Charlemagne had the most profound influence on which continent

History Text Analysis

What glimpses do we get from Homer’s Iliad of the respective roles of men in

society? How do those differ from the roles of women in Greek society? What values

would these poems have taught young children? Use Homer’s Iliad in Primary

Resources, Chapter 3.

Charlemagne’s Vision of His Empire and Its Basic Principles

Charlemagne (742-814) was one of the European leaders whose legacy had a profound impact on the history of this continent. He created a unified empire that covered about half of Europe and facilitated the spread of Christianity in many new territories. The General Capitulary for the Missi reveals much important information about the rules that Charlemagne used to build his empire and develop the relations between the emperor and all the social classes. This document shows that Charlemagne’s vision of his empire was primarily based on loyalty to Christian beliefs and principles combined with well-structured central power of the emperor.

Charlemagne saw Christianity as the force that could have exceptionally positive impact on the unification of his empire. Moreover, there are no reasons to believe that he was not a devout Christian himself and treated his support of Christianity as an important moral duty. At the first sentence of the analyzed document Charlemagne present himself to all the readers of this text as the “Christian lord emperor” (Charlemagne, para. 1). It is a crucial step in establishing the logical links between the power of the emperor and the strength of the church. At the time when Charlemagne issues this document there are many different tensions between European countries and the rulers often experienced significant difficulties in reaching compromises. It led to various military conflicts that devastated the lands and impoverished people. Uniting all the territories under common ideology was an effective method to avoid these problems and, as a result, make the power of the emperor stronger. The differences in the religious views that often came to the surface in the relations between different tribes had extremely corrosive impact on the development of the state, so Christianity as a common religion was a key to success and stability. The idea of the emperor as a Christian ruler also secured the support of the Pope who was a force that played an important role in medieval Europe. Despite the fact that sometimes Popes were weak and fell under the influence of kings, the words of the Catholic Church were still something that added legitimacy to any ruler, decree or event.

According to the document, Charlemagne paid special attention not only to proclaiming the superiority of Christian beliefs, but also to the regulation of clergy functions and behavior. There were many documented cases when the representatives of the medieval church violated the norms of Christian moral and thus damaged the image of the church as the embodiment of sacred ideals. Therefore, Charlemagne highlighted that he did not have any intention of making exceptions for anyone. He writes, “All shall live entirely in accordance with God’s precept, justly and under a just rule” (Charlemagne, para. 2). Another crucial aspect that Charlemagne wanted to stress in relation to the clergy is that they should not intervene into the state matters and leave this sphere completely to the emperor. He claims, “Let them in no way usurp to themselves secular business” (Charlemagne, para. 16). This wish is explained by the fact that the Church often tried to manipulate the secular governments to achieve the maximum profit or power in the region. Charlemagne was not ready to agree with this type of relations and wanted to have a clear dividing line between the duties of the church and the emperor.

This document describes a set of rule and ideas that had to be accepted as the supreme secular law at all territories subject to Charlemagne. It portrays the emperor as the person able to guarantee support to all categories of population, especially the vulnerable ones. He promises to take care “of the holy churches of God and of the poor, of wards and widows, and of the whole people” (Charlemagne, para. 3). Therefore, Charlemagne is shown as the embodiment of Christian justice in any part of his vast empire. The emperor also clearly highlights that in exchange for this protection he urges everyone to be loyal to him as the ruler. He is careful about eliminating all the chances of interpreting this document in the way to avoid the emperor’s control, so these binding relations between the population and the emperor are described in detail and the main points are repeated throughout the text.

The notion of fidelity to the superior ruler was one of the central concepts for almost all medieval countries. Charlemagne was aware how many different problems may arise when the emperor did not feel support of his subjects and was not sure whether he could rely on them in case of difficulties. Therefore, a large part of the General Capitulary for the Missi is devoted to the description of different rules that should guarantee the emperor the fidelity of his subjects. Charlemagne even mentions that those who pledged their fidelity to him as the king should do the same in his new status of the emperor. The concept of fidelity was also important as in fact the medieval rulers, like Charlemagne, could not rely on the effective judicial system that would make the subjects obey the supreme ruler. As a result, it was necessary to exert every effort to make fidelity one of the most respected and almost “divine” ideas for the society.

Another important aspect of the document is obedience to the emperor’s orders that was seen as an important prerequisite for the successful running of the empire. Charlemagne writes, “No one shall presume to neglect a summons to war from the lord emperor” (Charlemagne, para. 10). This sentence is of great importance in the text as it explains the basic principle of the medieval warfare – when the ruler wants to launch any military campaign, he should address his vassals and make them join his initiative. In fact, medieval kings and emperors seldom had strong armies of their own and to stop the invaders or conquer new territories they should cooperate with the nobles of lower ranks. In the next paragraph Charlemagne also adds that “no one shall presume to impede in any way a ban or command of the lord emperor (Charlemagne, para. 11). In this way Charlemagne establishes his orders and decrees to be the top legislative documents on his territories. He also attempts to secure that no vassal, despite his strength and popularity in the regions, would try to establish his own “kingdom” in Charlemagne’s empire. It helped the emperor focus on the development of other important initiatives, like, for instance, adding new lands to the crown, and stop fearing the betrayal from the other nobles.

All things considered, the General Capitulary for the Missi is an important document that illustrates the main principles that Charlemagne used to rule and control his empire. He gives a full and detailed description of the ways in which he governs his subjects, insists on their fidelity and grants them his royal protection. He also outlines the obligations of the clergy and clearly specifies the borders of the church power. Therefore, this document provides deep insights into the nature of the medieval state and the relations between the ruler, his subjects and the Church. It shows that the main unifying principles that Charlemagne focused on were the superiority of Christian beliefs all over his empire and the complete obedience of his subjects to the laws issued by the emperor.