Should we celebrate Charles Martel as the saviour of European civilisation?

Question:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Mar...

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He did stop the agressive action of the Muslim armies and as such did 'save' Europe - may be a Europe wide public holiday would be good?

I think the French would go for that idea!

In all honestly, the caliphates invading France had (through contact with the Eastern Roman Empire) been Romanized, and were probably more civilized than Charles Martel's Franks considering that Martel himself was not even literate!

Part of me thinks we should. If it wasn't for Charles "The Hammer", Western Europe may have been overrun by the Moors, although he shouldn't get full credit for preventing the Muslim expansion. The Spaniards should also receive their due, as they helped keep the Caliphate of Cordoba in check, and prevented its further northern expansion in the long term.

It would be nice, but I'm sure CAIR or some such bunch of jerks would sue.

Charles Martel only stopped the Muslim expansion in Poitiers, Muslim armies however kept on invading and occupying Northern France and were close to Paris. They occupied the Southern part of today France for about 1 century, and came back later and occupied parts of the region of Provence.

As for Spaniards, besides in the Asturies they didn't succeed in stopping their advance, virtually all of today Spain was under Muslim rule, and the whole territory of today Portugal as well. North-African troops conquered Wisigothic Spain and Portugal in a very quick period of less than 1 decade and it took centuries (almost 800 years in Andalusia) to expell them.

Yes, absolutely. Charles Martel held back the islamis hordes and saved Western Europe from Muslim rule. We should all be grateful to him.

He undoubtedly saved France, but not most of Spain and Portugal and North Africa where Roman European civilisation was annihilated. What muslims couldnt achieve by force they seem to be accomplishing by uncontrolled immigration in Europe.

Sure, he saved Europe, and delayed it's departure from the Dark Ages by about 230 years.

The Islamic "hordes" had better mathematics, judicial systems, medical knowledge, engineering skill, metallurgical skill...you name it.

I don’t think so!
At that time Europe was in its dark age. The kingdom moors had established in Spain became the most sophisticated & civilized in Europe. The Jewish culture lived its golden age in Muslim Spain.

The bottom line is the Moorish contribution to western civilization is very significant. You may say that Charles Martel SAVED CHRISTIANITY AS THE DOMINANT RELIGION.