Medieval Europe + Byzantium

Christianity and art

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The biblical Jesus, described in the Gospels as the son of a carpenter, was a Jew and a champion of the underdog.

Judaism and art

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For every period of Jewish history, interactions with non-Jews have been essential to forming Jewish culture and identity.

Books in medieval Europe

• Beginner's guide
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More books survive from the Middle Ages than any other artistic medium.

Early Christian

c. 200 - 500 C.E.

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Christianity in its first three centuries was one of a large number of mystery religions that flourished in the Roman world.

Byzantine

c. 330 - 1453 C.E.

• Beginner's guide
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The Roman Emperor Constantine adopted Christianity and founded Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). This city was previously known as Byzantium, hence the term "Byzantine."

Early Medieval

c. 500 - 800 C.E.

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Christianity flourished in the early middle ages and this dramatically affected art that was created across Europe.

Carolingian

780 - 900 C.E.

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​Charlemagne, King of the Franks and later Holy Roman Emperor, instigated a cultural revival known as the Carolingian Renaissance.

Ottonian

c. 936 - 1015

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The Ottonian kings defined themselves as a Roman Emperors in the style of Constantine and Charlemagne, and left an extensive artistic legacy.

Romanesque

c. 1000 - 1200 C.E.

• Beginner's guide
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Pilgrimages, crusades and the first international style of art since antiquity: the Romanesque.

Gothic

c. 1200 - 1400

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Forget the association of the word "Gothic" to dark, haunted houses. The Gothic style brought both divine light and soaring height to medieval churches.

The Crusades

c. 1095 – 1291

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Crusading took many forms, and attempting to precisely define crusading has engaged historians in intense debates for more than 150 years.