Merovingian art and architecture
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Merovingian art is the art of the Merovingian dynasty of the Franks, which lasted from the 5th century to the 8th century in present-day France, Benelux and a part of Germany. The advent of the Merovingian dynasty in Gaul in the 5th century led to important changes in the field of arts. Sculpture regressed to be little more than a simple technique for the ornamentation of sarcophagi, altars and ecclesiastical furniture. On the other hand,
gold work A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and service ...
and the new medium of
manuscript illumination An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
integrated "barbarian" animal-style decoration, with Late Antique motifs, and other contributions from as far as Syria or Ireland to constitute Merovingian art.


Architecture

The unification of the Frankish kingdom under
Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...
(465–511) and his successors, corresponded with the need for the building of churches, and especially monastery churches, as these were now the power-houses of the Merovingian church. Plans often continued the Roman basilica tradition, but also took influences from as far away as Syria and Armenia. In the East, most structures were in timber, but stone was more common for significant buildings in the West and in the southern areas that later fell under Merovingian rule. Most major churches have been rebuilt, usually more than once, but many Merovingian plans have been reconstructed from archaeology. The description in Bishop
Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...
' ''History of the Franks'' of the basilica of Saint-Martin, built at Tours by
Saint Perpetuus Saint Perpetuus (french: link=no, Saint-Perpetue) (died 30 December 490 AD) was the sixth Bishop of Tours, serving from 460 to 490. Life Born of a senatorial family of the Auvergne, Perpetuus became bishop of Tours around 460. He succeeded his re ...
(bishop 460–490) at the beginning of the period and at the time on the edge of Frankish territory, gives cause to regret the disappearance of this building, one of the most beautiful Merovingian churches, which he says had 120 marble columns, towers at the East end, and several mosaics: "Saint-Martin displayed the vertical emphasis, and the combination of block-units forming a complex internal space and the correspondingly rich external silhouette, which were to be the hallmarks of the Romanesque". A feature of the basilica of Saint-Martin that became a hallmark of Frankish church architecture was the sarcophagus or reliquary of the saint raised to be visible and sited axially behind the altar, sometimes in the apse. There are no Roman precedents for this Frankish innovation. The Saint Peter's church in Vienne is the only surviving one. A number of other buildings, now lost, including the Merovingian foundations of Saint-Denis, St. Gereon in Cologne, and the
Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...
in Paris, are described as similarly ornate. Some small buildings remain, especially
baptisteries In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
, which fell out of fashion and were spared rebuilding. In
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...
, Riez and
Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 54,458. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one urban agglomeration. The north of ...
, three octagonal
baptistries In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
, each covered with a cupola on pillars, are testimony to the influence of oriental architecture (the baptistry of Riez, in the
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence or sometimes abbreviated as AHP (; oc, Aups d'Auta Provença; ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the south, Vaucluse to the west ...
, recalls that of St. George, Ezra',
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
). Very different from these Provençal baptistries, except for the quatrefoil one of Venasque, that of St. Jean at
Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...
(6th century) has the form of a rectangle flanked by three apses. The original building has probably undergone a number of alterations but preserves in its decoration (marble capitals) a Merovingian character. Among the very many
crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
s, numerous due to the importance of the cult of saints at the time, only those of St. Seurin, Bordeaux, St. Laurent, Grenoble, and the abbey of
Jouarre Jouarre () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. Jouarre Abbey It is the site of the Jouarre Abbey, a Merovingian foundati ...
(7th century) survive.


Other arts

By the 7th century, the abilities of Merovingian craftsmen must have been well regarded, as they were brought to England to re-introduce glass making skills, and Merovingian stonemasons were used to build English churches.Bede. ''The Lives of the Holy Abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow''. Merovingian masons also employed the ''
opus gallicum The ''opus gallicum'' (Latin for "Gallic work") was a technique of construction whereby precise holes were created in stone masonry for the insertion of wooden beams to create a wooden infrastructure. The technique was so named because, though its p ...
'' extensively and are responsible for bringing it to England and bequeathing it to the Normans, who brought it to Italy. Very few Merovingian illuminated manuscripts survive, of which the most richly decorated is the 8th century Gelasian Sacramentary in the Vatican Library, which has geometric and animal decoration, less complex than that of the
Insular art Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from ''insula'', the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style dif ...
of the British Isles, but like it derived from metalwork motifs, with some influence from Late Antiquity and the Near-East. The principal centres were the Abbey of Luxeuil, an Irish foundation, and later its daughter house at Corbie Abbey. A large Merovingian art collection in Berlin was taken by Soviet troops to Russia, where it remains to this day.


Gallery

Image:Alpes-de-Haute-Provence - Baptistère de Riez - 02.jpg, Baptistery of Riez Image:Frejus Cathedral Baptistery-edit 2 (sans prêtre).JPG, Baptistery of cathedral Saint-Léonce de Fréjus Image:Venasque baptistery 901.jpg, Baptistery Saint-Jean de Venasque Image:126 Musée archéologique de Grenoble.jpg,
Crypt of Saint-Laurent A crypt (from Latin ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religious relics. Originally ...
File:Jouarre Crypte Saint Paul110253.JPG, Crypt of Notre-Dame de Jouarre and sarcophagi File:Jouarre Crypte Saint Paul110250.JPG, Crypt of Notre-Dame de Jouarre File:Jouarre Crypte Saint Paul110247.JPG, Capital in the crypt of Notre-Dame de Jouarre


See also

* Migration Period art * List of Merovingian monasteries * Merovingian script


Notes


References

* European Commission: Raphaël Programme. ''The Normans, a European people: The Norman heritage, 10th – 12th century''. Architectural Heritage: Italy — the Molis
§8 Fortifications and castles: Fortifications — The opus gallicum in the fortifications.
2004. *Gilbert, Edward
"Brixworth and the English Basilica."
''The Art Bulletin'', Vol. 47, No. 1. (Mar., 1965), pp 1–20. *
Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
. ''Lives of the Holy Abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow''.


External links

*
Age of spirituality : late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century
' from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

was taken from Berlin by the Soviet military forces in 1945. {{Authority control Architectural history Architectural styles Merovingian art