Charlemagne Divine Alliance

would be Charlemagne and his brother, who had been established as having “divine assent” by the pope. The church-state relationship had solidified prior to Charlemagne’s ascension to the throne, and this unity allowed for Charlemagne to rule with divine authority. Charlemagne would now intensify the church-state partnership even more, eventually becoming crowned by the pope.

With a resolute goal to unite all Germanic peoples and convert them to Christianity under his rule, Charlemagne embarked upon a military campaign. He conquered the Lombards, Avars, and Bavaria. His war against the Saxons lasted for 30 years, during which time he became known as a ruthless dictator. The Saxons were Germanic peoples, but they were also pagans, and they did

Conquering Saxony to the northeast, the Lombards to the south (modern-day Italy), Bavaria and Corinthia to the southeast, and Hispania to the west (modern-day Spain), Charlemagne controlled the entire continent. He eventually conquered the Slavic peoples as well. The eastern Byzantine empire, headquartered in Constantinople, continued to argue for its own legitimacy, particularly after Pope Leo III’s coronation of Charlemagne. As his health declined, Charlemagne crowned his son Louis the Pious as King of Aquitaine in 813. They served as co-emperors, and then Louis inherited the entire kingdom upon Charlemagne’s death in

He donated both money and land to the church. Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne on Christmas Day in 800 at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome as “Emperor of the Romans.” After this coronation, the Carolingian Renaissance began, which included the expansion of monastic schools and the study of academics, literature, art, architecture and languages. Charlemagne even standardized the alphabet, known then as Carlingian miniscule. Charlemagne’s devotion to languages, arts, and culture likely derived from his childhood. Pepin the Short had provided a well-rounded education for his son, and Charlemagne spoke multiple languages as an adult, including Latin and Greek. In addition, Charlemagne’s passion for education expanded as he visited new lands in his extensive travels, thanks to his military conquests. Charlemagne continued his own studies throughout his lifetime. As an adult, he studied rhetoric, astronomy, and mathematics. Although he never mastered reading and writing himself, he emphasized the importance of copying and preserving ancient manuscripts. To this day, many surviving ancient texts are from the scholars of Charlemagne’s