Charlemagne

ly dominate western Europe. For the King of the Franks, the church provided the means to accomplish the expansion and reformation of his empire. For the Holy Roman Church, Charles provided protection from invaders and new possibilities for missionary wor

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In addition, the strong forces of competing religions made the question of faith one of great import in the West, making a solid Catholic union absolutely necessary. Additionally, he spent an entire winter in the restoration of the church's former importance. In gratitude, the pope crowned Charlemagne "Emperor and Augustus,(page 290)" a title with such power that it is difficult to believe Einhard's depiction of the king's reluctance to accept. Even in death, when Rome could give him no political gain, the Great Christian King ensured that a portion of his wealth went to impoverished Christians, and that the churches of his dominion would be maintained. Given the potential loss to Charles had the church fallen, the concept of his dramatic action is not difficult to fathom.

Charlemagne "Cultivated friendships with kings across the seas, so that Christians living in need under their jurisdiction would receive some aid and succor (page 290).

The power of this marriage of church and state may again be witnessed in the rescue of Pope Leo from the Romans. Whenever he discovered one in his kingdom that was old and ready to collapse he charged the responsible bishops and priests with restoring it (page 285).

The new crown also granted Charlemagne the power to change the names of the months, commit to paper the pagan songs of his kingdom without papal suspicion and attempt to reform the Frankish legal code.

One of the chief concerns for Charlemagne, as evidenced by Pepin's and Germania's betrayals, must have been protecting the kingship from usurpation while he was fighting one of his many foreign wars. Indeed, Charles saved most of Italy from Muslim piracy. " This, in addition to the masterpiece of Aachen, helped strengthen the Christian resolve in his empire, while furthering his goals of beautification. To quote Einhard, "His chief concern was for the churches. The institution of the church also provided a reasonable punishment for Pepin, as his monastic prison was an excellent means of captivating and supervising him. It too must have granted the church a greater loyalty among foreign Christians, as the promise of justice would have undoubtedly helped in the conversion of non-christian poor.

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Approximate Word count = 1183
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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