of
Carcassonne held magnificent spoils brought from the sacking of Rome in
410 by Alaric, king of the Ostrogoths, consisting in part of jewels
from the Temple, these having been carried to Rome after the
spoliation of Jerusalem in 70 a.d. Several
beautiful objects of this and somewhat later periods are yet in
existence, notably the Visigothic crowns and crosses, in the Musée de
l'Hôtel de Cluny, Paris, the most beautiful of which are probably the
crown and the cross of Reccesvinthus.1
Even
as the treasures of Rome were despoiled by the Ostrogoths and the
Visigoths, so, later, their collections were depleted by the military
operations of the Franks, when Narbonne was pillaged; when Toulouse was
sacked by Clovis, or Chlodowig, in 507; when the churches of Barcelona
and Toledo were despoiled by Childebert in 531 and 542 ; and by various
expeditions in succeeding years.
The
military triumphs of the Franks placed them in the highest rank among
the peoples of Europe, in the sixth and seventh centuries, in the
possession of treasures of jewels which enriched their palaces and
great churches. And the taste which the triumphs of war had developed
was maintained by the trade carried on by the Jewish and Syrian
merchants. The inhabitants of Gaul were extremely fond of objects of
art, of rich costumes, and of personal decorations; and the courts of
some of the early kings rivaled in magnificence those of oriental
monarchs. Especially was this true during the reign of King Dagobert
(628-638), who competed in splendor with the rulers of Persia and
India. His skilful jeweler, Eligius (588-659), was raised to the
bishopric of Noyon, and eventually—under the name of St. Eloi —became
one of the most popular saints in Gaul. Under direction of this
artistic bishop, the ancient churches received shrines, vestments, and
reliquaries superbly decorated with pearls and other gems. Indeed, for
several centuries following the time of Eligius, the greatest treasures
of jewels seem to have been collected in the churches.
The
use of gems in enriching regalia, vestments, and reliquaries in Europe,
advanced greatly during the reign of Charlemagne (768-814) ; and
princes and bishops competed with each other in the magnificence of
their gifts to the churches, sacrificing their laical jewels for the
sacred treasures. Few of the great ornaments of Charlemagne's time are
now in existence in the original form. Doubtless the most remarkable
pieces are the sacred regalia of the great emperor, preserved among the
imperial treasures in Vienna.
An
artistic use for pearls at that time was in the rich and elegant
bindings of the splendidly written missals and chronicles, finished in
the highest degree of excellence and at vast expense. An artist might
devote his whole life to completing a single manuscript, so great was
1 See p. 415.
