Carolingian art comes from the Frankish Empire in the period of roughly 120 years from about 780 to 900 - during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs - popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The art was produced by and for the court circle and a group of important monasteries under Imperial patronage. The art was produced in several centres in what are now France, Germany, Austria, northern Italy and the Low Countries, and received considerable influence, via continental mission centres, from the Insular art of the British Isles, as well as a number of Byzantine artists who appear to have been resident in Carolingian centres.

Part of Charlemagne's promotion of education and book learning included the importation of the world's most distinguished scholars into his court. One of these was Alcuin (c. 735-804), who had been born at York in England. In 796 he became abbot of St. Martin's Abbey, and set in motion there a campaign of manuscript production which lasted far into the ninth century and made Tours the world centre for Bibles and for Carolingian minuscule script. These manuscript Bibles were acquired by monasteries in many parts of the Carolingian empire. The great achievements of the Tours scriptorium during the ninth century were closely related to sources at Charlemagne's court school in Aachen.

Another important French centre of manuscript production was the court school of Charles the Bald (823-877) in Reims. It was the last of the great schools of the Carolingian Renaissance.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	Utrecht Psalter 820s Manuscript (Ms. Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32), 330 x 256 mm Universiteitsbibliotheek, Utrecht	970*1300 True Color 180 Kb
	Utrecht Psalter 820s Manuscript (Ms. Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32), 330 x 256 mm Universiteitsbibliotheek, Utrecht	800*946 True Color 107 Kb
	Utrecht Psalter 820s Manuscript (Ms. Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32), 330 x 256 mm Universiteitsbibliotheek, Utrecht	924*1200 True Color 245 Kb
	Utrecht Psalter 820s Manuscript (Ms. Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32), 330 x 256 mm Universiteitsbibliotheek, Utrecht	964*1300 True Color 243 Kb
	Ebbo Gospels 816-35 Manuscript (Ms. 1), 260 x 208 mm Bibliothèque municipale, Epernay	900*1129 True Color 218 Kb
	Ebbo Gospels 816-35 Manuscript (Ms. 1), 260 x 208 mm Bibliothèque municipale, Epernay	800*1012 True Color 139 Kb
	Ebbo Gospels 816-35 Manuscript (Ms. 1), 260 x 208 mm Bibliothèque municipale, Epernay	934*1200 True Color 168 Kb
	Cassiodorus: Commentary on the Psalms 802-10 Manuscript (Ms. lat. 2195), 375 x 270 mm Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris	700*1017 True Color 95 Kb
	Cassiodorus: Commentary on the Psalms 802-10 Manuscript (Ms. lat. 2195) Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris	1081*800 True Color 161 Kb
	Vivian Bible c. 845 Manuscript (Ms. lat. 1), 495 x 345 mm Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris	900*1235 True Color 178 Kb
	Vivian Bible c. 845 Manuscript (Ms. lat. 1), 495 x 345 mm Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris	816*1124 True Color 131 Kb
	Vivian Bible c. 845 Manuscript (Ms. lat. 1), 495 x 345 mm Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris	715*1000 True Color 107 Kb
	Vivian Bible c. 845 Manuscript (Ms. lat. 1) Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris	1057*900 True Color 131 Kb
	Vivian Bible c. 845 Manuscript (Ms. lat. 1), 495 x 345 mm Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris	796*1102 True Color 187 Kb
	Vivian Bible c. 845 Manuscript (Ms. lat. 1) Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris	1600*703 True Color 187 Kb
	Vivian Bible c. 845 Manuscript (Ms. lat. 1) Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris	1347*900 True Color 223 Kb
	Vivian Bible c. 845 Manuscript (Ms. lat. 1), 495 x 345 mm Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris	900*1200 True Color 206 Kb
	Vivian Bible c. 845 Manuscript (Ms. lat. 1), 495 x 345 mm Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris	902*1200 True Color 215 Kb
	Moutier-Grandval Bible c. 840 Manuscript (Add. Ms. 10546), 510 x 375 mm British Library, London	923*1200 True Color 226 Kb
	Bible c. 845 Manuscript (Ms. Ludwig I. 1) J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles	709*1300 True Color 173 Kb
	Lothar Gospels 849-51 Manuscript (Ms. lat. 266), 322 x 250 mm Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris	900*1405 True Color 223 Kb
	Sainte-Aure Evangelary c. 850 Manuscript (Ms. 1171), 270 x 220 mm Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris	964*1233 True Color 193 Kb
	Sainte-Aure Evangelary c. 850 Manuscript (Ms. 1171), 270 x 220 mm Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris	982*1240 True Color 216 Kb
	Sainte-Aure Evangelary c. 850 Manuscript (Ms. 1171), 270 x 220 mm Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris	958*1235 True Color 218 Kb
	Sainte-Aure Evangelary c. 850 Manuscript (Ms. 1171), 270 x 220 mm Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris	974*1230 True Color 194 Kb
	Sainte-Aure Evangelary c. 850 Manuscript (Ms. 1171), 270 x 220 mm Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris	964*1235 True Color 224 Kb
	Sainte-Aure Evangelary c. 850 Manuscript (Ms. 1171), 270 x 220 mm Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris	952*1244 True Color 198 Kb
	Sainte-Aure Evangelary c. 850 Manuscript (Ms. 1171), 270 x 220 mm Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris	949*1229 True Color 174 Kb
	Sainte-Aure Evangelary c. 850 Manuscript (Ms. 1171), 270 x 220 mm Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris	955*1234 True Color 162 Kb