Illustration: Middle Ages Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
Interestingly Owen Jones called the colour plates dedicated to the chapter dealing with medieval ornament in his 1856 book The Grammar of Ornament, as Middle Ages, while he entitled the chapter itself as Medieval Ornament. Some see both titles as meaning the same era while others are more particular. It is unclear what Jones himself thought, but his genuine enthusiasm and eagerness for the subject is clearly evident.
Illustration: Middle Ages Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
The 1850s was very much a decade dedicated to the Victorian near breathless enthusiasm for all things Gothic. Jones himself was no less so and the chapter dealing with medieval ornament that he penned himself, is both committed and vehement as to the merits of medievalism within the decorative arts. So much so that he placed the English medieval style on the same level of intuitive understanding as to form and harmony, as that of the ancient Greeks.
Illustration: Middle Ages Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
While some would have violently disagreed, and many others might well have possibly reserved comparing an analogy with that of ancient Greece, there was a distinct and palpable sense of excitement and passion concerning what was seen as the rediscovery in England of an architectural and decorative style that many saw as indigenous, if not to the island itself, then at least to that of Northern Europe.
Illustration: Middle Ages Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
Classicism, routed as it was in the ancient and therefore largely pagan cultures of Greece and Rome, was felt by Gothic enthusiasts to be that of an imported style from a dead and lost culture. However, Gothic or medievalism, was considered a wholly Christian and English born style that was, as much of Victorian England still saw themselves to be at least nominally Christian, a living cultural style.
Illustration: Middle Ages Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
It must be remembered that the Gothic phase in English Victorian decoration, coincided with a large church building phase across England. Many of the new urban and industrial cities that had appeared since the industrial revolution had not been planned or had time to produce any form of infrastructure for the local population. It was considered a scandal by many of the middle classes that factory and mill workers had nowhere to worship on a Sunday, that there were ample facilities to drink on a Sunday had not gone unnoticed. Although church building on a seemingly massive, if short term scale, did not create the enthusiasm for the medieval style, it would still have fuelled much of the debate and interest felt for the traditions of medieval ornamentation that was seen to be such an integral part of the traditional and largely rural parish churches. Many of theses churches which had often been at the centre of the community and its daily life, were directly linked to medieval building and craft skills that were much admired by enthusiasts for this early era of English architecture, ornamentation and decoration.
Jones chapter on Medieval Ornament not only contained colour plates dealing with pattern, but also that of ceramic tile work, stained glass and illuminated manuscripts. This chapter effectively contained all of the elements that were needed, or considered vital, in creating a modern representation, or even re-imagining of medieval England.
Further reading links:
Grammar of Ornament: A Monumental Work of Art
The Grammar of Ornament: All 100 Color Plates from the Folio Edition of the Great Victorian Sourcebook of Historic Design (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
Gothic: Architecture - Sculpture - Painting
The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church 1130-1530
Gothic Revival A&I (Art and Ideas)
In Pointed Style: The Gothic Revival in America, 1800-1860
Medieval Ornament: 950 Illustrations (Dover Pictorial Archives)
Full-Color Medieval Ornament CD-ROM and Book (Dover Pictorial Archives)
Gothic Ornament: Architectural Motifs from York Cathedral (Pictorial Archive Series)
Medieval Ornament from the 9th to the 16th Century (Cambridge Library of Ornamental Art) (Cambridge Lib Series)
Early Medieval Architecture as Bearer of Meaning
Medieval Ornament and Design (Dover Pictorial Archives)
Medieval Ornament (Ornamental Design)
Ornament in Medieval Manuscripts: A Glossary
MEDIEVAL ORNAMENT - FROM THE 11TH TO THE 14TH CENTURY.
English Medieval Wall Painting: The Twelfth Century
Medieval Ornamental Styles
