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Life Of Alexander And Life Of Charlemagne

Decent Essays

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

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