# @itsaihistory on Instagram - **Type:** Video - **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DQVuHLbjUu4 - **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/61744797-itsaihistory-instagram - **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/8fccc7b1fa.jpg - **Posted:** 2025-10-28T04:27:28.000+00:00 - **Account Owner:** Parker Gordon (@itsaihistory) — https://gondola.cc/itsaihistory ## Caption 🏰 Part II: Charlemagne and the Saxon Campaigns | c. AD 780 Language notes (spoken lines): •Church Latin: Trans flumen Veseram pugnabimus. → “We will fight across the River Weser.” •Old Frankish: Wi welōn faran ofer thesan flod. → “We will go across this river.” •Church Latin (monk): De hoste Saxonum cavendum est. → “We must beware the Saxon enemy.” Why two languages? Latin was the court and clergy’s official tongue. Old Frankish was daily speech for commanders. Einhard says Charlemagne spoke Latin well for formal use but preferred Frankish with his men. Where does this scene take place? At Aachen (modern-day Germany), the royal court and capital of the Frankish Empire, Charlemagne planned an advance across the River Weser (a major river in northern Germany) into Saxony. Who were the Saxons? Pagan Germanic tribes in northern Germany between the Weser and Elbe (roughly today’s Lower Saxony, Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein). Why did Charlemagne fight them?
They raided Frankish frontiers and rejected Christianity. Charlemagne sought political control and religious unity. Were these efforts considered wars?
Yes. The Saxon Wars ran from AD 772 to 804 with campaigns, uprisings, and reprisals. How did the Franks enter Saxony?
They moved east from the Rhineland, crossed the Weser and Elbe, destroyed pagan sites like the Irminsul, built forts and churches, and installed missionary bishops and counts. Was resistance strong? Yes. Rebellions centered on Widukind (a leading Saxon noble/duke and resistance figure) until his surrender and baptism in 785. How many were killed? Thousands over decades. At Verden in AD 782 about 4,500 prisoners were reportedly executed. Figures are debated. Was conversion successful? Ultimately yes, through coercion and administration. Saxony entered the Carolingian realm and became officially Christian, with some customs lingering. #itsaihistory #history #europe #germany #france #languages #charlemagne #europeanhistory ## Stats - **Views:** 41,590 - **Likes:** 1,460 - **Shares:** 0 - **Comments:** 33 ## Tags france, europe, languages, history, europeanhistory, charlemagne, itsaihistory, germany --- Copyright (c) Gondola