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8/9/2019 Carolingian Art and Politics
1/41
Carolingian 7kt anb Politics
L A W R E N C E N E E S
ewworksofmedievalartaresooftenreproduced
as
thefamouspor
trait coins ofCharlemagne (fig. 3).The proud motto
KarolusIm
peratorAugustus
(Charles Emperor Augustus) written
in
classicizing
epigraphiccapitalletters,combineswiththehandsomeprofileviewofthe
rulerwearingdiadem andchlamysto evoketheheritageofancientRome
andthustorepresenttheCarolingian"renaissance."
1
Hencetherenown
oftheimage,whichseemstoembodythemodernhistoriographicalcon
ceptionthattheessentialcharacterandindeedtheintentionof the Caro
lingian court was, at least in cultural terms, arevivalof ancient Rom e.
2
SinceweknowthatCharlemagnereceivedtheRomanimperialtitleonly
onChristmasDay800,andthatthesurvivingcoinsofthisportraittypeall
postdatethatevent,infactpostdate804,thiscoinserieshasplausiblybeen
said to reflect the imperial coronation, especially as all three of Char
lemagne'searliercoinserieswereof
an
entirelydifferent aniconictype .
3
In the caseof the Charlemagne portrait coin, nearly allscholars seem
happilyprepared togrant therelationshipbetweenapoliticaleventandits
reflectionshortlythereafterin
a
workofpictorialart,
4
asmostscholarsare
preparedtogranttheconnectionbetweenartandcontemporarypolitical
eventsinotherhistoricalperiods.However,intheCarolingianperiodthe
Charlemagne portrait coins are commonly held to have been a special
case.
5
Ifone asksthequestion in broader terms, "How did the imperial
coronationaffectthedevelopmentofCarolingianart?"itprovesverydiffi
186
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187arolingianArtand Politics
F I G U R E 3.Portrait coin of Charlemagne (ob
verse).StaatlicheMuseenzuBerlin.Reproduced
bypermissionoftheStaatlicheMuseenzuBerlin.
culttom ove beyon dthissinglecointyp e,sinceoth er apparently classiciz
ing o r Roman iz ing works a re as likely to p redate as to postda te 800 .
6
Thus,insofarasthedevelopmentandinterpretationoftheso-calledCourt
School manuscrip ts and related works of ar t are concerned, the imperial
coronation appears to be a t most a m inor issue, and perhaps a ltogether
irrelevant.
I t is aview still held by some that specific contem porary relevance of
Carolingian art is all but impossible to determine in l ight of the Carolin
gian artist's tendency to relyu pon earlier models, and that we bootlessly
spend our t ime in looking for such specific connections and significance.
Rosam ond M cKitterick recently observed that "i t is unfashionable to l ink
manuscrip t images with anything the ar tist has seen in real life ," before
proceedingtosuggest,Ithinkrightly,thataminiatureintheUtrechtPsal
ter (fig. 4) reflects the ar tist 's familiarity with a contemporary Frankish
synod or assembly, which he intended to recall in this new context.
7
H e r
criticismo fthelongprevailingtendencya m ong arthistoriansisbo th pain
ful andjustified, and byn om eans adead issue.Ind eed, in an article pub
lished in 1 9 8 8, a w e ll-k no wn scholar o f C a ro lin gian and o th e r early
medievalart, H er be rt Kessler,hasarguedthatintheearlyMiddleAgesth e
artists'"goalwasgenerallyto com e ascloseaspossible to reprod ucing the
model ," and tha t such a goal all bu t p recludes impor tan t con temporary
references thatw em ight term polit ical .
8
Perhaps I should say that in theview succinctly articulated by Kessler,
which emphasizes theroleofprior pictorial mo dels,onlyspecific contem
porary political references are excluded, for in fact in the same article he
argues that the choice of models is i tself ahighly charged political state
mentinageneralsense,that"theimplicationsoforiginconnotedbystyle
were exp lo ited by pa trons and a rtis ts , as when Char lemagne set about
to a ttach h is cour t to the age o f Constant ine by rehabi li ta ting classical
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188
L A W R E N C E N E E S
F I G U R E 4.Utrecht Psalter: achurch council. Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek,
MS32,fol.90v.ReproducedbypermissionoftheUniversityLibrary,Utrecht.
forms."
9
Ifthis interpretation ofCharlemagne's artistic patronage iscor
rect, then clearly Carolingian art is profoundly political. However, this
view makes the Carolingian artists appear almost as precocious post-
modernists,sincethepresenceof systems ofreferencestoearlierworksof
artisallegedtohavebeenthecentralsignificanceoftheirart.Suchaview
isof ancientand,onemight say,augusthistoriographical tradition, since
alreadyintheearlynineteenthcenturyHegelwrotethattheessentialfea
ture ofGermanichistorywasitsinitialreference to the Roman heritage:
"Theprocessofculturethey[theGermans]underwentconsistedintaking
up foreign elements and reductively amalgamating them with their own
nationallife."
10
I do not by anymeansdoubt that Carolingian artists often, perhaps
evennormally, followed models in both style and iconography, but Iam
verymuchdisposedtodoubtthattheirownaimsandunderstandingwent
nofurther thanth is,evenifwetodayfrom ourdistantperspectivechoose
to regard their aims and understanding aslessinteresting and significant
thantheircontributionstoagrandHegelianhistoricaldevelopment.In
deed, it seems to me not only that Carolingian artists invented images
quite without anypictorial models when the occasion demanded,
11
but
alsothat,inatleastsomeinstances,theychoseandadoptedmodelsinsuch
awaythat theworksofarttheyproduced beardirectlyupon contempo
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189arolingianArt and Politics
raryCarolingian circumstancesand issues.It isnot myintention here to
provideasurveyof
all
previousattemptsto linkCarolingianworksofart
withapoliticalcontext.
12
Instead,Ihopetodonomorethanpointto
wardafewparticularworksofartthatappeartometoshedlightupon
thisgeneralquestion,andifIcanpersuadereadersthatCarolingianworks
ofartoughttobeinvestigatedwiththepossibilityinmindthattheymight
have some connection with contemporary issues, then I will be well
contented.
In some cases, the specific political significance of Carolingian artistic
workscanscarcelybedoubted.AgoodexampleistheDagulfPsalter,pro
ducedatCharlemagne'sordersasagiftforPopeHadrianI,astheversesat
thebeginningof the volume itselfattest,anddatable,atleastinmyview,
to794-95.ThevolumeopensnotwiththePsalmsthemselves,butwitha
nearly unprecedented collectionofcreedsandother prefaces that occupy
afull twenty-three folios.The inclusionofthecredalcollectionconveysa
messagetothepopethatCharlemagneandhiscourtknowandfollowthe
venerable orthodox traditions of the church, and Donald Bullough has
shownhow this statement andthe specific textsof some of the creedsre
latetopositionstakeninthe
Libri Carolini
writtenatthecourtinabout
793.
13
No one doubts that at least one significant aspect of the
Libri
Carolini
—thegreattreatisethatattemptedtorebuttheactionsoftheSev
enthEcumenicalCouncilatNicaeain787,inwhichtheByzantinechurch
accepted the legitimacy of venerating religious images—is its polemical
and political purpose.
14
I therefore think I am onfirmground when I
claimthecredalcollectionsincludedinthecontemporaryDagulfPsalteras
apointed political statement.What then oftheartisticdecorationofthe
manuscript in which that political message was intended to reach the
pope?
The theme of authoritative transmission of orthodox texts and doc
trinesisacentralpoliticalmessageoftheDagulfPsalter, as wellasofmany
Carolingianlegalandadministrativepronouncements,andisunderscored
byvisualimages,for instancebythetwoivorypanelsthatformedtheorig
inalcoversofthebook(fig.5).Theseshowfour
scenes,
twooneachpanel,
ofwhichthefirst,Davidplayinghislyre,isatraditionalelementofPsalter
decoration— as,forexample,intheslightlyearlierbutalsoeighth-century
Vespasian Psalter from Canterbury—and clearly follows some sort of
model.
15
Theartistorpatronof this iconographicprogramwashereper
fectlywellservedbyanexistingpictorialcompositionthatmusthavebeen
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190
L A W R E N C E
N E E S
i
F I G U R E
5.DagulfPsalter: ivorycovers.Paris,Museedu Louvre.Photo:Cliche
desMuseesNationaux.
in common circulation and accessible to thew orkshop, and thus felt no
need to ,asitwere,reinvent thewheel.However, itiseithervery difficult
or altogether impossible to findgood parallelsfor theother scenesofthe
DagulfPsaltercover,forwhichclosepictorialmodelsinearlierartcannot
beadduced.
16
TheotherthreescenesoftheivoriesshowDavidselectingthescribes
whowillwritedownthePsalms,JeromereceivingfromPopeDamasusa
commission to translate the Psalms into Latin, andJerome dictating his
new translation to a secretary. Clearly these unprecedented scenes bear
uponageneralissueofecclesiasticalauthority,specifically papalauthority.
Thisgeneralissueis,however,specifically linkedto acontemporarypoliti
calsituation,no tonlythe Iconoclasticcontroversy but alsotheemerging
disputeoverAdoptionism,inregardtowhichCarolingianpolicysought
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191arolingianArt and Politics
toinvokepapalauthorityassupportforviewsoftheCarolingiancourt.
17
Asalreadynoted,thetextsinthebookcoveredbytheivorypanelsdirectly
relateto thesecontroversies,andit is,in fact, theseprefatory texts,rather
than the Psalms themselves, that explain the unique iconography of the
covers of the Dagulf Psalter, ashaslong been noted byscholars.These
surelyqualify as"political" images,and itseemsto meperverse to argue
that theirspecialfeatures aretheproductofmerecoincidence.Theyshare
withtheportraitcoinsofCharlemagneofaboutadecadelaterveryclose
datingandunusualformandsubjectmatter,andarethusrelativelyeasyto
interpretinspecificterms.Theyshouldattheveryleastindicatethatsuch
interpretationswereno tbeyondthe grasporinterestofCarolingianartists
andpatrons.
Thereallydifficult hermeneuticalproblemsarisewhendealingwithworks
thatarepartof
a
series,apictorialtradition ,andthusarenotmanifest in
ventionsor elsearenot socloselydated.Letmetakeupfirstawork that
formspartof a seriesandaskwhetheritmightnonethelesscarryspecific
politicalrelevancetocontemporarybeholders.
The manuscript commonly known as the Gundohinus Gospels was
writtenbyasinglescribeworkinginanunknownFrankishmonasteryand
isdatedtothe"thirdyearofKingPepin,"probably754.Itis,then,the
earliestsecurelydated illustratedmanuscriptfrom Carolingian Francia.It
haslongbeenrecognizedthatthemanuscriptdrawsuponearlyMediterra
nean sources for its texts and decoration. Indeed, I havemyself argued
elsewhereatlengththatthebookprobablycloselyfollowsinmostrespects
aGospelbookwritteninnorthernItalyinroughlythemiddleofthesixth
century, finding,for example, that the closest parallel for the enthroned
beardless Christ with pearled cross nimbus between angels seen in the
Gundohinus imageofChrist inMajesty (fig.6) istheapsemosaicofSan
VitaleinRavenna,datable546-48.
1 8
JeanPorcherandsomeotherscholarshavetakenthecoincidenceof a
bookwith primarilyM editerranean sourcesdating from thefirstyearsof
thenewCarolingiandynastyasanannouncementof a new"classicizing"
directionofCarolingianart,thebeginningoftheCarolingianrenaissance
inart,albeitahumbleand,somehaveevensaid,acrudebeginning.
19
In
thissense,Porcher's interpretation belongsto thehistoriographical tradi
tion continued also by Kessler, a tradition that sees ageneral program
matic statement expressed through the style or through the models or
references evoked by Carolingian artists. The model is the message, in
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192
L A W R E N C E N E E S
F I G U R E 6. Gospel Book of Gundohinus: Christ in Majesty. Autun, Biblio
thequeMunicipale,MS3,fol.12v.
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193arolingian Art and Politics
other words. Thus here, the Mediterranean sources of the book, even in
the absence of compelling evidence of Mediterranean classicizing style, are
said to suggest a latent political program, namely, the revival of the Roman
Empire.
20
If the meaning of the art of the Gundohinus Gospels is exhausted when
we say that it evokes the Roman past, then what can we say of the meaning
of such a book as the Lorsch Gospels, produced in the orbit of Pepin's son
Charlemagne close to the imperial coronation in 800?
21
Both sets of Evan
gelist portraits—for example, the portraits of John from the Gundohinus
and Lorsch Gospels,
22
with the figures displayed under arches on columns
and with their respective eagle symbols in the lunettes above—do, after
all, stem ultimately from Mediterranean traditions.
23
Surely art historical
distinctions are limned with a very broad brush if we can only say that
such sharply differing images in fact mean the same thing.
Obviously the Lorsch artist's work has more fully evoked the classical
heritage in terms of style, and very likely directly followed some late Ro
man work, such as the so-called Calendar of 354, at least for salient details
like the medallion-decorated mantle.
24
Florentine Mutherich has inter
preted the relationship between such works as the Gundohinus and
Lorsch Gospels by saying that both reflect the official goal of
a
Romaniza
tion of culture and society, but that the Carolingian program was both
"developed" and "perfected" in the later works.
25
Such a view implies that
the scribe Gundohinus aimed to make a work like the Lorsch Gospels, but
failed to do so because of lack of experience or skill and lack of access to the
right kind of model. In fact the evidence of the book as a whole contradicts
this interpretation.
The Christ in Majesty miniature of the Gundohinus Gospels shows this
artist and the intended meaning of his work in a very different and more
ambitious light, suggesting a sophisticated and specific political context
for his work. The two angelic beings flanking Christ are absent from the
vast majority of the seemingly countless later Majesty images, such as that
in the already cited Lorsch Gospels, but occur in the earlier tradition as a
heritage from Roman imperial iconography, the angels of the Majesty sub
stituting for the original soldiers.
26
Suddenly a problem begins to emerge
here: if the Lorsch Gospels "develops and perfects" the imitation of Ro
man art crudely begun in such works as the Gundohinus Gospels, why is it
that Gundohinus is in fact closer to the ancient iconography, which all the
"developed and perfected" later works spurn?
Notice here two features of the Gundohinus angels. They are inscribed
cyrubin (cherubim) and their wings are raised together so that they meet
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1 9 4 L A W R E N C E N E E S
overtheheadof
Christ.
These features areunparalleled inother Majesty
imageswhetherearlierorlater,yetbothoccurtogetherin
a
differentseries
ofimages,thosedepictingthetabernacleoftheArkoftheCovenantas
described in theOldTestament booksofExodus (37 :7-9 ) and 1Kings
(6:23—28).Bothdescriptionsspecifythatabovethearkweretwogolden
cherubimfacingeachother,withtheirextendedwingstouching,exactlyas
visualizedintheGundohinusGospelsminiatureandindepictionsofthe
ark,asforexampleinaminiatureof theAshburnhamPentateuch,aLatin
manuscript most probably from theseventh century andknown tohave
beenatToursintheCarolingianperiod.
27
DidGundohinussimplycon
fuse different models, or can we look for a sensible contemporary
explanation?
The Gundohinus Gospelsminiature isobviouslynot an imageofthe
ArkoftheCovenant,andthusthecherubimseemquiteoutofplacehere.
Considering the image in relation to thecontemporary political context
can,however, suggestaplausiblemotivefor thisanomalousfeature.The
cherubimofthearkandsanctuaryhadbeeninvolvedwiththedebateover
images almost from the beginning ofthe Iconoclasticcontroversy inthe
earlyeighth century,sincetheyoffered thepreeminentexampleof figural
images specifically authorized by God. Both Byzantine and Carolingian
authorsusedtheimageofthecherubimofthearkandsanctuaryasacen
tralelement inthedebateoverimages,thelatereighth-century
Libri
Caro
lini
discussingthecherubimatlengthinseveralplaces.
28
TheodulfofOr
leans,theLibri Carolines author, alsomadeuseof
a
visualimageofthe
cherubim inorder to statehisunderstandingof the properinterpretation
ofscripture and theproper attitude toward images: thejustly celebrated
imageofthecherubimerectedinhischapelatGermigny-des-Pres.There,
asinthe
Libri
Carolini, the imageservednot tojustify, but rather tore
stricttheuseofholyimagesintheChristian church.
29
ClearlytheimageryofthecherubimintheGundohinusGospelssug
gests some connection with one of the more important theological and
politicalcontroversiesoftheeighthcentury,theIconoclasticcontroversy.
Whileitistruethatthemanuscript'simageofChristinMajestybelongsto
alongseriesof images thatsignifyinageneralsensetheHarmonyofthe
Gospelsandrelatedthemes,andthatthisgenericsignificancewasretained
intheGundohinusGospels,anewlevelofspecificmeaningwasaddedto
thethemeinthatmanuscript,notonlythroughitsinclusionof
the cher
ubim but also through its direct juxtaposition oftheMajesty miniature
with a TrinitariantextbyJerome(ormorelikelyRufinusofAquileia).
30
In
themanuscriptthetextwas,verypeculiarly,writtenintwoseparateloca
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195arolingian Art and Politics
tions, the first excerpt on folios l r - l v and the second on folio 13r, directly
facing the Majesty miniature. In the absence of any codicological or his
torical explanation for the division of the text into two parts, one is at least
entitled to investigate the possibility that this juxtaposition of image and
text was no completely unmotivated accident, and that the image and text
face each other because they must have been intended to be seen together.
I shall not attempt here even a summary of my argument, advanced
elsewhere, that we see here no coincidence but a deliberate reaction to a
contemporary historical situation; that Gundohinus became aware of the
Iconoclastic arguments and rearranged the position of his texts and the de
tails of
his
miniature with the deliberate intention of proclaiming his own
orthodoxy and, in a broader sense, that of the Latin and Frankish church
in the face of a Byzantine "innovation."
31
It may be enough here to recall
that, from the very beginning of Carolingian art, we have a startlingly
complex and immediate reaction to a contemporary political issue. The in
stance is particularly interesting and to some degree not unusual in what I
take to be its political reference and content, even though no evidence sug
gests a close connection of the Gundohinus Gospels with patronage of the
Carolingian court circle. Surely no one would call the manuscript courtly
in the style or luxury of
its
decoration
Most of the examples to follow are, in contrast, closely connected to the
court, but it is well to bear in mind that our ability to relate these works of
art to a political context is more likely to be the accidental product of our
sources of knowledge than of any essential apoliticism in the provinces.
The courtly works of art are much better known and have been more thor
oughly studied, and our documentary sources are very scanty when we
leave the activities of the court circles.
An image from the court of Charlemagne whose possible relevance to
contemporary political concerns has never been suggested is the front
cover of MS Douce 176 in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, which bears a
small ivory carving universally associated with Charlemagne's so-called
Court School (fig. 7).
32
It depicts in the large central panel Christ tram
pling on the asp, basilisk, lion, and dragon, an image inspired by Psalm 90.
That image was also the central subject in two closely related Carolingian
ivory carvings: one of the two Genoels-Elderen ivories in Brussels, appar
ently the earliest of the three versions of the subject,
33
and one of the two
famous Lorsch Gospels covers, now in the Vatican (fig. 8).
34
Like the Lorsch panel, the Bodleian ivory is in a five-part form, but
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196
L A W R E N C E N E E S
t
F I G U R E
7.Ivorybookcover:Christtramplingon theasp,
basilisk, lion, and dragon. Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS
Douce 176. Reproduced by permission of the Bodleian
Library.
whereas the Lorsch composition is in fact five separate pieces of ivory
joined together and measuring thirty-nine by twenty-eight centimeters
overall,theBodleiancoverisasingleivoryplaquemeasuringbut twenty-
onebytwenty-one centimeters.Alsodiffering from theLorschexampleis
the iconography of the smaller satellite images of the Bodleian ivory,
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197
ctrolingicmArt and Politics
F I G U R E
8.Ivory bookcover from Lorsch:Christ between two angels.Vatican,
Museo Sacro,BibliotecaApostolica. Reproduced bypermission ofthe Biblioteca
ApostolicaVaticana.
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1 9 8 L A W R E N C E N E E S
whichshownotlargeangelsbutsmallnarrativescenesconcentratingupon
theinfancyandthemiraclesofChrist.Sixofthesescenesaredirectlycop
iedfrom twofifth-century EarlyChristianpanelsinParisandBerlin (figs.
9and10,respectively),presumablyoncepartofalarge
five-part
composi
tionsuch asweseeintheLorschGospelscover.
35
Foroncewecanactually
compareaCarolingianworkofartwithitssurvivingmodel!
Atfirstthecomparisonseemstosuggestthat theCarolingianartistwas
indeedaslavishcopyist,butoneshouldbe waryofjumpingtoconclusions
alongthisline.NotethatforthesceneofthemarriageofCanatheEarly
Christian carver hasprovided four waterjugs,but theCarolingian artist
six,anditisthelatterthatagreeswiththespecificevidenceofJohn2:6,as
wasrecentlypointedouttomebyaperceptivestudent,JackBecker.
36
The
Carolingian artist hasin fact "corrected"hislate antique pictorialmodel
byrecourse to the appropriate textual source,hardly an indication ofan
automaton-likeslavishimitator.Ofcourse,onemustalsosaythattheCar
olingianartisthascondensedtheimagesand,wemightsay,removedtheir
relatively naturalistic spaciousness, although one should remember that
eachoftheEarlyChristianpanelsmeasuresroughlytwentybyninecenti
metersandisthusnearlyaslargeastheentireBodleianplaque,sothatthe
Carolingian artist faced a significant alteration of scale, and some alter
ationswouldperforceneedtobemadeinadaptingthemodel.
Oneimportantchangevis-a-vishismodelwouldnothavebeenforced
upontheartistoftheBodleianplaquebyreducedspace,however.^Note
thatthethreescenesattheleftoftheBodleianivorycorrespond,albeitnot
inthe sameorder,to theplacementof the threesceneson theParisEarly
Christianpanel,whichwouldhaveoccupiedtheleftpositionintheorigi
nalfive-partdiptych. Yet,on the other sideof the Bodleian plaque, the
threescenesthatcorrespondtotheEarlyChristiansourcearenotallbe
sidethecentralpanelbuthavebeenpusheddown,sothatthelowest,the
miracleatCana,appearsonwhat,inanEarlyChristianfive-partmodel,
wouldhavebeenadifferent panel,thebottomratherthantheside.
37
Why
makethischange?Presumablyit
was
madesoastoinsertsomethingatthe
top of the panel that wasnot in anymodel.Thereisindeed an obvious
interpolation atthetopofthepanel:thefigureoftheprophetIsaiahhold
ingascrollattheupperleftcorner.
In his studyofthe Court School ivories,ThomasHoving couldfind
neither precedent nor parallel for linking afigureof the prophet Isaiah
withtheAnnunciation,
38
asweseeontheBodleianplaque.Hovingpro
posedthat thefigurewascopiedfrom alostSyrianmodelcontainingim
ages of prophets holding scrolls, something like the famous Rossano
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199arolinpfianArt and Politics
F I G U R E 10.EarlyChristianivorydip-
F I G U R E 9.Early Christian ivory dip- tych panel. Berlin, Dahlem Museum,
tych panel. Paris, Musee du Louvre. ReproducedbypermissionoftheStaat-
Photo:copyright R.M .N. licheMuseenPreussischer Kulturbesitz.
Gospe ls,w here quite different half-length prop hets hold scrolls benea tha
seriesofGospelscenes.
39
Evenifthiscomparisonisatallgermane,which
Idoubt, Hovingsuggestednomotivewhatsoeverfor thecopyingofsuch
afigure.IsaiahholdsanopenscrollclearlyinscribedECCE VIRGO CON
CIPIET "Behold a v irgin shall conceive ," a well known and often used
quo ta tion from Isa iah 7 :14 . Tha t p rophe ti c text is quo ted in Mat thew
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20 0 L A W R E N C E N E E S
1:23alongwithitscontinuation,"Beholdavirginshallbewithchild,and
bring forth ason, and they shall callhisname Emmanuel,which being
interpretedis,Godwithus."TheMatthewtextisthelectionforthevigil
oftheNativity,thefirstGospelreadinginthefamousGodescalcGospel
lectionary, written for Charlemagne in 78 1- 83 and apparently kept at
courtthroughouthisreign.
40
Hencetheinclusionofa
figure
ofIsaiahdis
playingthistext,whichopenstheroughlycontemporarylectionaryfrom
thesamemilieu,mightbeexplainedonthebasisoftheancientandunder
standabletendencytoillustratethefirstwordsthatfollowit.
41
Yetsuchan
interpretationentailsseriousdifficulties,
as
weshallsee.Inanyevent,inan
ivorycloselyassociatedwithCharlemagne'scourt,it is notatallsurprising
to seethe reference tospecific contem poraryliturgicalsources.Butwhere
is the indication of a singular contemporary political context or
inspiration?
Bodleian MS Douce 176,the manuscript to which our ivory isnow
and, asfar asanyoneknows,alwayshasbeen attached, isitselfaGospel
lectionary.Itisahandsomelydecoratedmanuscript,withfinescriptand
illuminationinwhathascometobecalledtheMerovingianstyle,empha
sizingzoomorphiclettersdominatedbyfishandbirds.Nodoubtbecause
ofthecontrastbetweenthisstyleandtheclassicizingstyleoftheivory,the
manuscript and itscoverhaveoften been thought tohavebeen brought
together at some late date; their mutual close connection with Char
lemagne's court and almost exactly contemporary dates have been re
garded as coincidental.
42
In fact, as Adolph Goldschmidt observed,
although the leather-covered seventeenth-century binding intowhichthe
ivory
issetcannotbetheoriginal,theivory
fits
hemanuscriptvery well in
sizeandproportion,makingitlikelythatthetwoalwayswent together.
43
Themanuscriptwaswritteninapproximatelythefirstdecadeoftheninth
centuryatChelles,thefemalemonasterywhoseabbesswasGisla,Char
lemagne's sister.
44
Gisla was an importantfigure in her own right, and
duringthelate790sandearlyyearsoftheninthcenturyshewasaregular
correspondent ofAlcuin,severalof
whose
letterstohersurvive.
45
Alcuin
alsodedicatedtoGislahislongcommentaryontheGospelaccordingto
John,whichwasbegunby800andcompletedinabout80 2.
46
Alcuinis,itseemsto me,
a
verylikelysponsorofthemanufactureofthe
ivory cover intended for a new lectionary manuscript to be written in
Gisla'sownmonastery.Chelleshadaveryaccomplishedandactivescrip
torium, working in adistinctly un-Roman Frankish ornamental style.
47
Chellessurelydidnothaveitsownivorycarver,andthecovermusthave
been executed elsewhere, presumably at or near Charlemagne's court.
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Other evidence supports theview that the ivory coverwasnot made at
ChellesforthelectionarywrittenthereandnowpreservedasMSDouce
176. Ihavealreadym entioned that Isaiah'sprophecyasrepeated inMat
thewisthefirstlectionorpericopeintheGodescalclectionary.Itwasalso
thefirstlectioninAlcuin'slectionaryaseditedbyWilmart,andcertainly
wouldhavebeen thebasisforalectionarycoverproducedatthe court .
48
However,MSDouce 176beginsitsseriesnotwiththevigilforChristmas
butwiththeChristmasfeast itself;not,therefore,withtherubric
InVig
iliaNatalisDni.
but
withlnNataleDni. ads.Mariatn,
forwhichthetextis
Luke2 :1 -1 4 .MSDouce 176sharesthisopeningpericopewiththeear
liercalendarpreservedinWiirzburg,Universitatsbibliothekcod.M.P.th.
fol.62,
49
andthereforerepresentsaliturgicalfamilydistinctfromthatem
ployedatCharlemagne'scourtbyAlcuinandothers.
One might see the emphasis given in the Bodleian ivory to Isaiah's
prophecyandtothelargefigureoftheenthronedVirgin,whositsatthe
topcenterofthepaneldirectlyaboveChrist,
as
nothingmorethan
a
rather
simple complimentary reference to the specialvirtue of female virginity,
whichGislaandhernunssharedwithChrist'smother.Such acompliment
maywellhavebeenintended,andmaybepartoftheexplanationforthe
unusualiconographyof theplaque.However,theemphasisuponthevir
ginityofMary,upon the angelicsalutation to theAnnunciation, and in
deed upon Isaiah's prophecy may also have a more distinctly political
implicationinthelate790sorthe
first
yearsoftheninthcentury,ascanbe
seen through an examination of works by Alcuin and others of Char
lemagne'sscholarswrittenagainsttheAdoptionistheresyinSpain.
Donald Bullough has written that, in his
Seven Books against Felixo f
Urgelwrittenin799(PL101:119-230),Alcuin"ismostclearlyinnova
toryinhistreatmentofMary as theMotherofGodandofherrelationship
bothwithfallenmanandwiththeIncarnateword."
50
Indeed,theexalted
position of the Virginfiguresprominently throughout the treatise asa
central argument against the Adoptionists. Following thefifth-century
writerArnobius,Alcuininthesametreatisealsolinkstheimperialpurple
woolthatMarywasspinningatthemomentoftheAnnunciationwiththe
divinityofChrist from before hishuman conception (PL 101:2IOC). If
Hoving wascorrect in linking the woman besideMary in the Bodleian
plaquew ith oneofthe sevendaughters ofIsraelwhowereM ary's spin
ningcompanions,
51
thenAlcuin'santi-Adoptionistworkmayhelptoex
plain another iconographic motif in the work. At the same time, it is
noteworthythatAlcuindirectlylinksthisdiscussionof theVirgin'sspin
ning with the angelic salutation and the conception of Christ by the
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Theotokos,writing"VirgoConcepit"(PL101:211A),paraphrasingand
perhaps alluding to the prophecy ofIsaiah.Elsewhere in his treatiseDe
Incarnatione
of about the same date (PL 101:271-300), also written
against the Adoptionists, Alcuin explicitly cites the prophecy of Isaiah
7:14, and approvingly notes its reappearance inM atthew 1:23, withthe
addition that "Emmanuel" signifies "God with us" (PL 101:276D).Al
cuinis,infact,notaloneinusingtheIsaiahtextagainsttheAdoptionists,
sincePaulinusofAquileia's Contra Felicemof796citesthetextfour differ
enttimesandwithgreatemphasis,
52
afactkindlybroughttomyattention
by Celia Chazelle. Surely the iconography of this ivory, with its Isaiah
prophecyandconcentrationuponChrist'smiracles,hascontemporarypo
liticalresonance.
Anotherivorycarving,thisonemadeforCharlestheBald,raisestheissue
ofthepoliticalrelevanceofCarolingian worksofart in arather different
and— most today would say—more direct way, since the previous ex
amplesbearprimarilyuponwhatnowwouldbecalledecclesiasticalmat
terswith only secondary politicalovertones andconnections. The ivory
carvingatthecenterofthejeweledbackcoverofCharles'sPsalter,nowin
Paris,B.N. cod. lat. 1152,showsadramaticepisode in the life ofDavid
(fig.
I I ) ,
5 3
the well-known episode of his sinful affair with Bathsheba,
whichcausedhimtofallfromfavorwiththeLord.Thestoryistoldin2
Samuel 11 -1 2 . From his roofDavid saw the beautiful Bathsheba inher
bath, wasovercome by lust for her, layw ith her andconceived achild,
and, abusing his royal powers, deliberately and maliciously gaveorders
thatledtothedeathofherhusband,Uriah.TheprophetNathancomesto
David inhisroyalpalaceand speaksatfirstindirectlyof
theactionsof an
unnamed richmanw ho,wishingto haveasheepwithwhichto makean
offering, took one not from his own large flocks but instead seized the
singlelambbelongingto apoorman.Davidangrilydenouncesthepitiless
richman, atwhichpointNathantellshimthathehascondemnedhimself
("Thouarttheman"),andaspunishmentexplainsthatDavid'sownsons
willriseagainsthimandthatBathsheba'schildwilldie.Thisrebukeisthe
occasion for David'sgreat Psalmof Repentance,Psalm50(51), inwhich
he begs for cleansing mercywhile saying,"I acknowledgemytransgres
sions;
andmysiniseverbeforeme."
TheivoryillustratesthisstoryfromSamuelandalsothe titulustoPsalm
50,
54
depictingtheparableoftherichmanandthepoormaninthelower
register. In the larger upper scene,Nathan bursts in from one sideand
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arolingicm
Art and
Politics
F I G U R E
11. Ivory cover of the Psalter of Charles the Bald: David and
BathshebabeforeNathan.Paris,BibliothequeNationale,MSlat.1152.Repro
ducedbypermissionof theBibliothequeNationale.
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points to the corpse ofUriah, and Bathsheba apparently seeks to retain
David entwined in her snare, perhaps literally her weaving, asthe two
standbeforewhatmustbetakentorepresenttheroyalpalace.Davidhim
selfiscaughtatamomentofdecision:shouldhedenyhiscrimeandpun
ishNathan,oradmithisfaultandbegforgiveness?
Itispreciselybecausehechoosesthelattercourseofhumilityandpeni
tencethatDavidisapropermodelforaCarolingianruler,guidedbythe
manofGod,awareofhisownsin.SeduliusScottususestheepisodeinhis
treatise D£
rectoribus christianis(On ChristianRulers),
writtenbetween855
and859foreitherCharlestheBaldhimselforforhisnephewKingLo
thairII,inwhichDavid isbothcontrastedwiththe"impiousKingSaulof
Israel[who]wasdeprivedof hiskingdomandhislifebecausehedidnot
stand before the Lord asafaithful minister," andpraised for hissubmis
siontoNathan,whenhe"bewailedhimselfwithbitterpenance."
55
Arch
bishop Hincmar ofReimscites theNathan passage to Lothair II in his
treatise againstLo thair's divorce,citesitagainto Charlesthe Baldinhis
importantandpervasivelyAugustiniancomprehensiveworkof873onthe
royal office and duties, and indeed cites thepassage yet oncemore ina
letter to Pope Hadrian II, along with ecclesiastical canons and decretals
andAugustinianinjunctionsconcerningtheproperdutyofecclesiasticsto
bringaccusationagainstthesinsanderrorsoftheirrulers.
56
TheimageontheivorycoverofCharlestheBald'sPsalter wascommis
sioned by or presented to the king at an undetermined moment before
869,
andpresentsanexampleofaroyalsinthatmustbeavoided,notroyal
glory to be imitated. Its selection can beexplained in manyways.Least
satisfactory isthe notion that sincePsalm 50 begins the secondofthree
partsintowhichearlymedievalPsaltermanuscriptswereoftendivided,its
selectionreflects theparticular importanceofillustrationsofthatpsalmin
thepictorialtradition.Ifthisasitwereunthinkingly"automatic"explana
tionofthechoiceofPsalm50hadanyvalidity,oneshouldexpecttosee
Psalm1orPsalm100decoratingtheotherivorycoveronthefrontofthe
book,not Psalm 56,asisinfact thecase.
57
Thatothercarvingillustrates
notthe
titulus
butthepsalmtextitself (verses 5and7,respectively), specif
ically showing the Psalmist "delivered from themidstof theyoung lions
. . .and the sonsofmen,whoseteeth areweaponsandarrows,and their
tongueasharpsword,"whileatthebottomofthepaneltheenemieswho
have dug ap it as a snare fall into it themselves. Clearly the two covers
makeaprogram,arguingthatiftheruleractsjustly—specifically,doesnot
confiscatethepropertyofthepowerless(orthechurch!)—hewillbegiven
victoryoverhisenemies.
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205arolingianArt and Politics
Certainly the imageofNathan's rebukeofDavid isbyno meansrare
andmaybefound inasubstantialpercentageofthepreservedearlymedi
evalPsaltersinboth LatinandGreekworlds,asinthe well-knownminia
tureofthetenth-centuryByzantineParisPsalter.
58
Yetinthatmanuscript
the episode isbut one in asubstantial seriesof scenesfrom David's life,
andneither therenor inanyotherworkisthesinandpenitenceofDavid
givensuchprominenceasinCharlestheBald'sPsalter,whereitisoneof
only two psalms illustrated. In this instance wecan even saywith some
confidencethatthechoiceofthisscenecannothavebeenduetothechance
availability of amodel for that scene andno other, since,aswasalready
notedbyGoldschmidt,
59
theivorycoverofCharlestheBald'sPsalterap
pearstohavehaditsdirectsourceintheprofuselyillustratedUtrechtPsal
ter,
60
whichcouldhaveprovidedtheartistandprogramdesignerwitha
modelforanyof the150psalms,notforPsalm50only.ClearlyPsalm50
was deliberately chosen by the artist or designer of the program of
thePsalterofCharlestheBald;moreover,intakingthecompositionofthe
Utrecht Psalter for Psalm 50 asits essential inspiration, the artist ofthe
ivoryhasalteredthecompositionsoastoplacethedeadbodyofUriahin
avery prominent position at thecenterofthe ivory panel. Surely,espe
ciallyinthecaseof a workofsuchsuperlativequalityofexpressionand
composition,suchconcentration upon theeffect ofDavid'ssincannotbe
dismissedasaccidental.
ThespecialbearingofPsalm50andthepenitenceofKingDavidupon
contemporarypoliticalthinkinghasrecentlybeenindicatedbyChristoph
Eggenberger in his study of the late ninth-century Carolingian Golden
Psalterof Saint Gall,avery richly illustrated book, yetone inwhich the
Bathshebaepisodeisabsentaltogether.Eggenbergerdismisses,rightlyin
myopinion,thepossibilitythatthepsalmisnotillustratedinthatmagnifi
centbookbecausenomodel wasavailabletotheartists,whodemonstrably
drewupon awidevarietyofsources.Eggenbergersuggeststhattheimage
ofthesinandpenitenceofDavid was deliberatelyexcludedfromthatillus
trativecyclebecausethehumilitythemewasnotconsidereddesirablefora
bookdesigned tobeusedbyvarious important visitorstothemonastery,
that it wasperhaps too provocative.
61
As Eggenberger shows, drawing
uponliturgicalandexegeticalsources,thispsalmhadaparticularlyimpor
tantmonitory function asoneofthepenitentialpsalms.
Althoughimagessometimescouldanddidde-emphasizeDavid'ssin—
as in the later Byzantine example already mentioned and in the earlier
Carolingian Corbie and Zurich Psalters—by depicting his praiseworthy
humblepenitencewithoutshowingBathshebaorthedeadbodyofUriah,
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whichwerethecausesofthatpenitence,thecoverofthePsalterofCharles
theBaldgivesUriah andespeciallyBathshebagreatprominence.It must
alsoberememberedthatthedesigneroftheprogramfortheivorycover
deliberately chose thispsalm with its penitential theme,where hecould
havefollowed earlierCarolingian royaltradition byplacing David asau
thorandmusicianonthecover,asontheDagulfPsalter.
62
Surelyalsothe
themeofthepenitenceofDavidwaschosen,andthesinwhichpreceded
thepenitenceemphasized,onthecoverofCharlestheBald'sPsalterbe
cause the conception of royalhumility was soimportant to the idealof
rulershippreachedintheninth-century Furstenspiejjel
63
based ultimately
uponAugustine'spictureofthehumilityofTheodosiusinhis
CityofGod,
book5,chapter
2 6 .
64
Indeed, immediately after citing to Lothair II the
proper penitence and humility ofDavid after being rebuked for hissin
with Bathsheba,SeduliusScottuscitesatgreatlength theepisodeof"the
wonderful humility and penance of the glorious prince Theodosius,"
whichAugustinehadsoprominently featured.
65
Sedulius Scottus' close linkage of David and Theodosius as royal
models supports the view that the program of images developed for
Charles the Bald's Psalter extends to the miniatures inside the volume.
There Charles appears in anenthroned portrait image,wearing acrown
and holding ascepter and anorb,while the handofGod reachesdown
towardhim.TheinscriptionabovethekingsaysthatheislikeJosiahand
Theodosius.
66
Whyarethesetwofigurescited,ratherthanMoses,David,
or,conceivably,Constantine?
JosiahwasthekingofJudahwho,duringthetimeoftheprophetIs
aiah,cametothethroneasaboyofeightafterhiswickedfather,Amon,
hadbeenslainbyhisownhousehold.Josiahsubsequentlyrebuiltthedam
aged temple inJerusalem and found there thebooksofMoses (2Kings
21-23) ,
the"booksoftheLaw,"whichhereadtothepeople,
67
whomhe
attem pted toleadinareligiousrevivalbydestroyingallthealtarsandidols
thathadbeenestablishedbyhispredecessorssincethetimeof
David.
In
deed, Josiah is said to have"walked in thewaysof his father David" (2
Kings22:2).Josiahinthissenseformsanaturalmodelforemulationbya
Frankish king concerned, asCharles theBald andothers had been,with
legislation seekingtoreform theChristianchurchandthemorallifeofthe
peopleintheircare.Josiahhadbeencitedearlierassuchamodel,along
withMoses,David,andSamuel,byTheodulfofOrleansinhispoemCon
traindices,addressedtoCharlemagne.
68
Ontheotherhand,Josiah'sstory
alsocarriesa subversivesubtext,forhisvirtuesdidnotpreventtheLord's
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continuingangerwiththepeopleofJudahfromallowinghimtobekilled
inbattleagainsttheEgyptiansand,inthetimeof
his
sons,allowingJeru
salem to be taken by Nebuchadnezzar, the Temple destroyed, and the
people taken into captivity in Babylon. Josiahwasgood, but not trium
phant,amodelespeciallyappropriateforakingbesiegedbypowerfulene
miesandnotalwaysvictorious.
WhyisJosiahlinkedwithTheodosius asamodel forCharlestheBald?
Theodosius isa different but no lessdifficult figure. First isa problem of
simple identification. It isnot altogether clearwhether Theodosius I or
TheodosiusIIismeantbytheinscription,andeitherisapossibility;in
deed it may well be that the two were either confused or erroneously
mergedintheninthcentury.
TheodosiusIIisoftenconsideredtobetheemperorrepresentedinthis
miniature,for hisname isattached to thegreatestcodification ofRoman
law before Justinian.Theodosius II isspecified in anearly ninth-century
NorthItalianmanuscript,withaninscriptionreading Theodosius iuniorim
perator
in the portrait showing him enthroned and accompanied bythe
teemingbishopsattendingtheCouncilofEphesus.
69
TheodosiusIIhad
alsoundoubtedlybeenrepresentedinanearlyCarolingianminiaturecon
tained in a law book, without any inscription specifying which Theo
dosius isshown but presumably identifiable on the basisofthe legaltext
withwhichheislinkedandbecauseofthelawyerswhosurroundhim.
70
However,TheodosiusI"theGreat"wasalso awell-knownfigureinthe
Carolingian period, paired with Constantine as a predecessor of the
Carolingian kings in adescription ofwall paintings in the royal hall at
Ingelheim written in the late 820sbyErmoldusNigellus, inwhichThe
odosius' great deeds (actis praeclaris) are mentioned.
71
When Lupus of
FerriereswrotetoCharlestheBaldin844,hereferstoa"verybriefsum
maryofthedeedsoftheemperors [thathehad]presented toYourMaj
esty,"in which heespecially commendsTrajan andTheodosius "because
youcanmostprofitablyfindmanythingsamongtheirdeedstoimitate."
72
Theodosiusishereunnumbered, but theelderemperor ispresumablyin
tended, because the reference is to his great deeds, as in the Ingelheim
poemofErmoldus.
One could argue that the common denominator between Josiah and
Theodosius, and between each and Charles the Bald, isthe idea oflaw.
Josiahdiscoveredandprom ulgated the"booksoftheLaw";TheodosiusII
wasalawcodifier; andCharleswasactivelyinterested inthelaw.Werethe
miniatures thefrontispiece to alawbook—as theycouldwellhavebeen,
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sinceweknowof some luxuriouslydecorated legalcodicesfrom the time
andthecircleof
Charles
theBald
73
—thiswouldbethemorelikelyinter
pretation.However,themanuscriptisaPsalter,indeedaprivatePsalterof
thesortthatcouldbeandpresumablywasintendedtobeusedforprivate
devotionsbytheking.
The imageofDavid andBathsheba iscertainly anappropriatelydevo
tionalimage,acalltohumilityandpenance,Psalm50beingoneofthe
sevenpenitentialPsalms.Hence,itseemsmorethanlikelythattheinvoca
tionofTheodosiusinconnectionwithCharlestheBald'sportraitshould
sharethe samethem eand reflect theidentification ofTheodosius Iasnot
onlythedoerofgreatdeedsbutalsotheshiningexampleof a ruler'shu
milityandpenance,ascitedbyAugustineinthe
CityofGod
andreiterated
bysuchcontemporaryauthorsasSeduliusScottus,asalreadymentioned.
Augustinepraisesboth thegreatdeedsandthehumilityofTheodosius
inthesamechapter,andthatchapterdeservesfurther scrutinyforfourad
ditional themes that connect it to the artistic decoration of Charles the
Bald's Psalter. First, Augustine also praises Theodosius for having con
sultedtheprophetichermitJohnfor advicebefore proceedingagainstthe
tyrannical Maxentius, a theme analogous to that on the ivory cover of
DavidhearingtheprophetNathan,andoneofobviousattractivenessfora
clericalprogram designer. Second,AugustinepraisesTheodosiusforcast
ingdownthestatuesofJupiterthathadbeensetupintheAlpsbyhis
enemies,recallingJosiah'sactionsincastingdowntheidolsfrom thehigh
places,asdescribedintheOldTestament.Third,AugustinepraisesTheo
dosius for not having confiscated the property of his defeated enemies'
heirs,
athemerecallingthesinofDavidandNathan'sparableandgently
evoking Carolingian churchmen's claims for the inviolability of church
property against the actions of some rulers' attempts to reclaim land.
Finally,theoverarchingthemeofAugustine'sdiscussion,inwhichTheo
dosius serves as an exemplum, is the idea of personal salvation far out
weighinganyearthlygood:
Theseandother similargoodworks,whichitwouldbelongtotell,
hecarriedwithhim from theworldof
time,
wherethegreatesthu
man nobility and loftiness are but vapour. Of these works there
wardiseternalhappiness,ofwhichGodisthegiver,thoughonly
tothosewhoaresincerelypious.Butallotherblessingsandprivi
leges of this life, as the world
itself,
light, air, earth, water, fruits,
andthesoulofman
himself,
hisbody,sense,mind,life,Helavishes
on good and bad alike.And among these blessings is also to be
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reckoned the possession of an empire,whose extent He regulates
according to the requirements of His providential government at
varioustimes.
74
HowappropriateathoughttobeevokedbythereferencetoTheodosius
in the portrait miniature in a royal Psalter! Surely this section ofAu
gustine's
CityofGod
whichhasbeentermedby a recentscholar
the
Chris
tianFiirstenspiegelparexcellence,"
75
wouldhavebeenknowntoCharles
theBald himself, aswellasto theas-yet-unidentified designerof thepro
gram of images for his Psalter.
76
The Augustinian passage articulated a
fundamental conception underlying the intended significance ofthe por
traitof Charles as"likeJosiahandTheodosius."
Inwhatcontextwouldsuchaprogramofimages,suchaconcatenation
ofthemes and allusions,have been particularly appropriate? The themes
includethedeathofafavoredson,tobesupplantedbyanotherbornebya
newwife;rejectionofidolatry;protection, ratherthanconfiscation,ofthe
property of the "poor and defenseless," however those might be con
strued;andthedefeatof the righteouskingbecauseofGod'sangerathis
ancestorsandpeople.Manyofthosethemesmusthavehadcontemporary
resonance.Theking'sduty to protect rather than confiscate ecclesiastical
propertyisamajorthemeofninth-centurywriters;indeedthatdutywas
sometimes linked with the often reiterated call to defend the rights of
widowsandorphans.
77
Suchfrequentreiterationsuggestsabuse,andCharlestheBaldfollowed
a long family tradition in assigning ecclesiastical estates to lay followers.
LupusofFerrieres'manylettersoveraperiodofeightyearsbeggingfor
restitution of the cellof Saint Josse are only one of the best knownex
amples of this phenomenon.
78
The possibility that the Lord's anointed
kingmight bedefeated inbattlebyinfidels,ashappenedtoJosiah,cannot
havebeenapointofmerelyantiquarianinterestinCharlestheBald'sking
dom.TheVikingraidsandindeedinvasionshadalreadybeguninearnest
intheearlydaysofCharles'srule,inthe840s,andgrewinintensitythere
after, withthegreatinvasionsof856-6 2 providing ahighorlowpoint,
dependinguponthepointofview
79
TheprophecyofNathanconcerningthesonsofDavidmustalsohave
been areference with special resonance for one of the sonsof Louis the
Pious,
aswasCharlesthe Bald.Adominant factor inCarolingianhistory
duringthesecondquarteroftheninthcenturywastherevoltofLouis's
sons,
who had indeed, like David's son Absalom, repeatedly rebelled
againstpaternalauthority,causingtheirfathertobedeposed,imprisoned,
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andhumiliated—a revolt,alsoinananalogousmanner,prom pted invery
largepart bythefather's newmarriageto abeautifulwom an,inthiscase
Charles's own mother, Judith. Although the first child of David and
BathshebadiedasaresultofGod'sangeratDavid'ssin,itisalsotruethat
thesecondsonofthatunionwasSolomon, thegreatfuture kingdestined
tosucceedtothethroneof all IsraelandtobuildtheTemple.
In terms ofthe narrative situation, Judith's son CharlestheBald thus
standsasaparalleltoBathsheba'ssonSolomon.Arewereallytoimagine
thatnosuchconnectioneveroccurredtothemanwhodesignedthepro
gramof
this cover,ortoCharlestheBald,forwhomitwasintended?To
take such aview seems to me to require that we imagine aparticularly
densestupidityon thepart oftheCarolingiankingandcourt, andinmy
view the surviving evidence suggestsnothing ofthe kind. Indeed, ithas
beenobservedbyJoachimGaehdeandothersthatthefrontispieceminia
turefortheBookofKingsinthegreatBiblegivenbyCharlestheBaldto
thepopein875,ontheoccasionofhisimperialcoronationinRome(now
preservedinthemonasteryofSanPaolofuorilemurainthatcity),shows
Solomon seatedupon histhrone (fig. 12)lookingverymuch indeedlike
portraits ofCharles the Bald in such works astheCodex Aureus ofSt.
Emmeran,producedlikewiseintheearly870s.
80
ImustadmitthatIhaveusedsuchusefullyvaguetermsas"resonance"
toglosstheissueofdirecttopicalpoliticalreferenceintheimageryofthe
PsalterofCharlestheBald'sivorycoverandportraitminiature.
81
Ihave
notbeenabletouncoveranyspecificevidencethatwouldallowthepro
gramtobelinkedexclusivelywithaparticulareventormoment.Icould
easily imagine it being commissioned in the dark days of 858, when
Charles'skingdomwasinvadedbyboththeVikingsandhisownbrother
LouistheGerman;Icouldalsoimagineitbeingcommissionedincelebra
tionofCharles'ssurvivalof
the latterthreat,withthehelpofHincmarof
Reims and other churchmen who refused to abandon their king. The
problem is that the imagery is not strictly allegorical, but rather more
loosely allusive—as it were, metaphorical. The program is also unusual
anddifficult to interpret, therebynicelyreflecting thefactthatitmusthave
beenunusual anddifficult tointerpret intheninthcentury.Thecombina
tionofPsalms50and56,eachreflectingaquitedifferent evocationofthe
king'srelationshiptoGod,hispeople,andthechurch,withthecitationof
Josiah and (unspecified) Theodosius cannot have been thought to be
straightforward by the program's designer. Evidently the program was
meanttoprovokeextendedthought,orperhapsoneshouldsayreflection,
onthepartofitsprimeaudience,theking
himself.Infact,theaudiencefor
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211
Carolinjjian
Art and
Politics
F I G U R E 12.Illustration from the Bibleof Charles theBaldatSanPaolofuorile
mura, Rome: Solomon seated upon the throne. Rome,San Paolo fuori lem ura,
fol.
188v.Photo:I.C.C.D.Roma,neg.E47522.
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212 L A W R E N C E N E E S
such awork was most severely restricted, numbering no more than the
kingandintimatemembersofhisfamilyandcourt,whowouldhavebeen
inthefortunateposition,whichwedonotshare,ofknowingthedateand
contextofthecommissionandthereforebeingabletointerpretthemanu
script'simagery inthatspecific context.
Weareinadoublebindintryingtodeterminethecontext(thatis,on
the simplestlevel,thedate) andthe interpretation atonce,when the two
areinterdependent.Onlyaterminusantequernseemstobesecurelyfixed,
asthemanuscriptwasgivenbyCharlestheBaldtothecathedralofMetz
(togetherwiththeso-calledVivianBible)in869.TheVivianBiblewasat
that timenearlytwentyyearsold,sothereisnoreasontothink adatenear
869eitherlikelyorunlikelyforthePsalter.Thecircumstancesofthegift
do,however,suggestthatthePsalter
was
thoughtofbythekinginapolit
icalcontext.ItisprobablynotanaccidentthatthedonationtoMetzfol
loweduponCharles'scoronationthere,byBishopArnulfofToulandby
ArchbishopHincmarofReims,askingofLothairIPsrealm.
82
Thetrium
phant outcome ofCharles's ancient desire to possesshisnephew's king
dom no doubt encouraged him to believe, incorrectly as later events
proved,thathewasoneoftheluckyfewchosenrulerswhowouldbesuc
cessful in hisearthly career and alsomerit heavenly salvation thereafter.
ThemonitorycontentoftheimageryofthePsalterthatheoffered
as a gift
ontheoccasionsuggeststhathehumblyrecognizedhisshortcomingsand
had been exalted inpart forthat reason,asDavidandTheodosius before
him.
ThemonitorycontentofthecoverofCharlestheBald'sPsalterisnotan
isolatedexampleofanimageembodyingamonitoryorimplicitlycritical
addresstoaCarolingianmonarchthatmayperhapsbecloselyrelatedtoa
specific historical situation. One of themost famous andmost beautiful
artworksoftheCarolingianperiodisthemagnificentrockcrystalofKing
Lothair II (fig. 13),decorated with aseries ofnarrative scenes from the
OldTestamentstoryofSusanna,beginningwiththetwoevilElderspeer
ingoverthegardenwallattheyoungwomanpreparingtotakeherbath.
83
At the center ofthe crystal in amedallion appears theenthroned judge,
usually interpreted as Daniel, vindicating the innocent young woman
against her perjured accusers. This scene is clearly unusual, not being
called for by the biblicaltext andgiven specialprominence byitscentral
location and framing. Since the inscription
LothariusRex Francorum ...
[me][fjieri iussit
(LothairKingoftheFranksorderedmetobemade)ap
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213
arolingianArt and Politics
F I G U R E 13.Lothair crystal: Scenes from the life of Susanna. London, British
Museum.Reproduced bypermissionoftheBritishMuseum.
pears immediately above this scene, it seems more than likely that some
parallelism between Lothair and thejustjudge oftheO ldTestament isin
tended, the royal connection of the image being further underscored by
thecom positional similarityof thecanopy-like coffered vaulton four col
umns above the scene to a s imilar featu re in the por tra it o f Char les the
Baldfrom the Codex Aureusof
St.
E m m c r a n .
8 4
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215arolingianArt and Politics
the archbishops of Trier and Cologne, the key figures in condemning
Teutberga.
Theproperand,Ithink,intendedreadingoftheworkbycontempor
arieswouldhavebeenmoreindirectandironic,asisalsoindicatedbyfor
mal qualities of the crystal. It is noteworthy that the compositional
arrangementundercutstheclosenessoftheparallelbetweenthejustjudge
ofthecrystalandtheCarolingianking,sincedespitetheformalanalogyto
near-contemporary Carolingian ruler portraiture already adduced, itcan
hardlybemerelycoincidentalthatthejudgeofthecrystaldoesnotoccupy
thecentralspace,heregivenovertoSusanna,andispresentedinprofile.
Carolingian ruler portraits, including not only those already mentioned
butmanyothersaswell,habituallyportraythekingfrontallyinsomevari
ation of the "majesty" formula, and disguised portrayals of Carolingian
rulers through Old Testament prototypes use the same formula. Thus
when, in theBibleof San Paolofuori lemura, thefrontispiece miniature
for the bookofProverbs showsSolomon enthroned beneath just sucha
canopy-vaultasisthejudgeontheSusannacrystal,Solomon,whoispro
vidingwiseandjustjudgmentforthetwowomenquarrelingoverachild
depicted belowhim,isportrayed frontally atthecenterof
the
image(see
fig.
12).Evidently,had the Carolingian artistwished tomakeasimilarly
directassociationbetweencontemporaryrulerandOldTestamentproto
typehecouldhavedone so,andweareentitled to suspect thatwhenhe
usedadifferent mannerofpresentationhewished tomakearather differ
entpoint.
TheSusannacrystalisclearlynot aninsulttoLothairIInoranapology
byhimbutremains,inmy
view,
a pointedwarningtohimofthedangerof
failing to execute properly his royal responsibilities. Surely, if simple
flatteryandpraisewere intended bythe designerof the Susannacrystal,
theywere managed veryawkwardly indeed, and Lothair IIofallmenis
unlikelytohavebeenunreservedlydelightedwithagifttellinghimof
his
duty tovindicatewomenagainstunjust accusationsofsexualmisconduct!
Scholarstoday,includingarthistorians,arewellawareofthedifficulties in
establishingtheoriginalintentionoftheartistsandpatronsofanyhistori
calmoment,includingthepresentone,tosaynothingof the Carolingian
past.Iamsufficiently old-fashioned to think that, impossibleasitmaybe
fullytorecapturecreativeintention,itispossibletodeduceatleastsome
portionofavowedconsciousintention,andverylikelysomethingofun
conscious significance aswell. In any event, the search seemsto mewell
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L A W R E N C E N E E S
worth theeffort, andI am not apologetic for sharingwithyousomeex
amplesofwhatappeartometheintentofCarolingianartistsandpatrons
toreflectandconveyspecific andoccasionallycomplexandsubtlepolitical
messagesthroughworksofart.Atthesametime,wecannotconfusein
tentoftheartistwithreceptionbycontemporary audiences.Wemustnot
toosimplyandschematicallyreducethediversityandcomplexityofthe
Carolingianaudience,orindeedaudiences,forworksofart,whichwere
presumably and, in my view, demonstrably as variable as those today.
Complexmeanings and programs maywellhavebeen incomprehensible
tocontemporaries,eventotherelativelylearned,tosaynothingoflater
observers.Perhapsanexamplewillclarifymypoint.
ThemajorityoftheprofileportraitcoinsofCharlemagnewithwhichI
beganmyremarksbearonthereverseanimageof
a
Roman temple (fig.
14 ,
deriveddemonstrablyfrom lateantiqueRomanseries,suchastheex
ampleof
a
coinofMaxentiusofabout 308.Here,clearly,wehavearefer
ence to Rome, but with across replacing the cult imageof the ancient
coins,
anothercrosssurmountingthetemplefacade,andthelegend
Cris
tianaReligio,
alltestifying to the importanceof regarding Charlemagne's
assumptionof
the
imperialtitleand styleasaChristianconversionofthe
originally pagan Roman tradition.
89
This idea of Hugh Fallon, who
showedtheoriginofthe Cristiana Relijjio
termandthemeinthe
Libri
a-
rolini
text,istomenotonly
a
justassessmentbutanimportant
one.
These
coins bear acoherent politicalprogram uniting obverse and reverse ina
meaningful way, and I think they were intended to do so, having been
elaborated insomeofficial setting,presumably atthe court, for manufac
ture atthe important mint atFrankfurt, whereallwereproduced.Yetal
readyinCharlemagne's reign,othermintscopiedtheobverseportraitbut
replaced the meaningful reverse image and legend with alocal emblem,
suchastheshipoftheportatQuentovicandthecitygateof the
oldRo-
F
IGUR E 14. Carolingiancoin (reverseof
fig.
3):
imageof aRomantemple.StaatlicheMuseenzu
Berlin. Reproduced bypermission of the Staat
licheMuseenPreussischer Kulturbesitz.
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217arolinianArt and Politics
man city ofTrier, destroying the meaning of the program.
90
Evidently
evenhighly placed contemporaries either failed to receiveor deliberately
rejectedthepoliticalprogramormessageintendedbytheoriginalissueof
theseries,or thefigures atthecourt who designed theoriginalprogram
were resigned to its significance being opaque in the provinces in any
event,sothatalterationofthereverseimagewouldnotactuallybealoss.
Theoriginalintentwasnotlostaltogether,however,andcouldbere
covered and restated bylater issues, ason the templecoinswith profile
portraitsissuedbyCharlemagne'ssonLouisthePious.Evenhere,how
ever,thereproductionofthesameimageandlegendtypeswasverylikely
intended to carry a rather different meaning. Fallon suggested, I think
persuasively, that the Charlemagne temple coins carried a sharply anti-
Byzantine message still in the tradition of the diatribes ofthe LibriCa
roling
but itwould bedifficult to seesuch ameaning being intendedby
Louisthe Piousroughlytwodecadeslater, if Irightlyunderstandimpor
tantrecentworkbyThomasNobleonLouis'srelationswithByzantium.
91
Theinterpretiveandhistoricalgroundhereprovidesverytrickyfooting,
inotherwords,andweshouldtreadupon itwithgreatcircumspection.
IfAristotle is right in defining man as "by nature apolitical animal,"
92
then even Carolingian art must be in some sensepolitical too ; the diffi
culty isapparently indefining politicsandmanner.RecentlyJanetNelson
hasarguedthatCarolingianpoliticswasmorethan amatterofpartiesand
campaigns,but"anaffairofthegutsandofthesoul."Specificallyaddress
ingCarolingianroyalritual,whichseemsfarlessvariedandchangingthan
Carolingianart,sheheldthatitwasindeedpolitical.
93
Perhaps,aswellas
reflectingthehoaryhistoriographicaltraditionofholdingthe"darkages"
in low regard, thedenialofthe political relevanceofCarolingian artbe
speaksanarrowerdefinitionofpoliticsthanshewouldallow.Documenta
tionofartisticworksasimmediate responsesto particularpoliticalevents
isverydifficult inthisperiod,butprobablynotonlybecauseof thequan
tity ofour evidence.Worksof art are abundant, as arewritten sources,
bearingupon such issuesasthe imperialcoronationofCharlemagne, the
revoltsofLouisthePious'ssons,ortheattempteddivorceofLothairII,
butthetwocanseldombebroughttogetherinarelationshipsoexclusive
as to rule out alternative explanations. Carolingian thinking is not, I
would argue,vagueandunfocused, but itisclasticandoften multivalent,
repeatedly employing familiar conceptsandstoriesdrawn from Scripture
and the Fathers but deploying them in new contexts to carry new mcs
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2 1 8 L A W R E N C E N E E S
sages.
Carolingiansmightinthissenseberegardedaspostmodernistsbe
foretheirtime,asrejectingthemodernistunivocalhermeneuticattitude.
ItwasthereforenottroublingtoCarolingianauthors,andpresumablyar
tisticpatrons,that,forexample,theDavidandBathshebastorymightbe
authoritativelyinterpretedbothasroyalsinandabuseofpowerandasthe
marriageof the SaviorwithEcclesia.
94
Hotes
ThisessayhasbeenextensivelyrevisedsinceitwasgivenasalectureatTheO hio
StateUniversityin1989,butIhavetriedtomaintaintheessentialstructureand
somethingof
the
toneof
the
originallecture.Afewimportantpublicationsthat
appeared inandafter 1992havebeennotedhere,but thetexthasnotbeen
revisedagaintorespondtotheircontributions.Iamgratefultomembersofthe
originalaudienceatColumbus for theirhelpful comments,aswellastoan
anonymousrevieweroftheearlywrittenversion.Biblicalquotationsarefromthe
DouayRheimsVersion.
1.
See
Karl der
Grosse:
WerkundWirkung,
nos.12—25,andtheillustrationon
thecoverofthecatalogue.
2. ForabriefdiscussionoftheRenaissancequestion,seeLawrenceNees, A
TaintedMantle: Herculesand the ClassicalTraditionat theCarolingian Court,
pp.3—17,with further literature.
3.
PhilipGrierson,"MoneyandCoinageunderCharlemagne,"esp.pp.5 1 8
20.
4.
Itshouldbenoted,however,thatalthoughthecoinportraitseemsto
presupposethe imperialcoronation, itdoesnotdirectlyfollowthatevent
andmayhaveother,moreimmediatecauses;forafinelybalanceddiscussion
ofthisworkandoftheentireclassofroyalimages,seeDonald
A.
Bullough,
'"ImaginesRegum'andTheirSignificanceintheEarlyMedievalWest,"esp.
pp.247-48.
5.
TheinterestingstudyofStanleyMorison,
Politics and Script: Aspects of
Authorityand Freedomin the Development ofGraeco-Latin ScriptfromtheSixth
CenturyB.C. to the Twentieth CenturyA.D.,makesusefulcommentsabout
theCarolingianreformofscriptbutmakesthisaparalleltoaverygeneral
politicaldevelopmentratherthanaresponsetospecificindividualsand
events.
6. Nostudiesarewhollydevotedtothequestionoftheimperialcoronation's
impactupon art, although the issuewasaddressedbyJohnBeckwith,
"ByzantineInfluenceonCarolingianArt,"andthereareimportantcau
tionaryremarksinBullough,"'ImaginesRegum,'"pp.244-49.One
interestingexampleof
the
problemispresentedbytheGatehouseor
Torhalleof
Lorsch.
RichardKrautheimermadethisanimportantpointin
hisjustlyfamousarticleseekingtoconnectvariousaspectsofearlyCar
olingianarchitecturewiththeimitationof
Rome,
datingitcloseto800
becauseitwassoRoman;see"TheCarolingianRevivalofEarlyChristian
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CarolingianArt and Politics 219
Architecture."Morerecently,WernerJacobsenhaspersuasively proposeda
much laterdateanddifferent interpretation; seehis"DieLorscherTorhalle:
ZumProblemihrerDatierungandDeutung."
7.
RosamondMcKitterick,
The Carolingiansand theWritten Word
p.30.The
miniature isUtrecht,BibliotheekderRijksuniversiteit, cod.32 (olimcod.
Script,eccles.484),fol.90v,forwhichseeKoertvanderHorstandJacobus
H.A. Engelbregt , eds . ,Utrecht-Psalter: Vollstandige FaksimileAusgabe in
Originalformat derHandscrift 32 am demBesitzder Bibliotheekder
Rijksuniversiteit te Utrecht.Amoreconvenientreproductionmaybefoundin
JeanH ubert, JeanPorcher,andWolfgang FritzVolbach, The Carolingian
Renaissance,trans.JamesEmmons,StuartGilbert,andRobertAllen,fig.88,
alongwithaninterpretationthattheartist"selected,assembled[fromearlier
Mediterraneanmodels],anddasheddownhisvivid
figurations,
nwhich
nothingwasreallynewbutthezestgivingthemsuchvibrantlife"(p.105).
Itisinterestingtonotethatsincetheseremarkswerewritten,thissamemin
iaturehasbeenthesubjectof animportantstudybyCeliaChazelle,pre
sentedasalectureatthe26th InternationalCongressofMedievalStudies
atKalamazooin 1991andto bepublishedinthenearfuture.Chazelleof
fersastrongargumentthattheminiaturecontainsspecificdetailsof
cos
tumeandsettingthatconnectitwithCarolingianecclesiasticalceremonies
andpoliticalcontexts.
8. HerbertKessler,"OntheStateofMedievalArtHistory,"esp.p.182.
9. Ibid.,p.178.Itshouldbenotedthatinaseriesofimportantrecentworks
Kesslerhasinfactvigorouslypropoundedtheimportanceoftheculturaland
politicalcontentof several Carolingianimages.Seehis"AnApostleinAr
morandtheMissionofCarolingianArt"; "ALayAbbot asPatron:Count
VivianandtheFirstBibleof
Charles
theBald";and"'Fadesbibliotheca
revelata':CarolingianArtasSpiritualSeeing."
10.
GeorgWilhelmFriedrichHegel, The Philosophyo f
History,
trans.J.Sibree,
pp. 341-42.
11. ArecentstudyofCarolingianarmsandarmorargues,againsttheearlier
prevailingview,thatCarolingianimageryusuallydepictscontemporary
weaponrywithconsiderableaccuracy,anddoesnotsimplyfollowearlier
iconographicmodels;seeSimonCoupland,"CarolingianArmsandArmor
intheNinthCentury,"esp.p.50:"Carolingian ivoriesandmanuscript
illuminationareamore reliableguidetocontemporary armamentthanhas
hitherto been believed .. .eventhough certainfeatures mayhavebeen
influenced bylateRomanorByzantinepictorialtraditions, ninth-century
Frankishillustrationsdepictedcurrentformsofhelmets,shields,swords,
sword-mountsandspears."Ihave,inanotherrecentstudy,attemptedto
addresstheissueof "invented"images;seeNees,"TheOriginalityof Early
MedievalArtists."
12.
TworecentstudiesthatdeservementionareJoanS.Cwi,"AStudyin
CarolingianPoliticalTheology:TheDavidCycleatSt.John,Miistair";and
theimportantarticlebyKessler,"AnApostleinArmor,"p.35.
13. SeeBullough,"'ImaginesRegum,"'p.243andn.88;andBullough,
"Alcuinandthe Kingdom ofHeaven:Liturgy,Theology,andthe
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2 20 L A W R E N C E N E E S
Carol ingian Ag e,"esp.pp. 1 3 -1 5 . For the Vienna manuscript, see K urt
Holter , ed. ,Dergoldene Psalter"Dagu lf-Psalter": VollstandigeFaksimile-
Ausgabe imOriginalformat vonCodex1861 der OsterreichischenNational
bibliothek. For thedatesof them anuscript andmo reon itscredal collection,
seemyreviewofHolter 'sDergoldene PsalterinArt Bulletin 67 ( 1985):
681-90 . On the da te o f theLibri Caroliniandrelatedquestions,seeAnn
Freeman,"C arolingian Ortho dox y and theFate of theLibriCarolini."
14.
Form oreo n this th eme ,seechap.7 in thisvolume,byThom asF. X.
Noble .
15. SeeAdolphGoldschmidt ,DieElfenbeinskulpturenausderZeitder
karolingischenund sachsischenKaiser,v ol. 1,no s.3—4;andH olte r, ed.,
GoldenePsalter,2:58— 65.For arecentdiscussion ofsuchDavid iconog
raphy, seeChristophEggenberger, PsalteriumAureum SanctiGalli:
MittelalterlichePsalterillustration imKlosterSt. Gallen, p p . 3 9 - 5 4 .
16.
Fora tho rou gh discussion of the ivories 'sources,seeTho ma sP. F.H ov ing,
"T he Sourcesof the Ivoriesof theAda School,"pp. 71—78.Altho ugh he
note sth at the Da gulf imagesinfact divergefrom those fewearlier works
that treat the samesubject, and thatsom eof its features are"purely Car
olingian,"H ov ing assumes th at the ivoriesmust follow alost model. Since
he thinks the styleof the ivories indicates amod elof theTheodosian period,
H ov ing suggests tha t the Carolingian work closelycopiesa lostoriginal of
that per iod.
17. Ingeneralo n thepoliticalcontext of the imageandA doptionist contro
versies,seeMcKitterick, ThePrankishKingdoms undertheCarolingians, 751
987,
p .5 9 ; and Bul lough, "Alcuin and theK ingdomofHeaven," pp .3 1
40 .
SeealsoFreeman, "CarolingianOrthodoxy,"pp.
9 0 - 9 1 ,
onLibri
Carolini, bk. 1,chap.6, whichgivesanunprecedented statementof papal
autho rity and in fact i l lustrates this them ewith Jerome's appeal to the pope
evenon agrammatical poin t.
18.
Nees,TheGundohinusGospels,esp.pp.132—44.
19. Hubert , Porcher , andVolbach,TheCarolingianRenaissance, p p . 7 1 - 7 4 .
20.
SeeW olfgang Braunfels, "Karolingischer Klassizismusals politisches
Programmundkarol ingischer Humanismusa ls Lebenshal tung."
21. SeeWilhelm Koehler,Die karolingischenMiniaturen, vol. 2 :Die Hofschule
Karls desGrossen,
pp.8 8 -1 0 0 and pis .9 9 -1 1 6 . For a complete facsimile
publication,seeBraunfels,Das LorscherEvangeliar.
22. For the former, seeNees,GundohinusGospels,pi. 35,andforthelatter, see
H ub er t , Porcher , andVolbach,
TheCarolingian
Renaissance,
fig.78.
23. Nees,GundohinusGospels, pp. 83-129. Ingeneral for this iconography, see
Albert Boeckler , "Die Evangelistenbilder derA da-Gru ppe"; and Elizabeth
Rosenbaum,"TheEvangelist Portraitsof theAdaSchoolandTheir
Models ."
24.
For the Calendar of3 54, seeHe nr i Stern,LeCalendrierde354:Etudesur son
texteet sesillustrations, includingadiscussionoftheCarolingiancopiesof
this lost manuscript.
25. Florent ine Muther ichandJoachimE. Gaehde,CarolingianPainting, p .9 .
26.
Ontheabsenceoff lankingangels: Nees,GundohinusGospels,fig 70; and
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CarolingianArt and Politics 221
Braunfels, Lorscher
Evangeliar
p.36.On imperialiconography: forexample,
on thefamous silverplateofEmperorTheodosius Ifrom thelate fourth
century,seeVolbach, EarlyChristianArt, pi.53 ;andKurtWeitzmann,ed.,
AgeofSpirituality: LateAntique and EarlyChristianArt, Third to Seventh
Century,
no .64.O nangelssubstitutingforsoldiers:seeingeneralAndre
Grabar, UEmpereur dans Partbyzantin,esp.pp.196—205;andGrabar,
ChristianIconography:A StudyofItsOrigins,
pp.42—44.
27. TheminiatureisreproducedinPeterBloch,"DasApsismosaikvon
Germigny-des-Pres:KarlderGrosseundderAlteBund,"fig.5.Forthe
manuscript'spresenceatTours,seeGrabar,"Fresquesromanescopiessur
lesminiaturesduPentateuquedeTours,"showingthepresenceofthe
manuscriptatToursbytheeleventhcentury;andBezalelNarkiss,"Towards
aFurtherStudyof theAshburnamPentateuch(PentateuquedeTours),"esp.
p.58,forthesuggestionthattheerasureoftheheterodox"secondCreator"
byninth-centurymonksintheToursscriptoriummayhavebeenaresponse
totheAdoptionistcontroversy.Foramorerecentstudyofthe manuscript,
seeFranzRickert,
Studienzum Ashburnham Pentateuch(Paris,
Bibl.
Nat.
NAL.2334).
28. AnnFreeman,"Theodulfof Orleans andthe Libri
Carolini"
esp.pp.699
701.
29.
Libri
Carolini,
bk.1,chaps.15and20,andbk.2,chap.26,whichspecifi
callyrejecttheequationofmakingimageswithmakingtheimagesofthe
cherubimfortheArk;see Libri Carolini sive CaroliMagni Capitulare de
Imaginibus,ed.HubertBastgen,MGH,Concilia2,Supplementum
(Hannover, 1924),pp.34 -3 7 ,45 -4 8 ,and8 5 -8 6 ,respectively.Fora
discussionofthe Libri Carolinesviewofthosethingsthatcanproperlybe
describedasholy,seeChazelle,"Matter,Spirit,andImageinthe
Libri
Carolini"
esp.pp.165—70.Foraconvenientillustrationandabrief
discussionof theGermignymosaic,seeHubert,Porcher,andVolbach,
Carolingian
Renaissance,pp.11-14andfigs.
10-11.
TheGermignymosaic
itselfprobablycarriedamorepointedlypoliticalmessagethan isgenerally
recognized.Bloch,"Apsismosaik,"pp.258-59,touchesuponthisinlinking
ittoabroadertendencytoappealtoandevoketheOldTestamentin
Charlemagne'scircle,especiallylinkingCharlemagnetoDavidandSolomon
and,inabroadersense,theFrankstotheIsraelitesasGod'schosenpeople.
Itisimportant that, inpraisingthespecialcharacterandpowerof
theark
andnotofimages,Theodulf in Libri
Carolini,
ed.Bastgen,bk.2,chap.26,
pp. 85-86,speaksof theark'sabilitytodefeatGod'senemies,andmentions
thatthekingandprophet [David,at2Sam. 6:14-23]wasnotashamedto
dancebeforetheark.NotpreviouslynotedisthepassageinIsaiah37:16—
38inwhichKingHezekiahpraystothe"Lordofhosts,GodofIsrael,who
sittestuponthecherubims,"forhelpagainsttheAssyrians,singlingoutas
theAssyrians'crimetheirworshipofgodsthat"werenotgods,but the
worksof men s hands,ofwoodandstone."Thearkisthevisiblesignof
God'smilitarysupport forhischosenpeople;on theearlyFrankish
emphasisonprayersformilitaryvictory,seeMichaelMcCormick,
Eternal
Victory:
Triumphal RulershipinLateAntiquity,Byzantium,and the Early
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222 L A W R E N C E N E E S
Medieval West pp.344-58,arguingthatTheodulfhimselfonseveral
occasionsreferredtoandpromotedthislinkage,whichbecamearegular
practiceinthe790s.
30. Forthistext,seePaulMeyvaert,"ExcerptsfromanUnknownTreatiseof
JerometoGaudentiusofBrescia,"attributingtheworktoJerome;and
Yves-MarieDuval,"Le'LiberHieronymiadGaudentium':Rufind'Aquilee,
GaudencedeBresciaetEusebedeCremone,"arguingratherforan
attributiontoRufinus.Meyvaerthasinformedmethatheacceptsthe
correction.
31.
Nees,"Imageand Text:ExcerptsfromJerome's'Detrinitate'andthe
Maiestas DominiMiniatureoftheGundohinusGospels";treatedmore
brieflyinNees, GundohinusGospels,pp.178-88.
32.
Goldschmidt,Elfenbeinskulpturen,no.5;Karl derGrosse: WerkundWirkung,
no.519;andVolbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten der Spdtantike
und
desfruhen
Mittelalters,no.221.
33. Goldschmidt,Elfenbeinskulpturen, no.1;andVolbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten,no.
217.Forrecentliteratureandan interestingandplausiblesuggestionthat
theivorymighthavebeenexecutedinthesoutheasternpartof theCarolin
gianterritories,seeCarolNeumandeVegvar,"TheOriginof theGenoels-
ElderenIvories."
34.
Goldschmidt,Elfenbeinskulpturen, no.
13;
Karl derGrosse: Werkund
Wirkung,no.521;andVolbach,Elfenbeinarbeiten,no.223.
35.
Fortheseivories,seeVolbach,Elfenbeinarbeiten,nos.112and113.The
relationshipwasnotedbyGoldschmidt,Elfenbeinskulpturen,p.10andfig.6.
36. Hoving,"Sources,"p.31,notesthesixpotsandstatesthatthisisthe
"commonnumberfromthesixthcentury."TherebyHovingimpliesthat
althoughweinfacthavetheCarolingianartist'sdirectmodelbefore us,with
fourjugs,hecarvedsix,notbecausehecorrectedhismodelbyreferenceto
thetext,butbecauseforthisspecific featurehefollowed adifferent model.
37. Ibid.,p.32,notingthedisplacement.
38. Ibid.,p.34.
39. Weitzmann,LateAntique and Early Christian BookIllustration,pi.29,the
figure atthelowerrightbeingIsaiah.Forafacsimile ofthemanuscript,see
GuglielmoCavallo,JeanGribomont,andWilliamC.Loerke,Codexpurpu
reus
Rossanensis:
Museo
deWArcivescovado,
RossanoCalabro
(RomeandGraz,
1987),esp.p.122fordiscussion.
40.
MutherichandGaehde, Carolingian
Fainting
pi.3.
41. Weitzmann,"ATabulaOdysseaca"(repr.inhis Studiesin Classical and
Byzantine ManuscriptIllumination, esp.p.18).
42.
Iamforced to imaginethebasisfor separatingthebookfrom itscover;in
Karl derGrosse: Werkund Wirkung no. 519 ,itissimplyassertedthat"die
Handscrift ursprunglichwohlnichtzugehorig."
43.
Goldschmidt,Elfenbeinskulpturen, no.5,p.10.
44. Karl derGrosse: Werkund Wirkung no.519,withliterature.
45.
Forthe standardLatineditionofAlcuin'sletterstoGisla, seeAlcuini sive
Albini
Epistolae,nos.15,84,154,195,196,213,214,216,and228,ed.
ErnstDummler,MGH,Epp.4(Berlin,1895),pp.40-42,127,249,322
23, 354 -5 7 ,3 59 -6 0, and3 71 -7 2.Atranslationofsomeofthelettersinto
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223arolingianArt and Politics
EnglishisinStephenAllott, Alcuin of
York
HisLifeandLetters(York, 197 4),
nos. 8 7 - 9 1 , 9 3 - 9 4 .
46.
SeeAlcuin, Commentarium injoannem, in P L 1 0 0 : 6 6 5 - 1 0 0 8 . O n th e
commentary, see Bullough, "AlcuinandK ingdom ofHeaven," pp. 5 9 -6 2 .
47. Bernhard Bischoff, "Die KolnerN onnenhandscr if ten und das Skr iptorium
vonChelles."
48.
Winfried Boh ne, "Beob achtungen zur Perikopenreihe des Godescalc-
Evangeliars."
49.
SeeBohne, "Beobachtungen," pp. 149,
1 6 0 - 6 1 .
50.
Bullough, "AlcuinandtheKingdomofHeaven,"p. 56.
51. Hoving, "Sources,"p. 33.
52.
PaulinusofAquileia,
ContraFelicem,
PL99:343-468; c i ta t ionsa t cols .
371 b-72 a , 393 c -94a , 394d , and 447c.
53. Goldschmidt ,Elfenbeinskulpturen, no. 40 ;Daniel le Gabo r i t-Chopin,
ElfenbeinkunstimMittelalter, n o . 5 4 .
54.
That minia tures shouldbe basedupon thetituli of thePsalmsrather than
uponthePsalmtextitself isne i ther unprecedentednor uncommon; for a
discussionofth eissueinthe contextofthe laterCarolingian Psalter, Saint
Gallcod.22,whoseminiaturesconsistentlyillustratethe tituli, see
Eggenberger,Psalteriumaureum, esp.pp.9—11.
55.
S.Hellmann, ed. ,SeduliusScottus(Munich, 1906 ),chap.3 ,p.29 ;and
SeduliusScottus:On ChristianRulers and thePoems,
t rans.Edward Gerard
Doyle, Medieval andRenaissanceTextsand Studies 17(Bing hamp ton, N.Y.,
1983), p. 56. For thecontroversial questionof theruler for whomthework
waswritten, seemostrecentlyDeanSimpson's introduction to
SeduliiScotti
collectaneummiscellaneum,ed. Simpson, CC cont . med. 67 (Turnhout ,
1988), p. xxiv. I amgrateful to DavidG anzfor havingkindly brou ght
Simpson'sedition tomyattention.
56. OnLothair ' s divorce: Hincmar of Reims,De divortioLotharii regiset
Tetbergaereginae,PL 125 :760 . O n royaloffice andduties:H incma r,De regis
personaet regioministerio,chap.3 0, PL 125 :854 . Unfortunately there is no
moderneditionofthistext. Foradiscussionoftheworkandthispassage,
seeKarlF.Morrison, The TwoKingdoms: EcclesiologyinCarolingian Political
Thought, p p . 1 2 3 - 2 4 , a n d
1 0 - 1 1 ,
n . 14.On the le tter toPope Hadr ian:
Hincmar ,Epistolae, in PL 126:178.
57. SeeGoldschmidt,Elfenbeinskulpturen,no. 40 ;and Gabori t -Chopin,
Elfenbeinkunst,p . 62.
58.
The s tandard publica tion remains H ug oBuchtha l,
TheMiniatures ofthe
Paris Psalter:A Study inMiddle Byzantine Painting. Forauseful tabulation
ofthe subjects inearlymedieval Psalterillustrations, seeSuzy Du frenne,
Tableaux synoptiques des 15 psautiersmedievauxaillustrations integrates issues
du texte.
59. Goldschmidt ,Elfenbeinskulpturen,p. 24andfig.11.
60.
SeevanderHoerst andEngelbregt, eds. ,Utrecht-Psalter.
61.
Eggenberger,Psalteriumaureum, p p. 1 6 2 - 6 5 .
62.
Goldschmidt ,Elfenbeinskulpturen,nos.3and4;fordiscussion,seealso
Holter , ed. , GoldenePsalter.
63. O n this im portant genre of texts in theC arolingian period, see Han s
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2 2 4 L A W R E N C E N E E S
HubertAnton,
Eurstenspiegel und Herrscherethosin der Karolingerzeit.
Fort
imageof the Carolingian ruler'shumilityinart,seethefundamental article
byRobertDeschman,"TheExaltedServant:TheRulerTheologyofthe
PrayerbookofCharlestheBald."
64.
SanctiAureliiAugustini De civitateDei,bk.5,chap