Thursday 10 October 2013

Medieval and Byzantine Answers

Answers time!!

Here are the answers to the Medieval and Byzantine Art clip.

1 The first Empire that is described is the Roman Empire.

2 Who was the ruler who had to decide the "thorny question" of succession? It was Theodosius.

3 Who did he give it to and in which year? He split the Empire in two and gave one part to his son, Honorius and the other part to his other son, Arcadia, in 395 AD.

4 What did each part become known as and what languages did they speak? The west became known as the Western Roman Empire and they spoke Latin. The East became known as the Byzantine Empire and they spoke Greek.

5 Which groups of people invaded the Western Empire and how many years did the Empire survive after Theodosius's death? The Huns, Franks, Goths and Vandals invaded. The Empire only survived 81 years after Theodosius's death.

6 How long did the Byzantine Empire last? It lasted another 1000 years

7 What unified the empires?The Roman Catholic Church was the unifying force.

8 Based on a strict interpretation of the 10 commandments, what did Leo III decree in 730 AD?  He initiated a movement of iconoclasm which forbade the making and worshipping of graven images.

9 What was Pope Gregory II's reaction to this? He wrote a letter excommunicating the iconoclasts because he regarded iconoclasm as heresy.

10 As a result of having more creative freedom, what did Western artists produce and how was it different from the Byzantine artists who were allowed to produce art eventually? They produced art with religious themes and in wanting to create visionary experiences, their work developed more dimension and realism in the portrayal of people and the natural world. This was different from Byzantine art, which started again after the end of iconoclasm, because the Byzantine artists had strict rules and could only copy approved images from the past.

I don't know about you, but I certainly learnt something there!

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