The Middle Ages: Ottonian
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| Uta Codex (Uta Presents the Codex to Mary), c. 1020, Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm. 13601, f. 2, recto (digitized) |
The average person believes that the Middle Ages was a dark period because of the way films, books, and the media has portrayed it to be. This time period is viewed to the less important time period between two important ones. However, art from the Middle Ages consisted of abstract and naturalistic art that did not follow a dark theme. In fact, ideologies and beliefs of the Middle Ages were the foundations of what we know today. In 942, Henry the Liudolfing's son, Otto, became emperor (which is where the "Ottonion" period got it's name from) and became alliances with the pope. The Saxon's contact with Rome played a huge role in the development of Ottonian art. Ottonian art consists of manuscripts, metal work, carvings, and churches/cathedrals.
Depicted above is an illuminated manuscript, also known as "scriptoria", which is the art of monastery painting and writing in schools. In the picture, a powerful Abbess named Uta is presenting her Codex to Saint Mary. At the time, these manuscripts were used to illustrate the Ottanian's religious beliefs. Now, artworks like this one give us an idea about the Ottonian's religious and political beliefs, as well as their stylistic preferences. Although many believe that the Middle Ages are portrayed to be some of the darkest years, this pictures proves that myth wrong. This piece stands out to me because one of its main characters is Saint Mary. Although this piece was created thousands of years ago, Saint Mary is still a popular symbol in current religions. For example, Catholics praise and worship Saint Mary. This is interesting to me because no matter how old religious beliefs are, they have the power to stay alive.
Speaking of religion, the Ottonians also created churches and cathedrals. Many of these churches and cathedrals contained ideas that came from Roman art. The walls inside of these cathedrals proved the myth of the "Middle Ages being dark" wrong as well. In previous blog posts, I have included the walls from inside of mosques in my blog. These Ottonian church walls have many similarities: they are colorful and magnificent. Although the Middle Ages is proposed to be dark, the ideologies, beliefs, and artwork from this time period prove this idea to be incorrect.
1. Valdes, V., & Valdes, V. (2020). Ottonian art, an introduction. Retrieved October 03, 2020, from https://smarthistory.org/ottonian-art-an-introduction/
Hello Amanda
ReplyDeleteI think you are right, in the movies the middle ages are portrayed as a dark time, when really it wasn't. Most of the art was extremely religious, and I think this time period is filled with absolutely gorgeous art. However, on the other hand, some of their religious artwork can be kind of dark. For instance the Throne of Wisdom piece is gothic and dark. Great Job!
Hello Amanda,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great blog post. I totally agreed with your point about how the middle ages are portrayed to be dark in movies and other entertainment purposes when in all reality they aren’t. I really like the illuminated manuscript that you wrote about. I thought that this specific piece was quite interesting because of the different figures inside the piece itself. I thought you did a great job explaining who and what was going on in this piece above. Thank you for helping us understand what is actually going on here.
Hey there Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI as well did a blog post this week on Ottonian art! Just like the common misconception of the dark ages, I as well believed this time was a very dark period all around. Scriptoria is such a beautiful manuscript and is a great illustration of the world they were living in. I think you did a good job introducing the dark theme misconception and providing the exact opposite, that in the manuscript. Nice work!