Notes for Charlemagne:
General Notes:
Notes taken from the book "The Timetables of History" New 3rd revised edition by Bernard Grun
771 AD - Charles becomes, after the death of his brother Carloman, sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom (-814): Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
772 AD - Charlemagne subdues Saxony under Widukind and converts it to Christianity (-804); imposition of tithes for the support of the clergy, churches, schools, and the poor
773 AD - Charlemagne annexes Lombard Kingdom(-774)
774 AD - Charlemagne confirms Pepin's donation of land to the Pope and enlarges it in 781
777 AD - Charlemagne, after his victory over the Saxons, holds his first Diet
778 AD - Charlemagne defeated by the Basques at Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees (subject of the "Song of Roland")
782 AD - Charlemagne executes 4500 Saxon hostages at Verden and issues the "Capitulation de Partibus Saxoniae"
787 AD - Charlemagne annexes Lombard duchy of Beneventum
788 AD - Charlemagne deposes Tassile of Bavaria and annexes his country
795 AD - Charlemagne forms the Spanish march
796 AD - Charlemagne's son Pepin founds the Avar march with an archbishopric at Salzburg
799 AD - Charlemagne conquers and destroys Adriatic port of Fiume
800 AD - Charlemagne crowned 1st Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome, December 25 (the new Empire of the West, as apposed to the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire)
804 AD - Charlemagne's last war against Saxons, his domain extends now to the Elbe
813 AD - Charlemagne crowns his son Louis the Pious at the diet of Aix-la-Chapelle
----------------------------------------------
King of the Franks 768-814
Emperor of the Romans 800-814
During his reign, Charlemagne built a kingdom that included almost all of western and central Europe and he presided over a cultural and legal revival that came to be known as the Carolingian Renaissance. His empire did not long survive his death, but its two main territories, East and West Francia, later became the major parts of two important European entities: West Francia became modern-day France, and East Francia became first the Holy Roman Empire and then the modern state of Germany. Charlemagne's close alliance with the popes, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, also established a precedent for subsequent ties between medieval popes and kings.
Charlemagne was born about 742, the elder son of the Frankish leader Pepin the Short. Pepin held the ancestral title of mayor of the palace under the Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings. However, in the wake of a long line of increasingly weak Merovingian kings, Pepin abandoned this lesser title and in 751 assumed the kingship of the Franks. In order to legitimate his rule, Pepin sought the support of the pope. In exchange for a promise to protect the pope's lands in Italy from an invasion, Pope Stephen II officially crowned Pepin in 754. Besides crowning Pepin, the pope anointed both Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman.
On Pepin's death, his kingdom was divided between his two sons. For three years Charlemagne shared rule of the kingdom with his brother, Carloman. After Carloman died suddenly in 771, Charlemagne became sole king of the Franks, and immediately afterward traveled to Rome and assured the pope of his continued support. Charlemagne then began a lengthy series of military campaigns to expand the Frankish kingdom.
In 799 Charlemagne came to the aid of Adrian's successor, Pope Leo III, who was threatened by a rebellion in Rome. Charlemagne put down the rebellion, and on Christmas Day 800, Leo crowned Charlemagne and anointed him emperor of the Romans. This action revived the Imperial tradition of the Western Roman Empire and set a precedent that the emperors' authority rested on the approval of the pope. Although the imperial title did not confer any new powers on Charlemagne, it did legitimate his rule over central Italy, a fact that the Byzantine emperor acknowledged in 812. Charlemagne introduced some key governmental innovations into his empire, which became known as the Carolingian Empire. He built on the existing system of seignorialism, whereby kings gave tracts of land to their nobles in exchange for loyalty and service. Charlemagne granted large landholdings called fiefs to many tribal military leaders. In addition, he appointed numerous Frankish aristocrats to the posts of counts(the head of a district called a county) and margraves(the count of a border province). These officials were key to administering the empire. They were kings in miniature, with all of the administrative, judicial, and military authority of the emperor within their respective districts. Each political district had its parallel in a church district, or diocese, headed by a bishop, with similar authority in all matters related to the church. Both counts and bishops were vassals of the emperor, and were overseen by representatives of Charlemagne known as missi dominici, who traveled throughout the empire overseeing economic and legal matters in his name. Every year, both counts and bishops attended a general assembly at Charlemagne's court at Aachen (in modern Germany), where they would advise the emperor and hear his directives.
The first silver coin since the late Roman Empire was minted, the denarius, which bore Charlemagne's portrait.
The empire collapsed not long after Charlemagne's death in 814. Charlemagne's sole heir, Louis I, the Pious, ruled until his death in 840. After great dissension among Louis heirs, the Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided Charlemagne's empire among his three grandsons: Charles II, the Bald, received West Francia (roughly modern-day France); Lothair I acquired the title of emperor and an area running from the North Sea through Lotharingia (Lorraine) and Burgundy to northern Italy; Louis II, the German, received East Francia (roughly modern-day Germany). Later, in 870, the Treaty of Mersen divided Lothair's middle kingdom, with Lotharingia going to East Francia Ad the rest to West Francia. The Carolingian dynasty ruled in West Francia, or France, until 987; the German branch of the family ruled in East Francia until 911. The title of emperor of the Romans (which would later become Holy Roman emperor) remained in the east, thereafter held exclusively by German kings.
Throughout the Middle Ages and into modern times, Charlemagne has provided the model of the ideal warrior-king and the inspiration for all subsequent empire builders in Europe. In fact, the word for "king" in several modern Slavic languages (krol in Polish; kral in Czech) is based upon the German name of Charlemagne, Karl. The principal significance of Charlemagne's empire was that it united the Christian lands of western Europe and firmly established the power of the church. Charlemagne ruled as absolute sovereign of the state, as well as head of the church. The conquests of Charlemagne also laid the groundwork for the development of a new political entity, the German state, and for the division of Italy into north and south. In addition, Charlemagne placed his immense power and prestige at the service of Christian doctrine, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule of law. Thus the short-lived Carolingian Renaissance brought an end to the period of social and cultural stagnation that had existed in Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. Charlemagne's life, held up as a model for later kings, embodied the fusion of Germanic, Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basis of European civilization.
Notes taken from the book "The Timetables of History" New 3rd revised edition by Bernard Grun
771 AD - Charles becomes, after the death of his brother Carloman, sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom (-814): Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
772 AD - Charlemagne subdues Saxony under Widukind and converts it to Christianity (-804); imposition of tithes for the support of the clergy, churches, schools, and the poor
773 AD - Charlemagne annexes Lombard Kingdom(-774)
774 AD - Charlemagne confirms Pepin's donation of land to the Pope and enlarges it in 781
777 AD - Charlemagne, after his victory over the Saxons, holds his first Diet
778 AD - Charlemagne defeated by the Basques at Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees (subject of the "Song of Roland")
782 AD - Charlemagne executes 4500 Saxon hostages at Verden and issues the "Capitulation de Partibus Saxoniae"
787 AD - Charlemagne annexes Lombard duchy of Beneventum
788 AD - Charlemagne deposes Tassile of Bavaria and annexes his country
795 AD - Charlemagne forms the Spanish march
796 AD - Charlemagne's son Pepin founds the Avar march with an archbishopric at Salzburg
799 AD - Charlemagne conquers and destroys Adriatic port of Fiume
800 AD - Charlemagne crowned 1st Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome, December 25 (the new Empire of the West, as apposed to the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire)
804 AD - Charlemagne's last war against Saxons, his domain extends now to the Elbe
813 AD - Charlemagne crowns his son Louis the Pious at the diet of Aix-la-Chapelle
----------------------------------------------
King of the Franks 768-814
Emperor of the Romans 800-814
During his reign, Charlemagne built a kingdom that included almost all of western and central Europe and he presided over a cultural and legal revival that came to be known as the Carolingian Renaissance. His empire did not long survive his death, but its two main territories, East and West Francia, later became the major parts of two important European entities: West Francia became modern-day France, and East Francia became first the Holy Roman Empire and then the modern state of Germany. Charlemagne's close alliance with the popes, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, also established a precedent for subsequent ties between medieval popes and kings.
Charlemagne was born about 742, the elder son of the Frankish leader Pepin the Short. Pepin held the ancestral title of mayor of the palace under the Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings. However, in the wake of a long line of increasingly weak Merovingian kings, Pepin abandoned this lesser title and in 751 assumed the kingship of the Franks. In order to legitimate his rule, Pepin sought the support of the pope. In exchange for a promise to protect the pope's lands in Italy from an invasion, Pope Stephen II officially crowned Pepin in 754. Besides crowning Pepin, the pope anointed both Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman.
On Pepin's death, his kingdom was divided between his two sons. For three years Charlemagne shared rule of the kingdom with his brother, Carloman. After Carloman died suddenly in 771, Charlemagne became sole king of the Franks, and immediately afterward traveled to Rome and assured the pope of his continued support. Charlemagne then began a lengthy series of military campaigns to expand the Frankish kingdom.
In 799 Charlemagne came to the aid of Adrian's successor, Pope Leo III, who was threatened by a rebellion in Rome. Charlemagne put down the rebellion, and on Christmas Day 800, Leo crowned Charlemagne and anointed him emperor of the Romans. This action revived the Imperial tradition of the Western Roman Empire and set a precedent that the emperors' authority rested on the approval of the pope. Although the imperial title did not confer any new powers on Charlemagne, it did legitimate his rule over central Italy, a fact that the Byzantine emperor acknowledged in 812. Charlemagne introduced some key governmental innovations into his empire, which became known as the Carolingian Empire. He built on the existing system of seignorialism, whereby kings gave tracts of land to their nobles in exchange for loyalty and service. Charlemagne granted large landholdings called fiefs to many tribal military leaders. In addition, he appointed numerous Frankish aristocrats to the posts of counts(the head of a district called a county) and margraves(the count of a border province). These officials were key to administering the empire. They were kings in miniature, with all of the administrative, judicial, and military authority of the emperor within their respective districts. Each political district had its parallel in a church district, or diocese, headed by a bishop, with similar authority in all matters related to the church. Both counts and bishops were vassals of the emperor, and were overseen by representatives of Charlemagne known as missi dominici, who traveled throughout the empire overseeing economic and legal matters in his name. Every year, both counts and bishops attended a general assembly at Charlemagne's court at Aachen (in modern Germany), where they would advise the emperor and hear his directives.
The first silver coin since the late Roman Empire was minted, the denarius, which bore Charlemagne's portrait.
The empire collapsed not long after Charlemagne's death in 814. Charlemagne's sole heir, Louis I, the Pious, ruled until his death in 840. After great dissension among Louis heirs, the Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided Charlemagne's empire among his three grandsons: Charles II, the Bald, received West Francia (roughly modern-day France); Lothair I acquired the title of emperor and an area running from the North Sea through Lotharingia (Lorraine) and Burgundy to northern Italy; Louis II, the German, received East Francia (roughly modern-day Germany). Later, in 870, the Treaty of Mersen divided Lothair's middle kingdom, with Lotharingia going to East Francia Ad the rest to West Francia. The Carolingian dynasty ruled in West Francia, or France, until 987; the German branch of the family ruled in East Francia until 911. The title of emperor of the Romans (which would later become Holy Roman emperor) remained in the east, thereafter held exclusively by German kings.
Throughout the Middle Ages and into modern times, Charlemagne has provided the model of the ideal warrior-king and the inspiration for all subsequent empire builders in Europe. In fact, the word for "king" in several modern Slavic languages (krol in Polish; kral in Czech) is based upon the German name of Charlemagne, Karl. The principal significance of Charlemagne's empire was that it united the Christian lands of western Europe and firmly established the power of the church. Charlemagne ruled as absolute sovereign of the state, as well as head of the church. The conquests of Charlemagne also laid the groundwork for the development of a new political entity, the German state, and for the division of Italy into north and south. In addition, Charlemagne placed his immense power and prestige at the service of Christian doctrine, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule of law. Thus the short-lived Carolingian Renaissance brought an end to the period of social and cultural stagnation that had existed in Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. Charlemagne's life, held up as a model for later kings, embodied the fusion of Germanic, Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basis of European civilization.
Notes taken from the book "The Timetables of History" New 3rd revised edition by Bernard Grun
771 AD - Charles becomes, after the death of his brother Carloman, sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom (-814): Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
772 AD - Charlemagne subdues Saxony under Widukind and converts it to Christianity (-804); imposition of tithes for the support of the clergy, churches, schools, and the poor
773 AD - Charlemagne annexes Lombard Kingdom(-774)
774 AD - Charlemagne confirms Pepin's donation of land to the Pope and enlarges it in 781
777 AD - Charlemagne, after his victory over the Saxons, holds his first Diet
778 AD - Charlemagne defeated by the Basques at Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees (subject of the "Song of Roland")
782 AD - Charlemagne executes 4500 Saxon hostages at Verden and issues the "Capitulation de Partibus Saxoniae"
787 AD - Charlemagne annexes Lombard duchy of Beneventum
788 AD - Charlemagne deposes Tassile of Bavaria and annexes his country
795 AD - Charlemagne forms the Spanish march
796 AD - Charlemagne's son Pepin founds the Avar march with an archbishopric at Salzburg
799 AD - Charlemagne conquers and destroys Adriatic port of Fiume
800 AD - Charlemagne crowned 1st Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome, December 25 (the new Empire of the West, as apposed to the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire)
804 AD - Charlemagne's last war against Saxons, his domain extends now to the Elbe
813 AD - Charlemagne crowns his son Louis the Pious at the diet of Aix-la-Chapelle
----------------------------------------------
King of the Franks 768-814
Emperor of the Romans 800-814
During his reign, Charlemagne built a kingdom that included almost all of western and central Europe and he presided over a cultural and legal revival that came to be known as the Carolingian Renaissance. His empire did not long survive his death, but its two main territories, East and West Francia, later became the major parts of two important European entities: West Francia became modern-day France, and East Francia became first the Holy Roman Empire and then the modern state of Germany. Charlemagne's close alliance with the popes, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, also established a precedent for subsequent ties between medieval popes and kings.
Charlemagne was born about 742, the elder son of the Frankish leader Pepin the Short. Pepin held the ancestral title of mayor of the palace under the Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings. However, in the wake of a long line of increasingly weak Merovingian kings, Pepin abandoned this lesser title and in 751 assumed the kingship of the Franks. In order to legitimate his rule, Pepin sought the support of the pope. In exchange for a promise to protect the pope's lands in Italy from an invasion, Pope Stephen II officially crowned Pepin in 754. Besides crowning Pepin, the pope anointed both Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman.
On Pepin's death, his kingdom was divided between his two sons. For three years Charlemagne shared rule of the kingdom with his brother, Carloman. After Carloman died suddenly in 771, Charlemagne became sole king of the Franks, and immediately afterward traveled to Rome and assured the pope of his continued support. Charlemagne then began a lengthy series of military campaigns to expand the Frankish kingdom.
In 799 Charlemagne came to the aid of Adrian's successor, Pope Leo III, who was threatened by a rebellion in Rome. Charlemagne put down the rebellion, and on Christmas Day 800, Leo crowned Charlemagne and anointed him emperor of the Romans. This action revived the Imperial tradition of the Western Roman Empire and set a precedent that the emperors' authority rested on the approval of the pope. Although the imperial title did not confer any new powers on Charlemagne, it did legitimate his rule over central Italy, a fact that the Byzantine emperor acknowledged in 812. Charlemagne introduced some key governmental innovations into his empire, which became known as the Carolingian Empire. He built on the existing system of seignorialism, whereby kings gave tracts of land to their nobles in exchange for loyalty and service. Charlemagne granted large landholdings called fiefs to many tribal military leaders. In addition, he appointed numerous Frankish aristocrats to the posts of counts(the head of a district called a county) and margraves(the count of a border province). These officials were key to administering the empire. They were kings in miniature, with all of the administrative, judicial, and military authority of the emperor within their respective districts. Each political district had its parallel in a church district, or diocese, headed by a bishop, with similar authority in all matters related to the church. Both counts and bishops were vassals of the emperor, and were overseen by representatives of Charlemagne known as missi dominici, who traveled throughout the empire overseeing economic and legal matters in his name. Every year, both counts and bishops attended a general assembly at Charlemagne's court at Aachen (in modern Germany), where they would advise the emperor and hear his directives.
The first silver coin since the late Roman Empire was minted, the denarius, which bore Charlemagne's portrait.
The empire collapsed not long after Charlemagne's death in 814. Charlemagne's sole heir, Louis I, the Pious, ruled until his death in 840. After great dissension among Louis heirs, the Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided Charlemagne's empire among his three grandsons: Charles II, the Bald, received West Francia (roughly modern-day France); Lothair I acquired the title of emperor and an area running from the North Sea through Lotharingia (Lorraine) and Burgundy to northern Italy; Louis II, the German, received East Francia (roughly modern-day Germany). Later, in 870, the Treaty of Mersen divided Lothair's middle kingdom, with Lotharingia going to East Francia Ad the rest to West Francia. The Carolingian dynasty ruled in West Francia, or France, until 987; the German branch of the family ruled in East Francia until 911. The title of emperor of the Romans (which would later become Holy Roman emperor) remained in the east, thereafter held exclusively by German kings.
Throughout the Middle Ages and into modern times, Charlemagne has provided the model of the ideal warrior-king and the inspiration for all subsequent empire builders in Europe. In fact, the word for "king" in several modern Slavic languages (krol in Polish; kral in Czech) is based upon the German name of Charlemagne, Karl. The principal significance of Charlemagne's empire was that it united the Christian lands of western Europe and firmly established the power of the church. Charlemagne ruled as absolute sovereign of the state, as well as head of the church. The conquests of Charlemagne also laid the groundwork for the development of a new political entity, the German state, and for the division of Italy into north and south. In addition, Charlemagne placed his immense power and prestige at the service of Christian doctrine, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule of law. Thus the short-lived Carolingian Renaissance brought an end to the period of social and cultural stagnation that had existed in Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. Charlemagne's life, held up as a model for later kings, embodied the fusion of Germanic, Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basis of European civilization.
Notes taken from the book "The Timetables of History" New 3rd revised edition by Bernard Grun
771 AD - Charles becomes, after the death of his brother Carloman, sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom (-814): Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
772 AD - Charlemagne subdues Saxony under Widukind and converts it to Christianity (-804); imposition of tithes for the support of the clergy, churches, schools, and the poor
773 AD - Charlemagne annexes Lombard Kingdom(-774)
774 AD - Charlemagne confirms Pepin's donation of land to the Pope and enlarges it in 781
777 AD - Charlemagne, after his victory over the Saxons, holds his first Diet
778 AD - Charlemagne defeated by the Basques at Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees (subject of the "Song of Roland")
782 AD - Charlemagne executes 4500 Saxon hostages at Verden and issues the "Capitulation de Partibus Saxoniae"
787 AD - Charlemagne annexes Lombard duchy of Beneventum
788 AD - Charlemagne deposes Tassile of Bavaria and annexes his country
795 AD - Charlemagne forms the Spanish march
796 AD - Charlemagne's son Pepin founds the Avar march with an archbishopric at Salzburg
799 AD - Charlemagne conquers and destroys Adriatic port of Fiume
800 AD - Charlemagne crowned 1st Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome, December 25 (the new Empire of the West, as apposed to the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire)
804 AD - Charlemagne's last war against Saxons, his domain extends now to the Elbe
813 AD - Charlemagne crowns his son Louis the Pious at the diet of Aix-la-Chapelle
----------------------------------------------
King of the Franks 768-814
Emperor of the Romans 800-814
During his reign, Charlemagne built a kingdom that included almost all of western and central Europe and he presided over a cultural and legal revival that came to be known as the Carolingian Renaissance. His empire did not long survive his death, but its two main territories, East and West Francia, later became the major parts of two important European entities: West Francia became modern-day France, and East Francia became first the Holy Roman Empire and then the modern state of Germany. Charlemagne's close alliance with the popes, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, also established a precedent for subsequent ties between medieval popes and kings.
Charlemagne was born about 742, the elder son of the Frankish leader Pepin the Short. Pepin held the ancestral title of mayor of the palace under the Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings. However, in the wake of a long line of increasingly weak Merovingian kings, Pepin abandoned this lesser title and in 751 assumed the kingship of the Franks. In order to legitimate his rule, Pepin sought the support of the pope. In exchange for a promise to protect the pope's lands in Italy from an invasion, Pope Stephen II officially crowned Pepin in 754. Besides crowning Pepin, the pope anointed both Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman.
On Pepin's death, his kingdom was divided between his two sons. For three years Charlemagne shared rule of the kingdom with his brother, Carloman. After Carloman died suddenly in 771, Charlemagne became sole king of the Franks, and immediately afterward traveled to Rome and assured the pope of his continued support. Charlemagne then began a lengthy series of military campaigns to expand the Frankish kingdom.
In 799 Charlemagne came to the aid of Adrian's successor, Pope Leo III, who was threatened by a rebellion in Rome. Charlemagne put down the rebellion, and on Christmas Day 800, Leo crowned Charlemagne and anointed him emperor of the Romans. This action revived the Imperial tradition of the Western Roman Empire and set a precedent that the emperors' authority rested on the approval of the pope. Although the imperial title did not confer any new powers on Charlemagne, it did legitimate his rule over central Italy, a fact that the Byzantine emperor acknowledged in 812. Charlemagne introduced some key governmental innovations into his empire, which became known as the Carolingian Empire. He built on the existing system of seignorialism, whereby kings gave tracts of land to their nobles in exchange for loyalty and service. Charlemagne granted large landholdings called fiefs to many tribal military leaders. In addition, he appointed numerous Frankish aristocrats to the posts of counts(the head of a district called a county) and margraves(the count of a border province). These officials were key to administering the empire. They were kings in miniature, with all of the administrative, judicial, and military authority of the emperor within their respective districts. Each political district had its parallel in a church district, or diocese, headed by a bishop, with similar authority in all matters related to the church. Both counts and bishops were vassals of the emperor, and were overseen by representatives of Charlemagne known as missi dominici, who traveled throughout the empire overseeing economic and legal matters in his name. Every year, both counts and bishops attended a general assembly at Charlemagne's court at Aachen (in modern Germany), where they would advise the emperor and hear his directives.
The first silver coin since the late Roman Empire was minted, the denarius, which bore Charlemagne's portrait.
The empire collapsed not long after Charlemagne's death in 814. Charlemagne's sole heir, Louis I, the Pious, ruled until his death in 840. After great dissension among Louis heirs, the Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided Charlemagne's empire among his three grandsons: Charles II, the Bald, received West Francia (roughly modern-day France); Lothair I acquired the title of emperor and an area running from the North Sea through Lotharingia (Lorraine) and Burgundy to northern Italy; Louis II, the German, received East Francia (roughly modern-day Germany). Later, in 870, the Treaty of Mersen divided Lothair's middle kingdom, with Lotharingia going to East Francia Ad the rest to West Francia. The Carolingian dynasty ruled in West Francia, or France, until 987; the German branch of the family ruled in East Francia until 911. The title of emperor of the Romans (which would later become Holy Roman emperor) remained in the east, thereafter held exclusively by German kings.
Throughout the Middle Ages and into modern times, Charlemagne has provided the model of the ideal warrior-king and the inspiration for all subsequent empire builders in Europe. In fact, the word for "king" in several modern Slavic languages (krol in Polish; kral in Czech) is based upon the German name of Charlemagne, Karl. The principal significance of Charlemagne's empire was that it united the Christian lands of western Europe and firmly established the power of the church. Charlemagne ruled as absolute sovereign of the state, as well as head of the church. The conquests of Charlemagne also laid the groundwork for the development of a new political entity, the German state, and for the division of Italy into north and south. In addition, Charlemagne placed his immense power and prestige at the service of Christian doctrine, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule of law. Thus the short-lived Carolingian Renaissance brought an end to the period of social and cultural stagnation that had existed in Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. Charlemagne's life, held up as a model for later kings, embodied the fusion of Germanic, Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basis of European civilization.