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The two lives of charlemagne summary
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The two lives of charlemagne summary
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The Roman Empire was overthrown in 476 C.E. by uncivil, barbaric Germanic tribes who were allied for the sole purpose of burning and sacking the Roman Empire. There was a strong need for a leader who would unite Germanic people and put and bring civility to them as well. The Holy Roman Empire was founded on a set of Roman values which included Catholicism as well as an imperial state of mind. The first emperor was the Frankish King Charlemagne who was coronated at St. Peter’s Basilica in the year 800 . Charlemagne’s imperial attitude and love of god gave him the power to set an incredible foundation for the entirety of medieval to modern-day Europe. The influence of Charlemagne and his Holy Roman Empire can be seen in many aspects of European
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
Before Charlemagne and the Carolingian empire, there was in no proper sense a “Western Europe”. For the romans, everything geographically was centered around Mare Nostrum, the medditerrian.* The lands surrounding the Mediterranean sea, Hispania, Italy, Greece, and north Africa were all seen as being closer to together geographically and culturally, then the lands of Gaul or Germania. Even after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Europe was seen as everything away from the northern coast of the Mediterranean, usually only Gaul and Rhineland.*
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.
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.
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.
Every historian interprets the past differently and with distinctive perspectives, resulting in many sides to one story. Often the reader must decide which perspective is more logical, likely, or coherent. Recounting one war took a lot of time and effort because of the necessity to include all sides of the story. Becher, Barbero, Collins and Backman have approached the life of Charlemagne with different points of view; however, Barbero seems to have the strongest argument for the cause of the Saxon War. The other historians were less willing to see the Saxon war as a religious war. The life of Charlemagne was interesting to historians because it was filled with many vigorous wars that he fought including the infamous Saxon War. From the beginning of his life, Charlemagne was destined to rule a nation and lead his people into war, achieving both triumphant victories and devastating defeats. He died of sickness in old age, thus leaving the kingdom in the hands of his son. The Saxon war was the most persistent, yet hostile war he fought because of the determination and severity of the enemy. However, the questions remain: “What actually caused the Saxon war? What gave it life? What are all the different events that occurred during this war? What are some of the strategies used during this war?” The wars he fought resulted in his success as a ruler and as a historical figure to reflect on when considering the greatness of kings.
Charlemagne Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, became the undisputed ruler of Western Europe, “By the sword and the cross.” (Compton’s 346) As Western Europe was deteriorating Charlemagne was crowned the privilege of being joint king of the Franks in 768 A.D. People of Western Europe, excluding the church followers, had all but forgotten the great gifts of education and arts that they had possessed at one time. Charlemagne solidly defeated barbarians and kings in identical fashion during his reign. Using the re-establishment of education and order, Charlemagne was able to save many political rights and restore culture in Western Europe.
Upon evaluating each empire, there are likings between both the Carolingian Empire and the Roman Empire, along with their leaders, Charlemagne and Augustus. Both leaders in their own veneration were experienced military men with dexterity in engaging in war to expand their sway and authority. Each had attained an abundance of land at the beginning of their sovereignty, and during their walk of life had exponentially accumulated an extensive empire. The crucial variance that permitted the Roman Empire to continue to withstand itself was the supervision of the
named emperor by the pope. After the death of Charlemagne’s son, Louis I, the Treaty of Verdun was made and split up the empire into three parts with three different rulers, which later weakened the empire. The next dynasty, the Saxon dynasty, is when a monarchy was gradually formed though the three kings Conrad I, Henry I, and Otto I, though they did expand the empire. During this dynasty, the empire was given its name, the Holy Roman Empire, which was later on bad for the empire. The Salian dynasty came next, and early on had a good relationship with the Church, but was later broken in a fight between Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV over investiture, which sparked a long term rivalry between pope and king.
Charlemagne also known as Charles the Great, created a legacy that is greatly honored still to this day. He is seen as one of the greatest conquerors ever because of territories he conquered, the diversity he created, and the building of one of the greatest empires known to mankind. Since the fall of Rome, most of the continent of Europe has not been ruled by someone, until Charlemagne came along. Charlemagne was the founder of the Holy Roman Empire and was the one person to practically lead Europe out of the Dark Ages.
Europe during the darkest part of the dark ages was a chaotic time that was filled with disease and death. One man rose to change this dark time, and this man’s name was Charlemagne. The Holy Roman Empire was ruled by Charlemagne, he tried to restore order and peace throughout the empire by conquering lands and converting his subjects to christianity. The Holy Roman Empire used its land and geography to its advantage, conquered and converted different lands to christianity, promoted education and the building of schools, and created an organized government structure.
During the eighth century the roman empire in Europe collapsed because the centralized government under the rule of Charlemagne also known as Charles the Great failed to control the obscure provinces mostly because of the deadlock of transportation and communication; being that the empire was vast and news of invasions, rebellions, outbreaks, and natural disasters was not transmitted easily. After the downfall of the centralized government a system called feudalism, where each part of the kingdom had a ruler who was subordinate to the king, emerged and lasted for about six centuries.
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
After Rome’s fall in 476 CE, Europe began its long dark ages from 5th century to 15th century; there was no definite ruler or civilized culture. Ceaseless battles and wars between the Germanic tribes confined Europe from development, and the churches abused their power, growing more and more. However, continental Europe began to find a ray of hope when the Franks began to unite the splattered tribes. Clovis, the king of Salian Franks, established the Merovingian Empire and consolidated his power in Europe. As the time passed, this empire was in truth controlled by the advisors of the kings, the mayors of the palace, because the do-nothing were kings overly dependent on the mayors. They passed on their jobs to their sons, and the family was
The Carolingian Renaissance had remarkable impact on the history of the Christian Church. Although sometimes it can be an afterthought, the contributions made by Charlemagne and his court are essential to understanding the development of the church. As Europe entered into the Medieval time period directly after the fall of the Roman Empire, areas surrounding the Mediterranean saw a lack of education and literacy. Hence the time period was referred to as the Dark ages, and scholasticism seized to exist. Charlemagne’s court allowed for a rebirth or renaissance because of his focus on education. A renaissance was in order for the church as well. Charlemagne placed a great deal of emphasis on contributing to the church financially as well as politically. Christianity and Charlemagne’s court were heavily linked. As his court flourished, his impacts on the church of the time period were numerous and influential. In many ways, the claim can be made that he was essential in ensuring the survival of the church during the medieval time period.