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Lesson Plans
Art History ©1999
by Marilyn Stokstad
Focus Lesson 8
Chapter 14: "Early Medieval Art in Europe"
AP* Course Description
- Ancient Through Medieval
- Early Christian, Islamic, Byzantine, Early Medieval
Key Components
- Instructor's Resource Manual with Tests, Vol. I: pp. 43–46, 72–73, 165–171, 223–225
- Study Guide, Vol. I: pp. 112–117
Key Web Sites
Check the Online Companion Web site for updated information and links to other sites.
Key Words and Terms
- reliquary
- ribbon interlace
- illumination
- horseshoe arch
- westwork
- crossing
- gallery
- crypt
- mandorla
- rune stones
- animal interlace
- gadrooning
- impost blocks
- cloister
- mausoleum
- refectory
- blind arcades
- picture stones
- colophon
- choir
- narthex
- ambulatory
- rotunda
- Caroline miniscule
- triumphal arch
Suggested Pacing
The material in this chapter is frequently taught in less than one week. The Carolingian period usually demands the most time, with an emphasis on manuscript illumination.
Test Strategy
In answering multiple-choice questions, students should be using words and context clues within the question stems and answers choices when there is no obvious answer upon first reading. Part of developing critical thinking is learning how to look for clues and assess them.
Key Concepts
- Development of books
The transition from the scroll to the bound book in this period was critical in the preservation and transmission of learning in Europe. Illuminated manuscripts are among the most important art objects created during the Early Middle Ages. Students should understand the process of bookmaking, copying, and illustrating that was developed during this period. - Charlemagne's project
Charlemagne's attempt to revive the arts and create a culture along the lines of ancient Rome is the historical background for the most important period of art in the Early Middle Ages. His accomplishments and their influence, especially Carolingian miniscule and monastery design, are key concepts that students should take from this chapter. - Interlace
Ribbon interlace and animal interlace were used as decoration on a variety of art objects from Sweden, Norway, and the British Isles. Students should be able to connect the themes of animal interlace to the presumed religious beliefs of the people that developed it.
Summing Up Student Understanding
Present the following discussion topic to the class:
Is art of the Early Middle Ages a step backward, as earlier scholars who referred to this era as "the Dark Ages" believed it to be? Did the loss of technical skill create an inferior product?
Some images from the text that hint at a highly-developed, technically-skilled period in the history of art include the examples of interlace (pp. 484–485), the Chi Rho Iota (p. 487), and the cover of the Lindau Gospels (p. 497).
Images that support the view that the art of this period was a step backward include the page with Lion (p. 487), the Palace Chapel of Charlemagne (p. 493), and the Doors of Bishop Bernwald (p. 500).
One positive direction that this debate will likely take is a discussion on the merits of technical mastery in assessing the arts. Some questions that might be posed are:
- Is it necessary to exhibit technical brilliance in order to make a successful work of art?
- Are the expressionistic, but not very naturalistic, figures from medieval sculpture less worthy artwork than the idealized Greek sculptures?
- Is Charlemagne's Palace Chapel less worthy a structure than the Pantheon in Rome?
The answers to these questions are ultimately personal, but if students are incapable of seeing the merits of the less masterly artwork, they will be missing out on a large body of marvelous invention. This discussion foreshadows more heated ones to come when discussing art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries later in the year.