from 1376. The church of Saint-Sauveur is an amalgam of styles, from a 5th-century
baptistery surrounded by eight recuperated Roman columns, through a 12th-century
Provençal Romanesque south aisle, a 13th-century Gothic central nave and apse (ca.
1285), to a 16th-century Flam-boyant façade. The 15th-century triptych of the Burning
Bush within the church depicts King René and his queen, Jeanne, kneeling to either side
of the Virgin, who holds the Child Jesus. Adjacent to Saint-Sauveur is a charming late
12th- and early 13th-century Romanesque cloister with delicately carved capitals.
William W.Kibler
[See also: RENÉ D’ANJOU]
Benoît, Fernand. “Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur,” “Église de la Madeleine,” “Saint-Jean de Malte.”
Congrès archéologique (Aix-en-Provence, Nice) 95(1932):9–41.
AIX-LA-CHAPELLE
(Aachen). Site of Charlemagne’s royal residence. Located in North Rhine-Westphalia,
Germany, Aix was described by Carolingians as the second Rome, the new Jerusalem.
The area earned the name Aquae Grani (“waters of Granus,” whence Aix or Aachen)
from the Romans for its warm baths and the god whom the native Celts had worshiped
there. The Carolingian palace, begun ca. 785, included a great hall with living quarters
for the royal family and rooms for administrative activities, a large bath, and the still-
extant, sixteen-sided chapel with its octagonal dome.
Although initially Charlemagne had no permanent residence but traveled with his
court throughout the realm, as his reign progressed he passed an increasing portion of
every year at Aix. The palace became the center not only of imperial administration but
of cultural and intellectual life: among the scholars associated with the palace school
were the Anglo-Saxon Alcuin, the Goth Theodulf of Orléans, the Frank Einhard, and the
Italians Paul the Deacon and Paulinus of Aquileia. Their writings, together with the
impressive productions of the scribes and artists also linked with the court at Aix, marked
the beginning of the Carolingian renaissance.
After Charlemagne’s death, Aix-la-Chapelle remained a principal royal and imperial
residence until the later 9th century, when its importance declined with the breakup of the
empire.
Celia Chazelle
[See also: ALCUIN; EINHARD; THEODULF OF ORLÉANS]
Bullough, Donald. “Aula renovata: The Carolingian Court Before the Aachen Palace.” In
Carolingian Renewal: Sources and Heritage. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991,
pp. 123–60.
Flach, Dietmar. Untersuchungen zur Verfassung und Verwaltung des Aachener Reichsgutes von
der Karolingerzeit bis zur Mitte des 14. Jahrhunderts. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht,
1976.
Hugot, Leo. “Die Pfalz Karls des Grossen in Aachen.” In Karl der Grosse: Lebenswerk und
Nachleben, ed. Wolfgang Braunfels et al. 5 vols. Düsseldorf: Schwann, 1965, Vol. 3, pp. 534–
72.
The Encyclopedia 31