Charlemagne: The First Renaissance Man

Europe was plagued in a century’s long Dark Age before a very important man came along. His name was Charlemagne. He came along and turned on the light. By encouraging culture, education and arts, the eighth century king that eventually became the first Holy Roman Emperor, dragged the land out of a stagnation that was though to never end. Both a feared warrior and in many ways the first Renaissance man, Charlemagne's victories in the battlefield and on the political battlefield was believed to be the first European identity.

After the disbursement of the Roman Empire in the late fifth century, its Byzantine half expanded while the other region disintegrated into a bunch of fragmented powers without any central one-ownership. Europe was beginning

The trade amongst the kingdoms became easier and the land prospered. Another advancement that helped was the new laws. His laws took away some of the loopholes from the nobles and let the peasants participate. The peasants benefited in multiple other ways while under the reign of Charlemagne, who was very annoyed with the nobleman’s thought of entitlement; and had passion and forgiveness for the peasants. Among other political leaders, all local regional political figures were forced to regular standard inspections by royal consuls to make sure no laws were being

In the centuries before Charlemagne, the people of Germanic are revered for the highest esteem for fine metalwork, such as weapons and jewelry, which were often adorned with brightly colored gems and abstract ornaments. It was typical for leaders to show off their own radiance by distributing such gifts, and Charlemagne adopted this tradition but changed it to fit his needs and visions. Among the peoples and groups to receive these gifts were monasteries, these gifts he covered with jewels, gold and silver. He also gave beautifully illustrated books. In ivory carvings and manuscripts, pictures of kings, authors are shown in a way that shows off their mixed heritage. “In a panel depicting Saint John the Evangelist, for instance, the figure sits between two classical-looking columns bearing an arch; his pose and proportions follow an Early Christian standard, but the linear patterning of the drapery reflects a local taste for abstract design. In a lively representation of the story of Christ's supper at Emmaus, the acanthus pattern inside the outer border comes directly from the classical heritage, while the heightened animation of the figures, gesturing with disproportionately large hands, is distinctively Carolingian.”(2000–2014 the Metropolitan Museum of Art) Such ivories were often placed in beautifully decorated books along with other pearls and