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The two lives of charlemagne summary
Two lives of charlemagne sparknotes
Reflecting on leadership styles
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Einhard, in his account of Charlemagne, and Ibn Battuta, in his account of Mansa Sulaiman, give witness to the way these two kings ruled their lands and provide an insight on how culture has an effect on people’s views of their leaders. Although each one lived in different cultures, each ruler embodied similar characteristics, such as the influence of religion on their realms. However, there are several distinct differences as well, and each narrative contains cultural bias that cannot be ignored. Overall, each account thoroughly analyzes each ruler and infuses their observations with the culture of the time, which is integral in order to gain an accurate depiction of who these men were.
First, each ruler embodied an aspect of his religion, which stemmed from their respective cultures. Einhard has many references to the way the Frankish king portrayed himself as a Christian ruler, for example, he affords the reader with a detailed account of Charlemagne’s worship habits. On pages 54 and 55, he writes, “He (Charlemagne) was a constant worshipper at this church. . . going morning and evening, even after nightfall…”. In addition to his personal participation in worship, he was also extremely charitable in his own country, and even beyond his own realm. Upon hearing of the impoverished Christians living in Syria, Egypt, and Africa, he immediately became sympathetic and attempted to send money to them. In accordance with the charity within his country, he once donated such a vast number of clerical robes that even those in the least important positions of the Church were obligated to wear them. He undertook maintenance and building projects for the Churches, such as the basilica at Aix-la-Chapelle. Charlemagne also had spec...
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...sions on them. Both authors compliment the effective governments. Ibn Battuta says that the domestic governance is very effective, and Einhard assets that the Franks are a rightly governed society.
Through their books, the authors demonstrate their cultural expectations for the rulers. Einhard believes that a ruler should set an example, and shows forced conversions of people in a positive light. Ibn Battuta’s cultural expectations are much more personal –he judges a culture based upon how well he is treated by the rulers. Since he is a scholar of Sharia Law, he thinks that he inherently deserves gifts from rulers. His knowledge of law also causes him to frown upon instances where Islam is not being strictly followed. Despite this slight since of bias, these books serve as rich records of an archaic period in history filled with magnificent kings and leaders.
After contemplating Einhard’s purpose for writing The Life of Charlemagne it is important to examine his qualifications for doing so. Early on in the introduction there is a brief history on Einhard and his education.
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 ruled the Frankish Kingdom from 768-814. He was one of Pepin the thirds two sons. Charlemagne’s brother, Carolman died in 771, and Charlemagne became the sole ruler of the Franks. Almost as soon as Charlemagne assumed the throne he commenced a series of campaigns. From 772-804 Charlemagne was at war with Saxony, from 773-774 Charlemagne was also at war with the Lombards in Italy. In 778, Charlemagne was invited into Northern Italy to extend Christian influence. In 787 Charlemagne invaded and seized Bavaria. Finally, from 788-797, Charlemagne launched a campaign against the tribal horsemen, the Avars. In 789, Charlemagne issued “The General Admonition”, the concept of the document was that moral reform requires education. At this time, Charlemagne created the palace school at his court, scholars were brought to this school to reform the Frankish priests and people. Various other reforms took place during this time, such as the new form of writing, Carolingian Minuscule, and the writing down of law codes. On December 25, 800, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo the third in the St. Peter’s cathedral in Rome. Charlemagne died in 814, and was succeeded by his only remaining son, Louis the Pious.
Islamic Spain can be seen as one of the only societies that has grasped the importance of synergy and placed this notion above the typical need for absolute control. It is here where adherents of three religions coexisted and thrived culturally, economically, and intellectually. Two works explain the history of Islamic Spain, one being a documentary by Gardner Films, Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain, and the other a book by Tamim Ansary called Destiny Disrupted: A History of The World Through Islamic Eyes. While both Ansary and Gardner Films explore the themes of Spain under Islamic rule, Gardner Films provides the viewer with a more thorough history of the region whereas Ansary remains brief and narrow with his narration. The documentary Cities of Light provides a view of Islamic Spain from its beginning to its very end. This documentary touches on every aspect of what life was like in Islamic Spain and the significance of the events that occurred there.
...n, Charlemagne otherwise called Karl and Charles the Great, was a medieval ruler who controlled much of Western Europe. Charlemagne became the king of Franks, a Germanic tribe in present-day Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and western Germany. He left determined to unite all Germanic people groups into one kingdom, and believer his subjects to Christianity. A gifted military strategist, he used much of his rule occupied with warfare keeping in mind the end goal to perform his objectives. Pope Leo III delegated Charlemagne head of the Romans. In this part, he supported the Carolingian Renaissance, a social and erudite restoration in Europe. When he passed on, Charlemagne's domain included much of Western Europe, and he had likewise guaranteed the survival of Christianity in the West. Today, Charlemagne is alluded to by a few as the father of Europe.
He was fluent in Greek, Latin and was an excellent orator. Charlemagne knowing about the importance of Education, made sure his children learned a variety of important subjects like liberal arts that were essential then. Einhard describes Charles as a religious man who “cherished the Church of St. Peter above all other Holy and sacred places. ” One of the reasons –described by Einhard- why Charles was a great Emperor, was that he did not see the Pope’s power and authority as a threat to his ruler ship. Einhard’s purpose for writing this document was to exalt his friend and king, Charlemagne the great emperor even though he might have done this mainly on facts and romantic notions about Charlemagne. This document is very significant because it provides us a primary source about Charlemagne and his life. Even though Einhard used most of his personal experience with Charlemagne to write this document, he still consulted the Royal Frankish Annals for opinion about the
One custom that he writes about is a dusting custom in which men remove their clothes and throw dust on their heads as a sign of respect before their king. He believes that it is a “bad custom” because as the footnote indicates, “. . . Islam tends to deprecate such customs” (Pg. 59, 89). Additionally, Battuta is unhappy that some people eat animals who have not been properly slaughtered through a ritual. He describes a time when a camel he had been riding died, and states, “I found the blacks had eaten it as their custom is in eating a dead animal” (Pg. 62). Battuta ultimately has a difficult time relating to their regional customs that stray from the traditional Islamic customs he follows at
Einhard, in his The Life of Charlemagne, makes clear the fundamental integration of politics and religion during the reign of his king. Throughout his life, Charles the Great endeavored to acquire and use religious power to his desired ends. But, if Charlemagne was the premiere monarch of the western world, why was religious sanction and influence necessary to achieve his goals? In an age when military power was the primary means of expanding one's empire, why did the most powerful military force in Europe go to such great lengths to ensure a benevolent relationship with the church? One possibility may be found in the tremendous social and political influence of Rome and her papacy upon the whole of the continent. Rather than a force to be opposed, Charlemagne viewed the church as a potential source of political power to be gained through negotiation and alliance. The relationship was one of great symbiosis, and both componants not only survived but prospered to eventually dominate western Europe. For the King of the Franks, the church provided the means to accomplish the expansion and reformation of his empire. For the Holy Roman Church, Charles provided protection from invaders and new possibilities for missionary work.
Local factors and circumstances of a land conquered by a prince or king were very important in determining the success of the ruler. According to Niccolo Machiavelli two of the most important local factors for a foreign ruler to consider when trying to maintain power are the employment of loyal, native troops and the consideration of cultural differences. Both of these local circumstances are considered by Machiavelli to be very important factors which contribute to the accomplishment of the prince or king. Machiavelli's writings and interpretation of leadership are crucial pieces of history because they shaped the history of Renaissance Europe as we know it today.
On 814 January 28 Charlemagne died of natural causes in modern day Germany where he was buried. Thousands of years after he died Charlemagne became a "saint" for his partridge to the Church, but still is not formally recognized in the catholic church (Charlemagne 1). It's amazing how after thousands of years he is still recognized as one of the greatest
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
Tariq Ali uniquely puts into perspective the horrific tragedies behind the Spanish reconquest in his work, Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree, by capturing the history in the perspective of a Muslim family who lived in a village just outside of recently conquered Granada. He does this in order to expose the cruelty and intolerance of the Archbishop Xemenes de Cineros. Ali also uncovers the faults in not only Christianity, but also in Islamic ideology by having many character’s from the family Banu Hudayl debating and questioning Islamic beliefs which may parallel with the author’s own beliefs, or lack thereof. (Tariq) One of Ali’s strongest focuses however, was to expose the lack of urgency many Muslims felt after the fall of Granada. Many Muslim’s
Our home was broken up. My 16-year-old daughter was sent to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, while my son, barely eight years old, had to be left behind with my mother, who lived on a meager pension.” Here we see a family being destroyed as if the people who did this did not even care.”They regulated religious sects. They abolished the liberties long held by certain areas, groups, or provinces.” We conclude from this text that the kings did not care about the peoples need and regulated religious sects. by showing them how and where to conform their religion. In democratic their was peace and prosperity in absolute their was no say from the citizens on how to live their own
The medieval Islamic word for journey, Rihla, was originally associated with camelback riding. Rihla has become to be known a type of literature that fostered “the concept of al-riḥla fī ṭalab al-ʿilm, travel in search of knowledge” and is commonly used in conjunction with Ibn Battuta (“Encyclopedia of Islam”). His Rihla provides insightful detail into the daily life of Islamic culture. Initially Ibn Battuta was both young and ambitious to become a traveler. His inexperience did not prove to be an issue and he would make difficult decisions such as abandoning his belongings to continue traveling when he got sick (44). The nature of Ibn Battuta’s Rihla was nurtured by the customs and cultures in the Dar al-Islam, the territory controlled by