Answer both of these questions for yourself. Be honest.

I am most successful in history when…. I am least successful in history when….

Shamus will be our story teller for the afternoon.

As a direct descendent of Charlemagne and a dedicated historian he’s an expert in this field.

When the Romans fell apart there were lots of other people aroundGoths, Vandals, Saxons and FRANKS

The Franks became the leaders A man named Clovis was the first true

leader of the Franks. In 481 he became king at the age of 15!!

That old bugger was famous for two things:1)Controlling all of Gaul (modern France) and the Frankish tribes2)Converting to Roman Catholicism (the religion of the Gauls)

How did this help him in the long run?

Things are good until the giant Muslim empire shows up in Spain.

What do you think happened?

At the Battle of Tours the Christians defeat the Muslims.

This is a sign to the Christians that God favors them more.

The hero is a guy named Charles Martel.

Charles’ grandson was a lad named Charles.

Because he was such a great leader they called him Charles the Great or Charlemagne

He became king in 768.

This laddie ruled for 46 years! He was a German, yet the pope

crowned him King of the Romans. Spread Christianity by converting

people. Revived education; created a palace

school at Aachen. Controlled all of France, Germany and

most of Italy!!!

When Charles dies his son, Louis I, takes over.

Unfortunately for Louis lots of people began to invade the area.

Who might these invaders be? Where might they come from?

In about 900 the Magyars (from Hungary) attacked. After ~50yrs they left.

Viking raiders came from the North. They were farmers, but expert sailors.

First THINK!!!On a ½ sheet of paper brainstorm and write

about this question for 5 minutes:

Can we consider the Holy Roman Empire (the lands that Charlemagne controlled) to be an actual empire?

Find one person you don’t normally talk to and discuss your answer with your partner for 5 minutes. Change your answer if you want.

Share with the class!!

Why is feudalism good for some people, yet bad for others?

How important is religion to the average American?