Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Mar/76

Contributor - R. A. Hartmans

Title - Charlemagne

Topic - Church History

Those of us who have received their education in Holland will probably remember the date 800 A.D. from their history classes. For it was on Christmas Day of the year 800 that Charles the Great was crowned Emperor of the Roman Empire.

This man, who in English speaking countries is known as Charlemagne, was a member of the Carolingian dynasty.

The Carolingian House had been strong defenders of the Christian faith. Pepin of Herstal and Charles Martel had supported the work of missionaries such as Willibrord and Boniface. Indirectly., the Carolingian kings had furthered the growth of the Church by maintaining peace and providing political and economically stability. The Carolingians cooperated closely with the Roman papacy and in return received considerable papal support.

Pepin the Short asked permission of Pope Zacharias to send the last of the Merovingean kings to a monastery, in order that he could assume the royal title. The Pope approved. Then the Pope sought help from Pepin against the Lombardian invaders of Italy. Pepin defeated the Lombards and forced them to surrender their properties to the Pope.

These dealings by the Frankish king and the Roman pope had far reaching consequences. The Pope's interference in the Frankish monarchial problems seemed to say that the Pope had the right and the power to depose or crown kings. Pepin's gift of property to the Pope confirmed the Pope as a temporal ruler.

At the time Pepin the Short lied, the royal power was passed upon to his two sons Carloman and Charles. Soon after Carloman went the way of his father and Charlemagne became the sole ruler of the kingdom.

During his long rule (711-812) Charlemagne showed himself as a strong and valiant leader. Shortly after his rule began Charlemagne undertook 53 military campaigns in order to strengthen the borders of his kingdom. These campaigns were nearly all led by the King himself.

It was during these campaigns that Charlemagne showed himself as a cruel and religious man. It was the king',s goal to bring his kingdom under the rule of Christ. Thus he frequently gave his prisoners of war the choice between beheading by the sword or becoming a Christian through baptism. We are told that at one time 4500 Saxon rebels were beheaded, after which the King went to church to celebrate our Lord's birth!

Charlemagne enlarged his kingdom significantly until it covered Western Europe between the Ebro and the Elbe and between the English Channel and part of Italy, including Rome. During his rule the King used every means to unify his country politically and culturally. Though he liked the excitement of battle, he preferred to administrate his kingdom.

To Charlemagne the Church was the soul of his kingdom not the Roman Pope. From the beginning he showed his respect to the Pope, but he also made it clear that the Pope should stick to his prayers and keep his hands off the administration of the Church in his kingdom.

Thus Charlemagne appointed bishops and archbishops where he saw fit. He even ordered the clergy in matters of doctrine. Though the King was known for his marital infidelity, he reproached the clergy . for their worldliness-. At the same time he saw to it that one tenth of the produce of the land was turned over to the Church. And when Charlemagne died, he willed two-thirds of his private property to the Church.

The King was very concerned about orthodox teaching and practices in the -Church. He required that every priest give a written description of the form of Baptism used in the local parish.

In those days few people, including the clergy, had received much formal education. Indeed Charlemagne himself never learned how to write, though he did read a little and spoke or understood a few languages besides his own German tongue. In order to remedy this lack of education, he ordered that every subject was to know the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed by heart. Every parish in the land was to have a school where everybody could receive free education. Some of these schools would grow out later into the universities of today.

Every priest was expected to know how to write and read, and the clergy were forced to educate the population in the Christian faith through sermons on the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, and prayer. These sermons were to be preached in the language of the people. Charlemagne's ambition for the people's education required many teachers, many more than there were available locally. Thus teachers were imported from Italy, Britain and Ireland. Most famous of these was Alcuin, a relative of the. missionary Willibrord. Alcuin had been educated in York, England and was headmaster of the school in that city before he was hired by Charlemagneto head the palace school.

We will not discuss the many administrative improvements Charlemagne made in his kingdom. Instead let us now travel to Rome where Charlemagne had been since November 24, 800. He had traveled there to hear charges against Pope Leo III. The Pope was vindicated, and Charlemagne stayed on for the Christmas celebration.

We do not know who first conceived the idea of crowning Charlemagne as Roman Emperor. May be the initiative had been taken by some of his advisors, maybe the King himself had instigated the act. According to the royal biographer Eginhard, the King certainly did not approve of the way the coronation wag handled.

At any rate, on Christmas day when Charlemagne knelt in prayer in the St. Peter's Church, Pope Leo suddenly stepped forward with a golden crown and placed it. on the King's head while the congregation shouted three times, "Hail to Charles the Augustus, crowned by God the great and peace bringing Emperor of the Romans".

Charlemagne's coronation by Pope Leo III set a precedent which later would be used by popes and bishops to defend their authority over civil governments. It hastened the schism between the Western and Eastern Church, and it contributed to the doctrine of the divine right of kings.

To all probability Charlemagne did not appreciate the f act of having received the Crown from the hands of a pope, for his keen insight foresaw the tension and struggles which would ensue from his coronation.

On the other hand if anyone would have merited the distinction, it was Charlemagne, for we may certainly claim that Western Europe and the Christian Church benefitted for centuries to come from the labours of this Christian monarch.

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