The Carolingian Renaissance, c. 790–c. 900

Charlemagne inaugurated a revival of learning designed to enhance the glory of the kings, educate their officials, and purify the faith. Like the renaissances of the Byzantine and Islamic worlds, the Carolingian renaissance resuscitated the learning of the past. Scholars studied Roman imperial writers such as Suetonius and Virgil, read and commented on the works of the church fathers, and worked to establish complete and accurate texts of everything they read and prized.

The English scholar Alcuin (c. 732–804), a member of the circle of scholars whom Charlemagne recruited to form a center of study, brought with him the traditions of Anglo-Saxon scholarship that had been developed by men such as Benedict Biscop and Bede. Invited to Aachen, Alcuin became Charlemagne’s chief adviser, writing letters on the king’s behalf, counseling him on royal policy, and tutoring the king’s household. He also prepared an improved edition of the Vulgate, the Latin Bible used by the clergy in all church services.

Art, like scholarship, served Carolingian political and religious goals. Carolingian artists turned to models from Italy and Byzantium (perhaps some refugees from Byzantine iconoclasm joined them) to illustrate Bibles (see the illustration at right), Psalters, scientific treatises, and literary manuscripts.

Many of the achievements of the Carolingian renaissance endured even after the dynasty itself had faded to a memory. The work of locating, understanding, and transmitting models of the past continued in a number of monastic schools. In the twelfth century, scholars would build on the foundations laid by the Carolingian renaissance. The very print of this textbook depends on one achievement of the period: modern typefaces are based on the clear and beautiful letter forms, called Caroline minuscule, invented in the ninth century to standardize manuscript handwriting.