Caitlyn Veiga

997627732

Inst. Jessica Wolfe

March 13, 2012

Growth of Literacy as Influenced by Charlemagne in the Carolingian Period

The emergence of the Carolingian era, fronted by Charlemagne, pushed European society forward in terms of the availability of literature and education in literacy, resulting in a societal renaissance. This was made possible through the societal reforms implemented by Carolingian rulers, namely Charlemagne. In the late eighth Century to the ninth Century, the Carolingians took over Rome, creating themselves as the dominant power in Europe (McKitterick 71). Charlemagne, leader of this empire, accompanied by the monk Alcuin, worked together to create mass literary and scholarly activity through educational reforms and manifestos.

Charlemagne’s own personal interest and goal for understanding biblical scripture was the catalyst for his educational proposals for the empire (Jong 113). The two most influential reforms were drafted forward and titled: De Litteris Colendis and Admonitio Generalis (Butt 129). Charlemagne’s intentions of his reforms are plainly stated in his words of the manifesto:“The bishopries and monasteries…ought to be zealous in teaching those who by gift of God are able to learn…to study earnestly in order that you may be able more easily and more correctly to penetrate the mysteries of the divine scripture” (Munro 12-13). The main goal of De Litteris Colendis was to simply educate those who have the ability to be educated in order to reduce error in understanding and explaining literature, and in turn produce a better society due to the education of the people. The second reform, Admonitio Generalis, was similar to the first in terms of Charlemagne’s want to educate, but it is the target audience and structure of this education which differs. This specific reform targeted children, more specifically young boys to be educated, teaching boys to read and write so they can help spread the Christian faith (Frasetto 1). Through the education of the younger generation, Charlemagne could hope that these future men would pass literacy onto others through the teaching of holy scripture because through this education they themselves were finally in understanding.

The main component of Charlemagne’s plan was dependant on the cooperation of monasteries and monks in order for the reforms to succeed. The monks were the key in Charlemagne’s reform: they were to be the educators, the school teachers, and the leaders in knowledge during this intellectual time. This was made possible by Charlemagne striving to unite monasticism and the state as one, through the widespread application of the Rule of St. Benedict (Burton 11). The basis of St. Benedict’s Rule was to alter the daily life of a monk by changing the level of ascetic characteristics previously imposed by monasticism historically, monastic living was now made more accessible and modern for the sixth century monk in medieval society (Meisal 11). Monks could now have a presence in society as the educators of literacy, but also engage in the core concepts of monasticism.

Improvement in literary production, influenced by Charlemagne, allowed for the accessibility  of literacy. The role of a specific monk, Alcuin, in Charlemagne’s reforms impacted the success of intellectual growth during the Carolingian period by working through the main text of the time period: the Bible (Boynton et Reilly 164). Alcuin provided a revised copy of the Latin Bible in order to replace inaccurate or bad copies which were circulating around the empire at the time (Jolly 239). The emergence of this standardized Bible across Europe had an instant effect on the lives of everyday people, making literature accessible and affordable. It was also the implementation of “caroline miniscule” as the standard script which influenced the spread of the biblical text. As Chazelle and Edwards illustrate, “This encouraged the export of biblical text from major scriptoria to churches and monasteries without the means to make copies for themselves” (Chazelle, Edwards, 4). The literal word of God, the Bible, was now easily accessible and encouraged by the state as a means for literacy.

In the late Eighth Century to the Ninth Century, Charlemagne reformed European society through his implementation of reforms pertaining to education and literacy, allowing for the accessibility of literature for all classes in medieval Europe.

Works Cited

Benedict, Anthony C. Meisel, and Mastro M. L. Del. The Rule of St. Benedict. Garden City, NY: Image, 1975. Print.