The “Fragmented Images” research project. At the origins of stained glass art in Western Europe (5th-9th century)
Keywords:
early medieval art, stained glass windows, cloisonné jewelry, Opus sectile, early medieval aesthetics
Abstract
Research in archaeology and the study of written sources have long since revealed that the origins of the art of stained glass can be placed centuries before the oldest stained glass windows in situ, which can be dated to the 1120s-1130s. Indeed, in the Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages, between the 5th and 10th centuries, are attested stained-glass windows of a different kind than those of the High Middle Ages, which we can now reconstruct solely through archaeological finds of glass, leads, and transennae, and thanks to some written evidence. This article presents and discusses data collected in the initial stages of the research project that the writer is currently conducting and aims to illustrate the various stages of development of stained-glass in Western Europe between the late Roman and the Carolingian times. The varying dissemination of stained-glass throughout the centuries and geographical regions under consideration, the potential correlations with the medieval art of jewelry-making, particularly with cloisonné jewels adorned with garnets, glass, and enamels, and the potential role as a model played by late antique sectiliain glass and marble, will also be discussed.
References
Fonti primarie
Prudentius, Crowns of martyrdom [Peristephanon], Thomson H.J. [trad.], Cambridge, Massachusetts, London: Loeb Classical Library, 1953.
Sidonius, Poems, Letters [Epistulae], Anderson W.B. [ed. e trad.], Cambridge, Massachusetts: Loeb Classical Library, 1936.
Fonti secondarie
Balcon-Berry S., Perrot F., Sapin C., (2010) [eds.], Vitrail, verre et archéologie entre le Ve et le XIIe siècle, Paris: CTHS.
Balcon-Berry S. (2014), in Origines et évolution du vitrail: l’apport de l’archéologie, in Vitrail: Ve-XXIe siècle, Hérold M., David V. [eds.], Paris: Edition du Patrimoine, 19-31.
Balcon-Berry S., Velde B. (2016), Évolution et caractères techniques et esthétiques du verre plat et du vitrail de l’antiquité tardive à l'époque carolingienne, in La mémoire des pierres. Mélanges d'archéologie, d’art et d’histoire en l’honneur de Christian Sapin, Balcon-Berry S., Boissavit Camus B., Chevalier P. [eds.], Brepols: Turnhout, 141-153.
Calligaro T., Périn P., Vallée F., Poirot J.-P., (2008), Contributions à l’étude de grenats mérovingiens (Basilique de Saint-Denis et autres collections du musée d’Archéologie nationale, diverses collections publiques et objets des fouillés récentes). Nouvelles analyses gemmologiques et géochimiques effectuées au Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, Antiquités nationales, XXXVIII, 111-144.
Calligaro, T., Périn, P. (2019), Le commerce des grenats à l’époque mérovingienne, Archéopage. Archéologie et société, V, 109-120.
Camerlenghi N. (2018), St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. A Roman basilica, from antiquity to the modern era, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cramp R. (1975), Window Glass from the Monastic Site of Jarrow. Problems of interpretation, Journal of Glass Studies, XVII, 88-96.
Cramp R. (2001), Window glass from the British Isles. 7th-10th century, in Dell’Acqua, Silva (2001), 67-85.
Cramp R. (2005), Wearmouth and Jarrow monastic sites, 2 voll., Swindon: English Heritage.
Dell’Acqua F., Silva R. (2001) [eds.], Il colore nel Medioe¬vo. Arte, simbolo, tecnica. La vetrata in occidente dal IV all’XI secolo, Atti delle Giornate di Studi (Lucca, 23–24–25 settem¬bre 1999), Lucca: Istituto storico lucchese.
Dell’Acqua F. (2003), Illuminando colorat. La vetrata tra l’età tardo imperiale e l’alto medioevo: le fonti, l’archeologia, Spoleto: Fondazione Cisam.
Dell’Acqua F. (2004), Le finestre invetriate nell’antichità romana, in Vitrum. Il vetro fra arte e scienza nel mondo romano, Catalogo della mostra (Palazzo Pitti, Firenze, 27 marzo – 31 ottobre 2004), Beretta M., Di Pasquale G. [eds.], Firenze: Giunti, 109–119.
Dell’Acqua F. (2005), Enhancing Luxury through Stained Glass, from Asia Minor to Italy, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, LIX, 193-211.
Dell’Acqua F. (2008), «Nisi ipse Dedalus […] nisi Beseleel secundus». L’attività artistica presso il monastero di San Vincenzo al Volturno in età carolingia, in Monasteri in Europa occidentale (secoli VIII-XI): topografia e strutture, Marazzi F., De Rubeis F. [eds.], Roma: Viella, 289-308.
Dell’Acqua F. (2010a), “Entre fantaisie et archéologie”, in Balcon-Berry et al. 2010, 15-20.
Dell’Acqua F. (2010b), The Christ from San Vincenzo al Volturno. Another instance of “Christ‘s dazzling face”, in The Single Stained-Glass Panel. XXIV International Colloquium of the Corpus Vitrearum (Zurich, 30th of June-4th of July 2008), Trümpler S. [ed.], Bern: Lang, 11-22.
Dell’Acqua F. (2019), Early History of Stained Glass, in Investigation in Medieval Stained Glass, Pastan E. C., Kurmann-Schwarz B. [eds.], Leiden: Brill 23-35.
De transparentes spéculations: Vitres de l’Antiquité et du Haut Moyen Age (Occident-Orient) (2005), Catalogo della mostra (Musée-site d’Archéologie de Bavay-Bagacum, 1 ottobre–31 dicembre 2005). Bavay: Musée-Site d’Archéologie.
Eco U. (1987), Arte e Bellezza nell’Estetica medievale, Milano: Bompiani.
Elsner J. (2004), “Late antique Art: the Problem of the Concept and the Cumulative Aesthetic”, in Approaching late antiquity: The transformation from early to late empire, Swain S., Edwards M.J. [eds.], Oxford: Oxford University Press, 271-309.
Flood F.B. (1993), Palaces of Crystal, Sanctuaries of Light: Windows, Jewels and Glass in Medieval Islamic Architecture, PhD Thesis. University of Edinburgh, UK.
Foletti I., Okáčová M., Palladino A., (2023), A radical turn? Late antique anxiety, rupture, and creative continuity, in A radical turn? Reappropriation, fragmentation, and variety in the postclassical world (3rd–8th centuries), Convivium Supplementum, Foletti I., Okáčová M., Palladino A. [eds.], Turnhout: Brepols, 10–21.
Goll J. (2001), Frühmittelalterliche Fenstergläser aus Müstair und Sion, in Dell’Acqua, Silva (2001), 87-91.
Hernández Lobato J. (2012), Vel Apolline muto. Estética y poética de la Antigüedad tardía, Bern: Lang.
Hernández Lobato J., Elsner J. (2017) [eds.], The Poetics of late Latin literature, New York: Oxford University Press.
Hinton D. (2008), The Alfred Jewel and Other Late Anglo-Saxon Decorated Metalwork, Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2008.
Haseloff, G. (1990), Email im frühen Mittelalter: frühchristliche Kunst von der Spätantike bis zu den Karolingern, Marburg: Hitzeroth, 1990.
Ibrahim L., Scranton R., Brill R., (1976) [eds.], Kenchreai: Eastern Port of Corinth, vol. II: The Panels of Opus Sectile in Glass, Leiden: Brill.
Louis É. (2010), Deux sites mérovingiens à vitraux du Nord de la France, in Balcon-Berry et al. 2010, 141-152.
Kessler H.L. (2002), Old St. Peter’s and Church De¬coration in Medieval Italy, Spoleto: Cisam.
Kessler C.M., Wolf S., Trümpler S., (2005), Die frühesten Zeugen ornamentaler Glasmalerei aus der Schweiz. Die frühmittelalterlichen Fensterglasfunde von Sion, Sous-le-Scex, Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte, LXII, 1, 1-30.
Kitzinger, E. (1966), The Byzantine Contribution to Western Art of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, XX, 25-47.
Mitchell J. (2000), La diffusione dello smalto ‘cloisonné’, in Il futuro dei Longobardi. L’Italia e la costruzione dell’Europa di Carlo Magno, Catalogo della mostra (Brescia, Monastero di S. Giulia, 18 giugno - 19 novembre 2000), Bertelli C., Brogiolo G.P. [eds.], Milano: Skira, 454-463.
Motteau J. (2005), Le verre à vitre dans la Vallée de la Loire moyenne dans le Haut Moyen Âge, in De transparentes spéculations, 98-101.
Pactat, I. (2011a), Le mobilier en verre, in Projet Collectif de Recherche “Approche pluridisciplinaire d'une agglomération antique Epomanduodurum (Mandeure-Mathay, Doubs). Archéologie,Sciences de la Terre et de l’Environnement”, Barral Ph., Blin S., Bossuet G., Cramatte C., Glaus M., Laplaige C., Mamin Y., Marc J.-Y., Mougin P., Nouvel P., Thivet M. [eds.], Besançon: Laboratoire Chrono-environnement, 274-288.
Pactat, I. (2011b), Mobilier en verre, in Les fouilles du castrum d’Epomanduodurum/Mandeure (Doubs). Rapport de la campagne 2012, Cramatte C., Mamin Y. [eds.], Lausanne: Université de Lausanne, Rapport CNRS, 87-96.
Pannuzi S. (2020), Illuminazione naturale e spazi finestrati nelle chiese paleocristiane ed altomedioevali: le transenne di finestra in stucco, Hortus Artium Medievalium, XXVI, 45-59.
Shortland A., Schachner L., Freestone I., Tite M., (2006), Natron as a flux in the early vitreous materials industry: sources, beginnings and reasons for decline, Journal of Archaeological Science, XXXIII, 521-530.
Szakács, B. Z. (2020), Silver-Stained Glass in Changing Light: The Carolingian Window-Fragments of Zalavár, Hortus Artium Medievalium, XXVI, 163-171.
Szőke B.M., Wedepohl K.H., Kronz A., (2004), Silver-Stained Windows at Carolingian Zalavár, Mosaburg (Southwestern Hungary), Journal of Glass Studies, XLVI, 85-104.
Vaghi F., Verità M., Zecchin S., (2004), Silver Stain on Medieval Window Glass Excavated in the Venetian Lagoon, Journal of Glass Studies, XLVI, 105-108.
Wolf S., Gerber Y., Stern W., (2005), The composition and manufacture of early medieval coloured window glass from Sion (Valais, Switzerland) - A roman glass making tradition or innovative craftsmanship?, Archaeometry, XLVII, 2, 361-380.
Wolf S., Kessler C.M., Goll J., Trümpler S., Degryse P., (2017), The early medieval stained-glass windows from St. John, Müstair: Materials, Provenance and Production Technology, in Annales du 20e congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre (Fribourg/Romont, 7-11 septembre 2015), Wolf S., de Pury-Gysel A. [eds.], Romont: Verlag Marie Leidorf, 660-667.
Prudentius, Crowns of martyrdom [Peristephanon], Thomson H.J. [trad.], Cambridge, Massachusetts, London: Loeb Classical Library, 1953.
Sidonius, Poems, Letters [Epistulae], Anderson W.B. [ed. e trad.], Cambridge, Massachusetts: Loeb Classical Library, 1936.
Fonti secondarie
Balcon-Berry S., Perrot F., Sapin C., (2010) [eds.], Vitrail, verre et archéologie entre le Ve et le XIIe siècle, Paris: CTHS.
Balcon-Berry S. (2014), in Origines et évolution du vitrail: l’apport de l’archéologie, in Vitrail: Ve-XXIe siècle, Hérold M., David V. [eds.], Paris: Edition du Patrimoine, 19-31.
Balcon-Berry S., Velde B. (2016), Évolution et caractères techniques et esthétiques du verre plat et du vitrail de l’antiquité tardive à l'époque carolingienne, in La mémoire des pierres. Mélanges d'archéologie, d’art et d’histoire en l’honneur de Christian Sapin, Balcon-Berry S., Boissavit Camus B., Chevalier P. [eds.], Brepols: Turnhout, 141-153.
Calligaro T., Périn P., Vallée F., Poirot J.-P., (2008), Contributions à l’étude de grenats mérovingiens (Basilique de Saint-Denis et autres collections du musée d’Archéologie nationale, diverses collections publiques et objets des fouillés récentes). Nouvelles analyses gemmologiques et géochimiques effectuées au Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, Antiquités nationales, XXXVIII, 111-144.
Calligaro, T., Périn, P. (2019), Le commerce des grenats à l’époque mérovingienne, Archéopage. Archéologie et société, V, 109-120.
Camerlenghi N. (2018), St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. A Roman basilica, from antiquity to the modern era, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cramp R. (1975), Window Glass from the Monastic Site of Jarrow. Problems of interpretation, Journal of Glass Studies, XVII, 88-96.
Cramp R. (2001), Window glass from the British Isles. 7th-10th century, in Dell’Acqua, Silva (2001), 67-85.
Cramp R. (2005), Wearmouth and Jarrow monastic sites, 2 voll., Swindon: English Heritage.
Dell’Acqua F., Silva R. (2001) [eds.], Il colore nel Medioe¬vo. Arte, simbolo, tecnica. La vetrata in occidente dal IV all’XI secolo, Atti delle Giornate di Studi (Lucca, 23–24–25 settem¬bre 1999), Lucca: Istituto storico lucchese.
Dell’Acqua F. (2003), Illuminando colorat. La vetrata tra l’età tardo imperiale e l’alto medioevo: le fonti, l’archeologia, Spoleto: Fondazione Cisam.
Dell’Acqua F. (2004), Le finestre invetriate nell’antichità romana, in Vitrum. Il vetro fra arte e scienza nel mondo romano, Catalogo della mostra (Palazzo Pitti, Firenze, 27 marzo – 31 ottobre 2004), Beretta M., Di Pasquale G. [eds.], Firenze: Giunti, 109–119.
Dell’Acqua F. (2005), Enhancing Luxury through Stained Glass, from Asia Minor to Italy, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, LIX, 193-211.
Dell’Acqua F. (2008), «Nisi ipse Dedalus […] nisi Beseleel secundus». L’attività artistica presso il monastero di San Vincenzo al Volturno in età carolingia, in Monasteri in Europa occidentale (secoli VIII-XI): topografia e strutture, Marazzi F., De Rubeis F. [eds.], Roma: Viella, 289-308.
Dell’Acqua F. (2010a), “Entre fantaisie et archéologie”, in Balcon-Berry et al. 2010, 15-20.
Dell’Acqua F. (2010b), The Christ from San Vincenzo al Volturno. Another instance of “Christ‘s dazzling face”, in The Single Stained-Glass Panel. XXIV International Colloquium of the Corpus Vitrearum (Zurich, 30th of June-4th of July 2008), Trümpler S. [ed.], Bern: Lang, 11-22.
Dell’Acqua F. (2019), Early History of Stained Glass, in Investigation in Medieval Stained Glass, Pastan E. C., Kurmann-Schwarz B. [eds.], Leiden: Brill 23-35.
De transparentes spéculations: Vitres de l’Antiquité et du Haut Moyen Age (Occident-Orient) (2005), Catalogo della mostra (Musée-site d’Archéologie de Bavay-Bagacum, 1 ottobre–31 dicembre 2005). Bavay: Musée-Site d’Archéologie.
Eco U. (1987), Arte e Bellezza nell’Estetica medievale, Milano: Bompiani.
Elsner J. (2004), “Late antique Art: the Problem of the Concept and the Cumulative Aesthetic”, in Approaching late antiquity: The transformation from early to late empire, Swain S., Edwards M.J. [eds.], Oxford: Oxford University Press, 271-309.
Flood F.B. (1993), Palaces of Crystal, Sanctuaries of Light: Windows, Jewels and Glass in Medieval Islamic Architecture, PhD Thesis. University of Edinburgh, UK.
Foletti I., Okáčová M., Palladino A., (2023), A radical turn? Late antique anxiety, rupture, and creative continuity, in A radical turn? Reappropriation, fragmentation, and variety in the postclassical world (3rd–8th centuries), Convivium Supplementum, Foletti I., Okáčová M., Palladino A. [eds.], Turnhout: Brepols, 10–21.
Goll J. (2001), Frühmittelalterliche Fenstergläser aus Müstair und Sion, in Dell’Acqua, Silva (2001), 87-91.
Hernández Lobato J. (2012), Vel Apolline muto. Estética y poética de la Antigüedad tardía, Bern: Lang.
Hernández Lobato J., Elsner J. (2017) [eds.], The Poetics of late Latin literature, New York: Oxford University Press.
Hinton D. (2008), The Alfred Jewel and Other Late Anglo-Saxon Decorated Metalwork, Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2008.
Haseloff, G. (1990), Email im frühen Mittelalter: frühchristliche Kunst von der Spätantike bis zu den Karolingern, Marburg: Hitzeroth, 1990.
Ibrahim L., Scranton R., Brill R., (1976) [eds.], Kenchreai: Eastern Port of Corinth, vol. II: The Panels of Opus Sectile in Glass, Leiden: Brill.
Louis É. (2010), Deux sites mérovingiens à vitraux du Nord de la France, in Balcon-Berry et al. 2010, 141-152.
Kessler H.L. (2002), Old St. Peter’s and Church De¬coration in Medieval Italy, Spoleto: Cisam.
Kessler C.M., Wolf S., Trümpler S., (2005), Die frühesten Zeugen ornamentaler Glasmalerei aus der Schweiz. Die frühmittelalterlichen Fensterglasfunde von Sion, Sous-le-Scex, Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte, LXII, 1, 1-30.
Kitzinger, E. (1966), The Byzantine Contribution to Western Art of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, XX, 25-47.
Mitchell J. (2000), La diffusione dello smalto ‘cloisonné’, in Il futuro dei Longobardi. L’Italia e la costruzione dell’Europa di Carlo Magno, Catalogo della mostra (Brescia, Monastero di S. Giulia, 18 giugno - 19 novembre 2000), Bertelli C., Brogiolo G.P. [eds.], Milano: Skira, 454-463.
Motteau J. (2005), Le verre à vitre dans la Vallée de la Loire moyenne dans le Haut Moyen Âge, in De transparentes spéculations, 98-101.
Pactat, I. (2011a), Le mobilier en verre, in Projet Collectif de Recherche “Approche pluridisciplinaire d'une agglomération antique Epomanduodurum (Mandeure-Mathay, Doubs). Archéologie,Sciences de la Terre et de l’Environnement”, Barral Ph., Blin S., Bossuet G., Cramatte C., Glaus M., Laplaige C., Mamin Y., Marc J.-Y., Mougin P., Nouvel P., Thivet M. [eds.], Besançon: Laboratoire Chrono-environnement, 274-288.
Pactat, I. (2011b), Mobilier en verre, in Les fouilles du castrum d’Epomanduodurum/Mandeure (Doubs). Rapport de la campagne 2012, Cramatte C., Mamin Y. [eds.], Lausanne: Université de Lausanne, Rapport CNRS, 87-96.
Pannuzi S. (2020), Illuminazione naturale e spazi finestrati nelle chiese paleocristiane ed altomedioevali: le transenne di finestra in stucco, Hortus Artium Medievalium, XXVI, 45-59.
Shortland A., Schachner L., Freestone I., Tite M., (2006), Natron as a flux in the early vitreous materials industry: sources, beginnings and reasons for decline, Journal of Archaeological Science, XXXIII, 521-530.
Szakács, B. Z. (2020), Silver-Stained Glass in Changing Light: The Carolingian Window-Fragments of Zalavár, Hortus Artium Medievalium, XXVI, 163-171.
Szőke B.M., Wedepohl K.H., Kronz A., (2004), Silver-Stained Windows at Carolingian Zalavár, Mosaburg (Southwestern Hungary), Journal of Glass Studies, XLVI, 85-104.
Vaghi F., Verità M., Zecchin S., (2004), Silver Stain on Medieval Window Glass Excavated in the Venetian Lagoon, Journal of Glass Studies, XLVI, 105-108.
Wolf S., Gerber Y., Stern W., (2005), The composition and manufacture of early medieval coloured window glass from Sion (Valais, Switzerland) - A roman glass making tradition or innovative craftsmanship?, Archaeometry, XLVII, 2, 361-380.
Wolf S., Kessler C.M., Goll J., Trümpler S., Degryse P., (2017), The early medieval stained-glass windows from St. John, Müstair: Materials, Provenance and Production Technology, in Annales du 20e congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre (Fribourg/Romont, 7-11 septembre 2015), Wolf S., de Pury-Gysel A. [eds.], Romont: Verlag Marie Leidorf, 660-667.
Published
2024-12-14
How to Cite
Virdis, A. (2024). The “Fragmented Images” research project. At the origins of stained glass art in Western Europe (5th-9th century). ABside, 6, 337-361. https://doi.org/10.13125/abside/6365
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