The Carolingian empire originated from a man by the name of Charles Martel. Martel served as mayor of the palace of Austrasia, one of the three major areas controlled by the Merovingian dynasty, around 714. By defeating the Muslims near Poitiers, Charles Martel became the ruler of the three Merovingian kingdoms, placing his family on the edge of creating a new dynasty. After Charles Martel's death in 741, his son Pepin overthrew the Merovingians and assumed the kingship for himself. Pepin was crowned king a

The Catholic church was eventually successful in making an impact upon Frankish family, marital, and sexual attitudes. The church tried to emphasize its role in marriage by enabling priests to add their blessings. This strengthened the concept of a special marriage ceremony. Attempts were also made to promote monogamy and permanence.

Magical rites and influences were drawn from Germanic tribes in forms such as amulets and charms to ward off diseases. Healing through the intervention of God, Jesus, or the saints soon replaced these pagan practices with the conversion to Christianity, but both practices did at one time co-exist (Spielvogel, 219).

The Carolingian diet consisted of many different types of food, but mostly, for both rich and poor, the fundamental core of their diet was bread. Upper classes had a bigger variety of foods, with pork being the major meat consumed. Domestic pigs were hunted and killed in the fall, then smoked and salted to be eaten in the later winter months. Cattle was kept for dairy, sheep for wool, and chicken for eggs, so little beef, mutton, or chicken was eaten. The milk was made into cheese and butter since it spoiled rapidly. Honey and spices were largely used in the Carolingian diet also. To sweeten foods and drinks such as wine and ale, honey was utilized. Spices such as thyme, sage, and chives were grown in home gardens. More exotic spices such as pepper, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon were imported from the east and were very expensive. Aristocratic society consumed large amounts of spicy foods more as a sign of prestige and wealth rather than for taste (Spielvogel, 218).

Charlemagne brought some order to a large part of Europe, but that order was only relative and temporary. The period after his death in 814 was characterized by political disintegration, internal violence, and raids from outside forces such as the Vikings (Northmen) and Saracens (Moors) (Sherman, 133).

Charlemagne made many efforts in reviving the learning and culture of his kingdom, and was very successful. Some historians have labeled his efforts a Carolingian Renaissance of learning. Charlemagne designated this goal as a major task of the monasteries. As part of their "work" Benedictine monks were required to copy manuscripts in scriptoria (writing rooms). The monks copied such items as the Bible and the treatises of the church fathers. Carolingian monks also created new ways of making books by writing on pages made of parchment or sheepskin. The pages were then bound in covers that were decorated with jewels and precious metals. The scribes also created a new writing style known as the Carolingian miniscule. Carolingian monks played a large role in the preservation of the ancient legacy they lived in. Almost 90 percent of the ancient Roman works that exist today are there because they were copied by the Carolingian monks. The Carolingian Renaissance had a major role in sustaining the classical heritage and intellectual life of the Catholic church (Spielvogel, 214).

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