8th century
Charlemagne resurrects Rome. Islam creates universities
What happened — and why
The coronation of Charlemagne (800)
On Christmas night, Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne in St. Peter's Basilica. The Western Roman Empire is resurrected - 324 years after its fall.
The philosophical cause
Charlemagne — The West needed legitimate authority. The Pope needed military protection. The alliance served both.
After Charlemagne's death the empire will be divided. Three parts - the prototypes of France, Germany, and the lands between. The map of Europe took shape then.
The Carolingian Renaissance
The finest scholars of the age gather at Charlemagne's court. Ancient manuscripts are copied. Without this effort, a large part of the Latin classics would have been lost.
The philosophical cause
Charlemagne learned to read himself - at the age of 40. He understood: without literacy there is no governance, without texts there is no memory.
The monastic libraries of the Carolingian age are the foundation of medieval education. The Scholasticism of the 12th and 13th centuries grew out of these texts.
