Famous Men of the Middle Ages · Ch. IX, part 2 · Unit 4: The age of Charlemagne
15. Charlemagne, part 2: Schools, an elephant and a clock
Goal: Your child can tell what Charlemagne did for learning, describe Harun's gifts, and explain how a water-clock and an hour-glass told time.
You'll need
- The book, open to this chapter
- Paper and colored pencils
- Your timeline strip (see the tips at the top)
- For the extra: a clear jar, a paper cup, a pushpin, water and a marker
What's in the book
Chapter IX, section II: Charlemagne makes good laws, appoints judges and starts schools, with the Englishman Alcuin teaching in his palace school. Few people, even kings, could read. Harun-al-Rashid of Bagdad sends him an elephant and a clock that struck the hours. The book explains water-clocks and hour-glasses. Charlemagne dies in 814 and is buried seated on a chair in his church at Aachen; his empire is divided among his three grandsons.
The lesson, step by step
Set the scene
Ask your child to remind you of three things from last time: the Saxons, Roland, and Christmas Day 800.
Read the chapter
Read section II to the end of the chapter. It begins:
Charlemagne was a great king in many other ways besides the fighting of battles.
Tell it back
Prompts:
- Who was Alcuin?
- Why did most kings of that time not send their children to school?
- What two presents came from Bagdad?
- How was Charlemagne buried?
Talk it over
Ask:
- Charlemagne thought learning mattered even for a warrior king. Why?
- The book says the German name Karl der Grosse would really be a better name for him. Why does it say that?
Make a water-clock (optional)
Poke one small hole in the bottom of a paper cup with a pushpin (an adult can do this part). Hold the cup over a clear jar and fill it with water. Every minute, mark the water level on the jar with a marker.
SayThat is how a water-clock works. The book says a float rose with the water and pointed to the hours.
Remember it
Add to the timeline: "814 Charlemagne dies. His empire is split among three grandsons."
Afterwards
Ask your child to name the two men whose stories come together in this chapter (Charlemagne and Harun-al-Rashid). Harun's own story is next.
Tip
If you have an egg-timer or sand timer, show it; the book compares the hour-glass to the little egg-timers of 1904.
Answers to the book's problems
Alcuin was a learned Englishman who taught in Charlemagne's palace school. Most kings thought reading and writing were of little use and that boys should learn to be soldiers. Harun sent an elephant and a clock that struck the hours. He was seated on a grand chair in royal robes, with a crown, a sword and a Bible. Charlemagne was a German who spoke German; Charlemagne is the French form of his name.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.