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Thepre-Romanesque period inEuropean art spans the years from the emergence of theMerovingian kingdom around 500 AD (or from theCarolingian Renaissance in the late-8th century) to the beginning of theRomanesque period in the 11th century. While the term is typically used in English to refer primarily toarchitecture andmonumental sculpture, this article will briefly cover all the arts of the period.
The primary theme during this period is the introduction and absorption ofclassical Mediterranean andEarly Christian forms with Germanic ones, which fostered innovative new results. This in turn led to the rise of Romanesque art in the 11th century. In the outline ofMedieval art pre-Romanesque was preceded by what is commonly called theMigration Period art of the "barbarian" peoples:Hiberno-Saxon in the British Isles and predominantlyMerovingian on the Continent.
In most of western Europe, theRoman architectural tradition survived the collapse of the Roman empire. TheFranks of the Merovingian polity continued to build large stone buildings likemonasterychurches and palaces.
The unification of the Frankish kingdom underClovis I (r. 481–511) and his successors corresponded with a period of building churches, and especially monastery churches, as these were now the power-houses of the Merovingian church. Two-hundred monasteries existed south of theLoire whenSt Columbanus, an Irish missionary, arrived in Europe in 585. Only 100 years later, by the end of the 7th century, over 400 monasteries flourished in the Merovingian kingdom alone.[1] The building plans often continued the Roman basilica tradition.
Many Merovingian plans have been reconstructed from archaeology. The description inBishopGregory of Tours'History of the Franks of the basilica of Saint-Martin, built atTours bySaint Perpetuus (bishop 460–490) at the beginning of the period and at the time on the edge of Frankish territory, gives cause to regret the disappearance of this building, one of the most beautiful Merovingian churches, which Bishop Gregory states had 120 marble columns, towers at the east end, and several mosaics: "Saint-Martin displayed the vertical emphasis, and the combination of block-units forming a complex internal space and the correspondingly rich external silhouette, which were to be the hallmarks of the Romanesque".[2]
The Merovingian dynasty gave way to theCarolingian dynasty in 752 AD, which led toCarolingian architecture from 780 to 900, and toOttonian architecture inEast Francia (theHoly Roman Empire) from the mid-10th century until the mid-11th century. These successive Frankish dynasties were large contributors toRomanesque architecture.
Merovingian,Carolingian andOttonian
Carolingian art is the roughly 120-year period from about 780 to 900, duringCharlemagne's and his immediate heirs' rule, popularly known as theCarolingian Renaissance. Although brief, it was very influential; northern European kings promoted classical Mediterranean Roman art forms for the first time, while also creating innovative new forms such as naturalistic figure line drawings that would have lasting influence. Carolingian churches generally arebasilican, like theEarly Christian churches of Rome, and commonly incorporatedwestworks, which is arguably the precedent for the western facades of later medieval cathedrals. An originalwestwork survives today at theAbbey of Corvey, built in 885. After a rather chaotic interval following the Carolingian period, the newOttonian dynasty revived Imperial art from about 950, building on and further developing Carolingian style inOttonian art.
Germanic pre-Romanesque art during the 120-year period from 936 to 1056 is commonly called Ottonian art after the threeSaxon emperors named Otto (Otto I,Otto II, andOtto III) who ruled theHoly Roman Empire from 936 to 1001.
After the decline of the Carolingian Empire, the Holy Roman Empire was re-established under the Saxon (Ottonian) dynasty. From this emerged a renewed faith in the idea of Empire and a reformed Church, creating a period of heightened cultural and artistic fervour. It was in this atmosphere that masterpieces were created that fused the traditions from which Ottonian artists derived their inspiration: models of Late Antique, Carolingian, and Byzantine origin.
Much Ottonian art reflected the dynasty's desire to establish visually a link to the Christian rulers of Late Antiquity, such asConstantine, Theoderich, andJustinian as well as to their Carolingian predecessors, particularlyCharlemagne.
Ottonian monasteries produced some of the most magnificent medieval illuminated manuscripts. They were a major art form of the time, and monasteries received direct sponsorship from emperors and bishops, having the best in equipment and talent available.
Prior to King Alfred the dominant art style in England was theHiberno-Saxon culture, producing inInsular art the fusion of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic techniques and motifs, which had largely ceased in Ireland and Northern England with theViking invasions. The period from the time ofKing Alfred (885) is known as the Anglo-Saxon period proper, with the revival of English culture after the end of the Viking raids, to the early 12th century, whenRomanesque art became the new movement. Anglo-Saxon art is mainly known today throughilluminated manuscripts and metalwork.
In the 7th century theCroats, with otherSlavs andAvars, came from Eastern Europe to the region where they live today. The first Croatian churches were built as royal sanctuaries, and the influence of Roman art was strongest in Dalmatia where urbanization was thickest. Gradually that influence was neglected and certain simplifications and alterations of inherited forms, and even creation of original buildings, appeared.[3]
All of them (a dozen large ones and hundreds of small ones) were built in various type forms,[3] with roughly cut stone bounded with a thick layer of mortar on the outside. Large churches are longitudinal with one or threenaves likeChurch of Holy Salvation (Croatian:Crkva Sv. Spasa) at the spring of the riverCetina, built in the 9th century, along with theChurch of the Holy Cross, Nin inNin. The largest and most complicated central based church from the 9th century is dedicated toSaint Donatus inZadar.[3]
Altar rails and windows of those churches were highly decorated with transparent shallow string-likeornament that is calledpleter (meaning to weed) because the strings were threaded and rethreaded through itself. Motifs of those reliefs were taken from Roman art; sometimes figures from the Bible appeared alongside this decoration, like pluteusrelief in Holy Nedjeljica in Zadar, and then they were subdued by their pattern. This also happened to engravings in early Croatian script –Glagolitic. Soon, the Glagolitic writings were replaced withLatin on altar rails andarchitraves of old-Croatian churches.[3] From theCrown Church ofKing Zvonimir (so calledHollow Church inSolin) comes the altar board withfigure of Croatian King on the throne withCarolingian crown, servant by his side and subject bowed to the king.[3]
By joining theHungarian crown in the twelfth century, Croatia lost its full independence, but it did not lose its ties with the south and the west, and instead this ensured the beginning of a new era ofCentral European cultural influence.
After the demise of the Carolingian Empire, France split into a number of feuding provinces, so that lacking any organized Imperial patronage, French art of the 10th and 11th centuries became localised around the large monasteries, and lacked the sophistication of a court-directed style.
Multiple regional styles developed based on the chance availability of Carolingian manuscripts (as models to draw from), and the availability of itinerant artists. Themonastery of Saint Bertin became an important centre under its abbotOdbert (986–1007) who created a new style based on Anglo-Saxon and Carolingian forms. The nearby abbey ofSaint Vaast created a number of works. In southwestern France at themonastery of Saint Martial inLimoges a number of manuscripts were produced around year 1000, as were produced inAlbi,Figeac andSaint-Sever-de-Rustan inGascony. In Paris there developed a style at the abbey ofSaint Germain-des-Prés. InNormandy a new style developed from 975 onward.
Southern Italy benefited from the presence and cross-fertilization of the Byzantines, the Arabs, and the Normans, while the north was mostly controlled first by the Carolingians. TheNormans in Sicily chose to commission Byzantine workshops to decorate their churches such asMonreale andCefalù Cathedrals where full iconographic programmes ofmosaics have survived. Important frescos and illuminated manuscripts were produced.
The first form of Pre-Romanesque inSpain andPortugal was theVisigothic art, that brought the horse-shoe arches to the latterMoorish architecture and developed jewellery.
After the Moorish occupation, Pre-Romanesque art was first reduced to theKingdom of Asturias, the only Christian realm in the area at the time which reached high levels of artistic depuration. (SeeAsturian art). The Christians who lived in Moorish territory, theMozarabs, created their own architectural and illumination style,Mozarabic art.
The best preserved Visigothic monument inPortugal is theSaint Frutuoso Chapel inBraga.
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