Humn Medieval Art.docx

Abstract of the Artistic Tradition of Medieval Age

1.) THE TRADITION OF MEDIEVAL ART All through the medieval period, art largely consisted of the architectural design and construction of churches, monasteries, castles, and similar eclectic structures while homes and other types of buildings were given less attention. Medieval artists and skilled craftsmen, including masons, carpenters, woodcarvers, sculptors, metal workers, and painters, applied the ornamental features of these structures into their own specific craft. Artisans of the lesser arts, like locksmiths, blacksmiths, shoemakers, and weavers, were equally influenced by these features which were replicated, copied and applied to anything and everything they produced.

Medieval Art and Architecture - An Expression of the Spiritual Medieval art illustrates the passionate interest and idealistic expression of the Christian and Catholic faith. Architectural designs and their interior décor showed avid expressions of the deep religious faith of the people of the Middle Ages. This was an era when political order was almost non-existent, and every common man or woman had no hope in life and little to live for, except the hope of happiness and peace in heaven. The churches served as the centre of town life and were designed and built by the people and not the clergy. They served other purposes that met the requirements of their daily life, with many housing schools, libraries, museums, and picture galleries.

2.) BACKGROUND In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages (or Medieval Period) lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. The medieval art, however, of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, over 1000 years of art in Europe, and at times the Middle East and North Africa. It includes major art movements and periods, national and regional art, genres, revivals, the artists crafts, and the artists themselves.

3.) INFLUENCE Medieval art in Europe grew out of the artistic heritage of the Roman Empire and the iconographic traditions of the early Christian church. These sources were mixed with the vigorous "barbarian" artistic culture of Northern Europe to produce a remarkable artistic legacy. Indeed, the history of medieval art can be seen as the history of the interplay between the elements of classical, early Christian and "barbarian" art. As the "barbarian" peoples were Christianized, these influences interacted with the post-classical Mediterranean Christian artistic tradition, and new forms like the illuminated manuscript, and indeed coins, which attempted to emulate Roman provincial coins and Byzantine types. The colors were generally muted. The Later Middle Ages saw the emergence of Gothic Art and major advances of art in Medieval Times. During this period artists broke away from the influences of the Byzantium and Romanesque art style. It developed into Gothic highly visual art.

4.) DEVELOPMENT

The medieval period of art history spans from the fall of the Roman Empire in 300 AD to the beginning of the Renaissance in 1400 AD. In the Middle Ages, art evolves as humans continue addressing the traditional and the new, including Biblical subjects, Christian dogma, and Classical mythology. Early Middle Ages (Dark Ages) •

Characterized by decline in population, culture, trade, architectural and technological advances.

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Christianization “age of Faith” influenced art and architecture

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Monestaries and churches grew in number, size and political importance

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Romanesque Architecture - structures featured round arches and heavy thick walls, small windows like the Roman style

High Middle Ages •

Rapidly increasing population = boost in economy and political organization

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The Rise of Knighthood, Templar Knights

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The Crusades –control of the Holy Land

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Gothic Architecture - structures featured pointed arches and have slender feel as if they soar upward (to Heaven), large stained glass windows filtered in light and color

Late Middle Ages •

Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the Black Death, reduced population by half

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Social unrest, peasant uprisings, Hundred Years War

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Conflict within Catholic Church

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Despite conflict and unrest it was a time of great progress. A resurgence of interest in Greek/Roman ideals turning into the “Age of Discovery” and then Renaissance

Byzantine Empire •

Byzantine art - mostly religious icons; used Ivory and Gold to show the strength and power of the empire

5.) IMPORTANCE The People Life was very hard in the Middle Ages. Very few people could read or write. The people thought that fate ruled their existence; therefore, there was little hope for improving their condition. During the years of the Roman Empire, the poor people were protected by the soldiers of the emperor. When the empire fell, there were no laws protecting them, so they turned to the lords to keep the peace and to act on their behalf. This willingness to be ruled by the lords led to the beginnings of feudalism. Some peasants were free, but most became serfs to

the lord. This meant that they were required to stay with the land and pay very high rent to the lord. The only hope that most people had was their belief that Christianity would make their lives better or at least that life in heaven would be better than life on earth.

The Government Under the feudal system, all but the king had a ruling lord above him to whom he owed loyalty and service in exchange for land and protection. The king awarded land grants, called fiefs, to the nobles and sometimes to the church in return for the use of their soldiers or their influence on the citizens to protect the land. For safety and defense, peasants in the Middle Ages formed small communities around a central lord or master. Most people lived on a manor, which consisted of the castle, church, village and surrounding farmland. These were isolated, with occasional visits from peddlers, pilgrims on their way to the Crusades, or soldiers from other fiefdoms.

The Family Family life was governed by the place one held in society. The nobles had the highest status. They possessed the most wealth and land. The clergy could be rich or poor, depending on their title and how much influence they had over the people.

Education Monks taught boys from wealthy noble families how to read and write Latin. This was important because both the Bible and the church services used the language. Some boys from wealthy families were tutored privately. Students began learning with the seven liberal arts: Latin grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music. Girls were not taught to read or to write. Children of the poor spent their time working the fields and caring for the home. They learned what they needed to know to survive in society.

Slavery In the Middle Ages, there were people whose lives were governed by their lords. They could not leave the manor or even marry without the lord’s permission. Serfs did all of the work on the manor farm. They worked in the fields, cared for the animals, built and cared for the buildings, and made the clothing and everything else that required manual labor. Everyone worked: men, women and children. Serfs generally had a small plot of land that was their own. They could use this land to grow crops and sell them. They could buy their own freedom and become free men, but this was a difficult task and most often not accomplished. Serfs also tended the horses.

Medicine Medical knowledge was very limited; therefore, health care was generally dominated by myths, folklore and superstition. People believed that bad odors caused disease and that some illnesses were the result of “sins of the soul.” Sometimes the church stated that illnesses were punishments from God and that those who were ill were so because they were sinners. The use of leeches for “blood-letting” was also a common practice. Some believed that the moon and stars, as well as their astrology sign, caused some diseases.

Entertainment Music and art were important in the Middle Ages. Much of this was influenced by the church. People sang with and without instruments. Nobles played games such as chess, checkers and dice. Peasants played more outdoor sports such as hockey, stickball and soccer. Towns or manors often had festivals that included jesters, who were like clowns in a circus. Tournaments matched knights in jousts and fights. Sports (with few rules) also were played.

6.) CHARACTERISTICS THAT INFLUENCE THE MEDIEVAL CULTURE The High Middle Ages was a dynamic period that shaped European identity and development, stimulated in part by Europe’s interactions with other cultures in Eurasia and the Mediterranean.. Clear political boundaries and cultural identities emerged in the British Isles, France, Germany, Italy, eastern Europe, Iberia, and Scandinavia.

Migration and expansion of frontiers stretched the boundaries of European countries in the Mediterranean, eastern Europe, and Iberia. Much of this migration and expansion was led by warrior groups. One such warrior group was the Viking-descended Normans in France, who went to Sicily. Another was the Teutonic Knights, who moved German peasants eastward into Slavic territories. The Crusaders, warriors from throughout Europe, answered Pope Urban II’s call in 1095 to rescue the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks. In the 11th-century Christian reconquest of Iberia, known as the "Reconquista," the northern kingdoms of Aragón, Castile, and León expanded Christendom southward. This expansion took over the territories of the former Muslim caliphate of Córdoba, with its multicultural population of Muslims, Jews, and Christians.