Index of Medieval all

This tomb of William I Duke of Normandy (d942) in Rouen Cathedral dates from the 14th century. The earlier burial had been in the ancient sanctuary near the end of what is now the nave.

 

Tomb Rouen France

Fragment of saint giving a blessing.

 

Norman sculpture of saint

Romanesque font West Haddon, Northamptonshire

 

Discovered in 1887 this C12 square bowled font has carved scenes from the life of Crist on all four sides.

 

Robert Curthose (d1134) effigy, of painted Irish bog oak, was made about 100 years after his death.

 

Robert Curthose effigy

This C12 font has a circular bowl with a bead decoration which is supported by three crouching Atlas figures supporting the red sandstone bowl.

 

 

 

 

Norman font at Crick Northamptonshire

The north portal of Bourges Cathedral is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The Tympanum dates from between 1160 and was part of the older church the the Gothic cathedral replaced. This portal suffered a lot of damage during the Wars of Religion in 1562.

 

 

"Presentation in the Temple" panel originally from Saint-Denis near Paris (c1145).

 

 

 

 

 

Since its construction in around 1150, the western portal of Chartres Cathedral, decorated with elongated late Romanesque style figures of the Kings and Queens of the Old Testament has been known as the Royal Portal.

 

 

 

Old Testament Kings and Queens, romanesque sculpture, chartres, Old Testament Kings and Queens, romanesque sculpture, chartres

The Gothic period is characterized by the early simplicity of naturalistic figures to the late excessively enriched elegance and elaborate clothing of the figures in the later period, the subject matter of Gothic sculpture featured the mysticism of the mid to late medieval age with an emphasis on suffering and emotion.

 

 

Chartres Cathedral has some of the most beautiful medieval stained glass windows to have survive the upheavals of the last 800 years. The earliest date from the mid 12th century, but most are from the 13th century.

 

 

In form and iconography, the statue is closely modelled on the celebrated “Golden Virgin” commissioned by the Bishop of Clermont in 946, a cult image that was destroyed during the Revolution when it was melted down for coinage. On stylistic and material grounds, the Orcival Virgin is now dated to c. 1170, making it a later but faithful reinterpretation of the earlier episcopal image.

 

Our Lady of Orcival

 

 

Set into a 13th century window, in the south ambulatory of the choir (bay 44) of Chartres Cathedral, this is one of the most celebrated medieval artworks in the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres.It dates primarily to c. 1180 CE, with later additions around 1225 CE, making it a rare survivor from the pre-1194 fire that destroyed the earlier Romanesque cathedral.

 

 

 

Tomb of King Henry II of England at Fontevraud Abbey, France.

Designated a World heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979 the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres was built from between 1145 and 1250. It's high nave is spanned by ogival pointed arches to form the vault, and the walls are supported by double flying buttresses. Chartres is the first building to have used buttresses as a structural element.

 

Chartres Cathedral is also unique in having retained almost all of its original 12th and 13th century stained glass.

 

 

 

The south porch of Chartres Cathedral contains a series of sculptures, that were made between 1194 and 1230, on the subject of the martyrdom of saints.

 

 

In addition to the martyrs, the south porch contains a sequence of images of those that had proclaimed Christian beliefs during periods of suppression (confessors).

In the 13th century (c. 1200–1300), church monuments were effigial tombs, cross slabs, and early brasses, emerging as Gothic art replaced Romanesque. They focused on piety, feudal status, and intercession, with stiff, symbolic figures.

Tomb of Richard I of England (d1199). This is one of three tombs to Richard I, this one is said to contain his heart, his entrails were buried in Châlus (where he died), and the rest of his body was buried at the feet of his father, Henry II, at Fontevraud Abbey in Anjou.

 

The portal of St Anne on the right of the western façade was built in 1200 and is the earliest of the three portals to be built. The tympanum is actually dated to about 1150 and was once part of the earlier cathedral of St. Stephen whose western façade was once 40 metres to the west of the present Cathedral.

 

 

Tomb of Henry the Young King (d1183) son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, brother of King Richard I of England and King John.

 

Henry the Young King

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