The Carolingian Achievement and Legacy

Carolingian Minuscule

- "book-hand" first used at the monasteries of Corbie and Tours that introduced the use of lower case letters

the Musica enchiriadis

- anonymous musical treatise of the 9th century - first surviving attempt to set up a system of rules for polyphony in western art music

Carolingian architecture

- Style of North European architecture promoted by Charlemagne - Spans the late eighth and ninth centuries until the reign of Otto I in 936 - Conscious attempt to create a Roman Renaissance, emulating Roman, Early Christian and Byzantine architecture, with its own innovation - Eight decades between 768 to 855 alone saw the construction of 27 new cathedrals, 417 monasteries, and 100 royal residences

Battle of Tours

- 723 battle between Frankish + Burgundian forces against Muslim (conquest) forces - Leader of Frankish/Burgundian army was Charles Martel - Franks were victorious, the leader of the opposition was killed, + Charles extended his authority in the south - 9th c. chroniclers interpreted battle as divine judgement in Charles' favor and gave him nickname Marcellus (the hammer) - Later christian chroniclers named Charles a champion of Christianity against forces of Islam - Battle helped lay the foundations of the Carolingian Empire and Frankish domination of Europe for the next century → grandson is Charlemagne

Alcuin of York

- 735-804 English scholar, clergy, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria - Became leading scholar + teacher at Carolingian court at invitation of Charlemagne from 780s-90s - Pupils were many of the dominant intellectuals of Carolingian era - Math + literary influence, as well as use of eroticized language

Charlemagne

- 768 King of Franks, 774 King of Lombards, 800 Emperor of Romans - First recognized emperor of western europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire - Founder of Carolingian Empire → extended Frankish state - Under his rule Carolingian renaissance flourished - Charlemagne's 'Admonitio generalis '(789) and 'Epistola de liters colendis' served as manifestos

Louis the Pious

- 781 King of Aquitaine, 813 King of Franks and Co-Emperor with father Charlemagne

Counters to Problems with Learning

- 787 capitulary, 'Charter of Modern Thought' Charlemagne ordered the creation of schools - Major part of his reform program was to attract leading scholars of the Christiandom of his day to his court º 776-790 Peter of Pisa instructed him in Latin º 787 Paulinus of Aquileia nominated as patriarch of Aquileia º 782-787 Lombard Paul the Deacon at Court, Charles nominated him abbot of Montecassino º 782-797 Theodulf of Orleans @ court, 797 nominated as bishop of Orleans - One of the primary efforts was the creation of a standardized curriculum for use at the recently created schools - Alcuin of York led this effort and was responsible for the writing of textbooks, creation of word lists, and establishing the trivium and quadrivium as the basis for education - Carolingian minuscule

Problems w/ Learning in Caroligian Empire

- 8th c. lack of literacy in Western Europe caused problems for Caroligian rulers º Lack of capable people to serve as court scribes in societies where Latin was valued º Not all parish priests possessed the skill to read the Vulgate Bible º Vulgar Latin of the later Western Roman Empire had begun to diverge into the regional dialects

Common Language

- A standardized version of Latin was also developed that allowed for the coining of new words while retaining the grammatical rules of Classical Latin - This Medieval Latin became a common language of scholarship and allowed administrators and travelers to make themselves understood in various regions of Europe

Anglo-Saxen Mission

- Began in the last decade of the 7th century in Frisia - Missions, which drew down the energy and initiative of the English church, spread south and east from there

Carolingian music

- Charlemagne sought to eliminate regional stylistic differences - Rise of music theory + treatises dictating how to play - Evidence that the earliest Western musical notation, in the form of neumes in camp aperto (without staff-lines), was created at Metz around 800 º Result of Charlemagne's desire for Frankish church musicians to retain the performance nuances used by the Roman singers

Missionary Efforts (Boniface)

- Christian Frankish leaders desired to defeat their rival power, the non-Christian Saxons, and to incorporate the Saxon lands into their own growing empire - Boniface campaign of destruction of indigenous Germanic pagan sites may have benefited the Franks in their campaign against the Saxons - 732 Boniface set out for Germany, baptized thousands, and used his authority to resolve the problems of many other Christians - 737-38 made papal legate for Germany by Pope Gregory III - 754 went to Frisia, baptized a great number and summoned a general meeting for confirmation º group of armed robbers appeared who slew the aged archbishop

Vulgate Bible

- Late 4th c. Latin translation of the Bible - 16th c. became Catholic Church's officially promulgated Latin version of the Bible

Carolingian Renaissance

- Late 8th-9th c. → period of cultural activity in the Carolingian Empire which took inspiration from the Christian Roman Empire of the 4th c. - Increase of literature, writing, the arts, architecture, jurisprudence, liturgical reforms, and scriptural studies

Legacy

- Organized school systems and revival of literacy - Transcriptions of science and literature preserved - Mass conversions to Christianity - First renaissance since Roman times

Carolingian Art

- Roughly from 800-900 - N. Europe embraced classical Mediterranean Roman art forms for the first time, setting the stage for the rise of Romanesque art and eventually Gothic art in the West - Illuminated manuscripts, metalwork, small-scale sculpture, mosaics, and frescos survive from the period

Schools

- Seven Liberal Arts: º the trivium comprised grammar (how to write), rhetoric (how to speak) and logic (how to think) º the quadrivium was made up of the mathematical arts, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and music - Students read Homer, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Juvenal, Plato and Cicero - By the 9th century, most monasteries had writing rooms or scriptoria

Conquest of Germany (Saxon Wars)

- Spanned 30 years + 18 battles → Charlemagne conquered Saxonia and proceeded to convert it to Christianity - Germanic Saxons were divided into four subgroups in four regions: Westphalia, Eastphalia, Engria, Nordalbingia - 773 Charlemagne forced the Engrians to submit - 775 marched through Westphalia + conquered the Saxon fort at Sigiburg. Crossed Engria + defeated the Saxons again º Eastphalia, he defeated a Saxon force, and its leader Hessi converted to Christianity º Controlled Saxony with the exception of Nordalbingia - 776 rebellion had destroyed his fortress at Eresburg + defeated Saxons once again - 777 called a national diet at Paderborn to integrate Saxony fully into the Frankish kingdom - 779 again invaded Saxony and reconquered Eastphalia, Engria and Westphalia - 782 instituted a code of law and appointed counts, both Saxon and Frank º Mass rebellion due to Draconian law → mass killing - 792 Westphalia again rebelled - 793 Eastphalians and Nordalbingians joined them - 794 rebellions put down - 796 rebellion was crushed - 804 final rebellion which was once again defeated