ABSTRACT
Charlemagne created a Christian empire in western Europe that existed in various forms for more than 1,000 years. A defender of the papacy and a patron of learning, he helped lay the foundations for medieval European civilization. Having forged an empire across the greater part of western Europe (excluding Spain and Britain), Charlemagne was eager to have his realm recognized and legitimated by the Church. As a result Charlemagne was remembered by later medieval statesmen as a proponent of Christian statecraft and was even called a “second Constantine”. Charlemagne's most important legacy was the Carolingian Renaissance. Personally convinced that his empire was threatened by doctrinal ignorance and apostasy, Charlemagne promoted a revival of learning and copying in monasteries that was often supported by imperial law. Christendom thereafter became divided into the Orthodox church in the East and the Roman Catholic church in the West.
