Despite his preoccupation with military matters, Charlemagne was also highly interested in education and set about to foster scholarship throughout his empire. Thus in the 780s he ushered in a period sometimes referred to as the "Carolingian Renaissance" (RIN-uh-sahnts), the latter term referring to a rebirth of learning.
Charlemagne achieved this renaissance by inviting to France scholars from various parts of Western Europe, most notably Alcuin (AL-kwin; c. 735-804; see English Scholars, Thinkers, and Writers entry) from England. Alcuin called for a return to the study of Latin, and to standards of education
That had prevailed under the Greek and Roman civilizations. He directed a school at Charlemagne's palace, a training ground for young men who would later work in the government. Another important scholar in Carolingian France was Charlemagne's secretary, Einhard (c. 770-840), whose Life of Charlemagne is one of the principal sources of information about the king.
Before the invention of the printing press, books had to be copied by hand, and more than ninety percent of the works from ancient Rome that exist today owe their survival to Carolingian monks. The originals of such books have long since disappeared, and without the Carolingians, who copied them, no one would know of these writings. Furthermore, much of the lettering system used today—Roman script (best known through the Times Roman font on most computer printers), italics, even lowercase lettering—owes its existence to the monks of Carolingian France.
Architecture also flourished under Charlemagne. The emperor was so impressed by the Church of San Vitale at Ravenna in Italy, built after Justinian (see entry) conquered that country, that he was determined to have his own version. The result was the chapel at Aachen (AH-kin), a city in what is now western Germany that Charlemagne designated as his capital in 794. Charlemagne's architect, Odo of Metz, designed a highly distinctive building rather than an imitation, and the chapel served as a model for later styles of architecture in Western Europe.
World History
