•Carolus Magnus (742? – 814)

•King of the Franks and Emperor of

the Romans (800 – 814)

•Son of Pepin the Short (who begins

an alliance with the Pope Stephen II)

•Campaigns against the Lombards in

Italy, Islam in Spain, and many

northern European tribes

•Crowned Holy Roman Emperor on

Christmas Day, 800

Established new Academy at his

court and encouraged the copying of

manuscripts including pagan and

classical literature

United the Christian lands of

Western Europe and firmly

established the power of the church

Widespread development of

manuscripts and monasteries

Carolingian Art

Equestrian Statue of Charlemagne

• Inspired by Roman equestrian monuments such as Marcus Aurelius

• Imperial crown and robes

• Orb as a symbol of the world

• Rider larger than the horse he rides on

• Horse is on parade, seems tame and obedient

• Sits as though he is standing upright

Palatine Chapel at

Aachen

Palatine Chapel San Vitale

Palatine Chapel, Aachen

•Central plan, topped by an octagon

•Built for Charlemagne

•Inspired by San Vitale

•Capitals taken from old Roman monuments

•Large heavy appearance

•Arches smaller on first story, larger on second

•Arches on second story have Roman columns placed inside that are purely decorative, and do not hold the arches up

•Arches on first floor have a low, heavy, thick appearance

•Arches have a striped pattern

Comparison of the Plans of San Vitale in Ravenna to the

Palace Chapel in Aix-la-Chapelle.

Lorsch Gatehouse, Lorsch

Lorsch Gatehouse, Lorsch

(c. 780)

• Not really a gateway, but probably in an atrium in a monastery

• Cf. a triumphal arch in a Roman forum

• Gabled roof for snow

• Three equal openings

• Columns placed against wall

• Surface pattern and design

• Fluted pilasters

• Chapel on top may have been a reception hall for distinguished guests

• Imitation pediments

St. Matthew, the Coronation Gospels,

c. 800

St. Matthew the Ebbo Gospels, c. 816

Menander, 1st Century CE

Menander, 1st Century CE

Carolingian Art

Monastery Plan, St. Gall, Switzerland

• Ideal plan of a self-sufficient monastic community

• Church in center, other buildings around

• Daily activities in one place

• Cloistered monks never leave except to work in the fields

• Community of about 250-300 monks with 30 to 40 serfs per monk

• Highly organized

• Many altars in church, not for congregation, but for monks to say Mass

• Everything necessary for the monks grouped around the cloister

Timber architecture in outer buildings

Standard of comfort was high for the time

Serfs lived with animals in their pens

Infirmary, school, convent, guest house

Early Medieval Art

Sutton Hoo Purse Lid

• Geometric interlace designs

• Symmetry of forms

• Animals and humans interact

• Repetition of patterns

• Used as a purse cover for a disintegrated purse found in a ship burial in England

Purse Cover, Sutton Hoo

ship burial, c. 655

Animal Head Prow, the

Osberg ship burial, c. 825

In art, exceedingly complicated forms are

used all over a figure to create a single

unified image. Similarly in literature,

multiple plot lines are developed and

abandoned, only to be taken up again in

order to create a single, unified dramatic

narrative.

Borgund Stave

Church Norway,

1125 - 50

Animal Head

prow, the

Osberg ship

burial, c. 825 Hiberno-Saxon

Lindau Gospels

c. 870-880

The Book of

Lindisfarne

Vellum sheets arranged

so that the spine ridge

of the animal runs

across the page

horizontally at the same

place, minimizing

movement of the page

when the skin tries to

return to the shape of

the animal, causing the

paint to flake

Cross Page from The

Book of Lindisfarne

•Balanced design

•Cross clearly defined,

stands apart from the

space

•Animal interlace

•Complicated, spiraling

patterns

•Symmetry

•Colors used in

alternate positions

around the cross

•Known as a carpet

page

Saint Matthew Page from The Book of Lindisfarne

• Matthew shown as author and scribe writing his book of the Bible

• His symbol, the angel, is above him with the words “imago hominis” –“image of a man”

• Unknown man behind the curtain: Christ? Moses with the Old Testament?

• The word Saint labeled in Greek, using Latin characters, “O Agios”

• Mattheus in Latin

• Strong use of vibrant color

• Heavy outlines delineate forms

• Folds in drapery indicated by contrasting lines that sweep in patterns

The Book of Kells is not simply a religious manuscript. True, it contains the four

gospels of Mark, Mathew, Luke and John and that was the sole original purpose of the

book. But its age and its design, although damaged, allow us a glorious glimpse into the

art and style of ancient Ireland. The book is, quite simply, considered a crowning glory

of the Celtic art form, and possibly one of the most important treasures of Western

Europe.

Experts are uncertain where

the Book of Kells was first

begun, but evidence points to

the Isle of Iona, which was the

center of St. Columba's

influence and the home of his

church. Later, during the

Viking raids of the 9th century,

it was moved for its protection

to Kells Monastery, County

Meath, Ireland. Here it

remained for almost two

hundred years, until it was

stolen in 1007. Its golden

cover, which was probably

encrusted with gems, was

ripped from the book, and the

remainder was thrown in a

ditch. The book was soon

recovered, but not before it

received some water damage

to the front and back pages.

Unfortunately, its cover was

forever lost.

The Book of Kells remained in

the monastery at Kells until

1541, when the Roman Catholic

Church took it for protection. In

1661, it was returned to Ireland

and given to Trinity College of

Dublin by Archbishop Ussher. It

has remained at the college since

then and is the most important

work that the university library

contains.

Over the years, approximately 30 of

its pages have been lost, the

remaining 340 contains the four

gospels, a list of Hebrew names, and

the Eusebian cannons. But these are

not the hallmarks of the book, as it is

the artwork contained on the

remaining leaves of calfskin pages

that are its major achievement.

The book is resplendent with artwork,

covering almost all the styles known at

the time. It is estimated that this

artwork took a team of illustrators

thirty years to complete. All of it

meticulously done by hand and in

amazing intricacy and color. The most

resplendent of the pages open the four

chapters with illustrations of the saints

along with individual pages that depict

events in the life of Christ.

The detail in the Book of Kells

is amazing, with no one symbol

duplicated elsewhere in the

book. In one spot there are over

158 lacings of a white ribbon

contained in a square inch and

nowhere can there be found an

error by the artist, even after

searching with a magnifying

glass. It is no wonder that for

many years, it was believed that

only angels could only have

written the Book of Kells.

Between the years 150 and 850

Rome

• Temples

• Polytheism

• Stone Architecture using

columns and arches using

Greek and Etruscan models

• Stone sculpture that is

veristic

• Painting on walls, statues

and buildings using the

natural world as a model

Carolingian

• Churches

• Christianity

• Stone and Timber

architecture using blend of

Roman and Byzantine

models

• Ivory, Wood and Metal

sculpture that is abstract

• Painting in manuscripts

representing biblical and

Christian themes

Class Status

Rome

• Emperor

• Senate

• Patriarchs

• Plebians

Carolingian - Gothic

• Pope

• Emperor

• King

• Nobleman

• Local Lord

• Peasant

Three Types of People in

Medieval Society

1. Those who Fight

2. Those who Pray

3. Those who Work

Ottonian Art

Ottonian ArtSaint Michael’s, Hildesheim

• Two pairs of lateral entrances

• Two pairs of crossing towers

• Two pairs of stair turrets

• Two apses

• Two transepts

• Supports in the nave are not traditional columns, but pairs of columns alternating with square piers

• Divides nave into three separate units of three openings each

• First and third units are related to the lateral entrances to the building

• Nave is a hall that connects the two apses

• Windows do not line up with arches below: 9 arches with 10 windows

• Spacious undecorated interior

Bronze Column of

Hildesheim

•Spiral column akin

to Column of

Trajan; scenes from

bottom to top, but

in reverse spiral

•Story of the life of

Christ

•Culminates in

decorative capital

Bronze Door of Hildesheim

• Suggestions of Roman monumentality: inspired by bronze doors of the Pantheon (now gone) or Palatine Chapel (no decoration)

• Solid bronze, each scene molded separately

• Scenes compare scenes of the fall of man with the saving of man

• Rectangular scenes with few figures and a barren landscape, empty background

• Emphasis of gesture, liveliness

• Bony figures

• Emphasis on extremities: hands, feet, head

• Spiky foliage

• Heads fully rounded and emerge from background

• Scenes tell the story of the life of Christ and Adam and Eve

Saint Cyriakus

Germany 961 - 973

Saint Cyriakus St. Michael’s Hildesheim

Santa Sabina,

Rome 422-32

Clerestory

Gallery

Aisle and

arcade

Nave

After the death of Charlemagne, his

kingdom was divided among his

grandsons, only to disintegrate at the

hands of Vikings and Magyars. A re-

consolidation occurred, however, in

the middle of the 10th century,

thanks to a new line of German

emperors known as the Ottonians.

The Ottonian period saw a new

wave of influence from the Greek

East (Otto II married a Byzantine

princess), which resulted in one of

the first monumental sculptures of

the crucified Christ, the Gero

Crucifix.

The face (heavily etched with pain),

the bulging arc of the abdomen, and

the tension in the tightly stretched

arms all convey Christ's torment

with unequalled expression.