V originále
V populární kultuře je středověk často představován jako období temna a strádání, zatímco umění této doby bývá považováno za úpadkové. Pokud se však odhodláme k bližšímu pohledu, setkáme se s překvapivě živým a různorodým světem, plným světla i stínů, který v žádném případě nelze charakterizovat v pár větách. V knize se autoři zamýšlejí nad uměním a vizuálními kulturami raného středověku a pokoušejí se vyvracet nejrozšířenější předsudky s nimi spojené. Znamenal pád Římské říše a migrace kočovných kmenů úpadek umělecké tvorby? Byla středověká krajina protkána temnými, zarostlými a nebezpečnými hvozdy, jak je známe z legend o Robinu Hoodovi nebo z děl spisovatelů romantismu? Byl náboženský svět přísně oddělen od světského, aby nebyl znesvěcen? Sloužilo umění pouze k oslavě Boha a zlato a drahé kameny v kostelech jenom k tomu, aby církev ukázala svojí moc a bohatství? Na tyto i jiné otázky se autoři snaží odpovědět a předestřít raný středověk jako barevnou mozaiku, dobu čilé kulturní výměny a rozmanitosti a v jistém smyslu i jako kolébku abstraktního a konceptuálního myšlení. V konečném důsledku je cílem této knihy alespoň částečně zodpovědět na otázku v názvu knihy: je středověk doba temna?
In English
In popular culture, the Middle Ages have often been represented as a dark period full of misery, while medieval art has been regarded decadent. If we, however, resolve to look closer, we encounter a much more lively and diverse world that cannot be characterized in few sentences, a world filled with light as much as with darkness. The authors of the book contemplate on early medieval art and visual cultures with the aim to refute the most widespread stereotypes related to the period. Did the fall of the Roman Empire and the Migration Period lead to a decline of artistic production? Was the medieval landscape interwoven with dark, dense, and dangerous forests, as we know them from the Robin Hood legends or the literary works of the Romanticism? Was the religious sphere strictly divided from the profane one not to be desecrated? Was the art's purpose solely to celebrate God, and were gold and precious stones instrumental only for the manifestation of the power and wealth of the Church? Authors seek to find answers to these and other questions and present the early Middle Ages rather as a colourful mosaic, a period of vivid cultural exchange and diversity, and, in certain sense, as a cradle of abstract and conceptual thinking. In the end, the main goal of the book is to answer, at least partially, the question in its title, i.e. were the Middle Ages a dark period of history? In popular culture, the Middle Ages have often been represented as a dark period full of misery, while medieval art has been regarded decadent. If we, however, resolve to look closer, we encounter a much more lively and diverse world that cannot be characterized in few sentences, a world filled with light as much as with darkness. The authors of the book contemplate on early medieval art and visual cultures with the aim to refute the most widespread stereotypes related to the period. Did the fall of the Roman Empire and the Migration Period lead to a decline of artistic production? Was the medieval landscape interwoven with dark, dense, and dangerous forests, as we know them from the Robin Hood legends or the literary works of the Romanticism? Was the religious sphere strictly divided from the profane one not to be desecrated? Was the art's purpose solely to celebrate God, and were gold and precious stones instrumental only for the manifestation of the power and wealth of the Church? Authors seek to find answers to these and other questions and present the early Middle Ages rather as a colourful mosaic, a period of vivid cultural exchange and diversity, and, in certain sense, as a cradle of abstract and conceptual thinking. In the end, the main goal of the book is to answer, at least partially, the question in its title, i.e. were the Middle Ages a dark period of history?