Smarthistory Logo
Smarthistory Logo
  • About
      • ABOUT SMARTHISTORY
      • What is Smarthistory?
      • Who is Smarthistory?
      • Is Smarthistory reliable?
      • Museum and institutional partners
      • Major donors
      • Press coverage
      • Our blog
      • Give us feedback
      • Contact us

      • At Smarthistory, the Center for Public Art History, we believe art has the power to transform lives and to build understanding across cultures. We believe that the brilliant histories of art belong to everyone, no matter their background.

        With 503 contributors from 201 colleges, universities, museums, and research centers, Smarthistory is the most-visited art history resource in the world.

  • For Learning
      • ART HISTORIES
      • Start here
      • Prehistoric
      • Africa
      • Americas
      • Asia
      • Ancient Mediterranean + Europe
      • Medieval Europe + Byzantine
      • The Islamic World
      • Europe 1300–1800
      • Europe 1800–1900
      • Pacific Islands
      • Modernisms 1900–1980
      • Art since 1980
      • TOPICS & COURSES
      • Art Appreciation
      • AP® Art History
      • A-Level Art History
      • History of photography
      • Creating and conserving
      • SPECIAL PROJECTS
      • The U.S. Civil War in Art
      • Seeing America
      • Not your grandfather’s art history: a BIPOC Reader
      • ARCHES: At-risk Cultural Heritage
      • Expanding the Renaissance
      • Across Cultures
      • Virtual Visits
  • Books
      • SMARTHISTORY BOOKS
      • Reframing Art History, a new kind of textbook
      • Guide to Byzantine Art
      • Guide to Ancient Roman Art
      • Guide to AP® Art History vol. 1 (#1–47)
      • Guide to AP® Art History vol. 2 (#48–98)
      • Guide to AP® Art History vol. 3 (#99–152)
      • See complete collection of titles
      • NEW TITLES
        • reframing art history cover smReframing Art History
          a new kind of textbook
        • Byzantine cover jpgGuide to Byzantine art
  • For Teaching
      • TOOLS FOR TEACHING
      • All content for teaching
      • Webinars past & present
      • Teaching with images: K-12
      • Syllabi
      • Do-it-yourself tools
        • UPCOMING EVENT
          • Dr. Elena FitzPatrick Sifford on casta paintings

            Oct.18.2023

            1:00–1:30 PM ET

            BIPOC Reader: Teaching Practices and Strategies with…

        • PAST EVENT
          • Dr. Elena FitzPatrick Sifford on casta paintings

            Apr.06.2022

            The Kaaba with Dr. Nancy Demerdash

  • Support
      • SUPPORT SMARTHISTORY
      • Donate
      • Contribute an essay

      • We created Smarthistory to provide students around the world with the highest-quality educational resources for art and cultural heritage—for free.

  • Search

All Results

Generic filters
Search in excerpt

Medieval Europe + Byzantium

  • Browse this content
  • A beginner’s guide
    • Introduction to the Middle Ages
    • A new pictorial language: the image in early medieval art
    • Pilgrimage souvenirs 
    • Chivalry in the Middle Ages
    • Mapping the world
    • A Global Middle Ages through the Pages of Decorated Books
    • Travel, trade and exploration in the Middle Ages
    • The medieval calendar
    • Medieval goldsmiths
    • The classical past
    • Musical imagery in the Global Middle Ages
    • Coming Out: Queer Erasure and Censorship from the Middle Ages to Modernity
    • The Buddha’s long “journey” to Europe and Africa
  • Christianity and art
    • Browse this content
    • Christianity, an introduction
    • The Christian Bible
    • The lives of Christ and the Virgin in Byzantine art
    • The life of Christ in medieval and Renaissance art
    • How to recognize the Four Evangelists
    • How to recognize saints
    • Architecture and liturgy
  • Judaism and art
    • Browse this content
    • Introduction to Judaism
    • Jewish history to the middle ages
    • Writing a history of Jewish architecture
  • Books in Medieval Europe
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Browse this content
      • Medieval manuscripts
      • Manuscripts: major works of art
      • Making manuscripts
      • The Bestiary
      • A Global Middle Ages through the Pages of Decorated Books
      • Visions of Paradise in a Global Middle Ages
      • Written in the Stars: Astronomy and Astrology in Medieval Manuscripts
    • Making the medieval book
      • Browse this content
      • Listening to the medieval book
      • An introduction to medieval scripts
      • A medieval textbook
      • Parchment (the good, the bad, and the ugly)
      • Making Manuscripts: The Page
      • Skins and scraps
      • The work of the scribe
      • Words, words, words: medieval handwriting
      • Making books for profit in medieval times
      • Decorating the book
      • Biblical illumination
      • Illumination of Jewish biblical texts
      • Medieval supermodels
      • Binding the book
      • Clasps: hugging a medieval book
      • Medieval books in leather (and other materials)
    • Using the medieval book
      • Browse this content
      • The medieval desktop
      • Getting personal in the margins
      • Smart bookmarks
      • Finding books
      • The medieval origins of the modern footnote
      • Medieval notepads
    • Types of medieval books
      • An Introduction to the Bestiary, Book of Beasts in the Medieval World
      • Medieval prayer-books
  • Early Christian
    • Browse this content
    • Early Christianity, an introduction
    • Early Christian art
    • Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome
    • Early Christian art and architecture after Constantine
    • Basilica of Constantine (Aula Palatina), Trier
    • Santa Maria Antiqua
    • Santa Maria Antiqua Sarcophagus
    • The Good Shepherd in Early Christianity
    • Santa Pudenziana
    • Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus
    • Basilica of Santa Sabina, Rome
    • Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
    • The Vienna Genesis
    • The Story of Jacob from the Vienna Genesis
    • Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well from the Vienna Genesis
    • Classicism and the Early Middle Ages
    • The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
  • Byzantine
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Byzantine art, an introduction
      • About the chronological periods of the Byzantine Empire
      • Icons, an introduction
      • Byzantine Iconoclasm and the Triumph of Orthodoxy
      • Ancient and Byzantine mosaic materials
      • Wearable art in Byzantium
    • Early Byzantine (including Iconoclasm)
      • Browse this content
      • Architecture
        • The origins of Byzantine architecture
        • Early Byzantine architecture after Constantine
        • Innovative architecture in the age of Justinian
        • SS. Sergius and Bacchus, preserved as the mosque, Küçük Ayasofya
        • Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
        • Byzantine architecture during Iconoclasm
      • Ravenna, Italy
        • Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy
        • Sant’Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna (Italy)
        • San Vitale and the Justinian Mosaic
        • Empress Theodora, rhetoric, and Byzantine primary sources
      • Art and architecture of Saint Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai
      • Woman with Scroll
      • Byzantine Mosaic of a Personification, Ktisis
      • Ivory Panel with Archangel
      • The Emperor Triumphant (Barberini Ivory)
      • The Vienna Dioscurides
      • Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George
      • A chalice from the Attarouthi Treasure
      • The Byzantine Fieschi Morgan cross reliquary
      • Cross-cultural artistic interaction in the Early Byzantine period
    • Middle Byzantine
      • Browse this content
      • Architecture
        • Middle Byzantine church architecture
        • Regional variations in Middle Byzantine architecture
        • Middle Byzantine secular architecture and urban planning
      • A work in progress: Middle Byzantine mosaics in Hagia Sophia
      • Theotokos mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
      • Mosaics and microcosm: the monasteries of Hosios Loukas, Nea Moni, and Daphni
      • Byzantine frescoes at Saint Panteleimon, Nerezi
      • Manuscripts
        • Book illumination in the Eastern Mediterranean
        • Illuminating the Psalms in Byzantium
        • The Paris Psalter
        • Illuminated Gospel-books
      • Middle Byzantine secular art
      • A Byzantine vision of Paradise — The Harbaville Triptych
      • Byzantium and its neighbors
        • Cross-cultural artistic interaction in the Middle Byzantine period
        • Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello
        • Saint Mark’s Basilica, Venice
        • Mobility and reuse: the Romanos chalices and the chalice with hares
        • Byzantium, Kyivan Rus’, and their contested legacies
        • The visual culture of Norman Sicily
        • The Cappella Palatina
        • The Melisende Psalter
    • The Fourth Crusade and the Latin Empire
      • Byzantine Art and the Fourth Crusade
      • Plunder, War, and the Horses of San Marco
      • Icon of the Archangel Michael
      • Byzantine architecture and the Fourth Crusade
    • Late Byzantine
      • Browse this content
      • Architecture
        • Late Byzantine church architecture
        • Late Byzantine secular architecture and urban planning
      • Deësis, Hagia Sophia
      • Picturing salvation — Chora’s brilliant Byzantine mosaics and frescoes
      • The vita icon in the medieval era
      • Byzantine miniature mosaics
      • Byzantine Griffin Panel
      • Icon with the Triumph of Orthodoxy
    • Post-Byzantine
      • Hagia Sophia as a mosque
      • Church of St. Nicholas, Balinesti
      • Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow
  • Early Medieval
    • Browse this content
    • England
      • Anglo-Saxon England
      • Sutton Hoo Ship Burial (video)
      • Sutton Hoo Ship Burial
      • The Sutton Hoo purse lid
      • The Sutton Hoo helmet
      • Decoding Anglo-Saxon art
      • Brooch from Chessell Down
      • Fibulae
      • The Lindisfarne Gospels
      • Codex Amiatinus
      • The Utrecht Psalter
    • Ireland
      • Skellig Michael
      • Clonmacnoise
      • The Ardagh Chalice
      • Saint Patrick’s Bell and Shrine
      • The Book of Kells
      • Symbolism in the Book of Kells
      • Muiredach Cross
      • The Cross of Cong
  • Carolingian
    • Browse this content
    • Carolingian art, an introduction
    • Charlemagne (part 1 of 2): An introduction
    • Charlemagne (part 2 of 2): The Carolingian revival
    • Palatine Chapel, Aachen
    • Matthew in the Coronation Gospels and Ebbo Gospels
    • Saint Matthew from the Ebbo Gospels
    • Depicting Judaism in a medieval Christian ivory
    • Lindau Gospels cover
    • Mosaics, Santa Prassede (Praxedes), Rome
    • Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, Milan
  • Ottonian
    • Browse this content
    • Ottonian art, an introduction
    • Gospel Book of Otto III
    • Cross of Lothair II
    • Bronze doors, Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim (Germany)
  • Viking Age
    • Browse this content
    • Art of the Viking Age
    • Urnes Stave Church
  • Romanesque
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Browse this content
      • Romanesque art, an introduction
      • Romanesque architecture, an introduction
      • Medieval churches: sources and forms
      • Pilgrimage routes and the cult of the relic
      • A look at modern veneration
    • France
      • Browse this content
      • Cluny Abbey
      • Saint-Pierre, Moissac
      • Last Judgment, Tympanum, Cathedral of St. Lazare, Autun (France)
      • Church and Reliquary of Sainte-Foy, France
      • Pentecost and Mission to the Apostles Tympanum, Basilica Ste-Madeleine, Vézelay (France)
      • Basilica of Saint-Sernin
      • Fontenay Abbey
      • Saint Trophime, Arles
      • Virgin and Child in Majesty
      • Casket with troubadours
      • Manuscript production in the abbeys of Normandy
    • Italy
      • The Basilica of San Clemente, Rome
      • The Romanesque churches of Tuscany: San Miniato in Florence and Pisa Cathedral
    • England
      • Browse this content
      • The Art of Conquest in England and Normandy
      • The Second Norman Conquest | Lanfranc’s Reforms
      • The English castle: dominating the landscape
      • Motte and Bailey Castles and the Norman Conquest | Windsor Castle Case Study
      • The Bayeux Tapestry
        • The Bayeux Tapestry
        • The Bayeux Tapestry, from BBC One’s Seven Ages of Britain
        • The Animated Bayeux Tapestry
      • Durham Cathedral
      • Peterborough Cathedral
      • The Morgan Leaf from The Winchester Bible
    • Ireland
      • Cormac’s Chapel
    • Spain
      • Browse this content
      • Historiated capitals, Church of Sant Miquel, Camarasa
      • “Throne of Wisdom” sculptures
      • Virgin from Ger
      • Circle of the Master of Pedret, The Wise and Foolish Virgins
      • The Painted Apse of Sant Climent, Taüll, with Christ in Majesty
      • Camel from San Baudelio de Berlanga
      • Plaque with the Journey to Emmaus and Noli Me Tangere
      • Teruel, mudéjar architecture of Aragon
      • The Cistercian Poblet Monastery
      • Conservation: Cast of the Pórtico de la Gloria
      • Medieval synagogues in Toledo, Spain
  • Gothic
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Gothic architecture explained
      • Gothic architecture, an introduction
      • Cecily Brown on medieval sculptures of the Madonna and Child
    • France
      • Browse this content
      • Architecture
        • Birth of the Gothic: Abbot Suger and the ambulatory at St. Denis
        • Chartres Cathedral
        • Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris
        • Reims Cathedral
        • Reims Cathedral and World War I
        • Amiens Cathedral
        • Sainte-Chapelle, Paris
      • Bible moralisée (moralized bibles)
      • Saint Louis Bible (Moralized Bible or Bible moralisée)
      • The Virgin of Jeanne d’Evreux
      • Christ’s Side Wound and Instruments of the Passion from the Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg
      • Ivory casket with scenes from medieval romances
    • England
      • Browse this content
      • Southwell Minster
      • Salisbury Cathedral
      • Lincoln Cathedral
      • Wells Cathedral
      • Gloucester Cathedral
      • Four styles of English medieval architecture at Ely Cathedral
      • The Chapter House of York Minster
      • Ely Cathedral’s Lady Chapel
      • Henry VII Chapel
      • The Wilton Diptych
      • Matthew Paris’s itinerary maps from London to Palestine
    • Italy, Germany, and the Czech Republic
      • Browse this content
      • The Crucifixion, c. 1200 (from Christus triumphans to Christus patiens)
      • Death of the Virgin, South portal, Strasbourg Cathedral
      • Synagoga and Ecclesia, Strasbourg Cathedral
      • Hiding the divine in a medieval Madonna: Shrine of the Virgin
      • Bonaventura Berlinghieri, Saint Francis Altarpiece
      • Inventing the image of Saint Francis
      • Venice’s San Marco, a mosaic of spiritual treasure
      • Röttgen Pietà
      • Altneushul, Prague
    • Spain
      • Spanish Gothic cathedrals, an introduction
      • The Golden Haggadah
      • The Prato Haggadah
      • Book of Morals of Philosophers
      • > Jump to Late Gothic Spanish art
    • Portugal
      • Convent of Christ, Tomar
  • Late medieval
    • Browse this content
    • The “Hileq and Bileq” Haggadah
    • Michael Pacher, St. Wolfgang Altarpiece
    • Hermen Rode, Saints Nicholas and Victor Altarpiece
    • St. George and the Dragon, Storkyrkan Stockholm
    • Cahir Castle, Ireland
  • The Crusades
    • Browse this content
    • What were the crusades?
    • How was crusading justified?
    • The when, where and who (of crusading)
    • The impact of the crusades
    • Krak des Chevaliers
    • Acre

Medieval Europe + Byzantium

  • Browse this content
  • A beginner’s guide
    • Introduction to the Middle Ages
    • A new pictorial language: the image in early medieval art
    • Pilgrimage souvenirs 
    • Chivalry in the Middle Ages
    • Mapping the world
    • A Global Middle Ages through the Pages of Decorated Books
    • Travel, trade and exploration in the Middle Ages
    • The medieval calendar
    • Medieval goldsmiths
    • The classical past
    • Musical imagery in the Global Middle Ages
    • Coming Out: Queer Erasure and Censorship from the Middle Ages to Modernity
    • The Buddha’s long “journey” to Europe and Africa
  • Christianity and art
    • Browse this content
    • Christianity, an introduction
    • The Christian Bible
    • The lives of Christ and the Virgin in Byzantine art
    • The life of Christ in medieval and Renaissance art
    • How to recognize the Four Evangelists
    • How to recognize saints
    • Architecture and liturgy
  • Judaism and art
    • Browse this content
    • Introduction to Judaism
    • Jewish history to the middle ages
    • Writing a history of Jewish architecture
  • Books in Medieval Europe
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Browse this content
      • Medieval manuscripts
      • Manuscripts: major works of art
      • Making manuscripts
      • The Bestiary
      • A Global Middle Ages through the Pages of Decorated Books
      • Visions of Paradise in a Global Middle Ages
      • Written in the Stars: Astronomy and Astrology in Medieval Manuscripts
    • Making the medieval book
      • Browse this content
      • Listening to the medieval book
      • An introduction to medieval scripts
      • A medieval textbook
      • Parchment (the good, the bad, and the ugly)
      • Making Manuscripts: The Page
      • Skins and scraps
      • The work of the scribe
      • Words, words, words: medieval handwriting
      • Making books for profit in medieval times
      • Decorating the book
      • Biblical illumination
      • Illumination of Jewish biblical texts
      • Medieval supermodels
      • Binding the book
      • Clasps: hugging a medieval book
      • Medieval books in leather (and other materials)
    • Using the medieval book
      • Browse this content
      • The medieval desktop
      • Getting personal in the margins
      • Smart bookmarks
      • Finding books
      • The medieval origins of the modern footnote
      • Medieval notepads
    • Types of medieval books
      • An Introduction to the Bestiary, Book of Beasts in the Medieval World
      • Medieval prayer-books
  • Early Christian
    • Browse this content
    • Early Christianity, an introduction
    • Early Christian art
    • Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome
    • Early Christian art and architecture after Constantine
    • Basilica of Constantine (Aula Palatina), Trier
    • Santa Maria Antiqua
    • Santa Maria Antiqua Sarcophagus
    • The Good Shepherd in Early Christianity
    • Santa Pudenziana
    • Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus
    • Basilica of Santa Sabina, Rome
    • Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
    • The Vienna Genesis
    • The Story of Jacob from the Vienna Genesis
    • Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well from the Vienna Genesis
    • Classicism and the Early Middle Ages
    • The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
  • Byzantine
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Byzantine art, an introduction
      • About the chronological periods of the Byzantine Empire
      • Icons, an introduction
      • Byzantine Iconoclasm and the Triumph of Orthodoxy
      • Ancient and Byzantine mosaic materials
      • Wearable art in Byzantium
    • Early Byzantine (including Iconoclasm)
      • Browse this content
      • Architecture
        • The origins of Byzantine architecture
        • Early Byzantine architecture after Constantine
        • Innovative architecture in the age of Justinian
        • SS. Sergius and Bacchus, preserved as the mosque, Küçük Ayasofya
        • Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
        • Byzantine architecture during Iconoclasm
      • Ravenna, Italy
        • Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy
        • Sant’Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna (Italy)
        • San Vitale and the Justinian Mosaic
        • Empress Theodora, rhetoric, and Byzantine primary sources
      • Art and architecture of Saint Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai
      • Woman with Scroll
      • Byzantine Mosaic of a Personification, Ktisis
      • Ivory Panel with Archangel
      • The Emperor Triumphant (Barberini Ivory)
      • The Vienna Dioscurides
      • Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George
      • A chalice from the Attarouthi Treasure
      • The Byzantine Fieschi Morgan cross reliquary
      • Cross-cultural artistic interaction in the Early Byzantine period
    • Middle Byzantine
      • Browse this content
      • Architecture
        • Middle Byzantine church architecture
        • Regional variations in Middle Byzantine architecture
        • Middle Byzantine secular architecture and urban planning
      • A work in progress: Middle Byzantine mosaics in Hagia Sophia
      • Theotokos mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
      • Mosaics and microcosm: the monasteries of Hosios Loukas, Nea Moni, and Daphni
      • Byzantine frescoes at Saint Panteleimon, Nerezi
      • Manuscripts
        • Book illumination in the Eastern Mediterranean
        • Illuminating the Psalms in Byzantium
        • The Paris Psalter
        • Illuminated Gospel-books
      • Middle Byzantine secular art
      • A Byzantine vision of Paradise — The Harbaville Triptych
      • Byzantium and its neighbors
        • Cross-cultural artistic interaction in the Middle Byzantine period
        • Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello
        • Saint Mark’s Basilica, Venice
        • Mobility and reuse: the Romanos chalices and the chalice with hares
        • Byzantium, Kyivan Rus’, and their contested legacies
        • The visual culture of Norman Sicily
        • The Cappella Palatina
        • The Melisende Psalter
    • The Fourth Crusade and the Latin Empire
      • Byzantine Art and the Fourth Crusade
      • Plunder, War, and the Horses of San Marco
      • Icon of the Archangel Michael
      • Byzantine architecture and the Fourth Crusade
    • Late Byzantine
      • Browse this content
      • Architecture
        • Late Byzantine church architecture
        • Late Byzantine secular architecture and urban planning
      • Deësis, Hagia Sophia
      • Picturing salvation — Chora’s brilliant Byzantine mosaics and frescoes
      • The vita icon in the medieval era
      • Byzantine miniature mosaics
      • Byzantine Griffin Panel
      • Icon with the Triumph of Orthodoxy
    • Post-Byzantine
      • Hagia Sophia as a mosque
      • Church of St. Nicholas, Balinesti
      • Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow
  • Early Medieval
    • Browse this content
    • England
      • Anglo-Saxon England
      • Sutton Hoo Ship Burial (video)
      • Sutton Hoo Ship Burial
      • The Sutton Hoo purse lid
      • The Sutton Hoo helmet
      • Decoding Anglo-Saxon art
      • Brooch from Chessell Down
      • Fibulae
      • The Lindisfarne Gospels
      • Codex Amiatinus
      • The Utrecht Psalter
    • Ireland
      • Skellig Michael
      • Clonmacnoise
      • The Ardagh Chalice
      • Saint Patrick’s Bell and Shrine
      • The Book of Kells
      • Symbolism in the Book of Kells
      • Muiredach Cross
      • The Cross of Cong
  • Carolingian
    • Browse this content
    • Carolingian art, an introduction
    • Charlemagne (part 1 of 2): An introduction
    • Charlemagne (part 2 of 2): The Carolingian revival
    • Palatine Chapel, Aachen
    • Matthew in the Coronation Gospels and Ebbo Gospels
    • Saint Matthew from the Ebbo Gospels
    • Depicting Judaism in a medieval Christian ivory
    • Lindau Gospels cover
    • Mosaics, Santa Prassede (Praxedes), Rome
    • Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, Milan
  • Ottonian
    • Browse this content
    • Ottonian art, an introduction
    • Gospel Book of Otto III
    • Cross of Lothair II
    • Bronze doors, Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim (Germany)
  • Viking Age
    • Browse this content
    • Art of the Viking Age
    • Urnes Stave Church
  • Romanesque
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Browse this content
      • Romanesque art, an introduction
      • Romanesque architecture, an introduction
      • Medieval churches: sources and forms
      • Pilgrimage routes and the cult of the relic
      • A look at modern veneration
    • France
      • Browse this content
      • Cluny Abbey
      • Saint-Pierre, Moissac
      • Last Judgment, Tympanum, Cathedral of St. Lazare, Autun (France)
      • Church and Reliquary of Sainte-Foy, France
      • Pentecost and Mission to the Apostles Tympanum, Basilica Ste-Madeleine, Vézelay (France)
      • Basilica of Saint-Sernin
      • Fontenay Abbey
      • Saint Trophime, Arles
      • Virgin and Child in Majesty
      • Casket with troubadours
      • Manuscript production in the abbeys of Normandy
    • Italy
      • The Basilica of San Clemente, Rome
      • The Romanesque churches of Tuscany: San Miniato in Florence and Pisa Cathedral
    • England
      • Browse this content
      • The Art of Conquest in England and Normandy
      • The Second Norman Conquest | Lanfranc’s Reforms
      • The English castle: dominating the landscape
      • Motte and Bailey Castles and the Norman Conquest | Windsor Castle Case Study
      • The Bayeux Tapestry
        • The Bayeux Tapestry
        • The Bayeux Tapestry, from BBC One’s Seven Ages of Britain
        • The Animated Bayeux Tapestry
      • Durham Cathedral
      • Peterborough Cathedral
      • The Morgan Leaf from The Winchester Bible
    • Ireland
      • Cormac’s Chapel
    • Spain
      • Browse this content
      • Historiated capitals, Church of Sant Miquel, Camarasa
      • “Throne of Wisdom” sculptures
      • Virgin from Ger
      • Circle of the Master of Pedret, The Wise and Foolish Virgins
      • The Painted Apse of Sant Climent, Taüll, with Christ in Majesty
      • Camel from San Baudelio de Berlanga
      • Plaque with the Journey to Emmaus and Noli Me Tangere
      • Teruel, mudéjar architecture of Aragon
      • The Cistercian Poblet Monastery
      • Conservation: Cast of the Pórtico de la Gloria
      • Medieval synagogues in Toledo, Spain
  • Gothic
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Gothic architecture explained
      • Gothic architecture, an introduction
      • Cecily Brown on medieval sculptures of the Madonna and Child
    • France
      • Browse this content
      • Architecture
        • Birth of the Gothic: Abbot Suger and the ambulatory at St. Denis
        • Chartres Cathedral
        • Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris
        • Reims Cathedral
        • Reims Cathedral and World War I
        • Amiens Cathedral
        • Sainte-Chapelle, Paris
      • Bible moralisée (moralized bibles)
      • Saint Louis Bible (Moralized Bible or Bible moralisée)
      • The Virgin of Jeanne d’Evreux
      • Christ’s Side Wound and Instruments of the Passion from the Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg
      • Ivory casket with scenes from medieval romances
    • England
      • Browse this content
      • Southwell Minster
      • Salisbury Cathedral
      • Lincoln Cathedral
      • Wells Cathedral
      • Gloucester Cathedral
      • Four styles of English medieval architecture at Ely Cathedral
      • The Chapter House of York Minster
      • Ely Cathedral’s Lady Chapel
      • Henry VII Chapel
      • The Wilton Diptych
      • Matthew Paris’s itinerary maps from London to Palestine
    • Italy, Germany, and the Czech Republic
      • Browse this content
      • The Crucifixion, c. 1200 (from Christus triumphans to Christus patiens)
      • Death of the Virgin, South portal, Strasbourg Cathedral
      • Synagoga and Ecclesia, Strasbourg Cathedral
      • Hiding the divine in a medieval Madonna: Shrine of the Virgin
      • Bonaventura Berlinghieri, Saint Francis Altarpiece
      • Inventing the image of Saint Francis
      • Venice’s San Marco, a mosaic of spiritual treasure
      • Röttgen Pietà
      • Altneushul, Prague
    • Spain
      • Spanish Gothic cathedrals, an introduction
      • The Golden Haggadah
      • The Prato Haggadah
      • Book of Morals of Philosophers
      • > Jump to Late Gothic Spanish art
    • Portugal
      • Convent of Christ, Tomar
  • Late medieval
    • Browse this content
    • The “Hileq and Bileq” Haggadah
    • Michael Pacher, St. Wolfgang Altarpiece
    • Hermen Rode, Saints Nicholas and Victor Altarpiece
    • St. George and the Dragon, Storkyrkan Stockholm
    • Cahir Castle, Ireland
  • The Crusades
    • Browse this content
    • What were the crusades?
    • How was crusading justified?
    • The when, where and who (of crusading)
    • The impact of the crusades
    • Krak des Chevaliers
    • Acre

Wells Cathedral

by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

Wells Cathedral, Wells, England, begun c. 1175. Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris. 

 

Additional resources:

Wells Cathedral website

Gothic architecture from the V&A

Smarthistory images for teaching and learning:
Wells Cathedral, chapter houseWells Cathedral, chapter house pier baseWells Cathedral, nave galleryWells Cathedral, west front central portalWells Cathedral, nave arcadeWells Cathedral, nave galleryWells Cathedral, west front central portalWells Cathedral, chapter house vaultingWells Cathedral, chapter house blind arcade facesWells Cathedral, chapter house blind arcadeWells Cathedral, chapter house viewWells Cathedral, singers holesWells Cathedral, chapter house vaultingWells Cathedral, chapter house blind arcade face

More Smarthistory images…

Cite this page as: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Wells Cathedral," in Smarthistory, July 18, 2017, accessed September 22, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/wells-cathedral/.
Flickr Icon

Browse Smarthistory images for teaching & learning!

Sign up for our newsletter!

Receive occasional emails about new Smarthistory content.

Smarthistory is a nonprofit organization

At Smarthistory we believe art has the power to transform lives and to build understanding across cultures. We believe that the brilliant histories of art belong to everyone, no matter their background. Smarthistory’s free, award-winning digital content unlocks the expertise of hundreds of leading scholars, making the history of art accessible and engaging to more people, in more places, than any other publisher.

  • Donate
  • Contact Us
facebook icon
twitter icon
instagram icon
youtube icon
flickr icon
  • About Smarthistory
  • Smarthistory’s blog
  • Contribute an essay
  • Content editors and contributors

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License