Access to this video is a benefit for members through
Up Next
Back to Show
Rick Steves' Art of Europe
The Middle Ages
Season 1
Episode 103
After Rome fell, Europe spent a thousand years in its Middle Ages. Its art shows how the light of civilization flickered in monasteries and on Europe’s fringes: Christian Byzantium, Moorish Spain, and pagan Vikings. Then, around A.D. 1000, Europe rebounded. The High Middle Ages brought majestic castles, radiant Gothic cathedrals, and exquisite art that dazzled the faithful and the secular alike.
Support Provided By
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:35
Artists like Van Gogh, Picasso, and Dalí express the complexity of our modern world.
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:16
The art of "divine" kings and popes tells the story of a Europe in transition.
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:36
Around 1400, Europe rediscovered the aesthetics of ancient Greece and Rome.
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:16
The Romans gave Europe its first taste of a common culture—and awe-inspiring art.
55:16
As the Ice Age glaciers melted, European civilization was born—and with it, so was art.