Charlemagne was a medieval emperor who ruled western Europe. Around the year 771, he became the king of the Franks, which consisted of different Germanic tribes in Europe. During his reign, he had a specific goal. His goal was to unify all the Germanic tribes into one kingdom and to convert his enemies into Christians. He battled against the territories that were under Muslim rule. As a skilled strategist, he pushed the Muslim rule in Europe further away. Between the years 777-778, Charlemagne…
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family which descended directly from the Merovingian dynasty which came before it. The Merovingian dynasty was founded by Childeric I, king of the Franks from 457-481 AD, who, thanks to his many military outings against the Visigoths, Saxons and Alemanni, managed to establish a foot hold of territory for the dynasty that his son, Clovis I, would create a few years later. It wasn’t until Childeric and his wife, Basina, Queen of Thuringia’s son, Clovis…
Charlemagne was king of the Lombards, Franks, and was the king of the Holy Roman empire. Charlemagne’s father was king Pepin the short and his mother was Queen Bertrada. He had four sisters and two brothers who were really nice to him, and when his father passed away in the year of 768, That is when Charlemagne and his brother Carloman took over the empire in Germany in 814. They needed to rule with each other because according to the general of the Franks. Charlemagne knew how to speak…
The beginning of Louis’ reign marks one of the high points in Carolingian France. They held more power than any other family in Western Europe and also strove to bring back the glory of Rome. Yet, they also strove to acquire the title, the “new Israel” that Carolingian rhetoricians began ascribing to them under Charlemagne. Louis, alongside his able bodied ministers worked hard to keep the kingdom together. His issues began, as mentioned previously, when his close friend and advisor Benedict…
The book Two Live of Charlemagne contains two different biographies of Charlemagne, and while both of these biographies of Charlemagne are the story of his life as a military leader and ruler, they differ in their points of view and focus. In the case of Einhard in his account The Life of Charlemagne, he was a prominent member of the Royal Court and therefore was aware of the personal and official actions of the King: “There is still another not unreasonable impulse, which would have sufficed on…
Einhard composes Life of Charlemagne in 825 AD with the intention of commemorating King Charles’s well rounded devotion to his kingdom and his family, as he went beyond the expected duties of a King. Throughout the course of his life, Einhard had became very fond of the King and felt it his responsibility to preserve his knowledge of the King’s great deeds subsequent to the King’s death. Einhard provides a detailed piece of writing in which he eternalizes the deeds enacted by the King through…
honorably, for they show loyalty and respect for each other in times of hardship and in the event of Oliver’s death. Roland, acting on pride, does not blow Charlemagne’s oliphant for help, for he does not want to smear his name and the name of the Franks. Roland’s pride ultimately cost him his life, yet by his own code he died honorably, for he did not die a coward. These examples prove that The Song of Roland defines an honorable life for a knight as staying loyal to one’s companions and always…
Two lives of Charlemagne is a book that has the writings of two people that wrote about the life of Charlemagne. The first person was a man named Einhard who wrote a biography of Charlemagne’s life. The second was Notker the Stammerer who wrote about the deeds of Charlemagne. The writings from Einhard and Notker combine to make the book Two lives of Charlemagne. The text will focus on six ideals from the text. One ideal is Charlemagne’s personality, character, appearance. The second ideal is…
ended in 476 CE. The Franks, became the dominant ruler, the Byzantine Empire also known as the Eastern Roman Empire continued for another millennium before falling. Why did the Vikings Start Raiding? The Vikings are etched into history, but the tales of the countless raids and the myriad of battles weave in and out of fact to fiction and delves into myth and legend. Vikings, however, did leave a mark upon history and shapes today's society. The Norse Vikings colonized…
Roland, Ganglion betrayed him and the rear guard to the Saracens. Roland and the rear guard were ambushed and fought the Saracen troops. Roland was advised by Olivier to blow his elephant horn for help, but refused to do so out of pride. After the Franks had been defeated and it was too late, Roland blew his horn so hard it burst his head, trying to let the King know about the betrayal. This is what make Roland a hero, the fact that even though he had failed, he still blew the horn to warn his…