Frank Informative Speech

On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II gave a supposedly important speech at the end of a church meeting in Clermont, France. In it he had called upon the nobleness of the Franks, to go to the East and assist their Christian “brothers”, the Byzantines, against the attacks of the Muslim Turks. He also apparently encouraged them to liberate Jerusalem, the most sacred and holy city in Christendom, for the Muslims had ruled it since taking it from the Christian Byzantines in A.D. 638. The Crusades were a series of wars between Christians and others to take back Jerusalem.

Einhard’s The Life of Charlemagne is one of several prominent texts from Mediaeval Europe. The main focus of the text is on the life of Charlemagne, the Frankish king from the Carolingian dynasty. Under his rule, the Frankish kingdom experiences an extensive period of prosperity and growth, especially in intellectually related areas since Charlemagne himself is a well-known patron of the arts (#). Hence, Charlemagne is the ruler often credited for the “Roman revival” across Mediaeval Europe. In order to ensure that Charlemagne’s glorious reign will leave its mark in history, all of Charlemagne’s works and accomplishments are accounted for Einhard’s book. As expressed in the preface of the book, Einhard’s intention is to document the life of the greatest king that is often overlooked in other texts (*). Four essential facts are noted in The Life of Charlemagne: 1) The prevalence of alliances & foreign relations 2) Cultural revolution through public works & endorsement of the arts 3) Promotion of the Christian faith 4) Public reforms throughout the state. The Frankish kingdom rises as the dominant post-Roman European entity through the political and economical stabilization of the state with the use of foreign alliances. Emperor Charlemagne is said to have close relations with Kings of Persia, Scotland, and Constantinople (*). Prosperity in the Frankish kingdom is due to the frequent correspondences that exist between these European states, further promoting the flow of

From The Catholic Church: Our Mission in History (white book by the window) on pages 126-128. How did the different kings of the 400s effect The Christian faith? What were the positives and negatives of each?

Charlemagne gained strong rule by military conquest. He strived to finish every war with the desired result. The Carolingians were known for having troops spread out along large areas to ensure that they don’t lose land and can advance into new territories, and stay in power. According to the Einhard piece, Charlemagne finished wars with great energy and force, and one of these energy-filled wars was against the Saxons. The Saxons were devilish in nature and found no wrong in violating the laws of God and Man, which was upsetting to the Carolingians. This war involved the Franks as well in that they decided to undertake a full-scale war against the Saxons to finally put an end to the retaliation.

Charlemagne in the historical context made many contributions to the modern world as well as the Carolingian dynasty during his reign. After his father passed away, he united the Franks and went to several conquest to expand his kingdom in 768 (Coffin, 176). Charlemagne was believed to be a very serious Christian king. In one of the longest conquest in Saxon, which lasted about 20 years, he had forced conversion to all the people who

4: The connections between the Holy Roman Empire and the Church is that Pope Leo the third crowned Charlemagne the Emperor that

These actions are what causes Charlemagne to be considered the symbol of a new Europe. It was his actions that caused him to go from the title of King of the Franks to Holy Roman Emperor and thus, become the first Emperor the West had seen since its collapse. Beginning with his rise to the Frankish throne in 768 AD, he accomplished a large amount in his first three decades as King. The Empire expanded greatly under his rule and by “791 his kingdom had broadened to include, southwest France, North Italy, North Germany, and Austria” (Kurlander 23). This is incredible considering the short amount of time it took to gain all the land and increase the size of the empire tenfold.

Charlemagne’s father, King Pepin (the short), officially put an end to the Merovingian line of kings to become King of the Franks, and willed that Francia be divided between both Charlemagne and his brother Carloman upon his death in 768. The divided rule was short lived, ○“Carloman had succumbed to disease after ruling two years in common with his brother, at his death Charles was unanimously elected King of the

Europe was just another kingdom until Charlemagne came along. Charlemagne earned the title “Father of Europe”. He was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day in A.D 800. Under his ruling, the Roman Empire experienced arts, culture, and education. Charlemagne was extremely passionate about Christianity, and wanted to share his passion with the people in his kingdom. However, pagans disagreed with his thoughts and refused to convert to Christianity. Charlemagne was remarkably responsible for the death of many pagans that refused to accept Christianity as their religion. I strongly believe that it was unethical for Charlemagne to force barbarians to become Christians. Although he saw it as a necessary action to

Charlemagne played a pivotal rule in western Europe after the collapse of the Roman empire. Europe was going through a period of time known as the dark ages. This period is from the fall of Roman to the beginning of the Middle ages (“the dark age”). Charlemagne also known as Charles the Great provided a turning point to this era and was able to slow down the cultural and political crumbling of the Middle ages. In order to secure these two important aspects of the new empire he relied on numerous resources (Charlemagne).

During the years of St. Augustine, the Roman Empire fell in the west. It was being replaced by regional barbarian kingdoms, and was entering what some historians call the dark ages. It was a traditional, authoritative empire, with vast free-trade and a centralized government. It transformed into a Europe of economic localism, and filled with a minority of educated people. It was now a Christian Europe. A very important person during this new Europe was the Frankish king Charlemagne. His rule was known throughout the world, and Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne the "Emperor of the Romans." On top of this title, he still held all of his other titles. Charlemagne made tons of contributions during this time in Europe. He had

Charlemagne or Charles the Great, (747-814) was one of the most significant people during the Middle Ages, playing a key role in defining the shape and character of Medieval Europe. Considered the ‘Father of Europe’, Charlemagne reigned as King of the Franks (768-814) and became the first Holy Roman Emperor (800-814). He created a great empire as he dramatically expanded the Frankish Kingdom in a series of conquests that united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire. He also introduced many governmental, cultural and economic reforms to further his great ‘Carolingian’ Empire. Additionally the Emperor fostered the Carolingian renaissance, a time of great cultural and intellectual revival and reinforced the Christian foothold on Europe.

In the Dark Ages, the Christian Church had developed into the most powerful institution in Europe; however, in the start of The Church’s rise, there were many Germanic tribes who did not follow its teachings. The Church then gradually mixed old faiths and new religion to convert the Germanic tribes to Christianity. Then in 771, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, supported The Pope and created the first true Christian kingdom in Europe. His Christian faith led the Germanic tribes to follow the teachings of The Lord and convert to Christianity. He encouraged the growth of monasteries and valued priests who could read and write. He made the Frankish Army defenders of The Church and Pope in Rome and gave The Church a financial base by payments of tithe, 10% of peoples’ income, to support The Church and priests. In AD 800, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, ruler of France, Germany and Italy. In a violent society were cruelty and murder were common, The Church was the only stable body that offered some hope of salvation for suffering people. By the 11th century, The Church owned approximately one-third of Europe, it had its own language, Latin; its own Law, Cannon Law; and its own tax, Tithe. The Church’s eminent power was based upon: the faith of the people, the control of education, the power of excommunication and inderdictment, its ownership of land, its ties with nobility and its control of sacraments.

Charlemagne was the king of the Franks and emperor of the Romans from 800-814. During his reign Charlemagne built a kingdom that included almost all of western and central Europe and he started Carolingian Renaissance. His empire had two main territories, East and west Francia that is now the major parts of two important European entities. West Francia is modern-day France, and East Francia became first the Holy Roman Empire and then the modern state of Germany.

The development of Central Europe had a rather interesting progression from about 400 AD to the beginning of the Crusades in the 11th century. Focusing specifically on the Germanic tribes of Central Europe, the overall importance of the Christianization of these tribes plays an integral part in the development of the Central European region. The Christianization process takes place in three stages: pre-Christianization, Christianization, and post-Christianization. Pre-Christianization events had a heavy impact on the Germanic tribes, which led ultimately to their Christianization. Events after Christianization led to a strengthening of the religion and bolstered some fervor from the Germanic tribesmen. Post- Christianization