Romanesque baptistery in Florence, Italy When the last of the Carolingian Holy Roman Emperors died in 924 AD, northern Italy - including Florence and nearby Genoa - fell under the power of the Counts of Canossa: first Boniface III, then his daughter Matilda. Florence did very well under their rule: in 1059, Florence was able to rebuild its Christian baptistery in a beautiful Romanesque style. [...]
Early France: A Merovingian fibula (a pin to hold a cloak on) from the 500s-600s AD Early France: the Franks invade Gaul Who were the Franks? The Franks had been living for some time in northern Germany when the weakness of the Roman Empire tempted them to move south in the 400s AD. Compared to the Visigoths and [...]
A Late Antique ivory carving Roman art, German art, and Islamic art mixed together in Europe in the Early Middle Ages to create a new form, which we call medieval art. Art historians divide medieval art into Early Medieval, Romanesque, and Gothic art. But these types of art looked different in different places, and in the hands of [...]
Evangelists on an ivory plaque, Cologne(?), ca. 1000 AD (Now in Metropolitan Museum, New York) At first, German art after the fall of Rome was a lot like Visigothic or Merovingian art. People call German art made after the 900s AD "Ottonian" after the German emperors who were ruling at that time. Because these Otto emperors thought of themselves as being Holy Roman [...]
White Tower of the Tower of London (built in the 1060s AD) After William conquered England in 1066 AD, he needed a castle to live in when he was in London. He needed a castle that would protect London from invaders. But it had to also be a castle that would protect him, William, from angry English people. They [...]
Church of St. Sernin, Toulouse, France In 1080 AD, the church of St. Sernin in Toulouse was a busy place. Charlemagne had given the church some saints' relics, and many people stopped to pray there when they were on pilgrimage to St. Jacques de Compostela in Spain. But the little old church, built in the 300s AD under Roman rule, was too [...]
St. Germain des Pres (Paris, 1000 AD) In 542 AD, the Merovingian king Childebert (Clovis' son) was fighting the Visigoths in Spain when he heard that the people of Saragossa were praying to St. Vincent to save them. Childebert decided not to fight people under the protection of a Christian saint, and the people were so grateful to be [...]
Façade of Pisa's Duomo We call this kind of building Romanesque because it is a little like Roman architecture, with its columns and round arches. But people built Romanesque buildings around 1000-1200 AD instead of during the Roman Empire. The fall of the Roman Empire, about 500 AD, made everybody in the empire poorer than they were before. But the people [...]
Leaning Tower of Pisa Why did Pisa build a Leaning Tower? The Leaning Tower of Pisa wasn't supposed to lean at all. It was supposed to just be the bell tower for the Cathedral of Pisa. It was to hold the bells that rang to tell people when to come to church. But they built [...]
Cathedral of Pisa (the Duomo) This is the cathedral of medieval Pisa, in Italy. The architects built the cathedral in the Romanesque style around 1064 AD. The rounded arches are typical of the Romanesque style. So is the floor plan of the building, with many little bits sticking out all over. Façade of Pisa's Duomo The outside of the [...]
