The two primary sources, Life of Alexander and Life of Charlemagne, are two writings, one a narrative and the other a biography, respectively, that describe the lives and reigns of two great leaders. Einhard, an Irish scholar who was part of the educational reform that Charlemagne started when he ordered monastaries and cathedrals to establish schools, decided to write about Charlemagne after his death in 814 as he did not want people to forget about him and what he had accomplished as a leader. Einhard was part of Charlemagne’s inner circle from 793 until Charlemagne’s death in 814 so he was directly privy to much of Charlemagne’s reign and felt like people should know and understand Charlemagne since he ultimately created the turning point for Europe becoming a world power. Plutarch wrote Life of Alexander sometime during the first century as he lived from 45-120. He was a Greek author that wrote biographies that paired Greek and Roman leaders, hoping to find similarities between the ancient Greek rulers and the Roman rulers of his time. He wanted the Romans and the Greeks to see the comparison of two successful and accomplished leaders from different times – Alexander the Great and Julius Ceasar. (Plutarch, 1) (Frankforter and Spellman, 219) With varying styles of education, different leadership styles, and largely different lengths of time for their reigns, Alexander the Great and Charlemagne both managed to build two of the largest empires in European history. Although Alexander and Charlemagne had different educational backgrounds, both were deemed as very smart and intelligent men during their reigns. “[Philip] sent for Aristotle, the most celebrated and learned of all philosophers; and the reward he gave him for forming his son Alexander was not only honorable, but remarkable for its propriety.” (The Life of Alexander 2) Since Aristotle was known as a philospher, Alexander’s education was based on more philosophical thoughts and ideas which was common during the Hellenistic Era as theories of varying philosphies began to arise. Charlemagne’s education, although late in life, was based on the liberal arts which is the educational curriculum that he introduced during his reign. According
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
Charlemagne, was a man influenced in learning and education, in fact William the Conqueror made alterations to the English language dictionary. He incorporated various words from other languages such as French. Yet, stronger in education, Charlemagne was surrounded by scholars from different areas and he opened a palace school where he recruited the best teachers. Adding to this, both conquerors, incorporated religion in their skills of conquering. This means, faith was an important element on how they ruled and their actions. However, Charlemagne and William indeed were very different. In fact, Charlemagne’s rule was maintained by the strength of his personality, meaning a unified royal authority came first. While William the Conqueror was desperate on winning more lands and was brutal on battles, Charlemagne focused his reign on education and
Although the biography was reminiscent of Suetonius’s Lives of the Caesars, Einhard did develop a unique literary style all his own, which would go on to inspire Bishop Asser’s Life of Alfred the Great and biographies of Louis the Pious. This technique provided a stark contrast to the hagiographic writings characteristic of the time. Although Charlemagne was certainly represented as a pious Christian man, Einhard didn’t want this to comprise all of what made Charle’s a great king. He wished for his greatness to be represented as a “more personal characteristic,” instead of a Christian
The first account of Charlemagne's life was by his courtier, Einhard, who thought it would be a tragedy if history forgot such a noble ruler. Furthermore, not only does he believe that it should be him to write about Charlemagne's life, but only him. He
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.
The most famous work about Charlemagne is a book entitled The Two Lives of Charlemagne which consists of two separate biographies published into one book and tells the story of Charlemagne's life as two different people experienced it. Apart from this, there are many other places you can turn to learn more about the life of the king of the Franks, including letters, capitularies, inventories, annals, and more. However, each of these sources seem to paint a different picture of Charlemagne. In one, he seems to be a very average guy; in another, a mythical being, almost god-like; and a strong and firm political leader in yet another. It is because of this of this that we will never really know exactly who Charlemagne was or what he was
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.
He was the son of Bertrada the Laon and Pepin the Short. Not much is known about Charlemagne’s childhood and education but as an adult he displayed talent for languages, speaking Latin and understanding Greek.
Charlemagne was born on about 742. He was the oldest son of the Frankish leader Pepin the Short. Pepin was the mayor of the palace under the
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
Einhard, born in 775 in an ancient Frankish homeland, in a valley of the River Main, was taken into Charlemagne’s court sometime between 791 and 792. After the scholar Alcuin retired to the monastery, Einhard became a go to source for answers for Charlemagne. After Charlemagne’s death Einhard felt compelled to write a biography about his king and friend, writing that, ○“In any event, I would rather commit my story to writing, and hand it down in posterity, in partnership with others, so to speak, that to suffer the most glorious life of this most excellent king, the greatest of all the princes of his day, and his illustrious deeds, hard for men of later times to imitate, to be wrapped in the darkness of oblivion” (Einhard 16). Einhard spent twenty-two years in Charlemagne’s court and ○“Although
Alexander III of Macedon, more commonly known as Alexander the Great, is one of the most legendary figures in our history and in the history of the world. His conquests and endeavors echoed far and wide, bringing about new eras and ideas to the world. Alexander earned his place in the world’s history and is worthy of the title ‘The Great’ because of his military prowess, his idealism and his legacy.
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
In the second part, "Alexander the Great and Heroic Leadership", he details the life and conquests of Alexander the Great. He was a son of Philip II of Macedon whom Philip II had a great influence on Alexander and his methods as a soldier and commander. Throughout Alexander 's childhood, he was well educated in many areas suitable to a young royal. Alexander 's education included learning to sing and play the lyre, hunt and ride and how to debate, and to appreciate epic poetry, mostly as it related to Homer. On the eve of his march into Asia he was certainly one of the best-informed men in the Greek world. Alexander would become known worldwide for being the leader who did what no other could do before or since conquer states and entities on several continents and create a kingdom greater than any other. He was conquest of the Persian Empire and he marched with his men toward India. He