The Medieval Period

450 – 1450 A.D.

 Also Known As:
o“The Middle
Ages”
o“The Dark
Ages”
o This was
because of a
lack of central
government,
poverty and
ignorance
 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
 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
 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
 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
 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
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
 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
 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
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
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
 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
Examples:
 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
Examples:
 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
 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
Examples
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
Relief Sculpture
 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
 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
Innovations in Design
Innovations in Design
 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)
Examples
 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
 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
 Polyphony
o Developed after
Gregorian Chant
o Combines two
chant melodies
to produce
harmony
o Comes from
Greek “poly”
(many) &
“phones”
(voice)
 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
 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
 “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
 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
 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
Thus Endth: