A History of Art and Civilization: The Medieval World

PREFACE
CHAPTER 1: THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE TRADITIONS
Historical Overview
The Beginnings of the Hebrew People
The Age of the Patriarchs
Portraits from the Past—Joseph, the Favorite Son
The Exodus
The Conquest
The Rise and Fall of the Israelite Nation
The United Monarchy
The Period of the Two Kingdoms
Puzzles from the Past—The Lost Ark of the Covenant
The Babylonian Captivity
Persian Rule
The Maccabean Revolt
Roman Rule and the Siege of Masada
Puzzles from the Past—The Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls
The Christian Religion
Portraits from the Past: The Life of Jesus
Puzzles from the Past—Veronica’s Veil and the Shroud of Turin
The Gospels
The Mission of St. Paul
St. Paul’s Views on Women
Mithraism
The Period of Persecution and Constantine’s Vision
Early Christian Architecture
Uncovering the Past—Dura-Europas and the Catacombs of Rome
The Byzantine Empire
Historical Overview
The Golden Age of Justinian
The Magnificent Hagia Sophia
San Vitale in Ravenna
Christian Christograms
The Importance of Icons
The Iconoclastic Controversy
The Byzantine Legacy in Italy and Russia
Suggested Readings from the King James Version of the Christian Bible

CHAPTER 2: THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES AND THE RISE OF ISLAM
The Foundations of Medieval Europe
Historical Overview
The Roman Catholic Church
The Rise of the Barbarians
Portraits from the Past—St. Augustine, from Sinner to Saint
The City of God
St. Augustine’s Views on War and Peace
Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy
Christian Monasticism
Historical Overview
St. Anthony, St. Jerome, and St. Simeon
The Founding of Benedictine Monasticism
The Rule of St. Benedict
Pope Gregory
The Celtic World
Historical Overview
Celtic Religion
The Roman Period
Portraits from the Past—St. Patrick and St. Brigid, Patron Saints of lreland
Celtic Christianity
Chronicling the Past—The Venerable Bede
Celtic Art
The Art of Manuscript Illumination
Uncovering the Past—The Legend of King Arthur
The Rise of Islam
Historical Overview
Portraits from the Past—Mohammed’s Mission
Islamic Beliefs
The Spread of Islam
Suggested Readings from St. Augustine’s The Confession and The City of God

CHAPTER 3: THE FLOWERING OF MEDIEVAL AND ISLAMIC CULTURE
Historical Overview
The Franks
Portraits from the Past: The Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne
Charlemagne’s Educational Revolution
Carolingian Art and Architecture
The Song of Roland
Women’s Voices—Dhuoda, a Frankish Mother
Anglo-Saxon England and the Age of the Vikings
Historical Overview
Alfred the Great
The Voyages of the Vikings
The Norman Conquest of England
Historical Overview
The Bayeux Tapestry
Medieval Tapestries
Feudalism
Manorialism
The Medieval Castle
Medieval Music and Drama
The Gregorian Chants and the Liturgical Tropes
Women’s Voices—The Plays of Hrotsvit, a Saxon Canoness
The Morality Play Everyman
The Flowering of Islamic Culture
Historical Overview
Islamic Art and Architecture
The Dome of the Rock
Moorish Spain
The Flowering of Jewish Culture in Spain
The Alhambra
Islamic Poetry
Suggested Readings from The Song of Roland, Thais, and Everyman

CHAPTER 4: THE TWELFTH-CENTURY RENAISSANCE
Historical Overview
The Growth of Towns and the Guilds
The Growth of Monasticism
The Medieval Pilgrimage
Romanesque Architecture
Gothic Architecture
Chartres Cathedral
The Cathedral Builders
The Rise of the University
Historical Overview
The Universities of Paris and Oxford
The Town-and-Gown Riots
The Oxford Colleges
Student Life
Portraits from the Past—The Tragic Lovers Abelard and Heloise
The Scholasticism of Thomas Aquinas
Medieval Alchemy
The Age of Knighthood and Chivalry
The Knight—Historical Overview
Medieval Armor
Jousting Tournaments and Heraldry
The Code of Chivalry
The Code of Courtly Love
Historical Overview
The Rules of Courtly Love
The Troubadours
Women’s Voices—The Lais of Marie de France
The Arthurian Romances
The Medieval Romance
A Legend Is Born
The Fall of Camelot
The Search for the Holy Grail
The Once and Future King
Suggested Readings from The Summa Theologica, Marie de France, and L’Morte d’Arthur

CHAPTER 5: THE DECLINE OF THE MIDDLE AGES
Historical Overview
The Crusades
Historical Overview
The First Crusade
The Second and Third Crusades
Portraits from the Past—The Irrepressible Eleanor of Aquitaine
The Later Crusades
The Military Orders of Warrior Monks
Puzzles from the Past—The Mysterious Knights Templars
The Spiritual Revolution of St. Francis of Assisi
Portraits from the Past—St. Francis of Assisi, God’s Troubadour
Women’s Voices—St. Clare of Assisi
St. Francis and the Natural World
The Bubonic Plague
Historical Overview
The Plague Years
The Peasants’ Revolts
The Hundred Years’ War
Historical Overview
The Battles of the Hundred Years’ War
Portraits from the Past—Joan of Arc
The End of the “Age of Knights”
The End of the “Age of Faith”
Historical Overview
Gnosticism and the Cathars
The New Babylonian Captivity
The Great Schism
Late Medieval Literature
Historical Overview
Dante’s Journey of Self-Discovery
Chaucer’s Pilgrimage
Women’s Voices—Christine de Pisan
Suggested Readings from Dante’s Divine Comedy, The Prologue of The Canterbury Tales, and the Works of Christine de Pisan

INDEX