Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, ruled the Franks from 768–814 A.D. He was a kindhearted man, who also a merciless warrior. Charlemagne was resolved to expand his kingdom to a grandiose empire, which he completed especially well. He also converted the nation to Christianity and the nation’s customary language to Latin. People thought he ruled with the sword and with the cross.
Charlemagne (Charles the Great) was the elder son of Pepin the Short and a grandson of Charles Martel. A strong leader, Charlemagne wanted to create a new Christian Roman Empire in Western Europe. He defeated the Lombards in to protect the pope. Charles invaded spain and attacked the muslums. He also attacked the Saxsons andand converted them to Christianity.
I. Introduction Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, was a medieval ruler who served as the King of the Franks and later the first Holy Roman Emperor from 768 to 814 CE. He is known for his military conquests, religious reforms, and promotion of education and culture in Europe. On the other hand, the Caesars were the rulers of the Roman Empire, one of the most significant civilizations in human history. They ruled from the foundation of the Roman Republic in 509 BCE to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast the achievements, reigns, and legacies of Charlemagne and the Caesars.
The ideal ruler was expected to be a strong Christian leader who protected the Church, promoted Christianity, and defended Christendom from external threats and maintaining social order. In the Carolingian Empire, the ruler's authority was based on the divine right of kings, and the relationship between the ruler and the people was largely hierarchical, with the king at the top with counts and “Misi Dominic” serving the king (lecture). The king relied on a system of vassalage, where local lords or vassals pledged allegiance and loyalty to the king in exchange for protection and land(lecture). The king's authority was also supported by the Church, which played a significant role in maintaining social order in the region he controlled. Helping the church build missionaries is what expanded his rule into more
The king saw it as their duty to “defend the holy Church of Christ from the attacks of pagans and infidels from without, and within to enforce the acceptance of the Catholic faith.” (Document 2) By this, his good intentions can be seen in forcing the conquered nations to accept Christianity, but he went astray with his methods. Charlemagne wished for the name of Jesus Christ to be glorified throughout the world as stated in the letter. The king himself, with great piety and devotion, “practiced the Christian religion in which he had been reared from infancy.” (Einhard, p. 36)
There are many examples in the document that reinforce Charlemagne’s status as a Christian warrior, particularly in his use of oaths and relics. First, Charlemagne’s war victories that were “…most skillfully planned and successfully fought...,” led him to the expansion of the Frank kingdom. He was also favored by the surrounding nations which helped the kingdom expansion by double. Charlemagne also valued his friendships with other kings or emperors in the area. It is stated that he left cities on the coast to the Greek Emperor for the sake of their friendship, “and because of the treaty that he had made with him”.
Charlemagne was also known as Charles the Great. He was king of the Franks and he united the majority of Western Europe during the early Middle Ages. On top of that, he laid the foundations for modern France and Germany. He attempted to unite all Germanic peoples into one kingdom and convert his subjects to Christianity. Being a skilled military strategist, he spent much of his reign in warfare so that he could manage to accomplish his goals. Because of his position, he encouraged the Carolingian Renaissance.
Primary Source Paper 2 The Life of Charlemagne was written by Einhard a little after Charlemagne death in 814. Einhard wrote the biography to make sure that Charlemagne’s legacy would not be forgotten. He would list many points in this biography, but I’ve decided to only point out three of them. These three chapters are his deeds, his family life, and his life with the Christian religion.
What is the significance of a notable event if it does not change a person’s life? The story, “In the Time of Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez portrays the Mirabal sisters as typical girls who grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s on their family farm in the Dominican Republic. The Mirabal sisters had the same hopes, dreams, insecurities, and aspirations of girls in their country, yet the path they each eventually chose for themselves lead them to revolutionary outcomes. Each girl possessed a unique personality and each girl called into civil disobedience came from a unique mindset. Despite and because of their varied experiences each sister chose to join the revolution when each of their most dominant core values were called upon or challenged.
As an official in the palace and one of the king’s friends, Einhard had one of the best possible views of Charlemagne and his rule. In this “public history of this most distinguished and deservedly most famous king” (Einhard 51), Einhard writes to Charlemagne’s descendants and the rest of posterity about the fame of the Frankish Empire and to preserve the memory of its mightiest ruler. Einhard is an extremely biased author, however. Once upon a time, Charlemagne offered shelter and kindness to Einhard in his court, and in return Einhard ignored the more shocking facts about Charlemagne, like his true motives in practicing Catholicism and his dysfunctional family, specifically his daughters and grandchildren, even after Charlemagne’s death in
When Charlemagne ascended the throne and had full control of the empire, he wanted to not only rule both his people and Romans, he was also interested in his people and the ones he conquered to convert to Christianity. (Pages 258-259). Charlemagne exceedingly cared about government as much as he cared about religion, which is why one of the things he did when first became an emperor was to make sure that the Pope Hadrian I, got his land back from the Lombard Kingdom and he has also helped the Pope on countless occasions. (Pg. 259). Yes, Charlemagne was truly successful in linking religion and governing, his people or the Romans did not rebel against him and during his ruling he was able to offer people opportunities to learn and deepen their understanding of the Christian faith.
Charlemagne is no stranger to being a strong, determined, leader in Western Europe. Charlemagne was known for being the first emperor of the Romans in 800-814, also later known as the Holy Roman Empire. In 768-814, Charlemagne was the King of the Franks, focusing on honoring old customs and expectations. Charlemagne led his way up in 774-814 and became the King of Lombards. According to Britannica and Gale in Context, Charlemagne had an overall positive impact on his society due to his strong leadership skills and personal courage.
Einhard believes Charlemagne’s faith in the Lord led to many positive developments for the Frankish
Charlemagne argued that loyalty and commitment would be important to his empire. With the church and oaths acting together, Charlemagne could base his empire on fairness, safety, and
Since the fall of the western Roman empire, there has never been another emperor of the west until Charlemagne came along, in christmas day year 800 Pope Leo the third at rome’s st. peter’s basilica crowned karl as emperor of the holy roman empire, karl stated that he did not know why he was being summoned to rome, but it is unlikely that he wasn't aware of what was going on. His coronation was met with cheers and applause, with pomp and circumstance, as the people rejoiced their new god appointed emperor of the romans who was himself a german. The coronation itself was major turning point in history, many historian agree that that reason why charlemagne accepted his ascension into emperorship was so that he could justify his occupation of
