How Did Charlemagne Contribute To The Renaissance

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. The Franks society was composed mostly of three classes: (1) the peasants - those who work, (2) the nobility - those who fight, and, (3) the clergy - those who pray. Most Peasants were illiterate and a few were devout Christians, they did not understand Latin which was the language of the Church. …show more content…
Renaissance literally means rebirth and became an upwelling of interest in classical learning values. This renaissance became a period of renewed emphasis on scholarship and culture. After meeting a scholar named Alcuin, the Carolingian miniscule was developed and the transformation of proper writing and use of punctuation developed. Until this development, writings were done in all capital letters with no space between words and no punctuation which made it nearly impossible to read scripture. This development in writing made the reading of scripture more easily understood and would later become the standardized form of writing and the basis for modern European printed alphabets. During Charlemagne’s reign, he was able to unify his empire, elevate education, standardized coins, and handwriting, as well as unify and expand Christianity. Charlemagne was viewed as one of the world’s greatest