Charlemagne's Achievments Essay Example

Charlemagne is arguably the most significant figure that lived in the middle ages, this is a result of the countless major achievements he performed. As well as having a lasting effect on many things we find normal today, for example, he spread Christianity throughout medieval Europe to great extent, he was a great leader who founded the Holy Roman Empire as well as standardising currency throughout Europe. These feats make it quite obvious that Charlemagne was one of or if not the most important figure to live in the middle ages, so important we still learn about him to this day. 

In the Middle Ages , Christianity numbers increased drastically as a result of Charlemagne. He did this by giving power to the Churches as well as advocating and forcing people to be Christian. This had many benefits, as a result of  Christianity being a major aspect of life in the middle ages, people gave credit for all the positive aspects of life to God and blamed the negative things such as ( eg. droughts, bad crops) on the devil. Charlemagne boosted Christianity, therefore, boosting spirits which were vital as plague and death were strewn throughout Europe. Spreading religion throughout the country united everyone under a common theme that benefited the country greatly as people got along with each other therefore crime was low. Due to Charlemagne Christianity dominated in popularity and grew even more as time passed, this is proven by the 2.5 billion Christians in mid-2020. The spreading of Christianity was successful although Charlemagne’s methods were questionable at first, although he hastily realised that forcing people to be Christian as well as executing people who refused was regrettable and wrong, this decision proves Charlemagne was a thoughtful leader. This proves Charlemagne was a very important and significant leader in the Middle Ages. 

Furthermore, Charlemagne founded the Holy Roman Empire as well as being the first Emperor of the Romans, which had many benefits for its citizens, as well as having minor downsides. The founding of the Holy Roman Empire by Charlemagne was very significant as a powerful and unified kingdom was born, this is evident as following the founding of Rome, Charlemagne only lost one major battle, which was the battle of Roncesvalles. This was highly beneficial for the citizens living inside the Holy Roman Empire as they were rarely under threat or danger. Furthermore, Charlemagne’s army, as well as himself, were dominant throughout Europe, this is clearly shown as he conquered many countries that we know of today such as Switzerland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany,  parts of Austria and Spain. His kingdom extended for more than 800 miles which is equivalent to 1287.48Km, this shows how dominant his kingdom was as well as his leadership to lead a nation into war. That is why Charlemagne is such a significant figure in the Medieval World and influenced many powerful leaders after him. 

Many great leaders over the years have standardised currency, Charlemagne is one of them, he noticed gold was in shortage so he altered all currency to silver, as well as giving greater freedom to peasants. The conversion from gold to silver had many benefits, such as making trade much easier for citizens as well as foreign countries. Trade was a major aspect of life in the middle ages, lords, barons, knights and even peasants participated in trade, Charlemagne ultimately boosted trade by allowing trade to occur among peasants, peasants contributed greatly as most of them were farmers and owned many crops, food, meat,  grains and many other essentials that other citizens might need.  The monetary reform allowed money to be lent to other people, this is highly beneficial as well as being revolutionary because it made life more convenient by creating more options for the economy. This ultimately made his kingdom stronger and well developed, which is why Charlemagne is very important in the Medieval World.

To sum up all the points that I have stated above, Charlemagne played a vital role in the Medieval World during his reign, some of his accomplishments include spreading  Christianity throughout medieval Europe to great extent, being a powerful leader who founded the Holy Roman Empire as well as standardising currency throughout his kingdom. Due to these achievements and accomplishments, Charlemagne remains one of the most important figures in history to ever live.