Today is the Feast of Bld Charlemagne, a model for all Christan rulers, who was acclaimed by the people of Rome as "Augustus, Crowned by God, Great and Pacific Emperor!"
From The Fatima Centre
By Matthew Plese, TOP
The Life, Legacy, and Virtues of Charlemagne
October 9th is the anniversary of the coronation of Charlemagne as King of the Franks. The life of Charlemagne illustrates the importance of having virtuous leaders who work with the Church for the glory of God and for the good of society. We should keep this in mind and understand that the separation of Church and State is not a Catholic view, despite it being ingrained into American thought.
Who Was Charlemagne?
Charlemagne (c. 742-814), the First Christian Western Emperor in nearly 300 years and the “Father of Europe,” exemplified knightly aestheticism. Born the son of Pepin the Short, Charles I, he would later be universally known as Charles the Great, or Charlemagne (as ‘magna’ is the Latin word for ‘great’). He served as the King of Franks from 768, King of Italy from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor from 800 until his death in 814.
Charlemagne was born in an era after the Christianization of the Franks. His father would be proclaimed as the first King of the Carolingian Dynasty. Charlemagne, like his father, would serve as a strong defender of the Papacy. Upon the death of Pepin the Short, Charlemagne reigned alongside his brother, Carloman I, from 768-771. Tragically, his younger brother died in 771, leaving Charlemagne as the sole ruler of the Franks.
Charlemagne’s Commitment to Dogmatic Truth
The life of Charlemagne is far richer than a mere historical account of battles won and territories conquered. The story of Charlemagne is a story of a true Christian king who sought the reign of Christ the King. While at times Charlemagne would overstep his authority and impose upon the spiritual realm, which remains distinct but in union with the temporal realm, his policies worked toward a deepening of the spiritual life.
“One key – probably the most important one – to Charlemagne’s political thought is Augustine’s City of God, which, next to the Bible, was his favorite book. In reflecting on the temporal and heavenly realms, the patriarch took issue with ascetics who urged withdrawal from fallen human society in pursuit of an attainable holiness. He pointed out that perfection is impossible in this world, where divine and satanic forces are locked in constant conflict. The only sinless society will be that which gathers around the throne of God at the end of time. The moral for the leaders of both Church and State was not withdrawal, or even the establishment of monasteries as gateways to perfection, but earnest engagement in the battle against the forces of evil”[1]
Charlemagne sought to root out all paganism from his vast empire. He wielded the power to discipline clerics, control ecclesial property, and impact doctrinal issues. In 809, Charlemagne called a local ecclesial council in his capital city Aachen,[2] that called for the Filioque to be added to the Creed.
While Pope Leo III (795-816 A.D.) approved the doctrine of the Filioque, he opposed the inclusion of it in the Creed that was set at the First Council of Constantinople in 381. Leo III stated that this Creed was the product of the “divine illumination” of the Council Fathers. He further noted that not everything needed for salvation is in that Creed. In response to efforts to change the Creed, the Sovereign Pontiff had the original Creed (in both Greek and Latin) cast in two silver shields to be displayed in St. Peter’s Basilica.[3]
A Wise Leader
Like a true knight, Charles the Great maintained the long-established traditions of his fathers. While Charlemagne reformed the Frankish government, he retained ancient and venerable customs.
As a Carolingian king, he possessed not only the right to rule and command, but he also held supreme judicial authority and generalship over the army.
Charlemagne took seriously his solemn duty to protect, defend, and propagate the Church. And like a great and holy knight, he protected the poor, the weak, and the needy of his vast empire.
Charlemagne’s Impact on Sacred Music
Charlemagne’s impact on music cannot be forgotten. As a strong proponent of ecclesial music, chant flourished under his rule.
Charlemagne’s Practice of Reading Holy Books“Charlemagne’s interest in Church music and solicitude for its propagation and adequate performance throughout his empire, have never been equaled by any civil ruler either before or since his time. He not only caused liturgical music to flourish in his own time throughout his vast domain, but he laid the foundations for musical culture which are still potent today”[4]
A knight is acutely aware of his vocation. He is a cultured soldier in the army of God who understands and appreciates the cultivated heritage of his forefathers. In becoming fashion, Charlemagne possessed a love for literature. Among his favorite books were the Holy Scriptures and the works of St. Augustine.
As proof of his commitment to holy literature, Charlemagne founded a court library. Despite the long and painstaking process of composing a text by hand, Charlemagne still distributed copies. And in imitation of the practice of the monks, Charlemagne would often take his meals while a subject would read a book to him.
Charlemagne gave Alcuin, a holy and learned monk, important posts within the royal court. Together they spearheaded great educational advancements across the Frankish Empire (which spanned most of Western Europe). They established many schools, systematized curriculum, and developed the liberal arts. Charlemagne was a great patron of the arts. Historians have named this time of great creative output and civilizational development the Carolingian Renaissance.
Military, Cultural, and Spiritual Strength
As the true knight defends the poor, the weak, and the needy, he also fights at all times to promote truth and defend the honor of God. Charlemagne fought long to spread the Gospel throughout Europe.
A knight will not flee from adversity but will press on to win the prize. Charlemagne was no different when he defeated the Lombards in Pavia. He secured Christianity’s southern border from the Moslem threat by establishing secure military control over the Spanish March. He also defeated and annexed the territory of the Frisians, the Bavarians, and the Slavic Avars. And despite 30 years of continuous campaigns against the Saxons, he persisted in battle. The Saxons were told to convert to Christianity (from paganism) or suffer death. In 785 their leader, Wittekind, converted.
Into all of these territories, Charlemagne brought missionaries, made many converts, and strengthened the Church. He built churches, monasteries and schools, developed the arts and sciences, and shared technological developments, enabling these burgeoning civilizations to flourish.
Charlemagne’s Ability to Handle Failure
Yet despite the many victories, there were also defeats. In 778 A.D., Charlemagne’s invading army was repelled by Basques and Moors in Spain. While In battle, his mighty paladin, Roland,[5] was slain. The episode is recounted in the legendary poem, “Song of Roland,” which narrates the heroic death of Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. It is the oldest surviving major French work of literature:
But Rollant feels he’s no more time to seek;
Looking to Spain, he lies on a sharp peak,
And with one hand upon his breast he beats:
“Mea Culpa! God, by Thy Virtues clean
Me from my sins, the mortal and the mean,
Which from the hour that I was born have been
Until this day, when life is ended here!”
Holds out his glove towards God, as he speaks
Angels descend from heaven on that scene.
A Christian Empire
After years of defending the rights of the Papacy and seeking the conversion of pagans and heretics, Charlemagne was crowned as the first Holy Roman Emperor, by Pope Leo III in Rome on Christmas Day in the year 800 AD. Like the Benedictio Novi Militis of the Roman Pontifical for the liturgical dubbing of a knight, the coronation of a king follows a specific Church rite and is a sacramental.
The Legacy of Charlemagne
Charlemagne’s final years of life were spent in attendance at daily Mass. In the Year of our Lord 814, Charlemagne passed from this world to the next.
The First Holy Roman Emperor was buried in Aachen’s Cathedral. His mortal remains are still contained there in a richly ornamented reliquary (coffin). The Cathedral was originally built as Charlemagne’s palace chapel. For nearly 600 years (936-1531 A.D.), kings were anointed and crowned at the main altar of Aachen’s Cathedral.
The Cathedral is also home to four holy relics collected by Charlemagne: The cloak of Our Lady, the swaddling clothes of the Infant Jesus, the loin clothes worn by Jesus Christ during His Crucifixion, and the cloth on which rested the head of St. John the Baptist after his martyrdom. These relics are only displayed to the public every seven years.
At his death, Charlemagne left a vast unified, powerful, and well-developed empire. Under his leadership, France had truly lived up to its role as Eldest Daughter of the Church. Many believed that through Charlemagne, the Western world would reunite for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire. However, upon his death, his empire was divided amongst his three sons. After civil wars and feuds, the vast empire of Charles the Great split into several feudal states.
With the death of Charlemagne, the knightly ideal did not die and neither did the support of the Church. The coronation of Charlemagne was the start of a 1,000-year period of prosperity and growth for the Holy Church – up until the French Revolution.
The Need for True Catholic Rulers
Charlemagne, the Father of Europe, had fought paganism, defended the rights of the Sovereign Pontiff, upheld orthodox doctrine, spread education, helped true civilization flourish, and embodied chivalry. May all men embody the virtue and chivalry of Charlemagne. And may our rulers in this era follow his example and understand that even leaders of democracies can – and must – lead as true Catholics. To that end, the life of Garcia Moreno is a prime example.
ENDNOTES:
[1] Wilson, Derek, Charlemagne (New York: Doubleday, 2006), p. 128.
[2] Aachen is a principal city of Westphalia, a region of modern northwestern Germany. It sat in territory controlled by the Franks since the 5th Century. Charlemagne made it the seat of his governance.
[3] Pope St. Damasus (366-384) had originally approved the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed issued by the First Council of Constantinople (381 A.D.). However, this was a time of great theological controversies and rampant heresies. Loud voices of dissent attacked both the Councils of Constantinople I and Ephesus I (431 A.D.). Some went so far as to hold their own false council, Ephesus II (449 A.D.); known to history as the “Robber Synod.” These controversies were definitively laid to rest by Pope St. Leo the Great and the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.), which rejected Ephesus II as a false council and affirmed the ecumenical status of Constantinople I and Ephesus I. At Chalcedon, the Council Fathers used the power of infallibility to confirm both the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and the Symbol of Chalcedon (or Tome of Leo).
[4] Otten, Joseph, “Charlemagne and Church Music,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 3 (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908).
[5] Roland was the leader of the twelve legendary knights, who were the foremost members of Charlemagne’s court in the 8th Century.
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