Gregory the Great and Image Theory in Northern Europe in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries

KESSLER, Herbert L. Gregory the Great and Image Theory in Northern Europe in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. In Conrad Rudolph. A Companion to Medieval Art: Romanesque and Gothic in Northern Europe. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006, p. 151-171. ISBN 978-1-4051-0286-5.

Basic information

• Original name: Gregory the Great and Image Theory in Northern Europe in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries
• Authors: KESSLER, Herbert L. (840 United States of America, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: Oxford, A Companion to Medieval Art: Romanesque and Gothic in Northern Europe, p. 151-171, 21 pp. 2006.
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Chapter(s) of a specialized book
• Field of Study: Art, architecture, cultural heritage
• Country of publisher: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Publication form: printed version "print"
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• ISBN: 978-1-4051-0286-5
• Keywords in English: medieval art; pope Gregory the Great; image theory; northern europe art; art history

Abstract

Herbert L. Kessler’s essay was originally a chapter of the book A Companion to Medieval Art: Romanesque and Gothic in Northern Europe published in 2006, which contained more than a 30 original theoretical, historical, and historiographical essays written by the renowned and emergent scholars. In 2016 Herbert Kessler made a revision of this essay about the pope Gregory the Great, in which he is focusing primarily on the period around the year 600, especially to the two letters from Gregory the Great to Serenus, Bishop of Marseilles. The content of these letters became incontestable, served like a basis for a defense of the images during the iconoclastic eras and supported the art making during the Middle Ages. This essay introduces how Gregory‘s thoughts from his letters were reused and reflected in the theories supporting christian images in the Northern Europe, up to the twelfth and thirteenth century.