Charlemagne was also known as Charles the Great. He was king of the Franks and he united the majority of Western Europe during the early Middle Ages. On top of that, he laid the foundations for modern France and Germany. He attempted to unite all Germanic peoples into one kingdom and convert his subjects to Christianity. Being a skilled military strategist, he spent much of his reign in warfare so that he could manage to accomplish his goals. Because of his position, he encouraged the Carolingian Renaissance.
The Battle of Dieppe, or Operation Jubilee, was a calculated collaborative allied infantry and naval attack in an attempt to take the port of Dieppe and the surrounding beaches. Before David O’Keefe’s scholarly contribution to the events surrounding Dieppe, it was largely understood that Dieppe was a trial run for amphibious attacks against the German front in France. It was seen as a huge disaster as sixty-eight percent of allied soldiers that engaged the Germans were either killed or wounded. There is a multitude of reasons as to why the number of casualties were so high. The most apparent of which being that the port, and surrounding beaches, were heavily guarded with artillery, machine guns, barbed wire, and German soldiers.
First and foremost, there is already one major discordance from the very beginning between Charlemagne’s rule and that of Augustine’s City of God. The “City of God”, of course, is not a man-made institution, but more an abstract concept denoting the optimal way of life under God’s rule: love for God and love for neighbor. From the text City of God Augustine states, “a city surpassingly glorious, whether we view it as it still lives by faith in this fleeting course of time, and sojourns as a stranger in the midst of the ungodly, or as it shall dwell in the fixed stability of its eternal seat.” Indeed, the city is no actual citadel, with law codes and kings, but a city in spirit represented through the faith of the body of believers.
In the early 1200’s, King John of England spent most of his time trying to expand his territory. In doing so, he outstretched his expenses, and forced his people to keep trying to pay impeccably high taxes he imposed on them. After his many military failures, the kings’ nobles forced John to write a document stating his powers as King for his people. This could be a problem because King John could have threatened people who didn’t agree to his terms with their family’s’ lives, or their social status as nobles. Then as recipients of the letter, his people might not expect too much out of it because the king can change the document as easily as he can create it.
The Anglo Saxon era was justified with a very long term of push and pull of power among its early beginnings during 449 CE. Initially being a Germanic led country, the literature of the Dark Ages was very versed in song and migrated with the nomadic tribes that first accommodated within the area of the English Channel. During the preceding four centuries, the area was held as a province of the Roman empire, and never held a single leader with the external conflicts that were occurring between power nations and northern tribes during the time period. During Rome’s possession of Britain, their region remained an important colonial outpost.
Charlemagne argued that loyalty and commitment would be important to his empire. With the church and oaths acting together, Charlemagne could base his empire on fairness, safety, and
Rome was the most powerful and successful Empire in history. After the fall of Rome, an era called the Middle Ages came. Even though Rome fell, the Middle Ages still had roots in the classical heritage of Rome and the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. Germanic Invaders destroyed Rome's economy, government, and culture. Learning declined and a common language was lost which resulted in the emergence of Germanic kingdoms.
As an official in the palace and one of the king’s friends, Einhard had one of the best possible views of Charlemagne and his rule. In this “public history of this most distinguished and deservedly most famous king” (Einhard 51), Einhard writes to Charlemagne’s descendants and the rest of posterity about the fame of the Frankish Empire and to preserve the memory of its mightiest ruler. Einhard is an extremely biased author, however. Once upon a time, Charlemagne offered shelter and kindness to Einhard in his court, and in return Einhard ignored the more shocking facts about Charlemagne, like his true motives in practicing Catholicism and his dysfunctional family, specifically his daughters and grandchildren, even after Charlemagne’s death in
The initial years of Charles I’s reign beginning in 1516 as King of Aragon, and King of Castile jointly with his mother Joanna, saw a slowdown in religious change. Charles’ upbringing in the Netherlands hindered his support in Spain, and his accession to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire in 1519 meant that he had to simultaneously oversee the affairs of two sizeable territories. Therefore, religious reforms were slow to actualise under Charles. As a result, absenteeism and pluralism that were commonly observed in Spanish parishes were not dealt with, and the teaching of Catholic doctrine among the laity was of varying standards. Hence, it could be argued that the paucity of religious change under Charles I worsened the state of religion and spiritual conditions in the kingdom, and more was lost than gained as a result.
Author of the book, Becoming Charlemagne, by Jeff Sypeck provides a clear glimpse into the life of one of the world’s greatest kings and ruler and later emperor Charlemagne, otherwise known as Karl or Charles the Great. Sypeck creates a vivid and strong look into the time of Charlemagne, early medieval Europe and some other important world leaders, including Pope Leo III, Irene the Byzantine emperor, Alcuin the scholar and Harun al-Rashid ruler of Baghdad. These figures are crucial to the story of Karl becoming Charlemagne, and their stories included in the book help form and symbolize Charlemagne the Ruler. Understanding Charlemagne and early medieval Europe is presented vibrantly throughout the book by in-depth stories, facts and a clear
Primary Source Paper 2 The Life of Charlemagne was written by Einhard a little after Charlemagne death in 814. Einhard wrote the biography to make sure that Charlemagne’s legacy would not be forgotten. He would list many points in this biography, but I’ve decided to only point out three of them. These three chapters are his deeds, his family life, and his life with the Christian religion.
It is through them that God exercises his empire” (Western 775). The Christian religion was paramount in the lives of nearly all Europeans and legitimized the idea that God acted directly through a monarch. Divine direction even played a part in the
• The advent of Christianity and the role of Church in dark ages o Thesis Statement: How the religious policies of Constantine I unified the Roman Empire and expanded Christianity. 1. Introduction: The behavior of people toward government and state affairs is mostly swayed by their religious beliefs. Religion and government are the two institutions that have capability to mold the society accordingly and unite the empire.
The rule of Charlemagne had an integral influence on the West during the eighth and ninth centuries. Charlemagne centralized power throughout the West, united people religiously, and reformed education. In Notker’s Deeds of Charlemagne and the anonymously written The Song of Roland, Charlemagne is portrayed as the ideal Christian ruler. In both works, he is characterized as righteous, wise, and deeply respected by the people of his empire. These positive characteristics of Charlemagne are emphasized heavily in both works.
In particular, the development of the papacy and its relationship to secular ruler up to 1050 C.E. bring evidence in favor of rulers’ dependence on the will of the Catholic Church. As a religious and political center of the Catholic Church, the papacy has originated as purely religious organ. Still, with its gradual development and due to a significant role played by the papacy in determination of the Roman Empire political future, it has gained the status of God’s ideological successor. Specifically, the popes have determined the Roman world’s future via their ability to affect secular rulers’ decisions.
