1. Origins of Christianity in
Early Medieval Art the Roman West

2. DISCLAIMER
This presentation is an overview of the material in your text. It is not
comprehensive, nor is it meant to be. This presentation allows you to introduce
yourself to concepts and images in the respective chapter. Best practice says to
view this presentation with your book open, as many of the images in this
presentation are small or incomplete.

3. Review
• Byzantine art immediately sets
out to distinguish itself from
pagan art of the Romans
• So Byzantine art is characterized
by the mosaic technique and
materials, the use of gold, and
flat, expressionless figures with
drapery told through line
• While Byzantine art is
developing to serve the
established hierarchy of the
church and its royalty, Early
Medieval art is simultaneously
evolving but VERY differently...

4. Guiding Questions
• Much of what is now Western
Europe is pagan much longer
than the countries of the
Byzantine world, where
Christianity became the state
religion in 380. So what will the
Christian arts look like if the
makers had been steeped in
paganism for much longer
periods?

5. Guiding Historical
Events
• Charlemagne becomes the
first Christian Emperor in 800,
and he establishes the Holy
Roman Empire
• Christianity reaches the Danes
around 1,000, about eight
hundred years after
Christianity burgeoned in Syria

6. Where are we at in the world? This is a geography is
made up of competing
“barbarian,” or warrior
cultures. The climate,
which is colder and heavily
forested, requires a new
kind of architecture.
Stave Chuch from Urnes, Norway

7. Characteristics of Early Medieval Art 1. Interlaced, ribbon style
designs
2. Zoomorphic designs,
with animals rather
than humans as the
main subjects of
power and narrative
3. Small, portable objects
commissioned by
roving courts
4. Figures presented with
an x-ray type flatness
Hinged Clasp with Boars, from the Sutton
Hoo Burial Ship, Suffolk, England
Self Study:
As Christianity settles in Western Europe, how have pagan designs
been syncretized with Christian forms and styles?
South Cross, Ahenny, Ireland

8. Medieval monasteries are
Monasteries representative of God's
city in Heaven on Earth,
so they are organized
centered of prayer and
most importantly work—
they are responsible for
clearing much of the
forested environment.
Medieval monasteries
increasingly become the
center of town living, with
the monastery being a
cloistered, self-sustaining
community that educates
and serves a community
outside its walls.
Medieval monasteries, like
Byzantine monasteries, are
major producers of Christian
art that reflects the wealth,
Plan of Saint Gall, Switzerland talents, and power of
respective communities.
Self Study:
As seen in the recent History Channel television program, The Vikings, monasteries are often sacked
and looted for their goods. The early Christians promoted nothing like the richness of the medieval
church. What has changed, as we see in the Byzantine world as well?

9. Illuminated Manuscripts Meant to be difficult to
read, as this was part of
spiritual exercise. So
illuminations are often like
visual puzzles. Can you
find the cat and mouse,
the moths, the angels?
Full page illuminations
become popular and are
called carpet pages, as
they look very much like
swatches of fabric.
Copying texts will be made
easier with Carolingian
script, which uses spacing
and upper and lower case
letters to mark beginnings
and proper nouns.
Detail from XPI page from Book of
Kells, possibly from Iona, Scotland

10. Carolingian Art Charlemagne is crowned
in 800 and begins a
program of reviving the
Classical arts. We can
see the naturalism of
Greco-Roman painting
and sculptural techniques
becoming popular again.
Charlemagne begins this
campaign to revive Classical
arts to connect his Holy
Roman Empire (Christian) to
the glory of the Roman past
(pagan). Notice the drapery,
the landscape, and the
furniture in the folio to the left.
The Holy Roman Empire
will rule for nearly 1,000
years before it is defeated
in the 19th century by
Napolean.
Saint Matthew, from the Coronation
Gospels commissioned by
Charlemagne on the event of his
crowning as Emperor

11. In subsequent presentations, you will explore:
• Monastic Living
• Monastic Architecture
• Illuminated Manuscript Production, as seen in the
Lindisfarne Gospels