Medieval Art History

In the first half of the fourteenth century, the most prestigious place of learning for Hungarian clergymen was Bologna. Clerics studying there not only became prominent ecclesiastical figures, but also fulfilled important roles in the chancery and diplomacy of the Hungarian Angevin kings. While in Bologna or after their
return to Hungary, many of these men of letters commissioned illuminated manuscripts from Bolognese workshops, and thus played a decisive role in the reception of the new sensibilities of Italian art in Hungary. The first of these patrons that can be clearly identified is Demeter Nekcsei, magister tavarnicorum of the Hungarian court. Work on Nekcsei’s two-volume Bible was most likely completed by 1338, the year of his death. The paper analyses this manuscript.

A MOST HAVE FOR THE ART HISTORIAN!

Dopo la pubblicazione del primo tomo, che raccoglie il patrimonio architettonico e artistico del Fondo Edifici di Culto di 129 luoghi di culto presenti in Piemonte, Veneto, Liguria, Emilia Romagna, Toscana, Marche, Umbria e Abruzzo, L' ERMA in collaborazione con il Ministero dell' Interno prosegue l' opera con il secondo tomo che conterrà il patrimonio artistico-culturale di Roma e del Lazio. Gli edifici di culto raccolti in questo secondo tomo sono 191 di cui 120 sul territorio laziale e 71 nella capitale. Tra i più importanti edifici a Roma ricordiamo Sant' Andrea al Quirinale, Sant' Andrea della Valle, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, la Basilica di SS. Giovanni e Paolo al Celio, Santa Maria del Popolo, Santa Maria in Aracoeli al Campidoglio, senza però tralasciare tutti gli altri edifici di culto con i loro relativi patrimoni artistici presenti sul territorio romano e laziale.

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Il Corpus Del Fondo Edifici Di Culto è una prestigiosa enciclopedia costituita da 4 volumi, di assoluto valore scientifico in cui saranno illustrati, attraverso delle schede e per mezzo di foto a colori di alta qualità, tutti gli edifici di culto facenti parte del patrimonio del Fondo Edifici di Culto del Ministero dell' Interno e tutto il patrimonio artistico-culturale in essi contenuti; il patrimonio del F.E.C., è costituito da oltre 730 edifici di culto di grandissimo pregio storico, architettonico, artistico e culturale, dislocati su tutto il territorio nazionale aperti al pubblico e concessi in uso gratuito all'Autorità Ecclesiastica ma gestiti dal Fondo Edifici di Culto, amministrato dalla Direzione Centrale per l' amministrazione del Fondo Edifici di Culto del Ministero dell' Interno. L' importanza dell' opera sarà messa in risalto dalla elegante veste editoriale dei 4 lussuosi volumi imperdibili per gli studiosi del settore ed i collezionisti.

In Utrecht is de tot nu toe oudst bekende productie van pijpaarden voorwerpen in de Nederlanden aangetroffen.
Tijdens een opgraving in het gebied Springweg, Strosteeg, Putsteeg en Blinde Steeg door de archeologische dienst van de gemeente Utrecht in 1974 is onder meer het afval van een heyligenbacker aangetroffen. Een tweetal vijftiende-eeuwse afvalputten, destijds behorende bij een aan de Springweg of de voormalige Putsteeg gelegen kamer, leverde onder meer een reeks religi-euze pijpaarden objecten op. De vondsten kwamen tevoorschijn uit een stenen beerput (put R) en een houten tonput (put L) die beide als afval-of beerput dienden. Omdat de meeste funderingen reeds voorafgaand aan de opgraving waren gesloopt, is over de exacte indeling van het terrein weinig met zekerheid te zeggen. Het onderzoek kreeg als toponiem de naam van de Strosteeg mee en is daarom vooral onder die naam bekend geworden. Uit de afvalputten kwam naast dit productieafval ook huisraad (aardewerk en steengoed) van de heyligenbacker en zijn gezin tevoorschijn. Omdat het gesloten vondstgroepen betreft, zijn het vooral deze gebruiksvoorwerpen die de datering van de contexten bepalen.

This essay examines and discusses a hitherto unpublished drawing reproducing a fresco in Siena, now lost but traditionally attributed to Simone Martini by sources ranging from Ghiberti to Della Valle. The drawing, from the collection of the art historian Jean-Baptiste Seroux d’Agincourt housed in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, prompts discussion regarding the painting’s iconography and style.

Si les lambris peints de la chapelle de Merléac (22) font depuis longtemps
déjà parler d’eux, de même que les splendides vitraux qui ornent encore
l’édifice, l’impressionnant décor héraldique des intrados des grandes arcades de la nef est resté le parent pauvre de cette récente redécouverte d’un patrimoine d’exception. Aux yeux des historiens de l’art, ces peintures
héraldiques ne constituent peut-être pas la part la plus séduisante d’un
très riche décor, mais elles ne fournissent pas moins une clef de lecture
essentielle de l’édifice et du contexte de son élévation. Elles font par
ailleurs écho à d’autres éléments du décor conservé de la chapelle à
commencer par la peinture murale de la partie supérieure de la nef. Ce
décor héraldique rassemble en effet en un même lieu les membres les
plus prestigieux de la parenté et du réseau d’alliés des Rohan et plus
précisément du vicomte Jean Ier au moment où sa famille s’impose comme la cheville ouvrière de la paix civile retrouvée après les décennies de luttes fratricides de la guerre de Succession. Mais, pour être apprécié à sa juste valeur, ce type de décor emblématique mérite d’être analysé dans le détail de sa mise en scène et confronté à quelques rares exemples contemporains, trop peu nombreux hélas à avoir été conservés jusqu’à nous.

La décoration peinte du manuscrit J.II.9, conservé à la bibliothèque universitaire de Turin, n’a pas encore fait l’objet jusqu’à présent d’une analyse iconographique et stylistique pointue : notre travail se propose de mener une analyse formelle de cette décoration avec la finalité de contribuer à mieux comprendre quel a été le milieu de production du manuscrit ainsi que l’origine géographique de son enlumineur. Ce travail nous donnera aussi l’occasion de confronter les données issues de cette analyse avec celles issues des recherches d’autres spécialistes qui se sont occupés du manuscrit ; cela nous permettra de contribuer à une meilleure compréhension des phases de création du manuscrit ainsi que de son contexte de production et d’usage.

Cited: Martha Easton, “Feminist Art History and Medieval Iconography,” in Colum Hourihane, ed., The Routledge Companion to Medieval Iconography (London and New York: Routledge, 2017), 875n37; “The French of England: Annotated Short Bibliography and Resources,” Fordham University, https://frenchofengland.ace.fordham.edu/?page_id=100#some-art-historical; “Crowned Woman (likely Eleanor of Woodstock) at Mass,” Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index, https://inpress.lib.uiowa.edu/feminae/DetailsPage.aspx?Feminae_ID=37792; Kathryn A. Smith, "Margin," in Medieval Art History Today: Critical Terms, ed. Nina Rowe, special issue of Studies in Iconography 33 (2012), 44n34; Nigel Morgan, "English Books of hours, c. 1240-c.1480," in Sandra Hindman and James H. Marrow, ed., Books of Hours Reconsidered (London and Turnhout: Harvey Miller, 2013), 90n26; Kathryn A. Smith, "'Specially English': Gothic Illumination, c. 1190-Early Fourteenth Century," in A Companion to Medieval Art: Romanesque and Gothic in Northern Europe, 2nd, rev. ed. Conrad Rudolph (Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2019), 585, 591n68, 592n79, n81, 599.
Publicity: Sarah J. Biggs, “The Taymouth Hours,” The British Library Medieval Manuscripts Blog, April 13, 2012,
https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2012/04/the-taymouth-hours.html?_ga=2.119940683.2120474733.1614875499-558522456.161487549

Conrad Rudolph
"'In Its Extraordinary Arrangement': Hugh of Saint Victor, the History of Salvation, and the World Map of The Mystic Ark," Victorine Restoration: Essays on Hugh of St Victor, Richard of St Victor, and Thomas Gallus, ed. Robert J. Porwoll and David Allison Orsbon (Brepols, Turnhout, 2021; completed and in press since 2014) 123-146.

Hugh of Saint Victor's Mystic Ark is a Latin manuscript that gives general instructions on how to make an image of all time, all space, all matter, all human history, and all spiritual striving.  This image was meant to be repeated again and again in order to serve as the subject of a months-long course that presented a middle-ground worldview in the face of perceived threats from the new, neo-platonically based critical learning of School (University) culture at an important time in the history of Western intellectual development (original image and course 1125-1130, Paris).  In this study, I expand upon the discussion from my book, The Mystic Ark, of one of the most prominent and crucial components of The Mystic Ark: the world or world map.
This map is perhaps the earliest significant example of a map with Jerusalem at its center, it has the earliest executed oval earth of which I'm aware, and it incorporates the earliest Last Judgment that is part of a map.  But its real interest lies in the way in which the actual specifics of the map are engaged with the Ark of the Flood that forms the core of this image, in a way, even activated by the Ark, resulting in a cartographical image of previously unrivalled conception.
Among other things, The Mystic Ark presents an elaborate visual summary of the entire history of salvation from the beginning until the end of time, an image that is nothing less than a visual capsulization of Hugh's most original theological theory as expressed in his great written systematic theology, De sacramentis: the works of creation and the works of restoration.  The works of creation consist of the world with all its "elements" as manifested during the six days of creation that culminated in the Fall of Adam and Eve--that is, the alienation of humankind from its creator.  The works of restoration comprise the Incarnation of the Word (that is, Christ) with all its "sacraments" as manifested during the six ages of the history of salvation (the six ages that constitute human history from Adam to the end of time)--works that will restore humankind to its creator.  Central to this world-view as put forth in the image of The Mystic Ark is the depiction of the earth as the stage for the history of salvation, with the Ark proper acting as an image of both the Church throughout time and of the progression of time itself (as specifically stated in the text of The Mystic Ark), and with the focal point of all this being Christ as the Lamb of God in the central cubit of the Ark proper.  It is the fundamental pervasion of this dynamic of the history of salvation throughout the image of The Mystic Ark--the map, the Ark, the cosmos, the figure of Christ--that makes its map so different from other contemporary maps, which may, in a less concerted way, also refer to the history of salvation.
Other themes that are taken up are the "extraordinary arrangement" of the Ark--to quote a contemporary witness--as manifested in Hugh's theory of an east-west spatial-temporal progression of events throughout history (translatio spiritualitatis and, to a lesser extent, translatio imperii);  the manner in which the actual specifics of the map of The Mystic Ark are engaged with the Ark proper--in a way, even activated by the Ark proper; and Hugh's desire "to show not things and not the images of things, but rather their significations--not those that the things themselves signify, but those that are signified," or, put another way, his desire to show not Egypt or the geographical depiction of Egypt, but rather "ignorance," which is what the word "Egypt" was thought to mean etymologically and so exegetically.  That is, he wanted to show not the geographical reality, but the spiritual reality.
In the end, the map of The Mystic Ark is nothing less than the centerpiece of a fully articulated world-view directly aimed at (and appropriating) the more prestigious (and secular) neoplatonic thought of the time, a newly perceived threat that was arising out of the same School culture in which and for which The Mystic Ark was created, and from whose standard academic imagery it borrows.

Het idee te leven in de Middeleeuwen was de middeleeuwer zelf zonder meer vreemd. De Middeleeuwen zijn immers een uitvinding uit de tijd van de Renaissance, toen denkers de periode tussen de door hen verheerlijkte Klassieke Oudheid en hun eigen tijd (gezien als een wedergeboorte van die Klassieke Oudheid) als een 'middentijd' gingen betitelen. De middeleeuwse mens zelf wist echter niet anders dan dat hij leefde in de periode van het Nieuwe Verbond, die een aanvang genomen had met Christus' geboorte en zou voortduren tot de Jongste Dag. Dat was de dag waarop het heil zou aanbreken, het moment van Christus' wederkomst, waarop geoordeeld zou worden over levenden en doden. De dag waarop tijdigheid voorbij zou zijn, hemel dan wel hel als eeuwig verblijf zou gelden. Dit toekomstperspectief, de blijde verwachting ervan evenzeer als de angst ervoor, ligt ten grondslag aan allerlei religieuze uitingen. Die komen voort uit de religieuze voorstellingswereld die maatschappelijke groepen en individuen sedert het vroege christendom hebben ontwikkeld. In die voorstellingswereld zijn soms ook nog de sporen te vinden van gewoonten en gebruiken die hun oorsprong hebben in vóórchristelijke tijden. Niettemin mag de invloed van het kerkelijk leergezag op de geloofspraktijk zeker niet uitgevlakt worden. De ongewisheid van de toekomst, de onbekendheid met datgene waarvan alleen maar een vermoeden bestaat, wordt omgezet in gedragingen, geesteshouding, ideeën, ceremoniën of rituelen, en wordt ook visueel gestalte gegeven. Middeleeuwse kunst is eerst en vooral beeldtaal. Het is geen kunst om de kunst, maar draagt veeleer een boodschap uit, verkondigt een moraal of een geloof en is uiting van een belevingswereld. Voorwerpen of afbeeldingen van kunstzinnige aard moeten voor de tijdgenoot dan ook een herkenbare taal gesproken hebben om aan hun doel te beantwoorden. Ze hadden niet alleen de functie van onderrichting en stichting, maar waren tegelijk ook geheugensteun. Daartoe zullen ze hebben moeten appeleren aan een belevingswereld. In die belevingswereld ligt overduidelijk een spanningsveld tussen hetgeen we de voorgeschreven orde en de geleefde praktijk noemen. In dit spanningsveld ligt als het ware de sleutel voor ons begrip van de middeleeuwse religieuze cultuur. Bij een tentoonstelling rond het thema Hel en Hemel, waar materiële relicten van een middeleeuwse cultuur geëxposeerd worden, valt dan ook heel wat uit te leggen. In deze bijdrage zullen verschillende vormen of aspecten van het geloofsleven in het Noorden, zoals we die via geschriften, voorwerpen of afbeeldingen kunnen ontdekken, nader geïntroduceerd en toegelicht worden. Richtsnoer vormt de thematiek van Hel en Hemel, anders gezegd leven en dood geplaatst in het perspectief van het Laatste Oordeel.

The region of the Middle Ponitrie is situated in the west part of Slovakia. It has the area of a nowaday district of Partizánske with its 23 villages. It covers more than 300 km2 in the mountain basin along the mean flow of the river Nitra surrounded by Tribeč in the east, Straitly Mountains in the north-west and Považský Inovec in the south-west. Alluvial and loess soils covering the flat parts of the basin have created suitable conditions for varied vegetation that mainly consists of deciduous trees, bushes and grasslands.
The settlement in the region of the Middle Ponitrie remarkably increased in the period of Great Moravia. The numerous archeological remains of agricultural tools from Žabokreky nad Nitrou show the intensive farming here. The existing settlement structure was not disturbed by the downfall of Great Moravia at the beginning of 906. In the last decades of the 10th century the Middle Ponitrie was a part of Nitra apanage duchy. It was reigned by Michael from Arpád dynasty. He appointed the christian Slovak knights from Poznans and Hunts families. Later they gained large estates in Ponitrie too. After the duke Stephen was crowned the first king of Hungary in 1000, the parish churches were built in the whole territory of Hungary and the christianity gradually penetrated into the smallest villages. The early Romance church in Krásno from the 11th century ranks to the oldest big parish churches in the Middle Ponitrie. Its foundations examined by the archaelogists can be seen on the hill above the village.
In Early Medieval times the administrative and regional structure was formed and the region of the Middle Ponitrie became a part of Nitra, Trenčín and Tekov counties. Prevailing king's property started falling apart due to donating the villages. The aristocrats became the owners of the land. The aristocratic families became the secular patrons of the parish churches and from the 12th- 13th centuries they started building fortified residences at their estates. The poorer thanes were initially building log manors (e.g. the manor houses in BoSany and Brodzany unpreserved by today) or simple stone towers with a wooden fortification and basin (Partizánske - Šimonovany, Žabokreky, Bošany). Only the most significant aristocratic families had the means for building stone castles. Such a fortification in the Middle Ponitrie was a castle on Michael hill above Kolačno. Its remains were dated back to the 12th - 13th centuries by the archeologists.
The growing position of aristocracy in society led to building new churches or reconstruction of the older churches in the countryside. The oldest ones are well-preserved churches from the 12th century in Klátova Nová Ves -Sádok, Hradište and Veľký KIíž- Klížske Hradište. The later churches from the 13th century have been reconstructed and preserved in Livina, Partizánske - Šimonovany, Malé Krštenany, Veľke Uherce. Some of them have not been maintained (Bošany, Turčianky, Žabokreky, Nadlice and others). The precious medieval wall paintings have sometimes been preserved in churches (Klátova Nová Ves - Sádok), or medieval bells (in Brodzany from 1483 and Nadlice from 1519).
Establishment of monasteries went with spreading the christianity. Their arising was supported by the king and aristocracy too. One of the minor Benedictine monasteries was founded in Veľký Klíž - Klížské Hradište in the 12th century and its foundations are hidden in the garden of the parish church. In modern times the territory of Slovakia neighboured the extending Ottoman Empire. Besides constructing the forts at the borders the fortified mansions with corner bastions and loopholes were built inland. We have more examples of such mansions in the Middle Ponitrie which secured protection of the owners. The most interesting mansions are the ones in Bošany, Klátova Nová Ves, Brodzany and Veľké Uherce. The poorer noblemen reconstructed the older medieval manors to the mansions of this type (mansions in Bošany, Veľké Uherce), but many of them have not been preserved and we do not know their former architecture (Veľké Uherce - upper mansion, Klátová Nová Ves - Baštin, Partizánske - Šimonovany and others). In some cases the burial places surrounded by walls around the churches on the hills were used as a refuge in danger (Hradište, Krásno, Klátova Nová Ves - Sádok).
After the riots in the country calmed down in the 18th-19th centuries, the local aristocratic families began building comfortable residences without defensive function (Bošany, Klátova Nová Ves). The earlier fortified mansions were gradually rebuilt too and their defensive elements were removed (Brodzany, Ostratice, Veľké Uherce). The parks and gardens have been planted around. The park area was decorated by various park architecture (Veľke Uherce) and minor summer houses have often been built nearby them (Brodzany). In the parks and burial places aristocracy used to make their own burial chapels in the second half of the 19th century. Most of the chapels preserved to present-day were built in Romance style at the end of the 19th century (Bošany, Brodzany, Nedanovce), but in Žabokreky we can still admire a rare Art Nouveau tomb from 1913 with the original interior decoration.
The landscape of the Middle Ponitrie is also shaped by the numerous roadside crosses, statues and pillar chapels from the 18th century. They belong to the cultural and historical heritage of our country. With the exception of several ones from the end of the 18th century the most of these sacred objects emerged during the 19th century and have gradually been replaced by the new ones.
The most important fast dying heritage are the folk houses. The most of these sights disappeared in the last half -century. We can exceptionally admire a couple of authentic and preserved folk houses situated in remote villages (Kolačno - Ondrášová) or next to modern houses in the villages (Livinské Opatovce, Veľký KIíž, Turčianky).
The 19th century brought production development and the first industrialization. From this period there have been preserved several precious and mostly gradually dying technical sightseeings in the area of the Middle Ponitrie. They include former water mills in Hradište and Ješkova Ves or one of the first electric mills in the area built in 1934 in Ostratice with its original technical equipment. A valuable site which originally served for lime production is a residue of the lime site from 1929 in a solitary place Cibajky in Klátová Nová Ves. It is impossible to overlook the stone bridge in Chynorany. From the local factories the most important was a non-existing up-to-now factory for a bentwood furniture Thonet in Veľké Uherce from 1866 and the factory for leather manufacture in Bošany found in 1857 which operates up-today. The well-known was the factory for processing hemp and flax from 1905-1906 in Chynorany which continued the local tradition of processing the flax.
The fast development of architectonic styles in the 20th century evoked the present interest to protect modern sightseeings of so-called functional architecture. They are mainly in a new-built industrial town Partizánske (its original name was Baťovany). Its urban features are even today illustrated by authentic houses and industrial sites with characteristic edged masonry. In addition to the oldest houses in Bata's workers colony from 1938-1939 this town is proud of a singular functionalist church.
The aim of this publication is to popularize the rich and various cultural and historical heritage of the Middle Ponitrie. It focused on the whole variety of sightseeings including died ones which deserve attention. Hopefully, its publishing will help to popularize and protect our common cultural and historical heritage.
the authors

The Influences of the Dominican Order in the Middle Ages
Taylor Institute, Lincoln College, and Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University

September 10-12, 2015

This interdisciplinary conference will explore the influences of the Dominican Order on all aspects of medieval life, encompassing the large-scale influences of the Order and the legacy of its prominent figures, as well as the impact that the Order had on those that came into contact with it.

The keynote paper will be delivered by Mary Rouse, on ‘The Vital Impact of the Dominicans on Books at the University of Paris, 1217-1350’.  The program will feature papers on the Dominican influence in England, Northern Europe, Italy, Eastern Europe, and the Byzantine world; the influence of Friars on other movements and communities; Dominican influence on architecture, art, books, music and liturgy; and influential Dominican philosophers and theologians.

Confirmed speakers are from the UK, the USA, Canada, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.  In addition, the conference will include a walking tour of medieval Oxford, and a concert of music that can be associated with the Dominican Order. 

http://www.torch.ox.ac.uk/influences-dominican-order-middle-ages

Article in Dutch discussing the function, use and transmission of a magnificent medieval manuscript, the Psalter of Saint Louis (Leiden, UL, BPL 76a). Made in Northern England at the end of the 13th century, it quickly came in the possession of the French Royal family. An inscription states that it was used by the young Saint Louis to learn to read. Thereafter the precious manuscript was used by various young princes and princesses of the French Royal dynasty and thereafter of the Burgundian (Valois) dynasty. It is mentioned in a newly discovered early-16th-century booklist that might contain the books used for the education of Margaret of Parma, natural daughter of emperor Charles V.

In che modo l’età moderna e contemporanea hanno guardato alle immagini medievali di culto? Come le hanno percepite? Sotto quali istanze le hanno conservate e ri-contestualizzate? E, invece, in che modo un’immagine che non era stata oggetto di culto diventa, alla fine del Medioevo o dopo il Medioevo, vettore di miracoli e fulcro di una nuova devozione?

Il libro porta un contributo significativo a un tema ancora relativamente poco studiato, presentando esempi di più geografie europee, attraverso i quali si pone l’accento sulla dialettica tra ri-appropriazione e cancellazione del senso e delle funzioni originarie delle immagini, con uno sguardo particolare verso le componenti sociali implicate nei diversificati processi di modificazione connessi agli oggetti figurativi medievali.

A new complete facsimile accompanied by a text volume (304 pp.). Available from the Museum's shop (https://www.zemaljskimuzej.ba/en/shop) in two editions - English and Bosnian. For the credits, title page and table of contents, see the document below.

The art and architecture of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the Mediterranean from the first to the fifteenth century. We will study religious art typologically (for example, what roles did religious buildings play?), through important works (i.e. the Great Mosque of Cordoba), sites (i.e., Jerusalem, Damascus, Rome, Istanbul) and media (metalwork, textiles, and manuscripts). We will emphasize art's contribution to contact, exchange and conflict between the three religions, with particular attention to Spain.

Popular science feature of culture and art in the country of the first Piasts (c. 966-c. 1039): Diversity of cultural influences; Manor as a center of culture; The importance of the Church; Brick construction; Works of goldsmith art; Manuscripts illuminated = Popularnonaukowa charakterystyka kultury i sztuki w państwie pierwszych Piastów (c. 966-c. 1039): Różnorodność wpływów kulturowych; Dwór jako centrum kultury; Znaczenie Kościoła; Budownictwo murowane; Dzieła sztuki złotniczej; Rękopisy iluminowane