Charlemagne: The Emergence Of Medieval Europe

Improved Essays
Charlemagne was very significant for the emergence of medieval Europe. He was the one who claimed most of the land that is known as Europe today. His fought to keep the Christian faith the main religion of Europe, and Christianity is still practiced in most parts of Europe. In the end Charlemagne had created an empire that reached from the North Sea to the north, to Italy in the south, and from France all the way over to Vienna (Spielvogel 219).
Charlemagne came to power when his father died in the eighth century. He was recognized determined, decisive, and intelligent man. He was a very wise warrior and greatly expanded the territory of the Carolingian Empire during his rule (Spielvogel 215). In his work to expand the Carolingian Empire he was a determine warrior; he took on fifty-four military campaigns (Spielvogel 216).
…show more content…
On the other hand, his eastern campaign was very successful especially against the Saxons. Charlemagne was very insistent for the Saxons to convert to Christianity, and this fueled their resistance. Eventually, Saxony was accepted in the Carolingian domain (Spielvogel 217).
The year following this event Charlemagne invaded the land of the Bavarians in southeast Germany. By the next year he had incorporated them into his empire as well. This expansion leads him to be in contact with the Southern Slavs and the Avars (Spielvogel 217).
Charlemagne continued the efforts of his father’s organization of the Carolingian kingdom. There was no system of taxation in the Carolingian Empire, so Charlemagne had to depend on the royal estates for the resources that were necessary to rule his empire (Spielvogel 217). Even the food and the goods used by the king were derived from the lands that supported him. To keep the good favor of his helpers Charlemagne granted royal lands as lifelong holding to the nobles (Spielvogel

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Charlemagne as a successful ruler and administrator. He treated his subjects very well and knew when people needed to be punished, when to forgive them, and when to reward them for their actions. He traveled throughout his kingdom in order to exert his power and to help with any issues that may have come about. As a ruler he helped to spread Christianity throughout the kingdom. He made the laws for everyday people clearer and enacted new…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Frankish kingdom grew substantially, along with the church, during the reign of Charlemagne. As new territories were conquered they were they were Christianized; some brutally, such as the Saxons, Muslims were driven beyond the Pyrenees, and the Avars were practically annihilated. The Church looked to Charlemagne for protection, such as from the Lombards. Charlemagne wanted a center of control, however his territories were about the size of the European Union of today. This made is difficult to control.…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In those wars he so splendidly added to the Frankish kingdom that he nearly doubled its size” (140). In addition to the successful expansion, King Charles “increased the glory of his kingdom by winning over kings and peoples through friendly means”…

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ultimately, Charlemagne's tenacious conquests largely expanded the Frank kingdom. Moreover, Charlemagne’s ennobled status as a Christian warrior was enhanced when the document recalled his friendly relations with several king and nations, stating that Charles’ altruism caused the kings of the Scots to refer to him as “lord.”…

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Charlemagne Research Paper

    • 2591 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Introduction: Charlemagne was the King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 until his death in 814. He expanded his kingdom to an empire, uniting most of west Europe. The Carolingian Renaissance is associated with his reign, a time when art and culture was revived through the Catholic Church, which encouraged a common European identity. Chapter 1 who is Charlemagne?…

    • 2591 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Before Charlemagne, education was not much encouraged. It was sparse in the Kingdom of the Franks, the kingdom in which Charlemagne would rule. The reduced education caused the kingdom to progress slowly. Charlemagne would eventually rule during the medieval times, a time of progression and improvements. The unique government of the kingdom allowed a king to rule.…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is difficult to imagine the Barbarians and Christians had much in common when they rivaled each other so adamantly during the Medieval period, but resentment toward one another surely stimulated fierce conflicts that paralleled their violent tendencies. Those within the Carolingian Empire required biblical justifications for any controversial matter concerning Charlemagne’s desire to pursue the universal expansion of Christianity. Pagans proved to be exceptionally defiant toward converting to Christianity, which led the Franks to believe they rightfully needed to enforce a religious transformation across Europe by any means possible. The Saxons Wars and Vikings raids in Paris stressed the need for Franks to define violence as God’s tool…

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Charlemagne Qualities

    • 1636 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Charlemagne’s overall success as a military leader is undeniable, but there are many reasons for this.[1] Potentially most obvious are the actions and traits of Charlemagne himself, The obvious and possibly most important factor was Charlemagne himself. Many historians praise Charlemagne’s ability as being bordering on the supernatural, and argue that his personal qualities were vital in the military conquests of his reign, both in terms of the effectiveness of his administration and his organizational ability.[3] Oman even goes as far as stating that the ‘strong domineering spirit of the great king inspired his new subjects to undertake and carry out an adventure,’ while Nelson describes him as possessing ‘a certain constancy, steadiness…

    • 1636 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Charlemagne, who was also known as Charles the Great was born around 742. He was referred to as the “Father of Europe” and the man who spurred the Carolingian Renaissance that united the Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire (Biography.com Editors). His father was Pepin the Short, who was the reigning King of the Franks. After the death of Charlemagne’s father, the Frankish kingdom was divided between Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman. After the death of his brother in 771, Charlemagne became the sole ruler of the Franconian people, who were a Germanic government by origin.…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Charlemagne was a great king. He was King of three different cultures so he ruled over Western Europe when he was king of those three different cultures. He fought a war so that he could keep his country safe. Charlemagne was king of the Lombards, Franks, and was the king of the Holy Roman empire. Charlemagne’s father was king Pepin the short and his mother was Queen Bertrada.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Charlemagne is believed to have been born about the year 742. He has been considered by many people an ideal ruler, and a model for other rulers. Charlemagne, also known as Charles I, was the son of King Pepin the Short. Later when he became King of the Franks, his country already occupied nearly all of modern France, all of Belgium and the Netherlands, most of Switzerland, and large areas of Germany. To expand the country even more he added Saxony, Bavaria, large parts of Austria, the Kingdom of Lombardy, which was all of northern Italy, and an area of Spain.…

    • 313 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Charlemagne And Islam

    • 221 Words
    • 1 Pages

    After the fall of Rome no state or government united the people who lived on the European continent besides the Catholic Church. The church became the most powerful institution of the medival times. Kings and leaders derived much of their power from their alliance and protection with the church. 800 CE Pope Leo III crowned Frankish king Charlemagne the emperor of the Romans. Charlemagne’s realm became the Holy Roman Empire.…

    • 221 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rather, a close examination of the documents and their manuscript traditions suggests periods of movement and residence, and a division between the ruler and the court, which might conduct royal business from several fixed places. The Carolingian empire construction of a network of regional centres of power appears to offer an instance of contrasts from the decentralized post roman world.^137 Charlemagne himself seems to have traveled surprisingly little outside the heart of his realm in the Rhine-Moselle region, with the exception of his visits to Rome, of which must have required a sophisticated network of communications and officials to disseminate the royal will^215. This set up much of the empires to come such as the british empires colonial expansion using governors to disseminate the royal…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Carolingian Empire and Ottonian Empire each occurred successively. Starting in the second half of the eighth century with the dynasty known today as Carolingian. Then culminating with the Ottonians as they were being established as the Holy Roman Empire. These empires were located in western Germany, France, and northern Italy.…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The role of Louis IX in Chronicles of the Crusades is very different from the portrayal of Charlemagne in The Song of Roland. Louis is a lot closer to the absolute monarch than Charlemagne was. Charlemagne was powerful, but only as powerful as the people who swore allegiance to him. Louis has his own power base. He has his lands which are controlled and loyal only to him.…

    • 1301 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays