Charlemagne
“Charles the Great”
and the Holy Roman Empire
Lesson 11-1
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• TN SPI
– 6.5.7 Recognize major historical time periods
(Middle Ages)
– 6.1.5 Identify differences between various
cultural groups (Europeans)
– 6.6.2 Recognize the impact of individuals on
world history (Charles the Great)
– 6.5.15 Evaluate to what extent civilizations build
on the accomplishments of previous civilizations
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The Middle Ages - 500-1500 A.D.
• After the fall of the Roman Empire, stability in the
west was threatened.
• Wave after wave of invaders or barbarians
destroyed Roman towns and cut off trade routes.
• Many western lands were reclaimed by invaders.
• Reading and writing almost disappeared from
Europe because many of the invading groups
could do neither.
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The Middle Ages - 500-1500 A.D.
• With the end of the Western Roman Empire,
no single government had complete control in
Europe.
• The Roman Empire was replaced with a
patchwork of small kingdoms.
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Division Line between
East and West
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Growing Influence of the Roman
Catholic Church
• The pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic
Church, gained not only authority over the
church but also political power.
• The pope’s authority grew in Europe as more
people became Christians.
• During this time, missionaries traveled
throughout Europe teaching Christianity.
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– Responsible for
developing many Pope Gregory I
Church teachings
– Created rules of
behavior for priests
– Set up monasteries,
or centers of
Christian life and
learning
– Developed a plan to
make all of Europe a
land of Christians, or
Christendom
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“Charles the Great”
• The Roman Catholic Church gained even more
power under the Germanic ruler Charles the
Great.
• Charles the Great was king of the Franks.
(Gaul or current-day France.)
• Known as Charlemagne, he brought back
unity and order to many of the lands that had
been part of the former Western Roman
Empire.
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Charlemagne
• Charlemagne:
– Great warrior
– Respected learning and encouraged education
– Known as a man of wisdom
– His grandfather, Charles Martel, defeated Muslims
at the Battle of Tours in 732, ensuring Europe
would become a Christian nation.
– Goal was to unite Germanic tribes into a single
Christian kingdom (Christendom)
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Charlemagne
• Charlemagne
– Defended the city of Rome
and the pope against the
Lombards
– Christmas Day 800 A.D.,
Pope Leo III crowned
Charlemagne as Augustus
emperor of the Romans
– Founded the Holy Roman
Empire formed from lands
previously part of the
Western Roman Empire
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Holy Roman Empire
• The Holy Roman Empire was made up of modern
day:
– Germany
– Austria
– Switzerland
– eastern France
– Belgium
– Netherlands
– western Poland
– the Czech Republic
– Italy
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Holy
Roman
Empire
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Accomplishments
• Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
– Improved education (reading and writing)
– Issued money
– Increased trade
– Spread the Christian religion - Confess God or
meet God
– When Charlemagne defeated the Saxons, he
expected them to convert to Christianity. He
beheaded 4,000 in one day.
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Feudal System
• Charlemagne gave huge land grants to loyal nobles.
This was similar to the practice of creating Roman
provinces.
• The nobles agreed to provide military and political
services to him as emperor, as well as upkeep of
roads, bridges and forts on their land.
• This system of land grants was the basis of
feudalism; the political and military system of Europe
that lasted for about 400 years.
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Charlemagne’s Death
• After Charlemagne’s death, his empire or the
Holy Roman Empire, was divided among his
three sons.
• They fought one another, weakening the
empire.
• Other groups attacked and weakened the
empire.
• The fiercest attacks came from the Vikings.
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