Chapter 19 “To Rule the Christian People”: Charlemagne. This chapter offers a good overview of Charlemagne’s reign and the various reforms in Christianity, education, and language he implemented, also the reasons for them. Peter Brown also raises the question of whether these sets of changes instigated by Charlemagne were merely reforms or a Carolingian Renaissance as some scholars argue. In which he argues they were reforms.
Thursday, 4 September 2008
The Rise of Western Christendom (2nd Edition). Peter Brown
How reliable is Bede’s Ecclisiastical History of the English People?
It is often regarded as a highly detailed source, reffered to even as our most informative account of the times, but it is worth remembering that nearly all of Bede’s information was from other sources as well. It is noted that he never travelled, and barely left his monasteries, so how much trust should we place in a source made up solely of handed down information, no doubt also containing its own bias.
Was Bede’s efforts to convert the people of England only successful after his death?
With his death came the greater spreading of his work. Was it only after his death that he was successful in his aims?
Reasons for English people to want to convert
I read that many of the English people wanted to convert to Christianity and had actually sought missionaries from the Franks before Augustine and his missionaries came. However, apart from this, a lot of the sources are from the perspective of the Church. Are there any particular reasons as to why the English chose to convert at this time? Had there not been missionaries from Ireland previously?
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