I. Select a topic from medieval art and architecture that interests you. It must relate to the time periods (ca. 300 – 1350 CE) and geographical areas (western Europe or the Byzantine Empire) covered in class. It may be a single work of art or building, a group of objects, or a theme. Select a topic that you can cover adequately in a 5 – 7 page research paper, and that will include new research and information not covered in lecture or the assigned textbook.
Possible topics: These are merely ideas to help you think about potential topics……
– History: How is a specific historical event, like the Norman conquest of England, or the assassination of Thomas Becket, recorded in art? How are the Crusades depicted in medieval art? What was the purpose of these depictions?
– Patronage: How does a patron of the arts, such as Charlemagne or Abbot Suger, affect the content and appearance of art? Were women ever patrons of the arts? What kinds of art works did they commission?
– Religion: Research a cathedral, church portal, or reliquary and the effect that it was intended to have on its viewers. How is a particular saint depicted in art? Are some saints depicted in art only at particular times or places? Why? What is the artistic evidence for medieval Jewish life?
-Secular life: What did a medieval city look like? What were the homes of ordinary people like? What was it like to live in a medieval castle? Some church decoration includes scenes of farmers and craftsmen at work. What do they tell us about daily life?
-Subject matter: How is a subject such as jousting or courtship depicted in medieval art? What was the subject’s significance to medieval viewers?
– Artists and Techniques: Who built Gothic cathedrals ? How did they construct stone vaults? Who illustrated manuscripts? How did they prepare parchment and colored inks? How were tapestries created and used? What was the social status of medieval craftsmen? Were there women artists in the Middle Ages?
II. Find sources in the library and on the internet that supplement information derived from class readings and lectures. Do not rely on a single source, but consult multiple sources to uncover varying viewpoints. Warning: information found on the internet is often superficial and unreliable. For a research paper you will need scholarly sources that provide substantive new information. Two excellent sources of information are: JStor, available on the library website under databases; and the Internet Medieval Sourcebook at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
III. Write a five to seven page double-spaced type-written paper about your topic. Include at least a brief discussion of the following subjects:
Style: Include a description of the formal characteristics of the artistic monument or group of monuments that you have selected.
Evidence: What types of evidence are available regarding your subject? Are there primary sources (written documents created at the time under study) relating to the subject, or is our knowledge based on secondary sources (modern scholars analyzing and interpreting the past)?
Historical Context: Be certain to place your subject in its broader historical context. What was going on at that time in history? Are the work or works that you are studying typical of their period or exceptional?
Footnotes and Annotated Bibliography: Information derived from your sources must be attributed in endnotes or footnotes, and the sources listed in a separate bibliography.
For help in attributing your sources: (1) the library webpage includes helpful information under Help: Citation of Sources; or (2) a brief summary of the Chicago Manual of Style is included under Course Documents here on Blackboard. You are not required to use the Chicago Style, but you must employ an accepted format for footnotes and bibliography.
Annotated Bibliography: Include in your bibliography a brief statement of the relevance and quality of each source you have used. How does each source illuminate your topic?
Please be clear, concise and organized. Standard English and neatness are important components in effective communication. Do not hesitate to drop by my office or to make an appointment with me to talk about your subject or for help in researching, organizing or writing your paper. Please submit a hard copy to me in class, and an electronic copy on Turnitin on Blackboard.
Early Medieval Art in the West:
Visigoths:
San Juan de Banos, Cerrato, 7th c.
Crown of Receswinth, 653-72 (4.7)
Merovingian Franks:
Round fibula (Brooch of Trier), early 7th c.
Anglo-Saxons:
Gold buckle of Sutton Hoo, c. 625 (4.19)
Hiberno-Saxon Art:
Book of Durrow, 2nd ½ of the 7th c. (4.24-25)
Carpet Page, Evangelist symbols of Eagle, and Man of St. Matthew
Lindisfarne Gospels, early 8th c. (4.27, 29)
St. Matthew
Terms: animal interlace
Islamic Spain:
Great Mosque, Cordoba, 8th-10th c. (6.20-21)
Alhambra, Granada ca. 1320-70
Terms: Moors, minaret, mihrab, muqarnas
Mozarabic Art:
San Miguel de Escalada, ca. 913 (7.4)
Emeterius and Senior (Magius) at work, tower of Tabara, 970 (7.5)
Morgan Beatus of Liebana, by Magius, ca. 940-45 (7.6)
The Carolingians:
Equestrian Portrait of a Carolingian Emperor, 9th c.
Palace and Chapel of Charlemagne, Aachen, 789-808 (5.1-3)
Plan of an ideal monastery, St. Gall, early 9th c. (5.6-7)
Torhalle, Lorsch, ca. 800
Abbey Church, Corvey, 873-85
Coronation Gospels, by Demetrius Presbyter, early 9th c. (5.12)
Terms: relics, cloister,westwork
The Ottonians:
Crown of Otto I, first used in 962
Christ Blessing Emperor Otto II and Empress Theophanu, ivory, ca. 982
Terms: Holy Roman Empire
Byzantine Art in the West:
Sicily:Christ Crowning King Roger II of Sicily, Palermo, ca. 1148 (6.11)
Capella Palatina (Palace Chapel), Palermo, 12th c. (6.23, 6.28-31)
Coronation Mantle of King Roger II, 1133-34
Cathedral and Monastery of the Virgin, Monreale, 1174-83
Terms: Normans, muqarnas
Venice:Relics of St. Mark obtained from Alexandria, Egypt 828
San Marco, begun 1063 (3.9, 6.19)
Pala d’Oro, ca. 1105, 1209, reassembled in 14th c.
Terms: Furta sacra” or Translation of relics
Romanesque Art:
The Pilgrimage Roads:
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, 1070-1120 (8.16-20)
Reliquary of Ste. Foye (Ste. Faith), 11th-12thc. with later additions
Abbey of Ste. Foy, Conques, 11th-12th c.
Sainte Madeleine, Vezelay, nave, ca. 1120-1132 (8.28)
Tympanum: Mission of the Apostles (8.30)
Capitals (8.29)
Autun Cathedral, ca. 1120-30 (8.25)
Tympanum: Last Judgment, by Gislebertus (8.27)
Eve, nave capitals by Gislebertus (8.26)
Saint Pierre, Moissac, ca. 1100
Cloister, with capitals and portrait relief of Abbot Durandus (8.32)
Cistercian Abbey Church at Fontenay, 1130-1147 (8.36-37)
Terms: radiating chapels, nave arcade, gallery or tribune;St. Bernard of Clairvaux
The Normans:
Saint Etienne, Caen, France, 1064-87, vaulted ca, 1120 (8.42-43)
Durham Cathedral, England, 1093-1133 (8.44-45)
Bayeux Tapestry, ca.1070 (8.1, 8.3)
Terms: Battle of Hastings in 1066 CE; rib vaulting, flying buttresses, St. Cuthbert
Spain:
S. Isidore, Leon, dedicated 1063, rebuilt in 12th c. (p.80 on St. Isidore)
Pamplona Casket (or Leyre casket), made for Abd al-Malik, 1005
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Torres del Rio, 12th c.
Avila. late 11th – 12th c. (8.2)
Mosque of Bab al-Maardum. 999, Toledo, turned into Church of Santa Cruz in 1186
Ibn Shoshan Synagogue (Santa Maria Blanca),Toledo, 13th-14th c.
Terms: The Reconquest, Mudejar Art(?)
Hildegard von Bingen:
Liber Scivias (Knowing the Ways of the Lord), copy after original of ca. 1150-1200 (9.30)
Author portrait, Fall of Adam and Eve, Ecclesia
The Book of Divine Works, 13thc.
Author portrait, Man and the Cosmos
Gothic Art:
Abbot Suger and the Beginnings of the Gothic Style:
Saint Denis, ca. 1137-1144 (9.5-8)
Tympanum: Last Judgment
Chalice of Abbot Suger, ca.1140
Terms: Neo-Platonism, jamb statues, rose window, lancet windows
Early Gothic Architecture:
Laon Cathedral, begun 1160’s, 1190 – 1215 (9.16-18)
Sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt, 1230-40 (10.25)
Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris, begun 1163, 1180-1200 (9.19-20, 9.22)
Terms: triforium, flying buttress
Chartres:
Chartres Cathedral, 1134-1220 (9.12, 9.10.2-3, 10.7-9)
West Portals: 1145-70 (9.13-15)
Central Tympanum: Maiestas Domini
Virgin Portal with Seven Liberal Arts (9.14)
North transept portals: 13th c. (10.6)
South transept portal: St. Theodore, mid-13th c. (10.19)
Stained glass (9.10-11, 10.4-5)
Terms: Throne of wisdom, trade windows
High Gothic conted:
Reims Cathedral, begun ca. 1211. towers 15th c. (10.11-14, 10.24, 47)
Jamb statues: the Annunciation; the Visitation, installed ca. 1245-55 (10.26)
Tombstone of Hugh Libergier, died 1267
Beauvais Cathedral, begun ca. 1235
Terms: bar tracery
Crusader Art:
Map of the World, Psalter, ca. 1260
Krak des Chevaliers, Syria, 12th-13th c.
Cathedral of Albi, begun 1282
Terms: Cathars, Albigensian Crusade
Saint Louis:
Louis IX and Queen Blanche of Castile, from Moralized Bible, 1226-34 (10.1)
Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, 1243-1248 (10.45)
The grand chasse (reliquary)
Terms: Rayonnant or Court style
The Gothic Style in England:
Canterbury Cathedral, choir and Trinity Chapel, after 1174 (9.26-27)
Wells Cathedral, ca. 1220-40, strainer arches 1338 (10.29-31, 33)
Chapter House 1293-1307
Tomb of Edward II, Gloucester Cathedral, 1328-34 (11.15)
Gloucester Cathedral Choir, 1330’s (modernization of Norman Romanesque church) (12.4, 5)
Cloister 1351-1412 (12.6)
Terms: Thomas Becket, Decorated Style, Perpendicular Style, fan vaults
Castles:
Castle Hedingham, Essex, ca. 1140
Conisborough, 1180’s
Chateau Gaillard, Les Andelys, 1196-1198 (9.2)
Conway Castle, Gwynned, Wales, ca. 1282-92
Bodiam Castle, 1385
Westminster Hall, London, 1394-1402
Terms: motte and bailey, donjon or keep, curtain wall, hammerbeam
Courtly Love:
Casket with scenes of courtly love, Limoges, ca. 1180
Mirror case with God of Love, ca. 1320
Lovers playing Chess, ivory mirror back, ca. 1300
The Power of Love, ivory jewelry casket, ca. 1330-50