Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Works: Have feeling for it. You can look at work of art as it was meant to be seen, as an expression of a feeling, sensation- experience. Why are you reached emotionally. Taste it, do you like it or dislike it? Why do you like it? What turns you on emotionally? Anyone can describe, but what does it express?
The most common subject matter ever is mother and child, the essence of Christianity, Agape, giving love.
Pollock surprises. A comment on his work "infante de delas plais st mark pose sont em(s)" I finally understand why the picture of St. Mark ... there.
Irish: How do I know what I think if I don't say it? You must be true to emotion. Buddhists talk of Nirvana. Rothko painted black and then took his life.
The becoming of Gothic architecture: When building churches needed light, clerestories. St. Ambrose in Milan.
Abbot Serge, a very small man who came from where no one knows, but suddenly he was ruling a rich country well, without dishonesty. He constructed a church, St. Denis, now inside of Paris city limits.
Chartres is a culmination of effects.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartres_Cathedral) It was 'Cathedral School,' then, educating. Its structure imitated St. Denis. It was said that beneath laid the robe that Mary wore during the Annuciation. 1194 led a new church to be built, only the robe surving the fire. Serge based thinking on Platonic: We are led by faith, emotion, and only after we realize, scrutinize, understand. The best emotion to cultivate is to seek beauty, as the ultimate beauty is God, to simulate seeking of truth by sensual excitement. Reason prevents Theos. Medieval thinking backed this. Before others, the idea that first comes feeling then comes reasoning. All mystical knowledge is acquired this way. First comes inspiration, then comes expression of inspiration. By collecting stones, Serge though the expression would lead to God. Peter Abarlard first wanted to understand, but did not live this way as had great love with Eloise, a nun (see profound beautiful letter exchange). He led organized thinking, at Cathedral schools, leading straight to creation of Sorbonne, near after he died in 1070ish. Universities were similar to todays, but different. They were organized around four subjects theology, philosophy (everything that pertained to material knowledge), medicine, and law. Universities were often run by students, hiring students. SCholastic teaching was developed, 'shola' meaning knowledge that can be learned and transmitted through school, opposed to individual seeking of knowledge: St. Bernard's idea. St. Bernard tried to have Abelard ex-communicated for science above inspiration. Faith ought to be blind, otherwise it is knowledge. One of greatest teachers of philosophy was __ and then Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas came up with scholastic philosophy. He died at 49 years old. He remains head of eternal philosophy, derived from Aristotle, observation not Plato, ideas. It was poetic, poetry is intuition and the expression. Now it's knowledge first, Aquinas. What is point of proving love or existence of God, if you want to believe it. From Aquinas and Artistotle's point of view, nihil in intellecto, corno en sensu, nothing should be in intellect before it comes through the senses.
Romanesque architecture was almost brutal. Heavy. "If a Romaneqse Church should fall down, there'd be a lot of rubble, if a Gothic church little"
Paernovsky, art historian, wrote about Gothic scholasticism. Knowledge negated impulse, calmed Vikings. Viking doors with edges express something terrible. Matilde of Kenosa, an Italian, mediated between Pope and Holy Roman Emporer. Elanor of Aquitane was married to French king then Henry of England. She had three daughters and five sons, two sons became kings, including Richard the Lionhearted. She lived until over ninety. Cathedrals were houses of people, creating cities.
Ladies of the court were highly cultivated in the art, and the troubadours dedicated their lives to a certain woman and played all for the lady everywhere, perhaps never seeing her. Life was humanized with cities, all were cultivated. Courtship was courtly life, and elevated. "Marriage without love means love without marriage" An exquisite manner of relationship developed, a courting that lasted until recently. Louis the 14th built Versailles, ruled for 70 years, and took his hat off to any woman he saw anywhere. Women want to be protected. They need it. They need a strong protector for their children.
Chartres, the City of God is also the city of People. A fire didn't end the facade, thus built different tower. It doesn't matter that they don't macth. 20% of the stained glass is original. Statues at Chartres, Kings and queens of France, best works of 'art.' They are attached to a system. The expression of their faces are so benevolent, so 'agape,' pure, men can also experience this pacifity and expression, going forward. Content overwhelms form. If your heart is touched (unless you become like little children you will not enter kingdom of heaven" let yourself be possessed, let someone take you. Paul Claudere wrote poem to Mary, mother of god: mother of god, i am not coming to pray, i have nothing to offer, i have no demands, i am just coming to look at you to cry of happiness to know that i'm you're son and you love me. This distinguished diplomat writes like a child and then it counts. The best actor could not express as much as distorted love, which is why art needs to be distorted to a degree, why it shows more.
Paul Claudal:"He rejected his whole traditional literary education to take refuge in the poetry of Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, and especially Arthur Rimbaud, who was to be a lifelong source of inspiration. Rimbaud, he wrote later, revealed the supernatural to him and was in part responsible for his return to the Catholic faith, which he had abandoned."
"What is not clear is not French"
Facade of Nortre Dame very rational, stained glass is sensual. Natural light comes into church, a manmade church filtered through the supernatural.
West usually Christ in judgement. On north, old testament, on south, new testament
The most common subject matter ever is mother and child, the essence of Christianity, Agape, giving love.
Pollock surprises. A comment on his work "infante de delas plais st mark pose sont em(s)" I finally understand why the picture of St. Mark ... there.
Irish: How do I know what I think if I don't say it? You must be true to emotion. Buddhists talk of Nirvana. Rothko painted black and then took his life.
The becoming of Gothic architecture: When building churches needed light, clerestories. St. Ambrose in Milan.
Abbot Serge, a very small man who came from where no one knows, but suddenly he was ruling a rich country well, without dishonesty. He constructed a church, St. Denis, now inside of Paris city limits.
Chartres is a culmination of effects.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartres_Cathedral) It was 'Cathedral School,' then, educating. Its structure imitated St. Denis. It was said that beneath laid the robe that Mary wore during the Annuciation. 1194 led a new church to be built, only the robe surving the fire. Serge based thinking on Platonic: We are led by faith, emotion, and only after we realize, scrutinize, understand. The best emotion to cultivate is to seek beauty, as the ultimate beauty is God, to simulate seeking of truth by sensual excitement. Reason prevents Theos. Medieval thinking backed this. Before others, the idea that first comes feeling then comes reasoning. All mystical knowledge is acquired this way. First comes inspiration, then comes expression of inspiration. By collecting stones, Serge though the expression would lead to God. Peter Abarlard first wanted to understand, but did not live this way as had great love with Eloise, a nun (see profound beautiful letter exchange). He led organized thinking, at Cathedral schools, leading straight to creation of Sorbonne, near after he died in 1070ish. Universities were similar to todays, but different. They were organized around four subjects theology, philosophy (everything that pertained to material knowledge), medicine, and law. Universities were often run by students, hiring students. SCholastic teaching was developed, 'shola' meaning knowledge that can be learned and transmitted through school, opposed to individual seeking of knowledge: St. Bernard's idea. St. Bernard tried to have Abelard ex-communicated for science above inspiration. Faith ought to be blind, otherwise it is knowledge. One of greatest teachers of philosophy was __ and then Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas came up with scholastic philosophy. He died at 49 years old. He remains head of eternal philosophy, derived from Aristotle, observation not Plato, ideas. It was poetic, poetry is intuition and the expression. Now it's knowledge first, Aquinas. What is point of proving love or existence of God, if you want to believe it. From Aquinas and Artistotle's point of view, nihil in intellecto, corno en sensu, nothing should be in intellect before it comes through the senses.
Romanesque architecture was almost brutal. Heavy. "If a Romaneqse Church should fall down, there'd be a lot of rubble, if a Gothic church little"
Paernovsky, art historian, wrote about Gothic scholasticism. Knowledge negated impulse, calmed Vikings. Viking doors with edges express something terrible. Matilde of Kenosa, an Italian, mediated between Pope and Holy Roman Emporer. Elanor of Aquitane was married to French king then Henry of England. She had three daughters and five sons, two sons became kings, including Richard the Lionhearted. She lived until over ninety. Cathedrals were houses of people, creating cities.
Ladies of the court were highly cultivated in the art, and the troubadours dedicated their lives to a certain woman and played all for the lady everywhere, perhaps never seeing her. Life was humanized with cities, all were cultivated. Courtship was courtly life, and elevated. "Marriage without love means love without marriage" An exquisite manner of relationship developed, a courting that lasted until recently. Louis the 14th built Versailles, ruled for 70 years, and took his hat off to any woman he saw anywhere. Women want to be protected. They need it. They need a strong protector for their children.
Chartres, the City of God is also the city of People. A fire didn't end the facade, thus built different tower. It doesn't matter that they don't macth. 20% of the stained glass is original. Statues at Chartres, Kings and queens of France, best works of 'art.' They are attached to a system. The expression of their faces are so benevolent, so 'agape,' pure, men can also experience this pacifity and expression, going forward. Content overwhelms form. If your heart is touched (unless you become like little children you will not enter kingdom of heaven" let yourself be possessed, let someone take you. Paul Claudere wrote poem to Mary, mother of god: mother of god, i am not coming to pray, i have nothing to offer, i have no demands, i am just coming to look at you to cry of happiness to know that i'm you're son and you love me. This distinguished diplomat writes like a child and then it counts. The best actor could not express as much as distorted love, which is why art needs to be distorted to a degree, why it shows more.
Paul Claudal:"He rejected his whole traditional literary education to take refuge in the poetry of Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, and especially Arthur Rimbaud, who was to be a lifelong source of inspiration. Rimbaud, he wrote later, revealed the supernatural to him and was in part responsible for his return to the Catholic faith, which he had abandoned."
"What is not clear is not French"
Facade of Nortre Dame very rational, stained glass is sensual. Natural light comes into church, a manmade church filtered through the supernatural.
West usually Christ in judgement. On north, old testament, on south, new testament
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Romanesque characterized by a round arch. Saint Sernin in Toulouse is Romanesque (http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/r/images/romanes_sernin.aerial2.lg.jpg). There were many altars there because the monks wanted to pray daily. The tower lantern was built later. Typical Romanesque interiors are not very wide, and showed purpose, logically constructed with own function.
The third church of Cluny, 430ft long, 115ft wide, an enormous church where 1000-2000 monks lived permanently with everything needed for a community. Imagine a festivity, like Easter (Christmas celebrated in 5th century), or the epiphany, the revelation (when Jesus became Christ, Christ in Jewish means messiah).(http://www.shafe.co.uk/crystal/images/lshafe/Cluny_III_1088.jpg) Cluny was mother church of Europe.
Speyer is an imperial church in Germany, somehow continuation of Hildesheim, though the ceiling was originally wood beams. Speyer is a big church, Romanesque.
St. Ambrogio (Ambrose) in Milan (http://bp3.blogger.com/__1RfwF20OwI/R-cbS-GLoBI/AAAAAAAAAn0/m5A2wGKyoOE/s320/381.JPG) is an older transept-less church. Its ceiling is problematic, three half spheres attached because they didn't know how to put on same level. The ribs start at the second pier, the same distance from the altar, a larger radius and unpleasant.
The Church of St Etienne was built in 1067, one year after 1066, the Normand conquest. William came from France to conquer England because "by moral and natural law England is always inferior to France" (said a Frenchman). The French always looked for a legal reason to conquer, and as it was said that Edward left the kingdom to William. The only laws passed in the Middle Ages were in the name of God. William, the Duke of Normandy, France, decided to conquer England. Harold came down from north and stopped at Hastings, England's lower part, where William was disembarking troops. The battle started at noon, but Harold was on a hill and could easily have stopped the Normands. William gave up in the evening due to this, and the Normands retreated. The English joyfully saw this, and wanted to get them, so came down from the hill. It was then William turned around his troops and got them.
St. Etienne's heavy bottom columns are in order with human nature, heavy at the bottom.(http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/49/5849-004-7064D7AC.jpg) In New York and such modern cities with skyscrapers we surrender to this unbalance of natural order. Yet in St. Etiennes the columns are appealing to our nature, logically, as is St. Sernin on geometric units.
The cathedral at Pisa has each column slightly different, but working together. Ivan Galantic wishes the tower at Pisa would fall down, as the quietly beautiful cathedral and cemetery are overshadowed by this silly tower, repaired as it was being built.
The Baptistry in Florence... in statues things are endlessly tense, but this building is the opposite, an ice-cold geometry. (http://www.freefoto.com/images/14/08/14_08_2---Baptistry--Florence--Italy_web.jpg) Whoever thinks of such boring shapes? The worshipped it endlessly because they thought it was an ancient Roman building, every Florentien baptised there. This geometry lasted till the end of the 16th century, almost 500 years, cold and emotionless (as the Italians, said Ivan Galantic, they are expressionless. Sonata is four, cold movements, and everything in Italy is ordered. Such cold forms are invented in Florence.)
The bas-relief of St. Toulouse/Sernin is repititious (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3488/3271411052_44d10426c8.jpg?v=0), not very imaginative or expressive. These ideas were transferred from manuscripts and painted.
The Panenello de Wiligelmo (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Wiligelmo,_pannello_1.jpg) shows Adam and Eve, Eve coming out of Adam's rib and introducing him to non-innocent ideas. They stopped wondering about things. Such knowledge, as modern knowledge of ending the world, kills.
In the modern US, often good people will reason only after they submit to the preacher. Absolute faith, such in examples of Jonestown, leads to absolute submission under some power.
The Vikings had incredible energy, and didn't know what to do with it. They fought, they explored, they burned enormous energy and finally found reasoning. They reasoned with architecture. It is like modern rock or jazz music (if it is not improvisation it is not good, real jazz), fresh and worth listening to. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Abadia_de_Saint-Pierre_de_Moissac_-_Portalada_Sud_de_Moissac.JPG) The columns, of types, express different content, but not one touch is not done under extreme tension. Whatever they touch was on fire, except for Gregorian chants.
St. Bernard led a Benedictine order against these things. He asked the point of this excitement, suggested others quiet down and go pray. Tartarende de lescone, everyone is lying, is no good.
The Battle of Hastings (https://wimmerhg.wikispaces.com/file/view/bayeux_tapestry.jpg/34409337) is a piece of cloth very arbitrarily done, which illustrates the whole battle. It tells the whole story, and shows the desire to record an event, and we see where the emphasis was. The horses have different colored legs.
Another important event: The Bishop preached the first Crusade. The Christians left from northern France, the West, and attacked Arabs/Muslims. Possibly, a certain amount of influence was learning how to build from the Arabs. The Arabs were ahead, more learned, and some of those who went on the Crusades and had seen the accomplishments of the Arabs refused to join the unions because they could get better wages is they were hired directly. They called themselves 'free maisons,' keeping what they had learned as a secret, passing it from father to son. They were persecuted, defended by the King of England, and further persecuted later on.
The 'Thought-Crusades' in 1202,3 were organized, but the people didn't know how to get to the Holy land from the West, so they hired the Venetian army. They could not pay, but the Venetians gave them jobs, such as to take the capital of Croatia. Another idea was to take Constantinople. Now, here are the Christians who want to liberate the Holy land from infedels, and they are sacking and destroying the Eastern Christianity's center. Constantinople never regained its former glory. In 1052, 3, 4, two cardinals were sent from Rome, a Frenchman and an Italian, were empowered by the Pope to represent him, to Byzantine, where the two behaved badly. They didn't understand the culture, and worked on imagination.
When a Muslim leader from Egypt, called Saladin, defeated the Christians, and did not slaughter them as they had done for the Muslims, but let religious freedom reign.
The third church of Cluny, 430ft long, 115ft wide, an enormous church where 1000-2000 monks lived permanently with everything needed for a community. Imagine a festivity, like Easter (Christmas celebrated in 5th century), or the epiphany, the revelation (when Jesus became Christ, Christ in Jewish means messiah).(http://www.shafe.co.uk/crystal/images/lshafe/Cluny_III_1088.jpg) Cluny was mother church of Europe.
Speyer is an imperial church in Germany, somehow continuation of Hildesheim, though the ceiling was originally wood beams. Speyer is a big church, Romanesque.
St. Ambrogio (Ambrose) in Milan (http://bp3.blogger.com/__1RfwF20OwI/R-cbS-GLoBI/AAAAAAAAAn0/m5A2wGKyoOE/s320/381.JPG) is an older transept-less church. Its ceiling is problematic, three half spheres attached because they didn't know how to put on same level. The ribs start at the second pier, the same distance from the altar, a larger radius and unpleasant.
The Church of St Etienne was built in 1067, one year after 1066, the Normand conquest. William came from France to conquer England because "by moral and natural law England is always inferior to France" (said a Frenchman). The French always looked for a legal reason to conquer, and as it was said that Edward left the kingdom to William. The only laws passed in the Middle Ages were in the name of God. William, the Duke of Normandy, France, decided to conquer England. Harold came down from north and stopped at Hastings, England's lower part, where William was disembarking troops. The battle started at noon, but Harold was on a hill and could easily have stopped the Normands. William gave up in the evening due to this, and the Normands retreated. The English joyfully saw this, and wanted to get them, so came down from the hill. It was then William turned around his troops and got them.
St. Etienne's heavy bottom columns are in order with human nature, heavy at the bottom.(http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/49/5849-004-7064D7AC.jpg) In New York and such modern cities with skyscrapers we surrender to this unbalance of natural order. Yet in St. Etiennes the columns are appealing to our nature, logically, as is St. Sernin on geometric units.
The cathedral at Pisa has each column slightly different, but working together. Ivan Galantic wishes the tower at Pisa would fall down, as the quietly beautiful cathedral and cemetery are overshadowed by this silly tower, repaired as it was being built.
The Baptistry in Florence... in statues things are endlessly tense, but this building is the opposite, an ice-cold geometry. (http://www.freefoto.com/images/14/08/14_08_2---Baptistry--Florence--Italy_web.jpg) Whoever thinks of such boring shapes? The worshipped it endlessly because they thought it was an ancient Roman building, every Florentien baptised there. This geometry lasted till the end of the 16th century, almost 500 years, cold and emotionless (as the Italians, said Ivan Galantic, they are expressionless. Sonata is four, cold movements, and everything in Italy is ordered. Such cold forms are invented in Florence.)
The bas-relief of St. Toulouse/Sernin is repititious (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3488/3271411052_44d10426c8.jpg?v=0), not very imaginative or expressive. These ideas were transferred from manuscripts and painted.
The Panenello de Wiligelmo (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Wiligelmo,_pannello_1.jpg) shows Adam and Eve, Eve coming out of Adam's rib and introducing him to non-innocent ideas. They stopped wondering about things. Such knowledge, as modern knowledge of ending the world, kills.
In the modern US, often good people will reason only after they submit to the preacher. Absolute faith, such in examples of Jonestown, leads to absolute submission under some power.
The Vikings had incredible energy, and didn't know what to do with it. They fought, they explored, they burned enormous energy and finally found reasoning. They reasoned with architecture. It is like modern rock or jazz music (if it is not improvisation it is not good, real jazz), fresh and worth listening to. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Abadia_de_Saint-Pierre_de_Moissac_-_Portalada_Sud_de_Moissac.JPG) The columns, of types, express different content, but not one touch is not done under extreme tension. Whatever they touch was on fire, except for Gregorian chants.
St. Bernard led a Benedictine order against these things. He asked the point of this excitement, suggested others quiet down and go pray. Tartarende de lescone, everyone is lying, is no good.
The Battle of Hastings (https://wimmerhg.wikispaces.com/file/view/bayeux_tapestry.jpg/34409337) is a piece of cloth very arbitrarily done, which illustrates the whole battle. It tells the whole story, and shows the desire to record an event, and we see where the emphasis was. The horses have different colored legs.
Another important event: The Bishop preached the first Crusade. The Christians left from northern France, the West, and attacked Arabs/Muslims. Possibly, a certain amount of influence was learning how to build from the Arabs. The Arabs were ahead, more learned, and some of those who went on the Crusades and had seen the accomplishments of the Arabs refused to join the unions because they could get better wages is they were hired directly. They called themselves 'free maisons,' keeping what they had learned as a secret, passing it from father to son. They were persecuted, defended by the King of England, and further persecuted later on.
The 'Thought-Crusades' in 1202,3 were organized, but the people didn't know how to get to the Holy land from the West, so they hired the Venetian army. They could not pay, but the Venetians gave them jobs, such as to take the capital of Croatia. Another idea was to take Constantinople. Now, here are the Christians who want to liberate the Holy land from infedels, and they are sacking and destroying the Eastern Christianity's center. Constantinople never regained its former glory. In 1052, 3, 4, two cardinals were sent from Rome, a Frenchman and an Italian, were empowered by the Pope to represent him, to Byzantine, where the two behaved badly. They didn't understand the culture, and worked on imagination.
When a Muslim leader from Egypt, called Saladin, defeated the Christians, and did not slaughter them as they had done for the Muslims, but let religious freedom reign.
There was a belief at the time that Apostle James was buried in north western Spain, thus all routes led there. The people felt it would be good for the soul to pay him visit, to see the relics. For them it was really exciting to see the real thing, the accomplishments of their lives. Their strong faith moved them.
AROUND 1000 things settled down in Europe a bit. The great movements were over. Traveling was impossible. Just before year 1000, great famine occured and St. Peter's roof burned down. "Mille, nope mille." Imagine if electricity was lost now, that's how it was, but returned in year 1000 from the 'white blanket.' (In art: what happened, how was it expressed? What is art an expression of?) There was enormous energy from the empire(church) and state (feudal lords).
Democrats and Republicans.... one party accuses the other of spending, et cetera. Those who was less government control enormous industries.
In battle between feudal lords and centrality, what happened in 1216? The magna carte, issued by the king and resisted by feudal lords. It was the beginning of freedom. The magna carte wasn't needed in Italy though, as they had in 1187ish a municipal organization (Milan, etc) that came up with own elected administration, rather democratic. in 14th century, democracy developed in Florence.
There are two stories. One is of bitter fights, the other of the church, challenging the empire. Only educated people had a chance through the church, to both be educated and implement their education. Remember even Charlemagne couldn't! The church was truly democratic, as process was based only on intelligence. Great families were more powerful, but that was taken care of by those forced to change their name when entering church, disengaging from family and putting all at same level in monastery.
Religious men lived in monasteries. Cluny was very rich, a gift from feudal lord John of Aquitane, so that they were only responsible to the church. Around 1049, an abbot was elected to rule for life, sixty years in his case. Once he was elected for life, everyone in the monastery knew there was no room for politic-ing, bringing peace. Perhaps this led to Cluny's explosion of culture, like Greece in 480 under Pericles (Socrates, Parthenon, Plato, Milon). *To create peace, confidence is needed. Doubt sucks energies. Yet confidence is of course dangerous, as seen in 1022 with Alcuin. Alcuin was extraordinary in his ability. Before him, the lead intellectual said, "I believe my knowledge on faith, first is faith, then comes knowledge."
"First I have to know, then faith/fate," said Alcuin though. Faith and analytical knowledge are opposite activities/attitudes. Only those with faith, without doubt, can accomplish greatness. The more intelligent ones can make it to great heights. In crucial moments of history, young people are elected by older people to lead world, see Alexander the Great or Hannibal or Napolean (all in their twenties). When Christianity was in dire danger, when Turks only had to disembark in Italy and walk to Rome to conquer, in 1571ad, all of the west panicked, except for France. They tried to do something, the other countries did, to put a Navy together. But who would command? Andrea Doria, and admiral of Venice, was chosen. He was 23/24 at the time/when command came. All were subordinate to him. Why so young? Young people who have proven to be able don't have reason for doubt. They go like an arrow, all out. Many of them have lived. That is where it comes "first faith, then knowledge," for they have to trust first and figure out after. During WWII, in England, the intelligent thinking of Chamberlain chose the mentally-child-like Churchill, a bully, who would think only one way. For he followed a 'faith' first, before the reason itself came.
Perhaps 'theos,' God within, took over during Cluny's height. Christianity was implemented in the hands of the educated in monasteries. During that time, Russia's first city came about in modern Unkraine. Vladimir, the ruler, sent his people religion shopping, and they picked up Byzantine's beauty, not Rome's rationality. Bulgaria comes from the Vulgars of Russia. At the time Arabs and Jews lived in peace in Spain, both interested in scholarship. The finest synagogues in the modern world are still in Spain.
AROUND 1000 things settled down in Europe a bit. The great movements were over. Traveling was impossible. Just before year 1000, great famine occured and St. Peter's roof burned down. "Mille, nope mille." Imagine if electricity was lost now, that's how it was, but returned in year 1000 from the 'white blanket.' (In art: what happened, how was it expressed? What is art an expression of?) There was enormous energy from the empire(church) and state (feudal lords).
Democrats and Republicans.... one party accuses the other of spending, et cetera. Those who was less government control enormous industries.
In battle between feudal lords and centrality, what happened in 1216? The magna carte, issued by the king and resisted by feudal lords. It was the beginning of freedom. The magna carte wasn't needed in Italy though, as they had in 1187ish a municipal organization (Milan, etc) that came up with own elected administration, rather democratic. in 14th century, democracy developed in Florence.
There are two stories. One is of bitter fights, the other of the church, challenging the empire. Only educated people had a chance through the church, to both be educated and implement their education. Remember even Charlemagne couldn't! The church was truly democratic, as process was based only on intelligence. Great families were more powerful, but that was taken care of by those forced to change their name when entering church, disengaging from family and putting all at same level in monastery.
Religious men lived in monasteries. Cluny was very rich, a gift from feudal lord John of Aquitane, so that they were only responsible to the church. Around 1049, an abbot was elected to rule for life, sixty years in his case. Once he was elected for life, everyone in the monastery knew there was no room for politic-ing, bringing peace. Perhaps this led to Cluny's explosion of culture, like Greece in 480 under Pericles (Socrates, Parthenon, Plato, Milon). *To create peace, confidence is needed. Doubt sucks energies. Yet confidence is of course dangerous, as seen in 1022 with Alcuin. Alcuin was extraordinary in his ability. Before him, the lead intellectual said, "I believe my knowledge on faith, first is faith, then comes knowledge."
"First I have to know, then faith/fate," said Alcuin though. Faith and analytical knowledge are opposite activities/attitudes. Only those with faith, without doubt, can accomplish greatness. The more intelligent ones can make it to great heights. In crucial moments of history, young people are elected by older people to lead world, see Alexander the Great or Hannibal or Napolean (all in their twenties). When Christianity was in dire danger, when Turks only had to disembark in Italy and walk to Rome to conquer, in 1571ad, all of the west panicked, except for France. They tried to do something, the other countries did, to put a Navy together. But who would command? Andrea Doria, and admiral of Venice, was chosen. He was 23/24 at the time/when command came. All were subordinate to him. Why so young? Young people who have proven to be able don't have reason for doubt. They go like an arrow, all out. Many of them have lived. That is where it comes "first faith, then knowledge," for they have to trust first and figure out after. During WWII, in England, the intelligent thinking of Chamberlain chose the mentally-child-like Churchill, a bully, who would think only one way. For he followed a 'faith' first, before the reason itself came.
Perhaps 'theos,' God within, took over during Cluny's height. Christianity was implemented in the hands of the educated in monasteries. During that time, Russia's first city came about in modern Unkraine. Vladimir, the ruler, sent his people religion shopping, and they picked up Byzantine's beauty, not Rome's rationality. Bulgaria comes from the Vulgars of Russia. At the time Arabs and Jews lived in peace in Spain, both interested in scholarship. The finest synagogues in the modern world are still in Spain.
Crucifix commissioned by Archbishop Gero for Cologne (http://www.alamo.edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/027.jpg). They permitted themselves to show him weak, and crucified for the first time. It's consistently expressive of its content: extreme suffering. It was the time of Vikings, so possibly influenced by attitude.
Otto III enthroned (http://whs.eanes.k12.tx.us/art/Smaller%20Site/images/Art%20History/Chapter%2011/images/Otto%20III.Enthroned.jpg) His mother was a princess from Constantinople, and when moved took with her to Barberic, Viking-influenced western Europe. He considered himself more Byzantine because of his mother. Style changes due to influence from somewhere. After this came the Annunciation (http://www.lanecc.edu/artad/ArtHistoryProgram/images3/16.28.jpg).
Otto III enthroned (http://whs.eanes.k12.tx.us/art/Smaller%20Site/images/Art%20History/Chapter%2011/images/Otto%20III.Enthroned.jpg) His mother was a princess from Constantinople, and when moved took with her to Barberic, Viking-influenced western Europe. He considered himself more Byzantine because of his mother. Style changes due to influence from somewhere. After this came the Annunciation (http://www.lanecc.edu/artad/ArtHistoryProgram/images3/16.28.jpg).
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