The Illuminated Manuscripts of the so-called Ada group, ie. the Court School of Charlemagne

Kako sam naziv kaže, iluminirani rukopisi tzv. Ada grupe ili Dvorske škole Karla Velikoga pripadaju povijesnom razdoblju djelovanja istoimenog cara, a rad te grupe, tj. škole, smješta se u vremenski period od 781. ili 783. godine, pa do kraja trećeg desetljeća 9. stoljeća, tj. najkasnije do 827. godine. Ipak, cijela grupa rukopisa najvjerojatnije je nastala još za života Karla Velikoga, dakle prije njegove smrti 814. godine, pa je to najstarija potvrđena grupa iluminiranih rukopisa u karolinškoj umjetnosti. Drži se da je mjesto nastanka svih tih kodeksa dvorski skriptorij grada Aachena. Ada grupu trenutno čini sedam rukopisa, a to su: Godescalkov evanđelistar, Adin evanđelijar, Dagulfov psaltir, Evanđelijar iz Centule, Evanđelijar iz Lorscha, Harley evanđelijar i Evanđelijar iz Saint-Médard de Soissonsa, te jedan fragment, čija pripadnost ovoj grupi još uvijek nije sa sigurnošću utvrđena, a riječ je o fragmentu iz londonskog British Museuma s prikazom Navještenja Zahariji. Stilski izričaj grupe velikim se dijelom zasniva na linearnom karakteru osnovnog crteža te bogatim i zasićenim kolorističkim obojenjima. Razvoj stila moguće je pratiti od prvih reprezentativnih prikaza u Godescalkovu evanđelistaru, koje odlikuju izražena linearnost i strogi geometrijski oblici, do simboličnih prikaza alegorijâ u Evanđelijaru iz Saint-Médard de Soissonsa, gdje je majstor pokušao uspostaviti privid dubine prostora korištenjem linearne, a ne više obrnute, perspektive. Cijeli razvojni put stila ove škole ogleda se u spoju ranijih utjecaja i uzora, donoseći tako na prostor zapadne Europe novi izričaj nastao na temeljima starih oblikovnih formi. Iza nastanka svih tih rukopisa uvijek se može osjetiti lik samog vladara koji je imao ulogu glavne pokretačke sile, što je i dokazao svojim zalaganjem za umjetnost i kulturu toga vremena, a to se ponajbolje vidi u fenomenu tzv. karolinške renesanse.As the name implies, the illuminated manuscripts of the so-called Ada group or the Court School of Charlemagne belong to the historical period during the rule of the Emperor Charlemagne, and the work of this group, ie. the school, is set in the time frame from 781 or 783 up to the end of the third decade of the 9th century, that is, not later than 827. However, the entire group of manuscripts was probably created during Charlemagne's life, that is, before his death in 814, so it is the oldest confirmed group of illuminated manuscripts in Carolingian art. It is believed that the place of origin of all these codes was the court script of the city of Aachen. There are currently seven manuscripts belonging to the Ada group: the Godescalk Evangelistary, Ada Gospels, Dagulf Psalter, St. Riquier Gospels, Lorsch Gospels, the Harley Golden Gospels and the Gospels of Saint-Médard de Soissons, and one fragment that is not yet established to be the member of this group surely, it is a fragment from the British Museum in London depicting the Annunciation to Zechariah. The stylistic expression of the group is largely based on the linear character of the basic drawing and the rich and saturated colour tones. The development of the style can be traced from the first representative displays in the Godescalk Evangelistary, characterized by clear linearity and strict geometrical forms, down to symbolic representations of the allegories in the Gospel of Saint-Médard de Soissons, where the master tried to establish the illusion of spatial depth by using a linear, not inverted perspective. The entire developmental path of this school's style is reflected in the combination of earlier influences and models, thus bringing to Western Europe a new expression created on the basis of the old formal shapes. Behind the creation of all these manuscripts, one can always feel the character of the ruler himself, who played the role of the main driving force, which he proved by his commitment to the art and culture of the time, which is best seen in the phenomenon of the so-called Carolingian Renaissance