Jeffrey Alexander Martin

In this article we'll see the differences and similarities between medieval and modern concerns in education from Charlemagne and King Alfred, to Leo Tolstoy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Hannah Arendt. 'Admonitio Generalis' by Charlemagne 789 AD Charles the Great, King of the Franks, was the first ruler to conquer and unite much of Europe as the Carolingian Empire after the fall of the Roman Empire 300 years earlier. He worked on sorting out problems in the church, including dealing with education. The 'Admonitio Generalis' reforms helped spur the first medieval renaissance, called the Carolingian Renaissance. It consists of 82 chapters. Many of the chapters are only one sentence each, and deal with what priests can and cannot do. Chapters 71 through 74 are about education: "Capitulum 71 That bishops and abbots carefully correct the canonical and catholic books, and that the priests read and understand them and preach according to their meaning. Capitulum 72 Let s...