Western civilization and western culture - Essay Example

Western Civilization and Western Culture have many examples of fascinating masterpieces,and these masterpieces were created by famous and significant people or were made under their rule.It is possible to compose a list of 100 Most Important or Most Interesting Individuals in Western Culture The aim of this paper is to underline great significance and importance of this person and his actions for Western Civilization and Western Culture and explain why Charlemagne should be included in the list of 100 Most Important or Most Interesting Individuals in Western Culture.

Charlemagne became an Emperor of the Romans in A.D.800, but before his coronation as an emperor he had created a vast empire in the West, and the territory of his empire included the Western part of the old Roman Empire and some new territories. Under Charlemagne's rule Western Europe made a transition from antique Hellenistic and Roman culture to medieval culture. His rule united three main types of culture and life pattern of that time: "His reign was based on harmony which developed between three elements: the Roman past, the Germanic way of life, and Christianity.

Charlemagne devoted his entire reign to blending these three elements into one kingdom (Kreis, 2000)". So, his rule was based on interaction of three main cultures of his time, and this interaction became one of numerous merits of Charles the Great. He created a strong cultural fundament of his Empire, and this fundament resulted in such important cultural phenomenon of medieval history as Carolingian Renaissance which began in Charlemagne's epoch. One of the most tremendous cultural achievements of Charlemagne was literacy and knowledge revival in Frankish state.

In that time there were a few people who could read, even among monks who were concerned the most literary men in the Empire. There were no official standards of writing, and there were many different errors in books of that time. For changing the situation Charlemagne invited Alcuin who was one of the most educated persons in Europe. Under Charlemagne's rule Alcuin founded the basics of education system in Frankish Empire which became widely spread in Europe for centuries: "Here we find the origins of the seven liberal arts: the trivium comprised grammar (how to write), rhetoric (how to speak) and logic (how to think) while the quadrivium was made up of the mathematical arts, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and music (Kreis, 2000)".

Under Alcuin's leadership Palace School in Aachen (the capital of Frankish Empire) was founded. The Palace School developed interest for philosophy, literature and other spheres of education. In addition to that in Charlemagne time Latin language became the status of official language of the Church - this unification played a great role in medieval history. The writing style was improved, and now it became easier for people to read religious texts. Clergymen were the most educated people in that time, so churches became centers of education and culture.

Education became more accessible for many people. In his adulthood Charlemagne learnt to read Latin and Greek and encouraged education. So, Charlemagne contributed much in culture and education of Frankish Empire and medieval world in general. Charlemagne also contributed much in Western Catholic Church rites. Under his rule liturgical rite and music were greatly reformed: "Using the liturgical rite of St. Gregory the Great and the chant form of the Church of Rome as the basis, Charlemagne undertook to create a liturgical and musical standard for his recently founded Holy Roman Empire (Western Catholic Liturgics)".

This reform led to unification and standardization of Catholic rites and made Charlemagne one of the leading Christian emperors in medieval history. As was mentioned above, Charlemagne unified Latin as the official language of Catholic Church; he restored Holy Roman Empir