04.13.09 – EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE
 Mostly gold work – pertains to taking wealth with you- shows status
 Not literate; no writing, no idea of what they believed in
 LATER TIMES – Roman Civilization wiped out
 8th-10th century – become well off; create works of art – spiritual callings of god (Priests in Ireland)
 Made books of the bible; sent out missionaries to convert the “barbarians”
 Used animal skin to make the writings
 Can build up a point on it – flat animal skin; has nicer surface to illustrate the bibles
 Make the word of god beautiful
PAIR OF MEROVINGIAN LOOPED FIBULA, MID 6TH - EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE
 Elegant, bodies laid out of these
 Take wealth to after life
 Fibula – huge safety pin
 Made out of silver/gold/gilded. w/ gemstones
 Clear stones and garnets on it
 Largely geometric; geometric patterned
 Have a stylized fish on both of them
 Top portion looks like an eagle beak; powerful animal
 Power of the natural world
ANIMAL HEAD POST FROM VIKING SHIP BURIAL, NORWAY - EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE
 Found in a ship among the mound
 Well preserved; originally 75 feet long
 Not big enough to sail across the sea; easier for river
 Has an animal snake head
 Found 2 bodies – queen and servant and a lot of animals; 14 horses, dogs, etc.
 Made out of hardwood lime tree – attached to protect or guard the boat –
 animal interlace: abstracted; snakes woven together ,
 Viking invade England – east coast
PURSE COVER, FROM THE SUTTON HOO SHIP BURIAL, SUFFOLK ENGLAND - EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE
 SUTTON HOO = lots of mounds
 Found remains of another boat
 Acidic - ate up the body in the boat
 Made for anglo king
 All designs have animal interlace – animals intertwined with each other
 7.5 inches long (small – less than an inch in width)
 Originally had background of bone/ ivory
 Can attach to the belt
 In the bag; had 37 coins
 CLOISANNE = make them with gold and then fill them with glass of semiprecious stones
 Has motifs – looks like previous work – Sutton Hoo – holding the animals, controlling them
 THEME = dominating predatory animals
 CENTER = looks abstract but is actually birds
 Top are their prayers (above the abstract bird work)
 Ruler associate with power of eagle/hawk
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LINDISFARNE GOSPELS - CROSS INSCRIBED CARPET PAGE; Early Medieval Europe
 Monks made these books – only ones that were literate
 Monastery workshops – scriptorium – write books/read
 “manuscriptorium” – make manuscripts by hand
 Hiberno-saxon – “Ireland/England” – combined world
 Comes from on page
 Gospel – tells the story of the life of Christ
 This is the beginning of one of those books
 13x10 inches
 Colorful, beautiful – has a stylized cross
 Covered with tiny decorations
 Center of each compartment has a decoration – looks like a screw; imitation of it – attached to the cross
 All animals interlace – looks like they have eyes and beaks
 Multicolored wings – have abstract animal parts
 Inside cross – animals do not have wings
 All ornate powers of biting each other
 No relevance to the bible
 Copying something from tradition to gold to the bible page
LINDISFARNE GOSPELS - SAINT MATTHEW - EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE
 Wall-painting from Pompeii
 Is a monk
 Author on a fancy chair – has book and holding out in the chair
 Toga- took shades into orange lines – pattern
 Writing in Greek
 Symbol of winged man = sacred fellow
BOOK OF KELLS: ST.JOHN; CHI-RHO-IOTA PAGE - EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE
 Gospel book
 Portrait of him; red haired and red bearded
 Beautiful decorative pattern
 Borders placed on iron work – animal interlace, etc.
 Body anatomy does not make sense at all
 Looks like feet stretched out in two different decorations
 Looks like he is an author; staring out at the people
 Halo – has animal interlace; based on round
 Shows symbol of his holiness
 Drawing on roman manuscript, portrait – Christianity – part of learning to read and write