Charlemagne: Germanic, Christian, or Roman?

Charlemagne was king of the Frankish Kingdom from 768 A.D. until the time of his death in 814 A.D. Charlemagne as his brother, Carloman, became kings after their father, Pepin, died. The Frankish Kingdom was split in two, until Carloman died and the entire kingdom fell into the hands of Charlemagne. During his reign, one could say that Charlemagne represented three separate cultures: Germanic, Christian, and Roman. In each aspect of Charlemagne’s life one can see how he represents and brings together each of these cultures.

The way a king rules his country through political and military policies is effected by his personal life, and it was no different for Charlemagne. Charlemagne was first and foremost a German, and many aspects of his personal life exemplified this culture. He was a Christian and only had one wife at a time, but he did have several concubines which was common in Germanic culture (Einhard 73). German cultures also held women in a higher standard, so it is not surprising that Charlemagne had both his sons and daughters educated. He also made sure to teach his sons how to hunt, ride horses, and how to use weapons (74). Charlemagne himself also spent much of his time hunting (77). Charlemagne also wore traditional German clothing, except for on two occasions when he was in Rome. The Pope at the time had convinced him to wear traditional “long tunic and a Greek Mantle…” (77).

Charlemagne had a great devotion to the Christian Faith, and was raised in the faith. He was so devoted that he built a cathedral in Aachen (79). He would go to church every day, and made sure that nothing profane was brought into the church. Charlemagne made several reforms within the church, and was well versed in the lessons and chants. He would give alms, and also gave to the poor on many occasions (80). Charlemagne enjoyed reading books about Saints lives, and he would listen to them while he would eat (78). He also spent much time learning to read and write in Latin, and learning the liberal arts in which he had great respect for those who taught it (79).

Charlemagne also spent time “studying rhetoric, dialectic and especially astrology” (79). This type of learning is associated with Roman culture. He also spent much of his wealth on projects to make his kingdom more “attractive”. An example of this would be the cathedral, Holy Mother of God at Aachen that he built. He also built a bridge that was over 500 feet long, across the Rhine River (71). Another example of Roman culture in his personal life is that of many natural happenings occurring before his death, which some signs were represented through astrology (85).

Charlemagne thought of himself as an Old Testament king, he used the example of David to model how he would rule as a Christian king. During his war with the Saxon’s part of his mission was to evangelize, because the Saxon’s had pagan religions. The prisoners that were taken in this war were given pardon if they became Christians (62).

Charlemagne also had many military tactics that represented Germanic culture. Germanic societies were warrior and militaristic societies. Charlemagne went to war every year of his reign, and because of this he was able to double the size of his empire (60). This showed the idea of conquer or be conquered. If Charlemagne had not conquered more territory, the Germanic tribes around him would have attacked his kingdom and taken land away from him. With German cultures being so militaristic, the idea of a man being able to fight in battles was very important. Therefore it would be no surprise that Charlemagne himself was in battle with his army (67). I would also have been important for his sons to be able to fight in battles as well. This caused Charlemagne to teach his sons to use weapons when they came of age. This also cause Charlemagne to send his son, Pepin, to a monastery to live, because he was a hunchback and could not fight in battles (75). Another reason for Charlemagne going to war was to get “booty,” which is the gold, silver, and other material objects that the Frankish people would get through their conquests (67). Rome was also a very militaristic society, and the idea of conquer or be conquered can also be seen as a Roman idea. Charlemagne also created a navy for his kingdom which is related to Romans have a navy fleet (72).

The Frankish Kingdom had a very strong influence from Germanic culture when it comes to its political system, but once Charlemagne came to power he brought in different aspects of Christian and Roman culture. In Germanic culture in order for a king to have power, he needed the support and loyalty from the people. When Charlemagne came to power his kingdom supported him (58). The Germans did not practice primogeniture, and because of this when Charlemagne first became king he shared the kingdom with his brother. When Charlemagne died, he only had one surviving legitimate son, Louis. If he had not had one son then the kingdom would have been split up.

The Pope had taken a hand in making it so Charlemagne would become king, through the Papal-Frankish Alliance. When Charlemagne’s father, Pepin, agreed to help the Pope defeat the Lombard’s, and in return the Pope agreed to make him king of the Franks. This caused the Franks to be the first Germanic tribe to acknowledge the Papacy in Rome. On one occasion when Charlemagne visited Rome to protect the Pope, the Pope anointed him Emperor of the Roman Empire (81). By Charlemagne being anointed Emperor of the Roman Empire, it causes him to bring in different aspects of Roman culture. One example is that Charlemagne saw that the Franks had two separate forms of law. This caused him to begin working on writing new laws and rewriting the old laws, and changing different aspects of it, so there was one law that everyone followed (81).

Charlemagne was a Germanic king, who was a devoted Christian, and was crowned Emperor of the Roman Empire. These three cultures greatly impacted not only his personal life, but also how he structured his military and political systems. In many aspects it is difficult to determine which parts of Charlemagne’s life comes from which culture, but it is clear that he represents a mixture of Germanic, Christian, and Roman cultures.