Was the Dark Ages an Age of Light? What happened when the Roman Empire collapsed? This shocking question is one that historian Waldemar Januszczak will answer. He travels around Europe, Africa, and Asia to discover the hidden secrets of the Dark Ages. Waldemar makes the argument that the Dark Ages were an age of light and artistry. The art never lies, the Dark Ages were not an age of darkness but an age of light.
In episode one, the Lost Christian Masterpieces of the Dark Ages, Waldemar Januszczak looks at artwork to dispel the myths that the Dark Ages were dark. The Dark Ages began with the collapse of the Roman Empire. However, in the artistic collapse others filled in the gap. Waldemar examines Christianity and its impact on the creative impact of the dark ages. Waldemar starts in Pompeii and shows learns about the early touches of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Rotas squares were discovered and Waldemar explores how code breakers solved the mystery of the enigmatic phrase on the Rotas square. If one was able to rearrange the squares, one could see a cross and signify that the household members were Christians. Art on the surface, the Romans had beautiful art. However, beneath the surface, in the catacombs, early Christian art could be found. Early Christians communicated through signs and symbols. Waldemar comments about how few images were found in the catacombs. Then 300 years after the birth of Christ, images of Christ start appearing. In one tomb, there were images of animals and people. Even sculptures were created during this period. Jonah was a popular subject in images and sculptures. Waldemar continues to explore the Roman catacombs and the early artwork of Christians. He looks at the Shroud of Turin and finally discovers artwork depictions of Jesus. He discusses the evolution of the image of Christ over the years. Waldemar explores how different groups of people came together and swapped other ideas. Artists borrowed from other artists to create their artwork. Eventually, churches were established and Christians could put their artwork in those churches. With Constantine’s full support, Christians were able to build churches and create worships sites. Places, where maytrs were buried, became attractive sites as well for early Christians. Early Christians wanted to be buried close to martyrs. Constantine’s daughter built a burial site because she wanted to be buried near a martyr. Towards the end of this episode, almost as if it was an afterthought, Waldemar explores why the Roman Empire ended and what eventually lead to its collapse. This would be an appropriate documentary to show in an Art History class. This first episode does not make the argument for the Dark Ages is an age of light. It was really slow going and a challenge follows the argument that he made at the start of the episode. Writing a review for this episode was a challenge. This episode would not be worth showing to a history class nor would it be worth sharing with an independent study student. As a substitute teacher, I would not be showing this episode in a classroom. Unfortunately, Waldemar heavily focuses on the Roman Empire and the emergence of art and not the start of the dark ages. Some of his discussion was overkill and not worth listening to. Why did he not focus on the collapse of the Roman Empire and then talk about religious art? The argument he made at the start of the episode about the dark ages being an age of light falls flat. I hope that future episodes will get better because I was not impressed with this narrator.
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