Western Civilization Short Essay: Two Topics

1) Discuss the shift in power from the Merovingians to the Carolingians. Why did it occur, and how?

(2) What was the significance of the Papal-Frankish Alliance? What were two factors that helped make the alliance possible?

1.  The Merovingians were extremely incompetent in ruling the Kingdom of the Franks, lacking ambition and drive to accomplish anything. They fought constantly amongst themselves and could not be relied upon to be good leaders.There was an epidemic of brothers and cousins murdering each other in cold blood, chaos that ensued with the death of Clovis(their king).In the seventh century the Frankish army even committed the atrocity of sacrificing women and children to appease the spirits of battle. In addition, many of the Merovingian Dynasty rulers were incapable mental defectives and children!

The Carolingian Dynasty's members had the prominent office of "mayor of the palace". This position was a lot like prime minister, or executive over governmental affairs. The Carolingians were frustrated, because they were in essence doing almost all the King's work. He was only holding his title in theory, without any power. The Merovingian kings were only performing their ceremonial duties. Pepin, a member of the dynasty, eventually decided to appeal to a higher authority for assistance. This was because he couldn't directly claim the rights, without being accused of stealing them illegally. He went to Pope Stephen and inquired if the role of king might be handed over to him and to the Carolingians. His premise was that his peers were far more deserving of control of the kingdom.The pope was gracious in bestowing his blessing, and agreed to grant Pepin's request. 

The Frankish kingdom was then handed over to the Carolingian Dynasty, which brought peace and order to Europe. Pepin the Short was crowned king by Pope Stephen II in 751, which ushered in the monarchy of the Carolingians.

2. The Papal-Frankish alliance was a deal made between the papacy(the popes) and the kingdom of the Franks.The Franks were a note-worthy group of people, because they were the only Barbarian group who converted instantly to the Catholic faith. Other Barbarian groups became followers of the Arian religion, later changing to Catholicism.

 The popes were in dire need of protection from their enemies, The Lombards. The rulers of the Eastern Byzantine Empire couldn't be depended on for security any longer. The Byzantine emperors also made the popes lives miserable, by meddling in affairs of the church. In their desperation, the popes turned to the Western Frankish kingdom for help.The Franks agreed to do so, in exchange for the popes help in another matter. Pepin wanted to make the Carolingians the legitimate kings of the Kingdom of Franks. It was impossible for him to achieve this unless he procured the popes guidance. So, there was an exchange made between the Franks and the popes. Pepin was victorious in defeating the Lombards, winning over their territory which he gave to the papacy. This land would later be referred to as the "papal states". Pope Stephen was eager to give his permission, in order for Pepin to gain control of the Frankish empire. In this way, both parties lended a hand to the others, and were equally rewarded in their individual pursuits.