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The Dark Ages. Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance. Early Germanic Kingship from Clovis to Charlemagne. Early Frankish leaders had a sacred quality to them not really known in the Roman Empire Many wore long hair that was not to be cut - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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The Dark Ages
Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance
Early Germanic Kingship from Clovis to Charlemagne
Early Frankish leaders had a sacred quality to them not really known in the Roman Empire
Many wore long hair that was not to be cut They led war parties but were less comfortable
running a government In some Germanic sense, they appear like religious
mystics who ruled reluctantly At first, many were devoted to Wotan, the leader of
the Germanic/Scandinavian pantheon of gods To emphasize their mystical, almost prophet-like
status, many rode donkeys instead of horses Historians have called these Frankish men “the
long-haired kings” and emphasize that kingship was not a German concept but a Roman one
Frankish kings like Clovis learned how to be kings by studying Roman history. They did not have an “emperor” mentality from their own culture
Frankish royal throne
The Coming of the Carolingians
In France, the Merovingians ruled successfully for 250 years before being replaced in the 8th century by a new dynasty known as the Carolingians
The Carolingians greatly expanded the Frankish empire to include most of France, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and parts of Italy
The Carolingians were also Franks, but by the time of Charlemagne the Franks had come to include a great variety of medieval peoples—Romans who continued to use Latin, established Frankish families who spoke Germanic dialects, and new Germanic arrivals from the East
An early Frankish warrior on horseback
King Charlemagne The most important Carolingian king was
named Charlemagne (768-814), also called "Charles the Great“
He was the son of Pepin the Short and the grandson of Charles Martel
At the height of his power in 800 A.D., he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope
He successfully expanded the kingdom of the Franks and defined what “king” meant for Europeans for generations to come
Einhard, Charlemagne’s biographer, described him as pure of body and heart. Why did he emphasize both physical and moral purity?
Charlemagne took his role as a Christian king very seriously, and saw himself as the link between the Church and the people—he was a good Christian king
A contemporary and realistic statue of Charlemagne (mid-800s)
Ties to the Papacy The Carolingian kings and the
papacy found it useful to work together
In the 8th century, the popes asked the Carolingians to defeat the Lombards
Pepin, Charles’ father, invaded Italy and conquered the Lombards in 754
The pope anointed Pepin with oil as Samuel had anointed Saul in the Old Testament
In the year 800, Pope Leo III coronated Charlemagne, calling him Holy Roman Emperor
Coronation illustration, 14th century manuscript
Holy Roman Emperor Symbolically and legally, the
coronation of Charlemagne reconstituted the Roman Empire in the West
From a religious standpoint, it made Charlemagne the protector of the Church
But Charlemagne was also given approval to act as the chief political ruler of Western Europe
Although future popes and emperors would argue about who was really in charge, this custom marked the beginning of the separation of Church and State in western thinking, making Europe a unique heir to Rome
Idealized reliquary of Charlemagne, showing attributes of Emperor
A mutually beneficial relationship The Carolingians benefited
from their relationship with the papacy because it gave them political legitimacy and sacred authority
The papacy and church benefited through the Charlemagne’s financial patronage, which allowed the Church to: educate priests for service fund scribal centers, which
copied classical works, the Bible, & commentaries of the Church Fathers
standardize liturgy created new forms of writing
and musical notation A monk works on a book
Expansion and Administration The Carolingians ruled by military expansion. Charlemagne was a
Germanic king who controlled warrior-aristocrats that survived by continually conquering new land:
Italian campaign: Conquest of Lombardy in 774 – carried out in alliance with Pope Adrian, following victory Charlemagne declared himself King of Lombardy.
Saxon Wars 771-804: A series of campaigns waged over nearly 30 years and 18 major battles. These wars concluded with Saxony incorporated into the Frankish Empire, and the pagan Saxons forced to accept Christianity.
Roncesvalles campaign: Iberia (Spain) in 777-778 – opportunity to spread Christendom; Charlemagne agreed to aid the Muslim governor of Barcelona in his conflict against the Emir of Cordoba. Hard pressed by Muslim forces, the Franks withdrew in 778.
Frankish-Avar War 791-796 – Charlemagne and his son, Pepin, fought the Avars in a long and bloody war which resulted in the subjugation of the Avars.
Slavic War 798 – Charlemagne led a campaign against a Slavic group inhabiting what is now north-eastern Germany. Decisive victory.
Charlemagne appointed counts to supervise local administration within his territories. These men; supervised the courts, collected tolls, administered crown lands, and taxed
Dukes were appointed as military leaders. Bishops managed religious issues and controlled a few cities in place of counts
Charlemagne created a new coinage system based on silver He administered the kingdom using written records and
instructions called capitularies (An ecclesiastical or civil ordinance)
He sent representatives from his court (missi) on tours throughout the countryside to relay his instructions personally
He lived in the capital city of Aachen (Germany) but traveled around too, leading armies, supervising counts and dukes, and listening to complaints
Expansion and Administration cont
Social Arrangements and Feudalism
Charlemagne had no standing army—power was built on the ability to assemble temporary armies each spring, win battles, and gain booty
To gain support, Charlemagne established feudal relationships with local nobles—he gave them land or power in exchange for their military support
This relationship was sealed with a formal oath, and the local noble became a vassal of the king King Charlemagne and his
knights visit a duke
The Carolingian Renaissance The Carolingian
“Renaissance” is a rebirth of the artistic and scholarly activities which had been the crowning achievements of ancient Rome, but had been lost in the more primitive cultures of the early Middle Ages in Western Europe
This “rebirth” was fuelled by Carolingian wealth and the scholarly activity of Alcuin, a highly educated advisor of King Charlemagne
An illustrated copy of the Psalms
Carolingian Miniscule Over time, the Carolingians
developed a new, clearer way of writing Latin called Carolingian Miniscule
Previous texts were all uppercase, without punctuation or spaces
The new minuscule script was written in upper and lower case letters and abbreviations
Several monasteries then specialized in the production of hand copied texts using the new method—books became popular again A 9th century Carolingian text
Carolingian Musical Notation
The Carolingians were the first to introduce musical notation in Europe, at first just tiny squiggles without a staff along side Gregorian Chant
Later texts featured staffs and polyphony (harmony), such as this 12th century text
Carolingian Art
Carolingian artists embellished church interiors, created statues, and executed wall paintings like late Romans artists
They excelled especially at painting and decorating sacred manuscripts, such as this liturgical book for the Mass, created during the reign of Charles the Bald (d. 877), grandson of Charlemagne
Note the geometric patterns reminiscent of Byzantine, Islamic or medieval Irish art
Carolingian Law Charlemagne was the most systematic among the
Franks in creating laws that could be consistently administered through his Empire
The laws were written in Latin and carried by missi throughout the realm. Local courts enforced them
For example, the Saxon Capitularies (775-790) listed numerous laws for a newly conquered Germanic (pagan) group called the Saxons in North Germany, including the following law:
16. “All infants shall be baptized within a year… and if any one shall have despised to bring his infant to baptism within the course of a year, without the advice or permission of the priest, if he is a noble he shall pay 120 solidi to the treasury, if a freeman 60, if a litus 30.”
History, Literature, and Court Culture The importance of writing history
and literature were restored, and Carolingians created their own literary works, as well as copying and preserving the writings of the ancient world
Einhard’s Life of Charlemagne is a good example of Carolingian history writing (compare with Plutarch’s Life of Alexander)
After the 774 invasion of Italy, Carolingian court culture became an imitation of Italian court culture
Alcuin, an English scholar (York) who organized education and writing at Charlemagne’s court, was the primary innovator Interior of Charlemagne’s
Aachen Cathedral, 805 A.D.