Sixth module for GNED 1201 (Aesthetic Experience and Ideas). This one covers the art and culture of that broad period of time known as the Medieval era, which in this course I am referring to the time of late antiquity (circa 500 CE) to the Late Middle Ages (circa 1400). This course is a required general education course for all first-year students at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada. My version of the course is structured as a kind of Art History and Culture course. Some of the content overlaps with my other Gen Ed course.

1. Lecture 6
MEDIEVAL
AESTHETIC
EXPERIENCE
AND
IDEAS

2. Historical
Context
1750 CE
1500 CE
Renaissance
Late Medieval
1250 CE
1000 CE
High Medieval
750 CE Early Medieval
(“dark ages”)
500 CE

3. http://explorethemed.com/FallRome.asp?c=1

6. Example of typical medieval-era village

7. http://www.pulsarmedia.eu/data/media/920/Monastery_of_Agia_Triada_Meteora_Greece.jpg

8. Day in the life in a monastery:
2:00am – rise
2:10-3:30am – Matins (prayer)
3:30-5:00am – private reading
5am-5:45am – Lauds (prayer)
5:45-8:15am – private reading + short breakfast
8:15-2:30pm – work + short prayer breaks
2:30-3:15pm – dinner
3:15-4:15pm – reading
4:15-4:45pm – Vespers (prayer)
4:45-5:15pm – Compline (prayer)
5:15-6:00pm – prepare for sleep

9. High Middle Ages
Monastery

10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LegAzD9odFE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_uKKifIbkA
Almost 500 years of time between when these
two medieval plain chants were composed.
Medieval aesthetics stayed quite stable for
almost 1000 years!

11. Similarly, in the area of social relations,
stability was the norm.
The vast majority of Europeans worked
agriculturally as serfs which meant they were
obliged to work on the land.
The vast majority of the agricultural output
F d li was for the aristocratic lords who owned the
land who provided military protection.
The Catholic Church (or Orthodox Church in
Feudalism
eastern Europe) received money from the
lords (or owned their own lands) and provided
religious protection.

12. Limbourg Brothers, Book of Hours (1413-1416) -- Feb, March

14. Limbourg Brothers, Book of
Hours (1413-1416) -- Sept

15. Europe circa 1200

16. Europe circa 1300

17. Interestingly, it was in the area of
technology that the medieval world
experienced more innovation.

19. Medieval World View
At the center of medieval belief was the image of a
perfect God and a wretched and sinful human being.
God had given Adam and Eve freedom to choose;
rebellious and presumptuous, they had used their
freedom to disobey God. In doing so, they made evil
an intrinsic part of the human personality.
With God’s grace humans could overthrow their
sinful nature and gain salvation; without grace they
were utterly damned.

20. Confessions
Augustine (354 – 430 CE)
From Book 2, The Pear Tree
“I will now call to mind my past foulness, and the carnal corruptions of my
soul; not because I love them, but that I may love Thee, O my God. …
Theft is punished by Thy law, O Lord, and the law written in the hearts of
men, which iniquity itself effaces not. For what thief will abide a thief? not
even a rich thief, one stealing through want. Yet I choose to steal, and not
because want drove me to it …
For I stole that, of which I had enough, and much better. Nor cared I to
enjoy what I stole, but joyed in the theft and sin itself.
A pear tree there was near our vineyard, laden with fruit, tempting neither
for colour nor taste. To shake and rob this, some lewd young fellows of us
went, late one night (having according to our pestilent custom prolonged
our sports in the streets till then), and took huge loads, not for our eating,
but to fling to the very hogs, having only tasted them. And this, but to do
what we liked only, because it was misliked. Behold my heart, O God,
behold my heart, which Thou hadst pity upon in the bottom of the
bottomless pit.

21. Pope Innocent III, On the Misery of the Human Condition,
c. 1200
What man does is depraved and illicit, is shameful and
improper and vain. Man was formed of dust, slime, and
ashes. He will become fuel for the eternal fires, food for
worms, a mass of rottenness.
Almost the whole life of mortals is full of moral sin, so that
one can scarcely find anyone who does not go astray …
In life man produces only dung and vomit; in death only
rottenness and stench.
… there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, there
h ll b i ili h i ki d fl ili f
shall be groaning, wailing, shrieking and flailing of arms
and screaming, screeching, and shouting; there shall be
fear and trembling, toil and trouble, holocaust and dreadful
stench, and everywhere darkness and anguish; there shall
be asperity, cruelty, calamity, poverty, distress, and utter
wretchedness; they will feel an oblivion of loneliness;
there shall be bitterness, terror and thirst …

22. Perverse men are thus sent down to Hell.
They are tortured, burned in flames. And they tremble at the demons and groan perpetually
Last Judgment, Sainte‐Foy, Conques. c. 1130.

25. And not so deadly sins poachers
Bad musicians
Satan
pride
lust
greed
sloth slander envy
gluttony
y
The Deadly Sins

26. These types of images of
salvation and damnation
were very “popular”

30. A student’s day at University of Paris
4am – rise
5am – 6am –lecture
6-8am – mass + breakfast
8-10am – lectures
11-12pm – disputations
12-1pm – lunch
1-3pm – study with tutors
3-5pm – lectures
6pm – supper
7-9 – study with tutors
9pm – bed

32. Medieval Architecture
The representative architecture was the
church.
Early churches were based on the older pre-
Christian Roman Basilica (large public buildings
typically used as law courts and places of
business).
Indeed, the word ““Basilica”” in the Christian
era now means large church.

33. Roman Basilica Ulpia in Trajan’s Forum, ca 100 CE

34. Roman Basilica Ulpia in Trajan’s Forum, ca 100 CE. Notice the
aisles of columns and the flat roof.
Floor plan of basilica. Notice the curved alter area at each end.

35. The three earliest basilica churches in Rome constructed under
C i Constantine (318-350 CE) were the original St. Peters (torn
down in 1500), St Paul’s Outside the Walls (shown above; rebuilt
after fire in 1823), and St Johns (totally remodeled).
Notice the similar design to Classical Roman imperial basilicas.

36. Façade and bell tower added in
the 15th century.
San Michele (Lucca) basilica-style built around 790 CE

37. Interior of San Michele. Notice
its minimal natural lighting
(indeed, without modern day
electrical spot lights it would be
very dark).

38. Small windows bring in very little
light into the interior space.

39. San Giovanni (Lucca) basilica style built around 1000 CE

40. Abbey Saint-Michel-de
Cuxa in France,
ca 1035 CE)
Outside of Italy, early churches tended to have even less light,
less refinement, and cruder building techniques.

41. Abbey of Saint
Martin-du-Canigou,
ca 1000 CE
Abbey Saint-Michel-de
Cuxa in France,
ca 1035 CE

42. Another influence on medieval church design after 1100 CE
was the Roman Basilica of Maxentius (ca 306 BCE) in the
Roman Forum.

43. Cutaway –– Roman Basilica of Maxentius (ca 306 BCE).
Notice the large curved arches (barrel vaults) and the tremendous scale.
While almost nothing this large was created for almost a thousand years,
medieval churches eventually added these vaults to the basic basilica plan
thereby creating a cross floorplan. Such churches built between 1100-1300
are usually referred to as Romanesque churches.

44. Abbey of Saint-savin sur Gartempe, France, ca. 1050

45. Abbey of Saint-savin sur Gartempe, France, ca. 1050

46. Romanesque church; Saint-Sernin,
Toulouse, France, ca. 1080-1120

47. Church Saint Hilaire-le-Grand in Poitiers, France (ca 1100)

48. Church Saint Hilaire-le-Grand in
Poitiers, France (ca 1100).
Notice the multiple curved arches
and the enhanced verticality (in
comparison to the early basilica-style
churches).
Also notice the very large pillars
needed to support these arches.

49. Church Saint Hilaire-le-Grand in Poitiers, France (ca 1100)

50. Historical
Context
1750 CE
1500 CE
Renaissance
Late Medieval
1250 CE
1000 CE
High Medieval
750 CE Early Medieval
(“dark ages”)
500 CE

51. The great innovation in church design began just
before 1200 CE in France and continued over the
next two hundred years.
The principle innovations included the pointed
arch, the flying buttress, and the ribbed vault.
This new style of church architecture is generally
referred to as Gothic.
This term is also used to describe developments
happening in the others arts from this time
period.

52. Pointed arch
Ribbed vault

53. Romanesque arches Gothic arches

54. Buttress Pier

56. Romanesque (1100 CE)
Gothic (1200 CE)
(Saint-Sernin vs Chartres Cathedral)

57. South wall of Chartres Cathedral, 13th century.
Notice the asymmetry, the ornate detail, the emphasis on
verticality

58. Romanesque (1100 CE)
Gothic (1200 CE)
(Saint-Sernin vs Chartres Cathedral)

59. The structural innovations of the Gothic (i.e.,
pointed arches, flying buttress, ribbed vault),
allowed church builders to emphasize the
vertical dimension and bring in substantially
more light.
Since walls didn’t need to be as thick, more and
larger windows could be added in to illuminate
the space.
The end result was less dark and somber, more
light and spiritual.

60. Since walls didn’t need to be
as thick, more and larger
windows could be added in to
illuminate the space.

61. The end result was less dark
and somber, more light and
spiritual.
Canterbury Cathedral

62. Small windows
San Michele (Lucca) basilica-style built around 790 CE

63. Large windows
Canterbury Cathedral

67. The exteriors of these churches were also
lavished with a great deal of sculptural
detail and a similar focus on linear
verticality along with a lack of interest in
symmetry.

71. In contrast to architecture, medieval painting was quite
conservative, showing little change from the 400s to the
1300s.

74. Arena Chapel, Padua, 1305-6
This changes with Giotto, an Italian
painter from Florence, who was
immensely influential.

75. Leafless tree is
traditional symbol of
death; it sits on barren
ridge that plunges
towards dead Christ
John the Evangelist
arms echoes that of
angels; his sight is
Mary is also along the
diagonal down the diagonal
diagonal, reinforcing
the emptiness of the
landscape
Christ is at the bottom
of a stark diagonal
First artist since antiquity to
show figures from behind; makes
scene more realistic
Giotto, The Lamentation [1305-6, Arena Chapel, Padua], about 8’ x 8’

78. The donor of the Chapel,
Enrico Scrovegni

80. Duccio,
Enthroned (Rucellai) Madonna,
1285
Uses Byzantine aesthetic models and
approaches

81. Giotto,
Madonna Enthroned ( Madonna
d'Ognissanti )
1310
Unlike Duccio, Giotto’’s Madonna
inhabits three dimensional space, and
hence the Madonna appears more
realistic and thus ““motherly””

82. Because the Byzantine-style was associated with the early church, Duccio’s
Madonna was generally considered by his contemporaries as being a more
“realistic” realistic depiction of the divine, even though to us, Giotto’s Madonna is a more
realistic depiction of people.

83. Medieval Sculpture
Just as architecture went through a transition from
Romanesque to Gothic, so too did sculpture.
Sculpture in Romanesque churches tended to be
limited to relief carvings; exceptions were wood
carvings of Jesus on the cross or virgin and child.

84. Romanesque relief sculpture
Italy, 8-9th century

85. Romanesque wood sculpture
Christ at the Cross, Southern Germany,
12th century
Wood

86. Madonna and Child,
Saint-Philibert Church,
Tournus (France),
10th-12th century
Wood
Virgin of Ger,
Church of Santa Coloma,
Ger (Spain),
second half of the 12th
century.
Wood

87. In conjunction with the architectural innovations
in Gothic church design between 1150-1250, stone
sculpture also developed a new style.
The exteriors of Gothic cathedrals became the
setting for large sculptural projects of a size that
had never before been seen.
The outside of Chartres Cathedral displays about 2,000 pieces
of sculpture; Reims Cathedral has even more.

89. Unlike the Romanesque relief
sculptures, gothic sculptures seem
to take a step forward from their
wall, and thus (partly) inhabit the
3D world.
While still stylized (e.g., elongated
forms), the figures are
individualized.
Royal Portal,
Chartes Cathedral, France
ca 1150

90. Amiens Cathedral
Central Portal Jamb Figures
ca. 1240

91. Reims Cathedral
Central Portal Jamb Figure
ca. 1240

92. In Italy, Gothic sculpture showed more
classical influences.
This was especially true in Pisa, and its
most famous artists: Nicola Pisano (1220-
1284) and his son Giovanni Pisano (1250-
1315).

93. Pulpit, Sienna Cathedral
By Nicola Pisano
ca. 1265-86

94. Pulpit, Pisa Cathedral
By Giovanni Pisano
ca. 1300

95. Detail, Pisano Pulpit, Last Judgement

96. Detail, Pisano Pulpit, Massacre of the Innocents

97. The Pisanos’ sculpture was strongly
influenced by Roman sarcophagi, which
had been found in large numbers in the
Pisa area.

98. Roman sarcophagus, 2nd century CE

99. Dante Alighieri (1265 – 1321)
Was a Florentine poet whose great work is the 14,233 line
long verse epic The Divine Comedy.
The Divine Comedy
On blackboard in class

101. Medieval Synthesis
Christianity
Scholasticism
Knight/Elite-Oriented
Power
(provided intellectual
justification for
Christianity and power
of kings and knights)
Feudal economic relations
(serfs/peasants obligated to work the
land of the king/lord/knight)

102. The Gothic style coincides with the high point of
the medieval synthesis, a time period which
witnessed a dramatic and sustained growth in the
European population and economy.
Only the growth rate of the late Industrial
Revolution time period (1840-1900) surpassed the
growth rate of the 1200-1300s.
Yet, during the 14th century (1300-1399), the
medieval synthesis began to break apart.

103. Breakdown of Medieval Synthesis (1350 – 1450)
Famine (1310 – 1330)
(Some 15-25% of European population dies)
Plague (1347-49)
(Some 30-70% of European population dies)
Western Schism (1378-1417)
(split within the Catholic Church due to political reasons so
that there were simultaneous Popes in Rome and Avignon)
Military Revolution
(military power beginning to chang from horse knights to mass infantry)
Trade
(contact with Islamic, Chinese, Byzantine, and Mongol cultures)

104. In the year of the Lord 1348 there was a very great pestilence in the
city and district of Florence. It was of such a fury and so tempestuous
that in houses in which it took hold previously healthy servants who
took care of the ill died of the same illness. Almost non of the ill
survived past the fourth day. Neither physicians nor medicines were
effective. Whether because these illnesses were previously unknown
or because physicians had not previously studied them, there seemed
to be no cure. There was such a fear that no one seemed to know
what to do. When it took hold in a house it often happened that no one
remained who had not died. And it was not just that men and women
died, but even sentient animals died. Dogs, cats, chickens, oxen,
donkeys, sheep showed the same symptoms and died of the same
disease. And almost none, or very few, who showed these symptoms,
were cured. … This pestilence began in March and ended in
September 1348.
Marchione di Coppo Stefani , Florentine Chronicle

105. In October 1347, twelve Genoese trading ships put into the
harbor at Messina in Sicily. The ships had come from the
Black Sea where the Genoese had several important trading
posts.
The ships contained rather strange cargo: dead or dying
sailors showed strange black swellings about the size of an
egg located in their groins and armpits. These swellings
oozed blood and pus. Those who suffered did so with
extreme pain and were usually dead within a few days.

107. “In 1348, two thirds of the population was afflicted, and almost all died;
in 1361 half contracted the disease, and very few survived; in 1371 only
one-tenth became sick, and many survived; in 1382, only one twentieth
became sick, and almost all survived.”
Papal Physician Raymundus Chalmelli
The traditional figure for the number of
deaths caused by the Black Death in
Europe in 1348 is one third of the
population.
In recent years, however, examinations of
places where there is actual data shows
mortality rates in the 50%-80% of the
population.

109. Of one hundred and forty Dominican friars
at the monastery at Montpellier, only one
man survived.

112. “I do not deny that we deserve these things and even worse;
but our ancestors also deserved them … why is it that the
violence of [God's] vengeance lies so extraordinarily upon
our times? … We have sinned as much as anyone, but we
alone are being punished.”
Nor, for all their number, were their obsequies honored by either tears or lights
or crowds of mourners rather, it was come to this, that a dead man was then of
no more account than a dead goat would be to-day.
Boccaccio, The Decameron

113. Europe didn’t regain its year 1300
population level until about 1800.

114. Serfs
Landowners (nobility/knights/royalty)
How would the loss of 30 to
70% of the p p
population affect Skill d Skilled l b labour (i in b urban )
areas) these elements of medieval
society?