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Illustrations depicting 9th Century Carolingian Soldiers from
Charles the Bald in the Vivian Bible
Details of the Carolingian soldiers to the sides of Charles the Bald in the Vivian Bible, BnF MS Latin 1, folio 423
Date: Between 845 and 851
Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Latin 1, folio 423, Présentation du livre Presentation of the Book.
The First Bible of Charles the Bald (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS lat. 1) is a lavishly illuminated 9th-century manuscript Bible commissioned by Count Vivien, the lay abbot of St. Martin at Tours, and presented to Charles the Bald in 846 on a visit to the church. It is also known as the Count Vivian Bible or the Vivian Bible. It is 495 mm by 345 mm and has 423 vellum folios.
This is also understood to be the third illuminated Bible to have been made at Tours following the Bamburgh and Grandval Moutier bibles.
The Vivian Bible made in 845-846 at Tours is now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
THE COURT OF CHARLES THE BALD
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France
Charlemagne’s empire stayed intact through the reign of his son, Louis the Pious (814–840), after which it was divided among his three grandsons, Lothair, Louis “the German,” and Charles “the Bald.” Each ruled a part of the empire as its king. Charles the Bald’s realm in West Francia encompassed much of modern France. In this depiction of Charles’s court—painted ca. 843–851—he receives a Bible from Abbot Vivian and the monks of Saint-Martin de Tours. Two soldiers attend him. Their helmets consist of a shallow skull cap fitting closely to the head and flaring out above the level of ears in a wide brim, which covered the neck and was turned up in the front. It is difficult to know the purpose of this brim, unless it was purely for fashion. Unfortunately, no artifact exists to test this theory or to determine how a Carolingian helmet was constructed. The soldiers also carry spears characteristic of their time. However, their armor, although protecting the same parts of the body as the traditional Carolingian byrnie, does not appear to be mail but plate, likely bronze, and imitative of the style of Roman armor.
Source: p.237, Medieval Weapons: An Illustrated History of Their Impact eds. Kelly DeVries & Robert D. Smith (2007)
