Conversion To Catholic Christianity

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

Kacie Lee Tomasetti AP World P.6 11/11/17 AP World ID #10 1. Charlemagne (252-254) Charlemagne became the the ruler of the Franks in 768.

The fall of Western Roman Empire in late 5th century led to its vast territory being divided in numerous kingdoms without any central authority. Charlemagne became the King of the Franks in 768. He then successfully led a series of campaigns throughout his reign to unite most of Western Europe under a sole emperor for the first time since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The expanded Frankish state Charlemagne founded was called the Carolingian Empire.

numerous factors contributed to the fall of the Carolingian Empire but the department of Frankish lands among male individuals of the Carolingian dynasty become one of the most important causes for its downfall because it led to fragmentation of Charlemagne’s empire. In reality, the creation of the Carolingian Empire become in a few quantity a end result of a fortunate accident. the primary Carolingian King of the Franks, Pepin the quick (751-768) turned into sole ruler because his brother Carloman renounced his role as Mayor of the Palace and went into monastery in 747. Charlemagne and his successor Louis the Pious, alternatively, ruled the whole Carolingian Empire due to premature loss of life in their brothers and co-rulers.

Born in about 742, Charlemagne was the son of King Pepin III (known as Pepin the Short). Pepin and his brother together ruled the Franks, whose kingdom included parts of present-day France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. Upon Pepin 's death in 768, Charlemagne and his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom. When Carloman died three years later, Charlemagne became the sole ruler.

He was the first king of the Franks by uniting all the tribes under one rule, which marked the end of royal chieftains. However, he was converted to Catholicism and Clovis only converted because he won the battle against the Alamanni, Clovis states, “I beseech the glory of thy aid, and the vow that if thou wilt grant me victory over these enemies, […], I will believe in thee and be baptized in thy name (pp.137-138).” This did not bother Gregory of Tours or his subjects because he was seen as the chosen one by God to rule the Franks. In Charles case, he had always been a devout Christian. Clovis became a devout believer of Christianity and practiced with caution, Clovis states, “If you have decreed that this people of unbelievers, who have always been hostile to you, […], show me a propitious sign as these men enter St. Martin’s (pp.142).” They both defended Christianity and tried to convert non-believers through

Clovis I, son of Childeric I of the Salian Franks, unified the Frankish people under one king. He ruled from 481 CE to his death in 511. In 496, he became the first Germanic king to convert to Catholicism. Other Germanic rulers had converted to Christianity before Clovis, but the majority of them held the Arian doctrine, condemned as heresy by the Catholic Church during the Council of Nicaea in 325. This led to widespread conversion among the Frankish people of Gaul. Although labelled a model for Christian kingship by Gregory of Tours, Clovis’ conversion had less to do with newfound Christian devotion and more to do with the potential political advantages of being part of the Church.

He improved his countries monetary and government system. Charlemagne enforced Christianity all over his kingdom. He conquered the Saxons, and turned all of them into Christians. He gave money and land to the Christian church. On December 25, 800, Pope Leo crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Charlemagne didn’t let his daughters marry until he was dead, due to how much he loved his children. Charlemagne loved to hear about St. Augustine’s writings, and about the City of God.

In The History of the Franks, Gregory of Tours portrayed Clovis as a leader who, although his conversion to Christianity appeared to be genuine, nonetheless, used his conversion to realize his political aspirations. By converting to Christianity, Clovis, according to Gregory of Tours’ narrative, was able to garner the support of Christian leaders such as Saint Remigius and, consequently, gain powerful political allies. Moreover, as a result of his conversion, Clovis became a king who was more attractive to orthodox Christians. Furthermore, Clovis’ conversion provided him with a reason for conquering territories that were not ruled by orthodox Christians. Thus, Clovis

After Carloman died in 771, Charlemagne became king of the Franks, and went to Rome and strenghten his support of the pope. Charlemagne then began military campaigns to expand the Frankish kingdom.

The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family which managed to take control over the entirety of the Franks and form what is known as the Carolingian Empire. Being a Frankish noble family meant that they originally began as a Germanic tribe until 496 A.D when Clovis I, the first ruler of the Franks united all of the Frankish tribes underneath his rule. Charlemagne was born to Pepin the Younger, king of the Franks from the years 751-768 A.D who was also the first of the Carolingians to become King, and his wife, the Frankish queen, Bertrada of Laon. The day and month of his birth is agreed by scholars to be the 2nd of April but the year of his birth is a much discussed and debated topic amongst scholars since some sources claim that he was born in 742 (before the marriage of his parents meaning that he is a bastard not fit for the throne), 747 (his birthday would have fallen upon Easter day which would have been mentioned by historians at the time but was not) or more popularly the year of 748. The exact location of his birth is not known but is speculated to be either Aachen in Germany or Liege in Belgium amongst other cities.

Charlemagne’s father, King Pepin (the short), officially put an end to the Merovingian line of kings to become King of the Franks, and willed that Francia be divided between both Charlemagne and his brother Carloman upon his death in 768. The divided rule was short lived, ○“Carloman had succumbed to disease after ruling two years in common with his brother, at his death Charles was unanimously elected King of the

Charles Martel, or Charles the Hammer, considered one of the greatest to hold the title “Mayor of the Palace”, succeeded the position in 732 (Abrams 186). He gained high admiration and respect from the Frankish people for his feats against the Muslims trying to gain passage into Europe (Abrams 186), and imparted much wisdom to an equally respected ruler, his grandson, Charlemagne. By this time, the Franks thought of the mayors more as kings instead of stewards considering that they had complete control over the empire and its people. Charlemagne’s Father, Pepin III, more commonly known as Pepin the Short, assumed the position of Mayor in 751 (Davis 54). During his reign, Pepin defended Rome against a barbarian tribe called the Lombards, which strengthened the relationship between the church and the state that later would contribute to Charlemagne’s sovereignty as Holy Roman Emperor (Davis 54). Pepin died in 768, dividing the now much larger Frankish empire between his two sons Charlemagne and Carolmen (Davis 54). Carolmen died in 771 and left Charlemagne as the sole ruler of the Frankish empire (Davis 54). The era when the mayors ruled the Franks up until Charlemagne’s death acquired the title “The Carolingian Dynasty” in Western Europe (Jenkins 123). From the passing of both his Father and brother, Charlemagne continued into his kingship over the Frankish Empire.

Education: noun the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university

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