2023-02-01
In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charles, later known as Charlemagne, as ruler of the revived Roman Empire. Charlemagne sought to renew the Empire. The art of his time and of his successors in the dynasty referred to early Christian and ancient models. It was intended to show the continuity between the Roman Empire and the state of Charlemagne.
The architecture of the Carolingian period was subordinate to the state. Charlemagne's palace chapel, modelled on the Byzantine church of San Vitale in Ravenna and the church of St Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople, is a good example. It was built on a central plan, with the central octagonal section surrounded by a two-storey, 16-sided outer nave. During construction, spolia (architectural elements older than the building) from Rome and Ravenna were used to evoke even more literally the ideas of the restoration of the Empire. A common solution during this period was the westwerk, which is the west side of the basilica placed transversely to the nave. In situ, the westwerk can still be seen at Corvey Abbey in Western Germany.
The painting of the Carolingian era can certainly be described as innovative; unfortunately, few wall paintings have survived to the present day, but there are many examples of illuminated manuscripts. The Carolingian calligraphers created a new type of script, used for writing codices, which consisted of small letters with a regular structure. This type of writing was very different from the apparently cursive Merovingian script. The codices of the period were decorated with rich illuminations. The creators of the pictorial representations tried to imitate the "antique" way of depicting figures, dispensed with the "barbaric" braids and often with abstraction.
The main scriptoria of the time were located in Aachen (Charlemagne's palace school), Trier, Fulda, Reims, Tours and Metz. Each school had its own style. For example, the miniatures of the evangelists in Ebbon's Evangelion are painted in an expressive, edgy line. A completely different style is presented by the Lorsch Evangelist, whose depictions are characterized by precise drawing and compositional order.