Charlemagne and the Franks

Fall of Rome and the Rise of the Middle Ages(500-1500)

Decline of Western Europe

Disruption of Trade◦Foreign invaders

Cities Crumble◦Cities abandoned

Population Flees◦Rural refuge

Learning Declines

Population flight to rural areas.

Greek language loses significance.◦Priests and church

officials.◦Culture and history suffer.

New oral tradition.◦No written language

Languages become muddled and differentiated.

Rise of the Germanic Kingdoms

Roman provinces fall; tribes fill vacuum.◦Unwritten rules and traditions.

Stress placed on personal loyalty.◦Not loyalty toward the state.

Church remains in tact.

Frankish Fortune

Clovis; leader of the Franks in Gaul.◦Christian ruler

496 – leads warriors to fight Germanic army.

Clovis’ Plea

“For I have called on my gods, but find that they are far from my aid…. Now I call on

Thee. I long to believe in Thee. Only, please deliver me from my enemies.”

Frankish Fortune

Clovis; leader of the Franks in Gaul.◦Christian ruler

496 – leads warriors to fight Germanic army.

Tide of war shifts.Baptism.511 – Clovis unites

the Franks

Christian Expansion

7th century Christianization.

Monasteries and convents and rural life

Monks and nuns followed strict codes.

Church Influence

590 – Gregory I; expands papacy into secular affairs.◦Infrastructure and army

Lombards.Christendom’s Middle Aged influence.7th and 8th century monasteries grow as

most educated section of Europe.◦Keeping literature alive.

An Empire Expands

Franks govern most of France.

719 - Charles Martel◦Unofficial ruler

Armies, policies, royal household.

Christian leader and expansion of Franks.◦Defeat of Muslims in Battle

of Tours (732)

A Strong Alliance

Pepin the Short; son of Charles Martel.Defends Church against Lombards.

◦Pope appoints him ‘king by the grace of God.’Birth of the Carolingian Dynasty (751-

987).

Charlemagne

Pepin dies in 768.◦Two heirs, Charlemagne and Carloman Carloman dies in 771

(mysteriously?)Charlemagne takes

sole control over Empire.◦A well-respected and

powerful man.

The Greatness

Builds greatest empire since Rome.By 800 he maintains the strongest

empire in Western Europe.Protects Pope Leo III

◦Coronation of Roman Emperor; European King.

The Reformist

Limited noble power.

Encouraged learning.◦Surrounded by

multi-national scholars.

Opened schools around Europe.◦Through the

monasteries.

In the End…

Charlemagne leaves empire to Louis the Pious.◦Very religious but ineffective.

Louis passes it on to his three sons.Dividing the empire and dissolving central

authority.Bringing the era of feudalism.Int’l Charlemagne Prize

The Payoff

What are some of Charlemagne’s greatest legacies?

What makes him great?

How does Charlemagne’s Frankish empire speak to humanity seeking a society?◦Other historically relevant connections?