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He was active in overseeing his kingdom and regularly travelled around it. He also set up a network of messengers to report back to him on what was happening. Under his rule, his kingdom rose to dominate Western Europe.
Over his lifetime, Charlemagne fought many wars. His victories expanded the territory under his control. He was helped by the armies of his loyal supporters. Charlemagne had earlier given many of these men grants of land, a common practice among the Franks. This was done partly so they could support themselves, and partly so they could equip themselves to help Charlemagne in battle. It also encouraged their ongoing loyalty and support.
Charlemagne did not just lead in battle. He was also a leading thinker, introducing many political and social reforms. For example, he set up a common system of currency, bringing back coins as the means of buying and selling goods and services as the Romans had done hundreds of years earlier. He also encouraged the arts and education, setting up a number of schools for both peasants and nobles alike. Many of the cultural and artistic traditions of the Greek and Roman empires were brought back to life during Charlemagne’s rule. As a result, the period of his rule is often described as the Carolingian Renaissance. His leadership encouraged many new developments in literature, architecture and the arts.
On Christmas Day in 800, the Pope crowned Charlemagne as Emperor of the Romans. This endorsement from the Pope not only reinforced Charlemagne’s position as the most powerful king, but also ensured that the Catholic Church remained a strong force in Europe (as the ancient Roman Empire had been). Kings that followed Charlemagne were referred to as Holy Roman Emperors.
Charlemagne was a driving force behind the Carolingian miniscule, a standardized form of writing that later became a basis for modern European printed alphabets.
Charlemagne eventually became the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. His goal was to reunite both halves of the empire and take control over the Byzantine Empire.
After he took power of the Franks in 768 AD, Charlemagne would go on to expand the Frankish kingdom into modern day Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and Austria, creating the Carolingian Empire. He spread Catholic Christianity among the pagans by building churches and cathedrals like the Aachen cathedral (below), creating the faiths of the future medieval states of France and the Holy Roman Empire. This, plus a collection of Carolingian scholars, created the Carolingian renaissance, a time where the dark age of Europe was slowly ending with a rise of new information that helped create new intellectualism in Europe. An example of a creation from the Carolingian renaissance is the Carolingian Minuscule.
Charlemagne is remembered for being an amazing ruler. He strengthened economic and political life, and he changed the stigma around how common rulers acted and operated. He is remembered for being strong-hearted, encouraging the education of serfs and nobles, being fearless in battle, and always making sure that his kingdom was functioning well and living up to its standards, which is probably why it dominated all the others in Western Europe. Without Charlemagne, we probably wouldn’t know many of the cultural and artistic traditions that were once thriving in the medieval times, because he strived to preserve and bring back many of them.
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