Caleb McGuire
Roberta Vogt
HIS-101
4/19/17
CHARLEMAGNE
The Catholic King of the Franks was known as Charlemagne. Charles the Great was also a name used to refer to this king. The Franks were a tribe located in Germany. He became their king in 771. Charlemagne was amongst the most renowned, greatest and powerful rulers who existed in the Early Middle Ages. He is also referred to as the father of Europe”. As a medieval emperor, he ruled in the largest part of the Western Europe. His reign lasted for 47 years beginning from 768 to 814 (Gelfand, 20). During his reign, he managed to make several accomplishments. He managed to accomplish his targets by spending much time in warfare and converting his Germanic followers to Christianity. He is
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It played a part in founding the Germanic monarchy which eventually succeeded in replacing the Western Roman Empire of the fifth century. The king of the Merovingian dynasty was known as Clovis. The regime acquired its name after Clovis grandfather named Merovech. His grandfather was a leader in the Frankish tribe. He had teamed with the Roman general and the Gothic king, Aetius and Theodicy respectively in the battle of defeating Atilla in Catalonian plains. Merovich is known for being the first leader of the Frankish tribe who managed to capture Paris and made it his capital. The Merovingian politics were mostly based on civil warfare. The ceremonial role pushed towards the Merovingian role made it subjects lazy, and they were eventually defeated towards the end of the last century. They were defeated by their military courtiers who took advantage of the situation and held authority for themselves. In 752 the Merovingian rule came to an end. Studies show that between the Frankish tribe culture and the European cultures there is no distinct difference. Considering the Merovingian dynasty was the Frankish tribe, the Merovingian contributed towards the development of the European culture. They base it on several models including classical, Celtic, Scandinavian, German and Latin ("The French".). The Merovingian dynasty, therefore, laid a foundation for the culture, but it, however, cannot be compared to the Carolingian
History books tell us that Clovis became chief of his tribe in the year 481 when he was 16 years old. Despite his youth Clovis was a savvy leader and a powerful warrior but was also very ambitious, killing all of his potential political rivals and taking over their tribes. Beginning his campaign to take over Gaul in 486 he defeated the army of Roman general Syagrius and occupied the city of Soissons. With this Clovis had almost complete control over Gaul and he proclaimed himself King of the Franks. Clovis the King of the F...
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.
Charlemagne’s reign before his death was also an important event in the shaping of Europe. Charlemagne (768 -814) also known as “Charles the Great” would raid Italy and capture the Lombard crown adding Northern Italy in 774. He would fight the Saxon’s for over thirty years expanding his territory along the way. The emperor would aggressively convert foreigners after conquering their territory into Christianity. By 800, he extended his territory into the Western and Central regions of Europe. The Carolingian King would create institutions that would mirror the old Roman Empire and set up districts under an appointed authority called a “count” similar to a modern governor.
First, each ruler embodied an aspect of his religion, which stemmed from their respective cultures. Einhard has many references to the way the Frankish king portrayed himself as a Christian ruler, for example, he affords the reader with a detailed account of Charlemagne’s worship habits. On pages 54 and 55, he writes, “He (Charlemagne) was a constant worshipper at this church. . . going morning and evening, even after nightfall…”. In addition to his personal participation in worship, he was also extremely charitable in his own country, and even beyond his own realm. Upon hearing of the impoverished Christians living in Syria, Egypt, and Africa, he immediately became sympathetic and attempted to send money to them. In accordance with the charity within his country, he once donated such a vast number of clerical robes that even those in the least important positions of the Church were obligated to wear them. He undertook maintenance and building projects for the Churches, such as the basilica at Aix-la-Chapelle. Charlemagne also had spec...
The rise of power for Charlemagne was initially a hereditary right, but he used that as a stepping stone to become the most well-known king of all time. The story really begins with the father of Charles, Pepin. The position of mayor of the palace was given to both Pepin and his brother Carloman, who worked together in “splendid harmony.” (137) But after a few years Carloman decided to join the monks and lead a monastery life leaving only Pepin to be the mayor of the palace. Then Pope Zacharias decided that the mayor of the palace, Pepin, deserved to be King due to his influence among his people. While king, he waged war against Waifar, duke of Aquitaine, and this lasted for nine years, by the end of while Pepin died. This left the kingdom to be equally divided among both Charles and Carloman. Charles took up the kingdom of his father, while Carloman took the kingdom of his uncle. There was a lot o...
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.
O: Rage and revolt can describe the country of France at the time of the Revolution faced because of turmoil and struggle they faced. Different estates were formed based on what you did and your class in society. The people of society wanted more say in the government and decisions that King Louis XVI made. The public didn't approve with much of what King Louis did. His lack of ability to be a strong king and leader affected his reputation to the public eye. King Louis was tried for committing treason to the country of France. Treason is the attempt to kill a sovereign and overthrow the government. Some of the reasons were his attempt to flee to Varennes, living in Versailles which was not in Paris, and reforms he passed as a ruler. These actions performed by King Louis isn’t what a King does, but that doesn’t prove any
It was the year 742 and no one knew that the emperor of most of western europe, the king of Franks, and one the most influential rulers was born……. Charlemagne!
Throughout Medieval history, there were many people who were a significant part of the Medieval age. They are well known and important because they all made a huge impact in the world that they lived in. Nevertheless, Charlemagne did the same and should be acknowledged for that. Charlemagne (Charles I) was the king of the Franks who started the Holy Roman Empire and was born around 742 A.D. His exact place of birth is unspecified, yet historians predicted that he was probably born in Aachen in modern-day Germany or Liege in present-day Belgium. Charlemagne has had many successful achievements during his life including when he revolutionized most parts of Western Europe and was crowned king in the year 800 by Pope Leo III. However he did have
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.
Charlemagne was born between 742 and 748, and died on January 28th 814 at age 71. His father was Pepin the Short who had become King of the Franks in 751. After the death of his father, Charlemagne became King of the Franks himself, with his brother Carloman, splitting the empire in half. The brothers were not fond of having to split the empire in half for three years. The way they would communicate would be through their mother. Carloman mysteriously died one day, and to this day in history, no one knows for sure whether or not Charlemagne was involved with it. Once his brother died, Charlemagne would take over the whole empire in 771 at age 24. He was now the emperor of the largest single kingdom in Europe.
Charlemagne’s reign as King of the Franks and as Holy Roman Emperor greatly influenced the course of Europe during the middle ages. The history of Charlemagne’s family and how they came to power had a large effect on how Charlemagne came to power. In the year 481 A.D, a warrior named Clovis claimed the title of King of the Franks (Abrams 185). He died in the year 511, and each of his four sons received a portion of his small Frankish empire (Abrams 185). Clovis’s death would later allow a clear passage to ensuring Charlemagne’s fate as future ruler of the Franks.
When you hear of historical figures that “conquered” a certain time period, you think of barbarians, spartans, or other gruesome, battle-tested men. While William I, the King of England and Duke of Normandy, was also nicknamed the “Conqueror”, he achieved success reigning over his time period in very different ways than that of Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great. Regardless of his path to success, William I played a huge part in the religious evolution of England. Using his advantageous leadership position, William I was able to be prosperous for many decades. His illustrious career is historical proof that a country does not need to be overtaken by brute force alone. William the Conqueror was a very commendable leader, and he used his knowledge, leadership, and military prowess to conquer multiple countries for almost the entirety of his life.
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
Pepin, in the Merovingian tradition of the time. split his kingdom between his two sons. Three years later Carloman died and Charlemagne took control of the entire kingdom. He inherited great wealth and a powerful army, built by his father and grandfather. Charlemagne used the army.