1. Charlemagne and the Rise of Medieval Culture
The Carolingian, Monastic, and Romanesque Phases of the Medieval Period

2. 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

3. Timeline 8th-9th centuries - Irish Book of Kells
- Death of Venerable Bede, author of Ecclesiastical History
of the English People and other religious writings
- Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Rome
by Pope Leo III
c Gregorian plain chant (cantus planus) obligatory in
Charlemagne's churches
814 - Carolingian monasteries adopt Rule of
Saint Benedict of Nursia ( ?)
Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror
c Pilgrimage church at Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Abbey Church of La Madeleine, Vezelay
c – St. Bernard of Clairvaux denounces
extravagances of Romanesque decoration
Song of Roland, chanson de geste inspired by Battle of
Roncesvalles, written down after 300 years of oral tradition
Charlemagne canonized at Cathedral of Aachen

4. 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.
Our attention in this chapter shifted 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.

5. 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.
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.

6. 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 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.

7. 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.
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 first crusaders who turned their faces to the East.
Map of Crusades, 1000 – 1200

8. The Book of Kells, 800 AD, Iona, off the west coast of Scotland
The Book of Kells is one of the most famous books in the history of the world and was completed in about 800 AD. The vellum (calfskin) manuscript contains transcriptions of the four Gospels, lavishly illustrated and ornamented. It is the most elaborate manuscript of its kind to survive from the early Middle Ages. The scribes and artists who created the Book were Columban monks who lived in a monastery on the remote island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland. The monastery was founded late in the sixth century by an Irish monk, St Colm Cille. At the time the book was produced, Irish monks were renowned throughout the rest of Europe for their work as scribes and illustrators.

9. Gospel Book of Charlemagne, Aachen, early 9th century
St. Matthew
St. Mark Ebbo

10. The First Illustrated Psalter in the World 9th Century
Utrecht Psalter, The First Illustrated Psalter in the World 9th Century, Hauteviller, France,
The First Illustrated Psalter in the World 9th Century
The Psalter as a basic work of monastic choral song has steadily gained in importance from the 6th century.
The Utrecht Psalter is one of the finest manuscripts of this period and probably the most unusual Psalter of the Middle Ages. It was written out and painted between 820 and 840 in the Benedictine abbey of Hautvillers near Rheims, on the initiative of Ebbo, archbishop of Rheims and a foster brother of Emperor Louis the Pious. This sumptuous illuminated work of the Carolingian period is the earliest surviving example of an illustrated Psalter in Western book production.
166 lively and exciting miniatures
All 150 psalms are illustrated with magnificent pen drawings covering the whole width of a page and densely populated with tiny figures hurriedly sketched with a few strokes. These vigorously painted figures are frequently imbedded in faintly sketched landscapes and display a vibrant liveliness. In accordance with the beauty of the text, they are executed in unprecedented perfection. The creative power of the artist has led many renowned art historians to place the master of these pages on equal footing with the great artists of the western world, like Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt or Vincent van Gogh.
In addition to the extraordinary expressive power of the drawings, we are impressed with the artist’s continuous effort to follow the text as closely as possible and marvel at the sheer wealth of symbolism in his illustrations.
A century-old model
The Utrecht Psalter has influenced the evolution of European art throughout the ages, not only in the field of illumination but also in other areas of Carolingian art. It was, above all, the expressive nature and at the same time refined character of the drawings which enriched European art before the first millennium with fresh and spirited elements.
Around the year 1000, the manuscript was brought to England. After the dissolution of English monasteries, the codex passed into private hands. In the 16th century, the Psalter entered the possession of Sir Robert Cotton who had the book bound in the present day full binding of red leather. The binding has been entirely reproduced for the current facsimile edition.

11. Crucifixion, Palace School of Charlemagne, Ivory, 9th century

12. Palace and Chapel of Charlemagne
The creation of a "New Rome"  was Charlemagne's guiding vision when he began the construction of the Palace Chapel in the former Roman spa resort Aachen in ca laying the foundation stone for one of Europe's oldest Northern stone buildings. The cathedral obtained its present shape in the course of more than a millennium. The core of the Aachen cathedral is the formerly mentioned Palace Chapel - at the time of its construction it was the largest church north of the Alps. Its fascinating architecture with Classical, Byzantine and Germanic-Franconian elements is the essence of a monumental building of greatest importance.  It was modeled after the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna.  For 600 years, from 936 to 1531, Aachen cathedral was the church of coronation for 30 German kings. In order to bear the enormous flow of pilgrims in the Gothic period a choir hall was built: a two-part Capella vitrea (glass chapel) which was consecrated on the 600th day of Charlemagne's death.
792 – 805 AD, Aachen

13. 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

14. Romanesque Churches - Interiors

15. Church of Saint Sernin, Toulouse
Floor plan: pilgrimage church – large aisles allowed easy passage through church for pilgrims. Design allows many priests to celebrate Mass simultaneously
Saint-Sernin, Toulouse: In its general features, the plan is similar to other pilgrimage churches such as Ste.-Foy in Conques, St.- Martial in Limoges, St.-Martin in Tours, and St.-James in Santiago de Compostela. A cruciform plan, includes a five-aisled nave with a central vessel and two side aisles on each side (perhaps based on Old Saint Peters or Cluny III). A strongly projecting transept is also aisled with two chapels off the eastern side of each arm. To the east of the transept is the choir that includes an ambulatory and five radiating chapels. The aisles in the nave, transept, and choir (ambulatory) permit the pilgrim to circumambulate the entire church without entering the central vessel. The eastern portions of the choir are constructed above a crypt. Because of the more complex arrangement of spaces, the portion east of the transept in the Romanesque period is referred to as the choir rather than apse, the term used to describe the semicircular space east of an Early Christian or Byzantine transept or nave. The transept crossing piers and western nave piers are enlarged to support towers. Portals are found on the transept terminals (the Porte Royale and the Porte des Comptes); the eighth bay of the nave (the Porte Miègeville), and the western entrance. Regular rectangular bays form the length of the nave, transept and choir and the plan proportions (the square bays of the aisles and the rectangular bays of the central vessel) are based on square schematism derived from the square of the transept crossing. Square schematism results in great regularity and harmony of spatial proportions. (Note: In a good ground plan dotted or broken lines usually indicated groin vaults whereas a solid line indicates ribbed vaults).

16. France: Saint-Gilles-du-Gard Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Gilles, 1140 AD
Left Portal (North) - Tympanum The Gifts of the Magi, Virgin and Child, Dream of Joseph
North Portal - Frieze Entry into Jerusalem
Detail of right of frieze: Citizens of Jerusalem

17. Benedictine Abbey Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine
Tympanum, Central Portal, West Narthex
The Benedictine Abbey church of Sainte-Maire-Madeleine was a major Romanesque pilgrimage church in Burgundy.
Also see page 219

18. Tympanum and south portal of St.- Pierre, Moissac. c. 1115-1135