EARLY
MEDIEVAL
EUROPE
GARDINER CHAPTER 16-2
PP. 415-421
Carolingian & Ottonian Art

Charlemagne imported whole libraries from Italy, Byzantium; northern painters
trained in Hiberno Saxon pattern making created a sophisticated Late Antique
realism in their illuminated manuscripts. Carolingian Period.

mid-10th century there was a consolidation of the post-Charlemagne empire
under new Saxon line of German emperors: the Ottonians.

Ottonian empire advanced and enriched culture/traditions of Carolingian
period

Ottonians cemented ties with papacy/Italy & generated monastic reforms

By the early 11th century, pagan marauders had been Christianized and settled,
with signs of cultural renewal that would lead to Renaissance.
CAROLINGIAN ART

Christmas day 800 Pope Leo III crowned
Charles the Great/Charlemagne, the king
of the Franks as emperor of Rome ->
becomes the first Holy Roman Emperor

Charlemagne consolidated the Frankish
kingdom of his father and defeated the
Lombards in Italy

He united Europe and laid claim to
reviving the glory of the ancient Roman
Empire

His name Carolus Magnus in Latin is given
to the era -> the Carolingian period
CHARLEMAGNE’S
RENOVATION
IMPERII ROMANI

The “Carolingian Renaissance”

Renovation Imperii Romani =
renewal of the Roman Empire ->
Charlemagne’s official seal
1.
Artistic patronage
2.
Commissioning imperial portrait
statues and illuminated
manuscripts
3.
Fostering a general revival of
learning
SCULPTURE AND PAINTING –
EQUESTRIAN STATUETTE

Equestrian portrait of
Charlemagne or Charles the Bald,
from Metz, France, 9th century,
bronze, 9 ½ “

The model for this statuette was
the equestrian portrait of Marcus
Aurelius in Rome

Emperor is overly large -> focus is
on figure not horse ->
Charlemagne is on parade ->
holds globe, symbol of world
dominion
CORONATION
GOSPELS

Saint Matthew, folio 15 recto of the
Coronation Gospels (Gospel Book of
Charlemagne), from Aachen,
Germany, ca. 800–810. Ink and
tempera on vellum

Patronage placed high value on
books

Painted manuscripts for
Charlemagne’s court reveal the
legacy of classical art -> use of light,
shade, and perspective to create
the illusion of three-dimensional form
EBBO GOSPELS

Saint Matthew, folio 18 verso of the
Ebbo Gospels (Gospel Book of
Archbishop Ebbo of Reims), from
Hautvillers (near Reims), France, ca.
816–835. Ink and tempera on vellum

Ebbo Gospels illuminator replaced
the classical calm and solidity of the
Coronation Gospels evangelist with
an energy that amounts to frenzy

Writing frantically, drapery writhes
and vibrates

Merging of classical illusionism and
northern linear tradition
UTRECHT
PSALTER

Psalm 44, detail of folio 25 recto of the
Utrecht Psalter, ca. 820-835, ink on vellum

One of the most extraordinary medieval
manuscripts is the Utrecht Psalter ->
reproduces the Psalms of David in three
columns of Latin capital letters

Each psalm is illustrated w/a pen and ink
drawing stretching across the entire width
of the page

Rapid, sketchy techniques to render the
figures convey the same nervous vitality
as the Ebbo evangelists
LINDAU
GOSPELS

Crucifixion, front cover of the
Lindau Gospels, from Saint Gall,
Switzerland, ca. 870, gold,
precious stones, and pearls

Sumptuous Carolingian book
cover revives the image of the
youthful Christ -> repousse figure is
statuesque and keeps w/the
classical tastes and imperial
aspirations of the Frankish
“emperors of Rome”
ARCHITECTURE

Charlemagne -> reestablish the
imperial past -> encouraged the
use of Roman building techniques

Reinterpretation of earlier Roman
Christian sources -> fundamental
to subsequent dev. of N. European
architecture

Models for Charlemagne -> Rome
and Ravenna
AACHEN

Aachen in Germany is Charlemagne’s
capital

Interior of the Palatine Chapel of
Charlemagne, Aachen, Germany, 792805

The first vaulted structure of the Middle
Ages north of the Alps -> modeled on San
Vitale -> but w/simple and massive
geometric form

Charlemagne’s throne is in gallery,
halfway between earth and heaven

Largest arches are on the second floor ->
columns that fill the arches do not
support the arch -> they fill space
Carolingian architecture
revives Roman building
techniques and forms and is
marked by a solid
robustness and a clearly
articulated geometric
structure. The Palatine
Chapel at Aachen was
modeled on the Byzantine
church of San Vitale at
Ravenna but with a
simplified the plan.
 Interior of the Palatine
Chapel of Charlemagne,
Aachen, Germany, 792–805
Alternate View
View of the Interior
LORSCH
GATEHOUSE

Torhalle (gatehouse), Lorsch,
Germany, ninth century. The
gatehouse to the Lorsch
Monastery imitates the design of a
Roman city gate but with several
features that mark it as a northern
building.

3 arched openings divided by
engaged columns -> cf. the Arch
of Constantine

Fluted pilasters on the second story

Detail of
red and
beige brick
surface
treatment
SAINT GALL

Carolingian period -> construction
and expansion of many
monasteries

Widespread adoption of the Early
Christian basilica -> example here
Saint Gall

To the side of the church was the
CLOISTER a colonnaded
courtyard reserved for the monks
alone removed from the early
world
MEDIEVAL GOSPELS AND
BENEDICTINE RULE

Drawing of the monastery at Saint Gall in
Switzerland

Saint Benedict -> founder of the
Benedictine order of monks -> made the
rules that governed the monasteries ->
becomes standard for all European
monastic establishments

Communal association in an ABBEY ->
absolute by the ABBOT elected by the
monks

Every day spent in useful work and in sacred
reading -> work and study

Self sufficient communities -> mill, bakery,
infirmary, vegetable garden, brewery

Monasteries central to the revival of
learning -> monopoly on reading and
writing
CORVEY

Westwork of the Abbey church,
Corvey, Germany, 873-885

An important new feature of
Carolingian architecture is the
westwork -> a monumental
western façade incorporating two
towers