The Stammheim Missal is one of the most visually dazzling and theologically ambitious works of German Romanesque art. Containing the text recited by the priest and the chants sung by the choir at mass, the manuscript was produced in Lower Saxony around 1160 at Saint Michael's Abbey at Hildesheim, a celebrated abbey in medieval Germany.
This informative volume features color illustrations of all the manuscript's major decorations. The author surveys the manuscript, its illuminations, and the circumstances surrounding its creation, then explores the tradition of the illumination of mass books and the representation of Jewish scriptures in Christian art. Teviotdale then considers the iconography of the manuscript's illuminations, identifies and translates many of its numerous Latin inscriptions, and finally considers the missal and its visually sophisticated and religiously complex miniatures as a whole.

The long and vibrant history of north-eastern England has left rich material deposits in the form of buildings, works of art, books and other artefacts. This heritage is examined here in fifteen studies, ranging from the sculpture of the Roman occupation through the monuments and architecture of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods, to the manuscripts and fortified houses of the later Middle Ages. The monasteries at Hexham, Lindisfarne and Tynemouth, and the City of Newcastle itself, are all subjected to individual analysis, and there are papers on Alnwick and Warkworth castles, the great keep at Newcastle, the coffin of St Cuthbert and the Lindisfarne Gospels. The expert opinions presented here are intended to stimulate and advance scholarly debate on the material culture of a region which has played a critical role in English history, and whose broad and varied profile still offers many opportunities for critical inquiry.

A one-volume introduction to and overview of Christian art, from its earliest history to the present day. Diane Apostolos-Cappadona begins by examining how art and Christianity have intersected throughout history, and charts this tumultuous relationship that has yielded some of the greatest outpourings of human creativity. To introduce readers to the way a painting can be read Apostolos-Cappadona begins with an analysis of a painting of the Adoration of the Magi, helping readers to see how they can interpret for themselves the signs, symbols and figures that the book covers. In the more-than 1000 entries that follow Apostolos-Cappadona gives readers an expert overview of all the frequently used symbols and motifs in Christian art as well as the various saints, historical figures, religious events, and biblical scenes most frequently depicted. Readers are introduced to the ways in which religious paintings are often "coded'" such as what a lily means in a picture of Mary, how a goldfinch can be "Christological", or how the presence of an Eagle means it is likely to be a picture of St John. The entries are organized by topic, so that students and beginners can easily find their way to discussion of the themes and motifs they see before them when looking at a painting.

This volume builds upon the new worldwide interest in the global Middle Ages. It investigates the prismatic heritage and eclectic artistic production of Eastern Europe between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, while challenging the temporal and geographical parameters of the study of medieval, Byzantine, post-Byzantine, and early-modern art. Contact and interchange between primarily the Latin, Greek, and Slavic cultural spheres resulted in local assimilations of select elements that reshaped the artistic landscapes of regions of the Balkan Peninsula, the Carpathian Mountains, and further north. The specificities of each region, and, in modern times, politics and nationalistic approaches, have reinforced the tendency to treat them separately, preventing scholars from questioning whether the visual output could be considered as an expression of a shared history. The comparative and interdisciplinary framework of this volume provides a holistic view of the visual culture of these regions by addressing issues of transmission and appropriation, as well as notions of cross-cultural contact, while putting on the global map of art history the eclectic artistic production of Eastern Europe.

More than any other secular story of the Middle Ages, the tale of Tristan and Isolde fascinated its audience. Adaptations in poetry, prose, and drama were widespread in western European vernacular languages. Visual portrayals of the story appear not only in manuscripts and printed books but in individual pictures and pictorial narratives, and on an amazing array of objects including stained glass, wall paintings, tiles, tapestries, ivory boxes, combs, mirrors, shoes, and misericords. The pan-European and cross-media nature of the surviving medieval evidence is not adequately reflected in current Tristan scholarship, which largely follows disciplinary and linguistic lines. The contributors to Visuality and Materiality in the Story of Tristan and Isolde seek to address this problem by opening a cross-disciplinary dialogue and by proposing a new set of intellectual coordinates-the concepts of materiality and visuality-without losing sight of the historical specificity or the aesthetic character of individual works of art and literature. Their theoretical paradigm allows them to survey the richness of the surviving evidence from a variety of disciplinary approaches, while offering new perspectives on the nature of representation in medieval culture. Enriched by numerous illustrations, this volume is an important examination of the story of Tristan and Isolde in the European context of its visual and textual transmission.

The 15th- or early 16th-century panels presented here are mostly from northern Europe, or at least within the zone of Netherlandish influence rather than Italian. They are all almost unknown, and certainly none of them have been subjected to modern techniques of investigation-infrared, x-ray, micro-photography. What is important is their quality, even if some are difficult to attribute or can be associated only with other works by this or that 'master of'. This book is an exemplary investigation of a series of, so far, poorly documented works that will prove of great interest to those in the field. Most of the 15th- or early 16th-century panel paintings presented here are northern European, a large number German, which have been neglected in English language studies. They are all almost unknown, and certainly none of them have been subjected to modern techniques of investigation - infrared, x-ray, micro-photography - until now. What makes these works of importance is their fine quality, which is reflected in some of the most spectacular examples such as the beautiful 15th century Dormition of the Virgin by the Master of the Vienna Marienaltar and The Holy Trinity (Seat of Mercy) with saints and donor by Peter Hemmel and his circle from 1479.

Analysis of a group of images of kingship and queenship from Anglo-Saxon England explores the implications of their focus on books, authorship and learning. Between the reign of Alfred in the late ninth century and the arrival of the Normans in 1066, a unique set of images of kingship and queenship was developed in Anglo-Saxon England, images of leadership that centred on books, authorship and learning rather than thrones, sword and sceptres. Focusing on the cultural and historical contexts in which these images were produced, this book explores the reasons for their development, and their meaning and functionwithin both England and early medieval Europe. It explains how and why they differ from their Byzantine and Continental counterparts, and what they reveal about Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards history and gender, as well as the qualities that were thought to constitute a good ruler. It is argued that this series of portraits, never before studied as a corpus, creates a visual genealogy equivalent to the textual genealogies and regnal lists that are so mucha feature of late Anglo-Saxon culture. As such they are an important part of the way in which the kings and queens of early medieval England created both their history and their kingdom. CATHERINE E. KARKOV is Professorof Art History at the University of Leeds.

This book revives what was unique, strange and exciting about the variety of performances that took place in the realms of the French kings and Burgundian dukes. Laura Weigert brings together a wealth of visual artifacts and practices to explore this tradition of late medieval performance located not in 'theaters' but in churches, courts, and city streets and squares. By stressing the theatricality rather than the realism of fifteenth-century visual culture and the spectacular rather than the devotional nature of its effects, she offers a new way of thinking about late medieval representation and spectatorship. She shows how images that ostensibly document medieval performance instead revise its characteristic features to conform to a playgoing experience that was associated with classical antiquity. This retrospective vision of the late medieval performance tradition contributed to its demise in sixteenth-century France and promoted assumptions about medieval theater that continue to inform the contemporary disciplines of art and theater history.

The Lacock Cup is a rare object with a unique English history. Made in the 1430s, it is one of a handful of pieces of secular silver from the Middle Ages, which both survived the changing culture of Tudor fashion and the turmoil of the Reformation. Originally created as a drinking cup for feasting in the fifteenth century, the Cup later became a sacred chalice for the community of Lacock in Wiltshire at the parish church of Saint Cyriac. With an unbroken local heritage of over 400 years, this piece was a central feature of religious ceremony until the late twentieth century. The remarkable story of this special cup is brought to life in this short and accessible book. Its history, from drinking vessel to holy chalice, opens a window into the culture of late medieval England and having survived the centuries in near perfect condition, it acts as a witness to these times of great change. Charting the journey of the Cup, from fifteenth century medieval society, through the Reformation and later Civil War to the present day, this book will also explore the Cup's role as a communion vessel in its local setting of Lacock, and its treatment at the British Museum where it has been on loan since 1962. The Cup remained in irregular use by the parish until the 1980s, and this story of over 500 years of outstanding care and use provides a fitting conclusion to one of England's most important silver objects.

Sicily is famous for the spectacular mosaics found in its magnificent palaces, chapels and cathedrals. Commissioned during the twelfth century by Sicily's Norman rulers and largely the work of Greek-speaking mosaicists brought to Sicily from Constantinople, these mosaics are among the most beautiful examples of Byzantine art in existence. A brief historical introduction about Byzantine, Arab and Norman domination and the spread of Byzantine art in Sicily is followed by three chapters dedicated to the greatest examples of Byzantine influence in Palermo, Cefalu and Monreale. With more than 175 color photographs, this extensively illustrated book provides a fascinating look at these mosaics. There are many close-ups, along with breathtaking views of interior spaces. Text in English and Italian.