Key Terms for Early Medieval Art
- Anglican
- Anglo-Saxon
- animal style (for more information see animal style)
- chalice (for more information see chalice)
- cloisonné (for more information see cloisonné enameling)
- dolmen (for more information see dolmen)
- gallery (for more information see gallery)
- fibula (for more information see fibula [pl. fibulae] )
- high cross
- hoard
- illuminated manuscript (for more information see illuminated manuscript)
- interlace
- lost-wax casting
- manuscript
- megalith
- parchment (for more information see parchment)
- paten
- psalter (for more information see psalter)
- relic
- reliquary
- repoussé
- rune stones
- tempera (for more information see tempera)
- vellum (for more information see vellum)
Although they have previously been referred to as "Anglo-Saxons," the people of early England were not of a singular cultural identity. The period and place were quite diverse. People may have sometimes referred to themselves as Anglicans (or Anglecynns) or Englisc, but Anglo-Saxon is an invented identity with more recent ties to racist and nationalist ideologies.
1. In the fifth century C.E., people from tribes called Angles, Saxons, and Jutes left their homelands in northern Europe to settle in Britain.
2. relating to or denoting the Germanic inhabitants of England from their arrival in the 5th century up to the Norman Conquest.
Decoration consisting of interwoven, distorted animals, a typical style in Early Medieval northern European art. Also known as animal interlace.
A cup, usually of gold or silver, used to hold the consecrated wine during the celebration of the Eucharist in a Christian church.
A metalwork technique in which wires are soldered onto a metal surface to form compartments (cloisons). The compartments are filled with enamel or cut gemstones.
A megalithic tomb built with two or more upright stones capped by a flat stone. Dolmens dating to the Neolithic period are found in Britain and Western Europe.
In church architecture, an upper story above the aisle and overlooking the nave. Also known as a tribune.
A brooch used to fasten garments at the shoulder in antiquity and the Early Medieval and Byzantine periods. Often made of precious materials and highly decorated, fibulae (pl.) worked like modern safety pins.
A free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated used as boundary markers of significant territories or sacred land and as monuments to political power.
Also known as a standing cross.
a stock or store of money or valued objects, typically one that is secret or carefully guarded.
A manuscript decorated with pictures or designs to enhance the text.
a motif in which ribbon-like bands are depicted in a way that creates the illusion of being woven over and under each other; interweave.
The most common method of using molten metal to make hollow, one-of-a-kind sculptures. When heat is applied to the clay mold, the wax layer within melts and forms channels, which the artist then fills with molten metal.
A book or document written by hand. A manuscript in which the text is supplemented by paintings is called an illuminated manuscript.
A large stone used to construct a structure or monument, such as a tomb or a stone circle. The term megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, especially during the Neolithic period in Europe.
The skin of an animal (sheep, calf or goat) prepared for writing and/or painting. Parchment was used for the production of books in antiquity and the Middle Ages. The finer variety of parchment is called vellum.
A plate, typically made of gold or silver, used for holding the bread during the celebration of the Eucharist in a Christian church.
A book of psalms.
A body part or object associated with a religious figure, such as Christ, the Christian saints, or the Buddha.
An ornate container for a relic or relics.
In metalworking, a technique for creating patterns or images in relief by hammering or pressing from the reverse side of a metal sheet.
Runes are letter forms from a family of alphabets used to write Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon and other Germanic languages before the adoption the Latin alphabet in Northern Europe, often a result of Christianization. Runestones are stones with runes carved onto them.
A painting medium made by blending egg yolks with water and pigments.
The skin of a young animal (lamb, calf or kid) prepared for writing and/or painting. Used for the production of books in antiquity and the Middle Ages. The coarser variety, made from the skin of an older animal, is called parchment.
