What was Charlemagne famous for?

Answer 1

Charlemagne extended the borders of the Kingdom of the Franks to the east and south, gaining great tracts of territory. So doing, he turned the Kingdom of the Franks into a great empire, which became ancestral to both France and the Holy Roman Empire. He also promoted literacy and education, was a defender of the Church, and protected the Pope. He reformed the economy of Western Europe by introducing new standards for coinage and seeing to it that they were strictly maintained. His reign was a decisive turning point in the Early Middle Ages.

Charlemagne's work long outlasted his life and continues to have effects in modern Europe. The Carolingian Renaissance included a real advance in the arts and education that continued through the Middle Ages. Some of the schools Charlemagne founded are still teaching students. His time was regarded in later times as a cultural high point that served as a model. It is hard to imagine that it had no effect on Alfred the Great and his policies, some of which seem almost copies of Charlemagne's work. Certainly, the continuation of the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire, which became modern France and Germany, are owed to him.