Signs and symbols in medieval art

The rich and intriguing imagery of medieval tapestries and murals, ivories and embroideries offers insight into a world of meaning. This course surveys the range of signs and symbols used in the Middle Ages. It offers the opportunity to think about how material, function and meaning came together in the works of art which surrounded medieval people. It introduces and develops skills in identifying both religious signs and secular themes from romance and daily life enabling a deeper appreciation of medieval art and culture.

Aims

This course aims to:

• explore the range of sacred and secular symbols and meanings in different medieval media
• identify different motifs and their meanings
• demonstrate the connections between the material and function of art works and their use of symbolism

Course content

This course offers an introduction to signs and symbols in medieval art. You will survey the range of types of symbolic imagery from the erudite to the bawdy. You will learn about what common symbols and gestures mean and you will learn about research and reflect on medieval meaning making. You will learn something of the many diverse sources from which this imagery derives and the different ways in which it developed. As we seek to interpret medieval images, you will learn something of the historiography of this fascinating subject. 

You will develop in-depth knowledge through a series of case studies based around different media. By focusing on a range of art forms which are less prominent or more difficult to study than statues, manuscripts or stained glass you will gain a good perspective on the richness of medieval art and visual language. 

You will learn about the creation and use of these specialist forms of art and their function within medieval visual culture. You will gain insight into the way in the form and function of an art work together and how its materials interact with the types of imagery and meanings it might carry. In the case of a mural symbols might interpret space, in an ivory they might carry a meaning personal to the user. These aspects of material culture help us to think about medieval meaning making.

You will feel equipped not only to identify themes and symbols but also to think about what it means to ‘read medieval art’. As you build your confidence in interpretation, you will have the opportunity to reflect on the limits to our ability to discern meaning.

What to expect on this course

You will be in a group of fellow learners, looking together, sharing and reflecting. As well as being directly taught, you will be interacting with the tutor and also your fellow students. Projected images will give us our focus. You will have the opportunity to study these in detail and discuss them in small groups and in the full class.

To understand medieval culture we will use focussed extracts from written sources. We will also reflect on short readings to give us insight into how this topic has been approached over the years. You will sometimes be asked to read short extracts and come ready to discuss your ideas and interpretation. You will learn by looking, listening to your fellow students as well as the tutor and reflecting on different images and texts.

Course sessions

1. Signs and Symbols: sacred and profane: This introduction surveys the range of medieval signs and symbols. It examines their origins, and their expressive potential. It explores the sources of our knowledge and its limits. It reveals the ways in which these visual codes can be categorised but also how it transcends these categories.

    

2. Meanings in Murals: This session reviews the interaction between location and meaning evidence in medieval religious and secular wall paintings, particularly in England. It explores variation and development within a stable iconographic corpus.

    

3. Tales in Tapestries: This session surveys the development of tapestries and the ways in which they were used. It considers their meaning as individual works and as sets of scenes. This survey will draw on tapestries from across Europe.

    

4. Imagery in ivories: This session focuses on Parisian ivories from the 13th and 14th centuries and the devotional and secular imagery of these luxury personal objects. It will consider whether the meaning of these often profane scenes was ‘fixed’ or whether it could be understood differently by different owners.

    

5. Stitched stories: This session focuses on the range of imagery found on embroideries, particularly opus anglicanum. It will explore the extent to which this luxury art, like manuscripts, combined signs and symbols from different sorts of sources and contexts, blending the ‘high’ and ‘low’ register on this prestigious textiles.

Learning outcomes

As a result of the course, you will gain a greater understanding of the subject and you should be able to:

• appreciate the range of sacred and secular symbols and meanings found in different medieval media
• gain confidence in identifying different motifs and their meanings
• demonstrate understanding of the connections between the material and function of art works and their use of symbolism

Required reading

This is a very full account of visual symbolism in medieval art and will be a helpful resource and reminder of the course. 

Stein, Wendy, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, How to read Medieval art (Yale, 2016) ISBN 9781588395979