A Saving Science
Capturing the Heavens in Carolingian Manuscripts
Seiten
2016
Pennsylvania State University Press (Verlag)
978-0-271-07126-8 (ISBN)
Pennsylvania State University Press (Verlag)
978-0-271-07126-8 (ISBN)
Focusing on the Handbook of 809, explores how the liberal arts, and in particular astronomy, experienced a revival in the ninth-century court of Charlemagne. Documents the utility of the constellations for prelates who needed to fix the floating feast of Easter and reckon time.
In A Saving Science, Eric Ramírez-Weaver explores the significance of early medieval astronomy in the Frankish empire, using as his lens an astronomical masterpiece, the deluxe manuscript of the Handbook of 809, painted in roughly 830 for Bishop Drogo of Metz, one of Charlemagne’s sons. Created in an age in which careful study of the heavens served a liturgical purpose—to reckon Christian feast days and seasons accurately and thus reflect a “heavenly” order—the diagrams of celestial bodies in the Handbook of 809 are extraordinary signifiers of the intersection of Christian art and classical astronomy.
Ramírez-Weaver shows how, by studying this lavishly painted and carefully executed manuscript, we gain a unique understanding of early medieval astronomy and its cultural significance. In a time when the Frankish church sought to renew society through education, the Handbook of 809 presented a model in which study aided the spiritual reform of the cleric’s soul, and, by extension, enabled the spiritual care of his community.
An exciting new interpretation of Frankish painting, A Saving Science shows that constellations in books such as Drogo’s were not simple copies for posterity’s sake, but functional tools in the service of the rejuvenation of a creative Carolingian culture.
In A Saving Science, Eric Ramírez-Weaver explores the significance of early medieval astronomy in the Frankish empire, using as his lens an astronomical masterpiece, the deluxe manuscript of the Handbook of 809, painted in roughly 830 for Bishop Drogo of Metz, one of Charlemagne’s sons. Created in an age in which careful study of the heavens served a liturgical purpose—to reckon Christian feast days and seasons accurately and thus reflect a “heavenly” order—the diagrams of celestial bodies in the Handbook of 809 are extraordinary signifiers of the intersection of Christian art and classical astronomy.
Ramírez-Weaver shows how, by studying this lavishly painted and carefully executed manuscript, we gain a unique understanding of early medieval astronomy and its cultural significance. In a time when the Frankish church sought to renew society through education, the Handbook of 809 presented a model in which study aided the spiritual reform of the cleric’s soul, and, by extension, enabled the spiritual care of his community.
An exciting new interpretation of Frankish painting, A Saving Science shows that constellations in books such as Drogo’s were not simple copies for posterity’s sake, but functional tools in the service of the rejuvenation of a creative Carolingian culture.
Eric M. Ramírez-Weaver is Associate Professor of Medieval Art History at the University of Virginia.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Drogo and the Handbook of 809
Part One: Unveiling the Heavens over Carolingian Skies
Chapter One: Illuminating Science: Creating the Handbook of 809
Chapter Two: Drogo’s Copy of the Handbook of 809: A Simulacrum of Celestial Order
Part Two: Representing the Cosmos for Carolingian Hearts and Minds
Chapter Three: Revealing Astronomy: Itinerant Painters and Shifting Signs
Chapter Four: Restoring What Was Lost: Astronomy and Natural Astrology in the Carolingian Era
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Erscheinungsdatum | 11.02.2017 |
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Zusatzinfo | 35 Halftones, color; 75 Halftones, black and white |
Verlagsort | University Park |
Sprache | englisch |
Maße | 229 x 254 mm |
Gewicht | 1610 g |
Themenwelt | Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Kunstgeschichte / Kunststile |
Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Freizeit / Hobby ► Kreatives Gestalten | |
Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Mittelalter | |
Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte | |
Naturwissenschaften | |
ISBN-10 | 0-271-07126-5 / 0271071265 |
ISBN-13 | 978-0-271-07126-8 / 9780271071268 |
Zustand | Neuware |
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Buch | Hardcover (2023)
C.H.Beck (Verlag)
CHF 53,20