Merovingian art and architecture
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Merovingian art and architecture is the art and architecture of the Merovingian dynasty of the Franks, which lasted from the 5th century to the 8th century in present day France and Germany.
The advent of the Merovingian dynasty in Gaul (5th century) involved important changes in the field of arts. In architecture, there was no longer the desire to build robust and harmonious buildings. Sculpture became nothing more than a simple technique of ornamentation of sarcophagi, altars and ecclesiastical furniture.
On the other hand, the rise of gold work and manuscript illumination brought about a resurgance of Celtic decoration, which with Christian and other contributions, constitute the basis of Merovingian art.
The unification of the Frankish kingdom under Clovis I (465-511) and his successors, corresponded with the need for building churches, with plan-forms most probably taken from Roman basilicas. These churches, made from timber, unfortunately did not survive the fires, accidental or lit by the Normans at the time of their incursions. The description of Saint Martin, Tours (472), by bishop Gregory of Tours in the ecclesiastical History of the Franks, makes the regret of the dissapearance of this building, which was one of the most beautiful Merovingian churches.
In Aix-en-Provence, Riez, and Fréjus, three octagonal baptistries, each covered with a cupola on pillars, remain principal testimony of the influence of oriental architecture (the baptistry of Riez, in the Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence, recalls that of St. George, Izra', Syria).
Very different from the Provençal baptistries, is the baptistry of St. Jean, Poitiers (6th century), which had the form of a rectangle flanked by three apses. It is probably an altered ancient building, having undergone a number of alterations, but preserves in its decoration (marble capitals) a Merovingian character.
Among the very many crypts, due to worship of the saints at that time, only those of St. Seurin, Bordeaux; St. Laurent, Grenoble; and the abbey of Jouarre (7th century) survive.
By the 7th century, the abilities of Merovingian craftsmen must have been well renowned, because they were brought over to England to re-introduce glass making skills, and stonemasons were used to build English churches.[1]
- See also: Medieval architecture
Reference
Taken from the French Wikipedia article Art mérovingien, and [1] Bede's [The Lives of the Holy Abbots of Weremouth and Jarrow].
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