Finished: Franks and Charlemagne Essay

Submitted By ashleysmith123
Words: 1392
Pages: 6
Open Document
When comparing and contrasting the political backgrounds of Clovis and Charlemagne, it can be argued that Clovis's and Charlemagne's political background were both strong and organized due to a strong military that they both had. Culturally both Clovis and Charlemagne believed in Christianity and tried to spread the religion by building churches and supporting them. Their social backgrounds were different. Clovis used the Law of the Salian Franks to organize his society, compared to Charlemagne who used a system with his society. However, Charlemagne who reigned longer than Clovis shows that he was more successful in keeping his empire together. Though Charlemagne and Clovis had different backgrounds in certain things, one of the things that both had in common was their political background. When they both had strong militaries and they themselves were strong leaders who enforced their policies to help succeed with their invasions in the Roman Empire. In what today is France, the old Roman cities served as the focus of the important aspects of political and military organizations to both leaders. Charlemagne built the Frankish kingdom into an empire on the basis of his military expeditions. He then received a title as emperor which developed a challenge to the authority of the Byzantine emperors. Clovis also based his empire on a few military expeditions that he encountered on his way to invading the Roman Empire. Clovis was the first Frankish king to unite all Frankish tribes under one ruler. Both leaders had something to do with the Merovingian Dynasty. Ironically, Clovis was the founder of the Merovingian Dynasty, which ruled the Franks for two centuries, and Charlemagne originated from his grandfather, Charles Martel who discovered the Carolingian dynasty. Charles dynasty which was then succeeded by his sons Carloman and Pepin the Short. Pepin the Short then replaced the Merovingian Dynasty, where Charlemagne's birthplace contained many Merovingian hunting villas. Both rulers had victories in conquering the Roman Empire which extended Frankish rule across the region. Charlemagne later applied the system to most of the European Continent which affected them politically. Since Clovis and Charlemagne both were Christians, there were monasteries and missionary efforts that spread. They relied on financial resources to maintain an elaborate bureaucracy that implemented policies. They relied on political, military and legal authority in local jurisdiction. Even though they had military and political struggles at one point, they both succeeded through diplomatic negotiations. Talking about Clovis and Charlemagne culturally you can see that both had things that were similar to each other. One of the reasons for the rapid rise of Franks' was from religious reasons. When Clovis settled in the Roman Empire, he converted the Germanic people to Christianity. This conversion then affected Clovis and the Franks by attracting the Christian population. After receiving recognition and support from the pope, alliances grew with the church of Rome. Missionaries were then established to help spread Christianity. The Franks alliance with the Roman church allowed them to educated and literate individuals. Having a deep commitment to Roman Christianity was a hallmark to both Charlemagne and Clovis. They both received recognition and backing from the popes. Charlemagne also supported the church in Italy and also worked
Show More

Related Documents: Finished: Franks and Charlemagne Essay

Ashurbanipal's The Epic Of Gilgamesh

him. According to Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, “The wife of Namatius built the church of Saint Stephen in the suburb outside the walls of Clermont-Ferrand” (Geary, Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, p. 141). Namatius’ wife had the power and the money to build her own church. She would read a book and tell the workmen what she wanted painted on the walls which means that she was also educated. Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, states, “She wanted to have her baby baptized, and…

Words 1659 - Pages 7

Essay on Summary of History of Graphic Design by Meggs

Chapter 1: The Invention of Writing - From the early Paleolithic to the Neolithic period (35,000 BC to 4,000 BC), early Africans and Europeans left paintings in caves, including the Lascaux caves in Southern France. - Early pictures were made for survival and for utilitarian and ritualistic purposes. - Petroglyphs are carved or scratched signs on rock. - These images became symbols for what would be the first spokenlanguage. - Cuneiform – Wedged shaped writing, created in 3000BC. Started…

Words 14951 - Pages 60