Charlemagne and the Carolingian Art of War

The founder of the Carolingian empire, Charlemagne, is often called the “father of Europe.” For the French and German people alike, he’s a little bit like a medieval George Washington. But unlike Washington, Charlemagne was not just statesman and general. He was an empire-builder living in a very different time, when might made right.

There is no single battle or campaign that earned Charlemagne his place in history. No fight against overwhelming odds or swift toppling of another empire. Instead, Charlemagne’s inclusion in the pantheon of military greats was earned through the scope and scale of his conquests, incremental as they were.

It is a certain brand of sheer persistence and unending patience that forged Charlemagne’s reputation as conqueror. That is the essence of why you hear as unlikely a source as Mike Tyson rank him alongside Alexander the Great and Napoleon.

Theme track used: The Age of Empire (Zero Project), re-composed by Stavros Stavrou

Audio used: Mike Tyson in Sugar Ray Leonard interview

In the course of only twenty five years, Clovis -- the first of the Merovingians -- had united the Frankish people, adopted Roman Christianity, and laid the foundations for a kingdom that would last about two and half centuries. In the vision of Clovis' father, Childeric, he imagines that the Merovingian dynasty would transmogrify from a procession of mythic creatures into a pack of wild bears, wolves, and dogs. This is their story... as well as the prelude to the Carolingians. The vaunted ancestors of Charlemagne, the Carolingians first appear as mayors of the Merovingian palace in Paris before supplanting them.

Nonetheless, by the time of their fall, the Merovingians ruled Francia for 250 years. Ian Wood, a leading authority on the Merovingian period, has gone so far as to say that “No other state equalled the overall achievements of the Franks [under the Merovingians] in the sixth, seventh, and eight centuries.” Whether we go that far or not, we must acknowledge that the Merovingians have been overlooked for far too long. Their reign is too often seen as a gap in the late antique period, a dark age preceding the Carolingian renaissance. But that is a disservice to the Merovingians, without whom there would have been no Carolingians, and no Charlemagne.

Theme track used: The Age of Empire (Zero Project), re-composed by Stavros Stavrou

In this episode, we cover Charlemagne's coronation, the Carolingian Renaissance, the administrative aspects of his vast realm, and conclude with an examination of Charlemagne the man.

We start with his coronation... By this point, Charlemagne had mastered the art of wartime logistics and organization, handed down news ways of governance and worship to conquered peoples, and soon he would inaugurate the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of renewed interest in the arts, sciences, and learning in general. 

All of this made him a worthy successor to Caesar and Augustus, and the moment now came for him to be recognized as such. It happened during Mass on Christmas day, 800 AD, in old Saint Peter’s Basilica, which was built upon the bones of martyrs in the eternal city of Rome.

Theme track used: The Age of Empire (Zero Project), re-composed by Stavros Stavrou

Audio used: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade clip