What were five accomplishments of Charlemagne?

Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, was the King of the Franks and is called the "father of Europe" by many historians. Here I will discuss some of his accomplishments.

First, I'd like to talk about his greatest impact on European history by founding the Carolingian Empire. Charlemagne united much of Western Europe under one Empire through conquest. Charlemagne came to rule territory in the modern-day countries of Italy, Germany, and Spain, among others. Prior to his conquest, rule in these areas was primarily held by local kings who warred with each other often. 

Directly related to his expanded Carolingian Empire was the re-unification of the secular and religious powers in society. Though Charlemagne had already acquired much of Western Europe, he was not coronated by the Pope until the year 800. This partnership between the Catholic church and the Emperor Charlemagne created the Holy Roman Empire, where the secular and religious powers served to back each other up in their authority.

Third, Charlemagne is known to have had a high regard for education, and initiated a number of education reforms which inspired the Carolingian Renaissance. Charlemagne was quite studious and encouraged his students and court-members to also study rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, and astronomy. Unfortunately, he was not very good with reading or writing, but many of the scholars he supported created and preserved beautiful Latin manuscripts.

Fourth, one of the results of the Carolingian Renaissance which still impacts us today was the creation of the Caroline Miniscule script. The purpose of this style of writing and printing was to implement a common script to be used throughout the Empire. Before the use of the Caroline script, texts (primarily religious) varied greatly in language and script dependent upon where they were produced. With the implementation of the Caroline miniscule, the very same text could be read by anyone throughout the Empire.

With the fifth and last accomplishment I will detail, I do not intend to lend any anti-Islamic sentiment to my answer. Charlemagne was responsible for the Frankish conquest of some territory which is in modern-day Spain. Prior to his efforts, Moorish Spain had been part of the Muslim Umayyad Empire for many centuries. Charlemagne and his Frankish forces successfully recaptured Hispania as territory of the Frankish-Carolingian Empire. Again, I do not mean to imply any Islamophobic sentiment, only that Charlemagne succeeded in capturing a territory which had resisted re-integration to (what we now know as) Europe for some time.

Charlemagne—who sometimes is also known as Charles I or Charles the Great—ruled a large part of Western Europe from 768 to 814. During the course of his reign, he introduced or expanded on several ideas for which he is remembered today. Some of these include:

• The establishment of missi dominici (envoy of the lord). This included the creation of an oversight system that allowed him to assign administrators to far lands, yet continue to supervise them. He did so by assigning representatives to inspect and supervise assigned districts. These representatives had wide powers to implement Charlemagne's wishes.

• An educated clergy. Charlemagne believed that those called to the service of God needed to be educated in order to teach others. He founded monastery schools for this purpose.

• Promotion of intellectual thinking. His court at Aachen is widely considered as an intellectual hub. The palace school allowed children of all classes to attend and learn. Classical literature was especially promoted within the school.

What are Charlemagne's achievements?

To add a couple of details to an already very thorough answer, Charlemagne was also called "The Horse Prince," and some historians even attribute to him the invention of the stirrup, a winning factor in calvary combat.

Although he himself did not learn to read until later in life, Charlemagne assured the first steps towards compulsory education. There is even a children's song in French to this effect -  "Sacré Charlemagne!":

Qui a eu cette idée folle            Who had this wild idea
Un jour d'inventer l'école           One day to invent school
C'est ce sacré Charlemagne        It's crazy Charlemagne 
Sacré Charlemagne                   Crazy Charlemagne
De nous laisser dans la vie         To make us work with just
Que les dimanches, les jeudis      Weekends off -that's all!

C'est ce sacré Charlemagne        It's crazy Charlemagne

Sacré Charlemagne                   Crazy Charlemagne

Ce fils de Pépin le Bref              This son of Pepin the Short
Nous donne beaucoup d'ennuis   Has caused us lots of toil -
Et nous avons cent griefs          For which we can complain
Contre, contre, contre lui          One hundred fold and more

Qui a eu cette idée folle             Who had this wild idea
Un jour d'inventer l'école            One day to invent school
C'est ce sacré Charlemagne        It's crazy Charlemagne
Sacré Charlemagne                   Crazy Charlemagne

Il aurait dû caresser                  I'd rather he had spent
Longtemps sa barbe fleurie         Time at the barber's,
Oh Oh sacré Charlemagne          Trimming his beard just so -

Sacré Charlemagne                   Crazy Charlemagne,            

Au lieu de nous ennuyer             Not boring us to tears with
Avec la géographie                    Instruction in geography -
Oh Oh sacré Charlemagne           Oh,that crazy Charlemagne
Sacré Charlemagne                    Crazy Charlemagne

Il n'avait qu'à s'occuper              If only he'd kept busy with
De batailles et de chasse            His battles and his hunts
Nous n'serions pas obligés           We'd not have to go
D'aller chaque jour en classe        Forevermore to school

Il faut apprendre à compter         Between learning to count
Et faire des tas de dictées          And a heap of dicatation
Oh Oh sacré Charlemagne           It's just frustration -
Sacré Charlemagne                    Crazy, crazy Charlemagne

Car sans lui dans notre vie          Imagine life without him -
Y n'y aurait que des jeudis          So free! Why'd every day'd
Oh Oh sacré Charlemagne           Be Saturday! Oh, crazy
Oh Oh sacré Charlemagne           Charlemagne, oh, crazy
Oh Oh sacré Charlemagne...        Charlemagne...

The most obvious, of course, is that Charlemagne was the first of the Holy Roman Emperors, crowned in the year 800 by Pope Leo III.  That title was not used at the time, but the title was Emperor of the Romans.  His empire consisted of what is today France, Switzerland, much of the Low Countries and the western and much of the central parts of Germany.  The Western Frankish Kingdom (France) later split off, and the Empire extended through Northern and Eastern Europe, but that was later.  In common with many medieval commanders he was not a truly great general, but he was tireless, tenacious and a great planner.  His strength of personality gained him the loyalty of competent allies and secretaries.  He commanded about 50 military campaigns in his lifetime.

When crowned emperor he was already King of the Franks, as son of Peppin the Short and Bertrada, Countess of Laon.  He and his brother were co-rulers until his brother's death in 771.  He conquered the Lombards and then Benevento, achieving control of Italy, and then seized control of Saxony by 804.  He followed this by taking control of Bavaria and redistributing the land into "counties," each controlled by a count loyal to him.  This was the basis of the system of fuedal government in Europe, the holding of land by local authorities who owed allegience and aid in war to an overlord who in turn owed them loyalty and justice.  He kept a picked group of knight-warriors called the vassi dominici who helped him establish and maintain his authority, bringing order to the areas under his control.  He also used what were termed missi dominici, paired administrators, one clergy and one military, and his instructions to them became the basis of medieval European law.

Between 791 and 795 Charlemagne had also crushed the power of the Avar, or Huns, to the east and opened the Danube Plain to colonization by the Franks.  By 800 he controlled the majority of what had been the European possessions of the old Roman Empire.  Due to his political abilities and his military accomplishments, he extended his power over vast areas and at the same time brought prosperity and order with him.  His campaigns also stopped the expansion of Islamic military adventurism in Western Europe.  His influence in the Church brought needed reforms, and his patronage of culture and art were invaluable in the development of medieval European culture.  His decrees to his officials became the basis of law throughout what is today Western and Central Europe.  Not only did his efforts influence the legal and cultural basis of European culture, but his emphasis on an educated priesthood of competent administrators was influential in both church and secular government.  He founded schools, including at Aachen, his home, where he died in 814.  His descendants became the three families eligible for election to the post of Holy Roman Emperor up to modern times, the Wittelsbachs, Luxembourgs and Hapsburgs.

What were Charlemagne's achievements?

In terms of personal achievements, Charlemagne's greatest was his creation of an empire.  Through his military and political abilities, Charlemagne was able to conquer and hold an empire that was almost as big as the Roman Empire had been in the past.

In broader terms, Charlemagne's greatest accomplishment was the creation of a new European society.  By creating his empire (even though it did not last) Charlemagne broke down barriers within Europe and started to promote the idea that all of Europe was in some sense one civilization that was different from those of places like the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim lands.

What are three social achievements of Charlemagne?

Charlemagne was instrumental in helping Western Europe exit the Dark Ages, during which very few cultural or social advancements were realized.

One of Charlemagne's core social achievements was to allow all classes to participate in commerce. Charlemagne mandated that all of Europe should use the same silver currency. This led to an increase in trade and a boom in the economy.

Charlemagne also was instrumental in facilitating the spread of Christianity across Europe. In fact, he played such a large role in the spread of the Christian faith that Pope Leo III crowned him emperor of the Romans.

Charlemagne was a strong proponent of education as well. In addition to desiring to improve culture and literacy, he also desired to educate the clergy. In turn, the clergy was able to undertake many of the administrative tasks associated with government service as well.