HistoryTube
  • Blog
  • YouTube
    • Ancient America
    • Ancient China
    • Ancient Egypt
    • Ancient Rome
    • Holocaust
    • Tudors
    • World War I
    • World War II
    • History Meets English
    • History Meets Geography
    • History Meets Reality TV
    • History Meets Science
    • Royals
    • Time Team
    • YouTube Channels
    • Bettany Hughes
    • Tony Robinson
    • Lucy Worsley
  • About Me
    • Portfolio
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me

History Docs

Need a Documentary for a Class?  Check out my reviews!

The Germans: Charlemagne and the Saxons

6/4/2021

0 Comments

 
Hello again.  Today we move on from Rome and Pompeii and learn about Charlemagne and the empire he built.  This is a German-produced documentary in English about the history of the Germans.  Anyway, it is a fascinating documentary to show in a classroom setting.  In the 700’s, there were just Franks and Saxons, German was not even an idea.  The Germans kick off with the story of Charlemagne.

The Saxons were a pagan people and they went into the sacred woods for the gods to answer their questions.  They did this for centuries, until 772 when their world changed.  A young Frankish king invaded Saxony with a cohort of troops.  The Saxons are taken by surprise.  Their villages were destroyed by the Franks.

The Frankish king wants to expand his realm and wants to make the Saxons Christians.  After the attacks, the Saxon nobles vow to avenge the attacks.  Charles, the Frankish king wants to subjugate the Saxons and unite his empire under one religion.  The Franks tear down the idols of Saxons.  However, the Saxon resistance was not broken.  The Saxon nobility rallied the people to rebel against the Franks.

Charles, the Frankish King ruled the Frankish Empire.  He was from an old noble family and their center of power was Saint-Denis.  There was no real center of power in the Frankish Empire.  The Pope visited Saint-Denis when Charles was six.  The pope wanted security for Rome and the Franks wanted recognition for their empire.  At the end of the pope’s visit, the Franks and the Pope were in an alliance.

After Charlemagne conquered the Saxons, they were forced to bow to him in a ceremony.  They were to be subjects in Charlemagne’s realm.  It seems for the time being that Saxons were on his side.  Charlemagne moved on to Lombardy even though the Lombards were Christians.  He wanted to resurrect the Roman empire.  It was to be on empire, one faith, one ruler.  He became the King of the Franks and the Lombards.  Charlemagne was crowned with the crown of the Lombards, the Iron Crown.  However, even though was a conqueror, he developed a love of learning.  He gathered experts in his court to help reform education.  This led to the rebirth of the classical world.  He also unified the empire under one language and written script.

In the meantime, the Saxons were casting off their idols into the fire.  Charlemagne had passed a law that they had to be baptized or die.  There was one noble who rebelled against this law.  His name was Widukind and he led the rebellion of the Saxons.  He attacked Frankish villages.  It explodes in a dirty war between unequal.  Widukind escapes capture.  Charles took his revenge on the Saxons for their rebellion, slaughtering over 4,000 Saxon men.  He deported 1,000’s more to the Frankish empire.  It was brutal and even shocked Charlemagne's contemporaries.

The Saxon resistance was not broken by Charlemagne’s harsh revenge.  They fought for thirteen years.  Charlemagne’s advisors tried to reason with him.  They wanted to negotiate with the Saxons.  Charlemagne was reluctant to do so.  There was a suggestion of an honorable capitulation with Widukind but in exchange for backing down Widukind would have to be baptized.  Widukind rode into the Frankish homeland and was baptized.  This was the early history of an empire that would eventually become France and Germany.

To find out more continue to watch the documentary.  In the meantime, keep this documentary in your files to share with a class.  You can always use clips from this documentary in a lecture too.


You can access the documentary on YouTube here.
0 Comments

    Author

    I'm a librarian with an active imagination who likes to create.  Genealogist and Researcher.

    Like what you see?  Don't forget to smash the bookmark button!

    Blogs posted five days a week for the school year September-May and for summer blogs posted three days a week June-August!

    If you can, try to purchase these documentaries to support these historians!  If you can't purchase, subscribe to their channels or podcasts!

    Worksheets

    My Teachers Pay Teachers Store!  Worksheets available as a Word Document.

    Lulu Store

    I am also on Lulu!  If you're interested in genealogy I have several books available!

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020

    Categories

    All
    1065
    1066
    1900's Island
    Abandoned
    Abraham Lincoln
    Africa
    Alexandria
    Alex Langladas
    Alfred The Great
    Amazon River
    America
    Ancient Egypt
    Ancient Rome
    Ancient World
    Ancient Worlds
    Andes Mountains
    Angkor Wat
    Anne Boleyn
    Athens
    Australia
    Austria
    Bath
    Battleships
    Beatrix Potter
    Bernadette Banner
    Bettany Hughes
    Biographics
    Biographies
    Bismarck
    Britain
    Caitlin Doughty
    Caligula
    Cambodia
    Castles
    Central America
    Charlemagne
    China
    Christmas
    Cleopatra
    Cornwall
    Dam Busters
    Dame Patricia Routledge
    Dan Snow
    Denmark Strait
    Edwardian Farm
    Edwardian Home
    Edward The Confessor
    Egypt
    England
    Ethiopia
    Experimental History
    Exploration
    Farm
    Fashion History
    First Nations
    Flintstones
    France
    Franz Joseph
    French Revolution
    Full Steam Ahead
    Genealogy
    Genetics
    Geographics
    Geography
    Georgian Period
    Germans
    Germany
    Greece
    Greeks
    Gus Casely Hayford
    Gus Casely-Hayford
    Hastings
    Helen Castor
    Helen Of Troy
    Henry VIII
    Hidden Killers
    Highway
    History
    Holocaust
    Home
    Hood
    Ice Cream
    Immigration
    Irish Palace
    Jago Cooper
    Jane Austen
    Japan
    Joann Fletcher
    John Gater
    Judith Flanders
    Kathleen Martinez
    Kew Gardens
    King George III
    Knights Templars
    Korea
    Lady Jane Grey
    Leyte Gulf
    Lincoln Highway
    Lithuania
    Lost Kingdoms
    Lost Legions
    Lucy Worsley
    Lusitania
    Mammoths
    Marco Polo
    Marie Antoinette
    Mary Beard
    Mary Boleyn
    Maryland
    Medieval Period
    Meet The Romans
    Mick Aston
    Middle Ages
    Minoans
    Monarchy
    Musashi
    Napoleon
    Neil Oliver
    New Zealand
    Nicholas II
    Paul Mearns
    Pearl Harbor
    People Of The Clouds
    Peter Ginn
    Phil Harding
    Pompeii
    Portsmouth
    Prince Philip
    Prince Regent
    Prussia
    Pyramids
    Queen Elizabeth II
    Queen Luise
    Queens
    Railroads
    Reality TV
    Ronald Hutton
    Royal Fibs
    Royal Myths
    Royal Secrets
    Royalty
    Royal Women
    Russia
    Russian Revolution
    Ruth Goodman
    Salem
    Serbia
    Simon
    South America
    Spain
    Sparta
    Spy
    SS Atlantic
    STEAM
    STEM
    Stewart Ainsworth
    Stonehenge
    Stuart Peachy
    Suzannah Lipscomb
    Tales From The Green Valley
    The Family
    The Vikings
    Time Team
    Time Travels
    Time Walks
    Tirpitz
    Titanic
    Tom Pinford
    Tony Robinson
    Top 10
    Tracy Borman
    Trains
    Trojan War
    Tudor
    Tudor Monastery Farm
    Tudors
    Turn Back Time
    United-states
    USS Indianapolis
    Varus
    Victorian-bakers
    Victorian-bakers
    Victorian-farm
    Victorian-farm
    Victorian-home
    Victorian-pharmacy
    Vikings
    Warsaw Ghetto
    Wartime Farm
    White Palace
    White Star Line
    Who Do You Think You Are?
    Wilhelm Gustloff
    William The Conqueror
    Winston Churchill
    Witches
    Witch Hunting
    World War I
    World War II
    YouTube

    Privacy Policy

    HistoryDocTube will not collect any personal information and will not sell any personal information to a third party.  We will not request any personal information. 

    ​The purpose of this blog is to share information on what can be used in a classroom, private school, or home school setting as well as serve as a portfolio of my personal and professional work. 

    The reviews are my opinions and should be treated as such.  I just want to provide a tool for teachers to select documentaries for their classrooms.

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog
  • YouTube
    • Ancient America
    • Ancient China
    • Ancient Egypt
    • Ancient Rome
    • Holocaust
    • Tudors
    • World War I
    • World War II
    • History Meets English
    • History Meets Geography
    • History Meets Reality TV
    • History Meets Science
    • Royals
    • Time Team
    • YouTube Channels
    • Bettany Hughes
    • Tony Robinson
    • Lucy Worsley
  • About Me
    • Portfolio
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me