Charlemagne

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Charlemagne
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Charlemagne

• He came to power in Western Europe in 768 C.E.
• His father made himself King, Pepin the Short,
  by throwing out the last of the Merovingian
  rulers
• The pope agreed Pepin should be King because he
  had defeated a Muslim army that had threatened to
  conquer Europe in 732
• He was a Germanic ruler that had the brains to
  rebuild the civilization

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Charlemagne in 830
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Charlemagnes Expansion

• Through his military successes, he expanded the
  old Merovingian Empire in every direction
• He was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo
  III
• The Carolingian Empire much of Western Europe a
  brief rest from the wars that had torn it apart
  since the fall (pg 25)

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How Charlemagne was a Good Leader

• Charlemagne governed his empire from his palace
  at Aachen (present-day Germany)
• Although he allowed local governments to have
  freedom, he sent out missi dominci (lords
  messengers) to make sure that people were treated
  properly
• He had a single code of laws for EVERYONE, unlike
  those before him (he tried to make things better
  for the serfs and tradespeople)

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How Charlemagne was a Poor Leader

• He could be merciless and hardhearted
• When he defeated the Saxons in northwest Germany
  he demanded they convert to Christianity and when
  they refused he killed 4000 of them in one day

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Charlemagnes Renaissance

• Improving education was a special concern of
  Charlemagne
• He also took a keen interest in architecture and
  had many stone churches built in France and
  Germany
• He was very interested in literature and wanted
  to bring a rebirth to learning, this time is
  referred to Carolingian Renaissance
• He died at 72, after 47 years.
• The peace and security Charles had worked for
  fell apar because of feuds among his descendents
  and their weakness in the face of the Viking
  invasion

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