Medieval Exhibitions listed according to the month they close
2024
29.08.2023 – 02.04.2024 Graphic Design in the Middle Ages
Medieval scribes and artists were some of the world’s first graphic designers, planning individual pages and whole books in creative ways. Exploring the idea of designing a medieval book, from the layout of the page to text as graphic organizing tool, and the role of ornament in the structure of the finished product, this exhibition reveals the ways that design influenced the reading and interpretation of medieval books.
2023
SEPTEMBER
30.03.2023 – 10.09.2023 Horizons: Migrations from Prehistory and into the Future
Stepping into the unknown is an essential human experience – and part of every family history.
Nevertheless, the path to new horizons requires courage. Where to go? What to bring with you? In this exhibition, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum presents examples of people who set out for various reasons, including the children’s book author Judith Kerr and the artists Frank Auerbach and Gerhard Richter.The exhibition presents objects from its own and international collections, which tell the stories of migration, whether real or fictional. From the departure followed by the journey and to arrival , the exhibition explores the stages of migration, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries. It ends with the moon landing as the goal of the future between science and fiction. However, the exhibition will also reach deep into our prehistory and visitors are invited to explore migrations from the Stone Age and into the future.
AUGUST
06.03.2023 – 20.08.2023 Rich Man, Poor Man: Art, Class, and Commerce in a Late Medieval Town at the Met CloistersThis exhibition examines the emergence of distinctly middle-class taste in late medieval England by showcasing a rare set of large-scale domestic sculptures from Exeter. Commissioned by a merchant named Henry Hamlyn, the sculptures, which adorned the exterior of his house, feature stock characters drawn from popular prints and bawdy tales: a jester, a quarreling couple, peasants, and musicians. Rustic in style and subject matter, they fascinatingly came across as figures both amusing and menacing.
16.05.2023 – 06.08.2023 Play and Pastimes in the Middle Ages at The Getty Museum
Discover the lighter side of life in the Middle Ages through the surprising and engaging world of medieval games and leisure. The exhibition features dynamic images of play and explores the role of entertainment in the Middle Ages. Manuscript images capture the complex contests and pastimes that medieval people enjoyed, ranging from a light-hearted game of chess to the dangerous sport of jousting. Then as now, play was thoroughly woven into the fabric of society at every level.
MAY
10.09.2022 – 07.05.2023 Tota Frisia at the Fries Museum
In the autumn, the Fries Museum presents an exhibition about the High and Late Middle Ages. The exhibition focuses on the former coastal area of the Wadden Sea and the medieval society of Tota Frisia. At that time, Friesland extended from the Zuiderzee to the Weser in Ostfriesland, Germany. In a landscape full of castles, churches and monasteries, the inhabitants chose their own judges, had their own language and a distinctive clothing style. The inspiration for this exhibition is the Fries Museum’s rich but unknown archaeological collection of medieval objects, which will be supplemented with (inter)national loans. With these objects as a guide, visitors will relive the years 1067-1567, from the time of violent feudal societies and wealthy monasteries to the devastating plague pandemic. This major exhibition links up seamlessly with the Fries Museum’s widely praised We Vikings exhibition in 2019.
APRIL
31.01.2023 – 23.04.2023 A Passion for Collecting Manuscripts at the Getty Museum
The Getty Museum is one of the few museums in the United States that maintains and displays a collection of medieval illuminated manuscripts. Portable and sumptuous, these hand-crafted treasures have garnered the interest of collectors throughout the centuries. Each has a unique story, and clues in the books themselves often provide tantalizing evidence that help reconstruct their meanderings through time. This exhibition shares intriguing stories about our manuscripts and the remarkable journeys that brought them to Los Angeles.
16.10.2022 – 16.4.2023 The Hapsburgs in the Middle Ages. The Rise of a Dynasty
No major medieval history exhibition in Germany comparable to the important surveys of the Carolingians, Ottonians, Salians, Hohenstaufens and Wittelsbachs has ever explored the medieval imperial Habsburg dynasty. Speyer, the sole grave site of medieval Habsburgs outside Austria, is particularly suited among German museum and exhibition venues to trace the dynasty’s rise from Rudolf I to Maximilian I on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of Rudolf I’s accession to the throne.
Following the state exhibitions “Salians” (2011) and “Richard the Lionheart” (2017/18) shown at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate, the Habsburgs will make it possible to localize major history of the European Middle Ages in Speyer and the Palatinate once again.
The Habsburg dynasty shaped Europe’s fortunes for centuries. The family, known as the “House of Austria”, has its roots in southwestern Germany, though. Rudolf I, who in 1273 became the first Habsburg elected King of the Romans, laid the foundation for their rise from comital to imperial dynasty. Following his death in Speyer on July 15th 1291, he was laid to rest in the Imperial Cathedral of Speyer “where more of my ancestors are, who were also kings”
FEBRUARY
21.10.2022 – 05.02.2023 ROMA MEDIEVALE. Il volto perduto della città at the Museum of Rome
An exhibition to rediscover the lost face of Rome between the 6th and 14th centuries and its pivotal role in Christian and medieval Europe for both simple pilgrims and rulers and emperors. The exhibition itinerary, divided into 9 sections, with over 160 works including mosaics, frescoes and movable works, mainly from Roman public collections and places of worship, as well as from prestigious museum institutions such as the Musei Vaticani, was created with the aim of raising awareness of little-known aspects of the heritage of the Urbe. It starts with the discovery of the mediaeval city through its most iconic places, such as basilicas and palaces, but also through the environmental context, today profoundly modified, such as the course of the Tiber with ports and bridges where urban life and activities took place. The immersion in the reality of the Roman Middle Ages is then deepened by examining the rich patronage of popes and cardinals, the activity of artists and workshops, and the city’s fascination as an essential pilgrimage destination even for kings and emperors. Rich didactic apparatuses illustrate the many faces of the undisputed capital of medieval Europe in the exhibition.
18.09.2022 – 26.02.2023 The Normans. At the Reiss-Engelhorn Museum in Mannheim, Germany
The history of the Normans continues to astonish and surprise to the present day: starting out as highly mobile warriors, mercenaries or minor aristocracy, Normans became powerful princes and rulers who left their traces all over Europe and beyond. Their history is a story of interconnectedness, which influenced in a long-lasting way the cultural and political development of Europe and the Mediterranean.
07.09.2022 – 12.02.2023 Islam in Europe. In Hildesheim at the Dommuseum
The treasuries of European churches, including the Hildesheim Cathedral Treasury (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), preserve numerous artefacts from regions where the Islamic faith exercised a formative influence. Based on these objects, the grand special exhibition at the Hildesheim Cathedral Museum sheds light on shared achievements and cultural entanglements. With outstanding works on loan from international lenders, including pieces from Florence, London, Paris, and Vienna, it offers visitors a unique opportunity to explore a history that has direct bearing on contemporary concerns.
JANUARY
18.10.2022 – 22.01.2023 Medieval Britain in Colour: 500 Years of Illuminated Manuscripts
Medieval book artists – known as illuminators – were remarkable innovators. This focussed display charts the changing use of pigments and gold by British illuminators from tenth to the fifteenth century, looking at themes such as Discovery and Innovation, The Story of Blue, and Working with Gold.The 14 manuscripts on display are drawn principally from our own collections and include the Macclesfield Psalter and the Peterborough Psalter. Exceptional loans from Cambridge colleges, including the second volume of the Bury Bible from the Parker Library, are also on display.The manuscripts have been selected from over 70 that we have examined as part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded research collaboration with Durham University, and several have their origins in our local region of East Anglia. The display showcases the pioneering contribution the Fitzwilliam’s heritage scientists and curators have made to manuscript studies.
2022
SEPTEMBER
01.09.2022 The Art of Toulouse in the 14th century
The exhibition will be organised together with the Musée des Augustins, Toulouse.
MAY
20.05.2022 -02.10.2022 Gold at the British Library
Dazzling beauty, striking resilience. Gold has long held the power to ignite feelings of awe and wonder across cultures. Take a journey around the globe to learn how gold elevated art in manuscripts and books. Discover the masterful techniques used to handle such a precious metal. Examine items that are hundreds of years old. Unveil the stories illuminated by gold in 50 of the most spectacular manuscripts in the collections of the british Libarry.
12.05.2022 Musee du Cluny – or the Medieval Museum in Paris – opens after three years of renovation
The Museum plans to host two special exhibitions per year. Musee du Cluny is one of two museums in the world, solely dedicated to the history and art of the Middle Ages. This spring, the main event will be the grand opening of the new museum
APRIL
01.04.2022 – 01.10.2023 Middle Ages in Nüremberg. Late Medieval Art
The National Museum in Nüremberg holds one of the largest collections of medieval art and artefacts from dayly life. In the next year, the museum plans to renovate the exhibition. Meanwhile visitors will have the opportunity to delve into twenty of the most precious object in the collection.
JANUARY
With Bible and Spades
Magdeburg
10.09.2021 – 9.01.2022
In 1121, Norbert of Xanten founded the order of the Premonstratensians (Candidus et Canonicus Ordo Praemonstratensis) in Laon. Later, Norbert was called as archbishop to Magdeburg. He was a close friend of Bernard of Clairvaux and the new order was influenced by the ideals of the Cistercians. However, the Premonstratensians was an order of canons, and their work involved preaching and the exercising of pastoral ministry. In 1121, Magdeburg celebrates the 900-anniversary of the foundation with an exhibition at the Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg. Parallel exhibitions will be held in the Library and gallery of the Strahov Monastery and at the Abdij van Park in Leuven
2021
DECEMBER
Thomas Becket 1120 – 1170
Canterbury Cathedral and Canterbury
11.12.2020 – 31.12.2021
2020 marks an important dual anniversary for the extraordinary figure of Thomas Becket. It will be 850 years since his dramatic murder on the 29th December 1170 in Canterbury Cathedral, and 800 years since his body was moved on the 7th July 1220 from a tomb in the crypt of the cathedral into a glittering shrine. The events of 1220 were orchestrated to relaunch the cult of Becket, and ensured that Canterbury became the principal pilgrimage destination in England and one of the major pilgrimage sites within Europe. The anniversary is marked by a series of conferences, events and exhibitions.
SEPTEMBER
The Abbey of St Edmund: Artisan and Pilgrimage
01.07.2021-30.0.9.2021
Myse’s Hall, Bury St. Edmund
A special exhibition entitled “The Abbey of St Edmund: Artisan and Pilgrimage” in the Liberty of St Edmund at Moyse’s Hall Museum from 1 July – 30 September 2020. The exhibition will showcase the beauty and gravitas of St Edmunds’ Abbey, as well as explore the people that travelled great distances to see the tomb of our martyred king.
Special events will see evening workshops for adults that show how crafts people created the beautiful carvings, stained glass and stonework, while craft workshops for younger explorers will run throughout the summer holidays, along with trails, sensory tours, treasure hunts and hands-on activities.
AUGUST
Thomas Becket: murder and the making of a saint
British Museum
22.04.2021 – 22.08.21
Becket was one of the most powerful figures of his time, serving as royal Chancellor and later as Archbishop of Canterbury. Initially a close friend of King Henry II, the two men became engaged in a bitter dispute that culminated in Becket’s shocking murder by knights with close ties to the king. The assassination of Thomas Becket, in Canterbury Cathedral, on 29 December 1170 changed the course of history.
Marking the 850th anniversary of this dramatic crime, this major exhibition will present Becket’s tumultuous journey from a London merchant’s son to Archbishop, and from a revered saint in death to a ‘traitor’ in the eyes of Henry VIII, over 350 years later. Get up close to the man, the murder and the legend through an incredible array of objects associated with Becket, including medieval stained glass, manuscripts, jewellery and sacred reliquaries. It will feature artefacts from the Museum’s collection as well as important loans from other major collections from the UK and around the world.
JUNE
The World of Clovis. Merovingian Itenerary
Mariemont
13.02.2021 – 13.06.2021
In spring 2021, Musée royal de Mariemont mounts an exhibition showing numerous pieces of arts and domestic objects discovered as part of archaeological exhibitions in the region. The exhibition presents a new synthesis of the remarquable period.
Late Gothic Art
Berlin
19.02.2021 – 27.06.2021
Inspired by developments in the Netherlands, artistic means of expression began to change in the first half of the 15th century. Light and shade as well as body and space came to be depicted with increasing realism. With advances in printing techniques, these innovations also found mass distribution. A major exhibition at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. Some of the masterpieces are available for perusal at the Google site: Arts & Culture
APRIL
Kaiserjahr 2020
Mainz and elswhere in the RheinlandPfalz
09.09.2020 – 18.04.2021
The Emperors and the Five pillars of their Power Bastion. A series of exhibitions and events throughout RheinlandPfalz, organised to explore the Imperial powers from Charlemagne to Fredric Barbarossa. The “Year of the Emperors” opens on the 26th of April on the Imperial Castle at Trifels.
MARCH
Ô Moyen Âge. Les Merovingiens en pays Chartrain
Chartres
03.10.2020 – 07.03. 2021
The exhibition shows the development of Chartres and the surrounding countryside in the Merovingian period from the 5th to the 8th century. The exhibition focus on the recent archaeological finds in the region.
The Germanic Tribes – Archaeological Perspectives
Berlin
18.09.2020 – 21.03.2021
For the first time, the Germanic tribes will be the focus of a large-scale archaeological exhibition. In collaboration with the LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn, the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte in Berlin is showing the special exhibition: The Germanic Tribes: Archaeological Perspectives. In the James-Simon-Galerie – which is reopening its doors to host the exhibition – more than 700 exhibits will be on display, including numerous new finds and outstanding loans from across Germany, Denmark, Poland and Romania. Parallel to this, The Neues Museum will present the shifting history of research into the Germanic tribes and its reception as well as the construction of the Germanic Myth.
2020
NOVEMBER
The History of the Wittelsbacher and Bayern
Wittelsbacher Castle, Friedberg and at the Feuerhaus in Aichnach.
29.04.2020 – 08.11.2020
The exhibition aims to show the history of Bavaria and the ruling dynasty of the Wittelsbacher in the Middle Ages from ca. 1200 – 1300. The first exhibition is traditional, while the second – at Aichach – aims to use multimedia at the forefront of the technological future.
OCTOBER
Helden, Märtyrer, Heilige. Wege ins Paradis
German National Museum, Nürnberg
11.04.2019 – 04.10.2020
Who were the Late Medieval heroes? How were they presented to the public? How did people identify themselves with these heroes, martyrs, and saints? These are the questions explored by the National Museum in Nuremberg in 2020.
AUGUST
Hebrew Manuscripts
British Library, London
20.03.2020 – 02.08. 2020
Journey beyond the Bible to discover the history, culture and traditions of Jewish people from all corners of the world through the ages. Through rarely-seen treasures from as far back as the 10th century, this exhibition takes you from Europe and North Africa, through to the Middle East and China to explore the relationships between Jews and their neighbours in the communities that they lived in.
JULY
Meister Arnt of Kalkar and Zwolle
Schnütgen Museum, Cologne
02.04.2020 – 05.07.2020
The first monographic exhibition on the founder of a rich carver school on the Lower Rhine takes the visitors into the era of the late Middle Ages. About 50 works by the artist, who worked between about 1460 and 1492, will be shown. The late Gothic oeuvre of Meister Arnt captivates by extraordinary liveliness, richness of subject and narrative joy.
JUNE
At the Beginning of the Middle Ages – Aux Sources du Moyen Âge 350 – 1000
Musée cantonal d’archéologie et d’histoire at Lausanne
07.02.2020 – 28.06.2020
The exhibition will reveal the small and the big story of the period reaching from the end of Antiquity to the year 1000; a period, which remains poorly known to the public. Spanning from late Antiquity, the names of the Burgundians, Alamans and Franks may evoke vague memories of school and numerous clichés such as the barbarian invasions having ravaged cities and countryside, casuing famines and diseases and destroying for a long time all traces of civilization. The development of archeology of the High Middle Ages for more than forty years now, in Switzerland as ell as in France, today allows for a fundamental revision. Visitors will have the opportunity to discover the richness and diversity of the artefacts from this period preserved in the chosen region, which covers the cantons of Valais, Vaud and Geneva, as well as part of those of Friborg, Neuchâtel and of the Jura.
MAY
Set the Table in the Middle Ages
Tour Jean Sans Peur, Paris
08.01.2020 – 10.05.2020
APRIL
Van Eyck. An Optical Illusion.
Ghent MSK
01.02.2020 – 30.04.2020
Worldwide, only approximately twenty works by Van Eyck have been preserved. Quite exceptionally, over half of these will travel to Ghent in 2020 for the exhibition ‘Van Eyck. An optical revolution’ at the Museum of Fine Arts (MSK). In what promises to be an unmissable, tour de force of an exhibition, the world of Van Eyck and his revolutionary gaze will be brought to life like never before.
MARCH
Crossroads
Travelling through Middle Ages
Art & History Museum, Brussels
27.09.2019 – 29.03.2020
The fall of the Roman Empire set Europe on a declining path. That is, at least, what the classic version of the story about the Early Middle Ages tells us. Indeed, this period which extends from 300 to 1000 A.C. is also known as the ‘Dark Ages’. The Crossroads exhibition invites you to travel through the Early Middle Ages and to reconsider the classic version of this period of History which was, in reality, fascinating. Visit the exhibition to meet the Avars, the Francs, the Merovingians, the Byzantines, the Egyptians and the Vikings.
FEBRUARY
Fascination of the City
Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg
01.09.2019 – 02.02.2020
The exhibition aims to showcase the medieval city as a cultural hotspot gathering exotica and precious pieces of art in the wake of the trade and commerce. Highlights are the four extant manuscripts of the Sachsenspiegel – from Oldenburg, Heidelberg, Wolfenbüttel and Dresden. One of the most important books of law from the high Middle Ages, the lush illuminations in the manuscripts offer numerous inroads into the daily life in the 13thcentury.
JANUARY
North & South
European Masterpieces reunited
25.10.2019 – 26.01-2020
This autumn, Museum Catharijneconvent presents the exhibition North & South: European masterpieces reunited. As it turns out, both the far North and far South of Europe medieval masterpieces have survived that are remarkably similar despite the great distance that separates them. We succeeded in having these rare works of art from the period 1100-1350 travel on this single occasion from Catalonia (Spain) and Norway to Utrecht. From 25 October 2019 until 26 January 2020 visitors will be able to enjoy their astonishing beauty and similarity in style. It will be an absolute ‘must see’ because art from this early period has hardly survived in Central Europe.
The Art Of Embroidery
Musée du Cluny, Paris
24.10.2019 – 20.01.2020
Embroidery with silk, gold and silver threads is one of the most precious and prestigious arts of the Middle Ages. And yet, these works are little known today.
The museum has one of the most beautiful collections of embroidery from the 12th to the 16th century in the world. This exhibition is an opportunity to let them interact with other masterpieces from international collections.
Gold & Ruhm – Geschenke für die Ewigkeit
Historischen Museums Basel
11.10.2019 – 10.01.2020
This year, the Basel Minster marks its 1000th anniversary with a major exhibition showcasing the cultural history of the reign of Henry II, the last Ottonian emperor