Europe in 843

This essay was written in response to Question 8 of Mid-Term Exam #1.
8. Emergence of a Distinctly European Society.

It is said that between 733, when the Muslims were defeated at Tours, and the division of Charlemagne's empire in 843, a distinctly European society emerged. Three of the main developments of this new society were Charlemagne's empire, the rise of feudalism, and an intellectual revival.
Discuss this new Europe by describing each of these developments.
Was this a unique new society?
In what ways was this society different from that of Roman times?

What Distinguishes a Society from Another?

Societies are held together by the glue of a unifying culture, the cement of common necessities and environment, and the spirit of common purposes. European society in the Middle Ages achieved that acme of success. With the expansion and consolidation of Charlemagne’s Carolingian Empire, the emergence and eventual prosperity of feudalism, and the revival of intellectual endeavors and aspirations, the mingling and marauding tribes of Europe coalesced into a clearly-distinguishable society of “Europeans”. That identity, of course, was not how it was experienced by the Medieval Europeans, for they did not know such a society existed. Yet just as one can see a city from high in the sky when the residents may only perceive a series of neighborhoods, just so the distance of time allows us to see a picture of what prevailed in that era and rightly conclude that, “Yes, a European society existed.” And, we can say with a fair amount of security that that new society emerged in the time period from 733, when the Muslims were defeated at the Battle of Tours and the division of Charlemagne’s empire to his 3 grandson’s in 843.

What is Distinctive about Europe in the Middle Ages?

Europe in the 700s was a collection of tribal units, with different languages, coinage, customs, religions, institutions – and they differed one from another in just any way imaginable! Just reading the text and discovering there were Angles and Jutes, Franks and Saxons, Gauls and Lombardians and Bergundians, Ostrogoths and Visigoths, Vandals and Vikings – it’s enough to make one’s head spin! And that’s only the short list!! This co-existence of multiple ethnic and cultural entities was a far different situation than what existed under the Romans. Not only were there different cultures, but their modus operandi was fundamentally oppositional. For instance, some of the believers were Catholic Christians, some were Arian Christians, and many others not Christian at all! In fact, the accusation that they were “pagan”, or “barbarian”, just means they were not acceptable at all (to the culture doing the name-calling)!

What are the 3 Main Characteristics of European Society in the Middle Ages?

Charlemagne’s Empire
First, the Bad News

Charlemagne entered into this lion’s den and added order to chaos, and harmony to dissonance. Or at least that’s how the simple story goes. In many ways, Charlemagne simply carried on the terror tactics of his Grandfather, Charles “the Hammer” Martel. He subdued the tribes around him, and he dominated the cultures in ways unimaginable to any modern leader. He “Christianized” the pagans, he defeated the Saxons and Bergundians, he crushed the Lombardians, invaded the land of the Bavarians, and… Well, the point is made: in many ways, he was not a nice man (certainly not to those who stood in his way!).

Now, Let’s Have Some GOOD News

And yet, there was a “softer” side to Charles the Great, and even, perhaps, a hidden genius.

Learning and Literacy Expanded

He was interested in learning, and preserving the Roman culture. “For the most part, the rival of classical studies and the efforts to preserve Latin culture took place in the monasteries, many of which had been established by the Irish and English missionaries of the seventh and eight centuries.”[1] He fostered the activities of the monks in creating scriptoria where they copied Latin classical manuscripts. Charlemagne himself spoke Latin, and understood some Greek. And he encouraged the spread of a new script, the Carolingian minuscule, which made it easier to read and write. Charlemagne, it was said, learned to read as an adult, but never learned to write very well.[2] However, he had learned from his mother Bertha, and he passed on his intellectual interests to create what some say was a Carolingian Renaissance. He brought the learned monastic scholar Einhard to his court in the early 790s, and this monk later served his son Louis the Pious as private secretary.

Empire United

Administratively, Charlemagne allowed local tribes to decide internal matters according to their own customs. However, he knew the dangers of simply conquering territory and tribes and then delegating power and authority. “In an effort to gain greater control over his kingdom, Charlemagne attempted to limit the power of the counts. They were required to serve outside their own family lands and were moved about periodically…”[3] To maintain control over his vast domain, Charles issued many capitularies (rules and regulations!), and sent personal representatives known as missi dominici at least once a year to all parts of the kingdom.

Economy Increased

It’s true that King Charles appropriated all the lands of the realm for himself. But he was apparently very wise about “giving it away” – to the right people, and in the right way, such that order was maintained, and a system existed that clearly delineated who owns what, and who dominates whom. I’m not saying I would have liked to live in this land that he subdued! However, as an outsider, and with the advantage of “past-sight”, I can admire the administration of his kingdom. Certainly the effects were felt for many years.

Innovations A-Plenty

Along with King Offa of Mercia (in today’s England), “Charlemagne did away with the monetary system based on the gold sou…”[4] and set up a new monetary system, minting silver “pennies”. In this way he standardized the money (a process with the Euro the continent is just getting back to!), and unified the empire economically.

SOMETHING ELSE!

Roman Empire Emulated

“It would appear that Charlemagne and his advisors had it in their mind to recreate the power, prestige, and culture of the Western Roman Empire.” So says Lynn Harry Nelson in an interesting conversation about the Carolingian Empire.[5] He asserts that Charlemagne and the Carolingians did this in at least 5 ways:

Encouraged the growth of a local land-owning aristocracy, with his appointed “margraves, counts, and dukes to place some limits on this autonomy.”
Considered the King as “the steward of the people of the realm.”
Issued orders and standards throughout the realm via capitularies, and established traveling inspectors, the missi dominici, “to determine whether his orders were being observed and whether local officials were discharging their duties properly.”
Established a common currency, the silver penny, and ensured it matched the value of the Muslim coinage, thereby encouraging trade.
Strengthened the Frankish army by engaging them in regular campaigns, and involving them in the conquering of lands that they must then defend.

Ideological Battles Won

To my mind, the most extraordinary endeavor of Charlemagne was how he won the hearts and minds of the populace unconsciously. Two things stand out in what I’ve read:

He established his capital in Aachen, an old rest-and-rehabilitation location used by the Roman army on the Rhine, and the palace he placed there resembled the old Roman palaces, whose ruins still lay around the countryside.
He built his palace chapel along the same lines as the San Vitale church in Ravenna, the scene of the overthrow of the Roman Empire so many years ago. He even “imported Roman columns and marbles with which to build it”!
Truly, this was an extraordinary individual. But, that’s just the problem! When he died, there was no one to carry on in quite the same capacity. Sure, he left the lineage intact. His son Louis the Pious passed it on to his three sons. However, when Louis passed on, the lands were split amongst his 3 sons, as was the Frankish custom. Lothair got Italy, Louis the German got Bavaria, and Charles the Bald got Aquitaine. But this Treaty of Verdun in 843 was after some internecine rivalry that brought back shades of the past!

The Rise of Feudalism

This topic has been discussed in response to Section I. Suffice it to say, any economic system which operated at such a grand scale as the lands left behind by Charlemagne was bound to be a unifying factor for years to come. In a way, though, this is almost as much an indication of the failures of Charlemagne’s term of office as it was of his successes. For had he constructed a system, or what we would call a “state”, then the vassals and knights would not necessarily have been subjected to the need of forming personal bonds between one another (even though it was for mutual benefit!).

The Revival of Intellectual Endeavors

It feels like this essay answer has gone on long enough, so I will present just a summary conclusion. Already I’ve noted the emergence of monastic endeavors and educational enterprises that re-vitalized the European Empire that Charlemagne molded. Here I’ll simply quote the article from Answers.com: “Charlemagne’s court at Aachen was the center of an intellectual renaissance. The palace school, under the leadership of Alcuin, became famous; numerous schools for children of all classes were also established through the empire during Charlemagne’s reign. The preservation of classical literature was aided by his initiatives. Prominent figures of the Carolingian renaissance included “Paul the Deacon and Einhard.”[6] Later on, the article goes on to say that the “pan-European nature of Charlemagne’s influence is indicated by the origins of many of the men who worked for him: Alcuin, an Anglo-Saxon; Theodult, a Visigoth; Paul the Deacon, a Lombard; and Angilbert and Einhard, Franks.”[7] Reading that sentence reminded me of the current best-seller by Doris Kearns Goodwin about Lincoln called the Team of Rivals. It seems Charlemagne had some of the same qualities of emotional intelligence and personal perspicacity as our own beloved Abe Lincoln!

Was this a unique new society?

Here I need not go into detail. I’ll simply show three map images that tell the tale:



The Migrations of Europe in the 4th and 5th Centuries

The Frankish Empire in 814, At Charlemagne’s Death	The European Continent in 880, After the Treaties of Verdun and Mersen

Charlemagne inherited an Empire of tribes, and turned it into a Empire of Europe. History is only now returning to the dream he set out so long ago – but it’s being achieved now in a manner far more to our liking!

In what ways was this society different from that of Roman times?

It seems the most significant difference between the Pax Roma and Holy Roman Empire is that the one carried on for generations, and the other was gobbled up in decades. The source of trouble lies in the fundamental difference between the two societies: one was an administrative, even hierarchical system, and the other was a personal achievement, miraculous though it may have been. It kind of reminds me of the fate of most small businesses – it’s only the rare one-third that gets passed on to the next generation, and fewer than 1 in a dozen (figuratively speaking, for I’m no expert!) get past the third. Such is the limit of personalized endeavors. Without the charismatic individual, the followers, no matter how dedicated or able, are likely to fail at the task at hand. Just look at how the “Christians” mangled their faith of their fathers! Conversion by decimation and conformity by Inquisition can hardly qualify as a civilizing, much less a Christianizing influence!

In spite of all this, and barbarians, plagues, and vandals, somehow the human race has survived. I think individuals such as Charlemagne are inevitable in human history. I just hope we can learn to improve upon his personal model, and implement smarter systems of governance. And I hope it doesn’t take as long as the European example!

I can not end without mentioning the crowning of Charles in 800 by Pope Leo III, for a symbolic and significant unification between the secular and spiritual realms. E.L. Skip Knox from Boise State University says, “…the coronation of Charlemagne marks the beginning of ‘European history’ in the strict sense, for only now do we begin to have something like a Europe. The people of the Middle Ages called it Christendom, a term that could include or exclude the East depending on the usage. But it is the immediate ancestor to Europe.”[8] We are all the inheritors of this legacy and the influence of the reign of Charlemagne lives on yet today.

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[1] Western Civilization, A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 by: Spielvogel, Jackson J; Thompson Learning, Inc, Belmont CA, 2005. p 138.

[2] “Life of Charlemagne by Einhard, in Medieval Sourcebook at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/einhard1.html. Accessed 1/19/06

[3] Spielvogel, p. 136.

[4] Wikipedia, “Charlemagne”.

[5] “The Carolingian Empire”, at http://www.ku.edu/kansas/medieval/108/lectures/carolingian_empire.html. Accessed 1/27/06.

[6] Wikipedia, p. 3

[7] Ibid, p. 7.

[8] “The Carolingian Empire: Significance of the Coronation,” by E .L. Skip Knox, http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/charles/21.shtml. Accessed 1/19/06.