Editing Middle Ages (section)

=== Carolingian Renaissance ===
{{Main|Carolingian Renaissance}}

[[File:Kloster Lorsch 07.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|[[Lorsch Abbey]] gatehouse, {{circa|800|lk=no}}, an example of [[Carolingian architecture]]—a first, albeit isolated [[classical architecture]] movement]]

Charlemagne's court in [[Aachen]] was the centre of the cultural revival, sometimes referred to as the "[[Carolingian Renaissance]]". Literacy increased, as did development in the arts, architecture, jurisprudence, and liturgical and scriptural studies. The English monk [[Alcuin]] (d. 804) was invited to Aachen and brought the [[Northumbria's Golden Age|education]] available in the monasteries of Northumbria. Charlemagne's [[Chancery (medieval office)|chancery]]—or writing office—made use of a new [[Writing system|script]] today known as [[Carolingian minuscule]],{{efn-ua|The [[Carolingian minuscule]] was developed from the [[uncial script]] of Late Antiquity, which was a smaller, rounder form of writing the [[Latin alphabet]] than the classical forms.<ref name=Davies241>Davies ''Europe'' p. 241</ref>}} allowing a standard writing style that advanced communication across much of Europe. Charlemagne sponsored changes in [[Christian liturgy|church liturgy]], imposing the Roman form of church service on his domains, as well as the [[Gregorian chant]] in liturgical music for the churches. An important activity for scholars during this period was copying, correcting, and disseminating basic works on religious and secular topics to encourage learning. New works on religious topics and schoolbooks were also produced.<ref name=Colish66>Colish ''Medieval Foundations'' pp. 66–70</ref> Grammarians of the period modified the Latin language, changing it from the [[Classical Latin]] of the Roman Empire into a more flexible form to fit the needs of the Church and government. By the reign of Charlemagne, the language had so diverged from the classical Latin that it was later called [[Medieval Latin]].<ref name=Lang>Loyn "Language and dialect" ''Middle Ages'' p. 204</ref>