Iconography of Charlemagne

The Vita Karoli Magni written after Charlemagne's death by his servant Einhard has served ever since as a reference establishing his stature and charisma:

{{Cquote|text=Charles was large and strong, and of lofty stature, though not disproportionately tall (his height is well known to have been seven times the length of his foot); the upper part of his head was round, his eyes very large and animated, nose a little long, hair fair, and face laughing and merry. Thus his appearance was always stately and dignified, whether he was standing or sitting; although his neck was thick and somewhat short, and his belly rather prominent; but the symmetry of the rest of his body concealed these defects. His gait was firm, his whole carriage manly, and his voice clear, but not so strong as his size led one to expect.|author=Einhard|title=The Life of Charlemagne, translated by Samuel Epes Turner (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1880)}}

Contemporaneous depictions of Charlemagne and related rulers suggest he sported a mustache, but not a beard.{{cite web|website=Leiden Medievalists Blog |url=https://leidenmedievalistsblog.nl/articles/beards-and-barbarians-male-hair-and-royal-identity-in-the-early-medieval-west |title=Beards and Barbarians: Hair and identity in the Early Medieval West |author=Jip Barreveld |date=21 February 2020}} The motif of Charlemagne's beard appears in 11th-century chansons de geste and especially the Song of Roland, which has a verse describing Charlemagne: "Blanche ad la barbe et tut flurit le chef", which translates as "his beard is white, and all his hair is greying."{{cite web|website=The University of Texas at Austin Linguistic Research Center |url=https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/ofrol/10 |title=Old French Online - Lesson 1 |author1=Brigitte L.M. Bauer |author2=Jonathan Slocum}} The expression "l'empereur à la barbe fleurie" came to refer specifically to Charlemagne in French, and was further popularized by Victor Hugo in a 1846 poem of la Légende des siècles:

{{poemquote|text=

Charlemagne, empereur à la barbe fleurie,

Revient d'Espagne ; il a le cœur triste, il s'écrie :

« Roncevaux ! Roncevaux ! ô traître Ganelon ! »

Car son neveu Roland est mort dans ce vallon

Avec les douze pairs et toute son armée.

|author=Victor Hugo|title="Aymerillot"|book-title=La Légende des Siècles}}

The epithet "fleuri" in this context appears to have meant "greyish-white", alluding to Charlemagne's old age{{cite web|website=Matière de France |author=Rémi Usseil |url=http://matieredefrance.blogspot.com/2017/05/lempereur-la-barbe-fleurie.html |title=L'empereur à la barbe fleurie |date=21 May 2017}} - even though he was actually under 40 at the time of the historical battle of Roncevaux Pass. An alternative view is that the poem refers to Charlemagne's beard being kept unshaven during the arduous military campaign.{{cite web|website=Le Dauphiné libéré |url=https://www.ledauphine.com/culture-loisirs/2020/12/04/c-est-arrive-le-4-decembre-771-charlemagne-devient-l-unique-souverain-du-royaume-franc |title=C'est arrivé le 4 décembre 771 : Charlemagne devient l'unique souverain du royaume Franc |date=4 December 2020}}

In any case, the beard has remained a near-constant attribute of Charlemagne since the High Middle Ages, and a long white beard associated with his old age. A rare exception is his depiction in the fresco of the Coronation of Charlemagne in the Raphael Rooms of the Apostolic Palace, since this was made a likeness of Francis I of France for political reasons, and Francis was beardless at the time.{{cite book|author=Joseph Archer Crowe |title=Raphael: His Life and Works. With Particular Reference to Recently Discovered Records, and an Exhaustive Study of Extant Drawings and Pictures Volume 2 (1882-85) |year=2009 |publisher=Cornell University Library |location=Ithaca, NY}} Some 20th- or 21st-century depictions of Charlemagne also show him beardless for historical accuracy.

Charlemagne has been generally depicted in military or ceremonial garb, with the style varying across time - typically, contemporary or at least recent in the Middle Ages and early modern period; ancient Roman in the 18th century; and aiming at historicist accuracy in the 19th century. He is often shown carrying, in his left hand, a globus cruciger, and in his right hand, either a sword (sometimes modeled on his attributed Joyeuse) or a scepter; from the 17th century the latter has tended, at least in France, to be the scepter of Charles V then known as "scepter of Charlemagne". In images where Charlemagne is crowned, the crown is in some instances the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, as in Albrecht Dürer's seminal portrait now in Nuremberg, or the coronation crown of the kings of France also known as Crown of Charlemagne, as in the Mass of Saint Giles now in London. In many other depictions, however, the crown does not refer to a specific existing object.

File:Manfred III of Saluzzo as Charlemagne.jpg, 1420s]]

In the Holy Roman Empire, the Imperial eagle (Reichsadler) emblem was attributed retroactively to Charlemagne, at the latest at the time of his reburial under Emperor Frederick II in 1215. Meanwhile, following the marriage of Isabella of Hainault with Philip II of France in 1180, the French Capetian dynasty promoted its own claims to the memory and legacy of Charlemagne, including by linking him to the fleur-de-lis.

The heraldic combination of the two shields, by either dimidiation (i.e. with only a half-Reichsadler on the "German" side) or more rarely impalement (full Reichsadler), is first attested in a poem of Ogier's Youth (Les Enfances Ogier) by Adenes Le Roi in the last third of the 13th century. This adaptation became accepted in France and in the Empire as well, thanks to the fleur-de-lis's symbolic and mythical association not only with the Capetians but also with their Frankish predecessors.

In line with the prevailing conventions of precedence among European monarchies, French depictions generally placed the Imperial eagle on the more honorable left-hand half of the shield (worn on the right-hand side when displayed on Charlemagne's coat), as was naturally done in the Empire.{{cite web|website=University of Bristol's blog network |title=The Attributed Arms of Charlemagne, 1200–1500 |url=https://cpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.bristol.ac.uk/dist/c/332/files/2016/01/Ailes-2016-Attributed-Arms-of-Charlemagne-1.pdf |author=Adrian Ailes |date=January 2016}}

Charlemagne was represented from medieval times in public settings including churches and civic landmarks. These include, among numerous others, the stucco statue of Charlemagne inside Saint John Abbey, Müstair (Switzerland), of uncertain date between the 9th and 12th centuries; a statue above the entrance of Osnabrück Town Hall; and a prominent 15th-century statue on one of the towers of the Grossmünster in Zürich (the original is now in the crypt, and a copy by Otto Münch was replaced on the tower in 1933).{{cite web|website=Statues - Hither & Thither |url=https://statues.vanderkrogt.net/object.php?webpage=ST&record=chzh006 |title=Karl der Grosse / Charlemagne |author=René & Peter van der Krogt}}

From the early modern era, several free-standing statues of Charlemagne were created for prominent public locations for various political purposes, including:

• The statue of Charlemagne in Aachen (Peter and Frans von Trier, 1620); the original is now in the {{ill|Centre Charlemagne|de}} museum, and a 1969 copy replaced on the Marktplatz in front of Aachen Town Hall
• The equestrian statue of Charlemagne under the portico of St. Peter's Basilica (Agostino Cornacchini, 1725)
• The statue of Charlemagne on the Alte Brücke in Frankfurt ({{ill|Johann Nepomuk Zwerger|de}}, 1843); the original is now at the Historical Museum, and a copy was re-erected on the bridge in 2016{{cite web|website=Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Frankfurt |url=https://www.kunst-im-oeffentlichen-raum-frankfurt.de/de/page154.html?id=432 |title=Karl der Große |author=Hanna Neumann |date=2017}}
• The statue of Charlemagne in Liège (Louis Jehotte, 1867)
• The bronze group of Charlemagne et ses Leudes in front of Notre-Dame de Paris (Louis and Charles Rochet, 1878)
• The equestrian statue of Charlemagne on Keizer Karelplein in Nijmegen ({{ill|Albert Termote|nl}}, 1960){{cite web|website=Equestrian Statues |author=Kees van Tilburg |title=Charles the Great |date=11 January 2017 |url=https://equestrianstatue.org/charles-the-great-3/}}{{cite web|website=De Oversteek |title=Het ruiterstandbeeld van Karel de Grote op het Keizer Karelplein |author=Feico Hoekstra |date=14 June 2014 |url=https://247driveby.tumblr.com/post/89642710463/het-ruiterstandbeeld-van-karel-de-grote-op-het-keizer}}

{{clear}}

File:Charlemagne denier Mayence 812 814.jpg|Denier of Charlemagne, early 810s

File:Charlemagne Louvre OA8260 n1.jpg|so-called Equestrian statuette of Charlemagne, 9th century, Louvre

File:Statue reliquaire de Sainte Foy de Conques (cropped).jpg|Thomas Hoving has theorized that the life-size golden face of the reliquary of Saint Faith at Conques, France, is a portrait or death mask of Charlemagne.{{Cite magazine|magazine=Harper's Magazine|title=Letters, May 2009|last=Hoving|first=Thomas|author-link=Thomas Hoving|date=May 2009|access-date=28 December 2016|url=http://harpers.org/archive/2009/05/0082469|quote=There are, in fact, two portraits of Charlemagne. One is the little bronze in the Louvre showing the emperor on a horse. The other, life-size and perhaps a death mask, is the golden face on the reliquary of Sainte-Foy in the treasury of Conques. The latter is usually called, inaccurately, a late Roman head. But traces of the distinctive crown of Charlemagne are easily seen when the head is removed from the body of the reliquary. During the preparation of the Louvre show Les Fastes du Gothique in the 1960s, I had the pleasure of taking Sainte-Foy apart and spotted the tell-tale details.}}|alt=Photograph of the upper part of a golden statue in a vitrine. The head is out of proportion to the body. It has short hair, a crown and no hair around the mouth. The eyes are of another material, white and dark. The hands of the statue hold two real white flowers.

File:Karl der Grosse - Pippin von Italien.jpg|Charlemagne and Pepin of Italy, 10th century

File:Benediktinerkloster St. Johann Skulptur.JPG|Stucco sculpture of Charlemagne, Saint John Abbey, Müstair, 10th–12th century

File:StrasbourgCath BasCoteN 09.JPG|Charlemagne on one of the Kaiserfenster in Strasbourg Cathedral, late 12th century

File:Chartres - Vie de Charlemagne.JPG|Scenes from the life of Charlemagne, {{ill|Vitrail de Charlemagne|fr}} at Chartres Cathedral, c. 1225

File:Chartres-007 A4.jpg|Charlemagne and Constantine, on the {{ill|Vitrail de Charlemagne|fr}}

File:9 gute Helden im Hansasaal des Rathauses Köln - 1. von links-6251.jpg|Charlemagne as one of the Nine Worthies, Cologne City Hall, 13th century

File:Saint Charlemagne par Jaume Cascalls 1345.jpg|Saint Charlemagne by Jaume Cascalls, 1345, Girona Cathedral

File:Protome Caroli Magni (bkg black).jpg|Bust of Charlemagne, 1349, Aachen Cathedral Treasury

File:Sceptre de Charles V.jpg|Charlemagne on the Scepter of Charles V, 1370s, Louvre

File:Charlemagne et Louis le Pieux.jpg|Charlemagne crowning Louis the Pious, Grandes Chroniques de France, 14th–15th centuries

File:Charlemagne tapestry.JPG|Charlemagne tapestry, 15th century, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon

File:Maestro di dreux budé, crocifissione del parlamento di parigi, 1450 ca. 05.JPG|Saint Charlemagne in the {{ill|Crucifixion of the Parlement de Paris|fr|La Crucifixion du Parlement de Paris}}, mid-15th century, Louvre

File:Charlemagne grisaille 1450-1460.jpg|Charlemagne in the book of hours of Philip the Good, by {{ill|Jean Le Tavernier|fr}}, 1450s

File:Sacre de Charlemagne.jpg|Coronation of Charlemagne in the Grandes Chroniques de France, by Jean Fouquet, 1450s

File:Construction d Aix-la-Chapelle.jpg|Charlemagne surveying the works of the Palatine Chapel, Aachen, by Jean Fouquet, 1450s

File:Master of Moulins - Meeting at the Golden Gate - WGA14470.jpg|Charlemagne (right) by Jean Hey, 1488, National Gallery

File:Vitrail Cathédrale de Moulins 160609 34.jpg|Charlemagne on the Window of the Dukes at Moulins Cathedral, late 15th century

File:Karl der grosse.jpg|Charlemagne statue, Grossmünster at Zürich, late 15th century (1933 copy by Otto Münch)

File:7421 - Zürich - Grossmünster Charlemagne.JPG|Charlemagne statue, Grossmünster at Zürich (original)

File:Charlemagne and Pope Adrian I.jpg|Charlemagne rescuing Pope Adrian I, by Antoine Vérard, 1493

File:Keizer Karel de Grote Carolus magnus (titel op object) Liber Chronicarum (serietitel), RP-P-2016-49-47-2.jpg|Charlemagne on a print from the Nuremberg workshop of Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff, 1493

File:Nuremberg chronicles - Genealogy of Charlemagne (CLXXXVIIr).jpg|Charlemagne (lower left corner) and his descendants, Nuremberg Chronicle, late 15th century

File:Heures de Charles VIII 013V Roi Charles VIII en Louis XII.jpg|Charlemagne protecting the king of France, by the {{ill|Master of Jacques de Besançon|fr|Maître de Jacques de Besançon}}, c. 1500, {{ill|Livre d'heures de Charles VIII|fr}}

File:Maestro di st. giles, messa di sant'egidio, 1500 ca. 01.jpg|Charlemagne (left) attending mass, by the Master of Saint Giles, c. 1500, National Gallery

File:Polyptyque d'Anchin - L'abbé Coguin, donateur - detail.jpg|Charlemagne on the {{ill|Polyptyque d'Anchin|fr}} by Jehan Bellegambe, c. 1510, Musée de la Chartreuse de Douai

File:Raphael Charlemagne.jpg|The Coronation of Charlemagne, by Raphael's workshop, 1510s, Raphael Rooms

File:Karel de Grote, Godfried IV van Bouillon en Koning Arthur als drie christelijke helden Drei Gvt Cristen (titel op object) Helden en Heldinnen (serietitel), RP-P-OB-4360.jpg|The Three Christian Worthies: Charlemagne, King Arthur and Godfrey of Bouillon, by Hans Burgkmair, 1516–19

File:Einhard 1521.jpg|Charlemagne and Charles V, illustration of the Vita Karoli Magni by Anton Woensam, 1521

File:Kathedraal van Sint-Michiel en Sint-Goedele 29-01-2019 17-50-23.jpg|Charlemagne protecting Charles V, window by Jan Haeck after Bernard van Orley, 1538, Brussels Cathedral

File:Charlemagne (1552).jpg|Charlemagne portrait in Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia, c. 1550

File:Karel de Grote met wapenschild in rolwerk omlijsting Negen Besten (serietitel), RP-P-OB-8607.jpg|Charlemagne as one of the Nine Worthies by Virgil Solis, mid-16th century

File:Taddeo zuccari, Carlo Magno conferma la donazione di Ravenna alla Chiesa, 1564-65, 02.jpg|Charlemagne confirms the Donation of Pepin, Sala Regia (Vatican), by Taddeo Zuccari, 1564–65

File:Charlemagne. Carolus Magnus.jpg|Charlemagne by Giovanni Battista de'Cavalieri, 1583

File:Carolus Magnus (BM 1923,0129.8).jpg|Charlemagne as one of the Nine Worthies by Nicolaes de Bruyn, 1594

File:Charles Magnus.jpg|Charlemagne in Adrianus Barlandus's Chronicles of the Dukes of Brabant, 1603

File:Rathaus Lüneburg skillshare 2010 Apostoloff 011.JPG|Charlemagne on the Town Hall of Lüneburg, by Hans Schröder, c. 1605

File:La Madone de Vic.jpg|Charlemagne on the Madonna of Vic by Frans Pourbus the Younger, 1617, Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs, Paris

File:Karel de Grote, bedenker van het potestaat Carolus Magnus. Author Potestatum. Libertatis et Insignium modernorum Frisiae dator (titel op object) Koningen en Potestaten van Friesland (serietitel) Frisia, sev, de Viris , RP-P-OB-50.637.jpg|Charlemagne legislator of Frisia, by Pieter Feddes van Harlingen, 1618–20

File:AachenKarlDerGrosseStatue.jpg|Statue of Charlemagne by Peter and Frans von Trier, 1620, Aachen

File:Karel de Grote als een van de negen helden De negen helden (serietitel), RP-P-1911-470.jpg|Charlemagne as one of the Nine Worthies by Willem van de Passe, London, 1621–36

File:Icones imperatorvm romanorvm, ex priscis numismatibus ad viuum delineatae, and breui narratione historicâ (1645) (14560064878).jpg|Charlemagne in Icones Imperatorum Romanorum (1645), by Cornelis Galle the Elder after Hendrick Goltzius

File:St. Charlemagne and St. Louis MET DP836256.jpg|Saint Charlemagne and Saint Louis, by {{ill|Grégoire Huret|fr}}, mid-17th century

File:Karel de Grote en Willem I van Oranje Titelpagina voor Christiaan Schotanus, De Geschiedenissen Kerckelyck ende Wereldtlyck van Friesland Oost ende West, 1658, RP-P-1982-1196.jpg|Charlemagne and William the Silent, frontispiece of Christian Schotanus's History of Frisia, 1658

File:Kremsmünster Stift - Brückentor 4 Karl der Große.jpg|Charlemagne at Kremsmünster Abbey, by Johann Peter Spaz, 1667

File:Kolej jezuitská (Kutná Hora) - sochy na terase 12.JPG|Charlemagne at the {{ill|Jesuit college of Kutná Hora|cs|Jezuitská kolej (Kutná Hora)}}, remodeling by {{ill|Giovanni Domenico Orsi de Orsini|it}}, 1670s

File:Paris - Dôme des invalides - Statue encadrant la porte - 002.jpg|Charlemagne at the Dôme des Invalides in Paris, by Antoine Coysevox, 1706

File:Charlemagne Agostino Cornacchini Vatican 2.jpg|Statue of Charlemagne at St. Peter's Basilica, by Agostino Cornacchini, 1725

File:Carlo Magno on the facade of the church of St. Louis of France, front view.jpg|Charlemagne on the façade of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, by Pierre de l'Estache, c. 1730

File:WÜ MarienBrücke KKarlGroße.jpg|Charlemagne on the {{ill|Alte Mainbrücke|de}} in Würzburg, c. 1730

File:Waldo of Reichenau and Charlemagne.jpg|Charlemagne receives relics from Waldo of Reichenau, {{ill|Münster Reichenau-Mittelzell|de|Münster St. Maria und Markus (Reichenau-Mittelzell)}}, 18th century

File:Head of Charlemagne by Antoine-Jean Gros.jpg|Study of Charlemagne's head for the Panthéon frescoes, by Antoine-Jean Gros, c. 1812

File:Charlemagne et Alcuin.jpg|Charlemagne and Alcuin, by Jean-Victor Schnetz, 1830, Louvre

File:Charlemagne, empereur d'Occident, reçoit la soumission de Wittekind, 785, por Ary Scheffer.jpg|Charlemagne submitting Widukind at Paderborn, Galerie des Batailles of the Palace of Versailles, by Ary Scheffer, 1835

File:Louis-Félix Amiel - Charlemagne empereur d'Occident (742-814).jpg|Charlemagne by Louis-Félix Amiel, late 1830s, Musée de l'Histoire de France (Versailles)

File:Karl der Grosse Frankfurt Historisches Museum.jpg|Statue of Charlemagne by {{ill|Johann Nepomuk Zwerger|de}}, 1843, Historical Museum, Frankfurt

File:Alfred Rethel - The Battle of Cordoba - Google Art Project.jpg|Charlemagne fighting the Saracens, by Alfred Rethel, 1849, Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf

File:Kaisersaal Frankfurt am Main, Nr. 01 - Karl der Große, (Philipp Veit).png|Charlemagne in the Kaisersaal of the Römer in Frankfurt, by Philipp Veit, 1852

File:Josef Kehren Kroenung Karl der Grosse.jpg|Coronation of Charlemagne at Aachen Town Hall, by {{ill|Joseph Kehren|de}}, 1860

File:Kaulbach Die Kaiserkrönung Karls des Großen.jpg|Coronation of Charlemagne at the Maximilianeum in Munich, by Friedrich Kaulbach, 1861

File:Charlemagne-liege-2.jpg|Statue of Charlemagne in Liège, by Louis Jehotte, 1867

File:Karel de Grote senaat.jpg|Charlemagne in the Belgian Senate Chamber, by Louis Gallait, 1870s

File:Charlemagne Statue - panoramio.jpg|Charlemagne et ses Leudes in Paris, by Louis and Charles Rochet, 1878

File:Statue Karls des Großen von Engelbert Peiffer vor der Sankt-Ansgar-Kirche in Hamburg-Neustadt.jpg|Statue of Charlemagne in Hamburg, by {{ill|Engelbert Peiffer|de}}, 1889

File:H. Grobet - Charlemagne visitant une école.jpg|"Charlemagne visits a school", French schoolbook illustration by E. Creté after Henri Grobet, 1902

File:Gare de Metz - portail de Charlemagne.JPG|Charlemagne Window in Metz-Ville station, 1908

File:Charlemagne by Aleksey Radakov 1911.jpg|Charlemagne by {{ill|Alexei Radakov|ru|Радаков, Алексей Александрович}}, 1911

File:Lavisse elementaire 018 charlemagne fermiers.jpg|Charlemagne and his farmers, illustration of Ernest Lavisse's Histoire de France, 1913

File:Jupille - Lavoir Charlemagne 3.jpg|Charlemagne in the {{ill|Lavoir (Jupille-sur-Meuse){{!}}lavoir|nl|Lavoir (Jupille-sur-Meuse)}} of Jupille-sur-Meuse, by {{ill|Oscar Berchmans|fr}}, 1924

File:Verdun 4juni2006 043.jpg|Charlemagne on top of the Monument to the victory at Verdun, by Jean Boucher, 1929

File:Switzerland Zürich Grossmünster Charlemagne Münch 1935.jpg|Charlemagne on the bronze door of the Grossmünster at Zürich, by Otto Münch, 1935

File:Fr. Zone Rheinland-Pfalz 1948 29 Karl der Große.jpg|Charlemagne stamp, Germany, 1948

File:Nijmegen - Beeld van keizer Karel de Grote door Albert Termote op het Keizer Karelplein 2.jpg|Charlemagne statue in Nijmegen, by {{ill|Albert Termote|nl}}, 1960

File:Karl der Große (Volker Neuhoff) 0977.jpg|Statue of Charlemagne in Nienburg, Lower Saxony, by Volker Neuhoff, 1991

File:Estàtua d'Homenatge a Carlemany.JPG|Monument to Charlemagne in Canillo, Andorra, by Domènec Fita i Molat, 2006

File:MeinKarl2014 Aachen 8349.jpg|Mein Karl 2014 public installation on the Katschhof at Aachen, by Ottmar Hörl, 2014

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Category:Cultural depictions of Charlemagne

Charlemagne