestry (Figs. 12-40 and 12-41): continuous, friezelike pictorial narrative of
the events surrounding the conquest of England in 1066 by the William of Normandy.
The needleworkers employed eight colors of dyed wool yarn and sewed the threads onto
linen using both stem stitching and laid-and-couched work
 Funeral procession to Westminster Abbey(Fig.12-40): embroidered wool on
linen. Depicts King Edward’s funeral procession. The hand of God points the way
to the church in London where he was buried—Westminster Abbey.
 Battle of Hastings(Fig.12-41): embroidered wool on linen. Shows the Battle of
Hastings in progress. The Norman cavalry cuts down the English defenders.
Filling the lower border are the dead and wounded, although the upper register
continues the animal motifs of the rest of the embroidery