Carolingian revival

The Carolingian Renaissance is a period of intellectual and cultural revival in medieval Northern Europe, from the end of the eighth century to the middle of the ninth, during the reign of the Frankish rulers of the Carolingian dynasty, especially during the time of Charlemagne, as well as Louis the Pious, Karl the Bald.

This time was characterized by a heightened interest in literature and writing, art, architecture, jurisprudence, liturgical transformation and the study of scriptures. The aesthetics of the revival was based on the achievements of the culture of Ancient Rome.

After a period of stagnation and a certain decline in the development of intellectual thoughts, art and culture, Karl the Great gathered in his court many brilliant minds of that time, intending with their help to revive in their state that level of scientific, philosophical, artistic education that was characteristic of Roman culture .

The lack of education was especially noticeable among the clergy. Even those monks who spent their days copying ancient manuscripts knew how to hardly read what they wrote, especially to understand the meaning. For this reason, the surviving manuscripts of the seventh and eighth centuries are often so confused that they can hardly be deciphered. Since there was no standard academic language, they were written in capital letters, with many errors, without any punctuation.

In the Frankish state, Carl could not find a good copy of the Bible or the full text of the Benedictine rules, which had to be sent to Rome. First of all, the main goal of Charles was the unity of the Frankish church, which was completely under his control. He himself was a very educated man for his time. He studied Latin, Greek, rhetoric, logic, astronomy. Being in northern Italy, Carl met with the Anglo-Saxon scholar Alquin, who is called the ideological inspiration of the Carolingian revival.

A brilliant scholar, he lived in York, where there was a library with an extensive collection of manuscripts. Karl convinced Alcuin to move to Aachen, the residence of the Frankish king, in order to develop educational programs for the palace school. The scientist developed a course designed for the training of clergy and monks. In it you can find the origins of seven free arts: trivium - grammar, rhetoric, logic; And quadrivium - mathematical arts, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and music. From these disciplines there was a classical and literary education. The students read Homer, Virgil, Horace, Juvenal, Plato, Cicero.

The heroes of the revival are not only Alcuin. Among the invited to the court of Charles were other authoritative scientists, philosophers, poets: Peter from Pisa, instructed Karl in Latin, Peacock from Aquileia, appointed by the Aquilean Patriarch (Peacock II), Lombard Paul Diacon, Visigoth Theodulf.

The centers of scholarship and education were monasteries, in which there were special rooms for copying ancient manuscripts. But there was no thoughtless copying - all the texts were carefully studied by the monks. In the new manuscripts, the words were separated from each other, there was punctuation. Charles standardized medieval Latin. The fact is that much has changed in Latin since the days of Ancient Rome, new words, phrases, idioms have appeared, which needed to be included in the language. Carl took into account all the changes, and medieval Latin appeared in the form in which it is known today.

The term "Carolingian revival", introduced by the French historian Jean-Jacques Amper in the 19th century, is often contested because the era was limited mainly to development among the clergy and lacked all-round social movements characteristic of the Italian Renaissance. In addition, it more represented an attempt to revive the culture of the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, it was the simultaneous dissemination of religious Christian practice and a single culture. And the reign of Charles himself was so brilliant that he was compared to the reign of Alexander the Great, Caesar Augustus, Constantine, Justinian.

The death of Charles became one of the main reasons for the decline of the Frankish state and its culture.

In retrospect, the Carolingian revival also has some features of a "false" heyday when cultural achievements have been largely dispersed over several generations.

The flowering of art spans about a hundred-year period, from 800 to 900 years, but it was an influential period when in Northern Europe, based on classical (Roman) forms of art, the ground was prepared for the elevation of Romanesque and, ultimately, Gothic art. Since that time, illuminated manuscripts, metalware, sculpture, mosaic and fresco works have been preserved.

In architecture, the Carolingian revival is characterized by the style introduced by Karl and reigning before the reign of the German King Otto I. It was also a conscious attempt to recreate Roman and Byzantine architecture, but thanks to innovations it acquired a unique character.