Light in the Darkness

 Between the years A.D. 300 and 800 the face of Western Europe was transformed by the invasion of barbarian tribes from the north and east.  The Western Roman Empire crumbled, and with it centralized government and trade.  The population of cities declined (the population of the city of Rome, for example, went from 450,000 to a mere 20,000), as did literacy, learning, and scientific knowledge.  The era became known as the Dark Ages, although modern historians are loath to use that term.  As the gallery in the Cleveland Museum of Art shows, that time, which they refer to as the Period of Migration, was not devoid of artistic pursuits.

Here are a few items from the museum...

These objects, crafted from silver, are known as "fibulae" and they were used like safety pins to fasten ones cloak.  These come from the Alemanni, a Germanic which lived in the Rhine Valley.  (Interestingly, the tribe gave its name to the French and Spanish words for Germany...  Allemagne and Alemania respectively.)

This medallion comes from late 8th century Germany.  It is made of cloisonné enamel and gold mounted on copper.  It represents a bust of Jesus.

This gold brooch has nothing to do with the Star of David.  It dates from late 8th century or early 9th century and comes from the Frankish Kingdom of the Carolingian Period (the dynasty that culminated with Charlemagne).  It may have been used to secure a woman's veil under the chin, and it may have been an amulet to ward off bad luck.

These pieces of carved marble formed a "transenna", an openwork screen of stone or metal which surrounded a shrine within a church.  They come from Rome in the 700s or 800s when Italy was occupied by the Germanic Lombards (the tribe that gave their name to Italy's Lombardy region.)

This bronze cauldron comes from pre-Christian Hungary 

and was probably used in religious rituals.

This sandstone sculpture comes from northern England.  It was carved by the Celts and it is not part of a larger statue.  The Celts considered the human head to be the center of a person's magical energy.   Large numbers of these heads have been found in England, and they were probably venerated in shrines.

When our visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art continues we will visit the numerous galleries devoted to the High and Late Middle Ages which saw an explosion of artistic expression.