See also: Caroline

The tiny Caroline is a writing appeared at the 8th century, towards 780 under the impulse of Charlemagne, in the palatine school held by Alcuin then it is spread since Saint Martin de Tours where the scholar withdrew himself at the end of his life. It then diffuses in all the Empire in the Codex, the Capitulaire S and various religious texts before evolving to the Gothic script at the 12th century. It presents round and regular forms which make it easier to read and write that the Minuscule mérovingienne, which ensures its rebirth the 15th century, in the form of the humanistic writing when humanistic florentins has it redécouverte and preferred with the Gothic script that they judged artificial and illegible.

Birth

Contrary to the Capital Caroline who goes down directly from the Capitale Roman, the tiny Caroline takes as a starting point the writing Half-uncial Onciale and while integrating elements of the insular writing used in Great Britain and Ireland. She was created by Alcuin, Master of the Palatine Académie, between 782 and 796, following the will of Charlemagne to standardize the regional writings and to replace the writing mérovingienne become illegible by a writing which would be easy to decipher and to write through all her Empire. After being itself widespread since Aix it Vault, it radiates starting from the Scriptorium of Saint Martin's day de Tours, one of the principal hearths of culture of the time, where Alcuin was withdrawn like Abbé. She holds her name of the emperor Charlemagne ( Carolus Magnus in Latin).

Characteristics

The tiny Caroline is homogeneous and regular, with clear, but especially readable round forms. She lays down writing rules which were not systematic before, like the separation of the words by means of a space.

The Carolingian writing presented generally less bindings that other contemporary writings whereas the Esperluette and the bindings ae, rt, St, and ct are common. The letter “D” often appears in a form Onciale, with a tilted Ascendante towards the left, while the letter “G” is similar to the modern C-W communication rather than with the uncial one. The ascending ones tend to being thickened at their ends.

At the time of the reign of Charlemagne (fine 8th century, beginning), the Caroline still presented many regional variations in the layout of the letters. The uncial form of “has” was still largely used at this period. The Question mark is used same manner as in the writing bénéventine of this time. The Caroline flowers at the 9th century when it is standardized in the countries which use it, with less variations in the layout of the letters. The modern form of the “S” instead of the S long and that of the “V” which is not written more as the letter “U” appear, and the Ascendante S, after being itself thickened, start to be pasted. After the 9th century, the Caroline declines slowly to take Gothic forms more and more : the letters become more angular and the ascending ones are on the right leaning and end in a fork.

Diffusion

The new writing was essential mainly in the zones under strong Carolingian influence, sometimes with beyond as attests it the Manuscrit of Freising at the 10th century which is the first text known in Roman writing written in Slavic language and containing the first Slovenien text in writes as a tiny Caroline.

In Swiss, the Caroline is used in tiny the Rhaetienne and Alémanique. The manuscripts written into tiny rhaetienne tend to get thinner their letters, with the manner of the insular writing, with the letters “has” and “T”, as well as the bindings as “laughed” which show a similarity with the Wisigothique and the Bénéventien. The tiny Germanic one briefly used at the beginning of the 9th century, larger and thicker, very right is compared with the tilted rhaetienne.

In Austria, Salzburg is the principal pole of the writing Caroline, while Fulda, Mainz and Würzburg radiates on the Germanie. The Germanic Minuscule is oval and very tilted towards the line. It also has uncial characteristics, like the ascending one of the letter “D” leaning on the left, and the initial vertical features of the letters “m” and “N”. In the north of the Italy, the monastery of Bobbio uses the tiny Caroline at the beginning of the 9th century. By the defect of the area of influence of Charlemagne and its successors, this writing meets the resistance of the Roman Curie; nevertheless the type Romanesca develops with Rome after the 10th century. The writing was adopted in England and Ireland only following ecclesiastical reforms in the middle of the 10th century. In Spain, a wisigothic writing traditional survives; and in the Southern Italy, a tiny bénéventine survives in the duchy lombard of Bénévent along the 13th century, although thereafter Romanesca appeared in the south of Italy.

Role in the cultural transmission

The writing Caroline allowed the conservation and the transmission of traditional works (Ovide, Cicéron, Virgile). It thus takes part in the Carolingian Renaissance. Several thousands of manuscripts of the time Carolingien not using this writing reached us. The Gothic script replaces the Caroline during the Moyen-âge. She is again used by the humanistic of the Renaissance.

See too

• writing
• Charlemagne
• Carolingian Rebirth

External bonds

• Maintenance of the Express train with Michel Parisse (August 2006) on the writing with the Middle Ages.
• bnf.fr

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