Nichole Wise, Mary Alarcon-Ramirez, Robert Redcay, Christina Villa-Chism
University of Phoenix
Introduction to Humanities: The Ancient World to Medieval Times
HUM/100
Shawmei Dee Hsieh
March 22, 2012
Carolingian Architecture
In the Carolingian period one of the most famous architectures is Aachen Cathedral also known as the Palatine Chapel and the Imperial Cathedral. The cathedrals unique design was highly influenced by German architecture and had a bit of a gothic flare to it. Symbolically the cathedral was saintly and had impressive historical meaningful value. Another symbolic meaning of the chapel was the mediation between God and common mortals. The chapel held many relics of high importance that were sacred and protected such as the cloak of the Blessed Virgin and the swaddling clothes of the infant Jesus (Sacred Destinations, 2010). The function of the Palatine chapel was to serve as an imperial church and was too based upon the Byzantine church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. The cathedrals forms and techniques had an eastern appeal with octagonal shapes, striped arches, marble floors, golden mosaics, and ambulatory are just some examples of the many features the chapel possesses. Most importantly historically and culturally, the Palatine Chapel housed an impressive collection of revered relics. Culturally the cathedral held high religious importance and is one of the oldest churches of Germany (Sacred Destinations, 2010). In the Carolingian Renaissance, Charlemagne commissioned the construction of many Benedictine monasteries or abbeys and central to each abbey was a church that served as a place of worship along with a shrine that housed many sacred relics. The architectural plan for a Benedictine monastery followed a strict geometry controlled by classical principles of symmetry and order. The
