CSMH History Class

Charlemagne

Page history last edited by Vince Czeropski 2 yrs ago

Charlemagne

Section 1: Beginning of Charlemagne

His childhood
Life as an early adult/His personality

Section 2: His actions

Becoming Emperor
Conquests over other countries
Objective

Section 3: Result and the Aftermath

The result of Charlemagne's actions
The Aftermath

One of the most influential kings in the medieval European times began with little reading and writing skills. He was of German blood and speech (Durant, Will) and understood Greek. He was born in 742 in the palace of Pepin the Short. Little is known about Charlemagne's childhood, except that he was raised and taught in Pepin's palace. Charlemagne was known for his joyful spirit in his teenage years and it was said that if anyone met Charlemagne bitter or disturbed himself, they would leave the palace full of serenity and happiness relieved by a few wise words of Charlemagne. He was honest and surprisingly, he was rather tranquil and sensitive. He would weep like a little boy at the death of his friends. However as he grew older, he realized life was not complete without death and became merciless, only to his enemies. He was known as the "Iron Man" with his suit of armor, a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. After the death of his brother Carloman II (ruler at the time), Charlemagne, 29, became the sole king. This would be the beginning of a new era, the start of the Golden age.

At the start of his reign, Charlemagne instantly went to battle against the Saxons. In the famous decisive, victorious battle over the Saxons, Charlemagne gave the choice of baptism or death to the remaining Saxons. He then beheaded 4500 rebels in a single day. As Charlemagne lead dozens of campaigns, news said that the Saxons had broken out into a revolt. Charlemagne, seeing that his army was unaided in Spain, sent them back to northern Europe through the mountains in a narrow file. In one such march, the invading Baskes slaughtered the end part of the Franks. It is one of the most famous European legends that the noble Roland died there blowing his horn to alert Charlemagne. By 805, Charlemagne had conquered what is now today, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Holland, Czechoslovakia, Portugal, and Denmark (image 1). He completed over 53 campaigns and expanded his Kingdom larger than any other European conqueror ever, except for Napoleon almost 10 decades later. His objective? Charlemagne believed that everyone the Pope (thus Christianity was born), and those unwilling to baptize were beheaded. That was not enough for Charlemagne though. His concurrence not only gave him believers, but money and gold; the larger the kingdom the richer the economy. Charlemagne was also more "organized" then other rulers. He divided his kingdom into counties; each led by a bishop or archbishop. One other accomplishment done by Charlemagne was his fabrication of school. He was the first to make sure that high officials were educated.

As a result of Charlemagne's conquests, the Roman Emperor gave Europe unimaginable wealth and riches. Charlemagne had many enemies, such as the Saxons and the Byzantine Empire. To protect his people, he set his army on the border of his kingdom. This was mostly a solution for the invading Saxons that took 30 campaigns alone to conquer. In the year 814, Charlemagne died. He was buried in his own Cathedral and was succeeded by his only son, Louis Le Pious. After his death, the kingdom fell to his three sons. They had argued many times before agreeing to seperate the kingdom in three, each a ruler of a part of the kingdom. This led to a downfall and many of the inner governments started revolting. Soon after, all of Charlemagne's campaigns bacame forgoten, and his conquered land fell to other countries. This would be the foundation of later France and the Holy Roman Empire. The noble Charlemagne, was a model knight, as one of the nine worthies (middleages.net).