Aachen Cathedral, Germany

The first mention of a chapel at Aachen is in 766, when King Pippen and his sons celebrated church holidays there.  Archelogy has shown that this chapel was a building of modest dimensions, and was set amidst the Roman temple grounds, next to a bath complex.  It may have been built from reclaimed Roman materials. It was on this site that Charlemagne would build his new Cathedral, the oldest part of which is comprised of an eight-sided central building, which is enclosed by an octagonal cloistered vault.  The central building is surrounded by a sixteen-sided two-story ambulatory.

Almost like a monastic community, during meal times Einhard goes on to tell us that Charlemagne would: ‘listen to public reading or some other entertainment, stories would be recited for him or the doings of the ancients told again, he took great pleasure in the books of Saint Augustian. He spoke easily and fluently and could express with great clarity whatever he had to say.  He was not content with his own mother tongue but took the trouble to learn foreign languages, he learned Latin so well that he spoke it as fluently as his own tongue, but he understood Greek better than he could speak it. He had studied theology, literature and science.’ This was highly unusual at this time, for he went above and beyond what was expected of any King or leader of the time. The fact that he was trying to be literate is striking, when he could have had others to do these things for him. We can only surmise that Charlemagne enjoyed learning, he even kept writing tablets and notebooks in his bedroom.

Before we get too caught up in the praise which Einhard lavishes upon Charlemagne, we should mention his wives - there were at least four or possibly five of them. Being an early medieval King, there were also plenty of concubines.  Charlemagne’s first wife, and the mother of his son Pippin the Hunchback, was called Himiltrud. It was said that in 770, under pressure from his mother, he discarded her in favour of one of the daughters of the Langobardian King Desiderius, for a political alliance with the region.  This upset Pope Stephan III, not because of the discarding of the wife, but because he did not favour an alliance with the Langobards. After his brother’s death, Charlemagne no longer needed the alliance and so he had his wife sent back to her father. At this time church law did not forbid the dissolution of a marriage, this did not come in until the middle of the 9th Century. 

Charlemagne’s third wife was Alemanne Hildegard, whom he married in 771, when she was thirteen. She remained his wife until her death in 783 and was the mother of Ludwig the Pious.  She was pregnant nine times during 11 years of marriage. Charlemagne seems to have been genuinely fond of her and took her with him on various war campaigns.  One document describes her as ‘the sweetest of wives’.  Charlemagne’s next wife Fastrada, was a political Queen, who presided over court in her husband’s absence.  Einhard’s writings accuse her of plotting against Charlemagne in 786 and 792, but there is little evidence for this. After Fastrada’s death, Charlemagne was with Luitgard, but it is not clear if they were married. 

Charlemagne, by the accounts of his biographers, appears to have been a good father to his children, taking his children with him when he travelled and spending time with them when he was at home. In some ways Charlemagne appears to be ahead of his time. While history is not a progression, Charlemagne does appear to have been a progressive man in some respects.  He believed in education and continued to educate himself.  He also educated all his children to a high standard, his daughters as well as his sons, which was highly unusual at the time.  

Charlemagne saw himself as the heir of Constantine, he would become the model for all future Holy Roman Emperors until the 19th Century. The title of Holy Roman Emperor was first created on Christmas Day in the year 800, when Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo III.  In return, Charlemagne pledged to protect the Papal state. During Charlemagne’s reign he extended the Franconian kingdom considerably by various wars, which strengthened his power.  We know he conquered Pavia and Verona, he fought against the Muslims in Spain where he was forced to withdraw, but not before he had plundered Pamplona and razed it to the ground.

Charlemagne captured Bavaria, he fought the Awares who had established a kingdom in the northern Balkan region and Hungary, and won a victory in 795. He fought against Saxony, in which Einhard tells us ‘No other war has been fought by the Franks which such perseverance, bitterness, and great effort as this one.’ However, the people who were living in Westphalia and Lower Saxony had a different view. They lived under no King, and most of the people were free farmers.  The nobility were primarily freemen, who took decisions about war campaigns in their people’s assemblies. The Franks thought the Saxons uncivilised, dangerous and wild. Charlemagne began a 30-year fight to convert the pagan Saxons to Christianity and instituted a policy of mass baptisms, which came with a tax of one tenth of their earnings. Charlemagne introduced draconian measures and ordered the death of up to 4,500 Saxons in 782. 

Construction work on the new Church of Saint Mary which would become the Cathedral at Aachen began in 793.  Charlemagne was unable to find marble columns for his church, and so he had them brought from Rome. Building work must have progressed at some speed, because there was enough completed for the dedication ceremony to be held in 802. Much of the Cathedral has changed since Charlemagne’s time. The mosaics that now cover the walls date from the 19th Century, and the whole of the interior has a completely different appearance to its medieval origins.  What it does still retain however, which makes it incredibly special to those interested in history, is the early medieval art that can be found in its numerous objects.

The Carolingian bronze doors were ordered by Charlemagne in the early 9th Century, and refer to examples found in ancient Rome.  The attached lion heads have since lost the rings they once held.  The writer Notker Babulus stated in the 9th Century that ‘craftsmen and artists from all countries this side of the ocean participated in the construction and decoration of Charlemagne’s church at Aachen'.  Each door weighs 2.5 tons, and it is probably fair to say that the difficulty in replacing them would have contributed to their survival. 

The Barbarossa Chandelier dates from the 12th Century. It is thought to have been donated after 1165 by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa.  The chandelier was formerly adorned with jewels and held 48 candles.  It is made of iron and gilded copper.  I do not know of an older chandelier in all of Europe.

The main altar of the Cathedral now stands again where it once stood in Charlemagne’s time.  The marble slab and the mensa (Latin for table surface), also originate from the Carolingian altar Charlemagne built. The Pala d’ Oro (Golden Table), now sits in a modern wood frame.  Made between 1000-1020, it consists of seventeen gold reliefs and may have had more at one point.  The reliefs are thought to have been an incomplete donation by Emperor Otto III in 1002, which were only completed under his successor the Holy Emperor Henry II. They have been cut along the edges at some point and are now presented in their current arrangement. 

Aachen Cathedral still contains two shrines.  The Shrine of the Virgin dates from 1220-1236, and stands in its original position.  It was built to hold the main relics of Aachen Cathedral which were obtained by Charlemagne. They have been the focal point of pilgrimage for over 1,000 years.  What I find most striking is that the guide book states: 

‘the Shrine of St. Mary contains the four great Holy Relics of Aachen nappy and loin cloth of Jesus Christ, the dress of St. Mary and the burial shroud of John the Baptist.’  

Not 'it is thought to contain’ or, 'some say it may contain', it is simply stated as a fact, without any possible doubt, as though we are still in the Middle Ages and will take the authors word for it, but maybe it’s just me who questions the authenticity of Jesus’ diaper. It should also make us consider that whatever destruction was caused by the Iconoclasm, they had a point.

The second shrine at Aachen Cathedral is that of Charlemagne himself, which was created in 1215, and moved to this spot on the 28th of January 1414, for the 600th anniversary of his death. The shrine was first located in the centre of the octagon, under the chandelier. The shrine contains the remains of Charlemagne (his bones). Scenes from his life are displayed upon the roof reliefs of the shine.  The long sides of the shrine depict eight Emperors and Kings, who are successors to Charlemagne’s office as representatives for the Apostles. 

The front side of Charlemagne’s shrine displays Charlemagne as Christ's surrogate, confirmed by the blessing of the world ruler, flanked by Pope Leo III, who is thought to have consecrated the church at Aachen, and on his other side is the Archbishop Turpin of Reims, who attempted to have Charlemagne Canonized. The shrine was commissioned in 1165 by Frederick I Barbarossa, to mark the Canonisation of Charlemagne. 

The Evangelical Pulpit was created between 1002 and 1014.  Henry II had valuable stones and treasures from his collection incorporated into the gold reliefs, including six large Egyptian ivory plates, which date from the 6th Century.  The receptacles are made of glass, and precious stones in the centre are arranged to form a cross. 

Even with all the amazing medieval art that Aachen still possesses, what might hold the most meaning is the Throne itself.  The throne of Charlemagne still stands, where all the rulers from 936 to 1531 sat for the coronation ceremony.  The antique porphyr, marble and granite columns of the upper section, were transported by Charlemagne from Rome and Ravenna.  The chair itself is made from four slabs of Parian marble, and assembled with bronze clamps.  Behind the chair is an altar. During pilgrimages, thousands of individuals would have crawled through the throne, which has completely smoothed out the inside of the columns. The throne is not only a relic, but a reliquary.  It was believed that at one point it held the Purse of Saint Stephen, which is now in Vienna.  The throne can only be seen by guided tours of the Cathedral.