Syllabus
Topics:1. Objectives of the subject, literature. Thematic definition2. Medieval piety, its theological foundations and its influence on the visual arts3. The beginnings of Christian piety based on the analysis of the preserved art of that time4. The role of religious communities and examples of contemporary architecture5. Female spirituality in the 13th century and its impact on the form and art of female monasteries6. Medieval mysticism in visual arts7. Devotio modernism in visual arts8. Liturgical space as a place of piety9. Liturgical objects and piety associated with them10. Manuscripts, book culture and piety associated with them11. Marian cult, cult of saints and their iconography12. The royal representation and its artistic expressions
Annotation
The seminar deals with the medieval Christian piety and its manifestations in European Art with a special attention to the Central European region. We define Christian spirituality as the concrete, lived form and realization of the Christian faith in the diversity of its cultural expressions. The specific features of medieval piety will be discussed interdisciplinarily from the perspective of theology, history and art history. Part of the course will be an interpretation of selected medieval sources and artistic monuments and artifacts.
In the first part, the impulses and motives leading to the formation and development of medieval piety will be discussed chronologically. The second part of the course will deal with significant topics from the history of medieval spirituality and the artistic creation arising from it, as well as the cult of Central European saints, especially those who came from the ruling dynasties and had the greatest influence on the Art of their time.
The seminar will also include excursion to: 1. Regensburg (Germany); 2. Porta Coeli in Překlášteří u Tišnova; 3. Church of st. Anna in Prague.