List of key works of Carolingian illumination
Key works of Carolingian illumination are those Illuminated manuscripts of the Carolingian period which are recognised in art historical scholarship as works of particular artistic significance (especially those included in general overviews).
The first work to be considered Carolingian is the Godescalc Evangelistary, which was created for Charlemagne between 781 and 783. Until this point, Merovingian and Insular illumination had continued without a breach. The developers of Carolingian illumination were the so-called "court school of Charlemagne" at the Palace of Aachen, which created the manuscripts of the "Ada School ." Contemporary was the "Palace School" which was probably based in the same place, but whose artists were from Byzantium or Byzantine Italy. The codices of this school are also known as the "group of the Vienna Coronation Gospels" after their most outstanding examples. After the death of Charlemagne, the centre of illumination shifted to Rheims, Tours and Metz. Since the Court School dominated in the time of Charlemagne, it was more influential in later times than the works of the Palace School. The high point of Carolingian illumination came to an end in the late ninth century. In late Carolingian times a developed which incorporated forms from insular illumination, before a new epoch began at the end of the tenth century with the development of Ottonian illumination
List of manuscripts[]
Image | Name | Date | Location, School | Contents | Inventory # |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Godescalc Evangelistary | between 781 and 783 | Aachen (?) | Evangeliary; six full page miniatures, ornamental decorations, initials and borders; written in gold and silver letters on purple-dyed parchment | Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. nouv. acq. lat. 1203 | |
Montpellier Psalter | before 788 | Mondsee | Psalter; two full page miniatures, 165 large and 2000 small initials | Montpellier, Bibliothèque Interuniversitaire, Section Médicine, Ms. 409 | |
Ada Gospels | c.790, second part at the beginning of the 9th century | Aachen, Ada School (Court School of Charlemagne) | Evangeliary | Trier, | , Cod. 22|
or Paris Arsenal-Gospels | c. 790 | Aachen, Ada School (Court School of Charlemagne) | Evangeliary | Paris, Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Ms. 599 | |
Dagulf Psalter | before 795 | Aachen, Ada School (Court School of Charlemagne) | Psalter | Vienna, Austrian National Library, Ms. 1861 | |
|
St. Riquier Gospels, or Centula Gospels, or Abbeville Gospels | End of the eight century | Aachen, Ada School (Court School of Charlemagne) | Evangeliary | Abbeville, Bibliothèque municipale, Ms. 4 |
Vienna Coronation Gospels or Reich Gospels | shortly before 800 | Aachen (?), Vienna Coronation Gospels Group ("Palace School of Charlemagne") | Evangeliary; four full-page images of the Evangelists, 16 Canon tables; written with gold and silver letter on purple-dyed parchment | Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Schatzkammer Inv. XIII 18 | |
c.800 | Saint-Amand Abbey (?) | Evangeliary; 18 Canon tables, two images of the Evangelists (originally four); Incipit and initial pages | Ghent, Sint-Baafskapittel, Ms. 13 | ||
[1] | c.800 | Aachen, around the Court School of Charlemagne | Evangeliary | Munich, [2] | , Cim. 1 (= 2° Cod. ms. 29)|
[3] | 801/825 | France | Evangeliary | Cologne, [4] | , Dom Hs. 13|
Aachen Gospels or Schatzkammer Gospels or Carolingian Gospels | Beginning of the 9th century | Aachen (?), Vienna Coronation Gospels Group ("Palace School of Charlemagne") | Evangeliary | Aachen, Cathedral Treasury, Inv.-Nr. 4 | |
Beginning of the 9th century | Aachen (?), Vienna Coronation Gospels Group ("Palace School of Charlemagne") | Evangeliary | Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium, Ms. 18732 | ||
Anfang des 9. Jahrhunderts | Aachen (?), Vienna Coronation Gospels Group ("Palace School of Charlemagne") | Evangeliary | Brescia, Biblioteca Queriniana, Ms. E. II.9 | ||
Anfang 9. Jahrhundert | Aachen, Ada School (Court School of Charlemagne) | A single miniature depicting Luke 1.8-13 | London, British Library, Cotton Clausius B.V. | ||
first quarter of the 9th century | West Francia | Apokalypse; 74 illustrations | Trier, Stadtbibliothek, Cod. 31 | ||
Codex Aureus of Lorsch | c.810 | Aachen, Ada School (Court School of Charlemagne) | Evangeliary; six full-page miniatures, 12 Canon tables; written in gold and silver letters on purple-dyed parchment | Bucharest, National Library of Romania; Vatican City, Vatican Library, Pal. lat. 50 | |
Harley Golden Gospels | c.800 | Aachen, Ada School (Court School of Charlemagne) | Evangeliary | London, British Library, Harley Ms. 2788 | |
Ebbo Gospels | between 816 and 835 | Rheims | Evangeliary | Épernay, Bibliothèque Municipale, Ms. 1 | |
Stuttgart Psalter | between 820 and 830 | Saint-Germain-des-Prés | Psalter | Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Cod. bibl. fol. 23 | |
Utrecht Psalter | c. 825 | Rheims | Psalter; 166 line drawings | Utrecht, | , Ms. 484|
c.825 | Aachen (?) | Text on surveying | Vatican City, Vatican Library, Pal. lat. 1564 | ||
Vatican Terence | c.825 | Aachen (?) | Terence: Comedies; over 130 illustrations | Vatican City, Vatican Library, Vat. lat. 3868 | |
Bern Physiologus | between 825 and 850 | Rheims | Physiologus; 25 framed and 10 unframed miniatures | Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Codex Bongarsianus 318 | |
between 825 and 850 | Fleury | Evangeliary | Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Codex 348 | ||
Psalter of Louis the German | second quarter of the 9th century | Saint-Omer | Psalter | Berlin, State Library, Ms. theol. lat. fol. 58 | |
Gospels of St. Medard de Soissons | before 827 | Aachen, Ada School (Court School of Charlemagne) | Evangeliary; Six full-page miniatures and 12 canon tables; written with gold and silver letters on purple-dyed parchment | Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. lat. 8850 | |
Leiden Aratea | between 830 and 840 | Lotharingia (Aachen or Metz) | Latin verse translation of Aratus' Phainomena by Germanicus with additions from Avienius' translation; 35 full-page miniatures (four images missing) | Leiden, Leiden University Library, Voss. lat. Q 79 | |
Bamberg Bible | between 834 and 843 | Tours | Bible | Bamberg, State Library, Msc.Bibl.1 | |
Moutier-Grandval Bible | c.840 | Tours | Bible; four full-page miniatures | London, British Library, Add. Ms. 10546 | |
c. 840 | Fulda | Rabanus Maurus: | Vatican, Vatican Library, Reg. lat. 124 | ||
Fuldaer Evangeliar | c.840 | Fulda | Evangeliary | Würzburg, Universitätsbibliothek Würzburg, Mp. theol. fol. 66 | |
c.840 | Metz | Handbook of 809; 52 illustrations of the constellations | Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Cod. 3307 | ||
Drogo Sacramentary | 842 | Metz | ; 41 historicising initials | Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. lat. 9428 | |
c.845 | Tours | Boethius: De institutione arithmetica libri II | Bamberg, State Library, Msc.Class.5 | ||
First Bible of Charles the Bald or Vivian Bible | 845/846 | Tours | Bible; eight full-page miniatures, four canon tables, 87 initials | Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. lat. 1 | |
between 846 and 869 | Court School of Charles the Bald | Oldest royal prayer book; two full-page miniatures, one full-page decorative initial | Munich, Treasury of the Residenz, ResMü. Schk0004-WL | ||
Lothaire Gospels | between 849 and 851 | Tours | Evangeliary; six miniatures, nine framed incipit pages, twelve canon tables, 18 framed chapter indices, and five initials. | Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. lat. 266 | |
c.850 | Tours | Evangeliary; five miniature, initials, canon tables, frames | Berlin, State Library, Ms. theol. lat. fol. 733 | ||
or Emperor Lothair's Gospels | before 852 | Aachen, Court School of Emperor Lothair | Evangeliar | Berlin, State Library, Ms. theol. Lat. folio 260 | |
second half of the ninth century | Rheims | Terence: Comodies; 148 illustrations | Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. lat. 7899 | ||
second half of the ninth century | Saint-Amand | Evangeliary | Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. lat. 257 | ||
[5] | second half of the ninth century | north or north east France | Evangeliary | Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. lat. 9387 | |
Golden Psalter of St. Gallen | begun c. 860 and continued from 870 to 900 | St. Denis (?) (Court School of Charles the Bald), later continued at St. Gall | Psalter; two full-page miniatures, 15 full or half page illustrations on the Psalm titles | St. Gall, Abbey Library, Cod. Sang. 22 | |
Düsseldorf, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, B. 113 | second third of the 9th century | Rheims | Evangeliary | Düsseldorf, University and State Library, B. 113 | |
last third of the 9th century | (?) | Prudentius: Poetry | Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Codex Bongarsianus 264 | ||
Psalter of Charles the Bald | after 869 | St. Denis (?) (Court School of Charles the Bald) | Psalter | Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Ms. lat. 1152 | |
or Metz Sacramentary | c. 870 | Metz or St. Denis (?) (Court School of Charles the Bald) | Sakramentary (Fragment, 10 leaves); five full-page miniatures and two initial pages | Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. lat. 1141 | |
Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram | c. 870 | St. Denis (?) (Court School of Charles the Bald) | Sacramentary; seven full-page miniatures, 12 canon tables, 10 ornamental pages | Munich, Bavarian State Library, Clm 14000 | |
Bible of San Paolo fuori le Mura or Bible of Charles the Bald | c. 870 | St. Denis (?) (Court School of Charles the Bald) | Bible; 24 (originally 25) title miniatures, four canon tables, 35 decorative pages, 91 initials; written in gold and silver letters on purple-dyed parchment | Rome, San Paolo fuori le mura, Cod. Membra. Saeculi IX. | |
Folchard Psalter | c.870 | St. Gall | Psalter | St. Gall, Abbey Library, Cod. Sang. 23 | |
between 871 and 873 | St. Amand | Bible | Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. lat. 2 | ||
late 9th century | St. Vaast | Evangeliar; 15 canon tables, eight miniatures, framed incipit and initial pages | Prague, Kapitulni Knihovna, Cim. 2 |
References[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carolingian manuscripts. |
- ^ : Evangeliar Karls des Großen. In: Peter van den Brink, Sarvenaz Ayooghi (Edd.): Karl der Große – Charlemagne. Karls Kunst. Dresden 2014, pp. 236–237 (with Biblio.).
- ^ Charlemagne Gospels on the website of the Universitätsbibliothek München.
- ^ Hiltfred-Evangeliar in .
- ^ Catalogie entry on the .
- ^ Gospels of St. Denis in the Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur; Charlotte Denoël: Evangeliar aus Saint-Denis. In: Peter van den Brink, Sarvenaz Ayooghi (Ed.): Karl der Große – Charlemagne. Karls Kunst. Dresden 2014, pp. 192–194 (with Biblio.).
Bibliography[]
- , Joachim E. Gaehde: Karolingische Buchmalerei. Prestel, München 1979. ISBN 3-7913-0395-3
- : "Propyläen–Kunstgeschichte," Vol 5: Das Mittelalter 1. Propyläen–Verlag, Berlin 1990. ISBN 3-549-05105-0
- Hans Holländer: "Die Entstehung Europas," in: Belser Stilgeschichte, Studienausgabe, Vol 2, edited by Christoph Wetzel, pp. 153–384. Belser, Stuttgart 1993 [on illumination pp. 241–255]
- Christoph Stiegemann, : 799. Kunst und Kultur der Karolingerzeit. Katalog der Ausstellung Paderborn 1999, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1999. ISBN 3-8053-2456-1
- Kunibert Bering: Kunst des frühen Mittelalters (Kunst–Epochen, Vol. 2). Reclam, Stuttgart 2002. ISBN 3-15-018169-0
- Ingo F. Walther, Norbert Wolf: Meisterwerke der Buchmalerei. Taschen, Köln. 2005, ISBN 3-8228-4747-X
- Peter van den Brink, Sarvenaz Ayooghi (Hrsg.): Karl der Große – Charlemagne. Karls Kunst. Katalog der Sonderausstellung Karls Kunst vom 20. Juni bis 21. September 2014 im , Aachen. Sandstein, Dresden 2014, ISBN 978-3-95498-093-2 (on illumination passim).
- Arts-related lists
- 8th-century illuminated manuscripts
- 9th-century illuminated manuscripts
- Carolingian illuminated manuscripts