commoners as well, and issued a decree that they could not be turned away from studying, saying if any of the faithful wish to entrust their children to them to learn letters, that they [the priests] refuse not to accept them but with all charity teach them (Carolingian Schools 2).Much of what was done at Aachen was the work of Charlemagnes advisor, Alcuin. Alcuin studied at York, and represented the ideas found in that school of learning. Each of the decrees Charlemagne made was at the advice of Alcuin. It is said that the voice is the voice of Charles, but the hand is the hand of Alcuin (Alcuin 4). Alcuin was appalled that monks and scribes on one side of the empire were unable to read the hand of the monks and scribes on the far side of the kingdom. Alcuin proceeded to universalize the writing, creating what is known as the Carolingian miniscule (Snell 1). This handwriting became the basis of the lowercase alphabet used today in modern English. Alcuin encouraged scholars to translate and preserve ancient texts, to ensure that future scholars would have them available for study. He also created the curriculum that would be followed for years to come, requiring study of the seven liberal arts (Encyclopedia Dot Com 1). Because of the work done by Alcuin, There is a continuity from the Carolingians to the later Middle Ages that not even the disruptions of the tenth century could erase. (Knox 17).Much of what we know about Charlemagnes life comes from his biographer, Einhard. Einhard was placed in charge of Charlemagnes public buildings, and oversaw the building of the Aachen cathedral. Charlemagne sent Einhard abroad to deal diplomatically with foreign dignitaries, and considered Einhard a trusted advisor. Einhard was also enamored with the ancient Romans, and attempted to write his biography of Charlemagne in the manner of the ancient Roman historians. Einhard took his position very seriously and writes about it in the p...
