Charlemagne Essay

Charlemagne in the historical context made many contributions to the modern world as well as the Carolingian dynasty during his reign. After his father passed away, he united the Franks and went to several conquest to expand his kingdom in 768 (Coffin, 176). Charlemagne was believed to be a very serious Christian king. In one of the longest conquest in Saxon, which lasted about 20 years, he had forced conversion to all the people who

Known as The King of the Franks, Charlemagne inherited half of his father’s kingdom at his death in AD 768 and took over the other half at his brother’s death in AD 771. In keeping with the tradition of his predecessors, Charlemagne’s reign was characterized by three decades of military campaigns. During his reign, Charlemagne led campaigns against the Saxons, the Lombards, Spain and Bavaria. His empire extended from Saxony in the North to the Spanish March in the South and Italy in the West. Charlemagne was officially named as the first Roman Emperor by the Pope in late AD 800. He remained emperor until AD 814.

After having read both versions of the life of Charlemagne there is no doubt that they differ greatly in the sense of style, audience, and emotion. By reading these two descriptions of Charlemagne's life we are able to decipher somewhat of the life he led as a shaper of early medieval European history. However, both of these versions possess the admiration of a noble man who they believe is worthy enough to be noted in history to some degree.

Charlemagne, the greatest king of the dark ages, shaped the standards of Europe and influenced the people for thousands of years, solidifying the idea that the dark ages weren’t so dark. After the death of his father, Frankish king Pippin III, in 768, the realm was divided into two sections. Charlemagne and his brother, Carloman, both received the sections, and a feud started almost immediately. When Carloman died in 771, Charlemagne took control of both sections in hopes of reuniting the Frankish realm. He was king of the Franks from 768-814, and he was also the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 800-814 (Frassetto). Because of his generosity, attractive personality, and need for knowledge, Charlemagne was a very respected leader. During his reign, he was able to conquer and gain control over almost all of the mainland of Europe. Though it took over 50 battles to do so, he was able to unite a large portion of

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.

Charlemagne is described by Janet Nelson as being a role model for Einhard. Einhard himself writes in the first paragraph of The Life of Charlemagne, “After I decided to write about the life, character and no small part of the accomplishments of my lord and foster father, Charles, that most excellent and deservedly famous king, I determined to do so with as much brevity as I could.” I feel that these are sincere words about the man who cared for Einhard. I feel that Einhard’s purpose for writing The Life of Charlemagne is to praise the works of his “foster-father” and create a historical document that would describe the great deeds of Charlemagne so that he would not be forgotten throughout time as a great leader and man.

Charlemagne was the king of the Franks and emperor of the Romans from 800-814. During his reign Charlemagne built a kingdom that included almost all of western and central Europe and he started Carolingian Renaissance. His empire had two main territories, East and west Francia that is now the major parts of two important European entities. West Francia is modern-day France, and East Francia became first the Holy Roman Empire and then the modern state of Germany.

The two lives of Charlemagne as told by Einhard and Notker the Stammerer are very different accounts of the life of the great Emperor. Einhard gives us a historical overview of the life of Charlemagne who lived from 742 to 814 A.D. Charlemagne was also known as Charles the Great and the King of the Franks.Charles was one of four children born to Pepin the Short, A Mayor of the Palace of the Carolingian Empire. He had one brother, Carloman and two sisters, Gisela and Pepin.Since women at the time didn’t inherit power, when Pepin the Short died, the kingship of the Carolingian Empire was divided and shared by Charlemagne and his brother, Carloman. Unfortunately, Carloman died early and unexpectedly as a young man and

The Life of Charlemagne, written by the Frankish scholar Einhard, is a biography on the personal life and achievements of Charlemagne, a ruler of the Franks and the king of Italy. He ruled from 774-800. Einhard, a male Frankish scholar, was born to noble parents in the Main Valley, around 770 A.D. He was educated in the monastery of Fulda, and shortly after sent to the palace school of Charlemagne in Aachen. Eventually becoming a personal adviser and a close friend to the king of the Franks, he influenced the king in all the ways of higher thinking and even inspired the king to desire a higher education for himself. The king even tried his hand at learning to write, however to no avail. Einhard was able to give deeper insight into the life of Charlemagne, as he was present during many of the events that took place. He also had the advantage of hearing firsthand accounts from the king. The Life of Charlemagne is thought to have been written between 829 to 836, composed by Einhard while living in Seligenstadt. Einhard wrote the accounts of Charlemagne so that there would be a historical account describing the emperor’s day to day life. “His two immediate reasons for writing were the personal knowledge which he possessed of Charlemagne, and the debt of gratitude which he owed to this remarkable king and emperor.” He was a man that possessed a drive for knowledge and insight into the future. By working under Charlemagne, he was able to grow in that knowledge and even

The Life of Charlemagne was written by Einhard to honor Charlemagne. He claimed that after the last Merovingian King fell, there was no more power within the dynasty. Einhard described the Merovingian kings as weak, in order to show how powerful Charlemagne was. He was extremely biased in his favor of the patron. He lived during Charlemagne’s life and believed that he could accurately portray him. On Christmas day 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor. Although emperors existed before him, which implicated the Roman tradition, he was the first emperor to be crowned by the Pope. Einhard demonstrated that Charlemagne was surprised when he received the crown, when in reality there are many reasons as to why he was not.

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.

During the years of St. Augustine, the Roman Empire fell in the west. It was being replaced by regional barbarian kingdoms, and was entering what some historians call the dark ages. It was a traditional, authoritative empire, with vast free-trade and a centralized government. It transformed into a Europe of economic localism, and filled with a minority of educated people. It was now a Christian Europe. A very important person during this new Europe was the Frankish king Charlemagne. His rule was known throughout the world, and Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne the "Emperor of the Romans." On top of this title, he still held all of his other titles. Charlemagne made tons of contributions during this time in Europe. He had

This period has become known as the Carolingian Dynasty. The sense of renewal in a newly stabilized society was stimulated by an elite group of scholars gathered to Charlemagne’s court. During this time, there was a strong flourish of arts, literature, architecture, and religion.

Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, reigned during a time of much turmoil and upheaval in Europe during middle ages. Charlemagne’s background and family history contributed much to his rise to power. The triumphs of his past lineage prepared him to take on the task of governing the Frankish Empire, and defending it from invaders. Charlemagne accomplished much during his supremacy. He not only brought education back into medieval Europe, but also invented an efficient way to govern his people. His conquests against the many adversaries of the Holy Roman Empire expanded his empire across the majority of Europe. His conquests also formed strong ties between the Catholic Church and the State. Charlemagne’s drive to convert Europe’s primitive

The Carolingian Renaissance was a period of history brought on by Charlemagne. The respect that Charlemagne had for scholars and knowledge in general was huge, despite the fact that he could not read or write. Also, in spite of his illiteracy, he studied many subjects, from languages to astronomy. At the time when Charlemagne took power, most of his subjects were illiterate and couldn’t speak standard Latin. The only people who seemed to be the exception were the clergy. This was apparently unacceptable to Charlemagne. In order to better promote this knowledge revival that he so craved, he gathered many of the greatest scholars of his time in his court. There may have been around one hundred and twenty scholars at his court during this time period. This fellowship of many great thinkers brought on what was later called Carolingian Renaissance. It was during this time that there was a resurgence in literature, a need for learning, and revival of culture. The scholars and monks of this time collected many classic texts and had them translated into Latin.