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Primary sourceArtifactc. 792-805

Palatine Chapel in Aachen

Odo of Metz · c. 792-805

Charlemagne's palace chapel at Aachen, modelled on Byzantine and Roman buildings, which held his remains and now forms part of Aachen Cathedral.

Commissioned by Charlemagne as part of his palace, this chapel embodied his imperial ambitions and later held his remains.

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Exterior of Aachen Cathedral seen from a street with trees. On the left is the octagonal Carolingian chapel with a dark slate dome and small lantern, and on the right is the ornate Gothic choir with pointed windows and statues. People sit at outdoor café tables in front.
Palatine Chapel, part of Aachen Cathedral, built c. 792-805.

About this source

What it is

The Palatine Chapel is an early medieval chapel built as part of Charlemagne's Palace of Aachen, construction beginning around 792 and consecrated in 805 by Pope Leo III. Designed by the architect Odo of Metz, it is a centrally planned, domed building combining Classical, Byzantine and Pre-Romanesque elements. It survives today as the core of Aachen Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Why it matters

The chapel expressed Charlemagne's imperial ambitions, drawing on buildings he had seen on his visits to Ravenna and requesting materials from Rome and Ravenna for its construction. It held his remains after his death, and later Holy Roman Emperors, beginning with Otto I, were crowned there, showing how later rulers used its connection to Charlemagne to bolster their own authority.

Look closer

  • Why might Charlemagne have wanted his chapel to resemble buildings from the Roman and Byzantine empires?
  • What does the later use of the chapel for coronations tell us about how rulers used Charlemagne's memory?
  • What has changed or been added to the building since Charlemagne's time, and what remains original?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Charlemagne on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Woodcut title page with the heading 'VITA ET GESTA KAROLI MAGNI' and labels 'KAROLVS I' and 'KAROLVS V'. Two standing crowned men in robes are depicted, one bearded and one with a scepter, flanked by coats of arms and decorative borders, with 'CVM PRIVILEGIO IMPERIALI' at the bottom.Book

Secondary source

Vita Karoli Magni

Einhard · c. 817-833

Manuscript page in Latin handwriting, black ink with red rubricated headings, on aged parchment. Text includes the entry for the year 814 and the red closing line 'Finiunt gesta domni Karoli magni et praecellentissimi Francorum imperatoris'.Document

Primary source

Royal Frankish Annals

741-829, this manuscript c. 900

Letter

Primary source

De litteris colendis

Charlemagne · late 780s-800s

Scanned manuscript page of medieval Latin handwriting in brown ink on aged, yellowed parchment, written in a dense column with some marginal annotations on the left. The text is the Admonitio generalis.Document

Primary source

Admonitio generalis

Charlemagne · 23 March 789

Scanned page of a medieval manuscript in brown ink on yellowed parchment, with a red-ink heading at top and three columns of Latin words listed line by line, likely the chapter 70 list of plants of the Capitulare de villis.Document

Primary source

Capitulare de villis

c. 771-800

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