Chapter Seven:
Civilizations of Late
We must always remember that swinging pendulum of HUMANISM.
As we have seen, just about every society begins with strict, conservative rules. Next, the pendulum shifts to the middle and increased freedom and humanism produces a golden period of art and culture. Invariably, that freedom and humanism seems to lead to corruption, then revolution, then to a new society which starts off as strictly conservative as the old one.
Case in point: Christian Rome
(Ichthys
Early
Christian symbol of a fish. Greek for fish is an acrostic for Jesus, Christ, God, Son, Saviour)
After years of
intolerance and persecution from others, once the Christian Church becomes
established in the
Leading, in the 16th
century, to the infamous Spanish Inquisition
With the empire
divided into two halves, east and west, there was a great deal of infighting
among the various rulers (Tetrarchs). Then prior to the
He saw the Chi-Rho
symbol painted on the shields of his soldiers.
Parts of the Chi-Rho
symbol: Christ, Man, Woman, Child
The
Shortly thereafter,
By 395, most Romans had become
Christian.
The first major
dispute in Christianity: Arius (Christ, as the son of God was a lesser deity.)
and Athanasius (Christ is basically the same being as God.) This was argued in
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father,
the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus
Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God,
Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For
us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy
Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake
he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the
third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into
heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in
glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the
Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the
Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the
Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and
apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the
forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the
dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
By the reign of Theodosius
(379—395), Christianity had become the state religion of the
The arts had to follow Christian
edicts, and secular art virtually disappeared, although most works were based
on classical Greek and Roman principles.
The Fathers of the Church: Ambrose
(340-397), Jerome (340-420), and Augustine (354-430)
Saint Ambrose:
Preacher,
teacher, bible student of renown, and writer of liturgical hymns. He stood firm against pagans and Arians. His
preaching helped convert
Monk. Lived for years as a
hermit in the Syrian deserts. Reported to have drawn a thorn from a
lion's paw; the animal stayed loyally at his side for
years. Priest. Student of Saint
Gregory of Nazianzen. Secretary to Pope Damasus I who
commissioned him to revise the Latin text of the Bible. The result of
his 30 years of work was the Vulgate translation, which is still in use.
A rather wild child,
Augustine was converted to Christianity by St. Ambrose, became Bishop of Hippo,
in Africa, and a most influential author, (Confessions (autobiography) and City
of
In the year 430, he died praying
while the
Although western
The Hagia Sophia
The
View from the South. The
thrust of the huge dome is countered by the two half-domes and the smaller
domes, to the east and west, and the massive buttresses to the north and south.
Hagia Sophia
Interior. Four arches swing across the piers, linked by four
pendentives. The apices of the arches and the pendentives support the
circular base of the huge central dome.
The Hagia Sophia contains many
examples of Byzantine Art, which tends to have these characteristics: religious
in theme (by subject or implication); flat (an Asian influence), ornate
(especially with gold), and a rather disproportionate sense of anatomy,
probably due to the superhuman status of holy figures. The Christ child is often depicted as a baby
with an adult face. Images are usually
dour, lacking in amusement, reflecting the seriousness of the religion.
The lunette is decorated with a
superb mosaic composition of the enthroned Virgin and Child flanked by
Constantine the Great, who presents a model of the city and Justinian who offers a model of the Church.
The mosaic which is in the north
gallery shows Alexander clad in full imperial regalia adorned with precious
gems.
Mosaic depicting
the Empress Zoe (1028-1050) and her third husband, Constantine IX Monomachus
(1042-1055), presenting to the enthroned Christ a bag containing gold coins and
a scroll inscribed with a list of donations. The composition,
illustrates in a most eloquent manner, the association of the Byzantine
Emperors with the
Mosaic of the Emperor John II
Comnenus (1118-1143) and his consort Irene presenting a bag of gold coins and a
scroll inscribed with a list of donations to the Theotokos. (Θεοτοκος is a Greek
word usually translated "Mother of God." )
The oldest surviving mosaic in Hagia
Sophia is that of the Virgin enthroned, “the living throne of Christ Pantocrator,” with the Christ Child in her lap.
Here are a few other Byzantine
icons, as well as a few works from the early Renaissance that were modeled on
Byzantine works.
The 10th-century Fedorovskaya
icon from
Bernado Daddi, 1290-1349. Madonna
and Child
Giotto. Madonna and Child with St. Nicholas,
A good example of
symbolic realism. Justinian is
depicted here with 12 supporters and a halo. (Text picture)
With the fall of the western Roman
Empire and the political confusion that followed, monasticism became an important part of
Christianity, providing a solid, dependable religious center in a changing
world.
Monasticism was integral to
Byzantine life. From the fourth century, after the founding of the first
monastic institution in
St. Catherine
monastery on
Monasticism spread quickly to western Europe. The Rule of Saint Benedict, compiled
in the first half of the sixth century, laid the foundation for the form of
monastic life most commonly practiced there. The rule—with its stress on
moderation, obedience to the monastery's leader (the abbot), and a prescribed
program of prayer, work, and study—synthesized many of the teachings of the
desert hermits and early Christian writers.
The Cuxa Cloister, mid-12th
century
French or Spanish; From the Abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa (modern
Monasteries were the homes of great
art and beautifully copied manuscripts.
Chora Monastery (Kariye Camii),
Studenica Monastery, Church of
Saints Joachim and Anna,
Before the printing press,
illuminated (illustrated) books were the great art of the early medieval
period.
Page from an Illuminated Gospel,
early 15th century
Plaque with Saint John the
Evangelist, early 9th century; Early Medieval Carolingian; Made in Aachen
of Elephant ivory
Leaf from the Epistle to the
Hebrews, 12th century (1101)
Byzantine; Found in
Tempera, gold, and ink on parchment.
Leaf from a Manuscript: Christ in
Majesty with Angels and the Angel of God Directs Saint John to Write the Book
of Revelation, ca. 1180
Bifolium, from a
Manuscript of the Decretals of Gratian, ca. 1290
Among the books copied in the
monasteries was The Book of Kells, a copy of the four Gospels in Latin.
It is known for the extraordinary array of pictures, interlaced shapes and
ornamental details. It is thought to have been the work of several individual
scribes over many years, likely before A.D. 806. Held at Kells until 1661, it
was moved to
Charlemagne
742 - 814
Charlemagne was determined to bring
order to
Alcuin of York was appointed
head of Charlemagne's
Carolingian minuscule separated
words more clearly, used capital letters at the start of sentences, and periods
at the end. It made writing much more
easily read.
Music, in this period, like
everything else, was strictly devoted to the Church. The earliest medieval music is named after
Pope Gregory and is called the Gregorian Chant. Used in the Mass and sung by men only,
without accompaniment, this music used a single line of melody and had an
impersonal, unemotional quality to it.
Kyrie: Hodie Christus Resurrexit
Later, by the ninth century, a
second line of music was added, making it polyphonic. This gave a whole new depth and intensity to
the mass.
Josquin Desprez: “Ave Maria . . .
Virgo Serena”
With strict church rules, and most
of life subordinate to the church, there was little room for creative man, for
humanism. Any kind of creativity or
individual thought could be called “heresy” and punished severely.
But humankind cannot be held down
forever. The creative human mind must
have its outlet, then as now.
Jean-Francois Millet, “Man with a
Hoe” 1863
Hidden away, in the hearts of
humans, are stories and myths, songs, and other religions. (
One myth which has lasted is the
oldest story we have in English (Anglo-Saxon), Beowulf.
From Bullfinch's Mythology:
“ALTHOUGH the manuscript which contains the epic of Beowulf was written about
1000 A.D., the poem itself was known and had been elaborated upon for centuries
by minstrels who recited the heroic exploits of the son of Ecgtheow and nephew
of Hygelac, King of the Geats, whose kingdom was what is now Southern Sweden.
In his boyhood Beowulf gave
evidence of the great feats of strength and courage which in manhood made him
the deliverer of Hrothgar, King of Denmark, from the
monster, Grendel, and later in his own kingdom from the fiery dragon which
dealt Beowulf a mortal blow.”
Obviously, by the time the oral tale
of the pagan Beowulf had been set down in writing concessions had to be
made for a Christian audience.
Other arts would soon break through,
especially the theatre, which only awaited a nod from church officials to begin
again.
The trigger for many changes in
European culture would be The Crusades.