THE HISTORY OF EUROPE & THE CHURCH Part Five THE FIRST REICH - Keith W Stump - November-December 1983

Keith W Stump

For three decades the illustrious Charlemagne has lain in his grave at Aachen. The great Emperor had revived the tradition of the Roman Caesars, and shown Europeans the ideal of a unified Christian Empire in the West. But Charlemagne's New Europe is not destined to endure. His descendants have little of his genius. Charlemagne's quarrelsome grandsons finally settle their differences by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The treaty partitions Charlemagne's Empire, foreshadowing the modern geography of Western Europe. In its wake, a French realm and a German realm will slowly begin to crystallize. But for the moment, the domains of the once-great Carolingian Empire further disintegrate into warring principalities and kingdoms. The once-unified Empire falls into chaos. The political unity forged by Charlemagne goes completely to pieces. Europe is a shambles. - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library