Charlemagne and the Rise of Medieval Culture
The Carolingian, Monastic, and Romanesque Phases of the Medieval Period
Culture and Values – Chapter 09
Outline Chapter 9: Charlemagne
and The Rise Of Medieval Culture
Charlemagne as Ruler and Diplomat
Learning in the Time of Charlemagne
Benedictine Monasticism
The Rule of Saint Benedict
Women and the Monastic Life
Monasticism and Gregorian Chant
Liturgical Music and the Rise of Drama
The Liturgical Trope
The Quem Quæritis Trope
The Morality Play: Everyman
Nonliturgical Drama
The Legend of Charlemagne: Song of Roland
The Visual Arts
The Illuminated Book
Charlemagne's Palace at Aachen
The Carolingian Monastery
The Romanesque Style
Timeline: Chapter 9
8th-9th centuries - Irish Book of Kells
735 - Death of Venerable Bede, author of Ecclesiastical History
of the English People and other religious writings
800- Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Rome
by Pope Leo III
c. 810 - Gregorian plain chant (cantus planus) obligatory in
Charlemagne's churches
814 - Carolingian monasteries adopt Rule of
Saint Benedict of Nursia (480-547?)
1066 - Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror
c. 1071-1112 - Pilgrimage church at Santiago de Compostela, Spain
1096-1120 - Abbey Church of La Madeleine, Vezelay
c. 1125 – St. Bernard of Clairvaux denounces
extravagances of Romanesque decoration
1098 - Song of Roland, chanson de geste inspired by Battle of
Roncesvalles, written down after 300 years of oral tradition
1165 - Charlemagne canonized at Cathedral of Aachen
Carolingian Renaissance
Our attention in this chapter shifts from Byzantium to the West and,
more specifically, to the rise of the kingdom of the Franks under
Charlemagne. The so-called Carolingian Renaissance rekindled the
life of culture after the dark period following the fall of the last Roman
emperor in the West in the late fifth century and the rise of the
so-called barbarian tribes.
Holy Roman Empire
Charlemagne's reign saw the standardization of monasticism, worship,
music, and education in the church. Those reforms would give general
shape to western Catholicism that, in some ways, endured into the
modern period. Equally important was Charlemagne's assumption of
the title of Holy Roman Emperor. That act would establish a political
office that would exist in Europe until the end of World War I in the
twentieth century. It also became a cause for friction between Rome
and Constantinople because the Byzantine emperors saw
Charlemagne's act as an intrusion on their legitimate claim to be
the successors of the old Roman Empire.
Seals of Charlemagne, derived from
antique intaglio gems.
This one depicts a Roman emperor.
Feudal Society
The Carolingian world was essentially rural and feudal. Society was based on a rather
rigid hierarchy with the emperor at the top, the nobles and higher clergy below him,
and the vast sea of peasants bound to the land at the bottom of the pyramid. There
was little in the way of city life on any scale. The outpost of rural Europe was the
miniature town known as the monastery or the stronghold of the nobles. The rise of
the city and increased social mobility would eventually destroy the largely agricultural
and feudal society as the High Middle Ages emerged in the eleventh century.
The Myth of Charlemagne and the Crusades
Finally there was Charlemagne as a mythic figure who eventually would be
drawn larger than life in the Song of Roland. The growth of such myths
always occurs because they have some deep desires behind them. In the
case of Charlemagne, the desire was to describe the ideal warrior who could
perform two very fundamental tasks for Europe: vanquish the Islamic
powers which threatened Christian Europe and provide a model for a unified
empire (the Holy Roman Empire) that would be both a perfect feudal society
and one strong enough to accomplish the first task of destroying Islam. Not
without reason was the Song of Roland a central poem for the firstcrusaders
who turned their faces to the East.
Map of Crusades, 1000 – 1200
The Book of Kells, 800 AD, Iona, off the west coast
of Scotland
Gospel Book of Charlemagne, Aachen, early 9th century
St. Mark Ebbo
St. Matthew
Utrecht Psalter, The First Illustrated Psalter in the World
9th Century, Hauteviller, France, 820 - 840
Crucifixion, Palace School of Charlemagne, Ivory, 9th century
Palace and Chapel of Charlemagne
792 – 805 AD, Aachen
CHRISTIAN ART OF
ROMANESQUE PERIOD
• Romanesque means “Roman like”
• Interest in monumental architecture
• Massive stone arches and masonry walls support more
weight than previously to yield larger, interior space
• Result:
• More massive pressure on side walls
• Lack of windows so more wall space
exists to hold up structure
• Light sacrificed so images transferred to outside
in stone relief.
• Typically uses round arches
Romanesque Churches - Interiors
Church of Saint Sernin, Toulouse
France: Saint-Gilles-du-Gard
Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Gilles, 1140 AD
Benedictine Abbey Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine
Tympanum and south portal of St.- Pierre, Moissac. c.
1115-1135