The Bust of Charlemagne ( de: ''Karlsbüste'') is a

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...

from around 1350 which contains the top part of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

's skull. The reliquary is part of the treasure kept in the

Aachen Cathedral Treasury The Aachen Cathedral Treasury (german: Aachener Domschatzkammer) is a museum of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen under the control of the cathedral chapter, which houses one of the most important collections of medieval church artworks in E ...

. Made in the Mosan region (the valley of the River

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

), long a centre of high-quality metalwork, the bust is a masterpiece both of late

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

metalwork Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...

and of figural

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. The Bust of Charlemagne, as a masterpiece of Mosan goldwork, initiated a height of

silver-gilt Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling) which has been gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually ...

naturalistic reliquary busts.

Description

Created 500 years after the death of Charlemagne, the bust is an idealized representation, the facial structure, hair style and fleur-de-lys crown of which reflect 14th-century, not 9th-century fashion style. The skin is chased with

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

and partially gilt; hair and beard are gilt. Damascened silver ''Reichsadler'', the

heraldic charge In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an '' escutcheon'' (shield). That may be a geometric design (sometimes called an '' ordinary'') or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object, building, or o ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

signifying Charlemagne's imperial dignity, decorate the tunic. The eagles are surrounded by a border of

filigree Filigree (also less commonly spelled ''filagree'', and formerly written ''filigrann'' or ''filigrene'') is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewellery and other small forms of metalwork. In jewellery, it is usually of gold and silver, ma ...

and precious stones, some of which are

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian language, Sumerian c ...

intaglios. The bust stands on an octagonal pedestal equipped with an opening on either side for a wooden carrying frame and is decorated with

fleurs-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

History

According to the Aachen tradition, the Bust of Charlemagne was a donation from Charles IV, who was crowned king in

Aachen Cathedral Aachen Cathedral (german: Aachener Dom) is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen. One of the oldest cathedrals in Europe, it was constructed by order of Emperor Charlemagne, who was buri ...

on 25 July 1349. This donation is not mentioned in documentary evidence, but it is considered probable, given Charles IV's deep veneration for Charlemagne. The reliquary is a part of the thirteenth-century French tradition of royal images and depicts an idealised portrait of the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

King, although it also has some rather individualised features. These are noticeably similar to a portrait of King

John II of France John II (french: Jean II; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which kill ...

. It is possible that the creator of the reliquary bust, a goldsmith in Aachen, had been trained in his art in France. The reliquary was carried in

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

s and placed opposite the king at coronations, who was spiritually affirmed in this way as a legitimate successor of Charlemagne. The use of ancient intaglios and cameos on the reliquary indicates the special significance of

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

to the medieval imperial ideology – both Charlemagne and Charles IV saw their rule as part of that tradition. Recent historical research holds that it is very probable that Charles IV was crowned with the same crown which is worn by the reliquary – since the

Imperial Crown An Imperial Crown is a crown used for the coronation of emperors. Design Crowns in Europe during the Middle Ages varied in design: During the Middle Ages the crowns worn by English kings had been described as both closed (or arched) and op ...

was then in the possession of Charles' rival Louis IV. It is probable that the hoop with its cross was added on the occasion of his coronation.

Sigismund of Luxemburg Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia ('' jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in ...

was crowned with the same crown in 1414. A parallel to this crown is seen in the

Crown of Saint Wenceslas The crown of Saint Wenceslas ( cs, Svatováclavská koruna, german: Wenzelskrone) is a crown forming part of the Bohemian crown jewels, made in 1346. Charles IV, king of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, had it made for his coronation, dedicating it ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, which decorated the reliquary containing the skullcap of

St. Wenceslas Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...

and was used at Charles IV's coronation as

King of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman ...

in 1347.

Symbolic significance and use

On account of its wide recognition value for the City of

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

and its ideological and artistic significance, a stylised version of the Bust of Charlemagne serves as the central element in the signet of the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen.

Bibliography

* Birgitta Falk. ''Bildnisreliquiare. Zur Entstehung und Entwicklung der metallenen Kopf-, Büsten- und Halbfigurenreliquiare im Mittelalter.'' In ''Aachener Kunstblätter'' 59, 1991–93, pp. 99–238. * Herta Lepie, Georg Minkenberg. ''Die Schatzkammer des Aachener Domes''. Brimberg, Aachen 1995, , p. 27.

References

External links