745 A.D.: It was a time filled with anarchy in Europe—Germanic groups that inhabited Europe remained disorganized and without central authority. It was also a time of new beginnings and influences. April 2, 745 was the day of the birth of Charlemagne who would later rise to the throne of emperor of the Roman Empire. Born as son of Pepin III (the Short) and heir to the Frankish throne, he rose to be one the most well-known kings in history—Charlemagne, the Frankish king and Roman emperor. Not only did he conquer an inundation of lands and peoples, he also promoted education and influenced the trade of his empire through coining for the greater good (Bhote …). Living in a time period in which Europe was muddled, Charlemagne is outstanding as he successfully created one of the most prominent empires in Europe by bringing numerous peoples under his control (McGill).
The Frankish empire all started in 511 when Clovis I (c. 481-511) conquered the Visigoths and other tribes and became one of the early Merovingian, an early Salian Frankish dynasty, kings (McGill). Charles Martel, Charlemagne’s grandfather, once saved the Merovingian dynasty from the clutches of downfall, assuring his sons a position at the throne. About a hundred years later, in the seventh century, Charlemagne’s father, Pepin III, created the Carolingian dynasty under the Merovingian dynasty and overcame Childeric III, the Merovingian king. Now, the sole ruler was the Carolingian dynasty, which had always been in a position of more power. By doing this, he ensured his sons, Charlemagne and Carloman, a chance at the throne. The borders of this new dynasty were, at the time, France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. In addition, Pepin allied with Pope Stephen II, and...
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...ed construction projects (e.g. basilica of the Holy Mother of God at Aix-la-Chapelle and bridge over the Rhine at Mayence), helping tie all the empire together with the arts.
In the end, Charlemagne died of fevers and pleurisy on January 28, 814. As noted by Einhard, the entire empire cried in outroar. With Charlemagne gone, his reign of organization was also gone; his empire soon fell into disarray after his death. Despite this, he did leave something in his legacy—he was a role model for kings and emperors to come. As a man of great faith in Christianity, excellent oration, exemplary physical strength and energy, iron will, and love for the active life, he was truly an outstanding leader. His many conquests and military campaigns, diplomacy, and strong administration prove that he was a man who was able to rise above others—a man whom history will never forget.
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 like, but we do have an idea of what he did and how he lived thanks to those who decided to preserve it.
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.
Throughout the Ages there have been many leaders who were known for their great rule. One of these great men during the 8th century was Charlemagne. The Life of Charlemagne was written by Einhard, a Frankish elite who had the privilege of working in the courts of Charlemagne. The book did not come out till after Charlemagne’s death but, it goes through his life in a thematic fashion. Einhard sets the book by first addressing deeds, habits, and then administration. This writing was one of the first of its kind. While there were many biographies written on the lives of saints known as hagiography, this was the first of its kind to be written about a secular ruler since the time of Antiquity. I will begin by talking about Charlemagne’s rise to power, then about his character and personality, and finally his relationship with his family.
Charlemagne once said, “Right action is better than knowledge, but in order to do what is right, we must know what is right” (historymedren.com). Charlemagne proved himself to be a successful leader, and he was an inspiration to others who desired to rule Europe. He was born in 742, and very little information is known about his adolescence. Europe was trapped in its fourth century of the “dark ages” when Charlemagne was born but this quickly changed after Charlemagne became the ruler of Europe and exhibited his strong leadership skills. (livescience.com).He put a large emphasis on education and revealed that he was an inquisitive individual as he studied and spoke in many different languages. Charlemagne’s desire for success, his emphasis of culture, and his quest for knowledge ended Europe’s unproductiveness and led to great prosperity.
Charlemagne accomplishes many deeds. One includes Charlemagne capturing the Breton’s. He conquers their land in the westernmost part of Gaul since they did not listen to him (25). Charlemagne, in his lifetime, will go through many wars. Many among those are listed in Notker. Notker his second book on Charlemagne goes into more detail about how the wars were brought about. Wars His rule is not limited to wars. Charlemagne sought out to initiate a sort of Renaissance period
To understand his political influence you need to understand that Charlemagne had three major roles as a king, he controlled the army, defended the church, and was the supreme judge. Therefore one of his major changes was that he replaced old system of trial by ordeal and replaced it with trial by jury which was seen as one of the most important doings Charlemagne did for his people. During his campaign, he fought in many brutal wars including the bloody war in Aquitaine; which was started by his father. Charlemagne also took over northern Italy, dethroned king Desiderius, and then proclaimed himself the King of Italy in 774. With the Pope’s hatred of Charlemagne, he soon accused him of violation of prearranged agreements. This angered Charlemagne and he went to war and defeated pope and his scheme with two campaigns. Overall Charlemagne political reign showed that charlemagne accomplished many things for his people in particular his success in many wars although he was soon defeated in the campaign against
The Ottonian period was from the year 919 to 1024, in which Germany became the leading country in Europe politically and artistically. The Ottonian rulers adopted Carolingian ambitions and traditions in art and politics to achieve greatness, but they developed their own original identity. The Ottonian emperors like the Carolingian rulers wanted a closer relationship with the papacy and planned to recreate the glory of the ancient Roman Empire in a universal Christian state governed by the Pope. Therefore, the principal monarchs of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto I (c. 912-973), Otto II (c. 955-983), and Otto III (c. 980-1002) proceeded with their political agenda by sponsoring religious reforms, literature, and the arts.
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.
The reign of Charlemagne was full of wars and invasions. Charlemagne became king of half of the Frankish empire while the other half was given to his brother, Carloman. When Pepin died, there was a void that needed filling and Charles and his brother were both made kings by the Frankish people. This division was not peaceful and the reign was marked with each brother fighting for the other’s land and power. When Carloman died and his wife Gerberga fled to Italy, Charlemagne became king of both halves of the Frankish kingdom. Charles became the strongest ruler in Western Europe overnight, and as soon as he had control over both halves of the kingdom he swung promptly into action carrying out a plan of dominating many lands in all directions. This new reign was full of wars in the beginning as Charlemagne was starting to dominate a lot of different places at the same time. He fought with the Lombards and the Saxons while simultaneously leading expeditions into Spain to take land and castles. He waged wars with the Huns, a Slavic set of wars, and the Danish War. All of these exploits by Charlemagne made him a very powerful ruler but he neglected the lands that he already ruled and famine and uprising was happening. Charlemagne dealt with these problems and continued to thrive as a ruler.
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 entire land of the Franks was given to Charlemagne. This kingdom was vast and covers what would today include parts of the countries of Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and France.
By 800 Charlemagne had succeeded in immensely expanding his empire while still being able to crush his enemies. He ruled all Christianized provinces except for the British Isles, that had once been a part of the Roman empire. As the sworn protector of the church, Charlemagne was the political master of Rome itself. The office of the pope recognized his power and crowned him Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas day on 800. During his reign as emperor Charlemagne attempted to create unity, harmony, and peace with his vast empire and to support laws and promote learning that would achieve his goals of the empire. Charlemagne in contrast to his Merovingian predecessors attempted to create a fixed capital to rival that of Byzantium, and ancient and awe inspiring. In 806 at the age of 64 Charlemagne took some measures so he can provide for the succession of his empire. He divided his empire among his 3 sons, Charles, Pepin, and louis. But the death of Charles in April 10 was soon followed by his brother Pepin. His final son Louis later called “the Pious,” the least warlike and aggressive of the three, was left alone as the single heir to the
Augustus Caesar spent his time as ruler making Rome a peaceful place. He died on August 19, 14 A.D in Nola, Italy. His last words to his subjects was “ I found Rome of clay; I leave it to you of marble,” but to his friends he said “Have I played the part well? Then applaud me as I exit.” Soon after that the Roman Senate officially declared their departed emperor, to be a god.
Domitian inherited the empire when his brother suddenly died after ruling for only two years. He became Roman Emperor in 81AD which fulfilled his lifelong dream. He was now able to follow in his father and brother’s footsteps as emperor. When he was emperor he traveled outside of Rome many times. He was said to be a hostile ruler.
Religion is among one of the aspects that defines culture. This was a key concept for those living in the Middle Ages, whose lives were dominated by religion. More specifically, those in high positions of the church dominated their lives because the church provided a unified culture, or belief system. In fact, in the Early Middle Ages, rulers needed the support of the church to legitimize their rule. This was the case for Charlemagne, who united much of Western Europe and converted his subjects to Christianity. Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans in 800(History). “The assumption of the title of emperor of Charlemagne in
Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, King of the Franks. Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, King of the Franks (742-814), was a strong. leader who unified Western Europe through military power and the blessing of the Church. The Church. The Church.