The Capitularies of Charlemagne
Uploaded by
ScribdTranslationsThe Capitularies of Charlemagne
Uploaded by
ScribdTranslationsThe Carolingian Empire was the Empire of Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, which
it produced a true renaissance of the time. The elements coming from the
Christianity, the barbarian world and Greco-Roman culture intertwined to
give rise to our current Western culture.
One of the most important Germanic kingdoms was the Frankish kingdom, unified by
Clovis. With him began the reign of the Merovingian dynasty, a name given in
honor of his grandfather Meroveo.
Upon the death of Clovis in the year 511, the kingdom was divided into four: Neustria to the west of
France; Austrasia to the east; Burgundy in the south center and Aquitaine to the southwest. Without
embargo, the struggles between the Merovingians gradually led to this
they lost prestige and power, which is why they were called the lazy kings.
In the decline of kings, the nobles became the true
holders of power. They received the title of palace stewards. A
principles of the 7th century, the mayors of Austrasia, of the Heristal family,
they obtained supremacy.
This family belonged to Carlos Martel, who halted the advance of the Arabs in the ...
Battle of Poitiers (France, 732), and his son Pepin the Short, who dethroned the
Last of the Merovingian kings in the year 751, reunited the kingdom and was crowned.
king of the Franks. Thus ended the Merovingian dynasty and the
Carolingian dynasty. Within this family, Charlemagne was born, the first German king.
who tried to reconstruct the Western Roman Empire.
King Charlemagne
In the year 768, Pepin divided his kingdom between his sons Charles and Carloman. Without
embargo, three years later, is the last wall and Carlos inherited the entirety of the
kingdom.
The new Frankish king was known as Charlemagne, which means Charles the Great and
he was one of the most prestigious monarchs of medieval Europe.
Charlemagne Middle Ages
Charlemagne
The renaissance of the Roman Empire
Upon ascending to the throne, Charlemagne set out to restore the political unity of the Empire.
Romania and consolidate Christianity in Europe. To achieve this, he subdued the Saxons.
(772-804), who lived in northern Germany, until converting them to
Christianity.
At the same time, and after much struggle, he exterminated the Varros, a people of
Mongol origin that threatened the area of Bavaria, Germany.
At the same time, in the south, Charlemagne seized the kingdom of the Lombards.
Italian (774 AD), as they harassed the Pope, and he crossed the Pyrenees,
penetrating with little success into Muslim Spain (778). In this region, he occupied a
small territory to the north, where I established a border province: the
Hispanic brand.
With these conquests, Charlemagne created a vast empire that extended from the
Atlantic to the Elbe River and from the Baltic Sea to Spain and Italy. Then, the Pope
Leo III crowned him emperor on Christmas of the year 800. In this way, the
The Carolingian Empire and Charlemagne became the armed arm of the Church.
map of the Carolingian Empire
Map of the Carolingian Empire
The authority of the Emperor
The Carolingian Empire felt deeply Roman and Christian, but its model of
the organization was Germanic. Charlemagne ruled his empire absolutely, as
style of the Roman emperors. However, the free men of their empire
they meet twice a year, in the Germanic way, in an assembly that approved the laws
chapter calls.
Charlemagne, like other German kings, lived in his rural domains, although at
Menudo resided in the city of Aachen, which is considered, for that reason, the capital.
of his Empire.
In Aachen, Charlemagne had a group of officials who helped him in
his tasks, such as the chancellor, who was his secretary, and the chamberlain,
which was responsible for all matters concerning the personal service of the ruler.
The territorial administration was organized into provinces or counties in which it
mainly developed agriculture, led by a count,
with civil and military power over its region. The border provinces, called
marks, safeguarded the empire from invaders and were governed by the
marquises.
Both the counts and the counts were watched by the missi dominici - a layman and
a priest who in his visits to the provinces oversaw the fulfillment of
the orders of the emperor.
The Carolingian Renaissance
Other elements of Charlemagne's political domination were culture. In those
In those times, it was difficult to find someone who could read and write: the very
Charlemagne was illiterate.
For this reason, the emperor promoted the opening of schools for the training of
public and religious officials. One of them was the famous Palatine School,
that operated in Aachen and was intended for the training of future
state employees.
Schools were also established in churches and monasteries, which became
to form important libraries, in which the Western world preserved a
a large part of the Latin cultural tradition.
In order to promote this movement of cultural rebirth, Charlemagne surrounded himself with
figures of prominence, such as the English Alcuin of York and the French Einhard, who
He wrote his biography. He also cared about the arts: he ordered the construction of numerous
churches that imitated the Roman and Byzantine style such as, for example, the chapel
from the palace of Aachen.
The so-called Carolingian Renaissance produced a series of works that forged the
cultural foundation of the Middle Ages. However, despite its importance, this
the Renaissance only affected a very limited number of people: the nobles and the
clear.
