Was Charlemagne A Good King?

Charlemagne was “a key figure in European history”. He was the king of the Franks of the Carolingian dynasty. When he reigned (768-814), Charlemagne accomplished much in his own land and outside of it. He is called the Father of Europe and Charles the Great. The Carolingian Dynasty “peaked under… Charlemagne (after whom the dynasty in named)...” But, even with these great accomplishments, was Charlemagne a good king? Before this issue is addressed, it must be known what qualities make a good king.

For the purposes of this essay, a good king is defined as a person who keeps his kingdom together and does his best to improve it. In his job of keeping the kingdom together, the king can defeat or keep back enemies and act on the principle that

the kingdom and the people come first. When it comes to improving the kingdom, the king must help in the religion or religions of his land, build structures like bridges and roads that improves the lives or welfare of the citizens, and help improve education. Based on this definition, Charlemagne is a good king.
The first point to look at is if Charlemagne keeps his kingdom together by protecting his lands from enemies, whether by defeating them or not creating unnecessary enemies. In this category, Charlemagne exceeds expectations. He was able to defeat many enemies during his reign. He had a large amount of persistence and determination to finish what he set out to do. Charlemagne also was able to prevent some wars through his wisdom by making and accepting friends and allies. These points will prove that Charlemagne was able to stop enemies from hurting his kingdom excessively.
The first point proving Charlemagne was able to keep his kingdom together by defeating enemies is the number alone of people he was able to defeat. He fought with so many people it would take a long time to list them all. He battled Aquitaine, the Longobards, the Saxons, the Bretons, Bavaria, the Avars, and many more. All those who dared battle him were defeated with very few exceptions. In fact, when Charlemagne was fighting the Saxons,
Charlemagne himself did not meet the enemy in fixed battle more than twice in the course of the war...in [these battles] the enemy were so beaten and cowed that they never again dared to attack the king… unless they were safe behind the earthwork of some fortified place.
For this to happen, Charlemagne must have been very good at fighting, enough so that he could drive all these enemies out. He definitely was able to defeat his enemies.
The next point that must be proved is Charlemagne’s persistence. Einhard proves this point in his description of Charlemagne while telling of his first war, which was with Aquitaine. “Charlemagne pressed on energetically with the expedition which he had put into the field, refusing to withdraw from a campaign already started or to abandon a task once undertaken.” Not only that, but in this war he had been promised support by his brother, Carloman. Carloman did not send the support that he promised, but Charlemagne still continued in the war with Aquitaine. But he was not, as it would seem,
...a bullheaded tyrant who was impervious to reason and never considered the opinions of his advisors. He was energetic and impatient for success, the sort of man who carries others along with his own whirlwind enthusiasm.
Using this great enthusiasm in war, Charlemagne has been proven once again to be able to defend his country.
Charlemagne did not just fight wars- he was also willing to make friends. According to Einhard, Charlemagne had many people who wished to be one of his friends or allies.
With Harun-al-Rachid, King of the Persians, who held almost the whole of the East in fee, Charlemagne was on such friendly terms that Harun valued his goodwill more than the approval of all the other kings and princes...
Whether this was because of his military might or his own good reputation as a king, Charlemagne’s readiness to have allies helped him to prevent unnecessary wars. Since these three points are true, it is also true that Charlemagne was able to keep his kingdom together by defeating enemies or by making friends.
The next point that needs to be proven is that Charlemagne acted on the principle that the kingdom and its people came first. There are quite a few things that he has done that prove this point. When his own son, Pepin the Hunchback, rebelled against him along with some of his nobles, Charlemagne could have let him get away with this treason because he wanted to spare his son. However, he did not let his son get away with his crime and avoid the punishments. Pepin was banished to a monastery. Through this act, Charlemagne put the people first by not letting any feelings he had towards his son get in the way of the good of the kingdom. Another time, he was fighting in Italy and came to Benevento. He demanded that the men there surrendered immediately and with no terms of their own. Their Duke, Areghis, “begged the King to accept his sons as hostages and promised [they would obey him], with this one reservation that he should not be compelled to come in person.” Charlemagne accepted these terms. Because he did not insist that the obstinate Areghis come to him in person, Charlemagne was putting his own stubbornness and pride behind him and allowing the kingdom and people come first on his list of priorities. Charlemagne did act on the principle that the kingdom and people came first, and through all the previous points, it has been shown that Charlemagne was able to keep his kingdom together by defeating his enemies and becoming friends with other rulers and countries rather than fighting needless battles.
The next point that must be shown about Charlemagne is that he improved his kingdom. He did this in many ways. The king tried to improve the laws, and also the education. In addition, he improved his kingdom by protecting and expanding it.
The first way in which Charlemagne improved his kingdom is by expanding and protecting it.

He was, of course, very good at expanding his kingdom. When he began his rule, he had a pretty good sized kingdom, but by the end of his reign it had grown immensely. Parts of his kingdom included many of the present day countries in Europe- almost all of France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. As for protecting his kingdom, Charlemagne was a professional. Commenting on Charlemagne’s actions in the wars with the promise-breaking Saxons, Einhard said, “Not once did he allow anyone who had offended him in this way go unpunished.” This is true for anyone who dared to attack, take over, or harass his people. In this way, Charlemagne was able to protect his people. He also built a fleet to ward off any attacks that Northmen tried to make, and “placed strong points and coastgurad stations at all the ports and at the mouths of all rivers considered large enough for the entry of ships.” In this way Charlemagne was able to improve his

kingdom.
Another aspect of his empire that Charlemagne improved was education.
[He] recognized the value of literacy in administering a large kingdom. He became an advocate for education. Soon after returning from Lombardy for the first time, he began a conscious effort to recruit the best scholars in Europe for his court
He established a school at Aachen, which “attracted the best teachers and students in Europe.” There, clergymen were educated, Roman transcripts were collected and copied, and a new style of handwriting called the Carolingian minuscule, was formed.

The carolingian miniscule actually “did not catch on in the ninth century, [but] it was resurrected 600 years later and forms the origin of all modern European printed alphabets.” These improvements brought much improvement.

Although the full fruits of the Carolingian Renaissance emerged only after Charlemagne’s death, the consequences of his cultural program appeared already during his lifetime in improved competence in Latin, expanded use of written documents in civil and ecclesiastical administration, advanced levels of discourse and stylistic versatility in formal literary productions, enriched liturgical usages, and variegated techniques and motifs employed in architecture and the visual arts.

By improving the education of the kingdom, Charlemagne helped to influence the Carolingian Renaissance, which had many good effects in his time and in many years to

come.
The last way Charlemagne improved his kingdom that will be mentioned in this essay is in the laws of the land. He did not try to reorganize everything, but he rather tried to improve on what was already there.
Although scholars are divided on the [meaning] of his actions, the evidence suggests that he was concerned with improving the organization and techniques of agricultural production, establishing a monetary system better attuned to actual exchange operations, standardizing weights and measures, expanding trading ventures into areas around the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and protecting merchants from excessive tolls and robbery. Royal legislation sought to protect the weak against exploitation and injustice.
Charlemagne also established a system, used by his father and grandfather in their kingdom, that became the feudal system and lasted for the next 400 years, expanding its use to all the land he reigned over. He also sent inspectors around the empire to make sure that his orders were being carried out and to make sure that his empire was running smoothly. The wise Frankish king also
[left] the Lombards under Lombard law, the Romans under Roman law; even the saxons, if they would only accept Christianity, to some extent under Saxon institutions… so long as they loyally obeyed the great central government they might keep their own laws, customs, and language unaltered.
This meant that he had to deal with much less revolts and keep the territory that he had gained. By doing these things, Charlemagne was able to make his kingdom more stable and stronger, thus improving it.
Charlemagne was able to defeat his enemies when necessary while also being able to make friends when opportunities arose. By improving the law, bettering the education, and protecting his kingdom, he was able to improve the lands he ruled over. Because of all this, Charlemagne was a good king. “His feats as a ruler, both real and imagined, served as a standard to which many generations of European rulers looked for guidance in defining and discharging their royal functions.” Without his influence, the world would be a much different place.