Religion During The Middle Ages: Charlemagne By Einhard

1008 Words5 Pages
During the Middle Ages, the church influenced nearly all activities. For example, the chronicler Einhard documented the life of one the of the most famous kings during the Middle Ages, Charlemagne. Specifically, Einhard focuses on the specific relations between the church and state. While the Einhard sometimes presents a skewed representation of the ruler Charlemagne, he presents historians with the ideal monarch. Through this biography, scholars see how significant the church impacted the state through its encounters with foreign relations, affairs with the pope and his imperial power, and the religious commissions granted by rulers. The outcomes of foreign relations were highly determined through religious actions. For instance, the Saxon "war that had lasted…show more content…
Here religion acted as a bargaining tool among foreign relations. Kings went to war at this time not only to gain more land, but also to spread Christianity. The Franks considered other Germanic tribes to be barbaric pagans. This fueled the need to convert them, as the first commandment stated that you could take no other gods, but the true God. Kings also had to embody godly qualities in order to be good rulers. Charlemagne, for example, exemplified qualities of a devout soul, and he would " bear and endure whatever came, without yielding in adversity" (Einhard). As an individual, Charlemagne was deeply pious. During this time, people thought that if you

More about Religion During The Middle Ages: Charlemagne By Einhard

Open Document