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Europe After the Fall of Rome: Early Medieval Art in the West MEDIEVAL EUROPE THE ART OF THE WARRIOR LORDS Art and Status: Art historians do not know the full range of art and architecture these "barbarian" peoples produced. A Frankish Lord's Costly Pin: Most characteristic, perhaps, of the prestige adornments was the fibula, a decorative pin the Romans (and the Etruscans before them) favored. 16-1 Frankish looped fibula, sixth to seventh century. A King's Final Voyage: The Beowulf saga also recounts the funeral of the warrior lord Scyld, who was laid to rest in a ship set adrift in the North Sea overflowing with arms and armor and costly adornments. 16-2 Purse cover from the Sutton Hoo ship burial in Suffolk, England, ca. 625. The Pirates of the North: In 793 the pagan traders and pirates known as Vikings (named after the viks –coves or "trading places" ----- of the Norwegian shorelines) set sail from Scandinavia and landed in the British Isles. Two Women Buried in a Viking Ship: The art of the Viking sea rovers was early associated with ships ----with wood and the carving of it. 16-3 Animal-head post, from the Oseberg, Norway, ship burial, ca. 825. Monsters Writhing on a Christian Church: By the eleventh century, much of Scandinavia had become Christian, but the Viking artistic traditions persisted. 16-4 Wood-carved portal of the stave church at Urnes, Norway, ca. 1050–1070. MEDIEVAL EUROPE |