Charlemagne and the Renaissance of the Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire, historically located in the High Middle Ages, began since Pipino the brief was crowned as king of the Franks. His death took Carlomagno, his son, who was the first king of German origin who tried to rebuild the Roman Empire of the West. "Charlemagne was a man of determination and decision, endowed with great intelligence and inquisitive, which markedly expanded the territory of the Carolingian empire during his prolonged reign".
It is because there was a true cultural rebirth at the time. With the support of the Church of Rome and the Military Force, the power of the Carolingian Empire is marked by almost having achieved the unity of the Christian west. Carlomagno carried out fifty -four military campaigns with only 8000 men recruited each spring. These, took him to many regions of Europe. His empire was initially territorially constituted by Aquitaine, Neustria, Austrasia, Germany, Bergundia. Subsequently he took control over the lands of Lombardo, Italy, Spain, Germania, Bavaria, Saxony, Frisia, Brittany, papal states and the communities of the Slavs, Avaros and Tax. “The Carlomagne empire covered much of central and western Europe. Only until the time of Napoleon an empire of those dimensions in Europe would be seen again.”(
Reforms in the Carolingian Empire
Within the Carolingian empire, there were important changes in religious, administrative, territorial and educational fields. The reforms undertaken by Carlomagno gave rise to what we know as the Renaissance Carolingio.
One of the weakest and most vulnerable areas at the beginning of the empire was education. The entire population was illiterate. According to Gabriela Rojo, this lack was due to the fact that education was very careless for merovingia, the predecessors of Pipino. (Red, Page. two). During those times, the quality of education depended on the clergy to know about the Scriptures and the Liturgy. During the reign of merovingia, clergymen were ignorant, and teaching, of very poor quality.
Education was one of the greatest concerns of the emperor. He, being illiterate, saw strictly necessary to invest in the desire to revive learning in his kingdom, a need to have prepared clergymen who knew how to write and read for the government. (Spielvogel. J.J, 2003).
The educational reforms undertaken by the king and then emperor Carlomagno (742?-814 d. C.) They gave rise to the so -called Carolingian Renaissance, which consisted of an intentional education company addressed to their entire people and especially clergy and laity in charge of the administration of the Kingdom, with a view to the unification of the both religious and administrative kingdom.
However, he needed a strategy for his educational company to be effective and succeed in such an extensive and mixed territory of cultures. He found the solution: teach in the Christian faith, since it was the only thing that such different peoples had in common. Charlemagne along his military campaigns was very insistent in converting the territories to Christianity.
Carlomagno began by building and founding temples and schools dedicated to teaching where scientific and literary issues were discussed. Then, he continued to educate his people with the help and support of the Church, the Benedictine monks stood out in it.
Carlomagno promoted the knowledge of the letters and sciences that were lost over time in culture by battles and fights. Education was mainly based on the study of Latin and the knowledge of classics and liberal arts. These were understood in the trivium (dialectic, grammar, rhetoric) and quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music). To carry out this mission, Charlemagne encouraged scholars men of letters from all over Europe to go to court Carolingia. Among them the most prominent were the Anglo -Saxon monk Alcuino de York, the Biographer Eginhardo and Lombardo Pablo el Dácono as main collaborators.
This company was based on three educational instances:
- Palatine schools (in the courts and palaces)
- Ecclesiastical (religious) and secular schools (lay people).
- Monacal schools
Ecclesiastical and monacal schools had the main task of copying, transmitting and maintaining ancient texts under care. “About eight thousand manuscripts survive since the Carolingian times. Virtually ninety percent of the Roman works of antiquity that currently exist thanks to the fact that they were copied by the Carolingian monks."
However, at the beginning of the Renaissance, education was only privilege of political and church power, they were the only ones who could communicate by deeds, the rest of the population only used oral communication and graphic representation. Charlemagne’s intention was not that this was always the case, his intentions were first educating politicians and religious so that they later educate the rest of the population.
York Alcuino: Charlemagne’s teacher
Carlomagno, in his desperate attempt to create new schools and educational institutions, created a Court of Intellectuals in the 780s. Alcuino de York, known as "The wisest man in the world" or "The Master of Europe", was called York moved from Aquison, the headquarters of the Empire, where he was a professor and partner of Charlemagne to establish schools in the main cathedrals. He was the biggest counselor of Carlomagno and who directed the schools during that time. Alcuino concentrated on the teaching of classic Latin and liberal arts, which were subsequently the basis of later medieval education. Thanks to Alcuino, Emperor himself learned to read and direct teaching to his people. Alcuino de York “was the intellectual author of a resurgence of learning so deep that is sometimes called the Carolingian Renaissance.".
Eginhardo
Eginhardo was born in Germany in approximately 775. He was raised in the Fulda monastery, an important learning center of the time. Eginhardo arrived at the Charlemagne Court in 792, after York Alcuino left to continue his educational task. Eginhardo did not have such an important position with Charlemagne as he had it with his son, Luis el Piadosao. However, he was a biographer of Charlemagne, therefore, he met the emperor as a person, military and sovereign. So they achieved a strong friendship.
Carlomagne motifs
Education in the High Middle Ages was of the utmost importance for the kingdoms and empires to have a better administration of the territory, as well as in distant populations where different languages were spoken and in which laws were needed. Culture and communication began to be the most powerful weapons of control and submission. A kingdom or empire that had a good education showed political power and progress to the world.
Carolingio was not distinguished by being an empire with great educational advance, and this, at the same time, demonstrated an inferiority with respect to the other empires of the West.
Charlemagne’s restlessness began because, in one of his military conquests in Italy, the campaign was over, he could realize that this country was really enriched with culture and beauty. Upon returning to Aquison, in his own world, more ignorant and barbarian, he felt alarmed. This made him think about the future of his people. These were his words, according to Joaquín Javaloys:
Can my barbarian and ignorant Franco people evolve to become positively starring in their magnificent destination? Will you effectively perform your mission of being the armed arm of the Church? Anyway, will it be the people to guide and lead to the West?
As Carlomagno was conquering, he not only cared about his original territory, but also about the poverty and education of those territories and cultures conquered such as: Danes, Saxons, Slavs and Avaros. According to his biography written by Ephhinardo. “[Charlemagne] was very demanding in the attention to the poor, to such a degree that he not only worried about them in their own country and in their own kingdom, but when he discovered that there were Christians who lived in poverty, he had compassion for them and sent them money to overseas.”(Spielvogel. J.J, 2003, P.192)
The disintegration of the Carolingian Empire
Unfortunately, the impulse of change lasted shortly after the end of the Carolingian empire after the death of Charlemagne in the year 814. This is because the later kings did not put the same effort, effort and tenacity that Carlomagno had. The independence of the nobles also affected a lot, the great extension of the territories that the empire had, the difficulty of having them under a single command and being able to communicate between them. However, the Renaissance was so great and influential that it achieved Western civilization to join in such a way that it would be the most powerful and extensive empire to Napoleon Bonaparte.
Effects and consequences of educational reforms in the Carolingian empire
Today thanks to the Carolingian Renaissance, there are extremely old and important books and texts in universal history, from Ireland, Italy, Spain and other Western countries. Without these, much of the story was lost. This is because Charlemagne sent to build and establish schools in temples where these texts were kept, they were studied by ecclesiastical monks, they were copied and transmitted to students for their education.
- The calligraphy of small and round prints known as the letter Carolingia was created, it facilitated the copy and study of the same books.
- Carlomagno created public works and built palaces and temples with the reason for turning them into palantine schools and teaching centers. The first Palantina school built was in Aquizgrán, and there the nobility was taught.
- The western world lives the right of free education, they remained under good care.
Conclusions
It can be concluded that the great rebirth of the Carolingian empire and its important reforms would not have been achieved without the will, firmness, perseverance and vision of Charlemagne. He, as a good king who cares about his people, realizing the cultural conditions and ignorance of this, begins to take action with the support of the Church. Although Carlomagno was illiterate and it was not easy to convey knowledge that he did not have, he carried out an effective strategy. This was, that he had teachers and extremely important sages of his side of him who helped him to carry out this task. Although after his death the changes were not continued by the subsequent sovereigns, Gabriela Rojo mentions that today in the western world education is a right that everyone has, universities are part of everyone’s life.
Charlemagne today is known as the father of Europe, because he territorially expanded his Franco kingdom through military campaign and conquests. This unified much of central and western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire, and managed to establish a European identity. He is known that for having brought back and give importance to European cults and languages to communicate. It will be known for implementing Christian orders that are dedicated to young education.
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