The Carolingian Restoration of Roman Culture

views updated

The Carolingian Restoration of Roman Culture

Charlemagne and the Restoration of Empire.

The first enduring attempt at a restoration of Roman culture since the fall of Rome was accomplished under the rule of Charles the Great (768–814), king of the Franks, known to history as Charlemagne (Carolus Magnus, in Latin; the "Carolingian" dynasty was named for Charlemagne and his grandfather, Charles Martel or Carolus Martellus). One of the many migrant Germanic tribes that came from the east to settle in early medieval Europe, the Franks were able to consolidate their power into a kingdom (more or less corresponding to present-day France, Germany, and the Benelux countries [or Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg]) of formidable size and strength. Charlemagne's ambition was stated on his royal seal—renovatio Romani imperii (restoration of the Roman Empire)—and in the realm of politics as well as culture and the arts, he expressed the spirit of a classical revival, a trend that would continue into the following centuries with art objects such as the processional Lothair Cross (c. 1000, today in the Schatzkammer of the Aachen Dom), which features a cameo with a portrait bust of the emperor Augustus in the center of the cross's triumphal side. Politically, Charlemagne sought to make his rule a continuation of the western empire of Rome and a counterpart to the great Byzantine Empire of Constantinople, the eastern part of the late Roman Empire and center for Greek Orthodox Christianity. He took a major step toward this goal when, on Christmas Day in the year 800, he had himself crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III.

Decorated Books.

Charlemagne and his successors, from their capitals in Aachen (in present-day Germany) and elsewhere, developed a cultural policy that depended upon the opulent and aristocratic artistic heritage of the Roman and Byzantine imperial courts. Books were an important part of the literary, intellectual, and religious culture of the Carolingians, and manuscripts that were beautifully illuminated (illustrated with colored and gilded pictures) and adorned (provided with richly decorated covers) represent the peak of achievement in the visual arts during this time. In Latin manuscripts—copied in a stately round, wide, and highly legible script called Carolingian minuscule and decorated in royal and monastic workshops—Carolingian notions of sacred kingship and courtly refinement were strongly expressed. Some of the most extravagant of these books—usually copies of the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, intended for use by the emperor—had covers made of gilt silver and precious stones or of ivory panels carved in relief in the Byzantine manner.

THE
Making of an Illuminated Manuscript

In the Middle Ages, each book, or codex, was made by hand through the collaboration of several skilled craftsmen under the direction of a designer who oversaw the whole work. The creation of an illuminated manuscript was time-consuming and expensive, and took place within a monastic scriptorium or a royal workshop in the earlier Middle Ages, or else a professional, lay workshop in a later medieval town. First, in the earlier period before paper was introduced (around 1350), the scribe must choose parchment or vellum made from animal skin (calf, goat, sheep) that has been prepared by cleaning, scraping and dipping in lime, then drying and stretching. The object was to create a smooth surface, free of blemish. The next step was cutting the parchment into double leaves (folios) of appropriate size and assembling the double leaves into quires or gatherings of a fixed number of pages that could be distributed to different artisans for the next stage of work. Next, a layout person would rule the pages and create spaces for pictures in which the designer would add brief notes to guide the scribe(s) and illuminator(s). At this point the scribe begins the copying of the text, usually working from a written exemplar, and he or another scribe, called a rubricator (from the Latin rubeo, meaning "red") puts in the large red or blue letters that indicate divisions of the text. The decoration is carried out by one or more illuminators, who follow the designer's explicit instructions as to subject matter of illustrations, type, and extent of decoration in initial letters, borders, margins, full-page illumination, etc. Different skilled artisans carry out different parts of the decoration, from the under-drawing to the illumination of figures and scenes, to the foliate (ivy or acanthus leaf) decoration, to the application and burnishing of gold foil. Sometimes a colophon is included at or near the end, with the completion date and the name of the scribe (and sometimes the names of the illuminators). Then the various gatherings are sewn together in the proper order and the manuscript is bound in thin boards with vellum or leather covering.

The Lorsch Gospels.

An excellent example of such a work of decorative art is the preserved back cover of the Lorsch Gospels, produced in about 810. It is composed of five ivory panels carved in relief and arranged so that the Virgin and Child appear in the center flanked by the figures of Zacharias and John the Baptist, with a scene of the Nativity below and two angels supporting an image of Christ in Majesty above. The iconography or image-types depicted, as well as the style of carving and the use of the luxury material ivory all suggest an interest in emulating the sumptuous art of the Byzantine imperial court. A full-page illumination depicting the evangelist John contained within a gospel book executed for Charlemagne around 800 demonstrates how the royal painting workshops very often depended upon classical Roman models. Not only does this image hark back to antiquity in its naturalistic treatment of the human figure, but it also adopts the antique motif of the author portrait in its representation of John as author of his gospel. Such artistic masterworks as these ivory panels and this manuscript painting showcase the abilities of Carolingian craftsmen and express a clear cultural policy of classical revival and courtly opulence.

The Lindau Gospels.

Luxury book covers, executed in metal and precious stones, conveyed a similar sense of courtly magnificence and sacred kingship. The front cover of the Lindau Gospels is a prime example of such work. Both the central figure of the crucified Christ (the prototype of the "sacred king") and the angels and mourners hovering above and below the arms of the cross were created by hammering designs into sheets of gold, a technique known as repoussé. The rigid symmetry of the composition as well as the use of gems and pearls set within the gold cover are a fine example of how the sacred, royal art of the early Middle Ages was meant to communicate a particular idea in powerful and unambiguous terms. It was also meant to flatter the royal patron (in this case the Emperor Charles the Bald) and impress the members of his court, since it clearly encouraged imperial pretensions and implied that the ruler was worthy of such a magnificent object.

The Monastic Influence.

Benedictine monasteries had a particularly important role to play in the elaboration of the visual arts of the period, in no small part because of the royal support of Benedictine monastic houses within the Carolingian Empire and emphasis on the Rule of St. Benedict in preference to other monastic rules. This was true especially under the rule of the Carolingian king Louis the Pious (814–840), who endowed major monastic foundations at Reims, Metz, and Tours (all in present-day France), each of which produced some of the most important decorated manuscripts that have survived. The portrait of the evangelist St. Mark in the gospel book of Archbishop Ebbo of Reims (816–835) shares with the portrait of St. John—from one of Charlemagne's personal copies of the gospels—a dependence upon a classical formula, but the more dynamic and expressive style hints at the creative vigor of monastic artists of the period, especially in the strong lines of the garment folds. A similar linear dynamism and pictorial inventiveness can be seen in the illustrations to the famous Utrecht Psalter (a book of psalms used during the Liturgy of the Hours), also from the Reims school of manuscript decoration. Once again, the style of the drawings (like the minuscule script modeled on what the scribe imagined was "Roman" writing) are unmistakably classical in inspiration, though the images, which provide literal illustrations to the text of the psalms, are without precedent in late Roman wall and book painting. In a detail from Psalm 11, the figure of Christ literally rises up and steps out from the confines of his divine aureole (a circle of light around the head or body of a divine being) in illustration of the text: "For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I rise, said the Lord." Below that, the wicked actually "walk round about," again in a playful and literal response to the text. These few examples from the visual art of the Carolingian period give a sense of the ingenuity of Carolingian artists; they point to the centrality of luxury books within the religious, intellectual, and political culture; and they represent the early medieval adaptation of artistic techniques (in metalwork, ivory carving, and manuscript painting) inherited from classical antiquity.

MONASTICISM
and the Production of Medieval Art

Christian monasticism began with the hermit monks, individuals who left society behind to lead ascetic lives—that is, lives of self-denial—in the wilderness, devoted to prayer. Most influential were the Egyptian desert fathers of the late third and early fourth centuries, such as St. Anthony of Egypt and St. Paul the Hermit. Loose communities began to form around some of these figures, and established communities of monks were commonplace in the West by the fifth century. The monastic rule written by St. Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for his monastery in Monte Cassino, Italy, became standard throughout the West. This Rule sought to regulate all aspects of monastic life and assigned to each monk his place, from the abbot on down to the novice. The production of visual art, especially in the form of manuscript illumination and metal-work, was among the types of manual labor practiced by the monks. In part because of the great success of Benedictine monasticism—especially after its institutionalization under Carolingian rule—many different religious figures began to take issue with the growing wealth and worldliness of the Benedictines, leading to various efforts at monastic reform.

The most important early reformed community was that of Cluny, founded in Burgundy in 910, although the great wealth and power amassed by the Cluniacs during the eleventh century precipitated another wave of reforms, including that of the Carthusians, established in Cologne in 1084, and the Cistercians, founded in Burgundy around 1100. To a greater or lesser degree, such movements sought a more ascetic existence that was closer to the model of the early hermit monks. Debates over appropriate forms of Christian monasticism often focused on the "problem" of the sumptuous and highly refined art produced by some communities, which, it was argued, distracted the faithful and represented a misuse of needed funds. The major reform movement of the later Middle Ages was the creation of the mendicant orders, initially the Franciscans (1210) and Dominicans (1216). These friars and preachers renounced all worldly goods and dedicated themselves to serving society at large. Thus, they were not bound to particular monastic houses but circulated more freely and became integrated into society at all levels. Dominicans, for example, often served as royal confessors and took an active role in the struggles against heresy, and mendicants played an important role in the life of medieval universities and in the study of medieval theology, philosophy, and mysticism. Despite their vow of poverty and their commitment to live lives more in accordance with Christ's own example, the mendicants were in fact not monks and the period of their rise in influence (and that of other non-monastic religious orders) coincided with the decline of more traditional monasticism in the medieval period.