Cluny Museum

The Cluny Museum The Cluny Museum, also known as the Museum of the Middle Ages, was built by the Cluny monastic order which believed in finding God through artwork. The pieces of art found in this museum expand from the year 410 to 1300A.D. This was a period that is considered to have little advancement in technology, science, and progressive thinking. It is because of this that this period is sometimes referred to as the Dark Ages. The beautiful pieces of artwork found at the museum makes us want to reject such a term. Although we were not able to see them in our visit, the tapestries of The Women and the Unicorn, are great examples of the beautiful artwork created in Medieval times. The artwork found at this museum is not only meant to be pleasing to the eye but also serves as a documentation of history. The Middle Ages was greatly marked by chivalry, royalty and violence. This becomes evident as we walk through the halls of the museum and see the garments worn by soldiers for battle. To be able to understand why men were willing to risk their lives to fight against the Saxons, Lombards and Moors, we must recall that at that time it was considered a great honor to die fighting for their Lords or Kings. In battle, knights were able to obtain titles of nobility through acts of valor, bravery, and leadership. Such devotion for serving their lords is visible in the painting by Jan Van Eyck titled Knight’s of Christ. It is also important to note that for many of the soldiers who died in the battles raged by their kings and lords, most of them were uneducated peasants who did not know of any other way of living. The greatest honor for them was to die in the name of their lord or king. The church was of great importance during the Middle Ages as it was a place where many devotees of the Catholic Church came to pray. The museum is greatly filled with carved wood and other types of art work that display important biblical scenes. During this time, art was meant to educate the people, as many did not know how to read, and convert them to Christianity. If people failed to convert to Catholicism, they were often executed. It is not surprising to discover the great amount of power the Church possessed considering it was one of the only stable things in people’s lives. During this time, the Black Death was taking many people’s lives and no one could be sure if they would live to see the next sunrise. The Black Plague was one that discriminated no one and rampaged the population of Europe like no other plague had before.