Date: 1080 Place of Production: Merseburg, Germany Description: Bronze tomb effigy embedded in the floor of Merseburg Cathedral. Rudolf’s tomb is one of the first known in the medieval west to be marked with a sculpted effigy in bronze, which was originally covered in gilding. Held at: Merseburg Cathedral Images licensed under CC BY 2.5. Image by Michail Jungierek.
Date: c. 970s Place of Production: Cologne, Germany Description: Oak cross with crucified Christ, made for Archbishop Gero of Cologne. The sculpture is carved, painted and partially gilded. The halo and cross are original, but the surround was a later 17th-century Baroque addition. Standing over six feet tall, it is one of the earliest monumental…
Date: c. 947 Place of Production: Germany Description: Edith was originally buried in the monastery of St Maurice in Magdeburg, which was converted into Magdeburg Cathedral. In 2008, the 16th-century stone sarcophagus in Magdeburg Cathedral was opened and a lead coffin found with Edith’s body inside. Held at: Magdeburg Cathedral Image in Public Domain. For more, see H. Meller, W.Schenkluhn,…
When it formed the heart of the Carolingian marca Hispania just after 800, Catalonia had spent over 200 years under Visigothic rule, followed by 80 years under Arab dominion. With Catalonia’s new position as a frontier region, the counts of Barcelona attained a higher degree of political independence from France in the process of the Carolingian…
Later this month, heads of state throughout the world will deliver their Christmas messages, which tend to stress reconciliation and unity, but can also, more rarely, contain words of admonition and even invective. Although the modern ‘Christmas message’ given by heads of state on national television is a relatively recent invention, the feast has been…
Last week I made my first visit to the current British Library exhibition, Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: Art, Word, War. My first, but I hope not my last: it brings together such a wealth of written material, alongside other artefacts, that it’s hard to maintain proper scholarly decorum when faced with so many manuscripts, familiar from scholarship,…
Organisers: Prof. Dr. Matthias M. Tischler (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona/ICREA), Mn. Robert Baró Cabrera (Ateneu Universitati Sant Pacià) and Dr. Marc Sureda i Jubany (Museu Episcopal de Vic) Date, Place: 8.–10. 11. 2018, Barcelona, Bellaterra and Vic Report by Ekaterina Novokhatko, Institut d’Estudis Medievals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, e-mail: Ekaterina.Novokhatko@uab.cat Questions on European identity and…
In this research blog, we have discussed several forms of using and not using the past. Now, I wish to relate to a type of past we have not yet come across: the past that does not appear to make sense. Instead of looking at the incentives authors had to communicate a certain message about…
As part of the 1000th anniversary celebrations of the accession of Oliba to the Bishopric of Osona (Vic), our Barcelona PI, Matthias M. Tischler has organised an international congress to reflect on Oliba’s life, his historical context and his impact on the Catalan church. Papers will be delivered from a range of international scholars, including our…
This blog post is a translation of a text from the 1080s. It’s a little late for the After Empire project, but an important witness to the changes which mark the end of its remit, and to the transformation of the Carolingian and classical Roman pasts in central-medieval memory. It’s a follow-up to my previous…
