Early Medieval History

Early Medieval History

Charles the Great is a legend widely talked about in history. He is one of the renowned legends that shaped medieval history. Courtesy of Einhard, we have come to learn a lot about this legendary Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great). He was a king, an administrator, a family man and a conqueror. He was also known Charlemagne or Karl. He was crowned king of a Germanic tribe, the Franks, in 771. His mission was unity; he strove to bring unity among the Germanic people.

Charlemagne was able to unite them into one kingdom. In order to achieve his missions, he employed his military strategies and took part in war. When he was crowned king of the Romans in 800 by Pope Leo, Charles the Great was motivated to revive Europe intellectually and culturally in what he termed as the Carolingian Renaissance.

When Charles the Great passed on, he was revered by many for having ensured that Christianity survived in Western Europe. He is fondly referred to as the father of Europe.

During Charlemagne’s era, Western Europe thrived through a period of continuous political, economic and intellectual resurgence. This was particularly evident between the 8th and 13th Century. There was a significant increase in the number of states in Western Europe from less than 10 to more than 200.

This spectacular expansion of the European economy is all the more striking as it occurred -after the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire- during a period when the number of political entities increased strongly. Even though, generally, big economic entities such as the Roman and the Carolingian empire seem to have encouraged economic expansion, political sectioning in Western Europe did not hinder growth and expansion.

Einhard, the author of Charles the Great’s biography talked about this legend as being a natural leader, tall, built, strong and a horseman who always took charge of the hunt. Even though he was basically a victorious warrior and king, having led armies and campaigns, Charles the Great made efforts to rule his kingdom effectively. Furthermore, he valued the acquisition of knowledge and even made attempts to improve his arts in court. 

He took advantage of wars in Spain that ensued among Muslims. He, therefore, furthered his kingdom towards the South. Charles the Great defeated the Saxons as well as the Bavarians. He pioneered 32 campaigns that led to the defeat of the Saxons. By then, the Saxons inhabited the areas bordering rivers Rhine and Elbe.

Charlemagne brought about Christianity and civilization in Europe. He set up measures to ensure that Avars and Slavs did not invade Europe.

He came up with a learning culture that would be passed from one generation to another. This gave birth to a European civilization that was unique; it was different from the one in the East or South.

Charles the Great had great zeal. He was focused on restoring order in Europe and strengthening his territory. To realize this, he devised a military campaign that was spread through a period of 30 years. This contributed to his successful dominion in Western Europe by 800. His large empire was made up of the modern day Switzerland, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Austria and Belgium. Charles the Great came up with a government that oversaw Western Europe. This enabled him to bring back unity to the Roman Empire and to ensure development in Europe.

Historians have often defined great people and leaders as killers. This infamous definition by historians does not make Charlemagne an exception. During his reign, Charles the great was blamed for the numerous losses of lives. The people murdered were particularly those who turned down Christianity or Charlemagne as the man on the throne. People were murdered for sticking to their faiths, gods and the rulers of that time.

During the phase of tremendous political fragmentation, there is significant growth in trade and industry in Europe. Synonymously, the population in Europe rose very fast. There was also notable industrialization.

Conclusively, economic growth occurred concurrently with fragmentation in the political system. Despite this massive fragmentation, Europe experienced steady growth between the 10th and the 14th Century.

Between the 10th and the 15th Century, there were many efforts put to in attempts to expand into Europe. This led to the resurgence of the war. The barriers to trade that were evident in the Middle Ages were still in place; nonetheless, there was increased commercial activity as a result of the increased output of goods and services.

During Charlemagne’s reign, there was an emergence of Christianity. This Christianity was not only religious but also political. Charles the Great believed that leadership was religious. His throne was a religious role and a kingdom that belonged to the church. As such, he considered the church and his territory as one unit. Christian laws took over from secular laws. The Bishops of the time were endowed with more powers.

One of Charles the Great’s achievements during this period was his ability to bring together Christian laws and principles with the Germanic ones. This also enabled him to bring about unity in the kingdom. He was faced with slight resistance from those who succeeded him immediately with regard to the Christianity that had taken root in the empire. Nonetheless, Christianity thrived.

Charles the Great was also interested in education. He advocated for the training of Bishops and monks, as we know, Einhard, his biographer was a monk. Charlemagne mandated every Bishop to establish a school. One curriculum was taught throughout the schools. The goal of the Carolingian education was not only to broaden the knowledge that was in existence, but also to bring an understanding into God’s perfect truth. Knowledge was immutable therefore strengthening unity of thought. Charlemagne ensured an interaction between the theological approach to scholarship and the Carolingians’ political goals.

Education during Charles the Great’s rule was primarily concerned with grammar as well as the improvement of Latin. Polished Latin was basic because it prepared students for an educational program in liturgy and theology.

Charlemagne brought about a revolution in trade. He standardized coin minting basing it on silver. Trade boomed particularly in the North Sea. Pots, swords and glassware were exported to Scandinavia and parts of England. On e other achievement of Charles the Great was initiating trade and commerce between the Muslims and the Franks. He established commerce with the merchants of Venice. This trade also involved the Islam

Charlemagne expanded his territory through campaigns that were aimed at defeating the Saxons. He is widely talked about for his successful expedition into Spain at around 778. He founded the Spanish March, a military district. This served as a buffer between the Muslims and the Franks.

Charles the Great also introduced a standard form of writing. Despite the fact that he was quite illiterate himself, Charlemagne understood the need for education and literacy and a standard form of writing. The Latin script he introduced, Alcium, was read in all parts of Europe by the literate lot. The standard script he came up with was known as the Carolingian Miniscule.

Charles the Great also brought a revolution in government with the introduction of tolls. This ensured safe passage and minimized robbery. Tolls were used on bridges, roads and rivers. Everyone who wanted passage had to pay toll charges.

Charlemagne also established an artificial channel that linked the river basins of Danube as well as Rhine. This enabled him to take charge of most parts of the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. He would eventually conquer these territories.

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Einhard, Notker, and A. J. Grant. 1966. Early lives of Charlemagne. New York: Cooper Square Publishers.

Lesaffer, Randall, and Jan Arriens. 2009. European legal history: a cultural and political perspective. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Meister, Chad V., and J. B. Stump. 2010. Christian thought a historical introduction. London: Routledge/Taylor & Francis. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=324426.

Morrissey, Robert. 2003. Charlemagne & France: a thousand years of mythology. Notre Dame, Ind: University of Notre Dame Press.

Sabillon, Carlos. 2008. On the causes of economic growth the lessons of history. New York: Algora Pub. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=221044.

VAN ZANDEN, JAN LUITEN. 2002. “Taking the measure of the early modern economy: Historical national accounts for Holland in 1510/14”. European Review of Economic History. 6 (2): 131-163.

Wells, Charles L. 1898. The age of Charlemagne (Charles the Great). New York: The Christian literature Co.