Who were the Franks?  One of the many Germanic tribes who helped bring down Rome.  Settled near the Roman province of Gaul.  After the fall of Rome, one of the Frankish leaders named Clovis began to unite many of the barbarian tribes in what is France and Germany today.  In 496 CE, he converted to Christianity and forced all his subjects to do so as well.

The Carolingian Family rules the Franks  Charles Martel Became ruler in 714 In 732, Muslims tried to invade France. Martel led forces in defense of Tours France against invading Muslims. His victory insured that Christianity would remain the dominant religion in Europe.

Battle of Tours

Thought Question  What might have happened if Charles Martel hadn’t defeated the Muslims at the Battle of Tours in 732?

Martel’s son becomes the next king  Pepin the Short Son of Martel Became king of the Franks in 752 Anointed by the Pope ○ This made him divinely appointed.

Tomb of Pepin the Short

Charlemagne  AKA – Charles the Great  Son of Pepin  Became the Frankish King in 768  Doubled the size of the Frankish empire Controlled most of present-day Germany, France, Italy, and Northern Spain.

Charlemagne

Charlemange 10 minutes  While you watch, try to find out what Charlemagne did that was  portal.com/academy/lesson/feudalism- charlemagne-and-the-holy-roman- empire.html#lesson portal.com/academy/lesson/feudalism- charlemagne-and-the-holy-roman- empire.html#lesson  Gooood…  Bad…..  And why was he called the Holy Roman Emperor?

Educational Revival  Charlemagne strove to educate his people. Started a school in Aachen (his capital city) The school was to teach his officials Charlemagne himself could barely read and didn’t know how to write. He did, however, love to have books read to him.  Alcuin, a scholar from England, ran his school. Created a program that focused on: The Bible and Latin Writings Scholars began copying ancient manuscripts  Charlemagne’s school helped to provide Europe with a common set of ideas.

Ended here….2014

Alcuin – ran Charlemange’s schools

Charlemagne and the Church  Remember, in 800, Charlemagne went to Rome to defend Pope Leo III The Pope was so pleased that he crowned Charlemagne the new Roman Emperor.  Charlemagne wanted to unite much of the Christian people into one European Empire that was called the Holy Roman Empire.

Charlemagne and the Pope

The Holy Roman Empire

How did Charlemagne govern his large empire?  He traveled constantly to keep an eye over his lands.  To govern the empire Charlemagne had counts, local officials, to help manage different areas.  Counts were to: Solve local problems Stop feuds (fights) Protect the weak Raise armies for the empire  Charlemagne also rewarded knights with land for their services. This helped create a culture in which many wanted to become knights.

The Fall of Charlemagne’s Empire  Charlemagne died in 814 and his son, Louis the Pious, took control of the empire.  Louis the Pious struggled to keep things in control and after his death Charlemagne’s three grandsons took over the empire.  The three grandsons fought for control and eventually agreed to divide the kingdom in the Treaty of Verdun.

The Fall of Charlemagne’s Empire  Charles the Bald took the Western part of the empire, which is present-day France.

The Fall of Charlemagne’s Empire  Louis the German took the eastern part of the empire, which is present-day Germany.

The Fall of Charlemagne’s Empire  The final grandson, Lothair, took a strip of land in the middle of the empire.

Thought Question  How do you think the empire was weakened after the death of Charlemagne? What do you think will happen next?

Statue of Charlemagne in France

Invasions of Europe

Start the Homework  Only use the end reading if necessary.  Fill in the blanks.  Answer questions in complete sentences.  *** responses mean I will accept any thoughtful response written in a complete sentence because it requires thinking and is not in the reading or notes.