A Comparison Contrast on the Achievements of Charlemagne
During the late 8th and early 9th centuries, a remarkable historicalphenomenon known as the Carolingian Period came into existence which wascreated for the most part by Charlemagne (742-814 A.D.), also calledCharles the Great, the king of the Franks and the Lombards and one ofEurope's greatest rulers. Some scholars refer to this period asCharlemagne's renovation, due to his energetic and brilliant emulation ofthe arts and of Roman culture. And much like Constantine, his earlierpredecessor, Charlemagne wished to create a unified Christendom which laterbecame known as the Holy Roman Empire and endured as a major force inEurope until its extinction by Napoleon in 1806. Historically, Charlemagnehas been recognized mainly for his political and military accomplishments,such as his campaign against the Spanish Muslims and the expansion of hiseastern frontier, but his accomplishments linked to education and cultureare far more important, for they initiated the growth of the CarolingianPeriod and helped to bring Europe out of the "Dark Ages" following the fallof the Roman Empire in the 5th century A.D. As with so many other aspects of the era, the Carolingian"Renaissance" bears the influence of
With the assistance of some earlier monastic reforms, thesemen along with their king declared that all monasteries establish schoolsfor the common citizen which in the end contributedgreatly to the standardization of monastic life and the preservation ofliteracy. The great Gregorian chants, Alcuin's newHoly Bible and the copying of major books in the Carolingian scriptcontinued while the verses of Virgil and the philosophies of Socrates andAristotle reached even greater numbers at many of the monastic schools setup byCharlemagne. As an integral part of his effort to raise the intellectual standardsof his realm and sustain Christian culture, Charlemagne assembled scholarsat his court from all over Europe. 3and write but those that did provided the all-important impetus that keptknowledge alive and allowed it to be transmitted to future generations. Nonetheless, Charlemagne succeeded inimproving the quantity and quality of schooling in his empire and even wentas far as forcing the village priests to provide free instruction inreading and writing. A third scholar from Spain was Theodulf, a tireless supporter ofCharlemagne's educational reforms and a poet of considerable talent. These so-called Carolingian qualities which reached their peak under his rule helpedto re-fashion the cultural face of Europe and exercised an immeasurableinfluence8 Einhard, The Life of Charlemagne, 178. In his eagerness to re-establish the imperial past, Charlemagne alsoencouraged 6. Alcuin saw the task of editing the new Vulgate Bible as beyondhis means, but Charlemagne insisted that he complete it; thus, Alcuinlabored for many nights "until the pain in his head made him stretch out inhis cot" (156). Alcuin performed the essential task of preparing an accurate newedition of the Holy Bible 3 by making sure that certain errors that hadcrept into it over the centuries were removed, thereby saving Christianculture from the confusion that arose from the 3. One of the most important books in this library was the famousCoronation Gospels (the Gospel Book of Charlemagne) which some scholars saybelonged to Charlemagne. the light ofwisdom is dying out in the remnants of his empire.
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