7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7Charlemagne was mindful of the obligation of a
Frankish ruler to maintain the unity of his realm. This bur-
den was complicated by the ethnic, linguistic, and legal
divisions between the populations under Frankish domi-
nation. For assistance in asserting his power to command,
Charlemagne relied on his palatium—a shifting assem-
blage of family members, trusted lay and ecclesiastical
companions, and assorted hangers-on—which constituted
an itinerant court following the king as he carried out his
military campaigns.
To exercise his authority locally, Charlemagne con-
tinued to rely on royal officials known as counts, who
represented royal authority in territorial entities called
counties. Their functions included administering justice,
raising troops, collecting taxes, and keeping peace. Bishops
also continued to play an important role in local govern-
ment. He integrated the central and the local administration
by regularizing and expanding the use of missi dominici.
These royal agents were charged with making regular cir-
cuits through specifically defined territories to announce
the king’s will, to gather information on the performance
of local officials, and to correct abuses.
The record of Charlemagne’s reign indicates his aware-
ness of new developments affecting economic and social
conditions. Evidence suggests that he was concerned with
improving agricultural production, establishing a mone-
tary system better attuned to actual exchange operations,
standardizing weights and measures, expanding trading
ventures into areas around the North Sea and Baltic Sea,
and protecting merchants from excessive tolls and rob-
bery. Royal legislation sought to protect the weak against
exploitation and injustice. The king helped to clarify the
incipient lord-vassal system and utilized that form of social
contract to promote order and stability.