Charlemagne

The Life of Charlemagne Joe M. Phillip Columbia College Western Civilization Abstract A few historians believe that Charlemagne was the illegitimate son of Pepin and the Countess of Laon, Berthe. Despite the controversy surrounding his date of birth and his parents’ date of matrimony, he was destined for greatness and groomed from childhood to eventually assume and share the kingdom with his brother. This paper will make an effort at giving some insight to Charlemagne the King from a personal perspective, as well as some of his most notable accomplishments and highlights during his reign, as written by Einhard. Charlemagne’s accession into the Franks’ kingship came after his father, Pepin, died in the year 768, thus leaving the throne to his two sons. The Franks made the siblings both kings on the condition that the kingdom would be divided equally between them. The kingdom, accordingly, was plagued with some degree of animosity and sibling rivalry despite Charlemagne’s effort at making peace with his brother, Carolman. When sickness claimed his brother’s life, Charlemagne was unanimously elected the new King of the Franks. According to Einhard, Charlemagne was large and strong in personal appearance. Though not disproportionately tall, he was somewhat of a lofty stature. He led an active lifestyle in which he was said to partake in strenuous physical activities such as swimming and horseback riding. He was a moderate and social drinker of wine and had a weakness for food, especially roasted meat. He was seldom overheard griping about fasting and continued to enjoy his roasts albeit concerns from his doctors. According to Einhard, he enjoyed listening to reading or music while eating his meals. He was especially fond of St. Agustine’s book,”The City of God.”Another notable habit of his was his knack for conducting official business while getting dressed or putting on his shoes. Charlemagne studied and mastered several foreign languages such as Latin and Creek, and reportedly could easily passed for a teacher of eloquence. Furthermore, he cultivated the liberal arts and bestowed top honors upon those who taught them. He also studied rhetoric, dialectics, and developed a keen interest in astronomy. Interestingly, he had a habit of keeping writing materials under his pillow. One could surmise that this practice was meant to provide him easy access to his writing materials at his convenience. Charlemagne had multiple wives and concubines who, in turn, blessed him with many offspring. He had his children educated in the liberal arts. Customary to the Franks’ way of life, his sons were taught horsemanship and war tactics while his daughters learned cloth-making and other household chores. For reasons unknown to anyone but himself, Charlemagne was not willing to marry off his daughters to foreigners and kept them close by his side until his death. He cherished his relationship with the church, particularly the Church of St. Peters. He reportedly supported the church’s finances with his many gifts of gold, silver, and precious stones. During his forty seven years of reign, he sent out more than 5 million military expeditions in which he personally accompanied his men in at least half of them. He was an ambitious, ruthless, and aggressive ruler who carefully planned in advance and patiently and faithfully persevere. He was notorious for moving his armies with unbelievable speed and overpowering his enemies with sheer force. His uncanny ability of shipping his men down the Danube River enabled him to stake a claim on the gold riches of the Avars, which were collected via raids and annual dues from the Byzantines. Charlemagne and his son were also responsible for establishing the Benedictine rule, from which it became the norm for monastic life amongst the Franks. Under his administration, monasteries became powerful and affluent with land as well as slaves captured in battle. Furthermore, estates were reorganized, dues and revenue records revised, and workers realigned to accomplish maximum productivity. Perhaps the most memorable in Charlemagne’s life and Western political history was his imperial coronation in the year 800. He was proclaimed emperor by the Pope. Contrary to popular beliefs, he regarded his emperorship as a direct result of his own accomplishments as opposed to the authority that naturally and rightfully bestowed upon the title. As the leader of the Frankish kingdom for more than 40 years, Charlemagne changed the West more profoundly and in more ways than anyone since Augustus. Although the political structure he created did not survive his grandsons, the Frankish model endured time in all other aspects. His cultural renaissance was regarded as a model for later European intellectual activities. Furthermore, the alliance spearheaded by him between monarchy and church served to provide future kings a formula to abide by. References Einhard (2008) Life of Charlemagne. Retrieved June 26, 2010, from Fordham University for Medical studies, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source.einhardl.html. Kishlansky, M., Geary, P., & O’Brien, P. (2008). Civilization in the West. Pearson Education, Inc.