Charlemagne

Derek Wilson presents a holistic and insightful view of the "emperor," part-barbarian who unified much of western Europe with his forceful personality. Wilson treats his historically significant subject with objectivity and straight forwardness. A respected British biographer, his theme is that Charlemagne served as a bridge between ancient and "modern" Europe and serves as a baseline for contemporary European identity movements such as the European Union. Wilson shows us that a study of Charles the Great and his multifarious challenges in establishing a Frankish empire help us better understand current challenges. For example, while not obvious to his contemporaries, hindsight shows that eastern (Byzantine/Orthodox) and western (Frankish/Roman) Christian churches and empires were on divergent paths during Charles I's reign (96). Without his force of personality--which his progeny did not possess--the force that united his empire was weak (135). Indeed, Charlemagne's main effort and means of control was to fulfill his vision of a Christian empire in which he was the absolute leader who did not cowtow to Rome but served as the Pope's protector. "The copying and dissemination of books, the establishing of schools and the encouraging of a better understanding of Latin were all elements of a crusade to produce a corpus of clergy who could preach, properly administer the sacraments and staff the imperial administration" (114). Charlemagne took his lead from St. Augustine's City of God in which the leader assumes a responsibility for leading his people in victory against evil (128). This would ultimately influence later political thought about religious freedom, state religion v. individual liberty. Ultimately, the Protestant Reformation and Treaty of Westphalia (1648) which questioned absolute papal authority would undermine this Carolignian tenet (see 175). While absolute authority, individual loyalty, and a unified empire were principal ends of Charlemagne, he never fully defined "empire" other than "l'etat c'est moi" (136). This unclear status resulted in familial conflicts, counterclaims, and strife in succeeding generations, resulting in a divided Europe (including what would become France and Germany (139)). Charlemagne helped Christianity to become a unifying force in western Europe for several hundred years. This was a great accomplishment. His legacy has become synonymous with European identity, a "family"--regardless of numerous languages, religions, ethnicities on the continent. So powerful has his myth become that political leaders (e.g., Hitler, DeGaulle) have shamelessly used it to justify personal agendae (157). Of course, that's not a bad legacy, for someone who died over one thousand years ago.