The Role Of Art In The Late Anglo-saxon Church (oxford Historical Monographs)

This study explores the role of early medieval religious art in its historical context, focusing on England from the reign of Alfred the Great to the aftermath of the Norman conquest. Tenth and eleventh century society expressed itself extensively through visual means, and the surviving material provides a rich body of evidence for the religious culture of the time. Combining visual and documentary evidence, 'The Role of Art in the Late Anglo-Saxon Church' sheds new light on a wide range of magnificent art works and their functions, and offers fresh perspectives on the ecclesiastical history and beliefs of late Anglo Saxon England, with important implications for the study of early medieval civilization in general. List of Illustrations ix Abbreviations xii Introduction 1 1. The Illustration of Texts 6 Inherited Illustrations 9 The Physical Relationship of Text and Image 19 Frontispieces 20 Interspersed Imagery 30 Integrated Imagery 35 Modes of Illustration 41 Narrative Illustration 43 Complementary Illustration 45 Literal Illustration 48 The Effect of Illustration 53 2. Inscriptions 70 Written Content 76 The Appearance of Inscriptions 94 3. Visual Language: Setting the Scene 105 Introduction 105 Physical Form 107 4. Repetitions of Motif and Image and their Possible Implications 118 Repetition of Decorative Motif and the Co-ordinated Environment 118 Repetition of Imagery and Re-affirmation of Faith 126 5. Pictorial Narrative 135 6. Composition 150 Introduction 150 The Frame and Its Contents 152 Overlapping 160 Scale 166 Setting 176 Landscape 176 Architecture 180 Symbolic 185 Diagrammatic 187 7. Decoration 192 The Frame 192 Form 192 Function 208 Decorated Initials 213 Organization 216 Imagery 226 8. Broader Perspectives 235 The Reformed Monastic Houses: diversity in uniformity 235 North and South 237 The Monastic Church and the Secular Church 241 The Monasteries and the Secular World 248 Man and the Divine 260 Bibliography 266 Index of Art Objects 295 Index of Manuscripts 301 Index of People and Places 307

· An exploration of the role of early medieval religious art in its historical context, focusing on England from the reign of Alfred the Great to the aftermath of the Norman conquest.

Tenth and eleventh century society expressed itself extensively through visual means, and the surviving material provides a rich body of evidence for the religious culture of the time. Combining visual and documentary evidence, The Role of Art in the Late Anglo-Saxon Church sheds new light on a wide range of magnificent art works and their functions, and offers fresh perspectives on the ecclesiastical history and beliefs of late Anglo Saxon England, with important implications for the study of early medieval civilization in general.

Various contributors describe basic theories, facts and experience useful for economists interested in development and taxation who wish to keep abreast of theoretical and empirical developments in contemporary research. Many of the chapters in this book are technical because they contain the formal expressions and theoretical arguments that are quantified in empirical analysis This study explores the role of art in medieval society, focusing on Anglo-Saxon England from the reign of Alfred the Great to the Norman Conquest. Combining visual and documentary evidence, it sheds new light on many magnificent art works, and offers fresh perspectives on the history of tenth- and eleventh-century England.