Early Christian Art, the Middle Ages, and Bestiaries Module 8 done

The illusionary quality of classical art posed a significant problem for early Christian theologians.
God forbade the Israelites from making any graven image (Exodus 20:4).
Early Christians saw themselves as spiritual progeny of the Israelites and tried to comply with this commandment.
Many early Christians were converted pagans accustomed to images in religious worship, making it difficult to abandon the visually compelling use of images in religious ritual.

Tertullian, an influential early Christian author, wrote On Idolatry, questioning if artists could be Christians.
He argued that all illusionary art has the potential to be worshiped as an idol.
Tertullian acknowledged that many artists were Christians, even priests.
He ultimately asked artists to quit their work and become craftsmen.

St. Augustine of Hippo was concerned about images for different reasons.
In his Soliloquies (386-87), Augustine observed that illusionary images, like actors, are lying.
An actor lies by playing a part, while an image lies because it is not what it claims to be.
Augustine could not reconcile these lies with divine truth and did not see a place for images in Christian practice.
Augustine's position echoes Plato's view in The Republic, Book X (c. 360 B.C.E.), where Plato describes a true thing as having been made by God, while in the earthly sphere, a carpenter can only build a replica of this truth. Plato states that a painter who renders the carpenter's bed creates an illusion that is two steps from the truth of God.

Christian art moved away from naturalistic representation and toward abstraction.
Artists abandoned classical artistic conventions like shading, modeling, and perspective.
They favored flat representations that only looked nominally like their subjects.
These abstracted images removed some temptations for idolatry.
This new style created a comfortable distance between the new Christian empire and its pagan past.
In Western Europe, this approach dominated until the Carolingian Renaissance (800-814) under Charlemagne.
The controversy over images continued and intensified in the Byzantine Empire.
The issue was resolved in favor of images during the Second Council of Nicaea in 787.

Petrarch referred to the period between the fall of the Roman Empire (c. 476) and his time (c. 1330s) as the Dark Ages.
He believed it was a period of intellectual darkness due to the loss of classical learning.
Later historians transformed "Dark Ages" into "Middle Ages."
The Middle Ages is broadly defined as the period in Europe between the end of antiquity in the fifth century and the Renaissance in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Characterizing the Middle Ages as a period of darkness is misleading.
It was a period during which Christianity flourished in Europe.
Christianity brought new views of life and the world that rejected the traditions and learning of the ancient world.
The Roman Empire fragmented into smaller political entities.
The geographical boundaries for European countries today were established during the Middle Ages.
This period saw the formation and rise of universities, the establishment of the rule of law, ecclesiastical reform, and the birth of the tourism industry.
Many works of medieval literature, such as the Canterbury Tales, the Divine Comedy, and the Song of Roland, are widely read today.
The visual arts prospered, creating its own aesthetic values.
Wealthy members of society commissioned cathedrals, churches, sculpture, painting, textiles, manuscripts, jewelry, and ritual items from artists.
Many commissions were religious, but medieval artists also produced secular art.

The Byzantine Empire is not as romanticized as Western Europe in the Middle Ages.

Bestiaries were popular illuminated texts in northern Europe during the Middle Ages (about 500-1500).
Medieval Christians understood every element of the world as a manifestation of God, and bestiaries focused on each animal's religious meaning.
The book brought creatures both real and fantastic to life, offering Christian inspiration and entertainment.
Stories and images from bestiaries appeared in various art forms, from tapestries to ivories.

The unicorn's symbolism is complex and influential.
The unicorn was described as a wild, untamable beast that could be captured only by a maiden.
Upon meeting the maiden, the unicorn would lay its head in her lap, making it vulnerable to hunters.
The unicorn symbolized the Incarnation, when Christ was conceived in the Virgin Mary, rendering him human and vulnerable to death.
The maiden represents the Virgin Mary, and the killing of the unicorn is an allegory for Christ's death.
The unicorn became a focus of romance and chivalry, transforming from a religious symbol.

The lion was known in the bestiary as the "king of beasts."
Lion cubs were believed to be born dead and brought to life after three days by their parents licking and breathing on them.
This behavior was believed to be a reflection of the Crucifixion of Christ and his Resurrection three days later.

The Parandrus is a four-legged beast that can move its long horns independently.
One horn can face forward and the other backward to defend against dual threats.
Interaction between text and image was a hallmark of the bestiary tradition.

The eagle was supreme among birds.
The eagle was described as losing its sight as it grows old, only to be rejuvenated by gazing at the sun.

The dragon is the king of serpents.
It is depicted as a fire-breathing specimen.
The section of the text that describes the power of the dragon's tail is visually interrupted by the tail itself, demonstrating the formidable nature the beast as well as the meaningful ways in which text and image interacted in the bestiary.