Alcuin and Charlemagne

Charlemagne was the king of the Franks from 768 to 814. He was known to be the most powerful Christian ruler and brought success to his country. Charlemagne was well educated and good looking. His strong voice allowed him to express what he had to say in a very eloquent manner. He was most famous for doubling the territory that his father had previously conquered. With his determination and persistence, Charlemagne became one of the most dignified rulers of the early middle ages. Charlemagnes determination allowed him to expand his empire.

He undertook 54 military campaigns during his rule. He also lead his armies into Italy to conquer the Lombard State. His army also invaded the land of the Bavarians and took them under control. During his rule, Charlemagne insisted the Saxons convert to Christianity and soon took them over. In turn, adding more land to the growing Carolingian empire. (Speilvogel p. 138) An interesting characteristic of Charlemagne was his strong desire to learn. He studied foreign languages such as Latin and Greek. He learned from excellent scholars such as Peter of Pisa and Alcuin of York.

Charlemagne established a palace school and encouraged other scholars from across Europe to come to the Carolingian court. He focused learning about liberal arts also took lessons in grammar. Charlemagnes love of learning inspired others to obtain educations and maintained the intellectual life of the Catholic church. (Speilvogel p140-141) (Einhard: Life of Charlemagne) Not only was Charlemagne good at conquering land but he also did very well at governing the land he conquered. He was a clever ruler and knew he had to keep the nobles in his service.

To do this he granted part of the royal lands as lifetime holdings to nobles who assisted him. Charlemagne also knew that he could not let the counts gain more power then him. To hold more control over his kingdom, Charlemagne required counts to serve outside their own family lands. He also sent out “messengers of the lord king” to check on the counts and make sure they were following the kings demands. One last thing that Charlemagne realized was the valuable assistance that the Catholic church could provide for him. He decided to create new bishoprics and archbishoprics while restoring old ones. Speilvogel p. 138-139) Charlemagne made many accomplishments during his rule. His first and biggest accomplishment was increasing the Frank Kingdom. His territory stretched over the majority of Europe. Charlemagne was able to subdue the barbarous tribes in Germany which was something other Kings could not accomplish. He also made good relationships with emperors of Constantinople. Being a devote Christian, Charlemagne built the beautiful church at Aix-la-Chapelle. Finally, Charlemagne took care of the poor in his country and sent money to the poor in other countries. (Speilvogel p. 139)

As you can see, Charlemagne had many characteristics of a successful ruler. He was determine expand his empire and he did. He also was good at governing his people. Charlemagne was very well educated and it showed through when whenever he spoke with eloquence. Also, Charlemagne was able to make constant accomplishments such as working on the Church reform, taking care of the poor, and building good relationships with other countries. Charlemagne was so respected that even the Pope called upon him to help during the Roman rebellion. All of these things are what made Charlemagne one of the greatest Kings of all time.