The Daily Dose provides microlearning history documentaries like this one delivered to your inbox daily: [ Ссылка ]

We strive for accuracy and unbiased fairness, but if you spot something that doesn’t look right please submit a correction suggestion here: [ Ссылка ]

Learn more: [ Ссылка ]
Subscribe for daily emails: [ Ссылка ]
Become a Patron: [ Ссылка ]

Follow us on social media:
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Click to subscribe on YouTube: [ Ссылка ]

#documentary #history #biography

Today's Daily Dose short biography film covers the reign of Charlemagne, who many historians consider the Father of Europe. The filmmaker has included the original voice over script to further assist your understanding:

Today on The Daily Dose, Charlemagne.

Known by some as the “Father of Europe,” Charlemagne or Charles the Great was born at an unknown location in Western Europe, and after his kingly father and brother passed away in 768 and 771 respectively, Charlemagne became the sole ruler of the Franks, using his military prowess over almost three decades of war to unite all the Germanic peoples into a solitary Christian kingdom. Some of his toughest opposition came from the pagan Saxons, giving Charlemagne a reputation for ruthlessness when he ordered the slaughter of some 4,500 Saxons at the Massacre of Verden in 782. His efforts, while brutal, eventually saw the conversion of pagan Saxony to Christianity, after his repeated threats of execution to any Saxon who refused the rite of baptism.

Despite his zealous defense of Christianity, Charlemagne had multiple wives and mistresses, fathering as many as 18 children in his 72-year life, at the same time forbidding his many daughters from marrying before his death. After Pope Leo the 3rd crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Holy Roman Empire on Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne proved to be a skilled diplomat and an astute administrator, encouraging education, scholarship and culture, as well as instituting economic and religious reforms that ushered in an period in Western Europe now known as the Carolingian Renaissance. He was also instrumental in developing the Carolingian minuscule, which was a standardized form of writing that comprised the foundational elements of modern European alphabets.

Known as a highly energetic and athletic man, Charlemagne enjoyed hunting, horseback riding and swimming, until his health began to fail during the final four years of his life. Ignoring the counsel of his doctors, due to their advice that he give up his deeply cherished roasted meats, Charlemagne crowned his son Louis the Pious King of Aquitaine, co-ruling with his son until Charlemagne’s death in 814, ending a four-decade reign that saw much of Western Europe consolidate into a single empire. His unfailing push for unification of Europe served as a source of inspiration for several notorious, land-grabbing dictators to come, including Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler, while writers over the years have elevated Charlemagne to one of the most mythical and legendary kings of feudal Europe.

And there you have it, Charlemagne, today on The Daily Dose.

свернуть