An overview of Europe in the middle ages.

The first Christians were often persecuted in the Ancient Roman empire, but when—thanks to Constantine—Christianity became legal in the 4th century, Christians could worship openly and the first churches were built in Rome and Christians could be buried in tombs sculpted with Christian imagery. This tutorial takes you on a tour of early Christian churches, and takes a close look at the sarcophagus of a Roman senator who died in 359.

Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin and Robin Hood come to mind when England’s rather murky early Medieval history is recalled. But what do we really know about this period? What artifacts have been found? In this small tutorial (so far there is only one video), we explore the great Sutton Hoo ship burial and the treasures from the era of the Anglo Saxon King Aethelberht.

Today, we know the city of Constantinople as Istanbul (in fact there’s a song about that!). But even before it was Constantinople, it was the ancient city of Byzantium, and it was renamed Constantinople (city of Constantine) by none other than the Emperor Constantine himself (it’s good to be the emperor!). From there a succession of emperors ruled the Byzantine empire as the Roman empire dissolved. For two centuries, the Byzantine empire even included the Italian city of Ravenna, where many churches decorated with astoundingly beautiful mosaics can still be found. In Byzantine art we see a departure from the naturalism of the ancient Greek and Roman world. Figures float in ethereal gold heavenly spaces in mosaics, and we find intricate carvings made from ivory, a luxurious material imported from Africa.

Visogoths, Ostrogoths, and Vikings, oh my! Western Europe was not a peaceful place during the 600 years after the fall of the Roman Empire. Western Europe (what is now Italy, France, Spain, England, etc.) had been repeatedly invaded. The result was a fractured feudal society with little stability and little economic growth. Charlemagne and the Ottonians had partially and briefly unified the West, and of course the Church was a stabilizing institution, but it was only in the 11th Century that everything changed. Now there was finally enough peace and prosperity to allow for travel and for the widespread construction of large buildings. These were, with rare exceptions, the first large structures to be built in the West since the fall of the Romans so many centuries before. We call the period Romanesque (Roman-like) because the masons of this period looked back to the architecture of ancient Rome. The relative calm of the Romanesque period also meant it was possible to travel, and the faithful set out on pilgrimages in great numbers to visit holy relics in churches across Europe. This meant that ideas and styles also traveled, towns grew and churches were built and enlarged.

No, we’re not talking about the dark subculture we know as Goth! We’re talking about the style of art and architecture In Europe from the 1100s to the beginnings of the Renaissance at about 1400. Hopefully by the end of this tutorial when someone says Gothic, you’ll think of enormous stained-glass windows in churches whose vaulted ceilings reach toward heaven and not black clothing and dark eyeliner!

More than 1 billion people call themselves muslim and this monotheistic religion is now estimated to be the second largest in the world. Islamic culture was among the most advanced and tolerant during the Medieval era. Cities from Isfahan in the East to Grenada in the West became important centers of art and learning. This tutorial looks at the sculpture, tilework, costume and interior spaces of this brilliant culture.

If you are an art historian with expertise in this area and would like to contribute content, please contact Beth or Steven.