Carolingian Period

Name:

Tutor:

Course:

Date:

Carolingian Period

During the medieval period, there was a close relationship between religion and politics. This correlation formed a stable foundation in the creation of the European empire and the subsequent establishment of a powerful Roman Empire. One of the people responsible for the creation of this Christianity foundation is Pepin III. He was a political leader who was also a staunch adherent of the Roman Catholic Church (Rosenwein 82). This propelled him to seek the opinion of Pope Zacharias on his acquisition of power as the king. He alleged that a person with a social title was in a better position to acquire the crown of a king. The answer of the Pope not only concurred with his principle but it was also the basis of political transformations, which led to the creation of the European Empire. For example, this king established various Papal States around Rome as a tactic of suppressing the power of Lombards and Muslims.

This also initiated the Carolingian Period defined by political and economic developments. In addition, the campaigns by Pepin regarding the need to have catholic rulers also set a religious foundation for Pepin’s kingship (Rosenwein 85). One of Pope’s goals in strengthening this alliance was the establishment of a stable Roman Empire. During this period, the conflicts between Muslims and Christians were intense. For this reason, Pope Zacharias and other religious leaders in the area sought to gain the support of the influential individuals in the political arena in order to protect the Roman Catholic Church from such attacks. In addition, this alliance facilitated to conversion of most German tribes into supporters of this denomination. This is after Pepin invited St. Boniface to restructure the western Frankish Church by promoting the essence of including the papacy framework in political leadership positions (Rosenwein 92).

Owing to the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in political affairs of this region, Charlemagne had to use similar principles to those of David. To begin with, some popes asserted that the God of Israel had blessed the region with a second David. Accordingly, he had to follow God’s will and protect the church from attacks by Muslims and other external forces. This explains why he led campaigns and warfare against Muslims in Spain, Pyrenees, Hungary, and the northern region of Italy. These events comprise of religious elements that defined all fights facilitated by this roman emperor (Rosenwein 112). In addition, he showed his determination in conquering the pagan Saxons and forced them to convert into Christianity by relocating them within his monarchy.

Charlemagne conquered the Lombard kingdom in the northern region of Italy in order to restrict its political progress to other parts of Europe during the medieval period. Similar to the warfare against Muslims in various European regions, the fight against the Saxons had a religious basis. This population subgroup comprised of pagans. Accordingly, this roman emperor considered them as opposers of his kingship, which executed its operations based on the religious principles of the Roman Catholic Church (Rosenwein 121). Based on this argument, the Frankish Church considered the Saxons as a threat to political economic and religious progress in the region. This is the reason why Charlemagne relocated them to his realm.  This was the main tactic used by this roman emperor to subdue the Saxons. Resettling them in various regions within his empire augmented his political power. This forced relocation effectively tackled the Saxons’ threat.

Work Cited

Rosenwein, Barbara H. A Short History of the middle Ages. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009. Print.