A French Gothic church that showcased the virtuosity of craftsmen while sustaining a traditional style of architecture.

In the wake of the Hundred Years' War, Northern Europe saw a reordering of financial, political, and social institutions and with it a change in architectural style. The church of Saint-Maclou in Rouen, which is the most celebrated example of Late Gothic building in France, reflects a society that sought social order in the past while redefining new roles for individuals.

Its profuse ornamentation and sophisticated design established Saint-Maclou as the consummate expression of High Gothic discipline made exuberant by the excesses of Late Gothic craft. The retrospective elements of its style reflect the mood of conservative patrons, while its display of craftsmanship indicates the increasing value placed on individual expression. Linda Neagley now looks at how this particular parish came to build the church, offering a series of interpretive essays that explore its sociopolitical, artisanal, and cultural contexts.

Neagley first examines written sources to document the church's construction and articulate the design theory of architect Pierre Robin. She then focuses on those who were affected by or contributed to the construction, examining the motives of patrons, architect, craftsmen, clergy, and community members. Neagley reconsiders the architectural language of Robin against the backdrop of other structures in Paris and Normandy, and she also examines the cultural values of late medieval craftsmen that contributed to the character of Late Gothic architecture in general and Saint-Maclou in particular

Disciplined Exuberance provides a wealth of previouslyunpublished documentary evidence concerning building in fifteenth-century Rouen and Paris and applies computer-based methodology to design analysis. It offers a new criterion for examining French Flamboyant architecture and a new appreciation for this important monument.

Contents include: Anglo-Saxon and Later Whitby (Philip Rahtz); Antiquaries and Archaeology in and around Ripon Minster (R. A. Hall); The Early Monastic Church of Lastingham (Richard Gem and Malcolm Thurlby); The Romanesque Church of Selby Abbey (Eric Fernie); Observations on the Romanesque Crossing Tower, Transepts and Nave Aisles of Selby Abbey (Stuart Harrison and Malcolm Thurlby); Some Design Aspects of Kirkstall Abbey (Malcolm Thurlby); The 13th-century Choir and Transepts of Rivaulx Abbey (Lawrence R. Hoey).

A characteristic shared by the Roman and Byzantine illustrated calendars is that they represent the twelve months of the year, referable to an iconographic repertoire which is divided into three themes: the astrological-astronomical, the festive-ritual and the rural-seasonal. With regard to the first type, the months are depicted through images of the signs of the zodiac, often associated with images of the guardian deities of the months; the second category includes depictions of the months that refer to some important religious festivals; finally, the third theme includes images of the months that allude to the most important work activities performed in the countryside. The figurative calendars, which in most cases are made on mosaics, are characterized by a wide distribution in terms of time, concentrated between the 3rd and 6th century, and geography, with the areas of greatest attestation consisting of Italy, Africa Proconsularis, Greece and Arabia. With regard to the architectural context, the calendars from the West are prevalently documented in the domus, while those from the East are particularly attested in ecclesiastical buildings. The aim of research presented in this volume is the in-depth study of the connections between the meaning of the iconography of the Roman and Byzantine illustrated calendars and their historical and cultural context. Italian description: La caratteristica comune dei calendari figurati romani e bizantini consiste nella rappresentazione dei dodici mesi dell'anno, riferibile a un repertorio iconografico articolato in tre temi: quelli di tipo astrologico-astronomico, festivo-rituale e rurale-stagionale. Per quanto riguarda la prima tipologia, i mesi sono raffigurati mediante le immagini dei segni zodiacali, spesso associate a quelle delle divinita tutelari mensili; la seconda categoria include quelle raffigurazioni dei mesi che si riferiscono ad alcune importanti festivita religiose; la terza tematica, infine, comprende quelle immagini dei mesi che alludono alle piu rilevanti attivita lavorative svolte in ambito campestre. I calendari figurati, realizzati nella maggioranza dei casi su mosaico, si contraddistinguono per un'ampia distribuzione in senso temporale, con una concentrazione cronologica fra il III e il VI secolo d.C., e geografico, con le aree di maggior attestazione costituite dall'Italia, l'Africa Proconsularis, la Grecia e l'Arabia. In merito invece al contesto architettonico, i calendari di provenienza occidentale sono documentati in prevalenza presso le domus, mentre per quanto concerne quelli orientali, sono attestati in particolare negli edifici ecclesiastici. L'obiettivo della ricerca presentata in questo volume si focalizza sull'approfondimento delle connessioni esistenti tra il significato dell'iconografia dei calendari figurati romani e bizantini e il loro contesto storico- culturale.

Contents: The Contribution of Archaeology to our Understanding of re-Norman London, 1973-1988; Medieval and Tudor Domestic Buildings in the City of London; Shops and Shopping in Medieval London; The Romanesque Architecture of Old St Paul's Cathedral and its late eleventh-century Context.; The First Facade of Old St Paul's Cathedral and its Place in English Thirteenth - Century Architecture; Restorations of the Temple Church, London; 'Liber Horn', 'Liber Custumarum' and Other Manuscripts of the Queen Mary Psalter Workshops; London, Londoners and Opus Anglicanum; Some New Types of Late Medieval Tombs in the London Area.

Close technical examinations of the techniques and materials of Edward Steichen, Mark Rothko, Jules Olitski, Jasper Johns, and others are accompanied by essays that probe issues of conserving contemporary art Volume 5 of the National Gallery of Art's biennial conservation research journal Facture explores issues associated with the conservation and technical analysis of modern and contemporary art. Focusing on works in a variety of media by celebrated artists such as Edward Steichen (1879-1973), Mark Rothko (1903-1970), Jules Olitski (1922-2007), and Jasper Johns (b. 1930), this publication's seven essays offer expertise from conservators, scientists, and art historians, yielding exceptional insights into extraordinary works of art. As in all issues of Facture, the peer-reviewed essays, enlivened with spectacularly detailed photography, navigate interdisciplinary boundaries to examine artworks from technical, scientific, and art-historical perspectives. In this issue, the dialogue is further expanded to include contributions from artists, their families, and their foundations. Distributed for the National Gallery of Art, Washington

The so-called chasuble of Thomas Becket (1118-1170) is one of the most magnificent medieval textiles in the Mediterranean region. Richly decorated with ornaments, fabulous animals and figures in lavish gold embroidery with Arabic inscriptions, this precious liturgical garment provides impressive proof of the reutilisation of the Islamic arts in the Christian world. Venerated as a relic of St Thomas of Canterbury, the chasuble was produced in Spanish-Muslim workshops and probably reached Italy as a donation to the Cathedral of Fermo in about 1200. Despite its outstanding artistic quality and fascinating history, this magnificent garment has never hitherto been the subject of a detailed study. Richly illustrated with numerous details, this volume investigates the meaning of the inscriptions and motifs, examines manufacturing techniques and the function of the chasuble, traces its "biography" and places it within the historical context of the political, economic and cultural situation in the Mediterranean region.

The Middle Ages continue to provide an important touchstone for the way the modern West presents itself and its relationship with the rest of the globe. This volume brings together leading scholars of literature and history, together with musicians, novelists, librarians, and museum curators in order to present exciting, up-to-date perspectives on how and why the Middle Ages continue to matter in the 20th and 21st centuries. Presented here, their essays represent a unique dialogue between scholars and practitioners of 'medievalism'. Framed by an introductory essay on the broad history of the continuing evolution of the idea of 'The Middle Ages' from the 14th century to the present day, chapters deal with subjects as diverse as: the use of Old Norse sagas by Republican deniers of climate change; the way figures like the Irish hero Cu Chulainn and St Patrick were used to give legitimacy to political affiliations during the Ulster 'Troubles'; the use of the Middle Ages in films by Pasolini and Tarantino; the adoption of the 'Green Man' motif in popular culture; Lady Gaga's manipulation of medieval iconography in her music videos; the translation of medieval poetry from manuscript to digital media; and the problem of writing national history free from the 'toxic medievalism' of the 19th and 20th centuries. This book will appeal to anyone interested in the Middle Ages and its impact on recent political and cultural history. It is dedicated to the memory of Seamus Heaney, who gave his last overseas lecture in St Andrews in 2013, the year this book was conceived, and whose late poetry this book also discusses.

Some of the great and lasting achievements of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are the architectural wonders of soaring cathedrals and grand castles and palaces. While many of these edifices survive, many more are lost, and it is within the pages of illuminated manuscripts that we often find the best record of the appearance of these amazing buildings. This volume illustrates the creative ways in which medieval artists represented architecture, offering insight into what these buildings meant for medieval people. Such structures were not just made to be inhabited--they symbolized grandeur, power, and even heaven on earth. Building the Medieval World accompanies an exhibition of the same name on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum from March 2 through May 16, 2010.
Building the Medieval World is the fourth in the popular Medieval Imagination series of small, affordable books drawing on manuscript illumination in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum and the British Library. Each volume focuses on a particular theme and provides an accessible, delightful introduction to the imagination of the medieval world.

In recent decades, art historical writing has focused strongly on the use and reception of images. The contributions in this publication are devoted to two crucial concepts or functions of Christian images in the Middle Ages and the post-Reformation period: the image of cult and the image of devotion ('Andachtsbild').The contributions present and discuss visual art and the receptions and functions of pictures in the western (and eastern) European area from Late Antiquity to the 18th century. Furthermore, they bring into focus a rich Nordic material, which until now has been practically unknown in an international context. Several of the articles are are written in German.

Chretien de Troyes was France's great medieval poet--inventor of the genre of courtly romance and popularizer of the Arthurian legend. The forty-four surviving manuscripts of his work (ten of them illuminated) pose a number of questions about who used these books and in what way. In "Sealed in Parchment," Sandra Hindman scrutinizes both text and images to reveal what the manuscripts can tell us about medieval society and politics.

Transforming Type examines kinetic or moving type in a range of fields including film credits, television idents, interactive poetry and motion graphics. As the screen increasingly imitates the properties of real-life environments, typographic sequences are able to present letters that are active and reactive. These environments invite new discussions about the difference between motion and change, global and local transformation, and the relationship between word and image. In this illuminating study, Barbara Brownie explores the ways in which letterforms transform on screen, and the consequences of such transformations. Drawing on examples including Kyle Cooper's title sequence design, kinetic poetry and MPC's idents for the UK's Channel 4, she differentiates motion from other kinds of kineticism, with particular emphasis on the transformation of letterforms into other forms and objects, through construction, parallax and metamorphosis. She proposes that each of these kinetic behaviours requires us to revisit existing assumptions about the nature of alphabetic forms and the spaces in which they are found.

The Byzantine era was a time of the formation of the Abrahamic religions and a battleground for people's hearts and minds. This book shows that, during the time of the Byzantine Empire, the synagogues in Palaestina developed a visual language adhering to traditional literary sources. Until now, scholars believed that Judaism was oblivious to all art forms, regarding them as mere "decoration." This book shows that, contrary to those beliefs, Jewish art was, in fact, flourishing in this period. The visual language that emerged is a trope that utilizes literal and figurative readings to arrive at an inquisitive mixture-a probing language that facilitates learning. It is a visual language of "becoming," of inward introspection and outward scrutiny. This new analysis goes beyond the limits of compositional rules, and requires an analytical, as well as emotive, thought process, to form a cultural interpretation that reveals the hidden language. This means that some parts of Judaism and some parts of Christianity were in agreement despite the commandment of "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image," and operated under the assumption that paintings were not necessarily the creation of idols. Thus, we see that the modern movements of art and architecture were not the first to deal with images through themes such as abstraction and denotation. The language developed during the Byzantine period could rival the best of such visual languages.

This groundbreaking collection of essays by a host of international authorities addresses the many aspects of the Danse Macabre, a subject that has been too often overlooked in Anglo-American scholarship. The Danse was once a major motif that occurred in many different media and spread across Europe in the course of the fifteenth century, from France to England, Germany, Scandinavia, Poland, Spain, Italy and Istria. Yet the Danse is hard to define because it mixes metaphors, such as dance, dialogue and violence. The Danse Macabre aimed to confront viewers and readers with the prospect of their own demise by showing how Death summons each and every one of us-whether high or low, young or old, rich or poor. It functioned both as a text and as a visual theme, and often in combination, while also lending itself well to performance. Now best known through the satirical woodcuts of Hans Holbein the Younger, the motif was one of several 'macabre' themes that developed alongside the moralising tale of the Three Living and the Three Dead and the stark depiction of the cadaver on tomb monuments. The Danse Macabre was influenced by earlier themes, but thanks to its versatility its own impact went much further. As this corpus of innovative research will show, the Danse inspired sculptors, portrait artists, authors and dramatists such as Shakespeare far more than has been recognised until now. From the mural in 1420s Paris and John Lydgate's poem to the subsequent dissemination in print, Mixed Metaphors will reveal the lasting influence of the Danse on European culture from the Middle Ages to the present day.

The early Christian and medieval mosaics in Italy are among the most artistic creations of their time. Richly endowed with magnificent color plates, this opulent volume draws on 19 outstanding mosaic decorations to present a comprehensive panorama of this spectacular form of art. Early Christian apse mosaics and mosaic cycles provided for monumental beginnings to Christian pictorial art. Although supplemented by new images since the 12th Century, the early Christian themes were held in high regard up through the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, the mosaic's stylistic devices already showed a transcendental-Christian compliant world view. The author's knowledge becomes apparent in his descriptions of the development of mosaic art in Italy, whose centers during the early years were found in Rome and Ravenna. Since the 6th century, the presentations see an increasingly byzantine influence. After a prolonged interruption there came a brief revival in Rome around the year 800, but mosaic art only reached full fruition during the 12th and 13th centuries when, in addition to Rome, mosaic cycles became evident in Venice, Sicily, and Florence. These drew heavily from byzantine inspiration. German text.

Medieval churchmen typically defended religious art as a form of "book" to teach the unlettered laity their faith, but in late medieval England, Lollard accusations of idolatry stimulated renewed debate over image worship. Popular Piety and Art in the Late Middle Ages places this dispute within the context of the religious beliefs and devotional practices of lay people, showing how they used and responded to holy images in their parish churches, at shrines, and in prayer books. Far more than substitutes for texts, holy images presented a junction of the material and spiritual, offering an increasingly literate laity access to the supernatural through the visual power of "beholding."

Baptismal fonts were necessary to the liturgical life of the medieval Christian. Baptism marked the entrance of the faithful into the right relation, with the Catholic Church representing the main cultural institution of medieval society. In the period between ca. 1050 and ca. 1220, the decoration of the font often had an important function: to underscore the theology of baptism in the context of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. This period witnessed a surge of concern about sacraments. Just as religious thinkers attempted to delineate the sacraments and define their function in sermons and Sentence collections, sculptural programs visualized the teaching of orthodox ideas for the lay audience. This book looks at three areas of primary concern around baptism as a sacrament - incarnation, initiation, and the practice of baptism within the institution of the Church - and the images that embody that religious discussion. Baptismal fonts have been recognized as part of the stylistic production of the Romanesque period, and their iconography has been generally explored as moral and didactic. Here, the message of these fonts is set within a very specific history of medieval Catholic sacramental theology, connecting erudite thinkers and lay users through their decoration and use.

English description: The gospel of Emperor Heinrich III. is the smallest work (in size) from the scriptorium in Echternach. Its most precious decoration with 38 full pictures (some with two scenes), 13 smaller pictures, 3 decorated text pages and 5 full pages with initials makes it equal to the important codices from there which are now in Nurnberg and Madrid. German description: Das Evangelistar Heinrichs III. ist eine der bekanntesten Handschriften aus dem Skriptorium des Kloster Echternach. Als einzige der dort entstandenen Handschriften verweist das Evangelistar nicht nur aufgrund von Stilkriterien, sondern durch einen schriftlichen Vermerk auf das Kloster: Die weltberuhmte Miniatur Schreiber und Maler im Skriptorium des Klosters Echternach ist mit einer Bitte an den Konig uberschrieben: "O Konig, dieser Dein Ort, Echternach genannt, erwartet bei Tag und Nacht Deine Gnade." Mit einem Umfang von 127 Blatt (= 254 Seiten) und einem Format von 19,3 mal 14,6 cm is es das kleinste unter den Prachtwerken des Echternacher Skriptoriums - sie war moglicherweise als Reisehandschrift fur den Kaiser gedacht. Es ist wegen seiner aufwendigen Ausstattung mit 38 Vollbildern, die zum Teil 2 Szenen enthalten, 13 kleineren Bildern, meist halbseitig, 3 Zierseiten mit Text und Gold- oder Farbleisten und 5 Vollinitialseiten, zahlreichen Goldinitialen und ornamentalen Zierseiten sowie die Einzigartigkeit einzelner Bildmotive machen das Evangelistar zu einer herausragenden Handschrift.

Of the four major surviving manuscripts of Anglo-Saxon poetry, MS. Junius 11 is the only one which is illustrated. This tenth-century manuscript contains four poems based on the Old and New Testaments: Genesis A and B, Exodus, Daniel, and Christ and Satan. It was given by Francis Junius in 1677 to the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. For the first time, the entire manuscript is available here in an innovative, highly accessible format. The CD contains images of each opening and each page of the manuscript, visible at high magnification, and a 'live' transcription and translation of the poems with hyperlinks, allowing powerful global searches across the entire text. A full translation of the entire text is also linked to the transcription and the relevant manuscript page. The CD also includes high resolution images of all the drawings and initials in the manuscript, and exterior photographs of its medieval binding. The powerful and realistic magnifier makes it possible to zoom in on the manuscript pages with varying degrees of magnification. The meaning and importance of the drawings are discussed in a detailed introduction and commentary, supplemented by a full bibliography. This exciting, ground-breaking CD will appeal to all scholars and students of Anglo-Saxon literature, art, history, and culture, as well as to bibliophiles and collectors.

Der Band enthalt die Edition der mittelalterlichen und fruhneuzeitlichen Inschriften des Bearbeitungsgebiets in insgesamt 520 Katalognummern. Berucksichtigt sind sowohl die noch im Original erhaltenen als auch die nur mehr kopial uberlieferten Texte. Der Anteil der hier erstmals veroffentlichten Inschriften betragt uber 50%. Die bedeutendsten Inschriftenstandorte sind Mergentheim, ab dem 16. Jahrhundert Residenz der Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens, sodann das an der Wende vom 16. zum 17. Jahrhundert zur hohenlohischen Residenz ausgebaute Weikersheim und Creglingen mit seinen reichen Grabmalerbestanden in der Herrgottskapelle und in der Stadtkirche. Daneben weisen vor allem die Ritterschaftsorte Niederstetten, Wachbach, Laudenbach und Waldmannshofen mit ihren Adelsgrablegen sowie das ehemalige Zisterzienserinnenkloster Frauental und das deutschordische Dorf Markelsheim umfangreichere Inschriftenbestande auf. Auch die Inschriften des heute in Wien aufbewahrten Deutschordensschatzes finden in dem Band Berucksichtigung. Neben den Grab-, Glocken- und Bauinschriften, die den grossten Teil des Bestandes ausmachen, fehlt auch Kurioses nicht, wie etwa die Ermahnung zur Hygiene an die Benutzer eines Aborts in Creglingen aus dem spaten 16. Jahrhundert. Der chronologisch aufgebaute Katalogteil wird durch zahlreiche Abbildungen und eine Einleitung erganzt, die neben einer historischen Einfuhrung eine erste Auswertung des Materials bietet. Der Erschliessung der Inschriften dienen 17 ausfuhrliche Einzelregister.

The first fifty pages of this large volume are taken up with an introduction to the development of Romanesque-style sculpture in Italy, and its uses, themes and stylistic features. Thereafter, the book is devoted to innumerable photographs of examples of the sculpture, demonstrating the imaginative qualities, subject-matter and architectural context of a style of art which is too often overlooked in the cultural glare of the Renaissance. With a detailed catalogue of featured pieces and locations. German text.