charlemagne and the franks
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Charlemagne and the Franks. Fall of Rome and the Rise of the Middle Ages (500-1500). Disruption of Trade Foreign invaders Cities Crumble Cities abandoned Population Flees Rural refuge. Decline of Western Europe . Population flight to rural areas. Greek language loses significance. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Charlemagne and the Franks
Fall of Rome and the Rise of the Middle Ages(500-1500)
Decline of Western Europe
Disruption of Trade◦Foreign invaders
Cities Crumble◦Cities abandoned
Population Flees◦Rural refuge
Learning Declines
Population flight to rural areas.
Greek language loses significance.◦Priests and church
officials.◦Culture and history suffer.
New oral tradition.◦No written language
Languages become muddled and differentiated.
Rise of the Germanic Kingdoms
Roman provinces fall; tribes fill vacuum.◦Unwritten rules and traditions.
Stress placed on personal loyalty.◦Not loyalty toward the state.
Church remains in tact.
Frankish Fortune
Clovis; leader of the Franks in Gaul.◦Christian ruler
496 – leads warriors to fight Germanic army.
Clovis’ Plea
“For I have called on my gods, but find that they are far from my aid…. Now I call on
Thee. I long to believe in Thee. Only, please deliver me from my enemies.”
Frankish Fortune
Clovis; leader of the Franks in Gaul.◦Christian ruler
496 – leads warriors to fight Germanic army.
Tide of war shifts.Baptism.511 – Clovis unites
the Franks
Christian Expansion
7th century Christianization.
Monasteries and convents and rural life
Monks and nuns followed strict codes.
Church Influence
590 – Gregory I; expands papacy into secular affairs.◦Infrastructure and army
Lombards.Christendom’s Middle Aged influence.7th and 8th century monasteries grow as
most educated section of Europe.◦Keeping literature alive.
An Empire Expands
Franks govern most of France.
719 - Charles Martel◦Unofficial ruler
Armies, policies, royal household.
Christian leader and expansion of Franks.◦Defeat of Muslims in Battle
of Tours (732)
A Strong Alliance
Pepin the Short; son of Charles Martel.Defends Church against Lombards.
◦Pope appoints him ‘king by the grace of God.’Birth of the Carolingian Dynasty (751-
987).
Charlemagne
Pepin dies in 768.◦Two heirs, Charlemagne and Carloman Carloman dies in 771
(mysteriously?)Charlemagne takes
sole control over Empire.◦A well-respected and
powerful man.
The Greatness
Builds greatest empire since Rome.By 800 he maintains the strongest
empire in Western Europe.Protects Pope Leo III
◦Coronation of Roman Emperor; European King.
The Reformist
Limited noble power.
Encouraged learning.◦Surrounded by
multi-national scholars.
Opened schools around Europe.◦Through the
monasteries.
In the End…
Charlemagne leaves empire to Louis the Pious.◦Very religious but ineffective.
Louis passes it on to his three sons.Dividing the empire and dissolving central
authority.Bringing the era of feudalism.Int’l Charlemagne Prize
The Payoff
What are some of Charlemagne’s greatest legacies?
What makes him great?
How does Charlemagne’s Frankish empire speak to humanity seeking a society?◦Other historically relevant connections?