The Carolingian Answer to the Iconoclastic War and the Birth of Western Art

After a long quarrel scattered with persecutions, uprisings, dismissals and replacements of religious authorities, deaths, military expeditions, confiscations attempts assassinations in Greece, Italy other European areas, the Council Nicaea, 787, imposed victory iconodules Byzantine Empire. The West, especially Kingdom Franks Lombards ruled by Charles, later known as Charlemagne, tried to take an official position synod Frankfurt 794 odd complex treatise, comprising four books, entitled Opus Caroli , or Libri Carolini which were recently attributed Ann Freeman Theodulf Orleans, one greatest intellectuals his time. In this work, we could call first western treatise on images, icon is freed from its ritual cult value, returned artistic use, thus determining, according some scholars, larger freedom figurative representation that characterizes art compared Orthodox one. This stance followed lively debate, involving many authors, materials have not yet been translated put into full circulation historical-artistic research.