5 ms·
Not only is Charles Martel (and to a lesser extent, his father who seemed to be a nobody before taking over Francia) one of histories absolute badasses, but the
by edgyquant 6y ago
Not only is Charles Martel (and to a lesser extent, his father who seemed to be a nobody before taking over Francia) one of histories absolute badasses, but the Carolingian Renaissance basically created the Catholic Church as we know it (and as we think about it in history) and brought writing back to the mainstream in Europe which eventually allowed what we know as the Renaissance to even take off.
It’s a shame that outside of historical circles and the well read nobody knows who Charlemagne is, or they know he was a person but have no idea what he did. To me the “Dark Ages” are just as, if not more, fascinating that the Imperial era of Rome. I also do think that (Dark Ages) is a good term if applied a little earlier to right after the fall of Rome until the rise of Charlemagne.
- davidgay 6y ago> It’s a shame that outside of historical circles and the well read nobody knows who Charlemagne is Except for all the French, and neighbouring French-speaking countries... (and probably other European countries, but I wasn't exposed to their education system).
- emteycz 6y agoI'm on the other side of Germany (Czechia) and everybody knows who Charlemagne is, it's basic education here, you learn it in 6th grade. It's not that positive figure here though, Czech people didn't submit willingly to his empire.
- edgyquant 6y agoMaybe it’s just an American thing, then.
- roelschroeven 6y agoCharlemagne (or Karel de Grote as we call him in Dutch) is a pretty big deal in our history. We've learned about him in primary school and again, somewhat more in depth, in secondary school. Of course not everyone knows what he did. Most people aren't all that interested in history. You could say the same thing about most historical figures. As a quick guess Julius Caesar, Napoleon and Hitler are the most obvious of a pretty short list of counterexamples that are so well-known that almost everybody has at least some idea of what they did. Even that is going to be pretty limited: I suppose a lot of people here in Belgium are aware of Caesar because he came here to conquer, and provides the oldest written sources of our regions. But not a lot of people are aware of his role in the end of the Roman Republic.
- edgyquant 6y agoI’d also argue that, in America at least, most people don’t know much about Napoleon either other than he was some guy who existed and was French.
- BrandoElFollito 6y agoAll children in France know Charlemagne for his beard and mustache, and the fact that this asshole invented the schools they have to sit in to learn about him.
- Bayart 6y ago>and to a lesser extent, his father who seemed to be a nobody before taking over Francia Pepin of Heristal was the most powerful man of Austrasia, from one of the most powerful families in the Frankish world (descended from Rhenan Frankish royalty). His ancestry includes extremely prestigious bishops and lords. There's nothing about him that screams "nobody".