Charlemange

Charlemagne is the king of the Franks. He journeyed to Rome to help Pope Leo III, head of the Catholic church. On Christmas Day, Charlemagne, his family and a host of visitors crowed into Saint Peter's Basilica to attend mass. Pope Leo placed a crown on Charlemagne's head. "In keeping with ancient tradition, the people in the church shouted, "Long life and victory to Charles Augustus, crowned by God the great and peace-loving Emperor of the Romans. Charles had become the first Roman emperor since 476. This Roman emperor was actually a German king, and he had been crowned by the head of the Western Christian Church. The coronation if Charlemagne was a sign not of the rebirth of the Roman Empire but of the emergence of a new European civilization that came into being in western Europe after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. This new civilization, was formed by the coming together of three major elements. The Germanic peoples moved in and settled the Western Roman Empire, the legacy of the Romans, and the Christian Church. By 800, this new European civilization was taking shape. Increasingly, Europe would become the center of what we call Western civilization. European civilization emerged and developed during a period that historians call the Middle Ages or the medieval period. It lasted who first used the title, the Middle Ages was a middle period between the ancient world and the modern world. 

Charlemagne was a determined and decisive man who was highly intelligent and curious. He was a fierce warrior, a strong statesman, and a pious Christian. Although he was unable to read or write, he was nevertheless a wise patron of learning. During his lengthy rule from 768 to 814, Charlemagne greatly expanded the territory of the Frankish kingdom and created what came to be known as the Carolingian Empire. Charlemagne was a hardy warrior who undertook fifty-four military campaigns, which took him to many areas of Europe. His most successful campaigns were in Germany, especially the campaigns against the Saxons between the Elbe River and the North Sea. Charlemagne's empire covered much of western and central Europe. Charlemagne continued the efforts of his father, Pepin, in organizing the Carolingian Kingdom. 

As Charlemagne's power grew, so too did his prestige as the most powerful Christian ruler. In 8oo, Charlemagne acquired a new title, emperor of the Romans. Charlemagne welcomed the new title. After all he was now an emperor on the same level as the Byzantine emperor. Charlemagne's coronation as Roman Emperor demonstrated the strength of the idea of an enduring Roman Empire. His coronation took place 300 years after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. It also symbolized the coming together of those Roman, Christian, and Germanic elements that made up the basis of European civilization. 

Charlemagne had a strong desire to revive learning in his kingdom, and attitude that stemmed from his own intellectual curiosity as well as from the need to provide educated clergy for the church and literate officials for the government. His efforts led to a revival of learning and culture that some historians have labeled a Carolingian Renaissance, or rebirth of learning. 

Charlemagne died in 814. After his death in the 9th and 10th centuries, western Europe was beset by a wave of invasions. The Muslims raided the southern coasts of Europe and sent raiding parties into southern France. The Magyars, a people from western Asia, moved into central Europe at the end of the ninth century and settled on the plains of Hungary. 

When royal governments could no longer defend their subjects, people turned to the local landed aristocrats or nobles to protect them. It became important to find some powerful lord who could offer protection in return for service. This led to a new political and military system known as feudalism.