MONASTIC ART. In its final analysis art is the visible, concrete proof of the develop ment and stage of advance or decay of civiliza tion. And the most prominent fact in connec tion with the history of art of the Christian era is that the holy flame of the spirit of artistic effort was kept burning for numerous centuries solely by the aid of the Catholic Church (East ern and Western), while all outside of the mon asteries was in a riot of barbarism, devastation, murder and rapine.
Art in the Eastern Church,--The basilicas (q.v.) of the early Christians, themselves de signed on pagan lines but adapted to their needs, used for internal decoration the art of mosaics, which flourished in the 6th and 7th centuries. The monks produced manuscripts from the hands of their miniaturists, wonder ful in their lovely illumination and calligraphy, beautiful creations in ivory, impressive ex amples of gold and silversmithing, enamel work, embroidery, etc. These are in the style termed Byzantine. (See BYZANTINE ART). The conquering barbarians, with no native art of their own or knowledge of the antique, quickly absorbed the prevailing style, adopting it to gether with the religious influences of the Christian Church. With the fall of the Roman Empire workers in the arts were driven to the Orient for their existence and art flourished in the churches of Constantinople and Jerusalem. The Basilians, an order founded by Saint Basil (d. 380), had, among their °rules," the mandate that work was part of their monastic life; and art was one of the chief done in pro ducing the decorative elements of the churches. In this mediaeval period we find the monastic life spreading from its centre (Constantinople) to Mount Athos (from 960). Greek monas teries were founded at Rome in the 6th and 7th centuries, the cult reaching to south Italy, Sicily and Calabria. From the monastic art standpoint of great importance is the fact that Basilian monachism spread into Russia, and, its art accompanying it, was absorbed by the Slays (Kiev c. 1050). The Byzantine miniatur ists were in the zenith of their fame up to the I Ith century.
Art in the Western •Church.— All the above art work was under Oriental (Mohammedan) influence. In the 11th century commences the true Christian monastic art of Europe, but we must go much further back for its inception. The early Christian art, of the monasteries of the Irish and the Anglo-Saxons (about the 5tb century) remains a source of bewilderment and mystery when we consider its marvelous (exquisite illuminated manuscripts, artjewels in, ti laid with enamels, etc.) execution and remem ber that the artist-monks had but just been converted to the Christian faith. And it was Winfred (683-755), an English priest who went as a missionary to Friesland' and established successful monasteries and the adjunct art cult through North Germany, to be canonized as Saint Boniface after his martyrdom. From the 6th century the Benedictine Orders, starting from Monte Casino, Campania, carried on the entire culture of Europe for 500 years the arts being a large and valuable part a the work. The °Rules° of Saint Benedict, disclosed in his 'Regula Monachorum) show the system required of the monks in their work. Cassio dore followed Saint Benedict soon with his monastery at Viviers in Calabria and its brary, where in their cells (called scriptoria) the calligraphists and illuminators did their copying of manuscripts, illuminating and paint ing as well. And we now come to the great crowd of painters, sculptors and architects as well as calligraphers and illuminators that were trained by the orders to radiate their influence and example through all classes of society. And it is to these disciples that the world owes all it owned of art from the 7th to 12th cen turies. Great centres of Benedictine work, be sides Monte Casino (Italy), were the Alemannic domain of Saint all and Reiehenau, later Hirsau and Fulda, in Germany. In France led the Cluniacs (from 912) ; in England York and Canterbury were great monastic art centres. In this interesting period we find hard manual labor, side by side with intellectual endeavor, done by monk and prelate alike. We find Abbot Herluin carrying sand and mortar dur ing the building of the monastery at Bec in 1033; Canonicus Hezelo, rich and distinguished, became a monk at Cluny so as to be able to work as coementarius (stone-mason) on the great abbey church founded by Hugo; Count Frederick at Verdun, as a monk at Saint Van nes, in 1000, dug the foundation to the dormi tory with his own hands. The ranks of the
monks of that day contained a remarkable num ber of versatile artists. Tutilo of Saint Gall (end of the 9th century), Ekkehard tells us, was painter, sculptor, poet and teacher; Abbot Mannius of Evesham, England, was noted as painter, musician, calligraphist and goldsmith; Fulco, the precentor of Saint Hubert's monas tery in the Ardennes, was architect and minia ture painter, besides being mentioned as an efficient stone-mason and carpenter; the Alle mannic chronicler Herman the Lame, at Rei chenau, was a talented writer, poet, musician, while he was practised in astronomy and mechanics, at the same time being busy in making musical instruments and clocks. Bern ward (b. 993, d. 1022), who rose from monk to bishop of Hildesheim, produced art work in metal and precious stones, some of which exist at the present day. He worked hard intrucluc big the arts and crafts into German', and es tablished schools and studios in his palace, sending pupils abroad to learn the different Byzantine arts, secrets and styles. Thiemon, monk at Altaich and later archbishop of Salz burg, was painter (as he himself claimed when suffering martyrdom in Palestine) as well as architect and goldsmith. And we come, in the 12th century, to the great monastic influences Aver the arts in France. The prelates of that period greatly enriched their churches (espe cially with goldsmithing work) with beautiful utensils for the cult. Of such monastic art patrons we find the name of Lambert, abbot of Saint Bertain at Saint Omer ; of Gerard, bishop of Angouleme (d. 1136). But towering above all others would appear to have been Suger, who was abbot of Saint Denis (d. 1152), minister of Louis the Lusty and regent under Louis VII. Suger was censured by Saint Bernard for his rich beneficence to the artisans in embellishing his church. To his fine vessels in the precious metals he added furniture of great artistic re finement, also beautiful bronze doors with bas-reliefs of the Passion. etc. The episcopal and monastic schools of this century werepro ducing more numerous, and more beautifully illuminated manuscripts than in the preceding century, specimens of which are still extant. The abbey of Saint Denis created also lovely stained glass windows and mosaics. Some idea of the perfection of mechanical technique reached by the monks is afforded us by the work, (Diversarum artium schedula' written by Theophilus, a monk or priest (10th or 1 lth century), in which he defines the manipulation and gives the formulae used by the practitioners of the arts among the monks and lay cowork ers. 1e gives perfect and practical information on painting on canvas, wood. vellum, glass, encaustic and fresco, mosaic goldsmith ing, etc. While to the Rules of Saint Benedict and the assistance later of the Cistercians and Cluniacs in their establishments was due the propagation of art in the Middle Ages, the citizen class arising from the rapid growth in wealth of the civic communities together with the Crusades made a great in the propa gation of the arts. The clericals had not re linquished their efforts to aid the art move ment, for they maintained the closest relation ship with the arts at least till the Rococo period and practised the work extensively. But the civic lay element, from the 13th century, be came stronger and more and more distinguished. Thus, while the monastic orders held, supreme domain in the building of churches, the lay body, took up the leadership of the plastic arts and painting in the persons of Niccol6 of Pisa, Giotto, etc. And with Brunelleschi and Alberu on the scene we find the field of architecture also falling into the hands of ing permanently the monastic talent. This was the Trecento period of the early Renaissance. Consult Labarte, J., des arts indus triels au Moyen age et a l'epoque de la Ren aissance' (Paris 1864) ; Kraus, F. X., 'Ge schichte der christlichen Kunst' (Freiburg lin. Breisgau 1896) ; Springer, A. H., 'Klosterleben and Klosterkunst' (Bonn 1886) ; Zouche, R. 'Visits to. Monasteries of the Levant' (London 1916). See CHRISTIAN MANU SCRIPTS, ILLUMINATED.