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... or the education of the priests, but were open to all people. Charlemagne's Admonition generali's stressed the importance of education for everyone. Many of the scholars brought to the Palace School were foreigners: Italians, Spaniards, and Irish, but there were also some Franks. (Holmes 96 - 97) Charlemagne saw it his duty to create a center for science, art and literature, and to spearhead a cultural revolution in Western Europe. Charlemagne himself joined the school, attended classes, and fulfilled his scholarly duties. (Bulfinch) He was known to be fluent in speech, and able to eloquently express himself. He mastered Latin and Greek, but he could not speak Greek as well as he could understand it.
Charlemagne studied grammar, rhetoric, dialects and astronomy as well. He tried to write, but since he began late in life he was not very successful. (Halsall 25) He also saw that his sons and daughters attended classes, as well as learning traditional Frankish traditions of riding and hunting for the boys, and cloth-making for the girls. The education system used by Charlemagne's scholars was suprisingly like that of Classic Greek and Roman scholars. A text would be read by a student or teacher, accompanied by an explanation. Then there would be discussion of the material following the proper analytical reasoning of the time. This method of teaching was responsible for generations of students learning to discipline their thoughts, and formed the minds of several leaders who lived in Charlemagne's day, and under the kings who followed.
As King or Emperor, one of Charlemagne's primary responsibilities was to regulate laws and trade within the boundaries of the Franks. He accomplished many goals that would set the stage for the growth of Medieval Europe. Charlemagne took measures aimed at stabilizing the coinage of the day, regulating the amounts of silver and gold to be contained in each. (Boussard 24) After the fifth century, coins had been minted by any number of coiners, and the value of each varied greatly. The reforms of Pepin and Charlemagne saw to the regulation of the amount of precious metals in each coin, as well as the monogram of the king to be embossed on each. These actions gave the idea that money was publicly guaranteed and controlled by one source, instead of many. (Boussard Charlemagne also unified the laws of his kingdom based on the laws of the church. He set standards for administering justice, codified marriage and divorce laws, and gave rights to all men founded in the word of God.
There were exceptions, however. People of privilege: ranking officials in the political, juridical, or religious communities were accorded special protection by the king, and had the ability to have their court cases heard in the palace court. (Ganshof 93) Outside of the palace, Counts, or the individual heads of states, conducted court to settle civil differences. Interpretation of the law was varied, as each man was able to read his own version of truth. Also, the adage "power corrupts" was prevalent in the days of Charlemagne. To combat corruption or the misinterpretation of laws, Charlemagne created the miss dominica, or royal commissioners to inspect and inquire into the judgments of the local courts. (Ganshof 93) Charlemagne had a profound effect on the art and architecture of Western Europe. His effect was not new thought, but merely a resurgence of ancient Roman tradition.
He commissioned great chapels for the monasteries, providing space to worship for many people at one time. The early constructions were mostly of wood; a material familiar to the nomadic people of the time. The need for security and longevity necessitated a return to stone construction, so the Roman style of temples, monuments, gardens and arches was resurrected. (Boussard 160) Aesthetic decoration also played an important part of architecture during the Carolingian empire. Mosaics, gilding, marble, carvings of ivory, and paintings adorned these new, marvelous structures.
Precious gems, gold, and silver were used throughout the churches. Fresco's, terra-cotta, and plaster were used to provide background for the walls and pillars of churches and monuments. (Boussard 169) All of these arts were not, however, original. The people of Charlemagne's time were merely adapting Germanic habits and tradition with the rediscovery of Roman tradition, Byzantine art and oriental innovation. (Boussard Charlemagne was a enlightened leader who restored the roots of education and order Medieval Europe. His reconstruction of the power of the Pope, the growth of the monasteries - in particular those given to the education of priests and general population, and revival of art and architecture was to set the stage for the development of Western Civilization as we know it today. Laws, traditions, and teachings were carried on by the descendants of the Carolingian's in their words and actions, leaving a precedent for the actions of civilization for hundreds of years to come. Charlemagne, a king wiser than any other of his time, was a determined and forceful leader who let nothing stop him once he had begun a task. (Halsall 8) note - One reference not cited in this text portrayed Charlemagne as a gluttonous and superstitious semiliterate with a propensity for brutality.
As there were no other documentations to this effect, these opinions were not brought to light in the text. Due to the source (Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia), however, I thought it insightful to include this information at the end of the piece. Boussard, Jacques, The Civilisation of Charlemagne. LondonWeidenfield and Nicolson, Bulfinch, Thomas, Bulfinch's Mythology: Legends of Charlemagne Or Romance Of The Middle Ages. 1863 [gopher: //gopher. vt. edu: 10010 / 02 / 53 / 1 ] Ganshof, Francis L. , The Carolingian's and the Frankish Monarchy, Studies in Carolingian History.
New York, Cornell University Press 1971 Halsall, Paul, Internet Medieval Sourcebook. [ web August 1996 Holmes, George, The Oxford History of Medieval Europe. New York, Oxford University II. Changes in Political and Social order A. Shift from many Kings to Counts 1. Ownership by lineage changes to appointment by Charlemagne 2.
The Oath of Fidelity p. 113 Carol. And Frank. Monarchy B. Affiliation of the church (diocese) to newly conquered lands p. 205 Carol.
And Frank. C. Changes from Christian / pagan adaptations to true Christian religion A. The need for education p. 8 Carol. And Frank. monarchy B.
Alcuin p. 134 civ. Of Char. C. Palace School / monastery D.
Importation of foreign scholars p. 126 civ. of Char. 1. Methods of instruction p. 130 Civ. Of Char. Bibliography:
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