Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essays about charlemagne
Two lives of charlemagne sparknotes
Charlemagne the great legacy
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Essays about charlemagne
The only empire that has ever united France and Germany apart from a few years under Napoleon Bonaparte is the one established in the 8th century by Charlemagne.
“Charlemagne was born April 2, C.742 in what is now Belgium” (Charlemagne). “Charlemagne was never able to master reading and writing while growing up”(About). “Even though Charlemagne couldn’t read or write as well as others he could speak other languages such as Latin and Greek among other languages”(Charlemagne). Charlemagne had a good personality most of the time. “Some of his titles was King of Franks, King of Lombards, he was also generally considered the first Holy Roman Emperor”(About). “Some people refer to him as the Father of Europe”(History).
“He was usually laughing, joking, and singing” (Donn). “Charlemagne was a big guy. He was over 6ft tall with long blonde hair and beard” (Donn). He was interested in Athletic pursuits. “He enjoyed hunting, horseback and swimming” (History). Charlemagne was a “player”. He had multiple wives and mistresses. He also had 18 or more kids. When Pepin the Short who was the king ...
The collection Two Lives of Charlemagne contains two different biographies of Charlemagne who was a king of the Franks and a christian emperor of the West in the 8th century. The first biographical account was written by his courtier Einhard who knew him personally and well. On the other hand, the second account was penned by Notker the Stammerer was born twenty-five years after the king’s death. Even though these two versions indicate the same king’s life, there were many differences between the two. Einhard’s writing focused on the emperor’s official life and his military campaign. However, Notker provided more of a perspective about the king’s legacy and seemed more hyperbolic as well as mythical. This paper will compare and contrast the
Otto von Bismarck, the Chancellor that led the unification of the German states, did not like the fact that Germany was between Russia and France. “Bismarck formed the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in the year preceding World War 1” (Ch. Imperialism is the way of spreading a country’s power and influence through military force or diplomacy. Great Britain and other European countries took over many countries, making empires. According to Document E, Great Britain has taken over the seas and some countries.
Charlemagne is a known for his success to try to maintain his empire. This new empire will embrace the unity of Christian faith. Under Charlemagne, new lands are conquered and a Renaissance is embraced. He even tries to revive the Christian faith. Charlemagne is a man that hopes to be an inspiration to the next generation. These deeds of Charlemagne is seen in the Two Lives of Charlemagne. In the Two lives of Charlemagne, both Notker’s and Einhard’s goal is to portray Charlemagne as a man of good character, a man that accomplishes many deeds and a man that hopes to provide an outlet for the next generation.
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.
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.
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 apprenticeship of a King” describes how Charlemagne gained power through conquest and diplomacy. In 768, King Pippin died and his kingdom was divided between his two sons. Charles, the elder, and the younger was Carloman. The author says that little is known of Charles’ boyhood. When he was of the right age, it is recorded that he worked eagerly at riding and hunting. It was the custom of the Franks to ride and be practiced in the use of arms and ways of hunting. We may reasonably infer that acquiring these skills formed a major part of his early education. Charles was not a “man of letters” and the author makes no attempt at explaining this other than to point out that literacy was considered unimportant at that time for anyone other than the clergy and Charles didn’t become interested in “letters” until later in life. Bullough explains a number of experiences in public duties and responsibilities, which were assigned to Charles by his father, thus, giving him an apprenticeship to rule the kingdom. For some reason tension between Charles and his brother began shortly after their accession. The author explains a number of conflicts. The younger brother died however, at the end of 771 and a number of prominent people in his kingdom offered allegiance to Charles. Bullough names and explains those subjects. The result was the re-uniting of those territories, which helped to establish the kingdom of the Franks.
Prussian Chancelor Bismarck formed a new German empire out of multiple small German states around a Prussian Core because France and Austria-Hungary might act to destroy Germany because of their recent defeats. He also wanted a careful series of alliances and foreign policy decisions to stabilize Europe until Germany becomes an established fact. Bismarck wanted to have an alliance with other countries and he knew that France were not one of them because of the hatred and anger they have over the German control of Alsace-Lorraine.
noble birth and he had a lot of responsibility in his kingdom. He is looked up to by most for leadership and guidance.
with certain aspects of the Emperors life. Aspects that the history books to normally deal
"Charlemagne." Myths and Legends of the World. Ed. John M. Wickersham. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. Web. 19 May 2015.
The French also made a secret agreement with Italy, as well as with the Americans. Germany also made alliances with Austria-Hungary, and Italy. (Ross 18). This alliance system, divided the continent into “armed camps,” and thereby made it more likely that such an incident could not be prevented from spreading. (Ross 52). After a lot of problems in the Balkans, caused by the newly formed states, France and Russia both felt that war was destined to come, although both Germany and Britain had shown willingness to cooperate, trying to prevent war, and to make peace. This definitely showed hope as two hostile countries tried to reach an agreement. Forced into trouble in the Balkans, the nations desperately tried to keep peace, unsuccessfully. These countries also had a lot of colonies, mostly in Africa. As they were also competing to get the greatest amount of territory there, they often crossed each other, causing several problems.
Compare and Contrast the Unification of Germany, Italy, and the United States. From the 1790s to 1814 French troops successively conquered and occupied the area that later constituted the German Empire. French domination helped to modernize and consolidate Germany and -- toward the end -- sparked the first upsurge of German nationalism. In different ways, the French emperor Napoleon I helped German unification.