Page 212 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

writer, “as the king rose from praying before the tomb of the blessed apostle Peter, Pope Leo placed a golden crown on his 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 pacific Emperor of the Romans.” Seemingly, the Roman Empire in the West had been reborn, and Charles had become the first Western emperor since 476. But this “Roman emperor” was actually a German king, and he had been crowned by the head of the Western Christian church. In truth, the coronation of Charlemagne was a sign not of the rebirth of the Roman Empire but of the emergence of a new European civilization.
By the year of Charlemagne’s coronation, the contours of this new European civilization were beginning to emerge in western Europe. Increasingly, Europe would become the focus and center of Western civilization. Building on a fusion of Germanic, Greco-Roman, and Christian elements, the medieval European world first became visible in the Carolingian Empire of Charlemagne. The agrarian foundations of the eighth and ninth centuries proved inadequate to maintain a large monarchical system, however, and a new political and military order based on the decentralization of political power subsequently evolved to become an integral part of the political world of the Middle Ages.
European civilization began on a shaky and uncertain foundation, however. In the ninth century, Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims posed threats that could easily have stifled the new society. But European civilization absorbed the challenges. The Vikings and Magyars were assimilated, and recovery slowly began to set in. By 1000, European civilization was ready to embark on a period of dazzling vitality and expansion.
The World of the Carolingians
Q FOCUS QUESTIONS: What was the significance of Charlemagne’s coronation as emperor? In what ways did the political, intellectual, and daily life in the Carolingian Empire represent a fusion of Gallo- Roman, Germanic, and Christian practices?
By the eighth century, the Merovingian dynasty was los- ing its control of the Frankish lands. Charles Martel, the mayor of the palace of Austrasia, became the virtual
ruler of these territories. When Charles died in 741, his son, Pepin (PEP-in or pay-PAHN), deposed the Merovingians and assumed the kingship of the Frank- ish state for himself and his family. Pepin’s actions, which were approved by the pope, created a new form of Frankish kingship. In imitation of an Old Testa- ment practice, Pepin (751–768) was crowned and for- mally anointed with holy oil by a representative of the pope. The anointing not only symbolized that the king had been entrusted with a sacred office but also pro- vided yet another example of how a Germanic institu- tion fused with a Christian practice in the early Middle Ages.
Charlemagne and the Carolingian
Empire (768–814)
Pepin’s death in 768 brought to the throne of the Frankish kingdom his son, a dynamic and powerful ruler known to history as Charles the Great, or Charle- magne (Carolus magnus in Latin—hence, our word Carolingian). Charlemagne was a determined and deci- sive man, intelligent and inquisitive. A fierce warrior, he was also a wise patron of learning and a resolute statesman (see the box on p. 175). He greatly expanded the territory of the Carolingian Empire during his lengthy rule.
EXPANSION OF THE CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE In the tradi- tion of the Germanic kings, Charlemagne was a deter- mined warrior who undertook fifty-four military campaigns. Even though the Frankish army was rela- tively small—only eight thousand men gathered each spring for campaigning—supplying it and transport- ing it to distant areas could still present serious problems. The Frankish army consisted mostly of infantry, with some cavalry armed with swords and spears.
Charlemagne’s campaigns took him to many parts of Europe. In 773, Charlemagne led his army into Italy, crushed the Lombards, and took control of the Lom- bard state. Although his son was crowned king of Italy, Charlemagne was its real ruler. Four years after his invasion of Italy, Charlemagne moved his forces into northern Spain. This campaign proved disappointing: not only did the Basques harass his army as it crossed the Pyrenees on the way home, but they also ambushed and annihilated his rear guard.
Charlemagne was considerably more successful with his eastern campaigns into Germany, especially against the Saxons living between the Elbe River and
174 Chapter 8 European Civilization in the Early Middle Ages, 750–1000
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