During the beginning of Charlemagne's imperial reign, the Church was full of inconsistencies and unorthodox practices. Clergy from different areas practiced the faith in different ways because many of the texts they used were badly translated and contained errors.1 Charlemagne would receive letters, detailing monks prayers, that contained both “correct thoughts and uncouth expressions”2 He was worried that if they could not write correctly, then they might be misinterpreting the bible and God would not be honored. Many of the common people could not distinguish between religion and superstition, which would allow absurd beliefs to become accepted.3 Unorthodox practices like naked people walking around with chains claiming to be doing penance for their sins were also common. The lack of education among the common people made it difficult to correct such errors, since they could be so easily misguided. Charlemagne saw the clear need to reform the Church through education and began a period 'rectification'.4 As the defender of the faith, he was burdened with the responsibility of creating a standard christian orthodox and way of life. Using the historic research of Alessandro Barbero, Paul Dutton, Mayke de Jong, and Rosamond McKitterick, this paper explores Charlemagne's efforts to unify the empire in Christianity through education and the written word with the help of his prominent scholars, Alcuin and Theodulf.
Charlemagne began his unification of Christianity by establishing orthodoxy through ecclesiastic synodi.5 Before Charlemagne was born, the Frankish church had not held a council for over 80 years.6 In the period of 80 years, churches began to drift apart in their common practices, creating disunity among the Frankish ...
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...ingful because many people can understand it instead of just a few. Alcuin now has a new method for converting the Saxons. Instead of conversion without understanding and then rebellion, he can teach the saxons what it means to be a christian and ensure that they stay converted.23 This method would cause the christian empire to expand faster and more souls to be saved from eternal damnation. Finally, there can be more fruitful discussions with lay people over the meaning of the scriptures because the clergy is educated enough to interpret the mysteries of the scriptures.24 For example, Alcuin writes in a letter to the King about an example where a lay person asked a question about the meaning of the word sword in the bible. Charlemagne's empire has been unified in Christianity through education and understanding of the written word passed on by Alcuin and Theodulf.
The most famous work about Charlemagne is a book entitled The Two Lives of Charlemagne which consists of two separate biographies published into one book and tells the story of Charlemagne's life as two different people experienced it. Apart from this, there are many other places you can turn to learn more about the life of the king of the Franks, including letters, capitularies, inventories, annals, and more. However, each of these sources seem to paint a different picture of Charlemagne. In one, he seems to be a very average guy; in another, a mythical being, almost god-like; and a strong and firm political leader in yet another. It is because of this of this that we will never really know exactly who Charlemagne was or what he was like, but we do have an idea of what he did and how he lived thanks to those who decided to preserve it.
The two lives of Charlemagne as told by Einhard and Notker are two medieval sources about the accounts of the life Charlemagne. Modern sources by Matthew Innes and Rosamond Mckitterick discuss how history was recorded during the medieval period and how it was suppose to be viewed in the early ages. Observing each of these sources helps get an understanding of how the writing of history is important in recorded history and how it affected how the history of Charlemagne was recorded.
...become great and victorious. There is the concept of how everything that Charlemagne did was for his enemies to be converted to Christianity and nothing else. Through the different interpretations, the argument for religious motives was the strongest. Charlemagne used military tactics in a misguided attempt to further the kingdom of God.
While expanding his empire across Europe, Charlemagne did remember that he was indeed a Christian, and converted many of the tribes he conquered, to Christianity. However, when 4,500 Saxons resisted, they were slaughtered ("Charlemagne"). But, for better or for worse, by 1000 AD Christianity had spread like wildfire throughout most of Europe, and the Catholic Church, who had crowned our friend Charlemagne the Emperor, had risen to power. Meanwhile, the Seljuk Turks had taken Jerusalem and were threatening Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire (“Crusades”). Near the end of the eleventh century, Emperor Alexius wrote a letter to Pope Urban the II that called for the assistance of his fellow Christians in West (“Crusades”). And, Pope Urban, was more than happy to assemble an army for such a worthy cause, and he also hoped that it might improve the relations between the two
Charlemagne is a known for his success to try to maintain his empire. This new empire will embrace the unity of Christian faith. Under Charlemagne, new lands are conquered and a Renaissance is embraced. He even tries to revive the Christian faith. Charlemagne is a man that hopes to be an inspiration to the next generation. These deeds of Charlemagne is seen in the Two Lives of Charlemagne. In the Two lives of Charlemagne, both Notker’s and Einhard’s goal is to portray Charlemagne as a man of good character, a man that accomplishes many deeds and a man that hopes to provide an outlet for the next generation.
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, became the undisputed ruler of Western Europe, “By the sword and the cross.” (Compton’s 346) As Western Europe was deteriorating Charlemagne was crowned the privilege of being joint king of the Franks in 768 A.D. People of Western Europe, excluding the church followers, had all but forgotten the great gifts of education and arts that they had possessed at one time. Charlemagne solidly defeated barbarians and kings in identical fashion during his reign. Using the re-establishment of education and order, Charlemagne was able to save many political rights and restore culture in Western Europe.
...e had so far. The Church found that learning and culture was very important in spreading the beliefs of God. They wanted several people to start earning an education, so civilians could read the books that were related to cultural beliefs. These three traditions have impacted the Middle Ages during Charlemagne’s reign. He incorporated these studies from other cultures into his way of governing the country. His court and the Church were led by using these standards, which proves the equal balance of these two groups. The Western culture has changed in many ways, however, Charlemagne’s influence has not stopped becoming an impact throughout this culture and many more.
Robert M. Grant was an early church historian and professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, he was an also an Episcopalian minister. Grant tells the reader in his preface that his work is not so much a history of the early church as it is a “venture into the reconstruction of early Christian practicality. ” According to the author, the book was written to contrast the mythical and romanticize vision of the early church which, too often is associated with accounts of the early church. Grant believes that this is caused by a great divide in study between the sacred and the secular and is a serious mistake , and that, much like issues which concern religious liberty in our world today, the church must be understood and studied in relation to society. His first three studies mirror this conviction; he focuses on topics which bridge the gap between church and state. In this book review I will summarize sections I-III and then evaluate these three sections .
Roles of the Catholic Church in Western civilization has been scrambled with the times past and development of Western society. Regardless of the fact that the West is no longer entirely Catholic, the Catholic tradition is still strong in Western countries. The church has been a very important foundation of public facilities like schooling, Western art, culture and philosophy; and influential player in religion. In many ways it has wanted to have an impact on Western approaches to pros and cons in numerous areas. It has over many periods of time, spread the teachings of Jesus within the Western World and remains a foundation of continuousness connecting recent Western culture to old Western culture.-
The collection Two Lives of Charlemagne contains two different biographies of Charlemagne who was a king of the Franks and a christian emperor of the West in the 8th century. The first biographical account was written by his courtier Einhard who knew him personally and well. On the other hand, the second account was penned by Notker the Stammerer was born twenty-five years after the king’s death. Even though these two versions indicate the same king’s life, there were many differences between the two. Einhard’s writing focused on the emperor’s official life and his military campaign. However, Notker provided more of a perspective about the king’s legacy and seemed more hyperbolic as well as mythical. This paper will compare and contrast the
The Relationship of Political and Religious Societies in the Age of Charlemagne, Based of Einhard's The life of Charlemagne sections 15-33
The crusades in the middle ages were a long-lasting series of vigorous wars between Christians and Muslims over the Holy Land, Jerusalem. The crusades lasted for almost two hundred years. They began in 1099 and approximately ended in 1291. (What were the motives, and causes of these gruesome wars?) is the first question one might ask. To properly answer this question, I am about to analyze the first four crusades that had began in 1099 and ended in 1212.
In the time and place of these documents (approximately 311-998 CE), separation of church and state was nonexistent. From the Franks to the Roman Empire, to Kievan Rus’, the religious conversion of a leader was generally followed by either social upheaval or acceptance. In the case of the latter, the religious conversion of an entire people was often a gradual process. While the ensuing cultural shift is always of enormous consequence, the initial origin of the religious conversion is often reflective of already present values.
Church History in Plain Language is written by Bruce L. Shelley. This work focuses on the history of Christianity from 6 B.C. to the current period. It covers some of Christianity’s greatest events, theologians, and the various subsection of Christianity. Other than the events leading up to the death of Jesus, I had very little knowledge of Christianity’s history. After reading through the book, I have gained understanding on the Christian Councils, scholasticism, Christendom, and modern trends of Christianity.