Middle Ages

(Gothic)

Leen Abouzahr & Nafissah Santina

Table of Contents
†Introduction
†Religion and politics
†Historical Background
†Characteristics of Art
†Artworks
†Artists
†conclusion
 Introduction
† Historical Timeline: from 500 AD to
1475 AD
† It began with the fall of the Western
Roman Empire
† The continent of Europe is a huge
peninsula*, with many smaller
peninsulas branching out from it. As a
result, most land in Europe lies within
300 miles (483 km) of a seacoast. This
encouraged trade and helped the
European economy to grow.

*Peninsula: a piece of land almost surrounded by water or projecting out into a body of water.
Religion and Politics
† Christianity and the Catholic Church played a major role in Europe during the Middle Ages. The
local church was the center of town life. People attended weekly ceremonies. They were
married, confirmed, and buried at the church. The church even confirmed kings on their
throne giving them the divine right to rule.
† The Catholic Church became very rich and powerful during the Middle Ages. People gave the
church 1/10th of their earnings in tithes. They also paid the church for various sacraments
such as baptism, marriage, and communion. People also paid penances to the church. The
wealthy often gave the church land.
† Eventually, the church owned about one third of the land in Western Europe. Because the
church was considered independent, they did not have to pay the king any tax for their land.
Leaders of the church became rich and powerful. Many nobles became leaders such as
abbots or bishops in the church.
† Although Christianity dominated Europe during the Middle Ages, there were other religions.
These included pagan religions such as the Viking worship of the god Thor. Other religious
groups included the Muslims, which ruled much of Spain for many years, and the Jews, which
lived throughout many cities in Europe. The Jews played a significant role in the economy
because they were allowed to loan money and charge interest.
Religion and Politics
Religion and Politics
†Kings, queens and other leaders derived much of their power from
their alliances with and protection of the Church.
†In medieval Europe, rural life was governed by a system of scholars
called “feudalism.” In a feudal society, the king granted large
pieces of land called fiefs to noblemen and bishops. Landless
peasants known as serfs did most of the work on the fiefs: They
planted and harvested crops and gave most of the produce to the
landowner. In exchange for their labor, they were allowed to live on
the land. They were also promised protection in case of enemy
invasion.
Historical Background - Vikings
Historical Background - Vikings
† The Vikings were people who lived in Northern Europe during the Middle Ages. They
originally settled the Scandinavian lands that are today the countries
of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The Vikings played a major role in Northern Europe
during the Middle Ages, especially during the Viking Age which was from 800 AD to
1066 AD.
† In the 10th century they moved into northeastern Europe including Russia. They also
settled along the coast of northern France, where they established Normandy, which
means "northmen".
† The Vikings were known to attack defenseless monasteries when they raided. This got
them a bad reputation as barbarians, but to the Vikings, monasteries were wealthy
and undefended easy targets.
† In 1066 the King of England, Edward the Confessor, died without having any heirs.
Three men had a claim to the throne: King Harald Hardrada of Norway, Earl Harold
Godwinson of England, Duke William of Normandy.
† 1066 - William of Normandy, a French Duke, conquers England in the Battle of
Hastings. He became King of England and changed the country forever.
 Historical Background – Crusades*
†The Crusades were a series of wars during the Middle Ages where
the Christians of Europe tried to retake control of Jerusalem and
the Holy Land from the Muslims.
†Jerusalem was important to a number of religions during the
Middle Ages. It was important to Jewish people as it was the site of
the original temple to God built by King Solomon. It was important
to the Muslims because it was where they believe Muhammad
ascended to heaven. It was important to Christians as it is where
Christ was crucified and rose again.

*Crusade: an intense campaign for political, social, or religious change

Historical Background – The Black Death
†The Black Death is the name for a terrible disease (Plague) that
spread throughout Europe from 1347 to 1350. There was no cure
for the disease and it was highly contagious.
†The disease was carried by fleas that lived on rats
†It is estimated that somewhere between 75 million and 200 million
people died of the plague
Historical Background – The Hundred Years War
† The Hundred Years War was fought between England and France and lasted
from 1337 to 1453. The war was a series of battles with long periods of peace
in between.
† Small disputes and battles had been going on between the French and the
English for years. However, in 1337, King Edward III of England claimed that he
was the rightful king of France. This began the long battle between the two
countries.
† A young peasant girl by the name of Joan of Arc took leadership of the French
army. She claimed to have seen a vision from God. She led the French to a
victory at Orleans in 1429. She led the French to several more victories before
she was captured by the English and burned at the stake.
† The French were inspired by Joan of Arc's leadership and sacrifice. They
continued to fight back. They pushed the English army out of France taking
Bordeaux in 1453 signaling the end of the Hundred Years War.
Characteristics of Architecture
† The Gothic architectural style first appeared at Saint-Denis, near Paris, in
1140, and within a century had revolutionized cathedral design throughout
Western Europe. Soaring Gothic arches, thin walls, and huge stained glass
windows, flooded the interiors with light.
† By modifying the system of ceiling vaulting and employing flying buttresses to
change how weight was transferred from the top down, Gothic architects
managed to radically transform the interior and make it a far greater visual
experience. Everything was taller and more fragile-looking, and colonnettes
often reached from the floor to the roof, pulling the eye up with dramatic force.
† Outside, a mass of stone sculpture added decoration as well as Biblical
narrative, with statues of Saints on the walls, and complex reliefs around the
portals and doors.
† Add mosaics, carved altarpieces, fonts and pulpits, vivid stained glass art,
exquisite Gothic illuminated manuscripts and precious ecclesiastical
metalwork, and you can understand why Gothic cathedrals amounted to some
of the greatest works of art ever made.
 The foot Print
† Symmetric, having both sides of
the building mirror one another
† They believe that perfect divine
things were also very ordinary
thing
† Tympanum: this image is used to
remind people that god is always
watching from above, where it
shows baby Jesus sitting on the
lap of his mother Mary who’s
wearing a golden crown indicating
that she is the queen of heaven.
†Nave: the large area of the church. it represents the body of our
symbolic person.
†Transept: arms of the person.
Architecture of Notre-Dame Cathedral
†The cathedral is roughly 128 meters (420 ft) in length, and 12
meters (39 ft.) wide in the nave. Its cruciform plan, elevated nave,
transept and tower were borrowed from 11th-century Romanesque
architecture, but its pointed arches and rib vaulting were strictly
Gothic. Indeed, it was one of the first Gothic cathedrals to have
arched exterior supports known as "flying buttresses".
†the flying buttresses, over a dozen supporting piers were
constructed to support the exterior walls and counteract the lateral
thrust of the nave vaulting. Notre-Dame is also famous for its
external statues and gargoyles arranged around the outside to
serve as extra column supports and drainage pipes.
† The main walls of the cathedral to become non-structural, and thus a
greater wall area was available for stained glass
† Notre-Dame Cathedral exemplifies the main contributions of Gothic art
to Christian architecture: churches soared higher and were more awe-
inspiring, while their stained glass windows let in more light and
provided additional Biblical art for the congregation. Thus the clerestory
windows of Notre-Dame's original nave were enlarged in the 13th
century, filling the interior with light, thanks to the improvements
achieved in structural support.
† Notre-Dame's stern facade is decorated with a mass of stone sculpture,
notably around the central portal, which is flanked by statues depicting
The Last Judgment. The facade design balances the verticality of the
twin towers (69 meters in height) with the horizontal banding of the
decorated galleries.
† he cathedral's transept portals are also richly decorated with
architectural relief sculpture; the south door features scenes from the
lives of Saint Stephen along with other local saints, while the
decorations around the north door depict the infancy of Christ and the
tale of Theophilus.
 Malbork Castle in Poland
† The red-brick castle-complex is absolutely vast, spanning no less than
52 acres (making it the largest castle in the world by area)
† The crimson exterior of the castle is unmistakably gothic in design. It
boasts huge, ornate windows, alongside flying-buttress supports which
prop-up some of the loftier details.
† However, it’s the staggering internal gothic detail which elevates Malbork
above all other gothic castles. The entire interior is crammed with
delicate vaulted ceilings, a true trademark of the gothic style.
† The complex – unrivalled by any other gothic castles – is an elaborate
mixture of religious architecture, which includes a church, monastery
and bell-tower, alongside dramatic fortifications and crenellated
battlements.
Corvin Castle – A Fearful Gothic Castle
• It has served many purposes in its life, one of those being a prison
and torture chamber. It is claimed that Vlad the Impaler or the real-
life inspiration for Dracula, was even held prisoner at Corvin Castle.
Vlad was supposedly held for 7 years in the early 1400s in a
dungeon below the Hall of Knights.
• as he eagerly awaited his own fate for 7 years. Some even claim he
ate and drank the blood of filthy rats in order to survive. Though
these claims are likely exaggerated. Many remain under the
thought that Corvin Castle is the place that sent Vlad mad and
where he developed his lust for death and blood. Some have even
gone as far to claim that the ghost of our real-life Dracula haunts
this area of Corvin Castle.
Corvin Castle – A Fearful Gothic Castle
Characteristics of sculptures
† Gothic sculpture, characterized by the representation of animals, both
real and fantastic gave rise to gargoyles. These mythological
representations, intentionally grotesque and ironic, have a practical
architectural function: to drain water from the roofs of churches and
cathedrals
† Animals such as lambs, fish, pigeons, eagles, bulls and lions all had
great symbolism within Christianity, and frequently decorated
architectural constructions
† Human gargoyles are often bizarre and laughable. Their imperfect
physical characteristics are probably connected with the medieval belief
of physical ugliness and illness being caused by demons or evil.
†While both types of Gothic sculpture are designed to scare,
gargoyles also serve an architectural purpose: they double as
waterspouts, catching and draining rainwater. These gurgling
figures gained prominence in Medieval France, though earlier
editions have existed in different cultures for centuries.
†It is believed the Catholic Church originally used gargoyle statues
as a visual reminder to their Pagan converts, many of whom were
illiterate. They were something of a "sermon in stone", or a warning
of sorts to teach the people how to behave in a non-written way.
†These fantastic beasts were destined to be a clear and constant
reminder that the devil and original sin exist. Alongside the beauty
and splendor of the magnificent cathedral, the serpent lurks.
†Dogs were always known for the loyalty to their master, further they
were usually watchdogs. In the Bestiaries they were described as
being wise, and had high ability to reason. So they symbolized the
priest who cares for his congregation and drives away the devil.
†The lion was said to erase its tracks with its tail, which was either
equated to Christ's ability to elude the devil or to the image of the
Savior living unrecognized on earth
Characteristics of Painting
† Early Gothic painting moved away from Byzantine art towards greater
naturalism, taking the form of a softer, more realistic style, whose
general characteristics endured until the middle of the 13th century.
† Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid, or
wet lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment
to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting
becomes an integral part of the wall.
† These painters not yet dominate the perspective. Their works still do not
possess sense of depth. However the way they use color and definition
of the figure’s lines supplemented somewhat that lack of knowledge as
to how to represent depth and three-dimensionality.
Paintings and Artists
Giotto develops in frescos the ‘pictorial space’ an area of three-dimensional
feeling that extends in depth behind the painted surface. His most important
work was the decoration of the chapel for the Scrovegni family in Padua. Those
frescoes made on the walls and vault consist of numerous boxes or “Windows”
and are dedicated to narrate biblical themes in so innovative, realistic and
emotive way.
Gietto Di Bondone
Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti
Characteristics of Tapestries

Wool is the material that has been most widely used for tapestry
weaving. Silk threads are sometimes used in the weft, in addition to
wool, to help create intricate details and add depth to the design.
Metal threads can also be used to add detail although due to their
high cost they are more commonly found in small examples of
tapestry, such as bible covers and purses rather than in large
hangings.
Manuscripts
• An illuminated manuscript
is a manuscript in which
the text is supplemented
with such decoration as
initials, borders and
miniature illustrations.
• Sculptors
- Nicholas of Verdun (fl.1181-1210)
- Nicola Pisano (1206-78)
- The Joseph Master of Reims (fl.1240-77) - Giovanni Pisano (1250-
1314)
- Giovanni di Balduccio (c.1290-1349)- Arnolfo di Cambio (1240–
1300/10)
- Andrea Pisano (1295-1348)
- Tino di Camaino (fl.1323-37)
- Filippo Calendario (pre-1315-1355)
• Painters
- Master Honore (fl.1288-1300)
- Cimabue (Cenni di Peppi) (1240-1302)
- Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-1319)
- Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337)
- Simone Martini (1285-1344)
- Pietro Lorenzetti (fl.1320-45)
- Ambrogio Lorenzetti (fl.1319-48)
Conclusion
• Although the Gothic art represented a wide range of styles, schools,
trends, there is no doubt that the circumstances they went through
were reflected in their artworks.