Medieval (800-1400 AD)

1.1 How did this period get its name?Francesco Petrarch Leonardo Bruni

▫ Italian scholar ▫ He said time had two

periods Classical period of

Greeks & Romans and the darkness that followed

Another name - Dark Ages

▫ Humanist ▫ He believed that the

Roman Empire would return to glory

▫ A third modern age had begun

▫ The age between the glory of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance was the Middle Ages Brainpop

Characteristics•Darkness, Death, Evil

▫Gargoyles▫Black Plague –Brainpop▫Bubonic Plague song▫End of the world

•Light▫Stained Glass Windows

The Catholic Church▫Dominated life and

culture in Europe Daily mass Taxes Translation of

scripture

•Indulgences-buy a pardon for your sins-go to heaven

ChurchBelieved in a physical Hell•Must go to church•Quest for salvation -

pilgrimages•Pilgrimage: a travel to a

particular place for a purpose; religious

•Relic: an object associated with a saint or martyr

•Culture was focused on the Christian faith.▫Eternal life after

death. ▫Church the center

of their towns.▫Religious art

appealed to the emotions and stressed the importance of religion.

Castle•Used for:

▫Protection▫Division▫Isolation▫Separation

•Surrounded by land units•Feudalism

▫legal/social system▫Servants lived and worked on lands from Lords

1.2 Dance – Medieval

•Dance during the Black Death▫dead thought as dangerous and hostile to

the living. ▫prevent the dead from returning.▫Music and dancing in churchyards might

force the dead to accept their graves.

The Dance of the Dead•The figure of “Death” was an eerie

“bridegroom” whose purpose was to draw every person in every social class to become his “bride”.

•rebellion against church officials, death spares no man

•The Roman Catholic Church was outraged-dancing “inspired by the devil”.

Dancing and the ChurchThe Tarantella (KET Dance DVD) St. John’s Dance

• became one of these seizure-like dances also referred to St. Vitus’ Dance,▫Legend said bite of a

tarantula spider. ▫still performed today▫quick and physically

demanding movements.

▫patron saint who helped/protected the sick.

▫Leaps, turns, screaming uncontrollably, and foaming at the mouth.

▫ Still around in Italian provinces

Drama-Medieval •started inside churches with music from the

choir; eventually moved to the town center. •Early-performed on pageant wagons

▫today parade floats• Later-stages•Elaborate and spectacular. •colorful emblems (illiterate)•Smoke, flames and trapdoors•Only men

Types of Plays

• plays were part of large civic ceremonies and pageants.

• Sponsored by guilds of artisans ▫(goldsmiths, carpenters, etc.)

• Lots of money spent on play production

• Mystery- based on scriptural events especially in the life of Jesus

• Miracle- portrayed the lives of saints and martyrs• Morality- teaches the audience a lesson or a

moral.

Music - Medieval

•Gregorian Chant ▫monophonic ▫Some a cappella ▫During masses ▫call and response▫The priest sings the lead phrases, the

congregation/choir sings the responses.

1.3 Byzantine Architecture 330-1450 A.D

•Three styles of Christian architecture▫Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic

•Geographical location Byzantine had influence from all over the world▫Arab, Persian, Greek, Roman

Byzantine Architecture 330-1450 A.D

•Floor plan▫Square cross with a centered dome

•groin vaults▫Vault created by two interesting barrel

vaults

Pendentives

▫Triangular shape between the dome and the four piers

▫Supports the weight above

Hagia Sophia•Roman Emperor Justinian ordered it to be

built • It was to have the highest widest dome

ever•Modeled after Pantheon in Rome

Hagia Sophia Pantheon

Hagia Sophia

Byzantine design:

•squared-cross floor plan with a centered dome

•dome-on-pendentives structural support system

•exterior plain, little or no decoration•interior lavishly decorated with mosaics

(small pieces of colored glass or stone)

Romanesque Architecture 1030-1200 A.D•Early Middle Ages•Roman-like, blocky, geometric forms, arches

•Cathedral in shape of a cross

• One-tenth of every man’s income was required to be given to the Church.

• The floor plan of a Romanesque church is a rectangular-cross based on the Roman basilica.

Parts of a Cathedral

•Apse: top curved end

•Transept: arms of the cross

•Nave: middle section (navel) - where the congregation sits

Romanesque Cathedral:

•rounded arches over doors and windows (a must!)

•barrel vault over nave

•rectangular-cross plan

•stone roof•plain exterior•massive, heavy

look

Gothic Architecture 1140-1500 A.D.

• gargoyles•pointed arches•flying buttresses•rectangular-cross plan•ribbed vaults•more light•stained glass windows•lots of sculpture, decorations•taller •thin walls

Ribbed Vaults

Flying Buttress

Tracery

Lancet Windows

Rose Window (stained Glass) Saint Denis Cathedral

Norte Dame in Paris, France

Medieval Review •Darkness after the classical Roman and Greeks•Darkness, Death, Evil•Catholic Church is all mighty•Dances about the Black Plague•Plays started in the church-for ceremonies

▫Morality plays•Music was Gregorian chants performed by

monks•Art was seen in architectural cathedral designs

Architecture Game•http://

flashnhistory.com/FlashPrograms/ChangesInMedievalTimes.swf