Carolingian Renaissance

Examples of Carolingian Renaissance in the following topics:

• Charlemagne's Reforms

  • As emperor, Charlemagne stood out for his many reforms—monetary, governmental, military, cultural, and ecclesiastical—and ushered in an era known as the Carolingian Renaissance.
  • He was the main initiator and proponent of the "Carolingian Renaissance," the first of three medieval renaissances.
  • The era ushered in by his reign, the Carolingian Renaissance, was so called because of the flowering of scholarship, literature, art, and architecture that characterized it.
  • Indeed, the earliest manuscripts available for many ancient texts are Carolingian.
  • It is almost certain that a text that survived to the Carolingian age endures still.

• Introduction to the Renaissance

  • The Renaissance has a long and complex historiography, and in line with general skepticism of discrete periodizations, there has been much debate among historians reacting to the 19th-century glorification of the "Renaissance" and individual culture heroes as "Renaissance men," questioning the usefulness of Renaissance as a term and as a historical delineation.
  • The word Renaissance has also been extended to other historical and cultural movements, such as the Carolingian Renaissance and the Renaissance of the 12th century.
  • The Renaissance: Was it a Thing?
  • It was in Italy, specifically Northern Italy, where the Renaissance movement took shape.
  • Describe the influences of the Renaissance and historical perspectives by modern-day writers

• Intellectual Life

  • Charlemagne's inclination towards education, which led to the creation of many new churches and schools where students were required to learn Latin and Greek, has been called the "Carolingian Renaissance."
  • A second "renaissance" occurred during the reign of Otto I, King of the Saxons from 936–973 and Holy Roman Emperor from 952.
  • Thus, Otto's reign has also been called a "renaissance."
  • The renaissance of the twelfth century has been identified as the third and final of the medieval renaissances.
  • Yet the renaissance of the 12th century was far more thoroughgoing than those renaissances that preceded in the Carolingian and Ottonian periods.

• The End of the Carolingians

  • In the late 9th century, however, the lack of suitable adults among the Carolingians necessitated the rise of Arnulf of Carinthia, an illegitimate child of a legitimate Carolingian king.
  • The Carolingians were displaced in most of the regna of the Empire in 888.
  • Thus West Francia of the Carolingian dynasty became France.
  • His sister Adelaide, the last Carolingian, died in 1122.
  • Carolingian family tree, from the Chronicon Universale of Ekkehard of Aura, 12th century

• The Rise of the Vernacular

  • Renaissance literature refers to European literature which was influenced by the intellectual and cultural tendencies of the Renaissance.
  • The earliest Renaissance literature appeared in 14th century Italy; Dante, Petrarch and Machiavelli are notable examples of Italian Renaissance writers.
  • The English Renaissance and the Renaissance in Scotland date from the late 15th century to the early 17th century.
  • The impact of the Renaissance varied across the continent; countries that were predominantly Catholic or Protestant experienced the Renaissance differently.
  • Quick overview of some of the prominent men of the Renaissance.

• The Church During the Italian Renaissance

  • The new humanist ideals of the Renaissance, although more secular in many aspects, developed against a Christian backdrop, and the Church patronized many works of Renaissance art.
  • The Renaissance began in times of religious turmoil.
  • The City of Rome, the Papacy, and the Papal States were all affected by the Renaissance.
  • In the revival of neo-Platonism and other ancient philosophies, Renaissance humanists did not reject Christianity; quite the contrary, many of the Renaissance's greatest works were devoted to it, and the Church patronized many works of Renaissance art.
  • Analyze the Church's role in Italy at the time of the Renaissance

• Rise of the Holy Roman Empire

  • The title continued in the Carolingian family until 888, and from 896 to 899, after which it was contested by the rulers of Italy in a series of civil wars until the death of the last Italian claimant, Berengar, in 924.
  • After Charlemagne died in 814, the imperial crown was disputed among the Carolingian rulers of Western Francia and Eastern Francia, with first the western king (Charles the Bald) and then the eastern (Charles the Fat) attaining the prize.
  • After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, and was never restored.
  • After the Carolingian king Louis the Child died without issue in 911, East Francia did not turn to the Carolingian ruler of West Francia to take over the realm, but instead elected one of the dukes, Conrad of Franconia, as Rex Francorum Orientalium.

• Education and Humanism

  • Humanism played a major role in education during the Renaissance with the goal to cultivate the moral and intellectual character of citizens.
  • During the Renaissance, humanism played a major role in education.
  • The Humanists of the Renaissance created schools to teach their ideas and wrote books all about education.
  • Some important females that were educated during the Renaissance were Isotta Nogarola, Cassandra Fedele of Venice, and Laura Cereta.
  • Laura Cereta (1469–1499) was a Renaissance humanist and feminist.

• The Rise of Charlemagne

  • Charlemagne is considered the greatest ruler of the Carolingian Dynasty because of the actions he took to bring Europe out of turmoil.
  • The expanded Frankish state he founded is called the Carolingian Empire.
  • Charlemagne is considered to be the greatest ruler of the Carolingian Dynasty because of the achievements he made during what seemed like the very middle of the Dark Ages.

• Petrarch

  • Francesco Petrarca (July 20, 1304 – July 19, 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar and poet in Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists.
  • Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century Renaissance.
  • Petrarch's sonnets were admired and imitated throughout Europe during the Renaissance and became a model for lyrical poetry.
  • Petrarch is traditionally called the "Father of Humanism" and considered by many to more generally be the "Father of the Renaissance."
  • He inspired humanist philosophy which led to the intellectual flowering of the Renaissance.