Early Medieval Europe ID + Vocab

Merovingian looped fibulae

Early Medieval Europe

Mid-sixth century CE

Silver gilt worked in filigree, with inlays of garnets and other stones

Lindisfarne Gospels

Early medieval (Hiberno Saxon) Europe

c. 700 CE

Illuminated manuscript (ink, pigments, and gold on vellum)

Animal style

a medieval art form in which animals are depicted in a stylized and often complicated pattern, usually seen fighting with one another

Chasing

to ornament metal by indenting into a surface with a hammer

Cloisonné

enamelwork in which coloured areas are separated by thin bands of metal, usually gold or bronze

Codex

a manuscript book

Colophon

(1) a commentary on the end panel of a Chinese scroll

(2) an inscription at the end of a manuscript containing relevant information on its publication

Fibula

a clasp used to fasten garments

Gospels

the first four books of the New Testament that chronicle the life of Jesus Christ

Horror Vacui

a type of artwork in which the entire surface is filled with objects, people, design, and ornaments in a crowded, sometimes congested way

Illuminated manuscript

a manuscript that is hand decorated with painted initials, marginal illustrations, and larger images that add a pictoral element to the written text

Parchment

a writing surface made from animal skins; particularly fine parchment made of calf skin is called vellum

Scriptorium

a place in a monastery where monks wrote manuscripts

Zoomorphic

having elements of animal shapes