Hortus Artium Medievalium

The main results of the 2011 excavations campaign on the site of the Guran in the south Istria are presented in this article. Theses concern the fortified early medieval settlement the origin of which is dated in the Carolingian period and which was abandoned in the late Middle Ages, and the church of St. Cecilia situated some few hundreds meters to the north of the settlement. Main objectives of this international project are the analysis of the origin and the architectural development of the church erected on the site of a roman villa, as well as that of the settlement, combined with the study of the territorial and ecclesiastic organisation of this part of Istria during the Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.

The subject of the article is the abbey church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, seen in the context of the innovation and tradition in the architectural and artistic production of the period ‘at the turn of the first millennium’. The emphasis is placed on the rebuilding of the church initiated by the abbot Morard (990-1014), as well as on his role as commissioner. As seen by the authors, Morard’s architectural project - following the Carolingian tradition and embracing the reform initiated by Carolingian rulers - competes with one of the best monuments of the period.

In this article the main results of the 2010 excavations campaign on the site of the monastery of Saint Peter in Osor are presented. Theses concern the medieval cemetery and some late antique dwellings situated east of the church’s sanctuary. Further more, the test probe north of the basilica of Saint Peter led to the discovery of a late medieval craft workshop zone (fulling mill?), and the one on the south provided supplementary information about the connections between the church and other, previous or later, buildings. The combination of different approaches (archaeological excavations and analysis of the elevations, geophysical and documentary research) enabled us to propose a new working hypothesis on the origin of the church (6^th-7^th c.?) and the first sketch of the medieval topography of the monastery.

The iconographic theme Traditio legis et clavium, of early Christian origin has been reused and transformed during the Romanesque period according to the historical context of the end of 11^th and the first half of 12^th century. Wall painting in the apse of the chapel of Berzé-la-Ville, showing the Traditio legis et clavium, reflects Cluniac ecclesiology, probably in the relation with the Investiture conflict. In this article the author gives a synthesis of early Christian and Carolingian models, which were readapted according to the preoccupation of the time and the place. The French examples (Arles, Nevers, Andlau, Saint-Gilles de Montoire) as well as the Italian ones (Rome, Milano, Pavia, Civate, Farfa, Castel S. Elia, Tivoli) are all found in places touched by the reform of the church.