Early Christian and Early Medieval Art - useful terms
BOOKS
Documents
A book was called a codex, and this was most commonly used in
Insular and European circles. In Italian and Byzantine circles
rolls (do not call them "scrolls") were also used. Books were made
of vellum or parchment - animal hide. The best was young
animal hide. It has been estimated that it took 40 sheep or cattle to
make a Gospel Book, which had some 200-300 pages. A full Bible had some
2,000 or more pages.
Gospel Book
Contained St Jerome's prefaces explaining his translation and
commenting on each Gospel; canon tables; and 4 Gospels (note capital "G").
This is NOT a New Testament! Commonly decorated with any or all of:
carpet pages, Evangelists, Evangelist Symbols,
. Canon tables were also commonly decorated. Later
European Gospel Books also often included a Majesty.
Carpet Page
Full page decoration resembling a carpet or book cover, commonly found
at the beginning of each Gospel in a Gospel Book, also sometimes found
before St Jerome's Prefaces, and in the Book of Kells also before the
enlarged "Chi" initial.
Evangelist
For art historical purposes, the author of one of the Gospels, i.e.
Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.
Evangelist Symbol
Images of winged or unwinged creatures associated with each of the
Evangelists. For Matthew, a winged/unwinged man (NOT an angel!); for
Mark, a winged/unwinged lion; for Luke, a winged/unwinged bull; for John,
an eagle. These images function as identifiers in Evangelist portraits,
and sometimes they appear instead of portraits of the Evangelists. Note
that they can also represent the Beasts of the Apocalypse. You will know
which from the context.
Majesty
Christ enthroned, surrounded by Evangelists or their symbols, and
often also angels and prophets. Anything less is not a Majesty.
Psalter
Book of Psalms. Commonly decorated with three or five painted
pages, corresponding to the traditional divisions of the book. Usually
these pages feature David.
Pandect
Full Bible in a single volume. Usually in the Early Middle Ages,
Bibles were divided into several volumes - of which you already know the
Psalter and the Gospel Book. Pandects are quite rare. With around 2,000
pages, you are looking at around 400 sheep or cattle to make one. Very
expensive.
METALWORK
Chipcarving
A cast technique for complex patterns with facetted recesses. Usually
gilt. Commonly used for interlace, animal interlace, bird interlace.
Early examples also show spiral patterns and fret patterns. You'll
find it in Insular work, also pre-Viking, Carolingian, and Lombardic
work.
Filigree
The use of fine wires to create designs. Usually the wire is gold,
but it can be silver. Other metals were not used in the Middle Ages. The
wires used were of various types: plain (like hair), ribbon
(flattened), beaded, twisted. Filigree was commonly used
for simplified foliate designs based on the acanthus scroll. A common
feature was the creation of "beehives" by coiling beaded wire into tiny
domes.
Enamel
Glass ground into powder form and fused into a glaze by firing. Two
common types were champlevée (design hollowed out of the
metal and powder placed into the recessed areas), and
cloisonée (design created with fine wires, and powder placed
between the wires). Early Insular enamel was champlevée, red, and
commonly used for spiral patterns. Byzantine and European enamel could
be either type and was multicoloured.
Millefiore
Several glass rods of different colours fused together and stretched
to one or two milimetres' thickness. This then chopped like a cucumber
into fine slices, where the different colours made patterns like flowers
or chequerboards.
Gems
Do not call them "jewels". In the Early Middle Ages gems were merely
polished, not facetted, so colour was more important than twinkle. Rock
crystal was used rather than diamond by Insular and European metalworkers.
In Europe saphire, ruby and emerald were popular. They produce an elusive
white star or cross when polished. Other "gems" commonly used in Europe
were pearls, Antique cameos (where the design is raised against the
ground), and Antique intaglios (where the design is carved into the
ground). Insular metalworkers used amber, jet, coral and coloured glass
studs. Polished gems with flat bottoms are called cabochons. A
plain rim setting is a bezel - which was mostly used until about
Charles the Bald's time, when claw settings began to appear.
Sheet Metal
The metal has been hammered into flat "sheets" of whatever thickness
was desired. Very fine sheet metal is foil. Foil is usually gold
or silver.
Repoussée
Also called embossed work. The design is hammered into sheet
metal from behind. There is no limit to the complexity and subtlety which
can be attained with this technique. The end result is fragile, however,
and when mounted it should be supported from behind with a solid filling
of pitch.