Image and Ornament in the Early Medieval West
Matthias G. Friedrich
Scholarship often treats the post-Roman art produced in central and north-western Europe as representative of pagan identities new 'Germanic' rulers early medieval world. In this book, Matthias Friedrich offers a critical reevaluation ethnic religious categories that still inform our understanding archaeology. He scrutinises visual culture by combining archaeological approaches with historical methods based on contemporary theory. examines transformation Roman imperial images, together contemporary, highly ornamented material is epitomized 'animal art.' Through rigorous analysis range objects, he demonstrates how these pathways an aesthetic promoted variety (varietas), cross-cultural concept bridged various Mediterranean worlds.