The year 1000: the roots of our civilization

For the medieval people of the 10th and 11th centuries it was certain: the world would end. Chroniclers speak of rains of blood, fire sails, dragons, marching armies on the horizon. Comets and eclipses, those ominous harbingers of change, fueled the unrest even more. Yet it was also a time of renewal. The Abbey of Cluny began its majestic rise in 910: it was the driving force behind a gigantic reform movement. Monasteries and abbeys were founded. Religious life experienced a new impetus. Culture found a rich breeding ground there. That wonderful instrument of power and knowledge, the book in vellum or parchment, copied with monkish patience, became increasingly widespread. The manuscripts were often richly illustrated. The lines are simple, the perspective is wrong, the colours are delicate and perhaps somewhat faded by the ravages of time, but the authenticity is palpable.