who unified Western Europe through military power and the blessing of the Church. His

belief in the need for education among the Frankish people was to bring about religious,

political, and educational reforms that would change the history of Europe.

Charlemagne was born in 742 at Aachen, the son of Pepin(or Pippin) the Short and

grandson of Charles Martel. His grandfather, Charles, had begun the process of unifying

western Europe, in the belief that all people should be Christian. Charlemagne's father,

Pepin, continued this process throughout his rule and passed his beliefs on to

Charlemagne. All three, in addition to the political unification, believed that the church

should be reformed and reorganized under the Pope, which helped their rise to power as

the Carolingian Dynasty. (Holmes 74)

Upon Pepin's death in 768, Charlemagne and his brother, Carloman, each inherited half of

the Frankish kingdom. Pepin, in the Merovingian tradition of the

B. Alcuin p. 134 civ. Of Char.

inquire into the judgments of the local courts. (Ganshof 93)

marvelous structures. Precious gems, gold, and silver were used throughout the churches.

reorganization of the Church. Each one, as king of the Franks, saw it his duty to better the

to Charlemagne's rule, and he in turn provided stability in the Church. The people

Charlemagne also unified the laws of his kingdom based on the laws of the church. He set

1. Ownership by lineage changes to appointment by Charlemagne

monasteries - in particular those given to the education of priests and general population,

Charlemagne knew that he must have the allegiance of the people to himself, the King. To

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4913
Approximate Pages = 20 (250 words per page double spaced)