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Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, King of the Franks
Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, King of the Franks (742-814), was a strong
leader who unified Western Europe through military power and the blessing of the
Church. His belief in the need for education among the Frankish people was to
bring about religious, political, and educational reforms that would change the
history of Europe.
Charlemagne was born in 742 at Aachen, the son of Pepin(or Pippin) the Short and
grandson of Charles Martel. His grandfather, Charles, had begun the process of
unifying western Europe, in the belief that all people should be Christian.
Charlemagne's father, Pepin, continued this process throughout his rule and
passed his beliefs on to Charlemagne. All three, in addition to the political
unification, believed that the church should be reformed and reorganized under
the Pope, which helped their rise to power as the Carolingian Dynasty. (Holmes
74)
Upon Pepin's death in 768, Charlemagne and his brother, Carloman, each inherited
half of the Frankish kingdom. Pepin, in the Merovingian tradition of the time,
split his kingdom between his two sons. Three years later Carloman died and
Charlemagne took control of the entire kingdom. He inherited great wealth and a
powerful army, built by his father and grandfather. Charlemagne used the army
and his own skillful planning to more than double the size of the Frankish
Kingdom. (Halsall 15)
The world of Charlemagne was a heathen one, with many warring tribes or kingdoms.
Many of these tribes were conquered by Charlemagne, among them the Aquitanians,
the Lombards, the Saxons, the Bretons, the Bavarians, the Huns, and the Danes.
The longest of these battles was against the Saxons, lasting thirty-three years.
Charlemagne actually defeated them many times, but due to their faithlessness
and their propensity to return to their pagan lifestyle, the Saxons lost many
lives in the prolonged battles with the Franks. With each conquest the Frankish
kingdom grew, and with growth came additional power and responsibility for
Charlemagne. In each area of Europe that was taken over by Charlemagne, he
removed the leaders if they would not convert to Christianity and appointed new
ones, usually someone with high position in the Church. Those people who
refused to convert or be baptized in the church were put to death. (Holmes 75)
The Church played a vital role in the kingdom of Charlemagne. It gave a sense
of stability to Charlemagne's rule, and he in turn provided stability in the
Church. The people conquered by Charlemagne, after being converted to
Christianity, were taught through the Bible a unified code of right and wrong.
It was necessary for the Church to play a role in this education of the people,
Throughout his essay, Einhard makes constant references to Charlemagne’s piety. He notes that the king “cherished with great fervor and devotion the principles of the Christian religion.” Charlemagne built the basilica at Aix-la-Chapelle, and “was a constant worshipper at this church.” (Einhard, 48)…. He embodied the Christian doctrine to give to the poor, and had close relationships to the popes in Rome. A pessimist might find reason to believe these actions were purely opportunistic or at least had mixed motives—his relationships with the Vatican were monetarily beneficial—but Einhard’s inclusion of Charlemagne’s will removes all doubt. “In this division he is especially desirous to provide…the largess of alms which Christians usually make.” (Einhard, 52). In death, Charlemagne gave much of his wealth to the Church via the archbishops of each city in his empire, and further stipulated that upon the death of one of them, a portion of the remaining inheritance should go directly to the poor, as should the profit of the sale of his library.
... The church too performed many personal functions for Charlemagne of a less-than-political nature, including his last rites, the care of his sister in her convent, and his own burial. The church also acted as a kind of legal authority, witnessing his inheritance arrangements.
The Church was, undoubtedly, the most powerful body in Europe at the beginning of the Middle Ages. In most Western kingdoms the Pope had more power than the king himself, and the Christian religion controlled all aspects of daily life. People were to devote themselves utterly to the Church in prayer and giving, and they would be saved. As seen in Document 6, the lords and nobles committed themselves to the service of God before men, saying, “Nor will I ever with will or action, through word or deed, do anything which is unpleasing to him [God]…” Those who lived during this time trusted the Church’s explanations for the workings of the world. They saw God as all powerful, as the force behind everything. Art and music thus were focused around the Church and giving praise and thanks to God. Most art works of the time featured Jesus or other saints.
Charlemagne was born in the famous Francia/Frankia, also known as the Kingdom of the Franks. He grew up in a world where life was dictated to wealth, power and status. The feudal system demonstrated the rights and privileges given to the different classes. The high ranking nobles lived in castle with their knights, ladies and retinues. Others enjoyed their life in their Manors while the peasants,serfs, freemen and villeins spent their life surrounded in village life. In 768 this great man came to
Throughout the Ages there have been many leaders who were known for their great rule. One of these great men during the 8th century was Charlemagne. The Life of Charlemagne was written by Einhard, a Frankish elite who had the privilege of working in the courts of Charlemagne. The book did not come out till after Charlemagne’s death but, it goes through his life in a thematic fashion. Einhard sets the book by first addressing deeds, habits, and then administration. This writing was one of the first of its kind. While there were many biographies written on the lives of saints known as hagiography, this was the first of its kind to be written about a secular ruler since the time of Antiquity. I will begin by talking about Charlemagne’s rise to power, then about his character and personality, and finally his relationship with his family.
Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, was the king of the franks. He was highly influenced by Constantine and his christian empire. Charlemagne supported christian art and commissioned the contraction of a palace and chapel in Germany, which severed as the center of his power. His time was known as the Carolingian Renaissance, where he revived many imperial roman traditions such as the early Christian tradition of depicting Christ as a statuesque youth. In his time marvelous illuminated manuscripts. After the rule of Charlemagne, as Carolingian art began to subside, entered the new ruler Otto III. Otto III was both influenced by Constantine and Charlemagne. Ottonian art focused on geometry, ivory plaques, and small artwork as well as elegantly illuminated manuscripts, lavish metal work, intricate carvings and Romanesque churches and cathedrals. Both Ottonian and Carolingian architecture mainly focused on geometrical shapes when constructing their churches and cathedrals. Unlike Charlemagne, Ottonian’s created a lot of metal work mainly in the form of manuscripts as a cover for books.The influence of Early Christianity reflected on both rulers through its art portraying stories from their christian belief’s.
Charlemagne was born in 742 A.D., to a very famous and well-known family. Charlemagne’s grandfather was Charles Martel, the man who was responsible for the defeat of the Saracens. Charlemagne was also the eldest son of Bertrade (also known as Bertha Greatfoot) and Pepin the Short, the first to become king of the Franks. With the almost full extinction of schools in the 8th century, many historians say that Charlemagne received very little education, but did learn the art of reading from Bertrade.
The Basilica of St. Denis contributed to the rise of the Catholic Church, for it provided a physical representation of the “Holy Jerusalem”, for many people to see. By viewing this representation of heaven, many people reestablished their faith into the church and longed for salvation, so that they can be accepted into the “spiritual heaven” after their death. This desperate attempt to gain salvation caused individuals to devote themselves to the church, which brought the Catholic Church leverage, power, and wealth.
Charles Hapsburg, who later became Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was born in the Flemish city of Ghent on February 24, 1500 (3) to Phillip the Handsome and Joanna the Mad (2). He had four sisters: Eleanor, Isabel, Mary, and Katherine. Ferdinand I was his only brother (7). His maternal grandparents were the very famous Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon who funded Columbus’s expeditions (6). His paternal grandfather was Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (7).
Those these other Christian religions made significant progress, Catholicism still intertwined itself deeply with the educational system. Unlike other countries who have prohibited rel...
income for the Church came to it in the shape of power and prestige, when the
He will travel to church every so often to maintain a close relationship with the pope. This is not the only detail that provides that he did more than just this for the Christian faith. Charlemagne, according to Notker, wanted to set an example of what a good Christian person is. Like taking food during Lent and doing certain processes in order that he does not break the fasting code (). Charlemagne is described with many adjectives of his behavior. Einhard and Notker seem to both establish he is a man that did care for the nature of his kingdom. It is noted that Einhard elaborates more on the personal life of Charlemagne. Einhard personally knew the family of Charlemagne. Notker on the other hand, often mentions people that Charlemagne appointed during his reign.
Any woman that is a relative of Charlemagne is regarded highly by Einhard. Charlemagne’s mother, sister and daughters are written about with the highest respect. They are portrayed as honorable, calm women who never caused any trouble. Charlemagne’s Bertrada, despite being a woman, was highly active in politics. Bertrada seemed to favor Charlemagne over her son other son Carloman. Her diplomatic skills may have helped Charlemagne’s success in his early years. She even arranged a marriage with Desiderius’ daughter, Desiderata, to secure an alliance with Lombardy. Even though her influenced may have diminished over the years her relationship with her son remained excellent. She lived with Charlemagne in court. The only time their relationship became strained was when Bertrada suggested to Charlemagne to marry Desiderate. When Charles sent Desiderata back to Lombardy, Bertrada was not pleased with her son. But this did not stop her from having a loving relationship with her son. Einhard writes: “Bertrada, also spent her old age in great honor with him. He treated her with the greatest respect, to the point that there was never any trouble between them [.]” Bertrada continued to live with Charlemagne until she died in 783. Charlemagne ensured that his mother was buried alongside her husband at St. Denis Basilica. Einhard also makes mention to Charlemagne’s sister. Gisela. Gisela was intended to marry the heir of the Byzantium Empire however she dedicated herself to the religious life. She served as an abbess at the convent at Chelles. Charlemagne is said to have “treated her with the greatest affection.” Charlemagne even had one of his daughters named after his sister.
Religion is among one of the aspects that defines culture. This was a key concept for those living in the Middle Ages, whose lives were dominated by religion. More specifically, those in high positions of the church dominated their lives because the church provided a unified culture, or belief system. In fact, in the Early Middle Ages, rulers needed the support of the church to legitimize their rule. This was the case for Charlemagne, who united much of Western Europe and converted his subjects to Christianity. Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans in 800(History). “The assumption of the title of emperor of Charlemagne in
The Church’ power was extremely great in the Middle Ages, as they had the most influence over the people, kings and knights. The Church had the ability to stop laws and change laws to their benefit and controlled the religious beliefs of the people. They had the power to sway the kings and send knights to war which sends the message that they were one of the most important institutions in all of Medieval Europe.