Charlemagne

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Charlemagne was an outstanding ruler and educator of men throughout his reign over the Frankish Empire. His influence on Christianity during this time was directly related to his passion of learning and education of which he himself lead by example. Charlemagne was born in 742 A.D. to a very famous and well-known family. His grandfather was Charles Martel, the man who was responsible for the defeat of the Saracens - a barbaric, Muslim tribe whose defeat elevated Charles to emperor over the Frankish throne. Charlemagne was also the eldest son of Bertrada (also known as Bertha Greatfoot) and Pepin the Short, the first to become King of the Franks. With almost full extinction of schools in the eighth century, many historians say that Charlemagne received very little education, but did learn the art of reading from Bertrada . 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 knew the significance of an education after growing up with his father, Pepin the Short. Pepin was insecure and afraid that his two sons, Charlemagne and Carloman, may take over his empire before it was time. This was difficult to understand because Pepin valued education and reading so highly in trying to bring civility back to society during his reign. The two sons experienced all the hardships of a military campaign at an early age being out on the road, huddled around campfires at night while sleeping and even eating frugal meals with the troops. They both quickly realized that they may be ready to lead upon returning to their palace but still unable to read or write to communicate with the citizens they would someday ov...

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...d leader who restored the roots of education and order in Medieval Europe. Laws, traditions and teachingswere carried on by the descendants of the Carolingians in their words and actions, setting a precedent for the actions of civilizations for hundreds of years to come.
The relationships Charlemagne formed between the church and state engrained Christianity into Europe for the future. Charlemagne created a political structure where counts and bishops ran different regions side by side. This gave the church power at the local level of government. By having bishops working alongside counts, this brought Christianity to the people at all levels and stressed the need for the importance of cooperation with the church. Even with the eventual collapse of Charlemagne's centralized rule, this local influence strengthened and allowed Christianity to flourish in Europe.

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