Medieval Europe: Romanesque & Gothic Art, Crusades, Monastic Life
Romanesque Art
Romanesque art was the first international artistic style, affecting all of Europe. In religious art, it expressed the importance of Jesus Christ in history and the influence of the Church.
- Painting: No perspective. Polychrome colors. Frescoes (painted directly on the wall), tables (on wood), and miniatures (book illustrations).
- Sculpture: Used symbolism on the covers of churches and in the capitals. Scenes of Christ and the Virgin Mary.
- Architecture: Churches of pilgrimage and monasteries. Barrel vault covers. Arches. Thick walls and few windows. Low-rise buildings (and few advanced).
Gothic Art
Gothic art sought to break the classical order and sought visual stimulation. It also began as a religious art. It expressed the spiritual dimension, verticality, and religious light.
- Painting: Realism. Paintings in altarpieces and stained glass.
- Sculpture: Showed realism, movement, and began to show more freely expressed sentiments. The figures were more detached than in Romanesque art (not so attached to the support).
- Architecture: Monumental cathedrals for the entire population. The front of the church loomed large (above the front arch). Used a new type of arch and vault, the pointed arch and vault, which enabled a transparent wall that was coated with glass. Rose windows were the main framework of the stained-glass windows. Pillars were used to support the roof. Tall naves (e.g., Cathedral of Palma). Buttresses to hold the walls.
The Crusades
The Crusades were a series of military campaigns commonly held on religious grounds, conducted by much of Latin Christian Europe, in particular, the Franks of France and the Holy Roman Empire. Pope Gregory VII had the idea that Christian countries should unite to fight the common enemy, Islam. Pope Urban II put it into practice. In 1095, the invitation to fight against the Turks was a common interest shared by France, England, Germany, and Hungary. There was a strategic interest in stopping the advance of Islam into Europe and controlling the current trade routes. During the many Crusades, multiple acts of vandalism and murder were committed, apart from the deaths of soldiers. The adventure of the Crusades ended in failure; Christians in the Holy Land were defeated in 1291 by Muslims. This struggle for power has influenced the Muslim world to close itself off to Western influence and created a willingness to be defensive, even today.
Monasteries
A monastery is a place inhabited by monks living in community. The monks live “isolated from the world” and rarely leave the monastery. It is a way to live the Gospel message radically. It is an austere life in silence dedicated to prayer and work (ora et labora). Monastic life is also called contemplative life.
- The cloister: An outdoor patio, surrounded by a covered walkway, where monks walk.
- The refectory: The dining room typical of a monastery.
- The chapter house: Where monks gather to make decisions and manage monastic life.
- The church: The temple where prayers are said and the Eucharist is celebrated.
- The scriptorium: An intellectual workplace, near the library.
The followers of St. Benedict made three promises:
- To give up all his personal possessions (vow of poverty).
- To have no sexual relations (vow of chastity).
- To follow the rules of monastic life in obedience to the abbot (vow of obedience).
The Feudal Church
During the Middle Ages, the Church was part of feudal society, which was divided into different classes:
- Serfs or vassals: Peasants, the mass of people working hard on the earth, with few resources, no education (illiterate), and dependent on feudal lords (taxes).
- Nobility (military and gentlemen) and clergy: People with some training, with lands and possessions, or ecclesiastical titles (religious). They lived on income or in monasteries.
- Feudal lords and kings: They dominated and controlled society and the economy. They had absolute power.
The Church was contaminated by this way of organizing society. Within the Church, these classes also appeared. Passing from one social class to another was difficult, but soon the purchase and sale of ecclesiastical titles emerged to access a position of power: simony. Within the Church, reform movements emerged, advocating that the ruler’s power should not interfere in religious affairs, to resume the mission of the Church, which is to spread the message of Jesus and not to have power, to care for so many uneducated and needy people (libraries and hospitals), and not to seek riches.