Showcasing art for your lessons
20 December 2017 | TMA
TMA has now added teaching resources to highlight medieval art that can accompany lessons in Ancient Civilizations. Teresa Russo spoke to many teachers who have stated that they need more visual examples to highlight topics, such as ways of life and characteristics of early societies, in the Ancient Civilization curriculum. We named the resource “Museum Spotlight” and each entry will highlight a piece of art from the 5th to the 15th centuries (or perhaps art themed on Medieval literature or culture by artists after the Middle Ages).
These entries are short descriptions to peak curiosity in the subject and to influence students to do more research on the topic. We hope by highlighting these pieces we are also providing sources for locating more visual representations for your lessons. Teachers can make copies of the pdf document to share with their students or showcase the artpiece on their screen in the classroom while reading the information sheet. Then encourage students to go to the library and find more information on the artefact or other similar examples from the same period.
Our first entry coincides with the Viking Exhibition at the ROM and considers a god from Old Norse Mythology, Thor-- who has been popularized in comics and blockbuster films.
The Viking exhibit demonstrates the transition of Anglos-Saxon tribes to Christian communities during the early Middle Ages at the station on religion and the gods. This transition becomes apparent in art when an idol can have the meaning of Thor with his hammer or Christ the KIng.
Read more about the Bronze statuette of Thor, Viking God, c1000. From Iceland, located at the National Museum Reykjavik and explore the museum online for more objects from this period.
Bronze statuette of Thor, Viking God, c1000. From Iceland, at National Museum Reykjavik.
(Photo Credit: HIP / Art Resource, NY (artres.com) Image Reference: AR9447424 Image size: 5027 X 5088 px)
New Resources
Anglo-Saxon Britain for Kids: Living History (2020)
The Anglo-Saxon Age: A Very Short Introduction (1984)
Anglo-Saxons: A Captivating Guide to the People who Inhabited Great Britain from the Early Middle Ages to the Modern Conquest of England (chapters 3 and 4 have information to fullfill the Ancient Civilizations curriculum)
See TMA Shop for more purchasing options of these texts
How to cite this blog:
TMA staff, “Museum Spotlight at TMA: Showcasing art for your lessons," Teaching the Middle Ages, December 20, 2017; revised 2020,https://www.teachingthemiddleages.com/post/museum-spotlight-at-tma.