TERMS AND THINGS FOR EARLY MEDIEVAL THROUGH ROMANESQUE ART
I. BARBARIAN ART IN WESTERN EUROPE, ca. A.D. 500-800
Animal Interlace Style: a style of art which uses animal forms abstracted into a complex flat
linear pattern. Widely used by the Germanic invaders of the Western Roman Empire, it can be
seen in Scandinavian art (Gummersmark Brooch, 6th), Anglo-Saxon art (buckle from Sutton
Hoo, ca. 630), and in Frankish art of the Merovingian period (6th-8th centuries). Later appears
in Christian art (Hiberno-Saxon manuscripts). It also appears on the keel of a Viking ship of
around 800 found in Norway (Oseberg Ship).
Gem or Jewel Style: a style of art which uses flat, polychrome enlays of gems or enamel (glass
paste) to define forms. Appears in Visigothic art in Spain (Votive Crown of Recceswinth, 7th;
Eagle fibulae, 6th), Ostrogothic and Lombardic art in Italy, and Anglo-Saxon art.
Sacramentary of Gelasius: a Merovingian illuminated manuscript of ca. 750 which shows the
adaptation of the Animal Interlace and Gem Styles to the needs of monastic Christianity in a
book of readings from the Bible to be used in saying the Mass.
Hiberno-Saxon Style: a style of manuscript illumination which developed in England and Ireland
(Hibernia in Latin) after the Synod of Whitby of 663 had reconciled the Roman Catholic and Irish
churches. Noted for its luxuriant Animal Interlace ornament and adaptation of Byzantine/Early
Christian figural scenes into flat pattern: Book of Durrow, ca. 680, Man of St. Matthew..
Disappeared around 800 when many of the monasteries which produced these manuscripts
were sacked by Vikings.
Lindisfarne Gospels: copied and illuminated by the monk Eadfrith at a monastery on the island
of Lindisfarne off the coast of northeast England around 695. Its carpet Cross pages utilize the
Animal Interlace style, but its author portraits of the Evangelists clearly copy Byzantine Greek
prototypes (St. Matthew), albeit in a very flat way.
Book of Kells: a heavily illuminated Gospels produced in northern England and Ireland around
800. Utilizes Animal Interlace style in its elaborate Initial pages which begin each Gospel (Chi
Rho monogram beginning Matthew), while its figural scenes are very flat and abstract (Virgin
and Child).
The Frank’s Casket: named after a man it belonged to, carved in whale bone in northern
England around 700. It depicts scenes from Christianity and Norse mythology in a flat, 2D, but
lively style, and has runic writing. The justaposition of scenes appears odd: the violent story of
Weyland the Smith appears next to the Three Magi.
II. WESTERN HONCHOS AND PEOPLES
Charlemagne: King of France 768-800, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome on Christmas
Day, 800. Ruled an empire which consisted of France, western Germany and northern Italy,
started the Carolingian Renaissance in literature and the arts which aimed at reviving ancient
Roman civilization.
Charles the Bald: King of France (the western part of Charlemagne's empire) 840-877.
Commissioned or was given a number of illustrated manuscripts.
Alcuin: great English scholar brought by Charlemagne to his court in 781 to revive and preserve
ancient culture. Died in 804, spent the last years of his life at Tours revising the translation of
the Bible. The early Christian illustrated Bibles which he used to edit the translation had an
important influence on the Tours' school of manuscript illumination (ca. 840-875).
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TERMS AND THINGS FOR EARLY MEDIEVAL ART
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Alfred the Great: King of Wessex in southern Europe 871-899. Turned back the Viking threat
from the north, fostered a cultural revival which included the establishment of a notable school
of manuscript illumination based on Carolingian precedent at Winchester.
Vikings: pagan Scandinavians who destabilized western Europe through their raids between
800 and 1000 (when they converted to Christianity). Great seafarers, they took over northern
England and Ireland, and settled Iceland and Greenland between 850 and 950. Vikings also
conquered the Ukraine, and became the palace guard for the Byzantine emperor!
Normans: Vikings who settled in northwestern France and whose ruler was recognized as a
Duke in 911 by the King of France. Became one of the most vital people of the 11th and 12th
centuries; took over England in 1066, southern Italy in 1071, and Sicily by 1130.
III. CAROLINGIAN BUILDINGS
Aachen: city in western Germany where Charlemagne made his capital. Remains of an
audience hall and a circular chapel survive, dated 792-806. The chapel shows the adaptation of
Mediterranean architecture (such as San Vitale at Ravenna) into a new and powerfully vertical
Germanic format. One important aspect of this new architecture is a stressed façade (the
westwork). A notable school of manuscript illumination was based at Aachen during
Charlemagne's lifetime (ca. 792-814).
St. Gall: monastery in Switzerland important in the 9th century, particularly around 900, when
the artist Tuotilo and others helped to pass the lessons of Carolingian art to the budding art of
Ottonian Germany. A plan for an ideal monastery survives at St. Gall (ca. 820), showing a
complete settlement dominated by a basilica church with transepts and apses at the east and
west. The west end of this church has two towers.
Church of St. Riquier, Centula Abbey: a typical Carolingian basilica, dedicated in 799 but now
known only from an early drawing. Had towers marking its elaborate Westwork (or entry facade)
and the transept (crossing).
IV. CAROLINGIAN ARTWORKS
Godescalc Evangelistery: excerpts from the Gospels arranged for reading in the Mass, painted
by the Ada Workshop in Charlemagne's palace workshop in the early 780s (781-83). Shows a
nascent Classicizing style that looks back the Early Christian art, but the results are still pretty
flat and unnaturalistic (Christ Blessing). The name Ada comes from the colophon (enddedication) of an illuminated Gospels of c. 800 done by the same workshop; this has author
portraits before each Gospel (St. Mark), which are more three-dimensional than the Godescalc
figures, but still stylized.
Coronation Gospels: illustrated by Byzantine (?) artists working at Aachen in the first decade of
the 9th century. The Coronation Gospels (c. 800) have four full-page illuminations depicting the
Evangelists (St. John); these have an illusionistic and naturalistic style directly based on the
traditions of Classical art.
Ebbo Gospels: painted for Bishop Ebbo of Reims at Reims ca. 820. Style shows that the artists
were trained by the Byzantine artists of Aachen's Palace School ca. 800-810, but has an
expressionistic character typical of western European art (St. Mark).
Utrecht Psalter: illustrated Book of the Psalms done in ink (not painted) at Reims ca. 820. Style
is illusionistic and based loosely on Early Christian compositional models which the artists
understood well. The illustrations metaphorically allude to phrases in each Psalm, and probably
were devised by Carolingian monks.
TERMS AND THINGS FOR EARLY MEDIEVAL ART
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Moutier-Grandval Bible: also called the Alcuin Bible, illustrated at Tours c. 840. It has only four
paintings closely based on Early Christian models, including notable scenes of the Creation and
Fall of Man.
Vivian Bible: painted for Bishop Vivian at Tours ca. 845 and given to King Charles the Bald
(hence often called the First Bible of Chuck the Hairless); has eight pictures. Again closely
based on Early Christian models and style. The last picture shows the Bible being presented to
Charles, and is based on Roman imperial iconography.
Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram: a sumptuous illuminated Gospels with introductory purple dyed
pages with gold letters. Worked on c. 870-77. It has many elaborate paintings, including a
notable Adoration of the Lamb by the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse. The picture before this
shows Charles the Bald (died 877) enthroned, and is clearly based on an ancient Roman
prototype. Later taken to Germany, where it influenced Ottonian illumination.
Lorsch Gospels: notable for its ivory book cover (Virgin and Christ with Ss. Zacharias and John
the Baptist) of the early 9th century based on ivories such as Maximian's throne at Ravenna.
Style is much more expressionistic than Maximian's throne, especially its turbulent drapery
(compare to the Ada Group in manuscript illumination). The Virgin is the same type as the later
Byzantine Hodegetria , showing us the way to salvation by gesturing to her son with her right
hand.
Lindau Gospels: Gospels with two elaborate gold covers. The earlier, now its back, dates c.
800, and is essentially Hiberno-Saxon in its elaborate but flat linear ornament and figures. The
later was created c. 870, and shows a beardless Christ on the cross surrounded by expressive
mourning angels. This second cover is clearly based on an Early Christian prototype.
V. ART OUTSIDE THE CAROLINGINAN ANDF OTTONIAN EMPIRES
Beneditional of St. Ethelwold: a book of blessings for a bishop that was produced in Winchester
between 971 and 984. There are two paired illustrations before each major festival, they are
notable for their liveliness, and especially for their exuberant floral ornament (Mays at the
Tomb).
Mozarabic Style: an abstract, at times crude, style found in the art of Christians in northern
Spain in the 9th and 10th centuries. It seems to have been influenced by the abstract and flat
qualities found in Islamic art, and was used to decorate Commentaries on the Book of
Apocalypse by Beatus of Liebana (8th century). It is found in the Morgan Beatus, an illuminated
Beatus’ commentary made in northern Spain in the 940s. Its style is very flat and twodimensional and shows the influence of Islamic art, as does the background, which has flat
bands of color. Its content is intense and apolcalyptic ((Woman Clothed with the Sun).
OTTONIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE
Otto I: Emperor of Germany 936-972, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 969. Forged an alliance
between the Church and his state which became the basis of Ottonian government, started the
Ottonian Renaissance in the arts.
Theophano: Byzantine Princess who married Otto II (973-983), mother of Otto III (983-1002),
ruled in his name until her death in 991. Maintained close ties with the Byzantine government.
Gero: Archbishop of Cologne 969-976 who commissioned a great wooden crucifix reliquary.
The suffering (and lifesize) figure of Christ on the cross shows typical Ottonian expressionism.
TERMS AND THINGS FOR EARLY MEDIEVAL ART
4
St. Michael's, Hildesheim: monastery church in Germany built by Bishop Bernward 1001-1033
(B. died in 1022). Has sanctuaries facing east and west, with towers at the transepts. Its nave is
timber roofed, but has alternating piers and columns forming incipient bays. The exterior has the
massive masonry characteriistic of Ottonian architecture. A notable Classicist, Bernward
commissioned bronze doors for the church with relief depictions of the Old and the New
Testament (ca. 1015). These were roughly based on the Early Christian wooden doors of St.
Sabina in Rome (432-440), but the style of the reliefs on Bernward's doors is typically
expressive Ottonian. He also commissioned a bronze candelabrum with spiraling relief
(imitatinf ancient Roman columns in Rome) depictions of Christ's miracles (ca. 1020); the style
of this is similar to that of the doors.
Gregory Master: monastic illustrator, probably at Reichenau in southern Germany, best known
for an illumination from an edition of the letters of Pope Gregory the Great, which shows
Gregory’s scribe observing the Pope listening to the dove of the Holy Spirit. The best Classicist
among Ottonian painters, able to create some three-dimensionality in the figures and space.
Gospels of Otto III: produced ca. 997-1002, probably at Reichenau. Style shows the tendencies
toward expressive emotionality and schematicized figures characteristic of Ottonian painting (St.
Luke), including an interesting scene of Otto III enthroned between Church and State, with the
provinces of his empire bringing him tribute-an image derived from Roman imperial art.
Magdeburg Antependium: an altar frontal or facings carved of small ivory plaques and given to
Magdeburg Cathedral by Otto I around 973. A notable plaque (only 5 x 4”!) shows him offering
the church to Jesus, who is enthroned on a triumphal wreath. Behind Otto is St. Maurice, who
introduces him to Christ. On the other side of Jesus is St. Peter, with his key.
TERMS AND THINGS FOR ROMANESQUE ART
I. German Romanesque
Frederic Barbarossa: Holy Roman Emperor 1152-1190. Greatest German ruler of the High
Middle Ages; fought to keep Italy and Germany united. Died in the Third Crusade.
Speyer Cathedral: great church begun in 1030 and completed in 1062 in the Ottonian style with
a timber roof, and towers at the west facade and at the transept. At this time the aisles and crypt
were groin vaulted. Rebuilt after 1080 in the Romanesque style, nave vaulted after 1106.
Renier of Huy: metalworker from the Mosan region in eastern Belgium who made a bronze font
in a notably Classicistic style between 1107-1118 for a church in Liège.
Stavelot Triptych: a small, three winged altarpiece (tri=three, ptych=wing, in Greek) made
around 1155 in the Mosan region. Its wings have local enamel rondels (round pictures)
depicting stories about Constantine and his mother Helena involving the cross. In the center are
two smaller Byzantine triptychs with fragments of wood (the true cross) showing crucfixions,
also in enamel. These were apparently given to the Abbott of Stavelot during a diplomatic
mission to Constantinople.
II. Italian Romanesque
Desiderius: Abbott of Monte Cassino in southern Italy, which he rebuilt 1066-71 and adorned
with art by Byzantine artists. Became Pope Victor in 1086. Tried to revive Early Christian artistic
traditions in Italy through a knowledge of Byzantine methods. Influenced art in Rome and
northern Italy (Cluny).
San Clemente, Rome: church was rebuilt after the Norman sack of Rome in 1084 in the
Classicizing style which had been evolved at Monte Cassino. The upper church was built c.
1120-30. Notable for its elaborate decoration in inlaid stone (Cosmatesque work) and apse
mosaic which shows Christ crucified amidst a riot of elaborate floral ornament.
Pisa Cathedral Complex: a group of four buildings (Baptistry, Cathedral, bell-tower=Leaning
Tower, cemetary) built between 1060 and the 13th century. The Cathedral is modelled on Early
Christian basilicas (such as Old St. Peter's, Rome), and has a timber-roofed nave, vaulted
aisles and a dome at the crossing. The apse has a Byzantinizing mosaic and the architect
(named Busketos) was a Greek. The arcaded façade is a Tuscan version of an ancient Roman
type of columnar decoration; it was not begun until the second half of the 13th century! A set of
bronze doors made by Bonanno of Pisa around 1190, these imitate Byzantine church doors and
show scenes of the lives of Christ and the Virgin Mary. The compositions are Byzantine but the
style is Romanesque in its abstract clarity.
Sant' Ambrogio, Milan: church of Saint Ambrose begun in 1080 and rebuilt after an earthquake
in 1117. Nave has dome-like ribbed vaults similar to those of Speyer Cathedral. The church
shows typically Lombard decorative embellishments seen also in Ottonian and German
Romanesque churches (such as corbel tables).
Cathedral of Modena: built in north-central Italy beginning in 1099; notable for its facade
decorated by the sculptor Wiligelmo after 1106. Has four frieze-like panels with scenes from
Genesis (creation to Noah), probably inspired by ancient Roman sculpture. Wiligelmo's style
has an intense vigor, but the figures are quite flat and lumpy, and the space is limited to the
frontal plane.
TERMS AND THINGS FOR ROMANESQUE ART-p. 2
III. FRENCH ROMANESQUE
HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS FIGURES AND MOVEMENTS
William the Conqueror: Duke of Normandy who conquered England in 1066.
Eleanor of Aquitaine: wife successively of Louis VII of France and Henry II of England in the
12th century. Fostered the ideal of "courtly love" through patronizing popular songs for the
nobility.
Cluniac Monasticism: reformist order founded in 910 at Cluny in east central France. Became
the most important center of monastic culture in 11th and early 12th centuries. Notable for the
magnificence of its Masses, and interest in music.
Cistericians: reformist monastic order founded in 1098 at Citeaux in east central France.
Cisterician monasteries were located in remote areas, and encouraged austerity in both the
lives of the monks and in churches, which were not decorated with sculpture or painting
(Fontenay Abbey, 1139-1147).
St. Bernard: Cistercian mystic who was the leading cultural figure in European Christianity 11131153. Known for his disapproval of decorated churches.
ROMANESQUE ART IN SOUTHERN FRANCE AND WESTERN SPAIN
Santiago de Compostela, Spain: great cathedral built over the supposed tomb of the Apostle
James between c. 1070 and 1120. A leading spot for pilgrimages of devout Christians in those
years. A typical "Pilgrimage Roads" church, with barrel-vaulted nave and groin vaulted aisles.
Interior is dark, but powerful, with a two story elevation below the vault of a nave arcade and a
gallery. The exterior is built of massive masonry. In the early 12th century the south transept
("Puerta de las Platerias") received sculptural decoration in a style akin to that at Toulouse's St.
Sernin, however, the present appearance of that transept mixes sculpture that once adorned a
number of doorways.
St. Sernin, Toulouse: church similar to Santiago de Compostela, but today in better shape, built
ca. 1070-1120 and dedicated to Toulouse's patron saint. Has sculptural decoration which
adapts the style of ancient Roman sculpture to the flattened Romanesque aesthetic. This
includes a notable "Christ in Majesty" by Gelduinus and the "Porte Miegeville" opening off the
south aisle, which is probably by the same workshop but later (ca. 1118) and depicts the
Ascension of Christ in the tympanum.
ROMANESQUE ART IN CENTRAL FRANCE
Cluny: great monastery church rebuilt several times. The last and greatest church (Cluny III)
was begun in 1088 and completed around 1130. Ruined today, it was very influential in the 12th
century. It was notable for its size (555 feet long), and the three story elevation of its vaulted
nave, which rose 98 feet over the floor. The nave arcade was one of the first to use the pointed
arch. Sculpted capitals by the Cluny Master survive from the choir (c. 1095) and depict abstract
concepts (The Third Tone of the Plainchant in music). The Master's style is close to that of
contemporary Mosan work, and he is likely to have come from that region. He abstracted
Byzantine drapery formulae further and creates overlapping rippling folds ("plate" drapery, like
armor plates). This became a popular convention of Romanesque sculpture.
Berze-la-Ville: the small chapel in this country house which belonged to the Abott of Cluny
preserves a notable painted apse depicting Christ in Majesty (1st half of 12th century). Drapery
has the multiplicity of folds also seen at Vezelay ("multilinear" style).
TERMS AND THINGS FOR ROMANESQUE ART-p. 3
Nave elevation: refers to the parts of the wall as it rises. Romanesque and Gothic churches
always have a nave arcade at the bottom, allowing passage to aisles. The arches are supported
on columns or piers, often with “colonettes” attached to their exteriors on the nave side that rise
up throught the other two parts of the elevation. These are a gallery or triforium 9asmall blind
gallery) which creates a horizontal accent note midway up the elevation, and a clerestory
pierced with windows that forms that last step before the vaulted ceiling.
Autun Cathedral: built in the style of Cluny III between 1120 and 1130. Uses pointed arches and
a three-story nave elevation. The church is notable also for its sculpture by Gislebertus, who
had been an assistant of the Cluny Master. Gislebertus was a great expressionist, as his work
on the sculpted ("historiated") capitals at Autun demonstrates (Death of Judas). His masterpiece
is the Last Judgement on the main doorway's tympanum and lintel (ca. 1125) where a great
flattened figure of Christ presides. A wonderfully seductive figure of Eve as a metaphor for Lust
survives from the lintel of another doorway.
Vezelay, Church of the Madeleine: built ca. 1120-1132, uses more color on the interior than
Cluny III and eliminated the triforium to create a two-part nave elevation which admitted more
light into the interior. The capitals of the interior are historizted. The Narthex (entryway) portals
have notable sculptural decoration illustrating Christ's life and mission. The central doorway
depicts the Mission of the Apostles (the Pentecost) in a dynamically hieratic style. The Master of
the workshop that created the portals was trained at Cluny.
Moissac, Abbey Church of St. Pierre: Cluniac monastery in southern France. The cloister
preserves a schematic, flattened image of the first Abbott Durandus made c. 1100, possibly by
the workshop of Gelduinus from nearby Toulouse. A new church was built there around 1120.
Its south portal has notable sculpted decoration showing the Second Coming of Christ, made c.
1125. The portal shows decorative influence from the Islamic architecture of Spain, and
includes a wonderfully architectonic prophet (usually called Jeremiah) on its trumeau or door
post. The style of the portal is closer to that seen at Cluny.
Cistercians: reforming monastic order opposed to Cluniac magnificence in the first
half of the 12th century. Cistercian churches were plain but elegant, with squared off
sanctuaries and often used pointed arches (Fontenay Abbey, 1147). They had no
sculptural decoration. Cistercian book illumination shows an elegant Romanesque
flatness in its stylized figures (Tree of Jesse, c. 1130).
ROMANESQUE ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN WESTERN FRANCE
Notre-Dame-la-Grande, Poitiers: church with a notable western screen facade with sculpture
spread over its upper area celebrating the Virgin Mary (c. 1125-1160).
St.-Savin-sur-Gartempe: hall church built c. 1100 near Poitiers. Notable for the paintings on its
vaulted nave's ceiling which depict scenes of the Old Testament with lively but flat figures and
bright, earthen toned colors.
ROMANESQUE ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN NORMANDY AND ENGLAND
St. Etienne, Caen: abbey church in Normandy initially built 1064-1077 and notable for its austere
towered west facade. Originally timber-roofed, the nave was rib-vaulted after 1120, and has a
three storied elevation (arcade, gallery, clerestory).
Durham Cathedral: begun in 1093 in northern England, largely completed in 1133, uses rib
vaulting throughout. Has massive towers at the crossing and the west facade. The elevation of
the nave wall is similar to that of St. Etienne.
TERMS AND THINGS FOR ROMANESQUE ART-p. 4
Bayeux Tapestry: embroidered linen hanging sewn c. 1170 for the Norman conquerers by
Anglo-Saxon seamstresses. Has lively scenes which illustrate the Norman conquest of England.
The style of the scenes is linear, with flattened figures, and has more in common with earlier
Anglo-Saxon art than contemporary French.
TRANSITION FROM ROMANESQUE TO GOTHIC
Abbott Suger: rebuilt the west facade and the chevet of St. Denis Abbey 1135-1144, beginning
the Gothic style in France. Councilor of the King of France, and notable for his influential
mystical belief that light (in a church) is a reflection of God.
St. Denis Abbey: west facade (1135-1140) and chevet (1140-1144) were built by Abbott Suger,
and began the Gothic Style. Facade was adorned with sculpture, recalls the qualities of the
facade of the Romanesque St. Etienne at Caen. The chevet has radiating, ribbed vaulted
chapels with stained glass windows. The nave was begun in 1231, and began the transition to
the Rayonnant style since its triforium was backed by stained glass windows.
Sens Cathedral: begun before 1142, the 81 foot tall nave has a tripartite elevation borrowed
from the Cluniac Romanesque churches. The original clerestory windows were rather small,
later enlarged.
Notre Dame, Chartres: West facade is the best surviving example of Transitional (Early Gothic)
portal sculpture (ca. 1145-1155), presents a complete Medieval theology of the significance of
Christ's mission for mankind from L-R=Ascension-Second Coming-Nativity). The jambs are tall
thin architectonic figures and depict Old Testament luminaries or the ancestors of Christ. The
north tower of the West facade was built in the early 16th century in the elaborate Late Gothic
Flamboyant style. The rest of the Cathedral was largely built 1194-1230 in the High Gothic Style.