The Crucified God in the Carolingian Era: Theology and Art of Christ's Passion

by Celia Chazelle

Overview

The Carolingian "renaissance" of the late eighth and ninth centuries, in what is now France, western Germany and northern Italy, transformed medieval European culture. At the same time it engendered a need to ensure that clergy, monks and laity embraced orthodox Christian doctrine. This book examines Carolingian thinking on the critical issue of the Passion. It considers how changes in the understanding of the Crucifixion are reflected in a range of contemporary writings, and the impact of those developments on a selection of artistic representations of the crucified Christ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521039451
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/16/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	356
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.90(d)

Table of Contents

List of illustrations; Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. The passion and Christological inquiry at the court of Charlemagne; 3. The crucified God in the Gellone Sacramentary and Hrabanus Maurus' In honorem sanctae crucis; 4. The crucified Christ in later Carolingian literature; 5. For whom did Christ die?: the controversy over divine predestination; 6. One-time sacrifice, daily food and drink: the controversy over the eucharist; 7. Three later Carolingian crucifixion images; 8. Conclusion; Select bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Cambridge University Press' physical presentation is wonderful, from the copious margins for notes, to the excellent footnotes, to the thirty-three clean illustrations. All scholars of this astonishing period of European history will appreciate Chazelle's wideranging scholarship, and her book is warmly recommended to academic libraries supporting graduate studies in theology, art, or history." Catholic Library World

"Chazelle's book...is an entirely new work of a mature scholar." Studies in Iconography

"...this book restores a generations-long conversation between writers and artists that has been lost to us. Valuable for what it says about the individual texts and images it studies, Crucified Gods is even more valuable for its conclusions about Carolingian intellectual culture." History

"...Without doubt the most thorough study of the passion in the Carolingian period to date." The Medieval Review

"In exposing the multiple possible meanings of [the passion] Chazelle's study is a contribution to our understanding of the Carolingian Renaissance." Journal of Church and State

"...exquisite and challenging...This is a book in the best tradition of sophisticated theological, intellectual, and iconographical analysis." The Journal of Religion

"The author makes effective and judicious use of dual training in the history of medieval church doctrine and the history of medieval art and iconography. The result is without doubt the most thorough study of the passion in the Carolingian period to date...the book is exceptionally successful...This will certainly open up new paths of inquiry for early medievalists...the book is first rate." The Medieval Review

From the Publisher