The Empire of the Franks For the ancient world, the Mediterranean area was the center. Around the coasts of the Mediterranean - whether in Spain, North Africa, Sicily, or Asia Minor - everywhere, people lived largely by the same political and social concepts. The Germanic tribes, who had moved into the western Roman Empire, didn't disturb this unity of the Greco-Roman culture. And when, in the seventh century, a completely new political power and culture appeared in the spread of Islam, the unity of the Greco-Roman culture was ended, but the Mediterranean remained the center. That changed when the Franks, under the leadership of Karl Martell, conquered the Arabs in 732 A.D. at Tours and Poitiers in what is now western France, and thereby laid the foundation for the rise of the Frankish Empire. Now there were three big political centers, and the tripartite division of the Mediterranean area was complete: along with the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic Empire appeared the new Frankish Empire. The center-point of the history of the world - which was, until the eighth century, the Mediterranean area - moved north, to central Europe, the area north of the Danube and east of the Rhein. But was that linked to a complete departure from the Roman and ancient heritage? What was new about this Frankish Empire, and back toward which traditions did its rulers reach? In order answer this question, we want to examine more closely the rise of the Frankish Empire, and above all the empire of its most significant ruler, Karl the Great. Karl the Great ruled over an area that had at least the expanse of the western Roman Empire. All the Christian tribes of western and central Europe - with the exception of England and Ireland - were united in his empire. Karl the Great attempted, in his empire, to merge the cultural commonalities of Christianity and of Germanic-Frankish lifestyles with the ancient Roman traditions, so that finally a new culture arose: "the Christian Occident" as it would later be called. Architecture like the Palatinate Chapel in Aachen can still give us an impression today, that in the empire of Karl the Great, Christian tradition, Germanic lifestyles, and Roman heritage merged into a new culture. But also in the politics of Karl the Great, we can see that he had made no final break with ancient tradition, as is shown by this: that he - as already his father Pepin - entered into a close political alliance with the Papacy in Rome, and took the old title of the western Roman emperor "Augustus and Imperator". But the coronation in Rome in 800 A.D. meant more than The Franks, page 1 merely the renewal of the ancient empire: a new, Christian empire arose, in which the king of the Franks had the task, as one coronated by God, to unite and to protect the community of Christians. But how should he fulfill this task? How could this empire be ruled and administered? We know that the Roman emperors could rely upon a dense network of cities, many bureaucrats, a well-organized army, and other things as they administered the Roman Empire. In the Frankish Empire there weren't such things. There was no capital, no magistrate and senate, not even a standing army. And yet, Karl the Great left behind at his death in 814 A.D. an empire in which almost all the countries and territories of western and central Europe were united. In order to find an explanation for this, we must look more closely at the roles which the monks, abbots, and bishops in the Christian church played in the governing of the Frankish Empire, and how the rulers worked to gain the loyalty of the Frankish nobility. A New Center: The Frankish Empire The Development of the Frankish Empire Chlodowech (also called "Clovis" or "Clotilda of Burgundy") had built a powerful Frankish Empire and founded the Merovingian dynasty. The belief in a divine power which rested on the royal family, however, lead to this, that after the death of a king, all of his sons took over the leadership. Thus the empire was divided over and over again. Very often, the brothers lead war against one another. By means of this commotion, the Merovingian dynasty lost influence. The majordomo, the highest court official, on the other hand, became the most powerful man in the Frankish Empire. In 732 A.D., the Arabs, who at this time ruled Spain, invaded France over the Pyrenees. The Frankish majordomo, Karl Martell, defeated them in the battle at Tours and Poitiers. This victory decided that the Frankish Empire would become Christian, not Islamic. By means of this battle, the foundation was also laid for this, that, later, western Europe - despite all differences between the tribes and states - would form a unit: the Christian Occident. Bonifatius and the Frankish Church. At the time of Karl Martell, Christians were bitterly persecuted by the pagans in the Frankish Empire. Nominally, most of the residents were actually called Christians; but pagan lifestyles actually had more influence than Christian ways. Human sacrifice was still common, people were held as slaves, and women were bought and sold as property. The Irish and English churches were then in a much better condition. The monks from the British Isles felt themselves obligated, therefore, to lead the Frankish church out of its problems. The Franks, page 2 In the seventh century, many Irish monks went around on the continent as itinerant preachers. They also founded cloisters there; St. Gallen goes back, for example, to the Irish itinerant monk Gallus. The monks of the continent took on some aspects of Irish life; among them was Pirmin, the founder of the cloisters Murbach and Reichenau. In the eighth century, the influence of the English monks became stronger. In contrast to the Irish, they did missionary work "from above", i.e., they sought close collaboration with the Frankish nobility, king, and the Pope in Rome. The most significant of these missionaries was Wynfreth. After early unsuccessful missionary attempts among the Frisians, he turned to the Pope and traveled to Rome. The Pope gave him the name Bonifatius and assigned him to spread the faith in the eastern Frankish Empire, which was not yet thoroughly Christianized. In over thirty years of missionary work, he went through Hessia, Thuringia, Franconia, and Frisia. He founded cloisters, e.g., Fulda. He gave effort also to reforming the church's administration. While he was able to institute a new organization of bishops in Bavaria, he was only able to remove a few anti-reform bishops in Franconia. The Frankish nobility and the Frankish church had no interest in changing the usual way of doing things. Bonifatius was murdered by Pagans in 754 A.D. during a missionary trip to Frisia. He has been honored since then as a martyr of the Christian faith; he was even called the "Apostle to the Germans". By means of his activity, he contributed to the various tribes in the Frankish Empire becoming "brothers and one nation by means of the Christian faith" even beyond the borders of Germany. Beyond the fame of Bonifatius, however, we must not forget that many Anglo-Saxon monks and nuns collaborated in the missionary and reform work at that time: e.g., Willibald and his sister Walpurg, who founded and lead the cloister at Heidenheim, or Lioba, a relative of Bonifatius, who was the abbess in Taubersbischofsheim. The Carolinians as Kings. Bonifatius emphasized, in his missionary work, that he worked in the service, and with the support, of the Pope in Rome, the successor to the Apostle Peter. To this highest authority, therefore, the Frankish leaders turned in a politically very important question: could they assert themselves over the inherited rights of the Merovingian kings, who had long since become incompetent to govern, and make the majordomo, Pippin, the son of Karl Martell, king? When the Pope gave them notice, that one who exercises the power should be called king, they elevated Pippin in the year 751 A.D. to king. The Franks, page 3 Because the Carolinians could not refer to any inherited right, they justified their royal status in a different way. They claimed to be called by God to royal rule. As a sign of this divine assignment, they allowed themselves, like the kings in the Tanakh, to be annointed and added to their names the phrase "dei gratia" = "by the grace of God". Karl the Great, the son of Pippin, is the most significant rule of the Frankish Empire. The dynasty is called "Carolinian" after him. He saw it his duty, as a rule assigned by God, to care for the spread of the Christian faith. The Saxon wars show especially clearly how Karl allowed his military to be of secondary importance to Christian missionary work. Already, soon after the conflict with the powerful and independent neighbors in the north-east began, reports were made of the first mass baptisms. The tough and effective resistence, however, hindered a lasting success for the many Frankish military maneuvers. Only twenty-five years later did Karl dare to institute bishoprics. After the complete pacification of the Saxons, and the baptism of their military leader, Widukind, he sent priests and monks into what had long been a pagan land. The Saxons were astounded that Karl, deviating from Pagan practice, didn't simply execute Widukind. The acceptance of Christianity made the defeated Saxons into members of the Frankish Empire, with fully equal rights, into "brothers". The Re-Creation of the Empire.