1. The Dominant Figure of the Middle Ages
Charlemagne
The Dominant Figure of the
Middle Ages

2. Middle Ages Aka Dark Ages When exactly were they?
Broadest time span is
is referred as the High Middle Ages
Were a time when people believed that Christianity provided guiding principles governing all aspects of life.
Middle ages was Christendom
When Christian rulers and Church leaders attempted to create the world as they believed God intended it to be

3. Charlemagne Charlemagne is the dominant figure of the Middle Ages
His name means Charles the Great
He was from France
He had little education
He could barely read
He recognized the importance of learning and education
He became the leader of the Franks and together dominated Western Europe
By 800, most of the tribes formerly known as barbarians had become Christian due to Charlemagne’s efforts

4. Crowning Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the West in 800 c.e.
Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne
The crowning:
It was not planned
Christmas day
Symbolized the union of church and state
Pope was hoping to bring peace and stability to the empire and the church
Charlemagne received a new name: Second Constantine
Formed all Europe onto one family

5. Response from the East The East had its own emperor
He believed he was the emperor of the East and West
He was furious when he found out that Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the West
The emperor of Constantinople did not have control over Western Europe
The crowning of Charlemagne created more tension to the already divided churches (East and West)
The two churches are not communicating to each other anymore

6. Charlemagne’s Reign He believed he ruled in God’s name
Although he was crowned by the pope, he was not subservient to the pope
Positive achievements:
He decreed that every monastery must have a school where young men could be educated
He commissioned the most learned monks to establish the finest school in the empire
He arranged manuscripts to be copied by the monks
Some of the written treasures of the ancient world were saved because of the monastery libraries of Charlemagne’s time.

7. Charlemagne’s death After his death, the empire fell
Disintegrated into small territories with largely independent rulers fighting one another for many years
The empire did not have emperors anymore