AP Art History - Medieval Art in Europe

Iconoclasm

the destruction of religious icons and other images or monuments for religious or political motives

c.500-800

Early Medieval Art

c.780-900

Carolingian Art

c.900-1000

Ottonian Art

c.1000-1200

Romanesque Art

c.1200-1400

Gothic Art

liturgy

the order of events in a church service, public religious ritual

Tabernacle

Tabernacle

bema

a platform from which men could read scripture and teach

313 C.E

emperor Constantine legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan

Roman basilicas

long rectangular buildings, often with a central nave (a wide, center aisle) and two side aisles. There was at least one semicircular apse, often at one end of the building, in which the magistrates sat and heard their cases.

ambo

an even higher platform, accessed by stairs, from which the Gospel was read and sermons were preached�in which case the bema was reserved for the recitation of prayers and the reading of the Epistles or Old Testament.

transept

added near the apse-end of the building to form a cross-shape and provide additional space

altar

wooden table-like structures; they then transitioned into stone

narthex

entry, was the world

nave

main hall, was the Kingdom of God

sanctuary

altar area�like the Holy of Holies�was heaven.

chancels

waist-high walls, were used to separate the congregation from the altar for very practical reasons like keeping dogs away from the bread and the wine of the eucharist or retaining large crowds on major holidays. However, with time, these partitions were made higher and more ornate, peaking in the late Middle Ages when they often reached the ceiling of the church and completely obstructed the congregation's view of the altar

dado

lower walls

Tertullian

early Christian author living in the second and third centuries, wrote a treatise titled On Idolatry in which he asks if artists could, in fact, be Christians.

St. Augustine of Hippo

believed art was full of lies and had no place in christianity

tufa

the stone of rome

catacomb of priscilla

burial sites five miles under the city of rome

cubiculum

larger rooms in the catacombs

loculi

horizontal shelves for burial in the catacombs

martyrs

people killed for being christian

Edict of Milan

313 CE. Decree by Charlemagne allowing Christians to openly practice

Roman First Style Wall Painting

plaster built up and then painted to imitate marble panels

iconography

the language of images

foreshortening

a form viewed at an angle

orant

pose of prayer

spolia

repurposed pagan columns

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