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.
The Vikings were a group of Germanic sea dwellers who traded with and raided towns all across Europe out of their Scandinavian homeland. During the late 8th to 11th centuries they ruled all of Europe through their barbaric ways. Even other cultures outside of Europe saw the barbaric ways in which the Vikings acted towards the villages that they encountered. One such case of this was a Muslim Chronicler, Ibn Fadlan, recounting of the Vikings as “[T]he filthiest of God’s creatures.” While they were very savage in their actions, this very trait gave them the ability to be able to roam through and ravage an entire town fully unopposed and within a very miniscule timeframe.
The Carefully Crafted Legend: Einhard’s distortions in The Life of Charlemagne Einhard’s The Life of Charlemagne is a famous biography that provides a firsthand account of the deeds and character of Charles the Great. Einhard was a close contemporary to Charlemagne and his court, with Walahfrid Strabo’s preface describing how there “was almost no one else among the many officials of the king’s majesty to whom the king . . . . Entrusted so many secrets.” Despite Einhard’s seemingly well researched and honest biography, there are far too many distortions and inconsistencies in this work to completely trust this work. Einhard’s information on Charlemagne’s birth and early childhood is suspect.
In the late 800’s King Alfred the Great was a great influence to Anglo Saxon literature because his “military and political success” (Amodio) led to a period of stability where culture and literature thrived, but that period of time did not last very long. The English were fearful of the Vikings coming to attack
During Medieval times there was a civilization of raiders called Vikings that lasted from about 800-1100. They were barbaric raiders and destroyed the settlements of which they came across; this caused setbacks across many European Kingdoms. Small groups of Vikings ventured out from Northern Europe in search for land, food, and other civilizations. During one of the ventures The Vikings came upon The Western European civilizations. They killed almost everyone they came in contact with in order to steal the maximum amount of slaves, jewelry, food, and other resources.
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.
Beginning at the end of the fourth century, Germanic tribes invaded the Roman Empire, causing a decline in trade, education, and cities, along with population shifts. This time of chaos became better known as the Medieval Period or the Middle Ages, which lasted from about the 5th century CE to the 14th century CE. Europe suffered greatly from the German invaders around 400 to 600 CE. Clovis, the king of the Franks, a Germanic tribe, integrated Christianity to the culture due to the influence from his wife Clotilde. Due King Clovis’ reign, monasteries were being built due to the newly formed relationship between the monarchy and the Church.
-Why were western Europeans so scared of the Vikings? -What events/circumstances drew western Europeans back into cities? -What role did the Pope play in the middle ages? 1.
Because of that, a great famine spread across Europe like wild fire. It wasn’t until 1347 when an obscure disease called the Black Death was introduced by Genoese trade
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
Charlemagne was the king of the Franks from 768 AD to 814 AD and the emperor of the West between 800 AD and 814 AD. He was a key in the foundation of the Holy Roman empire and strengthened the western European economy. He spent most of his early years of his reign at war, and expanded his territory vastly across Europe. Charlemagne ruled over a large territory and was the main political figure for all of Western Europe. “This King, who showed himself so great in extending his empire and subduing foreign nations, and was constantly occupied with plans to that end, undertook also very many works calculated to adorn and benefit his kingdom, and brought several of them to completion.”
There is no question that hardship and scattering fear re-shaped the Europeans during the 14th century. To the Europeans, they were the generation that faced the true wrath of god. It was this rather that consumed them religiously, culturally, and economically. It is for these reasons, that the Europeans faced their downfall during this century at no fault of their own. Disasters have struck throughout history, but none so consequential or sparse and quickly as the Black Death of the 14th century.
Charlemagne In the mid 800’s Einhard wrote The Life of Charlemagne. It was an accurate portrayal of character as well as honesty during a period of time where distortion was a common theme. Einhard was extremely biased in his favor of the patron. He claimed that after the last Merovingian King fell, there was no more power within the dynasty.
Life in Roman society reflected both the values and the accomplishments of the Roman people. These accomplishments were not limited to what the Romans themselves created. They were a practical people. They brilliantly incorporated the advancements of the Greeks into their culture and created an empire that allowed freedom of movement and freedom of thought. Life in the Roman Empire was unthinkable without some form of religion.
“ During the Middle ages much of Europe passed through a time of turmoil and confusion, of ignorance and lawlessness. Europe suffered a decline in commerce and manufacturing, in education, in literature and the arts, and in almost all that makes possible a high civilization. Europe became a a region of poverty-stricken farming communities, each virtually isolated from
