What Makes Charlemagne Successful

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After his father Pepin died in 768 (Cole, 2012), Charlemagne rose to power and controlled the kingdom his father once did. Upon doing so, he not only furthered the work of the Merovingian dynasty, he consequently created the Holy Roman Empire. The rulers before him, Clovis in particular, sought out to rule a unified kingdom. Charlemagne shared this notion and was able to “unite the Franks by the tried and true method of attacking a communing external enemy” (Cole, 2012). The way he went about uniting the kingdoms also has shades of Merovingian. As the documentary briefly discusses, Charlemagne’s successes were achieved largely through wars and battles. Having leaders, kings, who went into battle instead of isolating themselves in their kingdoms was a quality unique to the Merovingians.…show more content…
The same article goes to elaborate on how Charlemagne would give gold, silver and other treasures to the Church of St. Peter. Both pious individuals sought to spread Christianity as well. Again, both did so in battle. Charlemagne was so dedicated to the cause that he even fought the indigenous people of Saxony for 20 years until they agreed to convert. (Cole, 2012). One main difference, however, is the fact that his religious affiliation was innate whereas Clovis’ bloodline only accepted Christianity after they were victorious in battle (Einard, Life of Charlemagne). Expanding the Merovingian ideas resulted in Charlemagne becoming an extremely successful ruler. However, the Holy Roman Empire was not a result from solely Merovingian ideas. Charlemagne’s alliance with the papacy was another reason for the
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