|
Back in the mid-19th century, Jakob Burckhardt wrote The Civilization
of the Renaissance in Italy, a book that so well suited an era that
came to be dominated by the Spirits of Romanticism and Capitalism that the
Middle Ages were long considered only as a superstitious, brutal, stagnant
and authoritarian contrast to the enlightened, humane, adventurous, and
free society of Renaissance Italy. Much of this view still lingers in
popular speech and thought. Historians devoted to the study of Medieval
society naturally rejected what they considered an invidious and
ill-informed comparison, and pointed out -- among other things -- that the
Italian Renaissance was hardly unique. The American medievalist, Charles
Homer Haskins, published The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century, in
which he portrayed Europe in the 1100's as a vibrant, expanding, and
tolerant society that compared favorably in most important aspects with
fourteenth-century Italy. Other historians pointed to the era when the
Carolingians ruled much of western Europe as still another
"Renaissance."
There is a good deal to support such a characterization. The Carolingian
rulers, from the Mayor of the Palace, Charles Martel (died 741) through
the Emperor Louis the Pious (died 841), expanded Frankish authority
throughout most of western Europe (Muslim Spain was a notable exception),
and brought a peace and security that marked an end to the turmoil that
had begun with the Germanic invasions of the Western Roman Empire at the
beginning of the fifth century (Alaric sacked Rome in 410). Moreover, the
Carolingians appear to have been consciously trying to restore some of the
cultural and economic greatness that they associated with the
long-vanished Roman Empire. Each of the monarchs was careful to associate
with himself one of the outstanding intellects of the period: Charles
Martel's chief minister was St. Boniface; Charlemagne (died 814) brought
in Alcuin to set up a school system, and to manage his administration;
Louis the Pious worked with Benedict of Aniane to make Benedictine
monasticism a progressive and civilizing force throughout western Europe;
and even Charles the Bald (died 877), who ruled during the disintegration
of the empire, had John Scotus Erigena to direct his administration and to
help plan his actions.
The result of this steady collaboration of political and intellectual
power permitted the Carolingians to bring about a rise in culture and
learning far greater than the political bases of their power would
otherwise have permitted. Pepin the Short, the Carolingian Mayor of the
palace (died 768), had deposed the Merovingian monarch because central
authority had declined steadily under the Merovingian kings as a result of
their almost constant civil wars. They insisted on dividing the realm at
the death equally among their heirs (the custom of gavelkind) and
civil wars were the regular result. In his deposition of the Merovingians,
Pepin gained the support and close cooperation of the Church, and this
added to the Carolingians ability to bring about reforms. But, by and
large, the Carolingians did not solve any of the basic problems of western
Europe. There was still the great differences between the Latin and
relatively urban South, with its princely bishops and need for a stable
administrative system, and the Germanic and overwhelmingly rural North,
with its missionary monks and need for well- defended frontiers. The
Carolingians strained their resources in developing a military force
capable of conquering and then holding their empire but lacked the
foresight to see the growing menace of sea-raiders such as the Vikings and
Saracens, and the power of the light cavalry of the Magyars. Most
important, however, was the fact that they had not abandoned the
institution of gavelkind that had led to the civil wars of the
Merovingian era. Charlemagne ruled alone only because of the abdication of
his brother, Carloman, and Louis the Pious obtained an undivided empire
because of the untimely death of his elder brother. The unity of the
Frankish Kingdom under its Carolingian rulers was accidental and lasted
less than a century, from the accession of the Carolingians in 751 to the
death of Louis in 841 and the division of the kingdom that followed.
Nevertheless, a great many reforms were effected during those ninety
years, and the culture of western Europe advanced significantly. Part of
this was by design. The Carolingian leadership thought of their realms as
a united "Christendom," and they consciously attempted to model themselves
on the Romans. Most of the Roman literature that has survived has done so
because Carolingian officials gathered up all of the old manuscripts they
could find and copied as many as they could. Since all books were
hand-written in those days, it was important that these copies be
readable, so the court scholars developed a simple and elegant form of
writing that has persisted to the present day in the form of our
lower-case letters. Other scholars tried actively to revive Roman literary
models, as Einhard's
Life of Charlemagne was written on the model
of Suetonius Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Charlemagne built his
palace at Aachen (on the Rhine in modern Germany) on the model of the late
imperial church in Ravenna (the last capital of the Western Roman Empire),
and even brought Roman columns from the South with which to build it. The
Latin spoke by churchmen, which had evolved without form or direction, was
given a vocabulary and grammar that allowed it to continue to evolve as
"Church Latin" to the present day.
One wonders what sort of a spirit motivated these men and where they
thought that their efforts were leading. Quite simply, they believed that
they were ushering in a new age. For centuries, people had looked about
them for signs that the predicted end of time was at hand and the Day of
Judgment was near. Most of the Carolingians had quite a different view of
things. If you read Alcuin's
Life of Saint Vedastus, carefully, you will find that Alcuin is
telling you about his world, and you will be able to catch a glimpse of
his confident and optimistic spirit.
Here are some hints to follow when reading.
1. Remember that neither Alcuin or anyone else knew much about St. Vedastus.
Alcuin had been sent an old Life of the saint by the abbot of the
monastery in which Vedastus was venerated, and Alcuin found the work badly
written and "barbarous" -- by which we might suspect that it contained a
number of more or less pagan legends about the hero. Alcuin knew a few
things, and invented much of the rest, taking much of it from the Bible.
2. Vedastus has been an unlettered hermit, and Alcuin has always stressed the
need for an educated clergy. He has to reconcile Vedastus's ignorance with
his obvious importance.
3. Vedastus played an important role in the conversion of Clovis to Catholic
Christianity rather than Arianism. This event was extremely important to
Alcuin, since it more or less marked the birth of the Franks as a special
people. Look to see what Alcuin thought had brought about this event and
for what purpose.
4. Alcuin wrote this when he was an old man and had retired from public
life (as much as he could ever really retire. He is looking back on his entire
career.
5. Alcuin had spent his life among the physical, as well as cultural,
ruins of the Roman world. The Carolingians were constantly reminded that
the Romans had created things that they could not hope to equal. Alcuin,
though, had developed an optimistic view of things and had to fit these
signs of past greatness into his own belief that a new and greater age was
dawning.
6. Big clue The key to understanding The Life of Saint Vedastus
lies in Alcuin's account of Bishop Audomer's vision while standing on the
ruined walls of Arras. Alcuin provides details intended to make his readers
(whom he thought would know the Bible as well as he) think of a certain
passage in the Bible. The passage is in the
Book of Zechariah.
|
