Middle Ages

(proper noun)

The period of time in Europe between the decline of the Roman Empire and the revival of letters (the Renaissance) or, according to Henry Hallam, the period beginning with the sixth and ending with the fifteenth century.

Related Terms

Examples of Middle Ages in the following topics:

  • Ottonian Metalwork in the Early European Middle Ages

  • Islamic Calligraphy

    • Calligraphic design was omnipresent in Islamic art in the Middle Ages, and is seen in all types of art including architecture and the decorative arts.
    • As in Europe in the Middle Ages, religious exhortations such as Qur'anic verses may be also included in secular objects, especially coins, tiles, and metalwork.

  • The Early Middle Ages

    • The Medieval art of the early modern European world covers over 1000 years of art history in Europe, and at times extends into the Middle East and North Africa.
    • The medieval period ended with the self-perceived Renaissance recovery of the skills and values of classical art; after this Renaissance shift the artistic legacy of the Middle Ages was disparaged for some centuries.
    • Most illuminated manuscripts of the Early Middle Ages had lavish book-covers decked with precious metal, ivory, and jewels.

  • Pisa, Venice, and Milan

    • Italy in the late Middle Ages provided an important bridge between what had been the Medieval period, with a fashion for Byzantine and Gothic styles, and what would become the the Early Modern Period with its Renaissance style.
    • In spite of the fact that it is now a fairly small town, during the Middle Ages it was a center of religious power and home to various iconic architectural pieces, including the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
    • In the Middle Ages and into the seventeenth century it was known as the Republic of Venice, a strong power in Northern Italian politics and trade, as well as a maritime power.
    • Identify the artistic and architectural importance of Pisa, Venice, and Milan during the Middle Ages.

  • Islamic Glass Making

    • Glassmaking was the most important Islamic luxury arts of the early Middle Ages.
    • For most of the Middle Ages, Islamic luxury glass was the most sophisticated in Eurasia, exported to both Europe and China.
    • "The Luck of Edenhall," a 13th-century Syrian beaker, in England since the Middle Ages.
    • For most of the Middle Ages, Islamic glass was the most sophisticated in Eurasia, exported to both Europe and China.

  • The Mediterranean

    • In the Middle Ages, the Mediterranean Al-Andalus was a great center for culture and art, as well of philosophical and scientific thought.
    • Al-Andalus was a great cultural center of the Middle Ages.

  • Carolingian Metalwork in the Early European Middle Ages

  • Carolingian Architecture in the Early European Middle Ages

  • Norse Ships in the Early European Middle Ages

    • The Oseberg ship was discovered in a burial mound in Norway and is one of the finest artistic and archaeological finds from the Viking Age.
    • This ship is widely celebrated as one of the finest artistic and archaeological finds to have survived the Viking Age .

  • The Stone Age

    • Stone Age art illustrates early human creativity through small portable objects, cave paintings, and early sculpture and architecture.
    • The Stone Age is the first of the three-age system of archaeology, which divides human technological prehistory into three periods: the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age.
    • The Stone Age lasted roughly 3.4 million years, from 30,000 BCE to about 3,000 BCE, and ended with the advent of metalworking.
    • The art of the Stone Age represents the first accomplishments in human creativity, preceding the invention of writing.
    • By the Iron Age, civilizations with writing had arisen from Ancient Egypt to Ancient China.