UTRECHT PSALTEROne of the most extraordinary medieval
manuscripts is the Utrecht Psalter.The text reproduces the Psalms of
David in three columns of Latin capital letters emulating the script
and page organization of ancient books. The artist illustrated each
psalm with a pen-and-ink drawing stretching across the entire width
of the page. Some scholars have argued that the costumes and other
details indicate that the artist followed one or more manuscripts
compiled 400 years before. Even if the Utrecht Psalter is not a copy,
the artist’s intention was to evoke earlier artworks and to make the
book appear “ancient.”
The painter of the Utrecht Psalterdisplays a genius for anecdotal
detail throughout the manuscript. On one page (FIG. 16-15) the fig-
ures act out—literally—Psalm 44 (Psalm 43 of the Vulgate text of the
Carolingian era), in which the psalmist laments the plight of the op-
pressed Israelites. Where the text says, “we are counted as sheep for
slaughter,” the artist drew some slain sheep fallen to the ground in
front of a walled city reminiscent of cities on the Column of Trajan
(FIG. 10-44) in Rome and in Early Christian mosaics and manuscripts
(FIG. 11-20). At the left, the faithful grovel on the ground before a
temple because the psalm reads “our soul is bowed down to the dust;
our belly cleaveth unto the earth.” The artist’s response to “Awake,
why sleepest thou, O Lord” was to depict the Lord (as Christ instead
of the Hebrew God, complete with cruciform halo), flanked by six
pleading angels, reclining in a canopied bed overlooking the slaugh-
ter below. The drawing shows a vivid animation of much the same
kind as in the Saint Matthew of the Ebbo Gospels (FIG. 16-14).The
bodies of the Utrecht Psalterfigures are tense, shoulders hunched,
heads thrust forward. As in the Ebbo Gospels,even the earth heaves up
around the figures. The rapid, sketchy techniques used to render the
figures convey the same nervous vitality as the Ebboevangelists.
LINDAU GOSPELSThe taste for sumptuously wrought and
portable objects, shown previously in the art of the early medieval
warlords, persisted under Charlemagne and his successors. They
commissioned numerous works employing costly materials, includ-
ing book covers made of gold and jewels and sometimes also ivory or
pearls. Gold and gems not only glorified the Word of God but also
evoked the heavenly Jerusalem. One of the most luxurious Carolin-
gian book covers (FIG. 16-16) is the one later added to the Lindau
Gospels.The gold cover, fashioned in one of the workshops of Charles
the Bald’s court, is monumental in conception. A youthful Christ in
the Early Christian tradition, nailed to the cross, is the central motif.Surrounding Christ are pearls and jewels (raised on golden claw feet
so that they can catch and reflect the light even more brilliantly and
protect the delicate metal relief from denting). The statuesque open-
eyed figure, rendered in repoussé (hammered or pressed relief ),
brings to mind the beardless unsuffering Christ of the fifth-century16-15Psalm 44, detail
of folio 25 recto of the
Utrecht Psalter,from
Hautvillers (near Reims),
France, ca. 820–835.
Ink on vellum, full page,
1 1 97 – 8 ; detail,
4 –^12 high. University
Library, Utrecht.
The drawings in the
Utrecht Psalterare rich
in anecdotal detail and
show figures acting out—
literally—King David’s
psalms. The vivid anima-
tion resembles that of
the Ebbo GospelsSaint
Matthew (FIG. 16-14).16-16Crucifixion, front cover of the Lindau Gospels,from Saint Gall,
Switzerland, ca. 870. Gold, precious stones, and pearls, 1 13 – 8 103 – 8 .
Pierpont Morgan Library, New York.
This sumptuous Carolingian book cover revives the Early Christian
imagery of the youthful Christ. The statuesque figure of the crucified
Savior, heedless of pain, is classical in both conception and execution.418 Chapter 16 EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE1 in.1 in.16-15APsalm
57, Utrecht
Psalter,
ca. 820–835.