The Collapse Of The Roman Republic And The Carolingian Renaissance

Revolutionary events have major impacts on history. They can offset the course of civilizations and inspire future ones. To be considered truly revolutionary, an event must have two primary characteristics. First, it must demonstrate a specific structure of government that, by its nature, significantly impacts its citizens. Second, from that structure, a cultural system of values must grow. Significant historical events that fit this description include the collapse of the Roman Republic, the development of the Feudal System, and the Carolingian Renaissance. The collapse of the Roman Republic, the development of the Feudal System and the Carolingian Renaissance were each revolutionary in their time because they set the stage for the life and

All three aforementioned periods in history had specific governmental structures that impacted the lives of citizens. The Roman Republic, when it was initially known as the Roman Kingdom, was similar to the Feudal system in that the society was organized into social classes. Both governments offered a hierarchy of power from the Patricians (aristocracy in the Republic) and the King (the ultimate authority in feudal society) holding the most power, to the plebeians (commoners in the Republic) and the serfs (peasants in the feudal society), holding the least amount of power. A difference between the two can be seen in the impact that citizens were able to have on their rulers. “[In the Republic,] people exercised their right to vote,” (History Extra). However, in the feudal society, “The Church believed that the Pope was God's representative on Earth and that kings were also appointed by God. It taught people that their position in life was decided by God” (Skwirk), so the ultimate power came from a religious point of view that took human form as a supreme

“Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king, Charlemagne, Emperor of the Romans” (Matthias von Hellfeld) as a way to revitalize the Roman Empire and “because [the pope] could no longer fend off his enemies in the city” (Matthias von Hellfeld). Charlemagne had the ultimate power as a monarch, however, he focused this power differently than previous rulers. Charlemagne “transitioned the Medieval society into European culture. He created the first standardized curriculum (which sprouted the seven liberal arts): grammar, rhetoric, logic, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and music”. (Calder Scott et al. “Carolingian Renaissance”) Further, he had a goal to unify his empire by creating “a uniform language” (Calder Scott et al. “Carolingian Renaissance”), latin, which could be understood by everyone and, in addition, a unified currency. As well, he instituted a unified script and punctuation. Finally, Charlemagne was intent on “uniforming Christian practices” (Calder Scott et al. “Carolingian Renaissance”) and integrating Christianity into the general culture of the people. Because Charlemagne integrated religion, culture and the arts into his rule of government, the values of the citizens living under his rule were transformed. Unlike Feudal times, a new focus was placed on education and art. In Feudal times, the emphasis was on class structure. With a feudal class focus came a cultural system