The Carolingian Revival 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 from the Carolingian dynasty, especially during the time of Charles the Great, as well as Louis the Pious, Karl Lysy.
This time was characterized by an increased interest in literature and writing, art, architecture, jurisprudence, liturgical transformations and the study of scriptures. The aesthetics of rebirth 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, Charlemagne gathered at his court many brilliant minds of the time, intending to revive in his state the level of scientific, philosophical, artistic education that was characteristic of ancient Roman culture .
Lack of education was especially noticeable among the clergy. Even those monks who spent days copying ancient manuscripts could barely read what they wrote, much less understand the meaning. For this reason, the preserved manuscripts of the seventh-eighth centuries are often so confused that they are difficult to decipher. Since there was no standard academic language, they are written in capital letters, with a lot of mistakes, without any punctuation marks.
In the state of the Franks, Karl could not find a good copy of the Bible or the full text of the Benedictine rules, which he had to send to Rome. First of all, the main goal of Karl 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. While in northern Italy, Karl met with the Anglo-Saxon scholar Alcuin, who is called the ideological inspirer of the Carolingian revival.
A brilliant scholar, he lived in York, where there was a library with an extensive collection of manuscripts. Karl persuaded Alcuin to move to Aachen, the residence of the Frankish king, with the aim of developing educational programs for the palace school. The scientist developed a course intended for the training of clergy and monks. In it you can find the origins of the seven free arts: trivium - grammar, rhetoric, logic; and quadrivium - mathematical arts, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and music. These disciplines consisted of classical and literary education. Students read Homer, Virgil, Horace, Juvenal, Plato, Cicero.
The heroes of rebirth are not only Alcuin. Among the invited to the court of Karl were other authoritative scientists, philosophers, poets: Peter from Pisa, instructing Carl in Latin, Peacock from Aquileia, appointed Aquilean Patriarch (Peacock II), Lombard Paul Deacon, Visigoth Theodulf.
Centers of scholarship and education became monasteries, in which there were special facilities for copying ancient manuscripts. But there was no thoughtless cheating - all texts were carefully studied by monks. In the new manuscripts, the words were separated from each other, there was punctuation. Karl standardized medieval Latin. The fact is that much has changed in the Latin language since the days of Ancient Rome, new words, phrases, idioms appeared that needed to be included in the language. Karl took into account all the changes, and medieval Latin appeared in the form in which it is known today.
The term Carolingian Renaissance, coined by the French historian Jean-Jacques Ampère in the 19th century, is often disputed due to the fact that the era was limited mainly by clergy and lacked the comprehensive social movements characteristic of the Italian Renaissance. In addition, she more represented an attempt to revive the culture of the Roman Empire. However, it was the simultaneous spread of religious Christian practice and a unified culture. And the reign of Karl himself was so brilliant that he was compared to the reign of Alexander of Macedon, Caesar Augustus, Constantine, Justinian.
The death of Karl became one of the main reasons for the decline of the Frankish state and its culture.
In retrospect, the Carolingian Renaissance also has some features of “false” prosperity, when cultural achievements were largely scattered over several generations.
The heyday of art covers about a hundred-year period, from 800 to 900, but it was an influential period when, in Northern Europe, based on the classical (Roman) forms of art, the ground was prepared for the exaltation of Romanesque and, ultimately, Gothic art. Since that time, illuminated manuscripts, metalware, sculpture, mosaic and fresco works have been preserved.
In architecture, the Carolingian Renaissance is characterized by the style introduced by Karl and predominating 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 gained a unique character.