Quidam lapis preciosus qui vocatur Cammaheu: The Medieval Afterlife of the Gemma Augustea at Saint-Sernin of Toulouse Público

Abstract

By the thirteenth century, the Gemma Augustea, a large Roman imperial cameo carved during the reign of Augustus, was venerated as a relic in the basilica of Saint-Sernin of Toulouse. Believed to have been worn as a battle pectoral by the legendary Charlemagne, the gem became the showpiece of Saint-Sernin's treasury. Indeed, Saint-Sernin's Augustinian canons actively cultivated an institutional connection to the Frankish leader through their promotion of the cameo's legend. Although Saint-Sernin remains a well published monument, little scholarship exists on its possession of the Gemma Augustea. This project traces the historical and cultural trajectory of the Augustan glyptic masterpiece from its creation in first century C.E. Rome to its veneration as a Charlemagne object in medieval Toulouse. In so doing, this dissertation demonstrates how the Gemma Augustea's medieval afterlife was shaped over the course of several centuries by evolving legends concerning Charlemagne's patronage of the church.

Chapter 1 introduces the Gemma Augustea as a Roman object and examines the significance of its iconography. This chapter also considers the cameo's probable migration to Constantinople and reconstructs its likely setting within the Byzantine court. Chapter 2 investigates the development of the legends associated with Charlemagne's adornments and explores the material and symbolic commonalties shared by extant "Charlemagne pectorals" housed in church treasuries. In Chapter 3, I argue that the Gemma Augustea's reception was shaped by a merging of Toulouse's Carolingian past with contemporary events that were instrumental in bringing the cameo to Toulouse. By examining local legends, chansons de geste, and themes related to crusading activity, it becomes apparent that the cameo not only served to evoke earlier battles between the Franks and the Arabs in the eighth century, it also visually exemplified the rhetoric of the First Crusade and Reconquista. Chapter 4 analyzes the Gemma Augustea's prominence in late medieval Saint-Sernin and examines the influence of the Capetian and Valois dynasties in the promotion of the myths related to Charlemagne's patronage.

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Art History
Degree	PhD
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Art History
Palavra-chave	Medieval Memory Pilgrimage Cameo Byzantine Charlemagne Gemma Augustea Saint-Sernin Spolia Medieval treasuries Roman art
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Pastan, Elizabeth, Emory University
Committee Members	Hahn , Cynthia, Hunter College CUNY Varner, Eric, Emory University White, Stephen, Emory University

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