Charlemagne

Charlemagne, Charles the Great

Introduction

Charlemagne (742-814), often referred to as Charles the Great, was an influential leader and served as the King of Franks. With blessings from the church, he successfully unified most of Western Europe using his superior military power. He also recognized the importance of education and was able to introduce political, religious and educational reforms that would serve as an example for generations to come. This paper takes a closer look at the life of Charlemagne and how he ruled his kingdom.

Discussion

Charlemagne was born to Pippin the Short, grandson to Charles Martel, in 742. With a belief that the entire population should be Christian, the three generations devoted their life to converting all they conquered. In doing so, they were able to unite most of Western Europe. With their conquests, they reformed the church and reorganized it under the Pope, which gave them greater power and support. With his father's demise, the kingdom was split between Charlemagne and his brother Carlomen. A few years later, Carlomen met his demise as well and the entire was at Charlemagne's disposal. Using his inherited wealth and army, Charlemagne nearly doubled the size of the kingdom his father left him with.

Initially, the kingdom Charlemagne inherited was much uncivilized. Numerous tribes were at war with themselves, of which Charlemagne went on to conquer the Lombard, the Bretons, Huns, the Danes and the Saxons. The Saxons probably caused the most trouble for his rule and battles with them lasted for over thirty years. As he conquered new lands, Charlemagne asked the leaders to convert to Christianity, if they refused, they were removed and a Christian leader was put in their place. The ones that did not embrace Christianity were usually put to death.

Charlemagne could not have acquired the support he had unless ...