VIKING Anonymous
(800 - 1200)
The Gokstad ship. (900-1100)
Wood
Viking
Gostad. Norway.
Oslo. Universitetets Oldsaksamling Och Vikngskiphuset.
©Kathleen Cohen
med03086

Early Medieval Art

Two things were necessary for the development of medieval civilization. The first was the Christianization of the barbarian tribes invading Europe. The second was the partial unification of Western Europe. Previously the Roman Empire had repelled the barbarian influx into Europe, but now, by the 5th century CE, the empire had collapsed and it no longer guarded the imperial domain. The Migration Period in Europe is generally dated from the 5th century CE, the date of the arrival of the Huns. During this period new barbarian groups were on the move; they were gradually settling and were being converted to Christianity by missionary monks.
Eventually these peoples were to become civilized and that civilizing process led them to create permanent monuments. Yet they were all aware of Imperial Rome, and the impact this awareness had on these peoples led them to mimic the richness of Imperial Rome, both artistically and politically. The boundaries of Europe were being laid out and established. They were settling themselves and were becoming the heirs of the Empire, and along with that inheritance was the need for a visual statement of their own patrimony.

• a vital link in progression from the Roman to the Renaissance world.
• The art objects that remain are small and portable. These works have been excavated from graves, and it is not implausible to suggest that they were, in fact, precious works and status objects. There is precedent from previous cultures that also had a history of burying not only precious items, but utilitarian goods as well.
• This Early Medieval period also saw the emergence of the Church as a secular power. Europe was now open to invasion and conquest, not only from without but also from within. The struggle for power was a constant and often bloody conflict. The invasions of the barbarians led to alliances between the papacy and the settled groups who could provide protection. The acknowledgement of the spiritual and economic power of the Church assisted in gaining more barbarian converts to Christianity, and they provided even more substantive protection from the invading hordes.

Sutton Hoo Ship Burial

• ship burial of an Anglo- Saxon king  (Raedwald) (?Anna) who died in 654
• contained objects from Luristan & Byzantium
• and magnificent gold jewelry decorated with garnets, mosaic glass, filigree, & animal interlace made in England
• body buried in a ship
• body disintegrated, no inscriptions
• assoc coins date the burial- early 7th c CE
• Ship was 85' long, shaped like Oseberg ship
• Interlacements combined w/ animal motifs
  Zoomorphic elements, cloisonné

Animal style:

• symmetry
  
• combo of abstract and organic shapes
  
• combo of formal discipline &
  
• imaginative freedom
• depict animals in their entirety from a variety of perspectives
  • profile
    
  • above
    
  • x-ray
    
• emphasize fantastic animal forms
• Metalwork (exquisite craftsmanship)
  principal medium of the Animal Style

Purse Cover, from the Sutton Hoo ship burial (625-33 CE). Gold with garnets and enamels. Length 7.5 inches. The British Museum, London
Photo© LaCour Slide Library
Living With Art Slide Set

Sutton Hoo Purse Cover

• The Sutton Hoo treasure assembled for the ship burial of an Anglo Saxon king who died in 656 CE contained objects form Luristan and Byzantium, as well as magnificent gold jewelry decorated with garnets, mosaic glass, filigree, and animal interlace made in England. The motif of the man and lions seen on the Sutton Hoo purse, c. 625 CE, may ultimately derive from the ancient Near East. For Christians, this motif had come to represent Daniel in the Lion’s Den. It is now generally believed that the Sutton Hoo ship burial was given in honor of King Raedwald who became a Christian; if that is the case, this motif could also be interpreted in the Christian sense. The Sutton Hoo treasure was originally placed in a wooden ship, much like the 9th-century Viking ships.
• 4 pairs of symmetrical motifs (Each distinctive)
• 1. Standing man betw confronted animals
• For Christians,-
  motif = Daniel in the Lion's den.
• Raedwald = ?Christian?)
  King Anna = Christian
  could be interpreted in Christian sense.
• 2. Eagle pouncing on ducks
  sim to pairings of carnivore & victim in Luristan bronzes
• 3. Interlace Design above eagles /ducks
  more recent origin
  fighting animals whose tails, legs, and jaws are elongated into bands form a complex interlacing pattern
• 4. Pure geometric - HEXAGONS
• Interlacement as ornamental device occurred in Roman and Early Christian art espec along southern shore of Med
• but its combo with animal style
  = invention of Dark Ages not long before the purse cover.
  Forms of animal style
  migrated  geographically
  & into different media such as
  wood, stone, and manuscripts.