Latin translation of Aristotle for the
university student in Paris, third
quarter of the 13th century. Yale
Medical Historical, MS 12, fol. 261.
Courtesy of Yale University.
During the period of Charlemagne (r. 771–814), a new script evolved that is now called
“Carolingian minuscule”; during the late 8th and the 9th centuries, it gradually
superseded the local styles of writing throughout France. Although the precise origins of
the script are still subject to debate, its development and eventual acceptance were related
to cultural and historical phenomena affecting the production of manuscripts: the interest
of Charlemagne and Alcuin, the abbot of Tours, in promoting Christianity;
Charlemagne’s commitment to the advancement of education and scholarship; the
political advantage of employing a single script and model for books throughout the
empire.
The second illustration (above left) reproduces a page from a manuscript containing
the Capitularies of Charlemagne, of his son Louis the Pious, and of Charles the Bald
(Beinecke 413). Produced in northeastern France ca. 873, it is an impressive example of
well-developed Carolingian script and book production. The text and decoration are
neatly arranged on the page, with broad margins and welldefined interlinear spaces; the
decorative initial and the elegant capitals used for headings help the reader to focus
attention on the beginning of the chapter. The script itself is easy to decipher, especially
The Encyclopedia 1303