CharlemagneandReligious
Inspirationofthe
AachenChapel
1903ENVArchitectureandLandscapeArchitectureHistory
HistoryEssay2
Aachencathedralisarguableoneofthegreatestmedievalbuildingsofalltime.It
has been inducted into the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation(UNESCO)asaworldheritagelistedbuildingsince1978.1Thisyear
manypeoplewillagainmakethepilgrimagetoAachencathedraltoexperience
and see first hand the relics of the church. These relics are only shown to the
publiconceeverysevenyears.Thisessaywillexploretheimpactssurrounding
the building at the time of its build and will argue that Charlemagne intense
desiretocreatea‘NewRome’andthisintensedesireinfluencedmajoraspectsof
the Aachen Palace Complex build and more specifically that Charlemagne’s
intense desire is evidenced in Palatine Chapel of Aachen. This essay will also
exploretheAachenChapel’sroleinbeingabeaconofpowerandreligiousvigour
in Charlemagne’s reign and the passion with which Charlemagne sought a
‘perfect’chapel.
This essay will begin with a condensed look of the Charlemagne’s and the
history behind the Palatine Chapel. This paper will then move onto a brief
overlay of how Charlemagne’s conquests to the south may have influenced the
design of the chapel. Thirdly, this paper will cover aspects of spolia and other
materials used in the Palatine Chapel and how these further confirmed
Charlemagne’sdesiretocreatea‘NewRome.’Alookatthechapelandhowthe
religious texts used as influence for the design brief will follow the desire of a
‘New Rome’ by Charlemagne. In conclusion this paper will touch on the
pilgrimagesandhowtheseplayedintoCharlemagne’sideaofa‘NewRome’and
howCharlemagne’sdeathfurtherhelpedthelongevityofthebuilding.
Charlemagnewasarguableoneofthemostinfluentialemperorsofthemedieval
society,especiallyinregardstoarchitecturaldevelopmentofthistime.Through
hisinfluenceEuropewasexposedtoCarolingianRomanesquearchitecture.This
styletakestheessenceofromanarchitecturemixedwithByzantineandoriental
1"AachenCathedral,"UnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCulturalOrganisation,
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/3/.
influences as can be seen in selected buildings.2One of the best examples of
Carolingian architecture is perhaps the Aachen Chapel, also known as the
Palatine Chapel or Aix-la-Chapelle. However, the term ‘Palatine chapel’ can
include any emperor’s private chapel and does not necessarily point to this
building.Thisessay,however,willimplytheterm“PalatineChapel”,withthatof
the chapel located at Aachen, unless otherwise mentioned, as this is the most
completeexampleofaPalatinechapelstillinsurvival.3ThisPalatineChapel,at
Aachen,waspartofalargerpalacestructurebuildthatwasstartedin792.The
architectforthePalatineChapelbuildwasOdoofMetz.4Thiscomplexwasbuilt
overRomanremainsandwasperhapschosenforthegeopoliticalconsiderations
and the natural hot baths of the region.5 This location was also chosen for
personalreasonsasCharlemagnewasbornherearound742.6Charlemagnewas
possibly 50 years of age at this time and the hot baths were known for their
therapeuticqualitiesandwerebelievedtohealskindiseases,sciatica,goutand
rheumatism.7Thehealingqualitiesofthesewaterswereanotheridealreasonto
return here and build a fixed residence such as that in Constantinople.8The
building at the Aachen Palace Complex (Figure 1.1) was an architectural icon
thatdisplayedthepowerofCharlemagneandtheChristianchurch.9
Figure1.1
Charlemagne’sPalace
Complex,Aachen
2KennethJohnConant,CarolingianandRomanesqueArchitecture800-1200,4ed.(YaleUniversityPress,
1978).
3"PalatineChapel,"EncyclopediaBritannicaOnline,
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/439221/Palatine-Chapel.
4CarolingianandRomanesqueArchitecture800-1200,pg.47.
5W.EugeneKleinbauer,"Charlemagne'sPalaceChapelatAachenandItsCopies,"Gesta4,no.Spring1965
(1965).
6Conant,CarolingianandRomanesqueArchitecture800-1200.
7KlausReicholdandBernhardGraf,BuildingThatChangedtheWorld(London:PrestelVerlag,1999),pg.
50.
8DonaldBullough,TheAgeofCharlemagne(GreatBritain:PaulElekLimited,1973),pg148.
9RogerStally,EarlyMedievalArchitecture(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1999),pg.40.
Manyscholarsbelievethatthattheideaofafixedresidencewasasymbolofthe
king’s superiority over fellow monarchs and his subjects. The king was also
considered to have Divine favour from God and blessed to be able to build a
fixed structure at this time.10It was Charlemagne idea to set out and create a
New Rome when he began his construction of the Aachen Chapel.11A place
where the traits of the old Roman Empire, such as arts, literature and
governance could flourish.12A place for scholars, linguist and other educated
people to come together13, just as Rome, and later Ravenna (also the Roman
Capital,atonepoint)were,attheheightofpopulation.ThroughCharlemagne’s
vision many influential people made their way to Aachen such as Irishmen,
Anglo-Saxons, Lombards and Visigoths. 14 Charlemagne donated lands and
money to encourage architecture and the building of schools, and government
administrations.15Charlemagne was a king of both drive and passion. A king
whohadavisionandhadthededicationtoseestepstakenforthatvisiontobe
realized. The Aachen Palace complex was an upcoming hub of culture and
influencesuchasthoseofRomeatitsheight.
The palace complex was based on Roman architecture as revealed by the
modellingaftertheLateranPalaceinRome.16Morespecifically,inthescopeof
this paper, the Palatine chapel of Aachen is argued to have a few influences to
the design however scholars agree that the San Vitale of Ravenna is a major
influence.SanVitalewasstartedintheyearof526bytheByzantineEmpirewho
occupied the region of Italy in the 6th century and because of this the building
has both western and eastern influences.17San Vitale is a significant piece of
Byzantium architecture and through Charlemagne’s quest to rid the Lombards
from this city he was able to experience this building first hand.18San Vitale
10Bullough,TheAgeofCharlemagne,pg.148.
11"HistoryofCharlemagne;SChapelinAachen,"
http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/mbs201crusades/LectureTwo/PalaceChapelHistory.htm.
12MarianMoffett,MichaelFazio,andLawranceWodehouse,AWorldHistoryofArchitecture(London:
LawrenceKingPublishingLtd,2003),pg.192.
13Feierabend,Romanesque,trans.EricMartinson(Milan:Eurolitho,2002),pg.11.
14Ibid.
15Moffett,Fazio,andWodehouse,AWorldHistoryofArchitecture.
16Ibid.
17BillAddis,Building:3000YearsofDesign,EngineeringandConstruction(London:PhaidonPressLimited,
2007),pg.71.
18Bullough,TheAgeofCharlemagne,pg.51.
resonated with Charlemagne on a personal level and he was deeply impressed
with the building and the decorations.19However San Vitale was not the only
possibleinspirationsbehindthePalatinechapel.Aesthetically,thechapelrelates
closertothatofStDenisofFrance,andStRiquiealsoofFrance.20
Figure1.2
ComparisonofSanVitale(Left)andAachenChapel(right)Plan
Although Aachen chapel may have been heavily inspired by eastern influences
the techniques used were Roman. The architecture evident in the massive
masonry construction and the semi-circular arches are echoes of roman
architecture.21YarwoodarguesthatinfluencesfromRome,atitsmostimperial,
canbeseenbytheItalianmosaicandmarblesusedinthedesignofthePalatine
Chapel.Shegoesontostatethattheoctagon,domelikevaultcanalsobeseenas
Imperial Roman design.22Furthermore, other elements of the design and build
include evolved elements from Antiquity including the bronze balustrades.
Saalman states that whilst talking about the Aachen Chapels connection to the
19Stally,EarlyMedievalArchitecture.
20Bullough,TheAgeofCharlemagne,pg.150.
21JenettaReboldBenton,ArtoftheMiddleAges(London:Thames&HudsonLtd2002),pg.44.
22DoreenYarwood,TheArchitectureofEurope(GreatBritain:LibraryofCongressCataloguingin
PublicationData,1974),pg.131.
LateranbasilicaofRome“itshouldberecalled…………..thattheLateranBasilica,
perhaps Constantine’s palace church in Rome, was also originally dedicated to
theSaviourandthatthefifth-centurybaptisterynearitisanoctagonalbuilding
not wholly unlike the Aachen Chapel.” 23 This is yet another example that
Charlemagne was modelling the Aachen Palace complex, and more specifically
theAachenChapelaftertheclassicalromanarchitectureofConstantine’stime.
The relocation of spolia (the recycling of parts of existing buildings in the
construction of a new building24) over vast distances is another indication of
whatCharlemagnewasattemptingtoachieveinhis‘NewRome’andthelengths
he was willing to peruse to make his vision a reality. Charlemagne, at the
acceptanceofPopeHadrianIspecificallytookspoliafromRavennaandRometo
Aachen. 25 From Ravenna, Charlemagne was able to obtain polished marble
columns from the Palace of Exarchs to be used in the arcade of the gallery.26
There were sixteen marble columns hauled over the Alps.27A journey of over
1000 kilometres, through the Alps was no small feat in medieval times. Spolia
wasalsotakenfromRome.Thiswasalargerjourneyofabout1500kilometres.
Kubach argues that historians rarely made mention of the transportation of
stone over long distances and because of this when the transport of said
materialsismentioneditisoutoftheordinaryandofsignificance.28Thedisplay
ofChristendomwasbothimportantnotonlytoCharlemagnebutalsoPapacyas
evidencedbytheletterwrittenbyHadrianIauthorizinghimtotakethemarble,
mosaics and other materials from a palace in Ravenna.29Overall, the detailing
and the decorations is where people are able to see the skill of the master
craftsmenandartiststhatworkonthisbuilding.30
23HowardSaalman,TheGreatAgesofWorldArchitecture:MedievalArchitecture(London:Prentice-Hall
International,Inc,1962),pg.23.
24JamesStevensCurl,"Spoila,"Enclopedia.com,http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-spolia.html.
25Feierabend,Romanesque.
26Moffett,Fazio,andWodehouse,AWorldHistoryofArchitecture,pg.194.
27Ibid.
28HansErichKubach,RomanesqueArchitecture(NewYorkHarryN.AbramIncorporated,1975),pg.382.
29AgnellusofRavenna,TheBookofPontiffsoftheChurchofRavenna,trans.DeborahMauskopfDeliyannis
(UnitedStatesofAmerica:TheCatholicUniversityofAmericaPress,2004),pg.77.
30Bullough,TheAgeofCharlemagne,pg.150.
AnotherofthenotabledesignelementsofthePalatineChapelistheinscription
ontheinteriorcornice.Thisinscriptionwhentranslatedreads:“Whentheliving
stones are assembled harmoniously, and the numbers coincide in an equal
manner,thenrisesresplendentlytheworkoftheLordwhohasconstructedthe
entirehall.”31Thesecondhalfofthisinscription,referringtotheconstructionof
thehallisclearlyrelatestowho‘constructedthebuild’-theLordorGod.Stalley
argues that the inscription of the inner cornice is meant to be viewed as an
imageofHeavenlyJerusalem.32
Furthermore,whenlookingatthedimensionsofthebuilditbecomesclearerof
the biblical connotations related to the construction. The specificity of these
dimensions cannot be coincidence. These relations back to biblical text in the
buildareshowninsuchthingsasthecircumferenceoftheinneroctagon,which
measure 144 Carolingian feet. This is the same as the walls described in the
HeavenlyJerusalemintheBookofRevelationsChapter21verse17.33Thisstates
“And he measure the wall thereof, and hundred and forty and four cubits,
according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.”34Another passage of
Revelations Chapter 4 verse 1-4 from The Message Bible (MSG) states that the
doortoheavenopenedandtherewasathronewithOneseatedontheThrone
andtwenty-fourelderswereseatedonthronesalsowearinggoldcrowns.35This
passage of the Bible was depicted in the Aachen chapel on the internal dome
roof.YetanotherexampleoftheChapel’srelationtobiblicaltextisintheformof
mosaicinthecupolaofthedome.ThisshowstheEldersandBeastsoftheend
timessuchasthosedescribedinRevelations4:4-8;5:6-8.Thesewereasymbol
of divine world government.36These examples further confirm the use of the
PalatineChapelasasymbolofboththestrengthandpietyofCharlemagneand
Christendom. The Aachen chapel was an immense show of power of both
ChristiandoctrineandCharlemagne’sstatusasbothKingandlaterHolyRoman
31"CarolingianEmpire,"Oneonta,
http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/arth212/carolingian_empire.html.
32Stally,EarlyMedievalArchitecture,pg.71.
33Ibid.,pg.73.
34"TheHolyBible,"KingJamesBibleOnline,http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Revelation-21-17/.
35"TheMessageBible,"TheMessageBible,
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+4&version=MSG.
36Saalman,TheGreatAgesofWorldArchitecture:MedievalArchitecture,pg.23.
Emperor. Through the building of the largest church in the history of his time,
northoftheAlps,sincethedeclineoftheRomanEmpire,37Charlemagne’sstatus
with the Papacy would have increased. It is little surprise that whilst this
immenseprojectwasbeingundertakenPopeLeoIIIdecidedhaveacoronation
andappointCharlemagneasEmperorin800AD.38
Figure1.3
DomeofPalatineChapelshowingRevelations4:1-4
As well as expressing his piety through built structure, Charlemagne collected
manyrelicsinhistimeofrule,amongthesearetheswaddling-clothsofthebaby
Jesus,theloinclothwornbyJesuswhilehewasontheCross,thecloththatlay
theheadofStJohntheBaptistafterhisbeheadingandthecloakoftheBlessed
Virgin (Mary – the mother of Jesus). 39 These would have surely attracted
pilgrims.Pilgrimageswereusedasspiritualjourneys,intheMiddleAges,itwas
thought to bring a person a higher level of piety. However pilgrimages also
fulfilled other personal goals of those who undertook them, such as fulfilling a
spiritualvow,travellingtoasacredlocationtoseekacure,orsimplyawayto
37Moffett,Fazio,andWodehouse,AWorldHistoryofArchitecture,pg.194.
38Saalman,TheGreatAgesofWorldArchitecture:MedievalArchitecture,pg.11.
39Moffett,Fazio,andWodehouse,AWorldHistoryofArchitecture,pg.194.
deepentheirChristinafaith.Earlyinthelifeofpilgrimage,Romewasapopular
destination.Itwasthoughttobethe‘thresholdoftheapostles’andwaswhere
Paul and Peter, two famous Christian martyrs were buried. Rome is also the
placeofotherrelics.40Sorabellaargues,“sacredarchitecturecomplementedthe
interior meditations of visitors to the sites of Christ’s mission on earth” 41
Through the use of very notable objects of Christendom, Charlemagne would
have been increasing his status with the Papacy and paving his own way to
Heaven,aswasbelievedatthistime.OnecanthereforeseethatCharlemagne’s
vision for creating a ‘New Rome’ was closer to completion by erecting and
cateringforthepilgrimagesofthemiddleages.
Charlemagne’slegacyattheendofhisreignwasasinstrumentalasthelifehe
hadleadforthePalatineChapel.Manygiftswerebestoweduponthechurchat
the time of his death, as this was where Charlemagne was buried. These
gifts/relics further enhanced the importance of the chapel. One set of these
relicswasthreesilvertables,eachonehaveauniquedesign.Thefirstofthese
had “concentric circles containing tiny figures representing the universe,” the
second and third were representations of Rome and Constantinople
respectively.Thesymbolismofthesesilvertablesisobvious.42Manypilgrims
traversedthecountrytomakeittoanumberofinfluentialChristianstructures
toseethesplendourofsuchaplacetheyhadneverseenbefore,suchasthatat
Aachen.43Astheincreaseofpilgrimstravellingtoseethechurchtheneedarose
toaddanadditiontothealreadyinfluentialdesign.Onthe600thanniversaryof
Charlemagne’s death the glass choir was added and later the gothic extension,
perhapstakingawayfromtheoriginalvisionofthe‘NewRome’ofCharlemagne,
but still adding another needed element to the chapel without altering the
originaldesignthatwasheldinsuchhighregardforsomanyyears.
40JeanSorabella,"PilgrimageintheMiddleAges,"TheMetropolitanMuseumofArt,
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pilg/hd_pilg.htm.
41DebraJ.Birch,PilgrimagetoRomeintheMiddleAges:ContinuityandChange(Woodbridge:TheBoydell
Press,1998),pg.6.
42Bullough,TheAgeofCharlemagne,pg.191.
43Ibid.,pg.154.
Inshort,thisessayhascoveredpointsofhowafixedresidencewasabletoadd
further meaning to Charlemagne ‘New Rome.’ This paper then covered the
inspirationsforthePalatineChapelandmovedontothematerialsofthedesign
and haulage these items went under to reach the palace complex at Aachen.
Furthermore, this essay covered religious context of the building and how
scripture significantly influenced the overall building. The role of the pilgrims
andCharlemagne’slegacywerethepointslastlycoveredtowrapupthisessay
onCharlemagneandReligiousInspirationofAachenChapel.
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Images
Figure1.1
MerovingianandCarolingianTowns:Slides,AachenExteriorViewfromWest,
accessed23May2014.
http://www.hist.umn.edu/hist3611/moved/protected/week3/images/aachenp
alace2.jpg
Figure1.2
CarolingianEmpire,ComparisonofSanVitaleandAachenChapelplans,
accessed21May2014
http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/Images/109images/Carolingian/
Aachen_PalChap_plan.jpg
Figure1.3
MarioSantana,DomeofPalatineChapelshowingRevelations4:1-4acessed23
May2014.
http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/thumbs/site_0003_0001-500-33220131014170237.jpg