The Character of Charlemagne

Charlemagne by the German artist, Dürer. This image is in the public domain and has been uploaded from Wikimedia Commons.

Welcome to the Middle Ages, S1Y!

Was Charlemagne a brutal warlord or the founder of western European culture? Or are both of these descriptions too extreme? See if you can decide what kind of man Charlemagne was.

Charlemagne set up a significant and powerful empire and was influential in the development of Europe.

Even though Charlemagne is remembered for his contributions to law, justice and education, he sometimes took harsh measures against those who resisted his power. For instance, he forced people to be baptised as Christians and executed thousands of Saxon prisoners in one day.

Strange, isn’t it? On the one hand, Charlemagne was a man who encouraged learning and admired scholars. On the other, he was prepared to act viciously to strengthen and consolidate his power.

Try to find out more by reading the websites below. 

♦Create a dossier of Charlemagne on one piece of A4 paper.

♦Present the information in your own words.

♦Use pictures from the internet and add captions.

Reach some conclusions of your own about the character of Charlemagne.

*What do you admire about him?

*Which actions, if any, would you criticise?

Here are some recommended websites:

http://www2.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/library/96apr/charlemagne.html

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/history/earlymiddle/charlemagne.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/charlemagne.shtml

http://historymedren.about.com/od/cwho/p/who_charlemagne.htm

http://historymedren.about.com/od/charlemagnestudyguide/p/sg_people.htm

A particularly critical description and a reconstructed portrait of Charlemagne: http://www.reportret.info/gallery/charlemagne1.html

 

Positive words for describing a person in history

 

Critical words for describing actions that you deplore or condemn
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