The “Carolingian Renaissance” was a remarkable historical phe-
nomenon, an energetic, brilliant emulation of the art, culture, and
political ideals of Early Christian Rome (see “Charlemagne’s Reno-
vatio Imperii Romani,” above). Charlemagne’s (Holy) Roman Em-
pire, waxing and waning for a thousand years and with many hia-
tuses, existed in central Europe until Napoleon destroyed it in 1806.Sculpture and Painting
When Charlemagne returned home from his coronation in Rome,
he ordered the transfer of an equestrian statue of the Ostrogothic
king Theodoric from Ravenna to the Carolingian palace complex at
Aachen. That portrait is lost, as is the grand gilded-bronze statue of
the Byzantine emperor Justinian that once crowned a column in
Constantinople (see “The Emperors of New Rome,” Chapter 12,
page 323). But in the early Middle Ages, both statues stood as re-
minders of ancient Rome’s glory and of the pretensions and aspira-
tions of the medieval successors of Rome’s Christian emperors.EQUESTRIAN STATUETTE The portrait of Theodoric may
have been the inspiration for a ninth-century bronze statuette (FIG.
16-12) of a Carolingian emperor on horseback. Charlemagne
greatly admired Theodoric, the first Germanic ruler of Rome. Many
scholars have identified the small bronze figure as Charlemagne him-
self, although others think it portrays his grandson, Charles the Bald
(r. 840–877). The ultimate model for the statuette was the equestrian
portrait (FIG. 10-59) of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. In the Middle Ages,
people mistakenly thought the bronze statue represented Constan-
tine, another revered predecessor of Charlemagne and his Carolin-
gian successors. Both the Roman and the medieval sculptor por-
trayed their emperor as overly large so that the ruler, not the horse, is
the center of attention. But unlike Marcus Aurelius, who extends his
right arm in a gesture of clemency to a foe who once cowered beneath
the raised foreleg of his horse, Charlemagne (or Charles the Bald) is
on parade. He wears imperial robes rather than a general’s cloak, al-
though his sheathed sword is visible. On his head is a crown, and in
his outstretched left hand he holds a globe, symbol of world domin-C
harlemagne’s official seal bore the words renovatio imperii
Romani (renewal of the Roman Empire). As the papally desig-
nated Roman emperor, Charlemagne sought to revive the glory of
Early Christian Rome. He accomplished this in part through artistic
patronage, commissioning imperial portrait statues (FIG. 16-12) and
large numbers of illustrated manuscripts (FIG. 16-13), but also by
fostering a general revival of learning.
To make his empire as splendid as Rome’s, Charlemagne invited
to his court at Aachen the best minds and the finest artisans of west-
ern Europe and the Byzantine East. Among them were Paulinus of
Aquileia (ca. 726–804), Theodulf of Orléans (ca. 750–821), and
Alcuin (ca. 735–804), master of the cathedral school at York, the cen-
ter of Northumbrian learning. Alcuin brought Anglo-Saxon scholar-
ship to the Carolingian court.
Charlemagne himself, according to Einhard, his biographer,
could read and speak Latin fluently, in addition to Frankish, his na-
tive tongue. He also could understand Greek, and he studied
rhetoric and mathematics with the learned men he gathered around
him. But he never learned to write properly. That was a task best left
to professional scribes. In fact, one of Charlemagne’s dearest projects
was the recovery of the true text of the Bible, which, through cen-
turies of errors in copying, had become quite corrupt. Various schol-
ars undertook the great project, but Alcuin of York’s revision of the
Bible, prepared at the new monastery at Tours, became the most
widely used.
Charlemagne’s scribes also were responsible for the develop-
ment of a new, more compact, and more easily written and legible
version of Latin script called Caroline minuscule.The letters on this
page are descendants of the alphabet Carolingian scribes perfected.
Later generations also owe to Charlemagne’s patronage the restora-
tion and copying of important classical texts. The earliest known
manuscripts of many Greek and Roman authors are Carolingian
in date.
Charlemagne’s
Renovatio Imperii RomaniART AND SOCIETY416 Chapter 16 EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE16-12Equestrian portrait of Charlemagne or Charles the Bald, from
Metz, France, ninth century. Bronze, originally gilt, 9–^12 high. Louvre, Paris.
The Carolingian emperors sought to revive the glory and imagery of
the ancient Roman Empire. This equestrian portrait depicts a crowned
emperor holding a globe, the symbol of world dominion.1 in.