4/18 Blog

Notes on Charlemagne:

-In the fifth century, German invaders overran the western half of the Roman Empire.
-Repeated invasions caused:
1. Disruption of trade
2. Downfall of cities
3. Population shifts

-The invaders of Rome were not able to read or write.
-Small Germanic kingdoms replaced Roman provinces.
-In Gaul, people called Franks held power.
-The Franks leader was Clovis, who brought the idea of Christianity.
-Germans began to adopt the ways of Christianity.
-In 590, Gregory I become the pope.
-He was the head of the church in Rome.
-After the Roman Empire dissolved, different small kingdoms sprang up.
-A man known as the Major domo became the most powerful person in the Frankish kingdom.
-At death, Charles Martel passed on his power to his son, Pepin the Short.
-Then began the Carolingian Dynasty, which ruled the Franks from 751-987.