Charlemagne
By the Cross and the Sword : Charlemagne’s Impact on the West. “He who ordains the fate of kingdoms in the march of the centuries, the all-powerful Disposer of events, having destroyed one extraordinary image, that of the Romans, which had, it was true, feet of iron, or even feet of clay, then raised up, among the Franks, the golden head of a second image, equally remarkable, in the person of the illustrious Charlemagne. Notker the Stammerer, the monk of St. Gall, wrote these words in AD 844 to describe the reign of the most influential Frankish king Charlemagne ( Lectures 1). Charlemagne, son of Pepin the Short, ruled the Franks for 47 years (Koeller 1). The Carolingian Dynasty, of which Charlemagne was a member, was established in AD 751 when Pepin dethroned the last Merovingian king. The Carolingians ruled a land that “spoke several different tongues, had different cultural and historical traditions, and different institutions.”(Nelson 2). The great variation found in the people of the Frankish kingdom produced for Charlemagne great obstacles. Dr. Skip Knox, Professor at Boise State University argues that the “monarchy among the Franks was not equipped to deal with this situation…” (Knox 11). Attempting to establish control in his empire, Charlemagne implemented a series of programs that would produce a new form of government and would engage his court in an intellectual renaissance. Charlemagne was forced to entirely reinvent the Merovingian system of government, and to do so he “either created new offices, or adapted old ones to new purposes…” (Knox 11). He appointed dukes and counts, and appointed in the German regions of the land margraves, an office that would remain long after the time of Charlemagne. Thus, Charlemagne created a political hierarchy in which the counts would report to the dukes, and the dukes to Charlemagne himself. Charlemagne gained the loyalty and respect of his barons by leading them on numerous successful military campaigns (Knox 10). He also insisted that his nobles be educated, and formed at his palace a school under the direction of the scholar Alcuin (Nelson 3). With Alcuin as the “minister of education”, the place school began what is known as the “Carolingian Renaissance”. This characterization is supported by the desire of the emperor to rebuild the Roman Empire and rule in the same manner as the roman ...
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...November 21, 1999. http://www.encyclopedia.com
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Knox, Skip “Charlemagne”. History of Western Civilization. Boise State University. August 27, 1999. November 18, 1999. http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/charles/01.htm
Koeller, David. “The Reign of Charlemagne” North Park University. 1999. November 21, 1999. http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/WestEurope/Charlemagene.html
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After reading two versions of “The Life of Charlemagne”, one written by a person who lived with Charlemagne, and one who didn’t, it is evident that Charlemagne is portrayed in a negative way by the author, the Monk of St. Gall, and in a positive way by Einhard. Einhard was very close to Charlemagne. He lived at the same time and with Charlemagne himself. His version of “The Life of Charlemagne” was writing right after his death. The Monk of St. Gall wrote his version more than 70 years after Charlemagne’s death. He did not live with or even at the same time as Charlemagne. This is probably one of the reasons the view on the ruler are completely different.
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.
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.
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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
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