As noted above, Charlemagne's conquests increased cultural and intellectual contacts, leading to a revival in learning and scholarly works. In particular, Charlemagne emphasized studies in rhetoric, grammar, astronomy and arithmetic. He gathered scholars from all of Europe, sponsored the education of priests and the creation of libraries, and helped revive classical learning of the ancient Greeks and Romans. He also encouraged clerics to translate Christian creeds and prayers into their respective vernaculars [native languages] and to teach grammar and music. This program built off the work of earlier monks like Cassiodorus (d. 585 CE), who emphasized the liberal arts (grammar, rhetoric, philosophy, logic, arithmetic, and geometry) aided in discovering religious truth and interpreting the Bible. Cassiodorus in particular emphasized the need to interpret the Bible rather than just taking it literally, and understanding the liberal arts aided one's ability to interpret. 

Monks accomplished so much copying that almost every manuscript from that time was preserved. At the same time, at the urging of their kings, scholars were producing more secular books on many subjects, including history, poetry, art, music, law, theology, etc. Libraries flourished, mainly supported by aristocrats and churchmen who could afford to sustain them. Books were so in demand during Charlemagne's time that these libraries began loaning out some books. During the 9th century (800s), scholars at Charlemagne's palace at Aachen preserved what are today considered some of the earliest surviving copies of texts by writers and thinkers ranging from Cicero and Julius Caesar to the poet Horace.

Charlemagne wished to restore the Church as an intellectual force. He created a palace school and increased the number of monastic schools (monasteries typically oversaw education in the Middle Ages), which provided greater access to education and advanced training. His court played a key role in producing books that taught elementary Latin and different aspects of the church. It also played a part in creating a royal library that contained in-depth works on language and Christian faith. In order to develop centers of learning, Charlemagne invited scholars from across Europe. He was also adamant that his children and grandchildren be well educated.

In order to perform the massive undertaking of organizing and preserving texts, Charlemagne's scribes instituted a major reform of handwriting, returning to the Roman practice of large, clear letters separated from one another and sentences that used spaces and punctuation, rather than the cursive scrawl of the Merovingian period. This new handwriting, called Carolingian miniscule, introduced the division between upper and lower-case letters and the practice of starting sentences with capital letters, a practice still used today. Alcuin of York, who ran the palace school at Aachen, also helped create more uniform rules for grammar, punctuation, and spelling.