EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE

1. EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE GARDNER CHAPTER 16-2 PP. 415-421

2. 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.

3. 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

4. CHARLEMAGNE’S RENOVATION IMPERII ROMANI • The “Carolingian Renaissance” • Renovation Imperii Romani = renewal of the Roman Empire -> Charlemagne’s official seal • Artistic patronage • Commissioning imperial portrait statues and illuminated manuscripts • Fostering a general revival of learning

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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”

10. 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

11. AACHEN • Aachen in Germany is Charlemagne’s capital • Interior of the Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne, Aachen, Germany, 792-805 • 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

12. 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

13. Alternate ViewView of the Interior

14. 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

15. Detail of red and beige brick surface treatment

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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