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    Books For Emperors

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    Sofía Otegui

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Il Books for Emperors he legend recounts that in the year Ab 1900 the Emperor Otto Ill, then an unbelievably rich young man of about twenty, ordered the opening of the tomb of Charlemagne at Aachen. His great predecessor had died in 814, nearly two hundred years earlier. It is said that they found the body of Charlemagne almost intact and fully clothed, seated on a chair, holding a sceptre and with a gold chain about his neck, and on his lap (the story claims) there was a splendid illuminated manuscript, Otto Il removed these treasures, together with one of Charlemagne’ teeth a4 a relic. The fact that a manu: script wasamong the symbols of state is important in the history of books, This was not a missionary text but part of the regalia of the Christian emperor. ‘The manuscript from Charlemagne’'s tomb was carefully pre served. It is traditionally identified with the so-called Vienna, Coronation Gespels now in the Vienna Schatzkammer (PL. 33). It Js a big square volume decorated with rather blotchy vibrant impressionistic paintings in heavy colours, totally unlike the intsi- ly controlled mathematical designs of the Gospel Books we the western islands. The miniatures look more like wall yaintings and the vellum leaves are stained in purple, The style drives from Byzantine art and th imately from classical antiq tity, In faet, the Vi “Demetrius presbyter’ in gold capitals in the outer margin of the first page of the Gospel of St Luke, and it is not impossible that there wore artists from Byzantium iteelf at the court of Charlemagne. At last three other manuscripts were painted in this Greek style in western Furope inthe late eighth or early ninth cen- tury. They are the Xanten Gospels in. Brussels (Bibliotheque Royale, ms. 15723), a Gospel Book in Brescia (Biblioteca Civica, Queriniana cod. E:l.9) and the Aachen Gospels which is still in the cathedral treasury in Charlemagne’s capital (Domnschate- ana Gospels includes the Greek name kammer; Pt. 45). The books were perhaps all decorated in Aachen, or at least at the imperial court which (in its primitive Frankish way) followed Charlemagne on his endless. journeys around the royal residences over much of Europe. When the emperor travelled, he was followed by imperial wagons of gold treasure, archives, and manuscripts Charlemagne’ empire was vast and it eventually extended from, the pleasant villas and orange groves of southern Europe, where ‘lasical learning and literacy had never completely disappeared, so the enormous wastelands of northern Germany, where wolves roamed the forests and where Roman culture was symbolized only boy the ruins of abandoned garrisons. Without doubt, Charlemagne | himself was a quite exceptionally brilliant man, He was literate and culure is favourite reading (we are told) was St Augustine's City of God, he understood some Greek; he was on intimate terms with popes and saints; he gathored around him the most cultured men of Europe, including Peter of Pisa, Paul the Deacon, Theedull the sainthood in 1165, At the same time Charlemagne was primarily a rman of the north, His capital Aachen is in Germany today, He was a descendant of the Frankish tribesmen who ruled by extravagant Alisplays of miliary arms and of personal wealth, by appaling goth, and the great Alcuin; he himself was admitted ta double-deating and thuggery, and who regarded a kingdom as the private property of 4 ruler who could use it entirely aceording to-whim, The ancient tribal leaders had held together their precar ious kingdoms by military retinues whom they rewarded seth gold and seth the spoils of war. Charlemagne, for all his elegant clas nner parties, was above all a Germanic military leader at his access in warfare is literally legendary farlemagne’s cwn ancestors acquired the Meri wn king dom by ouumanneustiny 19. From the early seventh cen mp tury they had been officials in the houshold af the Frankish ki The family became mayors of the royal palace, and effective poiver was setzedl hy Charles Martel in the 720s, fn 751 his som Pepin the Short managed to gst himself anointed king by. $1 Be an in 754. after skillal diplomatic appeals, ope Stephen IL etussed the Alps and at the abbey of St Denis erowned Pepin and consecrated hrm ane his two sons, Chaeles (the future Charlemagne, then aged shout ten) and Carloman, Pepin died in 768 and Carloman in 774, Jeaving Charlemagne as sale king of the Franks, One of the first really great manuser alee! Maurteamnus Charlemagae’s Bible, a huge b Bibliothéque Municipale in. Amiens (as, 6-7, 94 44-12) an the lumes now divided hetwoen the Bibliothisgue Nationale i Paris (ms, lt, 14474). He way made at i 4 Abbey. near An «during the abbacy of Mauntramnus (772-41), I is monumental volume intended for display at ‘of the greatest cighth-cntury monasteries, and it i sometimes suggested that a preject of this size and expense would have need 1 the patronage of the royal treasury. The Mauriramos Whe comprises the Old Testament only, and it if the Old ‘Testament that contains the politically: appropriate themes of the eleetion of of authority by kings, maintenan the anointing of kings by patriarchs to confer legitimacy on their titles, and the vision of fection of Gd. These tribal society invincible under the special pr were favourite subjects for the Carolin an propagandists of the King David's seizure of power aver the Israelites mast hive been comforting to Charlemagne. There is nio doubt that be lentiied himself with the Old Testament king wl_psalrist Charlemagne’s companions had! a kind of private joke among themselves in which they pretended! to be their heroes fron class gilbert. eet w cal antiquity: Alcuin was “Placcus’ (that is, Horac abbot of S-Rigutirwas:‘Eonsee’ Charleneagysc ‘Julius’, but Charlemagne himself, to his friewls, was. “King David! became known, One enchantin the nickname Aleuin called him David in publi carly Carolingian manuseript is a little Paaltor written out at the anlor af Charlomagose himself fer presentation to Pope Hhidrian 1 (773-95). The book is now in Viera (Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod 1861, pt. 34) ft te lecication (Fol. 4, written inv yok and saying that the psalms are the golden words of King Davie andl that Charl politeness in Chi ne is his golden successor, There is as much politics as lemagne choosing this value for the papacy, of 6 at least, at ho fad onder I (for there Ww no ving i kaa ‘evidence that it actually left Germany), and Charlemagne ruthless: |y manipulated papal support for himself, his kingdom, and (after feter's on Christinas Day 800) for the new by the scribe Dagulf (fol. 48). The name appears in several contempa: his coronation in St Holy Roman Empire. The Baker for Pope Hadrian i 5 rary documents; in a letter of Alcuin written between 789 and 796 he i called "Dagalfus serinarius’, which means a kind of archivist He was in the royal household. The book beautifally decorated with majestic initials and headings in gold and silver, often on pur pple grounds (the imperial colour, deliberately chosen), ani the script by Dagulf an elegant minuscule This introduces a fundamental theine bs Carolinglan hook pri duction the refortn of handwriting an! the adoption of minuscule script, Historians of manuscripts: love to argue endlessly over ‘exactly how and why this eecurred, There had been many kinds of script ned for writing books in Merovingian France, derived from various forms of Roman writing, Sometimes these were so bizarre that one can localize cighth-century manuscripts fairly closely from the use of + local script such as the ‘Corbie a/b" senpt or the “Laxeuil minuscule’, which were employed in particule monas teries and thelr surrounding regions, ny keeping with Clarlemagne’s carefully planned campaign to reform education, grammar, and hurgy fa new ani very simple script was intro: duced with extreme efficiency and in all parts of the Carolingian luqninions. It is known ay Caralinglan (or Caroline) minuscule. It fs small and very rourd and has tall yertial ascenders and descen: dlers, and was compact and no doubt quick tw write and cary to road, and it was phenomenally successful, Vitwally all Carolingian manuscripts were written ia this famous minuscule At the risk of anticipating chapter 8, » ‘an glance ahead and fowesce that the majority of manuscripts of clasical texts that were rediscovered by the humanists in the fifteenth century” were Carolingian in date and therefore in this writing. The humanists wrongly convinced themselves that these represented original Reman manuscripts, They began to imitate Carolingian minuscule, abundoning the Gothie seript of the period. At that time (and we are stll looking ahead by seven hundred years) the art of printing vas introduced into Haly, ad the frst Halian printers abo adopted this nest round writing: i was called ‘Roman’ type, Prin ing had the remarkable effect of stabilizing letter forms and they have remained substantially unchanged ever since, We still use Charl nagne’s script It bs probably the most ong-lasting achieve ot of Carolingian ciilization, Through a mistake in the dating of ‘eighth: and ninth-century manuscripts, Carolingian minuscule is used (for example) fot the printing of this book. The manuscript usually regarded as the first to contain the new Carolingian minuscule writing is the Gorlescale Evangelistary, ax it is called, a Gospel Book which is now Paris, B.N., ms. nowy. 364, Tat, 1203 (re. 47). ML was commissioned by Charlemagne and his 16 to ame, Bone Aptis akan Pa 5,0 ‘or, psy i Aac , ce rath grat tiga aah he pel ental th Mey et aa Inthe hcl 17 Or ot 1056 The aque er howe queen Hildegard on 7 October 781 and completed on yo April 73, Te was written by the seribe Godescale and (a the dedication verses explain) commemorates Charlemagne’s fourteenth anniver sary as king of the Franks and the optisa of his son Pepin by Pops Hidrian in Rome, One suspects Charlemagne was especially protal ‘of this baptism: the manuscript incliaes a miniature of the Fountain of Life which may reflect the haptitery of the Lateran church in Rome, and thus this ria Godessale Ev Dagulf Paaher. They hoth belamg toa whole group of closely relat centered Carolingian art. The listary i illuminated in the same style a¥ the ced ceremonial manuscripts usually known as the Ada’ group of books because one of thera (now Trier, Stadibliothek, Col. 22) includes a dedication Ada, the servant of God, who ig sid to have been Charlmagne’s sister. Some leaves of” Ada's bok socen tobe inthe hand of Godescale aso, Other manuscripts in thie style include the Si-Rigquier Gospels (Abbeville, Bliotheque Municipale, ms. 4) which was apparently given by Charlemagne to Angilbert, abbot of St-Riguier (790-814), the so-called Golden Gospels of Charlemagne from the abbey of St-Martin-des- Champs ly Paris (bliothéaque cle "Arsenal, Paris, 1m. 599), the Harley Golden Gospels (B.L., Harley ts 2788), the Lorsch Gospels (civided between the Vatican Library, ws. Pal lat 52 1. 36 and the brary in Alba Julia in Romania), and the StMédard Gonpels Paris, BLN., mis. lat_ 869) which was wise by Louis the Plous in 827 to Angilbert, abbot of St-Médard in Soissons These are all extremely grand manuscripts, Some of dhe inter laced initials refleet Celtic styles, but the whole appearance of these books is Mediterranean, with medallions fike Roman coins and with classical pediments andl marbled columns. Most of thera are at least in part written in gold script on a purple-coloured ground, a device which (as Charlemagne’s scztbes certainly knew) wont back to imperial antiquity, It ix a very distinctive feature Suetonius mentions « poem by Nero which had heen written ia have hall « Ho in is prologue to the ‘geld; the emperor Maxieninam (235-8) fe written in gold en purple vellum; St Jere Book of Job eritcizes those wh lke old or ailver on purple leaves, It isa practice which probably sur niient hooks writen out in vived into Charlemagae's time theoygh is use in) Constantinople One cat understand how important it was to Charlemagne, who .was rebuilding his dominions ox the model of classical antiquity, to propagate the image of the cultured emperor, and displays of beoks were (and are) amang the accepted trappings of the cul: tured, Manuscripts written in gold on purple had a promotional value in symbolizing imperial culture. That is une reason why these spectacular manuscripts were made for distribution by (Charlemagne's family to communities in his Christian empire, asi was call There may be a cruder, more harharian, reason too. These beoks are heavy in gold. This was really quite a new development in Frankish manuscript production. Charlemagne’. aks. look 2 ie le a LIBER DEDIVERSSO\WE LINNEESEMRESEN 'SIONIBSSVSOEM CARIVSTRANSEBE REEAAVTENTIERE TRIAREHIDEALONT Abe. at ig eapensive. ‘The odescale Evangelistary Iegin with the word “gold” (Aurea purpureis pinguntur =.) Those in the Dagull Psalter start “Aurea daviticos ...: the text is ot nly, goklen but the volume isto be interpreted ax comprising ‘geld. Ik was the ancient Germanic custom for tribal leaders to foward thei retinues in gold. Charlemagne regularly summoned Ii secular armies and in return for military serve he gave lady Bed boty. The soldiers und et were rewarded for spiritual servic primitive sense, a Frankish pi were gold Charlemagne him scems 16 have add a personal interest in manuscripts, if one can judge from remarks by his biographer Enhard, who mentions a great quantity of books that he had ea: Heated n in tibeary, oF tron the observation that be liked o read ood this, But the cohorts of rel monks of Corbie, Larsch, and other imperil abbeys ye way. ty the most ed gold, ane books SiAngustine, hisories, ani tales of the ancients, One fragmentary Tray catalogue survives from about 790 and it was at one time supposed that it might recor part of the holdings of Corie Abbey Werlin, Sunsbiblionick Preacher Kulturbeite, ss. Dice BSmnt.o6, fol Hi i demonstrated that it i very probably a list of the texts 2181). However, the late Professor Bernhy gto the private library of the evurt of Charlemagne, It is Vnpressive roll-cll of clasical works, i books by Status, Terence, Juvenal, Tibullus, Herace, Claudia, Servius, Cicero, and Ssllust, The Tibullusis expecially tan j a8 the earliest known surviving manuscript is no older File tcatises on La an eghers — and one «an imagine Chatlemagne reading grammar — works by. Donatus, furtively gleaing hooks of tiquet grammatical manuscript probably from the court srip ‘of around the year Soe (Brusels, Bibliothéque Royale, ms recording that the lord King Charles commanded 419 be cL from the original hook hy Peter the Archdeacem (nt “We are told Charlemagne was so anxious to lear to, write sept wi g materials under his pillow. fis rather 10 catch these glimpses ofthe great king trying Wo keep up eral renewal that he had initiated, and perhaps he was 10 practise the new minuscule in the middle of the night eof 789 commanding liturgical reform ordered that only Sif the work bs 4 Gospel Rook, Patter, or Misa, el be ofthe pert age for writing diligently ‘of Chatlemagne’s promotion of education and hook learn ‘the importation of the work's most dstinguished Erte his era, One of those eae Alcuin (-735-Mo4), whe ‘horn at York in England and who was related 10 St PNCIPIT ‘ EPISTOLA 2 at ee . XPMiacares ice: Pores carr ANTE pa Pe ieee! P Retin pean idefiteome — ' quar fixeeu Benen termine chanted Bexsectoem caurnern quidlertneres filaarivncur Se ee none marmucrum thinepidedinerr pe eed ee pie aco mal Pe cerelcane oe ae ca eee dif Hlectiivocxar ifs Greens cisbir expe Fo prrodmmubuCuobireurc Ffderor! See e eee sete Grin fGen sti filed ve ven Hamer |, [ite ano ephemeris Aaqu malate pres fri imuat neepere dT uensierelicad uor; Der dermensse ¥, fren Pulao maakt | Fprerndaecoou firmadot act ie frmat con Stee och firth emenetiennte 39 Awe Malibe) Pat Ge Munum, i sh cin, et ace ce the grat conte ate pr taacrph ble ih bore anu, eiten rckling at th aes Mavi re, Top loge Flew the Roma ” io Willibcord, th cathedral school in York when, during an embassy to Ray i 785, the met Charlemagne, sho temptes him with two great abbacies and persuaded hin to come tw France. For upwards of te missionary bishop, He was already head of the Alewin thew directed and inspired the revival of classical culture around the figure of Charlemagne. In 796 he retired to Tours, where he became abbot of St Martin's Abbey, and set in motion there a campaign of manascript production which lasted f the ninth century and made Tours the wo for Carolingian minuscule seript (HL. y The making of 0 ninth century slipped effectively from the court seriptorium i the great royal monasteries such as Chelles and St-Den Paris, and Hleury, Rheims, Tours, Lorsch, St Médarel at Soissons, and clewhere, The finest manuscripts were expensive and richly ld centre for Bibles ane nuseripts in the Frankish empire in the decorated, The best-known centre for book production in the carly ninth century is Rheims, where manuscripts of really impeti- al quality were mate ithe time of Ebbo, who had been CCharlemagne's librasian and ocho sea appointed archbishop. of Rheims in 816. The most extraordinary of the surviving Rheims manuscripts is the famous Utrecht Puaker which 6 dust ‘throughout with incredibly lively, vigorous, sketchy Httledrassings (71-40). The:style seems to point straight back tthe esi Byzantine art-which the: court artots at Amchon intenaduced fi Charlermgne’s vin books. One early ninth-contury mari fromthe any of SDs can be prt dc Fo a a fea htc, Pari Ns I 2195 3 omy “ Camisdoror's commersary on the Bans made at S-Di style associated with Abbot Fardulphas (79-86), One of is big inal includes several in ers an a suprisingly sete rate sketch ofthe heal of an fan 41-2), Meshes arias knew about ivary but net many had sen clephants. Thi iuminator probably know the elephant which wis presented ta Charlemagne by caliph Haroun-al-Rashid inthe year No2,‘The ees phant’s same was Abulabar and it lived until $2, Therefore the Cassiodoras manuscript cannot be earlier thay Sox. For all we phant (v know, Abulabsi's tusks survive in some of the magnificent Canulingian ivory book-covers whieh decorated the grandest Gospel Hooks (et. 44) Charlemagne died at Aachen on 28 January 814. Among various gous 448 Opp Usrect, ibotheader Par, iblehegue Nationale, ikemnern, ot Cod MS. Bn 295. deta of henoraicainae, Ne LN TLE Cet min Bren ho, Te Ue Per wat ion ey. nae a bulb wl acid ch tr a One il nui Cairn rit 3 Dee tcp, len orate we) tbe tt rc of hh cary wth ie dc ema a ks eps hed, pera he ait ata in i tre #6 tnd oe oe oe oltieg al Cavin mut Sout th ya oe ad ect rag Cantrary ho (Con mach al ap ae Aer many slots a ee yey Unc i rps sipped backs Fae Mega nner uh This lpn nt Fat io Cals al, Town, {848 oe 48), te tase keer ath tan st nd execs The ae Far dey, erry mas ye Fraquests he directed that three-quarters of the gold and sikver in Dis treasury should be distributed among the twenty-0 polit churches of the empire and (probably: the tit time that Canyon lei this inasruction) hat his Hbrary ould Ie sel and proceeds given to the needy, This conirims again that it was part of the anvibutes of a Frankish ruler to distribute treasure, and Bers at books hint « monceary value, Chirlemagie’s copy of ‘Claudia came to Gembloux Abbey, only about 65 miles fro Aachen. His Livy travell further into the Frankish empire and “a probably at Cothic and ln at Tours. Charlemagne"s unig: Tabu may han Tiieice perhaps to Orléans, The dispersal of his Hora after 81 Fedhoes Charemagne's lack of any provision for keeping his emp: tics his death, 1c wan src Malet empire be subdivided among his bs, aul sida ago ard ary later The cusom of commisioning teasice manus fond ite way 10 Fleury Abbey’ on the Lescol {4 bartarian anda poltsian way subst fon their deaths, unc it was aneecognizable a some of Charlemagne’s descendants, His illegitimate son bishop of Metz 826-55, owncil at least two Gospel Books written entirely in gold Paris, B.N ‘1 the amazing Drago Socramentary (ms. lat. 4428) which has 41 tins. at. 94 and 9388) huge historiatel initials of classical foliage filled with lusting hile Figure of dct. The nearest, bowerer, boa palace rch book prostuction was that of Charles the Bald (et, 42, grandson of Charlemagne and son af Louis the Pious, who, after fines warfare wwii hall-brother held he Kingdon’ of the western Franks from the treaty of Verdun in 841 and finally obsained th crown in #75, dying less than two years later, His life rellects the same kind of desperate tribal struggle for leadership. which marked the We find ae duitined aspect of the’ Covollgian ty Faiily CChailes the Bald preparing treasure manuscripts for his ecclesia cal vasa, like an old chieftain distributing gold bullion, The. grand mani toned re toe wa Chars Bald include a praverchook (now inthe Munich Schatekamner) and a Plter (now Paris, BN., ms. bt. 1152), both date to before #69, and probably the famons Bible of Sin Paolo fuor te ‘Mura (which belongs now to the abbey of that name ia Rome, ws 1.339). aby 14% incloes (445 by 963 ssive manuscript with 336 leaves about num, Ie hay 24 Full-page paincingss 4 at least seven of them include scenes showing biblical kings. The figure of Solomon looks remarkably like Charles the Bald himself. ‘The manuserpt concludes with a portatt of Churley enthroned as ing, holding in hie ltt hana golden diseinseibed with a gram i red which has been interpreted as "Charles king [and] cae nar, save Charles ane Richilis, this fs] king Solomon of the new Rom Richie fon 23 January 87 Rat this spectacal Probably Je commemorates Charles's marriage manuscripts ectipsed by an even richer vol tame, made for the treasury of Charles the Bald, Hts the Cealex Aureus (or Book of Gold the ane iv a valid one) of St Emmeram, now Munich, Bayerische Staatsiblinthck, Cin. 13000 (e145). This good fortune} a volume of pheromesal luxury, stil (by extreme wits origins goldon hinting profusely encrusted with jewels and pearls and gold repousst: pictures, If Charles the Bald identified himself with Soloman, he must have known the text (oF | Ringe 0321-2 describing Solomen's work on temple at Jerasalera: ‘So Solomon overlaid the house within wth pure gold And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he ha finished all the tase (Charlo the Bild on jowelstudda (On fol, $y of the Codex Aureus 2 portrait of oie witha a dor ed temple ‘with angels and the hare of God above, On either sde are armed ers and allegorical figures, representing Francia amit Gotica, OF the page sre: gold rich king as Charles, son of Louis, 1 Charlemagne, David (calls hin) and book alter page of paintings, can tables, and huge decorated initials all brilliantly itluminated, Charles himself presumably: provided the and on panic along the top and batten inseriptions demtfsing thi fh Loman, by whase snes with gold, ‘The manuscript has page {gold for the artists, sho may have ben working in the abbey of St-Denia, which the king retained as his din ponseiafon afte the death of on 67, The Cokes Aurea iy signed by the scribes Beringer and Luthard andl dated Ago, There fa on of is abbots in temporary reference t» Charley the Bald’s manuscripts kept his treasury. Certainly the Codex Aurcus of St Faameram was For daily use, but was a dazaling display of the King’s fica assets [After the death Charles the Bald in 877, his listant cousin King Areulf of Mararia who, soon aloe 89), it on to the abbey of St Emmeram ia Regensburg, Thus i sas finaly received a8 team into the hana P rare eames rom the monastery whe royal gif We gain some idea that rich ma weripts ad a realizable financial value in the nigth century from references to thefts of such books. & Psalter written in golel writ and with a treasure binding cconered with pearls wae given hy. Lonie the Pious (80) to the abbey of St Hubert near Liége; the eronidle ofthe abbey reeves tha Ue book was stolen and was soll by the thieves to a woman in ‘Tonal, ner a hundevd rales to the sovth, Lupais of Rerrgres, sit ing tw Hincmar, archbishop of Rheims, in 858, regretted that he had heen unable to send great manuscript of Bede and Augustine for fear of losing i to robbers om the journey who would, he certainly be attracted by the beanty ofthe book “The tremendous monetary value of imperial mane worked both ways. A ing both received manuscripts and presen cal the. A secular ler might give 2 luxury manusenpt to return for prayers fr his salvation, Tis would or bath ties, A monastery might make and offer a supreme manuscript ta ing, a hope for patronage in return, This was certainly not monastery sown as 4 vory soriate exchange, nesleulably valuable a one shed payment eb, The use of manips sek tntie transactions undeetines for us the vale place! at hat tha ‘om books, which we an understand today looking at th 4d sulded volumes theses, but i also roids ws that p llr bya monastery or military protection offered by an cmp ‘or were worth evvey penay of the investinnt i a aha be A youl example of an alliance Betwexn emperor ani monastery i the abbey at Tours, We mentioned eather that Charlemag auhiser Alen ho retird t the monastery ofS Martin at Te ore-a great programme of manescript production hud been se motion by Alen and bis successors, Fridugisus (804. Adilhar (334-43), and Visian (843-51). These abbots were raya appoiintnients: Adalhard had been sesieschal to Lonis the Pk, Vivian was a count and cout oficial of Charley the ald Manoscripts produced under royal patronage at Tours exported fron there all over the Carolingian kingdoms, Prot tose of then were presented to Lothair (855), hall brother Charles the fall and king of the Nallan part of Charkamagoe’s ‘empire, These area Gospel Book Paris, BIN. ms, lat, 266) ao Poster (BLL, Ad, 5. 47768). EAR, Rate, the historian of th scriptorium of Tours, described the former as ‘Perfected, ‘he pls ulns of excellence. The unsurpisied model of perfection i script and omamint arsong the looks of Tours.” The monks we determined to impress King Lothar. A becter-kanwn presentation from Tours i: the famous File of Charles the Bak, sometimes cad the Vivian Bible: now’ has the first shelfinark in the Biblothique Nationa in (on, at 54s 465 etal, wt. 42). ‘The manuscript was vom sional hy the abbot te present to the king in e836. 1 ope an unusisl miniatare i thee horizontal rows showing scenes i the life of St Jerome, transtor of the Latin Bible. In the centre Jerome dictating 19 2 group of scribes and at the bottom Je disrihutes copies of his new tratsation, This probably has an alles govical allusion to Alcuin correcting the text of the Bible and hav= Jing copes male and dsserainated from is abbey sm Tours worth looking closely atthe boxes from which St Jerome i shown handing. oot mananeripts: they are typical treasure chests, with ‘wonder bands and massive metal locks. Books were equated with Word of Geal with treasure. The respi nto ical ents are shown fartively hurrying away with the luxury gis, The sociation betyverh the manuscript and secular eal i eleste hin in is dedicatory verses which are illustrated with to imper- one inscribed “David rex imperator’ and the other ‘6x Francorum’. Thus the hiblical King David is linked ‘Charles, king of the Franks. ft is important that this is repre= ‘by gol coins, ‘That is how many would have understood cof the Bible. In the Gespels, when Christ was shown an ol, asked whose portrait and inscription it bore, and ical and armed soldiers Fingering their weapens. From tadelegation of nervous monks bring in the huge Bible part ein white cloth, and the king holds cat his right hand to auton wo his treasury. es the Bald ded in #77, while marching across the Alps in seemingly endless Carolingian dynastic feuds, this time loman, king of Bavaria and Italy and great-grandson of 1 Te was, in fact, Carloman'e aon and heir, Arnulf, the Colex Aureus of St Emmeram and pethaps (eho ded in 9 18) nominated hocomes clear again, Historians grasp will from the hibrary of Clurles the Bald, Arwuf's I, hing of Ube Frauke ors, was the last cernlant of Charlemagne to rule the German part of his i great-grandfather's vast empire, When Louis the Child issue, Conrad, duke of Franconia, was elect! king, Rovwlae a i This seals complicate, an indeed the thread of from Charlemagne is remarkably fragile and one gener: another wb great rapidity, Heney the Foster's “Finperor Otto the Great, Now at last the tine of suc ‘ognize Figure and cll this the 'Ottonian” age. The tenth century was certainly a great period in imperil hstory. It brought the rarest possible revival of the golden days of Charlemagne, with fervour of politcal snd rcligicus reform, ard iti often krown as the Oxtonian renaissince. Italo predluced a great many illuminat- cof manuscripts. ‘Ovio the Great was anointed king in 936 in Charlemagne’s palce lapel at Aachen. After a turbulent rnlitary life and careful mar tiages, he brought great portions of Germany and Italy under his ‘control, Even the pope eventually became his vassal, a shrewd polit teal move whieh die) uch to sta crowned emperor in Rome on 2 February 962. He lived until 973, As Otto the Great consolidated bis position and began to merge the state and Church into a powerful new administrtion, so the Ottonians Looked back wistfully at the eultiva lige imperial power. Otto was empire of the past, Bruno (925-65), Otto’s hreiher, was appointed royal chan- cellor, archchuplain, and later archbishop of Cologne, and Inspired a renewed snterest in classical texts (he had learnest Greek from the monks of Reichenau) and in grammar, thetoric, x try, music, astronomy, commerce, and the other refinements of civilization, Education again became a royal priority, There is an sccount in Ekkchanl!s chronicle of the abbey of St Gall in Switzerlan ofa visi to that monastery in the year 972 by Otto the Great with his son (the future Ott Hi, then aged about 17). They spent several diys there. The boy discovered a locked! chest in the rmonstic treasury and demanded that it he opened for him. It proved to be full of manuscripts, Young Otto helped himself tothe best, as the monks stood by, unable to refuse, Later (ollowing a diplomatic request from the monastery) some of the books were returned, but one which was never sent back was probably ‘aalter (now in the Staatliche Bibliothek in Bamberg) with parallel texts in two versions of Latin and in Hebrew and Greek, which hd been made for Salomo Ill, abbot of St Gall, in gag. It says something about Ottonian court edication thit a Germanic prince al be In the same year that they visited St Gall, Ost the Great arranged a marriage for his son. It was a political triumph, The bride was Theofanu, a princess of Byzantium, Throughout the ‘whole Carolingian and Ontonian period, the Byzantine empire was regarded as the ultimate symbol of sophistication, and for a daugh ter of the easter imperial house to marry the heir apparent of the German rile cotiferred imei prestige of the: went: (Hot the poor girl felt in northem Europe, twelve hundred miles from home, would not have been considered.) The original marrage charter of Theofana and Otto still survives, and it displayed ina ypecil room in the state archives: of Lower Saxony in Wolfenbittel, This document of 14 April 972 isan ultimate impe ral manuscript, a huge scroll written in gold in uncial and minus cule on purple vellum and decorated with great medallions of clas sical and mythological designs of animals infiled with ornamental scrollwork. It is a magnificent object. At last the tribal rulers of Europe glimpsed their own names in an inkeritance which qwent tmack to the Ermperor Augustus, Quo Il succeeded to the Holy Roman Empire in May 975, but ‘he lived for only another ten years. He died i Rome and is buried in the ceypt of St Peter's. The revival of manuscript illumination in is reign ie partly due to Eigb pointed to the arch bishopric of Trier in 977 and was both a churchman and a member of the imperial chancery. A contemporary account of the transl tion of the relics of saint in Trier in the time of Egbert deseribes the archbihop's pencesdén, ‘with cross, candles, thiribles, Gospel Books set with gems, and erery Kind of ecclessstical beau ty’, The archbishop owned a Gospel Lectionary, now called the Codex Egberti (Tries, Stadtbibliotbek, Cod, 24), which is signed by two monks Kerald and Heribert of Reichenau Abbey, the wealthy islind monastery on Lake Constance, The book has 51 largo illustrations, by far the mast extensive cycle of pictures of the Me of Christ in any known manuicript up to thie date. The vol tume’s lavish binding of gold and enamels survived until the eigh teenth century. Egbert ako almost certainly employed one of the very greatest medieval ilaminators, the Master of the Rey Gregerit, sha was probably working at Trier from about 98 until atleast 996. About half a dozen surviving manuscripts were paint co refurbished! by this artist. One of them, a Gospel Book data be to before the death of Ott Il, was given four hundred yearn later hy the king of France to the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris (Paris, BIN,, ms, lat. 4851), The same artist also. painted two detached rminiatures, one still in Trier (Pt. 48) and the other navy in the Musée Condé at Ch Re " Trier Cathedral. The survivin tilly (et. 47). from a volume of the jsteurn Gr we 10 i hence the artist's name) which Eghert fragment includes a poem wailing the death of Ono tin 984, and the Chantilly miniature of a crowned emperor with his staff and arb no doubt commen rates Hgbert’s ate patron. It shows Otta enthroned under a tiled by claesical columns, and from either side he receives. gifts of homage fram perscnfications of Germania Francia, Halia, and Alamannia. It js marvellous image 1 was under Ouse I, emperor from 98 until his early death in 002, that the Ottonian passion far books reaches! its high point There survives in Bamberg a list of manescripts which Otto IIE was given by Johannes Philagathos, his former tutor whort The had made bishop of Pacenza, probubly befur a Persius, andl other texts. This wax We be pening the tomb of Chatlem copies of Orosius, two of Livy 2 good nucleus of a classical Hbrary iH fining a Gospel Book among the imperial regalia, Otte fl consid cred himself doubly imperial, both through his Byzantine: mother and his German father, He was ext igh to be amet bliphemonsly arrogant (he was less than five wher his father ded, and will only cleven an the death of his mother Theofanu in 991). Unlimited wealth is not good far Young men. In 496 be promoted Bruno, his twenty-nine-yearvokl ‘cousin, to the papacy; Bruno took the ttle of Gregory Vy the first German pope, and then promptly crowned Otto Ill as emperor The new pope himself ordered manuscripts to be sent to Rome from Reichenau for the confirmation of his avn insallayon as pope, He the monastery should deve teste that the abbot , tw him a Sacramentary, an Epistolary and a Gospel Book, and they were doubtless very splendid. When Gregory died three. years later in 999, Quo installed ay the next po Gerbert of Aurillac, who asumed the name of Sylvester I. Even the popes were under the power of Otto I. tn his manuscripts the emperor was represented almost on a level sith God hinwelf made at about the tla of the pe Bock rent An inperial corenatica in 996, shows the emperor seated within a randdorls in heaven with his arms outspread like Christin. glory and with the emblems of the four Evangelists hovering on either side of him. tis amazing that a monk could paint er Anwther Gospel Book in the John Relands University Library in Manchester includes Ono's portrait four times on the first page of St Matthew's Gospel (48. lat. 9 name of Otto, emperor of the Christian religion andl of the Roman people. This lumination occurs on the page which recounts the ‘descent of Christ from David and Abraham. It too is painted by the Master ofthe Registrum Gregori the lst manuscript ofall s the extraordinary Gospel of ‘Otto HL in Munich (Bayerische Staatdbibliothek, Chm, 4453). tn moder monetary terms this must he a eandiate for the most valtable book in the world (ris, 49-59). It was made for Otta probably at Reichenaw around 99-1061, abwook fora millennium: It isin its original golden binding set with jewels anel with a teath HAPTER 1 century Byzantine ivory panel (et. 32). IE was a mageificent and a oxs VO — sacred manuscript, whether open or closed, Inside it is of supreme pmrusons imperial luxury with full-page illuminated initials, Exangelst rrsita, 29 fall-page miniatures From ue fe of Chewt, and dominating all these, it has-@ pair of facing paintings showing the people of the world adoring Otto I. The worshippers resemble the Mi erage 10 the dnlant Chris. They are four women bearing gold and jewels and their names are serition above in capitals: Sclavinia, the eastern European with dark rod hair, Germania, a fairskinnet girl with long wispy blonde hair, Gallia, the blade-haired French gir, and the curly-headed Roma, wha is bowing lowest of all before the ruler off the exmpine. Otto himself is shown on the opposite page, seated disdainfully on his majestic throne, flanked by twe priests with b fern by tienen identified as Heribert, chancellor af taly (d.1671), and Len, ii bishop of Verve (d.c.1026) and by two armed soldiers, one them perhaps Gerard, count of the Sabine, the guard ofthe opal se (4), Otto tt fad Dui in Rowe. His brary included (amaringly) a ifth-century am script of Lisy’s history of Rome probably ane of the wo copia i he free johannes Phil had made sill survives. in Bamber ha the Renovatio Inperit Romanarum, the restoration of the empire dl the mans. He thought himself at least as great ae. Cue It is interesting to try to compare the Ottonian imperial man all Sometimes it is quite clear thatthe later illuminators were actually fs, Arpo and Acalpertus, B Frontispiece illustrating the Ottorian ah 261), The the enporor Henry I had the v rite eh, yer Staaten Fae B xr wl hore remarkable is the use mate of the Codex role bs the 1 archbishoy BR rset} Seecribe this famowe nih-cots {which inthe Ottoman period belonged to the abbey GiRegerwbang (in, 45). First of al, two monks at S 4 and died in 1024. H FF the Conlex: Aureus of St Emmeram was painted no and it still survives: in Man at Mass, and pth religious solemnity and of themselves as high priests and mighty kings. Henry It was proud 10 be depicted in a Missal; Charlemagne vould probably have been rather frigitened Another difference between manuscript production of the Carolingians and of the Ottonians is that there seems to have been to court schoo! of Mumiation under the Ottonian emperors Charlemagne employed scribes and artists i his household, Ort re Henry I sent out to the monasteries, They chiefly used Trier, and then very probably Reichenau (mts. 52, 55 amd 56), and later Regensburg and Eehternadh, O1to ll owned some older man scripts which had come from taly (such as bis minhentury We ‘of St Sylvester illuminated at Nonatela), but the Ottanians sect to have commissioned manuscripts there, Their use of monasteries doesnt siecessarily mean that the artists were always monks, but 53 hale Univreatoee, ‘sacha Me. The psi shoe the wn tg pone hoe hese, Ie te ha mo Pea i res lite Crivend 54 Orie pec i 57 ey he pis i ea he Lani rp oa ah ewe he re re Hey arg one th Ging oak seh goed coats that they worked within a monastic context. A Gospel Lectionary now in Bremen actually illestrates this happening (Staats. ut Universtatsbibliothiek, af, 24, fs, 1248-125; Pte 5H shoe 1 Echternadh Abbey, and busy working an the mand: a layinan andl the other a monk, and oi book to Heney I scripts are two men, the facing page they are shown presenting the in about 1 59-40. Honey HQ. 54) had a particular reason for: wanting: mam scripts, Unlike other emperars, who probably built up brary mainly because books wore treasure axl partly because they ct Henry M1 plined ter set-up a religious Joundstion at Bamberg avd to furnish i with manaseript whic fe hae collected. He declared in 1003 that ashe himself tad fo children be had chosen Christ as his heir. Hie dies not quite 66 ame Christ as his kinsman, but almost, His bequest included not ‘ely ancient books (auch as the fit tury Livy from the of Oto Ill and Chaves the Bold's copy of Boethis on Arithm Which hal pethaps survived, like the Codex Aureus, i the sonastery of StEmameram) but also books from bis fathers brary like the great Bumberg Apocalypse and an illstratedl commentary

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