We can see that none of the European nations agreed to accept Christianity willingly, they were rejecting this way of living as it was unnatural for them (Einhard, 7). At the same time, from the modern point of view the conquests and never ending wars and bloodthirsty battles, forcing the religion on people, are quite shocking. This is understandable because both of these authors were working for the royal family and were full of appreciation towards all of its members. Charlemagne was the force bringing Christianity to the territory of Western Europe.įinally, Charlemagne is depicted by Notker and Einhard as an extremely wise and clever man, believing in the power of education and encouraging his kids to study. He had far-sighted plans that he managed to put into practice when the wars were over. He knew that the economic, diplomatic and cultural development was only possible in the peaceful Empire. Secondly, Charles the Great saw religion as a strong political power helping to create agreement and peace between the battling nations.

He also submitted Bavaria, conducted a series of Roncesvalles and Avar campaigns, spent a lot of effort spreading his ruling to the East and battling the Saxons, who were considered “the devil worshipers”, took over some territories of the Slavs (Einhard, 7).

This is why he started to expand his Empire to conquer Italian territories, Pyrenees, lands that belonged to the Moors. Charlemagne turned out to be the solid leader who tried to unite all of these nations and finally establish the state of peace in Europe. Western Europe was experiencing quite difficult times. Territorial conflicts were very frequent. At that time the territory of Western Europe was inhabited by multiple nations, each of those nations was a pagan society. This paper will summarize the general influence the ruling of Carl the Great on the Western European religion in 768-814, in order to see how the conquests and accomplishments of this well known king and Emperor have influenced the society of nowadays.įirst of all, Charlemagne has started his ruling with series of conquests in order to increase the territory of his Empire. “However much energy Charlemagne may have expended in enlarging his realm and conquering foreign nations, and despite all the time which he devoted to his preoccupation, he nevertheless set in hand many projects which aimed at marking his kingdom more attractive and at increasing public utility” (Einhard, 17). The second one is Notker the Stammerer, the Benidictine monk, who was born years after the death of Charlemagne and compiled the monarch’s biography for Carl’s great-grandson. First one is Einhard, Charlemagne’s personal close friend, a noble and respectable man.

The life of charlemagne