Scholarship often treats the post-Roman art produced in central and north-western Europe as representative of the pagan identities of the new 'Germanic' rulers of the early medieval world. In this book, Matthias Friedrich offers a critical reevaluation of the ethnic and religious categories of art that still inform our understanding of early medieval art and archaeology. He scrutinises early medieval visual culture by combining archaeological approaches with art historical methods based on contemporary theory. Friedrich examines the transformation of Roman imperial images, together with the contemporary, highly ornamented material culture that is epitomized by 'animal art.' Through a rigorous analysis of a range of objects, he demonstrates how these pathways produced an aesthetic that promoted variety (varietas), a cross-cultural concept that bridged the various ethnic and religious identities of post-Roman Europe and the Mediterranean worlds.

‘It is just beautiful to see someone acknowledge and explore the vast treasure trove that is early medieval art and archaeology, with new questions and ideas in mind. The book is aesthetically pleasing and readable; deep without dragging. It is a new staple for early medieval archaeology and art history.‘

Anna Flückiger Source: Antiquity

‘Both in choice of topic and geographical area of research [the book] unites areas that previously have tended to be divided by national and/or linguistic as well as academic boundaries and represents a welcome addition to this field of study… [The author’s] approach is systematic, clearly presented and well argued, and credibly opens up new ways of understanding the art of the European post-Roman World.’

Ingunn M. Røstad Source: Journal of Swedish Antiquarian Research