Medieval Europe began as small percolations, tribal groups briefly rising to fill the vacuum of power left after the fall of the Roman Empire. The Christian religion, imported from Rome, emerged as a unifying force. Christian scriptoria became the center of European learning. Cathedral-building programs and, later, pilgrimage routes bolstered the economy. Using specific examples of art from at least two medieval cultures, explain how art reflects the political circumstances of its respective culture.
Arts
1. Pair of Merovingian looped fibulae, from Jouy-le-Comte, France, mid-sixth century. Silver gilt worked in filigree, with inlays of garnets and other stones, 4″ high. Musée d’archéologie nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye
2. Belt buckle, from the Sutton Hoo ship burial in Suffolk, England, ca. 625. Gold, 5 1/4″ long. British Museum, London (gift of Mrs. E. M. Pretty).
