Image and Ornament in the Early Medieval West: New Perspectives on Post-Roman Art

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Matthias Friedrich (Universität Wien, Austria)

Image and Ornament in the Early Medieval West

New Perspectives on Post-Roman Art

Matthias Friedrich (Universität Wien, Austria)

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English

Cambridge University Press
16 March 2023

History of art: ancient & classical art; History of art: Byzantine & Medieval art; Medieval European archaeology

Scholarship often treats the post-Roman art produced in central and north-western Europe as representative of the pagan identities of the new 'Germanic' rulers of the early medieval world. In this book, Matthias Friedrich offers a critical reevaluation of the ethnic and religious categories of art that still inform our understanding of early medieval art and archaeology. He scrutinises early medieval visual culture by combining archaeological approaches with art historical methods based on contemporary theory. Friedrich examines the transformation of Roman imperial images, together with the contemporary, highly ornamented material culture that is epitomized by 'animal art.' Through a rigorous analysis of a range of objects, he demonstrates how these pathways produced an aesthetic that promoted variety (varietas), a cross-cultural concept that bridged the various ethnic and religious identities of post-Roman Europe and the Mediterranean worlds.

By: Matthias Friedrich (Universität Wien Austria)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 260mm, Width: 183mm, Spine: 14mm
Weight: 690g
ISBN: 9781009207775
ISBN 10: 1009207776
Pages: 300
Publication Date: 16 March 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

I. Moving Beyond Dichotomies: 1. The great divide; 2. The enduring power of images; II. New Perspectives: 3. Art, archaeology, and agency; 4. The bewilderment principle – ornament and surface.

A scholar of medieval archaeology and art history, Matthias Friedrich teaches in the Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology at the University of Vienna. He is the author of the award-winning Archäologische Chronologie und historische Interpretation (De Gruyter, 2016) and co-editor of the interdisciplinary volume Interrogating the 'Germanic' (De Gruyter, 2021).

Reviews for Image and Ornament in the Early Medieval West: New Perspectives on Post-Roman Art

'Both in choice of topic and geographical area of research [the book] unites areas that previously have tended to be divided by national and/or linguistic as well as academic boundaries and represents a welcome addition to this field of study... [The author's] approach is systematic, clearly presented and well argued, and credibly opens up new ways of understanding the art of the European post-Roman World.' Ingunn M. Røstad, Journal of Swedish Antiquarian Research 'It is just beautiful to see someone acknowledge and explore the vast treasure trove that is early medieval art and archaeology, with new questions and ideas in mind. The book is aesthetically pleasing and readable; deep without dragging. It is a new staple for early medieval archaeology and art history.' Anna Flückiger, Antiquity