Herbert Schutz's The Carolingians in Central Europe, their History, Arts and Architecture. A Cultural History of Central Europe, 750-900, makes up, according to the book's back jacket, the "...fifth in a sequence of cultural histories of Central Europe from prehistoric times to the end of the Carolingian period," and follows the author's earlier monograph from 2001, Tools, Weapons and Ornaments. Germanic Material Culture in Pre-Carolingian Central Europe, 400-750. The titles of both studies are troublesome, beginning with the use of the series' designation of "central Europe." The earlier volume has a section (V.) covering the Lombards and western Slavs, and the study under review draws into discussion many manuscripts and ivories from the western part of the Carolingian empire, particularly that of Charlemagne's grandson, Charles the Bald. None of these areas--modern northern Italy, the Slavic lands, and modern north-central France--are normally regarded as "central Europe," which the books thus define too broadly when both volumes deal in essence with what is today modern Germany. The contents of the first volume break down along tribal divisions and their individual histories. Subsumed there is then the discussion of "tools, weapons, and ornaments." Regarding the second volume, one has to wonder how there can be a "cultural history" of anything Medieval without a lengthy discussion of religion or, under the "arts," of music, and in this very study architecture itself, in a strict sense, makes up only about 10% of the total, which is not what one might gather from the title. Schutz himself, in the foreword of the study under consideration, states that the "focus" is "on the contributions of the eastern parts...of the Carolingian empire" (xxiv), and that there is an "emphasis on the products of the more private cloister arts" (xxiii). Some use of these terms in the title would have been more helpful than "a cultural history."
After a sixteen-page introduction, Schutz divides the main text of his monograph into three "parts": "A. The Carolingian Realms," which presents an historical overview and comprises 118 pages of the main text, or 34% ; "B. Books, Gems and Ivories," which runs 188 pages, or 53%; and "C. Palaces and Basilicas," which makes up 46 pages, or 13%. A (too) lengthy twenty-three-page "Conclusion" reiterates the main points of the book.
In the introduction, Schutz backs most current thought that sees the Carolingian empire as "quite distinct" (11) from both the Roman Empire and the later Holy Roman Empire. Throughout the book, however, he correctly underscores both the insular and classical influences on many aspects of Carolingian culture. Another idea he returns to repeatedly in the course of his monograph is the Imperium Christianum, which takes on the function of a leitmotif. Toward the end of the introduction, he signals his predilection for the "material evidence," the "'language' of significant objects as a complementary commentary on the language of significant texts" (13). This interpretation of "significant objects," which is a continuation from several of his earlier scholarly studies, makes up the most interesting part of this monograph and might well have served as part of a subtitle better identifying the aim of the book.
In the introduction, Schutz states that he will present "a generally familiar historical background..." (12). As has been noted above, this first part, "Part A," makes up 34% of his study. Who indeed will already be familiar with this background? Certainly scholars of Carolingian studies, and, actually, most aficionados of early Medieval European culture. One has to wonder about the need for such a lengthy historical background. Schutz draws on very few primary sources--the bibliography lists only eleven primary sources from the area involved--but instead relies heavily on standard secondary literature, e.g., works by Angenendt, Bischoff, Boshof, Braunfels, Collins, Fouracre, Geary, Innes, McKitterick, Nelson, Noble, Reuter, Riché, and Wallace-Hadrill. While Schutz's overview from the late Merovingians to Ludwig the Child is straightforward and satisfactory, one can find it elsewhere and in greater detail if one desires such a review of Carolingian history. Does a study that devotes two-thirds of its pages to art and architecture actually need such a lengthy overview? Rarely in "Part A" does the author refer to the figures and plates and thus connect the history to the art. The author's fine précis in his conclusion could have served as an introduction to the history, and relevant historical facts could have been presented in "Part B" when they fit in with the artworks under discussion. Already when reading "Part A" one wonders who the author's intended audience is. The book could not serve as a textbook for early Medieval German history, even if the hefty price of E158.00 were drastically cut, and, as will be discussed below, the discussion of the "arts" in parts B and C is not analytical enough for a course in early Medieval German art. The volume seems like a work with an unclear mission.
What this reviewer, who is an aficionado, but not a scholar, of art history, found most interesting were Parts B ("Books, Gems and Ivories") and C ("Palaces and Basilicas"), for it was here that Schutz most successfully connected "the material culture...to historical developments tracing the formation of the Carolingian realm," as he notes in his foreword (xxiii). Nevertheless, Schutz's discussion of many of the magnificent art works of the Carolingians too often focuses on the merely descriptive and not enough on the analytical, and as with the first part covering Carolingian history, he often relies heavily on secondary works--e.g., Alexander, Bischoff, Braunfels, Conant, Dodwell, Hinks, Hubert, McKitterick, Nees, and Stalley--rather than his own insights. In section X, "Secular literature," one has to wonder about Schutz's vision of Charlemagne as the ideal Christian ruler under whom any "promotion of a unifying German vernacular in the realm would have been incompatible with his persuasion to establish the universal Imperium Christianum based on Latin" (215). One has a hard time imagining the Germanic warrior Charlemagne sitting in his great hall or in his baths, perhaps with a concubine or an illegitimate child or two, listening to nothing but psalms and the gospels being recited. To ignore the cloister literature that grew up after his death that criticized Charlemagne and his lifestyle would be to ignore the all-too-human, warrior side of the complex emperor. Sometimes the canvas of early Medieval Europe is covered too broadly by scholars with the brush of Christianization.
What greatly mars Schutz's monograph, however, is its frequent poor style and very sloppy editing. In his earlier book with Brill, Schutz thanked his son for his assistance with the writing. Apparently his son was very helpful, for that work certainly reads better than this one, although even there one comes across stylistic lapses. While typographical errors are not numerous overall, several serious mistakes make one wonder about the editorial staff at Brill, some of whom assisted with Schutz's first book. For example, what was supposed to be map 6, "Religious Establishments under the Carolingians," is actually in the place for map 2 and numbered thus, but is titled "Secular Locations in the Carolingian Empire." This error throws off the rest of the maps, which do not depict what their titles indicate. In addition, several plate numbers in the text are falsely identified, and some are missing; several plates are reversed; some figures are fuzzy, which apparently comes from photographing them through the museum display case. Other copyediting problems include Theodulf of Orleans sometimes being spelled with an "f" and sometimes with a "ph"; the eponymous Carolingian emperor is repeatedly called both Charles and Charlemagne; the former monastery of St. Gall is named both St. Gallen and St. Gall, sometimes even on the same page; the names of several scholars are spelled one way in the footnotes and another way in the bibliography; capitalization and the use of italics is very quirky and inconsistent--"baroque" is sometimes capitalized and sometimes not, and punctuation is haphazard; Schutz often uses sentence fragments; frequently paragraphs end abruptly with a very short sentence or two, some of which are non sequiturs, and more such lapses could be noted. Schutz's writing often reads like a literal translation from the German. For example, he frequently uses the future perfect, past perfect, and reflexive verbs as one does in German; paragraphs are sometimes one or two pages long; "19." stand for "19th"; he calls Alsace and Reichenau "the Alsace" and "the Reichenau," and writes "over Ravenna" for "via/by way of Ravenna." All of these things contribute to making Schutz's monograph very difficult reading at times. Yet, there are numerous passages that are well written, such as the conclusion, noted above. The inconsistency is baffling.
The bibliography consists of 163 entries, roughly divided between works in English and those in German; one work in French and one in Dutch are listed. The bibliography is generally up-to-date, although some more recent studies are missing. Particularly the monographs regarding literature belong to an earlier generation of scholarship. The index appears to be adequate, although a spot check revealed that several items did not have all their page numbers listed.
What could have made Schutz's book a useful monograph would have been to place an even greater focus on parts B and C. The long summation of Carolingian history should have been replaced by a brief overview, such as the one presented in the conclusion, for the discussion of the artistic works does not focus primarily on their illumination of Carolingian history. When the works do highlight history, Schutz provides interesting historical background, and it is there that the interconnection of the two is clearer. Instead of a long presentation of Carolingian history, the theme should have been solely an illumination of Carolingian culture through its art. Just what does Carolingian art say about Carolingian culture, about its history, religious practices, personalities, lifestyles, clothing, military tactics--about its Geist? As a modestly priced paperback, such a study could be an invaluable aid to university students in a variety of courses and to all those interested in the fascinating world of the Carolingians.
4