Anglo-Saxon art

Anglo-Saxon art was produced during the Anglo-Saxon age, a period in English history that lasted from about 410 to 1066 C.E. The artwork reflected the evolution of the Anglo-Saxon people, who migrated from mainland Europe in the early fifth century, converted to Christianity, and established a kingdom in southern Great Britain. Their art was especially noteworthy for its highly detailed metalwork and intricate, colorful designs used to illustrate religious manuscripts. The Viking invaders of the late Anglo-Saxon period destroyed or plundered much of the island's artwork, leaving little to survive to the present day. Among the notable surviving works are the Fuller Brooch, the Lindisfarne Gospels, and the Bayeux Tapestry.

Brief History

The island of Great Britain had been under the rule of the Roman Empire since the first century C.E. By the early fifth century, however, Roman power was in decline and the empire's outer provinces were left to fend for themselves. With Rome no longer defending Great Britain, the island was vulnerable to attacks from invading forces. Irish tribes attacked from the west, the Picts moved in from the north, and three Germanic tribes—the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—poured in from the region of modern-day Denmark and northern Germany. By the sixth century, these Germanic invaders controlled the southern part of the island and became known as Anglo-Saxons. The kingdom they established was called England, a named derived from the Old English "Land of the Angles."

Overview

The early art of the period reflected the pagan and Germanic origins of the Anglo-Saxon people. Artisans of the era were highly skilled in metalwork and produced intricately designed brooches and buckles that contained a dense maze of patterns. These interwoven shapes consisted primarily of animal images and human faces that were designed to tell a story or act as a puzzle or riddle. A sixth-century gold brooch housed in the British Museum contains a menagerie of at least two dozen animals, birds' heads, and human faces. Some images are believed to represent the Norse god Odin and his two mystical ravens.

Later Anglo-Saxon metalwork still displayed the interwoven mazes and puzzles of earlier designs but was more refined and polished. The animals on these objects were still hidden in a twisted pattern of shapes, but their ringed-dot eyes and four-toed feet made them easier to make out. A belt buckle unearthed at a seventh-century burial site in Sutton Hoo, England, is an example of this style. The artifact, thought to belong to an Anglo-Saxon noble or king, displays thirteen animal shapes, including dogs, birds, and snakes. The Fuller Brooch, a round, silver clasp from the ninth-century, contains sixteen images of humans, animals, and birds around its edge. At its center are five human figures, each demonstrating one of the five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

A century after warring tribes seeking land descended upon Great Britain, Christian missionaries seeking religious converts began to arrive. In the sixth century, the Anglo-Saxons began embracing Christianity, and by the seventh century, England was completely Christianized. In the newly established monasteries, literacy was highly prized. Monks would painstakingly transcribe biblical passages and religious texts using the same highly detailed and intricate styles as other Anglo-Saxon art. These texts were called illuminated manuscripts because of the rich colors and gold leaf used in the illustrations. Perhaps the most famous are the Lindisfarne Gospels, transcribed and illustrated between 698 and 721 by Eadfrith, the Bishop of Lindisfarne. To create the gospels, Eadfrith used about ninety colors made from minerals and vegetable extracts. The pages feature embellished, colorful lettering with precise spiraling designs and symbols interwoven throughout. At the beginning of each of the four gospels is a brightly colored carpet page, a full page of intricate geometric patterns that did not contain text. The gospels were kept at the monastery in the northeast of England and survived a raid by Viking marauders in 793.

The onset of the Viking Age, which began with the attack on Lindisfarne, caused panic across the island and throughout the rest of Europe. The Norsemen at first came to England to plunder the island's riches. Their prime targets were monasteries, which were storehouses of medieval wealth and usually undefended. Religious manuscripts and tapestries were of no use to the Vikings who destroyed such objects. They were more interested in gold and silver artwork and relics, and carried countless troves back to their homelands in the North. As a result, much early Anglo-Saxon art was lost or destroyed during the era.

Anglo-Saxon architecture, which was primarily constructed of wood, also fell victim to the Vikings, who turned their attention to conquering England by the mid-ninth century. Among the architecture that survived were two large stone pillars called the Sandbach Crosses. The crosses, believed to have been built sometime in the ninth century, were elaborately carved with animals and biblical scenes. Some later stone monuments combine Anglo-Saxon elements with Norse influences.

The Anglo-Saxon era came to an end when William, Duke of Normandy, crossed the English Channel and invaded England in 1066. William installed himself as King of England after his decisive victory at the battle of Hastings on the southeastern coast of England. The battle is the subject of the last great piece of Anglo-Saxon art: the Bayeux Tapestry. The tapestry is actually embroidery made of eight different types of colored wool. It tells the story of the invasion and events leading up to it from William's victorious point of view. The tapestry is made of eight pieces of linen sewn together into a 20-inch high, 230-foot long panel. As is typical of Anglo-Saxon art, it is brightly colored and includes numerous figures, such as six hundred humans and more than seven hundred animals. The borders of the tapestry are filled with images of lions and dragons and scenes of people hunting and farming. As was the case with the metalworking of the early Anglo-Saxons, the needlework of eleventh-century England was renowned across Europe. This leads experts to believe that the tapestry was probably made by English embroiderers over the course of years.

Bibliography

"Anglo Saxon Art." Medieval Chronicles, www.medievalchronicles.com/medieval-art/anglo-saxon-art/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2016.

"Bayeux Tapestry." Medieval Life and Times, www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-art/bayeux-tapestry.htm. Accessed 20 Oct. 2016.

"'Dark Ages': Arts & Invention." English Heritage, www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/dark-ages/arts-and-invention/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2016.

Di Consiglio, Flavia. "Lindisfarne Gospels: Why Is This Book So Special?" BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/21588667. Accessed 21 Oct. 2016.

Higham, Nicholas, and M. J. Ryan. The Anglo-Saxon World. Yale University Press, 2009.

Karkov, Catherine E. The Art of Anglo-Saxon England. The Boydell Press, 2011.

Mason, Emma. "10 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About the Anglo-Saxons." History Extra Magazine, 22 Jan. 2016, www.historyextra.com/article/alfred-great/10-facts-anglo-saxons-history. Accessed 20 Oct. 2016.

Weetch, Rosie. "Decoding Anglo-Saxon Art." British Museum, 28 May 2014, blog.britishmuseum.org/2014/05/28/decoding-anglo-saxon-art/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2016.