Charlemagne Research Paper

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Two Lives of Charlemagne Essay Charlemagne is considered by many to be the greatest leader the Middle Ages ever saw. “The Father of Europe” Charlemagne unified the majority of Europe for the first time since the great Roman Empire. Much of France and Germanys modern foundations were laid out because of Charlemagne’s rule. We know much about Charlemagne from Einhard and Notkers the Stammers book The Two Lives of Charlemagne published by Penguin Classics. Einhard was born in 770 A.D. in the Main valley to Noble parents. He was sent to the Palace School of Charlemagne at Aachen. He became a personal friend of Charlemagne’s and remained so until Charlemagne’s death in 814. In addition to The Life of Charlemagne Einhard wrote such books as On…show more content…
Expanding the territory and power of his Kingdom of the Franks, Charlemagne became a feared and respected leader. Charlemagne’s conquered the Germanic Saxons and lead his forces in such conquest as the Conquest of Lombardy (773-774), Saxon Wars (771-804), Lombardy Rebellion (776), Roncesvalles Campaign (777-778), Frankish-Moorish Wars (779-812), Lombard War (780), Breton Rebellion (786), Beneventian War (787), Bavarian War (787-788), Frankish-Avar War (791-796), Second Beneventian War (792-793), Slavic War (798), Pannonian Croatian War (799-803), Frankish-Byzantine War (801-810), and the Danish War (808-810). Through reading Notker the Stammers’ Charlemagne we see the leader that made these conquest possible. When discussing the Saxon Wars Notker writes “At the same time the Goth and the Vandals were busy shattering the peace of mortal beings and between them they were reducing the western world to a desert. Then in eight years the peerless Charlemagne so tamed them that he allowed hardly any traces of them to remain. As far as the Bulgars were concerned he did not press things to a final conclusion: for, once the Huns were virtually destroyed, these Bulgars did not seem likely to do much harm to the Franks.” (Notker 137). This gives us an idea on how ruthless Charlemagne was as a military…show more content…
This is one of the most important points in human history. Through Charlemagne’s spread by his military conquest and his spread of Christianity it began a new way of thinking. From medicine to writing we saw an output of advancement in knowledge. As Einhard writes in The Life of Charlemagne “Under him the Emperor spent much time and effort in studying rhetoric, dialectic and especially astrology. He applied himself to mathematics and traced the course of the stars with great attention and care” (Einhard 78). This helps us see the thirst for knowledge during this time
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