Key elements re: Medieval period in Europe.

1. The Medieval Period
450 – 1450 A.D.

2. Also Known As:
o “The Middle
Ages”
o “The Dark
Ages”
o This was
because of a
lack of central
government,
poverty and
ignorance

3. Characteristics
o Society was
made up of 3
orders: clergy,
nobility & serfs
o Once in an order,
a person was
pretty much
locked into it
o This included
their ancestors
to follow them

4. The Clergy
o Subject to their
own laws
o Observed their
own levels of
social class
o Administered
“divine justice”
o Were looked to
for blessings
o Were the
guardians of
society

5. The Nobility
o Upper nobility
were the kings
followed by large
land owners with
titles like “Duke”
or “Count”
o Lower nobility
were smaller
land owners –
the “Knight”
class

6. The Serfs
o These people
worked land
owned by others
o They paid a
share to the land
owner and kept
the rest
o Serfs were free
but still
beholden to the
land owners they
served

7. What This Means:
o Power & Money
were held by the
few
o The majority of
people were
uneducated and
concerned with
survival
o The church held
great power over
all

8. The Rise of the Christian
Church
o This setting
promoted the
rise of a religion
that promised
happiness in the
afterlife:
Christianity
o Serfs saw their
lives as a
penance to be
paid in order to
gain eternal
salvation

9. More About the Rise:
o This attitude
helped the
nobility to
maintain control
o It also gave great
power to the
church as it was
viewed as the
over riding
power in Europe
during this time

10. Impact on the Arts:
o The majority of
art was
produced and
controlled by the
church and
wealthy
o Enjoyment of the
arts was limited
to the few with
the exception of
social fads

11. Characteristics of Medieval Fine Art
o The arts appeal
to the emotions
and stress the
importance of
religion in all
aspects of life
o The purpose is
to instruct the
populace in the
Christian faith

12. Types of Medieval Fine Art
o Illuminated
Manuscripts
o Celtic Art
o Byzantine,
Romanesque &
Gothic
Architecture
o Dance Macabre
o Gregorian Chant
o Morality Plays
o The Tarantella
o Minstrels

13. Illuminated Manuscript
o This is artwork that
is used to decorate
text
o Drawings are 2-
dimentional and
use primary colors
mostly
o Ornamentation is
used freely
o No other form
captures the
Medieval spirit as
well

14. Examples:

15. The Book of Kells
o The most
famous
collection of
illuminated
manuscript
o An Irish
manuscript that
contained the
four gospels
o The detail in the
knot designs
shows great care

16. Examples:

17. Byzantine Architecture
o Heavy Roman
influence: vaults,
arches, domes,
columns
o Mixture of brick,
stone & mortar
o Monumental in
size
o Decorated with
gold & mosaics
o Middle Eastern

18. Mosaics
o Works created
by gluing little,
colorful pieces
of stone together
o Used by the
Byzantines as a
major source of
artistic
expression
o Most works are
religious

19. Examples

20. Romanesque Architecture
o The style of the
traditional
Medieval castle
o Geometric
shapes
o Round arches
o Decorated with
Relief Sculptures
to teach the
Christian faith
o Shelter &
protection

21. Relief Sculpture

22. Gothic Architecture
o “Gothic” was a
term used for
designs against
the classical
form
o It was against
the Greek &
Roman styles
o Tried to create a
new Christian
style of design

23. More Gothic:
o Since the design
was religious in
nature, the most
impressive
examples are
Cathedrals
o The most
famous of which
is the Notre
Dame in the
center of Paris,
France

24. Innovations in Design

25. Innovations in Design

26. Dance Macabre
o Art that depicts
skeletons
dancing
o Influenced by the
Black Death
o Shows societies
infatuation with
death
o Still used in
modern art
(Halloween)

27. Examples

28. Gregorian Chant
o When Pope
Gregory I
decided to
reorganize the
church, he
wanted uniform
service music
o This required
that a form of
notation be
created so that
everyone would
be playing the
same songs

29. Gregorian Chant
o This was the first
music ever
written in a
universal style
o Made up of a
single melody
and nothing else
o Words are
biblical text
o Was the official
music of the
church for 1000
years

30. Polyphony
o Developed after
Gregorian Chant
o Combines two
chant melodies
to produce
harmony
o Comes from
Greek “poly”
(many) &
“phones” (voice)

31. Secular Music
o Unlike chant &
polyphony that
was for the
church (sacred)
o Topics of words
were “wine,
women & song”
o Not written
o Learned by rote
o Sung with lute
accompaniment

32. Morality Plays
o Drama of the
Medieval Period
o Taught moral
lessons from the
church
o 1st dealt with the
lives of saints &
was performed
in church
o Classic tales of
good vs. evil

33. “Everyman”
o Best example of
a morality play
o Protagonist is a
symbol for all
human kind
o It tells the story
of his life & acts
o Characters are
“love”, “greed”,
“death”, etc
o Only “good
deeds” is with
him at the end

34. Tarantella
o Popular dance of
the late Medieval
o Native dance of
south Italy
o 1st move is a jump
as if bitten by a
spider
o Dancers play
tambourines &
castanets while
dancing
o Named for the
tarantula spider

35. Dance Mania
o Known as “St.
Vitus’s Dance
o Frantic dance to
exhaustion that
sometimes
ended in death
o Believed to
combat the
plague
o A combination of
dance
marathons &
mosh pits

36. Thus Endth: