Category: Charlemagne

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.

What do all elite empires like the Roman and Byzantine Empire have in common? They both have a centralized government. As an empire, it is critical to have a form of legislative order to maintain stability within your Kingdom/Empire. With that being said, the ruler of the empire has the power to create that order and how they lay the foundation of the empire will lead to not only being known as a memorable, supreme ruler but have the longevity of the empire and become known as a legend for generations to come. But who’s order became more significant to today’s society? We are going to look at the primary sources of two iconic rulers in Hammurabi, who created arguably the earliest and most complete written laws in history and heavily influenced US Constitution with the origin foundation of the constitutional law, the Code of Hammurabi and Charlemagne, who influenced the Frankish court with the Capitularies in case of time of crisis inside the royal kingdom and reinvented European political and economic lifestyle.

The Code of Hammurabi was written by the Babylonian King Hammurabi and it has consisted of 282 laws written on a stone-pillar for the Babylonians to not only read about it and understand, but also maintain order amongst Babylonian society by listing punishments for people who break the law as well. Hammurabi wrote out each law that dealt with everyone, including children, women, and men, and has a punishment for anybody who breaks it and depending on your social status is how severe your punishment would be. If a man with higher status is involved, the punishment is more severe depending on what law he broke and his social status as well. “202: if anyone strike the body of a man in rank than he, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public”. The men face a very strict punishment if they broke the law because Hammurabi established the “Eye for an Eye” saying which states that if you do something to another male of the same class, you will have to face the same punishment in the rule of law. The purpose of Hammurabi creating this is because it creates a fair balance of justice, no exceptions. “196: If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out’. ‘197: If he breaks another man’s bone, his bone shall be broken’. ‘200. If a man knocked out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out”.

The Code of Hammurabi was very compelling at that time because of how it was the first written laws ever and was able to create these laws from his own words, but even that, there are flaws in his code as well starting with the majority of laws aiming at the lower class, specifically slaves and women. At the time, women did not have any social or political rights with society, they’ve been labeled as ‘housewives’, who stay at home and do everything that the man of the house tells them to do because they were not fit enough to make the decisions. Hammurabi gave the women more women rights in terms of providing justice to protect them from certain issues like adultery: “130: If a man violates the wife of another man… the man shall be put to death, and the wife is blameless’. And ‘127: If anyone blames the wife of any husband, but cannot prove it, then the man shall be taken before the judges and shall be marked (cutting skin or hair)”.

But Hammurabi also created multiple laws limiting the decision making of women in terms of marriage and breeding a child, ultimately having the father of the woman make the decision of who she can or can not marry: “160: Anyone who has brought chattels into the father-in-law’s house and pays the ‘purchase price’ for the wife and the father says no, he shall give back all that he brought with him’. ‘163: If a man marries a woman, and she bears sons to him and she dies, if the ‘purchase price’, that was used into the house of his father-in-law is repaid to him, the husband will have no claim upon the dowry of the wife and instead, belongs to him”.

The slaves get little rights for themselves as well. “19: If a man holds slaves in his house, and they are caught there, he shall be put to death”. The ‘Eye for an Eye’ saying does not apply to them because they are not considered to be part of Babylonian society but instead below it. They treat the value of slaves like scum and the owner of the slaves benefit the most from the laws instead of the slaves themselves. “199. If he put out the eye or breaks a bone of the man’s slave, he shall pay one-half of its value”.

Hammurabi claimed to “bring about the rule of righteousness in the land”. There are flaws in the Hammurabi’s code of law which made his statement invalid in the current time period, but based on when he presented this centuries ago and the way how Babylonian society was at the time was extremely different than in today’s society, he was so advanced in his time for creating a written constitution for his empire and for him to write it for his people is remarkable.

The Capitularies of Charlemagne are chapters that gave instructions by the central administration of the court to other authorities. It was stated that the Capitulary of 802 was “nothing more than a foundation charter for the Holy Roman Empire’. Charlemagne converted to Christianity and he wanted to influence that religion to his empire. ‘3: Firstly, every one of his own accord… to keep himself in the holy service of God according to the precept of God as the emperor can not exhibit the necessary care and discipline to each man singly”. Charlemagne also wanted the members of the church to both to agree with one another of the worship of Christianity and to help each other embrace the religion and spread the teachings to the disciplines. “10: Bishops and Priests should live according to the canons and should teach each other likewise. Priests and the lesser clergy, who they have to help the ministry, shall altogether show themselves subject to their bishops”.

Hammurabi originated the constitutional law by creating the law of Hammurabi, which listed 282 written laws on a stone-pillar for the Babylonian society to understand. Hammurabi created the laws to give every person some form of rights based on social classes. The Capitularies of Charlemagne were chapters written to give instructions by the Frankish court to give to the local court and other authorities. The new strengthen royal control help create a new political and economic system in Europe.

Both documents became an important piece of history that helped revolutionize today’s modern world. In terms of which document became more influential, the code of Hammurabi laid the foundation for the modern law we live in today. They both maintain law and order amongst society and provide for justice for anyone who breaks the law.

Works Cited

1. The Avalon Project : Code of Hammurabi, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp.
2. “Capitulary of Charlemagne Issued in the Year 802”. Avalon Project – Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/medieval/capitula.asp.
3. “Hammurabi’s Code: An Eye for an Eye”. Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, https://www.ushistory.org/civ/4c.asp.

The first emperor of the Holy Roman empire is known as Charlemagne. Charlemagne was one of the most impressive and dynamic of every medieval ruler. He started and energized a renaissance of learning and aesthetic undertaking that appeared to later ages as a Golden Age. A unique general, overseer and law-supplier, he was as talented on the front line as in the gathering chamber, and by sheer power of character held together a domain that equaled the Byzantines in the East.

Charlemagne created a foundation for the Empire. This made it possible for the empire to thrive during the rule of Otto I, while he also restored Christians. Charlemagne’s reign had a huge impact on Europe. At this time, the government became more centralized and moved away from the feudal system.

Charlemagne led military campaigns which brought back many territories under Roman heel.

Learning from a monastery was very common, but during his rule many people changed to universities which continued to spread and led to the beginning of another Renaissance. Charlemagne was highly known for his reforms. For example, his education reforms created the arts/literature and would lead to economic reforms which directed away from the gold standard.

This made the usage of money based on silver created more economic stability for the lower classes. Charlemagne also made certain that Christianity would survive by leading series of campaigns and reforms that infused Christianity’s ideology/traditions into everyday society.

Charlemagne assisted in growing the empire by founding the Holy Roman Empire European economic/political life. Charlemagne also promoted the cultural revival. This period was the first of the three major times in history and it was known as the Carolingian Renaissance.

To sum up, Charlemagne was an unprecedented figure: a shrewd military planner, a merciless pioneer, a guile lawmaker, and a dedicated devotee who guaranteed the endurance of Christianity in the West. One of the biggest influences of Charlemagne was due to his reforms during the Carolingian Renaissance. He had educational reforms which helped their advancement in literature and art. Which had not been touched in centuries. Another was his economic reforms in which he switched the currency from gold to silver. This created more stability because of the low gold supply. Charlemagne also added Christianity ideas, traditions, and ceremonies in the Holy Roman Empire. This entrancing man wedded the military strength of his soldiers to the profound power of the Roman Church and fashioning the Western Christian world.

Annotated Bibliography

1. Sypeck, Jeff. Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and the Empires of 800 A.D. New York, New York: HarperCollins, 2006.

This book source gives descriptions of the worldwide battle that prompted this world-evolving episode of becoming Charlemagne. Enlightening a period that has for quite some time been dominated by legend, this far-running book shows how the Frankish lord and his shrewd advocates constructed a realm through fighting as well as via cautious strategy. With perfect political expertise, Charlemagne collaborated with a scandalous pope, fought off a heartless Byzantine ruler, sustained Jewish people in his domain, and cultivated binds with an acclaimed Islamic caliph. For an exceptionally long time, the deeds of Charlemagne caught the creative mind of his relatives, rousing lords and crusaders and the idealistic planners of the European association.

2. Thorpe, Lewis. Einhard and Notker The Stammerer: Two Lives of Charlemagne. London, England: Penguin Classics, 1969.

This book provides detail into the real life of Charles the Great. Charlemagne was one of the most impressive and dynamic of every medieval ruler. The memoirs united here give a rich and differed picture of the ruler from two points of view. First is that of Einhard, a dear companion and consultant, and of Notker, a religious researcher and artist composing fifty years after Charlemagne’s demise.

3. McKitterick, Rosamond. Charlemagne: The Formation of a European Identity. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

This source gives descriptions of the authoritative investigative evaluations of Charlemagne the ruler and his notoriety. It investigates the story portrayals of Charlemagne delivered after his demise, and from that point centers around the proof from Charlemagne’s lifetime concerning the production of the Carolingian line and the development of the realm, the court and the illustrious family unit, correspondences and characters in the Frankish domain with regards to government, and Charlemagne’s strict and social procedures. This source offers a basic assessment of the contemporaries and in this manner changes our comprehension of the advancement of the Carolingian domain, the development of Carolingian political character, and the bewildering changes affected all through Charlemagne’s long time of rule.

4. Wilson, Derek A. Charlemagne. New York, New York: Vintage, 2007.

This book source provides much detail in the life of Charlemagne and those impacted by him. A retaining history of the extraordinary pioneer who was the scaffold among antiquated and present-day Europe. This book describes Charlemagne as an unprecedented figure: a shrewd military planner, a merciless pioneer, a guile lawmaker, and a dedicated devotee who guaranteed the endurance of Christianity in the West. He likewise trusted himself over the guidelines of the congregation and briskly requesting the execution of 4,500 prisoners of war. This author shows how this entrancing man wedded the military strength of his soldiers to the profound power of the Roman Church and fashioning the Western Christian world. This is source illuminates an image of Charlemagne and of the unpredictable political, strict, and social world he ruled.

5. Chamberlin, Russell. The Emperor Charlemagne. Stroud, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom: Sutton, 2004.

This source gives a great description of the appealing, enthusiastic and refined Charlemagne. He started and energized a renaissance of learning and aesthetic undertaking that appeared to later ages as a Golden Age. A unique general, overseer and law-supplier, he was as talented on the front line as in the gathering chamber, and by sheer power of character held together a domain that equaled the Byzantines in the East. To the numerous representations of the one who was delegated the main head of the Holy Roman Empire. This author includes advanced ideas in which uncovers the man behind the accomplishments. This book rejuvenates a key character and a developmental period in European history.

When the Franks attacked the Muslim kingdoms in Spain it was clearly done for power and to take control of Christian lands which they desired. As when the Frankish arrived under Pepin the younger his son Charlemagne would follow his fathers wishes and desires to take control over the Spanish kingdoms and to convert them to Christianity, the Franks saw their god as the only one true god. As when Charlemagne attacked the Spanish kingdoms his plans were to make them part of the Frankish empire, which he would do by implementing his nobles into ruling over land in Spain, as one of his most trusted friends William of Gellone, was put in charge of the kingdoms Charlemagne created, which were called subkingdoms, these were to help root his family into the nobility of Spain, as he crowned his three year old son, of the subkingdom, which main purpose was to have a sort of border zone, a buffer between the Islamic caliphates, to help him control power over his part of Spain, and eventually expand into all of Spain.

One of the major conflicts in the Reconquista was the battle of Roncevaux pass in 778, it was an attack on the franks by the Basques and the emirate of Cordoba. This attack would later lead to Charlemagne taking revenge on the Muslim kingdoms of Spain by sacking them and forcing their people to convert to Christianity, which if they did not were met with cruel punishment’s. This battle ultimately helped the Christians to legitimize their revenge attacks against the Muslim states of Spain. The revenge was for the 3,000 Christian Frankish men which were killed, who were most of Charlemagne’s nobles, one of the most important one was Roland, who was believed to of been Charlemagne’s nephew from his sister, who some believed he cared about deeply through all of the monuments which were built to honour his and the other Frankish nobles, as the battle was to wipe out the whole of the regard of the Franks as revenge for them attacking their city when they refused Charlemagne access to the city. This event would eventually lead to Charlemagne creating Aquitaine as a subkingdom to cut off the Muslim caliphates and to restrict their power, which would eventually help him to attack all of Spain, as all of his nobles were made lords in these areas, like his son Louis who was made king of Aquitaine at the age of 3.

During the Reconquista between the Christian and Islamic forces, despite having opposite religions, would at times create peace agreements between each other, these times would be short lived, but sometimes marriages could occur. One of the most important of these peace agreements was when Al-Mansur Ibn Aamir was joint in marriage with the Christian princess Abda from Navarra, she was the daughter of a Christian king Sancho Garces 2nd, from this marriage a very important individual would be born, Abd AL-Rahman Sanchuelo. Another marriage which came about due to a peace agreement was when the king of Castile, who, married a Muslim princess Zaida of Seville, there son would be named after Sancho.

During the Reconquista, there were times of peace, but religious tolerance was never accepted, during this time a lot of the Christian kingdoms made non-Christians pay a tax called the Jizya, its aim was to prosecute those who were not of the same religion. Its purpose was to either imprison or exile those who could not or would not pay the tax, this law was most likely created in the hope it would make the Jews and Muslims to convert to Christianity. Eventually the taxes were not enough, so the rulers of the kingdoms decided to force the Jews and Muslims out of their kingdoms or for them to convert to Christianity. The two big rulers that did this were queen Isabella 1st, and Charles v, who ordered all remaining Jews and Muslims to convert to Christianity or were to be expelled from their kingdoms, which resulted in many of them converting over the fear of exile or imprisonment.

The Franks and their kings directed their gaze primarily toward the Near East and those parts of southern Europe closest to their empire, but seldom toward the west, the area inhabited by the Irish and the Anglo- Saxons, and never’at least not before Charlemagne’s reign’to the north.

Charlemagne, his father, Pepin, and his grandfather before him had greatly expanded the frontiers of their empire. Endless wars had led his father and Charlemagne himself across the Alps and into Italy as far south as Benevento, north of Naples, as well as westward over the Pyreneesto the banks of the river Ebro, eastward down the Danube to Pannonia, and north as far as the rivers Eider and Elbe.

Certainly, some aspects of geo graphical knowledge did accrue to the Carolingian age from antiquity. Walahfrid Strabo, for example, who laid the foundations of his wide-ranging knowledge only after Charlemagne’s death and who may have studied under Hrabanus Maurus in Fulda, referred to the Histories of Orosius (1.2.60) in pinpointing the position of Alemannia or Swabia in his geographical view of the world. He also knew and cited Solinus’s Polyhistor (21.2) in this context. He had an absolutely clear conception of the location of the Alps, Lake Constance, the Rhine, Aare, Danube, Drava, and Sava Rivers, the provinces of Noricum, Rhaetia, and Pannonia, and the city of Bregenz’in other words, the close environs of his monastery at Reichenau. By contrast, he was able to place Ireland, Britain, and Spain only very approximately. Yet this monk with his book learning did manage to correct the incorrect views of ‘many,’ suggesting that he was well aware of the lack of geographical knowledge among his contemporaries. It seems reasonable to expect that Charlemagne’s court was acquainted with the work of Orosius at the very least.

However, his contemporaries wrote hardly any ethnographic or geographical treatises of their own. Probably around the middle of the eighth century, a remarkable cosmological treatise was produced, the Cosmographia, a difficult text to interpret and very possibly written with satirical intent by a fictitious author named Aethicus. The anonymous actual author must ‘have been a person with an uncommon gift for fantasy.’ This work had allegedly been translated from the Greek and edited by the Church Father St. Jerome; it was a kaleidoscopic compendium of book learning, with information that may have come originally from Byzantium, and it combined myths (e.g., Romulus warring against Francus), imaginative passages, and fiction: ‘a sophisticatedly structured description of the world, whose subject matter alone afforded a great deal of latitude for invention.’

Along with control of the empire, Pepin’s son Charlemagne also inherited his father’s high reputation in both the West and the East. But by the time, from the early 780s onward, he resumed relations with Constantinople’ and toward the end of the century with Baghdad’ circumstances had changed completely. The Frankish king had elevated himself to the position of king of the Lombards and had extended the frontiers of his empire far beyond Rome to southern Italy, to the borders with Calabria and Apulia, and in the east to Pannonia. Charlemagne had also led a military expedition to the banks of the Ebro in Spain and had made great efforts to raise his own intellectual culture to be on a par with that of the Greeks and the ‘Saracens’; ultimately, he was striving for the imperial crown.

The Life of Charlemagne (pp. 248-252) According to Einhard, what made Charlemagne an effective ruler? What were your strengths? What were his weaknesses? What was the status of women at Charlemagne’s court? Give specific examples of how women were treated? How does Einhard explain any problems occurring in the empire? How did Charlemagne treat Christianity, Christians, and the Catholic Church?

The ways in which Einhard described Charlemagne was as a kind and noble leader that many people respected for “protect[ing] and enlarg[ing] his kingdom, and … embelesh[ing] it.” (Einhard 248). He was not a king that would flaunt his power or overindulge in material things. Einhard explained that Charlemagne, on ordinary days would dress in clothes almost similar to commoners and would eat and drink in moderation, not liking the idea of getting drunk unlike other kings shown through history (Einhard 250). Einhard detailed on Charlemagne’s strengths as being an involved father in his children’s lives and having a strong and open personality. He made sure his children were all well educated and had them learn the necessary trades they would need in life. Not only did he care for his children well, but he also made sure to feel outsiders feel welcome and treated the people who worked under him well. He was also diligent with his own education by making the effort to learn other languages and about astrology, however, a weakness he possessed was not having learned to write. He makes the attempt to learn but “he had begun too late in life and he made little progress.” (Einhard 251). Charlemagne treated the women in his court (his mother and daughters) with much respect. He respected his mother and her decisions even once marrying a woman just because his mother advised it. For his daughters, he assured that they received the same education as his sons and equipped them with the necessary knowledge of women in their time like “spinning and weaving wool”. Charlemagne identified himself as a Christian from a very young age so as an adult “As long as his health lasted, he went to church morning and evening with great regularity” (Einhard 251). Being a Christian himself, “wherever he heard that Christians were living in want, he took pity on their poverty and sent them money regularly” (Einhard 252). Charlemagne even took the lengths to build a fully embellished cathedral in Aachen and would donate fortunes worth of gold and other items to the churches.

The Book of the Courtier (pp. 404-408) According to Castiglione, what is “grace”? Is it a product of birth or nature? Is “grace” different in men than in women? If so, explain the differences. (In other words, what is grace for man? What is grace for a woman?) Is the courtier a product of nature, cultivation, or education? Explain.

Castiglione describes grace as one being “sight pleasing and agreeable to all who see him.” (Castiglione 405). While Castiglione states those who were born with the most grace come from nobility, the courtier is a production of education, meaning anyone who is willing to become “graceful” may be entitled to the position. For men, grace consists of being courageous, knowledgeable, and well educated, as well as well-spoken in multiple languages. The same goes for women, though women are expected to showcase their grace with more “tenderness”. Giving them more lady-like qualities, especially beauty. Both men and women are expected to not overstep their boundaries. If they were to make even just one slip-up, they would “[remain] forever infamous before the world and full of ignominy” (Castiglione 405).

The Prince (pp. 412-416) What gives a “prince” political authority and power? What should a prince do to gain, maintain and increase his power/authority? Since the prince must appear to be different things to different people, what is Machiavelli suggesting about human nature? What role does artifice or trickery play in political authority?

According to Machiavelli, a prince must first be strong enough to stand up for himself when need be. A prince must not seek hatred by his people if he wants to thrive. A prince should instill fear amongst his people, but in a way that his feared actions are always justified with moral intent. If a prince looks to maintain and increase his authority, he should demonstrate generosity whenever he can. He should let his parsimony cover costs that save him from imposing higher taxes on his people. A prince must find the balance between love and hate in the response from his people. Since the prince must appear to put on different fronts to different people, Machiavelli suggests that it is human nature to portray multiple personas dependent on the circumstance. One way a prince can artifice his authority is by loading his people with high taxes, then using those funds for generous acts, portraying himself as a generous prince.

A. What role did Christianity play in Western Civilization from the fall of Rome in 476 through 1500? Does the Catholic Church play a significant leadership role in Europe after the fall of Rome? Does this role create problems? What outside forces impacted the Church and its development? How different was the Muslim experience at this time?

While Rome fell, Christianity ascended with the help of Roman philosophy, Roman emperors (such as Constantine), and the German invaders who converted. As the Roman Empire continued to decline, signs of weakness were associated with the emperors. As this was taking place, the Roman Catholic Church became organized into a complex hierarchy where the Pope eventually amassed power over Europe, which is how it continued up through the 16th century. Muslims, during Islam’s emergence, were creating new trade routes between Asia and Africa, and, following the word of Muhammad, began embarking on their Hijrah. Once Muhammad dies, his following caliphs Abu Barkr and Umar, engage their Muslim armies in attacks invading Syria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and others, looking to spread their beliefs through conquest.

B. Francesco Petrarch referred to the 1000-year period between the fall of Rome and his own time as a ‘dark age’ or medieval period. Is this an accurate assessment of the middle ages? If not, why is this period not a dark age? What events would make the period seem like a Dark Age?

Francesco Petrarch’s hypothesis that this 1000-year period was a “dark age” is very inaccurate. The Carolingian Renaissance alone invalidates this claim. With the “dark age” referring to basically “no record of writing”, then a time where a resurgence in academia occurs would be contradicting. When Charlemagne ruled from 768-814, he ingeniously created a renaissance in Europe through reviving classical learning. Charlemagne would use war loot to attract scholars and even created a new style of writing known as Carolingian minuscule (which definitely means this couldn’t be a dark age). Charlemagne believed education was the key to salvation and made sure that he, his family, and his people, received the best training in grammar, rhetoric, logic, and math. Events that would have led

Petrarch believed this was a dark age is the Viking invasions during the 10th century. The Vikings attacked many monasteries, disposing of a vast amount of wealth and literature, which would, in turn, cause a dark age.

C. Explain the development of long-distance trade, towns, universities, and state development in England and France. Why are these developments important to the advancement of Europe in the Middle Ages? Why are these developments considered some of the most significant turning points in Western Civilization?

During the 8th and 9th centuries, towns began to develop as trade centers. The growth in agriculture revitalized these towns. Creating safe places for travelers and commerce to flourish. Towns were free from lords and monasteries, allowing for freedom amongst its inhabitants. Communities formed, and people were working together to make advances. The emergence of credit was a result, in addition, multiple currencies lead to jobs for bankers and money exchangers. Eventually, territorial lords moved into these towns and built castles to protect themselves, their families, and their followers. Castles now became the centers of newborn towns. In whole, towns not only allowed for more goods to be traded, but new words were inducted into the European language, Classical texts in science, math, literature, and art were brought to Europe, all leading to the eventual Renaissance of Europe.

While observing the list of videos, I took in consideration to the style of form of the videos carefully. Also, make sure I was inserted the student’s point of view to make sure the video is interesting and but also make sure it is very informational. While on my search I knew, I wanted videos that was not too long. Because as a student even though videos are student friendlier no one wants to sit at a screen for hours. With a couple of searching and watching plenty of videos, I found the perfect video that would help student understand the topic of Charlemagne because it was the most challenging and my test scores reflected the poor knowledge.

I found that Charlemagne (Charles The Great) https://youtu.be/aU69cGOBWG0 would be a great video to add the Charlemagne video on the list. I drew to Charlemagne (Charles the Great) because going thru plenty of videos down the list was very long. This video caught my eye because the length of the video was perfect length. Because one thing I knew, I wanted to a short video. Because this video has to be very informative too. I wanted the videos to go hand and hand with the chapter. I felt as if the video needed to help have a better understanding of the textbook. Not everyone is a textbook kind of person, so the video helps explains what went in one and out the other. This video did that to me in my point of view and learning style. Giving me, a very good understanding of Charlemagne with beating around the bush. Let me know every aspect of his life that was a turning point in his time of day from good and bad.

The video content gave insight into Charlemagne. By going to telling, how once he ruled out Charlemagne looked to join all the Germanic people groups into one kingdom and convert his subjects to Christianity. To do this mission, he spent most of his reign occupied with military battles. Not long after subsequent to getting to be best, he vanquished the Lombards and, Avars and Bavaria, among others.

Charlemagne pursued a bleeding, three-decades-in length arrangement of fights against the Saxons, a Germanic clan of agnostic admirers, and earned notoriety for mercilessness. In 782 at the Massacre of Verden, Charlemagne purportedly requested the butcher of somewhere in the range of 4,500 Saxons. He in the long run constrained the Saxons to change over to Christianity and announced that any individual who didn’t get purified through water or pursue other Christian customs be executed. Going on to explain his job as an energetic safeguard of Christianity, Charlemagne gave cash and land to the Christian church and secured the popes. As an approach to recognize Charlemagne’s capacity and fortify his association with the congregation, Pope Leo III delegated Charlemagne’s sovereignty of the Romans on December 25, 800, at St. Diminish’s Basilica in Rome.

As head, Charlemagne turned out to be a capable negotiator and capable director of the tremendous region he controlled. He advanced instruction and empowered the Carolingian Renaissance, a time of recharged accentuation on grant and culture. He founded financial and religious changes and was the main impetus behind the Carolingian minuscule, an institutionalized type of composing that later turned into a reason for present-day European printed letter sets. Charlemagne ruled from various urban areas and royal residences yet invested noteworthy energy in Aachen. His castle there incorporated a school, for which he selected the best instructors in the land.

Now taking a look at the video production I feel like this video was valid to the rest of the Documentary viewing list. While looking at the style of the video, the video was filmed was very simple. The structure of the video was made to give information to students because it was created by a university professor. The setup was simple in a clean area, as he is standing in front of the camera. Also giving visual images of the topics he explained in case you were a visual style learned, With Image type of maps, pictures of Charlemagne his self, or wars in action. The Narrator is the video was effect because he gave great points and was seen as he presented the information.

My overall impression was very intrigued because the way he presented the info giving very detail descriptions. Giving the ability to image the story in my head this all way keeps me focus when I’m being lectured too. Since my learning style is a visual perspective, following a lot of other are too. Because your able to intersection the what being present it to you better. Another great point is that goes over similar stuff the was shown in the textbook material.