THE ART OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
FA143aMr. McClendon
MW 3:30-4:50pm Mandel Center 209
Office Hours: Tuesday 3-5pm & by apt. Email:
Course Description: A survey of the art and architecture in the British Isles from the end of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance. Particular concern for the unique synthesis of native and foreign cultures and their artistic styles, resulting from such major historical developments as the barbarian invasions, the Norman Conquest, and political rivalry with France.
Required Textbooks: (available in paperback at the Brandies University Bookstore)
Leslie Webster, Anglo-Saxon Art (Cornell University Press, 2012).
Beowulf, trans. Burton Raffel (Penguin, 2008; or other trans. if already have a copy)
Course Structure: The course is divided into three parts: 1) The Birth of England; Celts, Romans & Anglo-Saxons; 2) Vikings and Normans: c.800 to c.1200; 3) The Age of Chivalry: French Influence and English Creativity from c.1200 to c.1500.
Requirements: There will be an image exam, involving identification of major works of art and commentary on their importance, at the ends of Part I (Wed, Feb 14) and Part II (Wed, Mar 28). There will be a take-home written exam for the third and last section, in lieu of a formal final exam, due on or before Mon, Apr 30. Students will be asked to choose from a list of topics and write a brief essay referring to works of art discussed in class.No additional research aside from class notes and assigned readings should be necessary.
There will also be occasional short questionnaires during the semester to assist with reading assignments and class discussions.Timely completion of the questionnaires is required but not graded; they will be returned with feedback. Two short (2-3 pages) written exercises; one in prep for first exam and other involving description and analysis of one of more works of art at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, due mid-late April. Admission to the museum is free with a Brandeis student ID.No outside research needed.
Grading: The approximate value of each requirement is as follows: each of the three exams (20%), two short written exercises (20%), attendance and class participation (20%).
Handouts: Lists of major monuments, with identification information, and pertinent reading assignments in textbooks and on Latte will be distributed at the beginning of each of the three parts of the course.
Latte: In addition to the textbooks, selected readings will be available on Latte and assigned as cited on the monuments lists. Images will also be available on Latte for study and review before each exam.
Class Regulations: Make-ups for exams and extensions for the paper deadline will be granted only for family emergencies and documented medical reasons.
Learning Goals: Developing the ability to analyze works of art and architecture and to convey this in writing, developing a sophisticated descriptive vocabulary in relation to works of art, recognizing artistic styles and their historical contexts, understanding the function and meaning of works of art and how they are products of the particular culture that produced them, analyzing written documentation and the way it can provide insights into the context and meaning of works of art and architecture, gaining knowledge about many of the greatest artistic and architectural creations of the British Isles.
Following the standards of the New England Association of Schools & Colleges, the Dean of Arts & Sciences has asked that the following statement be posted on all syllabi:
Four-Credit Course (with three hours of class-time per week)
Success in this 4 credit hour course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, discussion sections, preparation for exams, etc.).
Please read the following guidelines carefully:
If you are a student who needs academic accommodations because of a documented disability, you should contact me immediately and present a letter of accommodation as soon as possible. Accommodation cannot be granted retroactively.
You are expected to be honest in all your academic work. The University policy on academic honesty is distributed annually as section 5 of the Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Instances of alleged dishonesty will be forwarded to the Office of Student Life for possible referral to the Student Judicial System. Potential sanctions include failure in the course and suspension from the University. If you have any questions about my expectations, please do not hesitate to ask.
In addition to Fine Arts and Creative Arts requirements, this course counts toward fulfillment of both the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program. Please contact the instructor if you wish more information about thisinterdisciplinary program.
Laptop computer/electronic device policy:
Students are allowed to use laptop computers and other electronic devices under the following conditions: 1) The computer/electronic device is to be used exclusively to access material or to take notes related directly to this course; 2) Students using such devices are expected to pay attention to instructor presentations and general course discussions as well as to make a concerted effort to look up regularly and establish eye contact with peers and the instructor during such class activities; 3) if a student does not follow above items one and/or two, the permission to bring such a computer/device to this class may be denied.
THE ART OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
FA143AMr. McClendon
General List of Topics Covered in Lectures
Introduction: A Clash of Cultures
Part One: The Birth of England: Celts, Romans and Anglo-Saxons
Britain before the English
1)The Legacy of the Celts
2)The Legacy of the Romans
3)St. Patrick and the Christianization of Ireland
Anglo-Saxon England
1)The Barbarian Tradition
2)The Christianization of England
3)The Northumbrian Renaissance
- The World of the Venerable Bede
- The Art of the Book
- The Sculpture of the High Crosses
4)The Book of Kells and the Arrival of the Vikings
Part Two: Vikings and Normans
1) Reform and Renewal in the Tenth Century
- Architecture
- Manuscript Illumination
2) The Viking Impact
Norman England
1)The Conquest of 1066 and the Bayeux Tapestry
2)Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London
3)The Great Cathedrals
4)The Character of Anglo-Norman Romanesque Art
- Manuscripts
- Sculpture
Part Three: The Age of Chivalry: French Influence and English Creativity
1)Canterbury, Thomas Becket and the Arrival of Gothic Art and Architecture
2)Westminster Abbey and the French Court Style
3)Uniquely English Styles: Decorated and Perpendicular
4)Castles
5)The Art of the Late Middle Ages
6)The City of York and the Birth of English Theater
7)The Threshold of the Renaissance
Epilogue: The Legacy of Medieval Art in England: Revivals and Romance
THE ART OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
Table of Dates: Part I
3rd century BCEArrival of the La Tene Celts in British Isles
55 BCEJulius Caesar’s first invasion of Britain
43 CERoman invasions under the Emperor Claudius
122-133Construction of Hadrian’s Wall
144Construction of Antonine Wall
211Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies in Britain
306Roman Emperor Constantine Chlorus dies in Britain, his troops
declare his son Constantine Emperor
312Constantine conquers Rome and converts to Christianity
410Roman Emperor Honorius announces withdrawl of Roman forces
from Britain; city of Rome sacked by theGoths
mid-5th centuryPatrick in Ireland
mid-5th centuryAngles, Saxons and Jutes migrate to Britain
563Columba from Ireland founds island monastery on Ionaoff the
west coast of Scotland
590Columbanus of Ireland founds monastery of Luxeuil in France
590-604Reign of Pope Gregory the Great
597Mission of Augustine from Rome to Canterbury and conversion
of King Aethelbert of Kent
635Mission of Aidan from Iona to Lindisfarne
654Wilfrid and Benedict Biscop make their first pilgrimage to Rome
663/4Synod of Whitby
669 Theodore of Tarsus (in Asia Minor) arrives as Archbishop of
Canterbury
673Benedict Biscop founds monastery of Monkwearmouth in
Northumbria
681Benedict Biscop founds monastery of Jarrow in Northumbria
690Mission of Willibrord to the Frisians
716Wynfrith (Boniface) leaves for Frisia, martyred 754
736Death of the Venerable Bede
793First Viking attacks on British Isles at Lindisfarne
800Charlemagne, king of the Franks and the Lombards, crowned
Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III at St Peter’s outside Rome
806/7Monastic community abandons Iona for Kells in Ireland
THE ART OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
Table of Dates: Parts II and III
866-868Danes attack Northumbria and Mercia
871-899 Reign of King Alfred the Great
940-988Dunstan: abbot of Glastonbury, bishop of London, and archbishop
of Canterbury
959-975Reign of King Edgar, patron of monastic reform and revival
963-984Aethelwold, bishop of Winchester
979-1013Reign of King Aethelred the Unready, married Emma daughter of
Richard I, Duke of Normandy
991Battle of Maldon, Vikings defeat English forces
1016-1035Reign of King Cnut, also king of Denmark
1042-1066Reign of Edward the Confessor, son of Aethelred and Emma
1066Battle of Hastings (October 14)
1066-1087Reign of William I (the Conqueror), also Duke of Normandy
1100-1135Reign of Henry I; Duchy of Normandy annexed to England
1152Henry II (king, 1154-1189) marries Eleanor of Aquitaine, formerly
wife of king of France
1170Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, martyred on Dec. 29,
canonized 1173
1215Magna Carta signed by King John (1199-1216)
1216-1272Reign of King Henry III
1277-1283 King Edward I (1272-1306) conquers Wales & builds castles
1290Death of Eleanor of Castile, wife of King Edward I
1337Hundred Years’ War with France begins
1348-1349The Black Death
1380William of Wykeham, bishop of Winchester (1367-1404) founds
New College, Oxford
1399King Richard II deposed, replaced by Henry IV
1400Death of Geoffrey Chaucer
1453Battle of Castillon ends Hundred Years’ War
1455-1485War of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and York
1485Battle of Bosworth, death of King Richard III
1485-1509Reign of King Henry VII, House of Tudor
1509-1547Reign of King Henry VIII
1517Martin Luther initiates the Protestant Reformation in Germany
1534 Commons declares King Henry VIII head of the Church of
England, breaking with the supreme authority of the Pope in Rome
1536-1540Dissolution of the monasteries of England