Charlemagne was a very successful king and ruler in the 8th century. Known for being humble and kind, he was as revered then as he is now. At the beginning of the 800s, he constructed a palace in Aachen, Germany, which he used as his sort of "home base" between his military campaigns. He had many guests come and visit him there, and forged many frienships there. In the cathedral of his palace, he had a throne erected for himself.
It is unadorned, and very simple. However, the marble slabs used for the seat itself, and the steps, were brought directly from the holy city of Jerusalem. The throne is set up on four pillars, which allowed room for pilgrims to crawl under the Frankish king and Roman emperor on their knees. It sounds strange, but was done as an act of humility. And as Charlemagne was also viewed by some as a saint, this would have been an honor.
The throne was built in the western end of the chapel, so that the king's gaze might fall to the east, where the Last Judgment would come from. It has not changed positions since it was first built, and has been used to crown at least 30 kings from 936 to 1531.
Work Cited:
Bekker, Henk. "See the Throne of Charlemagne (Karlsthron) in Aachen Cathedral." European Traveler, 2014. Web. Retrieved 30 September, 2017. https://www.european-traveler.com/germany/see-throne-shrine-charlemagne-aachen-cathedral/
"Throne of Charlemagne." Wikipedia, 2017. Web. Retrieved 30 September, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throne_of_Charlemagne
I can't help but wonder why his throne is so plain, when you can see the walls behind him are decorated. (Unless that was some kind of renovation). It's amazing the throne is still standing and we can see where Charlemagne once sat, though I can't imagine he sat there for too long, it looks terribly uncomfortable!
ReplyDeleteJust like Alyse, I also have the same question of why it is so simple for such a renowned king. It seems like the throne should at least have more of a view. He didn't really live the simplistic lifestyle so its interesting to wonder why this throne is so bland.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don’t understand is why he has people crawl under him in a sign of humility, when he is known as a Saint and should show an examplary amount of humility himself!
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify--Charlemagne is not a recognized saint in the Catholic church today. He was canonized by Frederick Barbarossa and his pope (later considered an anti-pope). This was in 1165. Charlemagne may have seen himself as religious, but not saintly. Einhard might have tried to create him as saintly though!
ReplyDeleteRe the throne, why mess with perfection? Why take something from Jesus's time and destroy it? The throne is less than bland because it was seen to be from Jesus' time! It was "authentic"!