Charlemagne’s Mustache and other Cultural Clusters of a Dark Age

288 Pages·2004·29.412 MB·English

by  Paul Edward Dutton (auth.)

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CHARLEMAGNE'S MUSTACHE
AND OTHER CULTURAL
CLUSTERS OF A DARK AGE
Paul Edward Dutton
CHARLEMAGNE'S MUSTACHE AND OTHER CULTURAL CLUSTERS OF A DARK AGE
© Paul Edward Dutton 2004
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004 978-1-4039-6223-2
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quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published 2004 by
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ISBN 978-0-230-60247-2 ISBN 978-1-137-06228-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-06228-4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dutton, Paul Edward, 1952-
Charlemagne's mustache I Paul Edward Dutton.
p. cm. - (The New Middle Ages)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Charlemagne, Emperor, 742-814.2. France-History-To 987.
3. Carolingians-History. 4. Civilization, Medieval, I. Title. 11. New Middle
Ages (Palgrave Macmillan (Firm))
DC73.D872004
944'.014-<1c22 2003062223
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: May 2004
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Transferred to Digital Printing 2013
For my parents
CONTENTS
List cif Illustrations IX
Priface XliI
1. Charlemagne's Mustache 3
2. Charlemagne, King of Beasts 43
3. Karolus Magnus Scriptor 69
4. Of Carolingian Kings and Their Stars 93
5. Whispering Secrets to a Dark Age 129
6. A World Grown Old with Poets and Kings 151
7. Thunder and Hailover the Carolingian Countryside 169
Appendix 1 The Name oi the Elephant 189
Appendix 2 The Collection cif Biblical Citations
Sent to Emperor Lothar I 191
Appendix 3 Carolingian Royal Life Spans 195
Abbreviations 199
Notes 201
Index 273
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1.1 A tombstone of a Germanie warrior from Niederdollendorf
(Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn) 5
1.2 Childeric I's hair flows onto his shoulders on a
pIaster cast of his now lost golden signet ring
(Ashmolean Museum, Oxford) 6
1.3 A coin of Dagobert I (Cabinet des Medailles,
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris) 6
1.4 A gold coin from Chalon of a Merovingian king (Cabinet
des Medailles, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris) 7
1.5 The bronze Agilulf Visor from around 600 (Museo
Nazionale del Bargello, Florence) 7
1.6 A gold medallion of Theoderic the Great (Museo
Nazionale Romano, Rome) 8
1.7 Portrait of Theoderic on an amethyst gem (Antikensammlung
Bern: photo K. Buri, Harry N. Abrams Inc.) 8
1.8 An ivory diptych of Stilicho and his family (Museo del
Duomo di Monza) 11
1.9 An imperial coin portrait of Charlemagne (Staatlichen
Museen, Berlin) 24
1.10 Drawing after F. Le Blanc, 1689, of the image of
Charlemagne on one of his lead bullae; the obverse
bears the inscription RENOVATIO ROMAN. IMP. 25
1.11 Charlemagne portrait, Retable du Parliament de Paris
(permission RMN) 27
1.12 Reliquary of Charlemagne, mid-fourteenth century
(Domschatz Aachen: Domarchiv Aachen, photo:
Ann Münchow) 28
x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1.13 Drawing afterVetault ofLouis Rochet's statue of
Charlemagne, Roland, and Oliver from 1867, which
now stands outside the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris 29
1.14 Presentation Miniature from the First Bible of Charles
the Bald (Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, ms.lat. 1, fo1. 423r) 31
1.15 Portrait of Louis the Pious in a manuscript of
Hrabanus Maurus's On the Praises cif the Holy Cross
(Vatican City, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana,
Reg.lat. 124, fo1. 4v) 33
1.16 Portrait of Lothar I in the Gospels of Lothar
(Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, ms. lat. 266, fo1. 1v ) 34
1.17 Crowning in the Sacramentary Fragment of Metz
(Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, ms. lat. 1141, fo1. 2v) 35
1.18 Lothar I enthroned, Lothar Psalter (British Library,
Addit. ms. 37768, fo1. 4r) 36
1.19 Psalter of Charles the Bald (Paris, Bibliotheque
Nationale, ms.lat. 1152, fol. 3v) 37
1.20 Charles the Bald enthroned (Rome, Bible of San
Paolo fuori le mura, fol. 334v: Istituto Poligrafico e
Zecca dello Stato S.p.A., Rome) 38
1.21 Bronze equestrian statue of Charlemagne or
Charles the Bald (Musee du Louvre) 39
1.22 Charles the Bald on the Cathedra Petri, the wood and
ivory throne of Saint Peter (St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican
City: permission Fabbrica di San Pietro in Vaticano) 40
1.23 Detail of the top and back of the head of the
equestrian statue (Paris, Musee du Louvre: photo
Laura Dutton) 40
1.24 Hrabanus Maurus presents his On the Praises oi the
Holy Cross to Pope Gregory IV (Vienna,
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 652, fo1. 2v:
Bildarchiv d. ÖNB, Wien) 41
2.1 The Godescalc Evangelistary, Fountain of Life (Paris,
Bibliotheque Nationale, Nouv. acq.lat. 1203, fo1. 3v) 56
2.2 Gospels of St-Medard of Soissons, Fountain of Life (Paris,
Bibliotheque Nationale, ms. lat. 8850, fo1. 6v) 57
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Xl
4.1 Charles the Bald gazes up at the Lamb of God in the
Codex Aureus of St-Emmeram (Munich, Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek, Clm. 14000, fols. 5v-6r) 96
4.2 Adoration of the Lamb in the Gospels of St-Medard of
Soissons (Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, ms. lat. 8850, foL 1v ) 114
4.3 Zodiacal '0' in the First Bible of Charles the Bald
(Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, ms. lat. 1, foL 8r) 115
4.4 Schematization of the front face of the Cathedra Petri
(St. Peter's Basilica,Vatican City). 123
7.1 Labors of the Months (ca. 820) (Vienna, Österreichische
Nationalbibliothek Cod. 387, foL 90v: Bildarchiv d.
ÖNB,Wien) 179
7.2 Hailstorm in the Utrecht Psalter, Ps. 28:3-10
(Utrecht, Cat. Cod. ms. BibL Rhenotraiectinae
ms. 32, foL 16r) 181
7.3 Angels cast lightning-bolt lances in the Utrecht
Psalter, Ps. 139:11 (Utrecht, Cat. Cod. ms. BibL
Rhenotraiectinae ms. 32, foL 78v) 182
7.4 Profile of a hailstorm. After Joe R. Eagleman,
Meteorology: The Atmosphere in Action (N ew York:
Van Nostrand, 1980). 184