maximum test » Carolus 'Magnus' Rex Francorum & Imperator Romanorum (Carolus 'Magnus') "Charles the Great" Rex Francorum & Imperator Romanorum (742-814)

Personal data Carolus 'Magnus' Rex Francorum & Imperator Romanorum (Carolus 'Magnus') "Charles the Great" Rex Francorum & Imperator Romanorum 

• Nickname is Charles the Great.
• He was born on April 2, 742 in Unknown-Likely in present day Belgium or Duitsland.
• He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in King of, Franks, 768 Lombards 774.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in Cathedral Of Aachen, Duitsland.
• Alternative: He was christened in Cathedral Of Aachen, Duitsland.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in Cathedral Of Aachen, Duitsland.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in Cathedral of Aachen, Duitsland.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in King of, Franks, 768 Lombards 774.
• Alternative: He was christened in King of, Franks, 768 Lombards 774.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St. Denis, Isle De France, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St. Denis, Isle De France, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St. Denis, Paris, Seine, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, Paris, Seine, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in Cathedral Of Aachen, Duitsland.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, Paris, Seine, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in St Denis, Frankrig.
• Alternative: He was christened on April 2, 742 in St. Denis, France.
• Alternative: He was christened in the year 754 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France.
• Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church.
• Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church.
• Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on April 12, 1904.
• Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on April 12, 1904.
• Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on April 12, 1904 in Salt Lake City Utah Temple, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, Verenigde Staten.
• Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on April 12, 1904.
• Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on April 12, 1904 in Salt Lake City Utah Temple, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, Verenigde Staten.
• Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on March 30, 1926.
• Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on April 21, 1928.
• Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on April 21, 1928.
• Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on April 21, 1928 in Mesa Arizona Temple, Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona, Verenigde Staten.
• Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on April 21, 1928.
• Education:
• (Misc Event) .
• (Misc Event) on December 17, 693France.
• (Misc Event) in the year 768.
• (Misc Event) on October 9, 768.
• (Misc Event) in the year 769.
• (Misc Event) in the year 770.
• (Misc Event) in the year 771.
• (Misc Event) in the year 772.
• (Misc Event) from 773 till 774.
• (Misc Event) in the year 774Lombardy Italy.
• (Misc Event) in the year 775.
• (Misc Event) in the year 776.
• (Misc Event) in the year 776.
• (Misc Event) in the year 777.
• (Misc Event) in the year 778.
• (Misc Event) in the year 778.
• (Misc Event) on August 15, 778 in Roncevaux PassLuzaide/Valcarlos
  Navarre Spain.
• (Misc Event) in the year 780.
• (Misc Event) in the year 782.
• (Misc Event) from 783 till 785.
• (Misc Event) in the year 787.
• (Misc Event) in the year 788.
• (Misc Event) in the year 797.
• (Misc Event) in the year 800.
• (Misc Event) on December 25, 800.
• (Misc Event) on December 25, 800Rome
  Rome Italy.
• (Misc Event) on December 25, 800.
• (Misc Event) on December 25, 800 in Saint Peter's BasilicaRome
  Italy.
• He died on January 28, 814, he was 71 years oldAachen
  North Rhine-Westphalia Duitsland.
• He is buried on February 5, 814 in Royal Church of St. Mary (present Aachen Cathedral or Kaiserdom)Aachen
  Nordrhein-Westfalen Duitsland.
• A child of Pépin and Bertrada de Laon

Household of Carolus 'Magnus' Rex Francorum & Imperator Romanorum (Carolus 'Magnus') "Charles the Great" Rex Francorum & Imperator Romanorum

(1) He is married to Hildegard.

They got married on April 30, 771 at Aachen,Rhineland,Prussia, he was 29 years old.

Child(ren):

1. Louis I I  778-840 
2. Pépin Carloman rex Italiae rex Italiae  777-810 
3. Berta  ± 779-> 824 

(2) He is married to Regina.

They got married in the year 792 at Aachen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Duitsland, he was 49 years old.

Child(ren):

1. Hugh l'Abbé de Saint-Quentin; de Lobbes; de Saint-Bertin de Noaille l'Abbé de Saint-Quentin; de Lobbes; de Saint-Bertin, de Noaille  802-844 

Notes about Carolus 'Magnus' Rex Francorum & Imperator Romanorum (Carolus 'Magnus') "Charles the Great" Rex Francorum & Imperator Romanorum

From the book Caesar to Charlemagne by Robert LaTouche 1965:
Taken from Einhard, Life of the Emperor Karl the Great, trans. William Glaister, London, 1877.
"It was by desire of him mother that he took for his wife a daughter of Dedier, King of the Lombards; but at the end of a year he divorced her, for what reason is uncertain. He then married Hildegard, a Swabian lady of noble birth; by her he had three sons, Karl, Pippin, and Ludwig, and three daughters, Hruodrud, Berthrad, and Gisla. He had also three other daughters, Theoderada, and Hiltrud by his wife Fastrada, a German of the Eastern Franks, and Ruodhaid by a concubine whose name I do not remember. On the death of Fastrada he married Liudgard, of the Alemanni nation. She bore him no children. After her death he had four concubines." pages 65-66.

==========

Charlemagne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Charlemagne (disambiguation).
Charlemagne
Most Serene Augustus, Crowned by God, great and peaceful Emperor, governing the Roman Empire and, by the Mercy of God, king of the Lombards and the Franks

A coin of Charlemagne. Inscription: "KAROLVS IMP AVG".
Reign King of the Franks: 24 September 768 – 28 January 814;
King of the Lombards: 774 – 28 January 814;
Emperor: 25 December 800 – 28 January 814
Coronation King of the Franks: c. June 754, St Denis;
King of the Lombards: 774;
Holy Roman Emperor: 25 December 800, Rome
Titles Patrician of the Romans
Born c. 2 April 742 or 747
Died 28 January 814
Place of death Aachen, Duitsland
Buried Palatine Chapel in Aachen
Predecessor Pippin the Short
Heirs Apparent Charles the Younger, Pippin of Italy, Louis the Pious
Successor Louis the Pious
Consort Desiderata of Lombardy,
Hildegard,
Fastrada,
Luitgard
Issue Pippin the Hunchback (763-811),
Charles the Younger (772 or 773-811),
Carloman, renamed Pippin (773 or 777-810), King of Italy,
Rotrude (or Hruodrud) (777-810),
Louis the Pious (778-840), King of Aquitaine, later King and Emperor of the Franks,
Bertha (779-823)
Gisela (781-808)
Theodrada (b.784), abbess of Argenteuil
Royal House Carolingian Dynasty
Father Pippin the Short
Mother Bertrada of Laon

Charlemagne (pronounced /'??rl?me?n/; Latin: Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 as a rival of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Duitsland, and the Holy Roman Empire.

The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I. The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at Roncesvalles (778). He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty.

Today he is regarded not only as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but also as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity.[1] Pierre Riché reflects:
“ . . . he enjoyed an exceptional destiny, and by the length of his reign, by his conquests, legislation and legendary stature, he also profoundly marked the history of western Europe.[2] ”

[edit] Background

By the 6th century, the Franks were Christianised, and the Frankish Empire ruled by the Merovingians had become the most powerful of the kingdoms which succeeded the Western Roman Empire. But following the Battle of Tertry, the Merovingians declined into a state of powerlessness, for which they have been dubbed do-nothing kings (rois fainéants). Almost all government powers of any consequence were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace or major domus.

In 687, Pippin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry and became the sole governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pippin himself was the grandson of two most important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pippin of Landen. Pippin the Middle was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel (the Hammer). After 737, Charles governed the Franks without a king on the throne but desisted from calling himself "king". Charles was succeeded by his sons Carloman and Pippin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. To curb separatism in the periphery of the realm, the brothers placed on the throne Childeric III, who was to be the last Merovingian king.

After Carloman resigned his office, Pippin had Childeric III deposed with Pope Zachary's approval. In 751, Pippin was elected and anointed King of the Franks and in 754, Pope Stephen II again anointed him and his young sons, now heirs to the great realm which already covered most of western and central Europe. Thus was the Merovingian dynasty replaced by the Carolingian dynasty, named after Pippin's father Charles Martel.

Under the new dynasty, the Frankish kingdom spread to encompass an area including most of Western Europe. The division of that kingdom formed France and Duitsland;[3] and the religious, political, and artistic evolutions originating from a centrally-positioned Francia made a defining imprint on the whole of Western Europe.

[edit] Date and place of birth

Charlemagne is believed to have been born in 742; however, several factors have led to a reconsideration of this date. First, the year 742 was calculated from his age given at death, rather than from attestation in primary sources. Another date is given in the Annales Petarienses, April 1, 747. In that year, April 1 was at Easter. The birth of an emperor at eastertime is a coincidence likely to provoke comment, but there was no such comment documented in 747, leading some to suspect that the Easter birthday was a pious fiction concocted as a way of honoring the Emperor. Other commentators weighing the primary records have suggested that his birth was one year later, in 748. At present, it is impossible to be certain of the date of the birth of Charlemagne. The best guesses include April 1, 747, after April 15, 747, or April 1, 748, in Herstal (where his father was born, a city close to Liège in modern day Belgium), the region from where both the Merovingian and Carolingian families originate. He went to live in his father's villa in Jupille when he was around seven, which caused Jupille to be listed as a possible place of birth in almost every history book. Other cities have been suggested, including, Prüm, Düren, Gauting and Aachen.

[edit] Language

Charlemagne's native tongue is a matter of controversy. His mother speech was probably a Germanic dialect of the Franks of the time, but linguists differ on the identity and periodisation of the language, some going so far as to say that he did not speak Old Frankish as he was born in 742 or 747, by which time Old Frankish had become extinct. Old Frankish is reconstructed from its descendant, Old Low Franconian, also called Old Dutch, and from loanwords to Old French. Linguists know very little about Old Frankish, as it attested mainly as phrases and words in the law codes of the main Frankish tribes (especially those of the Salian and Ripuarian Franks), which are written in Latin interspersed with Germanic elements.[4]

The area of Charlemagne's birth does not make determination of his native language easier. Most historians agree he was born around Liège, like his father, but some say he was born in or around Aachen, some fifty kilometres away. At that time, this was an area of great linguistic diversity. If we take Liège (around 750) as the centre, we find Low Franconian in the north and northwest, Gallo-Romance (the ancestor of Old French) in the south and southwest and various Old High German dialects in the east. If Gallo-Romance is excluded, that means he either spoke Old Low Franconian or an Old High German dialect, probably with a strong Frankish influence.

Apart from his native language he also spoke Latin "as fluently as his own tongue" and understood a bit of Greek: Grecam vero melius intellegere quam pronuntiare poterat, "He understood Greek better than he could pronounce it."[5]

[edit] Names of Charlemagne

Because of the number of languages spoken within his Empire, and his wide European fame, Charlemagne's name has been preserved in many different languages in different forms. The language of Charlemagne itself does not exist anymore, but evolved into the Franconian languages.

Charlemagne's birth-name, "Charles" was derived from his grandfather, Charles Martel. The name derives from "karl", a Germanic stem meaning "man" or "free man",[6] related to the English "churl". The earliest extant forms of Charlemagne's name are in the Latinate form, "Carolus" or "Karolus".

In many Slavic languages, the very word for "king" derives from Charles' Slavicised name.
A portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer that was painted several centuries after Charlemagne's death, the coat of arms above him show the German eagle and the French Fleur-de-lis.
A portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer that was painted several centuries after Charlemagne's death, the coat of arms above him show the German eagle and the French Fleur-de-lis.

Modern variants in Germanic languages (except English) are:

* Danish, Norwegian and Swedish: Karl den Store
* Dutch: Karel de Grote
* German: Karl der Große
* Luxembourgish: Karel de Groussen
* West Frisian: Karel de Grutte

The Germanic name was Latinised (Latin: Carolus Magnus) and preserved in the modern Romance languages (as well as English):

* Catalan: Carlemany
* French: Charlemagne and Charles le Grand, from the Old French Charles le Magne
* Italian: Carlo Magno and Carlomagno
* Portuguese: Carlos Magno
* Spanish: Carlomagno
* Walloon: Tchårlumagne and Tchåle li Grand

Modern variants in and the Slavic languages influenced by the Germanic name are:

* Croatian: Karlo Veliki
* Czech: Karel Veliký
* Polish: Karol Wielki
* Slovak: Karol Velký
* Slovenian: Karel Veliki

The Breton variant is Karl-Veur.

[edit] Personal appearance

Though no description from Charlemagne's lifetime exists, his personal appearance is known from a good description by Einhard, author of the biographical Vita Caroli Magni. Einhard tells in his twenty-second chapter:

Charles was large and strong, and of lofty stature, though not disproportionately tall (his height is well known to have been seven times the length of his foot); the upper part of his head was round, his eyes very large and animated, nose a little long, hair fair, and face laughing and merry. Thus his appearance was always stately and dignified, whether he was standing or sitting; although his neck was thick and somewhat short, and his belly rather prominent; but the symmetry of the rest of his body concealed these defects. His gait was firm, his whole carriage manly, and his voice clear, but not so strong as his size led one to expect.

Charles is well known to have been tall, stately, and fair-haired, with a disproportionately thick neck. His skeleton was measured during the 18th century and his height was determined to be 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in [7]). The Roman tradition of realistic personal portraiture was in complete eclipse in his time, where individual traits were submerged in iconic typecastings. Charlemagne, as an ideal ruler, ought to be portrayed in the corresponding fashion, any contemporary would have assumed. The images of enthroned Charlemagne, God's representative on Earth, bear more connections to the icons of Christ in majesty than to modern (or antique) conceptions of portraiture. Charlemagne in later imagery (as in the Dürer portrait) is often portrayed with flowing blond hair, due to a misunderstanding of Einhard, who describes Charlemagne as having canitie pulchra, or "beautiful white hair", which has been rendered as blonde or fair in many translations.

[edit] Dress
Part of the treasure in Aachen
Part of the treasure in Aachen

Charlemagne wore the traditional, inconspicuous and distinctly non-aristocratic costume of the Frankish people, described by Einhard thus:

He used to wear the national, that is to say, the Frank dress: next to his skin a linen shirt and linen breeches, and above these a tunic fringed with silk; while hose fastened by bands covered his lower limbs, and shoes his feet, and he protected his shoulders and chest in winter by a close-fitting coat of otter or marten skins.

He wore a blue cloak and always carried a sword with him. The typical sword was of a golden or silver hilt. He wore fancy jewelled swords to banquets or ambassadorial receptions. Nevertheless:

He despised foreign costumes, however handsome, and never allowed himself to be robed in them, except twice in Rome, when he donned the Roman tunic, chlamys, and shoes; the first time at the request of Pope Hadrian, the second to gratify Leo, Hadrian's successor.

He could rise to the occasion when necessary. On great feast days, he wore embroidery and jewels on his clothing and shoes. He had a golden buckle for his cloak on such occasions and would appear with his great diadem, but he despised such apparel, according to Einhard, and usually dressed like the common people.

[edit] Rise to power

[edit] Early life

Charlemagne was the eldest child of Pippin the Short (714 – 24 September 768, reigned from 751) and his wife Bertrada of Laon (720 – 12 July 783), daughter of Caribert of Laon and Bertrada of Keulen. Records name only Carloman, Gisela, and a short-lived child named Pippin as his younger siblings. The semi-mythical Redburga, wife of King Egbert of Wessex, is sometimes claimed to be his sister (or sister-in-law or niece), and the legendary material makes him Roland's maternal uncle through a lady Bertha.

Much of what is known of Charlemagne's life comes from his biographer, Einhard, who wrote a Vita Caroli Magni (or Vita Karoli Magni), the Life of Charlemagne. Einhard says of the early life of Charles:

It would be folly, I think, to write a word concerning Charles' birth and infancy, or even his boyhood, for nothing has ever been written on the subject, and there is no one alive now who can give information on it. Accordingly, I determined to pass that by as unknown, and to proceed at once to treat of his character, his deed, and such other facts of his life as are worth telling and setting forth, and shall first give an account of his deed at home and abroad, then of his character and pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know.

On the death of Pippin, the kingdom of the Franks was divided—following tradition—between Charlemagne and Carloman. Charles took the outer parts of the kingdom, bordering on the sea, namely Neustria, western Aquitaine, and the northern parts of Austrasia, while Carloman retained the inner parts: southern Austrasia, Septimania, eastern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence, and Swabia, lands bordering on Italy.

[edit] Joint rule

On 9 October, immediately after the funeral of their father, both the kings withdrew from Saint Denis to be proclaimed by their nobles and consecrated by the bishops, Charlemagne in Noyon and Carloman in Soissons.

The first event of the brothers' reign was the rising of the Aquitainians and Gascons, in 769, in that territory split between the two kings. Years before Pippin had suppressed the revolt of Waifer, Duke of Aquitaine. Now, one Hunald (seemingly other than Hunald the duke) led the Aquitainians as far north as Angoulême. Charlemagne met Carloman, but Carloman refused to participate and returned to Burgundy. Charlemagne went to war, leading an army to Bordeaux, where he set up a camp at Fronsac. Hunold was forced to flee to the court of Duke Lupus II of Gascony. Lupus, fearing Charlemagne, turned Hunold over in exchange for peace. He was put in a monastery. Aquitaine was finally fully subdued by the Franks.

The brothers maintained lukewarm relations with the assistance of their mother Bertrada, but in 770 Charlemagne signed a treaty with Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and married a Lombard Princess (commonly known today as Desiderata), the daughter of King Desiderius, in order to surround Carloman with his own allies. Though Pope Stephen III first opposed the marriage with the Lombard princess, he would soon have little to fear from a Frankish-Lombard alliance.

Less than a year after his marriage, Charlemagne repudiated Desiderata, and quickly remarried to a 13-year-old Swabian named Hildegard. The repudiated Desiderata returned to her father's court at Pavia. The Lombard's wrath was now aroused and he would gladly have allied with Carloman to defeat Charles. But before war could break out, Carloman died on 5 December 771. Carloman's wife Gerberga fled to Desiderius' court with her sons for protection.

[edit] Italian campaigns

[edit] Conquest of Lombardy
The Frankish king Charlemagne was a devout Catholic who maintained a close relationship with the papacy throughout his life. In 772, when Pope Hadrian I was threatened by invaders, the king rushed to Rome to provide assistance. Shown here, the pope asks Charlemagne for help at a meeting near Rome
The Frankish king Charlemagne was a devout Catholic who maintained a close relationship with the papacy throughout his life. In 772, when Pope Hadrian I was threatened by invaders, the king rushed to Rome to provide assistance. Shown here, the pope asks Charlemagne for help at a meeting near Rome

At the succession of Pope Hadrian I in 772, he demanded the return of certain cities in the former exarchate of Ravenna as in accordance with a promise of Desiderius' succession. Desiderius instead took over certain papal cities and invaded the Pentapolis, heading for Rome. Hadrian sent embassies to Charlemagne in autumn requesting he enforce the policies of his father, Pippin. Desiderius sent his own embassies denying the pope's charges. The embassies both met at Thionville and Charlemagne upheld the pope's side. Charlemagne promptly demanded what the pope had demanded and Desiderius promptly swore never to comply. Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard crossed the Alps in 773 and chased the Lombards back to Pavia, which they then besieged. Charlemagne temporarily left the siege to deal with Adelchis, son of Desiderius, who was raising an army at Verona. The young prince was chased to the Adriatic littoral and he fled to Constantinople to plead for assistance from Constantine V Copronymus, who was waging war with the Bulgars.

The siege lasted until the spring of 774, when Charlemagne visited the pope in Rome. There he confirmed his father's grants of land, with some later chronicles claiming—falsely—that he also expanded them, granting Tuscany, Emilia, Venice, and Corsica. The pope granted him the title patrician. He then returned to Pavia, where the Lombards were on the verge of surrendering.

In return for their lives, the Lombards surrendered and opened the gates in early summer. Desiderius was sent to the abbey of Corbie and his son Adelchis died in Constantinople a patrician. Charles, unusually, had himself crowned with the Iron Crown and made the magnates of Lombardy do homage to him at Pavia. Only Duke Arechis II of Benevento refused to submit and proclaimed independence. Charlemagne was now master of Italy as king of the Lombards. He left Italy with a garrison in Pavia and few Frankish counts in place that very year.

There was still instability, however, in Italy. In 776, Dukes Hrodgaud of Friuli and Hildeprand of Spoleto rebelled. Charlemagne rushed back from Saxony and defeated the duke of Friuli in battle. The duke was slain. The duke of Spoleto signed a treaty. Their co-conspirator, Arechis, was not subdued and Adelchis, their candidate in Byzantium, never left that city. Northern Italy was now faithfully his.

[edit] Southern Italy

In 787 Charlemagne directed his attention towards Benevento, where Arechis was reigning independently. He besieged Salerno and Arechis submitted to vassalage. However, with his death in 792, Benevento again proclaimed independence under his son Grimoald III. Grimoald was attacked by armies of Charles' or his sons' many times, but Charlemagne himself never returned to the Mezzogiorno and Grimoald never was forced to surrender to Frankish suzerainty.

[edit] Charles and his children

During the first peace of any substantial length (780–782), Charles began to appoint his sons to positions of authority within the realm, in the tradition of the kings and mayors of the past. In 781 he made his two younger sons kings, having them crowned by the Pope. The elder of these two, Carloman, was made king of Italy, taking the Iron Crown which his father had first worn in 774, and in the same ceremony was renamed "Pippin". The younger of the two, Louis, became king of Aquitaine. He ordered Pippin and Louis to be raised in the customs of their kingdoms, and he gave their regents some control of their subkingdoms, but real power was always in his hands, though he intended each to inherit their realm some day. Nor did he tolerate insubordination in his sons: in 792, he banished his eldest, though illegitimate, son, Pippin the Hunchback, to the monastery of Prüm, because the young man had joined a rebellion against him.

The sons fought many wars on behalf of their father when they came of age. Charles was mostly preoccupied with the Bretons, whose border he shared and who insurrected on at least two occasions and were easily put down, but he was also sent against the Saxons on multiple occasions. In 805 and 806, he was sent into the Böhmerwald (modern Bohemia) to deal with the Slavs living there (Czechs). He subjected them to Frankish authority and devastated the valley of the Elbe, forcing a tribute on them. Pippin had to hold the Avar and Beneventan borders, but also fought the Slavs to his north. He was uniquely poised to fight the Byzantine Empire when finally that conflict arose after Charlemagne's imperial coronation and a Venetian rebellion. Finally, Louis was in charge of the Spanish March and also went to southern Italy to fight the duke of Benevento on at least one occasion. He took Barcelona in a great siege in the year 797 (see below).

Charlemagne's attitude toward his daughters has been the subject of much discussion. He kept them at home with him, and refused to allow them to contract sacramental marriages – possibly to prevent the creation of cadet branches of the family to challenge the main line, as had been the case with Tassilo of Bavaria – yet he tolerated their extramarital relationships, even rewarding their common-law husbands, and treasured the bastard grandchildren they produced for him. He also, apparently, refused to believe stories of their wild behaviour. After his death the surviving daughters were banished from the court by their brother, the pious Louis, to take up residence in the convents they had been bequeathed by their father. At least one of them, Bertha, had a recognised relationship, if not a marriage, with Angilbert, a member of Charlemagne's court circle.

[edit] Spanish campaigns

[edit] Roncesvalles campaign
Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne in an illlustration taken from a manuscript of a chanson de geste
Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne in an illlustration taken from a manuscript of a chanson de geste

According to the Muslim historian Ibn al-Athir, the Diet of Paderborn had received the representatives of the Muslim rulers of Zaragoza, Gerona, Barcelona, and Huesca. Their masters had been cornered in the Iberian peninsula by Abd ar-Rahman I, the Umayyad emir of Córdoba. These Moorish or "Saracen" rulers offered their homage to the great king of the Franks in return for military support. Seeing an opportunity to extend Christendom and his own power and believing the Saxons to be a fully conquered nation, he agreed to go to Spain.

In 778, he led the Neustrian army across the Western Pyrenees, while the Austrasians, Lombards, and Burgundians passed over the Eastern Pyrenees. The armies met at Zaragoza and received the homage of Sulayman al-Arabi and Kasmin ibn Yusuf, the foreign rulers. Zaragoza did not fall soon enough for Charlemagne, however. Indeed, Charlemagne was facing the toughest battle of his career and, in fear of losing, he decided to retreat and head home. He could not trust the Moors, nor the Basques, whom he had subdued by conquering Pamplona. He turned to leave Iberia, but as he was passing through the Pass of Roncesvalles one of the most famous events of his long reign occurred. The Basques fell on his rearguard and baggage train, utterly destroying it. The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, less a battle than a mere skirmish, left many famous dead: among which were the seneschal Eggihard, the count of the palace Anselm, and the warden of the Breton March, Roland, inspiring the subsequent creation of the Song of Roland (Chanson de Roland).

[edit] Wars with the Moors

The conquest of Italy brought Charlemagne in contact with the Saracens who, at the time, controlled the Mediterranean. Pippin, his son, was much occupied with Saracens in Italy. Charlemagne conquered Corsica and Sardinia at an unknown date and in 799 the Balearic Islands. The islands were often attacked by Saracen pirates, but the counts of Genoa and Tuscany (Boniface) kept them at bay with large fleets until the end of Charlemagne's reign. Charlemagne even had contact with the caliphal court in Baghdad. In 797 (or possibly 801), the caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, presented Charlemagne with an Asian elephant named Abul-Abbas and a mechanical clock[citation needed], out of which came a mechanical bird to announce the hours.

In Hispania, the struggle against the Moors continued unabated throughout the latter half of his reign. His son Louis was in charge of the Spanish border. In 785, his men captured Gerona permanently and extended Frankish control into the Catalan littoral for the duration of Charlemagne's reign (and much longer, it remained nominally Frankish until the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258). The Muslim chiefs in the northeast of Islamic Spain were constantly revolting against Córdoban authority and they often turned to the Franks for help. The Frankish border was slowly extended until 795, when Gerona, Cardona, Ausona, and Urgel were united into the new Spanish March, within the old duchy of Septimania.

In 797 Barcelona, the greatest city of the region, fell to the Franks when Zeid, its governor, rebelled against Córdoba and, failing, handed it to them. The Umayyad authority recaptured it in 799. However, Louis of Aquitaine marched the entire army of his kingdom over the Pyrenees and besieged it for two years, wintering there from 800 to 801, when it capitulated. The Franks continued to press forwards against the emir. They took Tarragona in 809 and Tortosa in 811. The last conquest brought them to the mouth of the Ebro and gave them raiding access to Valencia, prompting the Emir al-Hakam I to recognise their conquests in 812.

[edit] Eastern campaigns

[edit] Saxon Wars

Charlemagne was engaged in almost constant battle throughout his reign, often at the head of his elite scara bodyguard squadrons, with his legendary sword Joyeuse in hand. After thirty years of war and eighteen battles—the Saxon Wars—he conquered Saxonia and proceeded to convert the conquered to Roman Catholicism, using force where necessary.

The Saxons were divided into four subgroups in four regions. Nearest to Austrasia was Westphalia and furthest away was Eastphalia. In between these two kingdoms was that of Engria and north of these three, at the base of the Jutland peninsula, was Nordalbingia.

In his first campaign, Charlemagne forced the Engrians in 773 to submit and cut down an Irminsul pillar near Paderborn. The campaign was cut short by his first expedition to Italy. He returned in the year 775, marching through Westphalia and conquering the Saxon fort of Sigiburg. He then crossed Engria, where he defeated the Saxons again. Finally, in Eastphalia, he defeated a Saxon force, and its leader Hessi converted to Christianity. He returned through Westphalia, leaving encampments at Sigiburg and Eresburg, which had, up until then, been important Saxon bastions. All Saxony but Nordalbingia was under his control, but Saxon resistance had not ended.

Following his campaign in Italy subjugating the dukes of Friuli and Spoleto, Charlemagne returned very rapidly to Saxony in 776, where a rebellion had destroyed his fortress at Eresburg. The Saxons were once again brought to heel, but their main leader, duke Widukind, managed to escape to Denmark, home of his wife. Charlemagne built a new camp at Karlstadt. In 777, he called a national diet at Paderborn to integrate Saxony fully into the Frankish kingdom. Many Saxons were baptised.

In the summer of 779, he again invaded Saxony and reconquered Eastphalia, Engria, and Westphalia. At a diet near Lippe, he divided the land into missionary districts and himself assisted in several mass baptisms (780). He then returned to Italy and, for the first time, there was no immediate Saxon revolt. In 780 Charlemagne decreed the death penalty for all Saxons who failed to be baptised, who failed to keep Christian festivals, and who cremated their dead. Saxony had peace from 780 to 782.

He returned in 782 to Saxony and instituted a code of law and appointed counts, both Saxon and Frank. The laws were draconian on religious issues, and the indigenous forms of Germanic polytheism were gravely threatened by Christianisation. This stirred a renewal of the old conflict. That year, in autumn, Widukind returned and led a new revolt, which resulted in several assaults on the church. In response, at Verden in Lower Saxony, Charlemagne allegedly ordered the beheading of 4,500 Saxons who had been caught practising their native paganism after conversion to Christianity, known as the Massacre of Verden. The massacre triggered two years of renewed bloody warfare (783-785). During this war the Frisians were also finally subdued and a large part of their fleet was burned. The war ended with Widukind accepting baptism.

Thereafter, the Saxons maintained the peace for seven years, but in 792 the Westphalians once again rose against their conquerors. The Eastphalians and Nordalbingians joined them in 793, but the insurrection did not catch on and was put down by 794. An Engrian rebellion followed in 796, but Charlemagne's personal presence and the presence of Christian Saxons and Slavs quickly crushed it. The last insurrection of the independence-minded people occurred in 804, more than thirty years after Charlemagne's first campaign against them. This time, the most unruly of them, the Nordalbingians, found themselves effectively disempowered from rebellion. According to Einhard:

The war that had lasted so many years was at length ended by their acceding to the terms offered by the King; which were renunciation of their national religious customs and the worship of devils, acceptance of the sacraments of the Christian faith and religion, and union with the Franks to form one people.

The heathen resistance in Saxony was at an end.

[edit] Submission of Bavaria

In 788, Charlemagne turned his attention to Bavaria. He claimed Tassilo was an unfit ruler on account of his oath-breaking. The charges were trumped up, but Tassilo was deposed anyway and put in the monastery of Jumièges. In 794, he was made to renounce any claim to Bavaria for himself and his family (the Agilolfings) at the synod of Frankfurt. Bavaria was subdivided into Frankish counties, like Saxony.

[edit] Avar campaigns

In 788, the Avars, a pagan Asian horde which had settled down in what is today Hungary (Einhard called them Huns), invaded Friuli and Bavaria. Charles was preoccupied until 790 with other things, but in that year, he marched down the Danube into their territory and ravaged it to the Raab. Then, a Lombard army under Pippin marched into the Drava valley and ravaged Pannonia. The campaigns would have continued if the Saxons had not revolted again in 792, breaking seven years of peace.

For the next two years, Charles was occupied with the Slavs against the Saxons. Pippin and Duke Eric of Friuli continued, however, to assault the Avars' ring-shaped strongholds. The great Ring of the Avars, their capital fortress, was taken twice. The booty was sent to Charlemagne at his capital, Aachen, and redistributed to all his followers and even to foreign rulers, including King Offa of Mercia. Soon the Avar tuduns had thrown in the towel and travelled to Aachen to subject themselves to Charlemagne as vassals and Christians. This Charlemagne accepted and sent one native chief, baptised Abraham, back to Avaria with the ancient title of khagan. Abraham kept his people in line, but in 800 the Bulgarians under Krum had swept the Avar state away. In the 10th century, the Magyars settled the Pannonian plain and presented a new threat to Charlemagne's descendants.

[edit] Slav expeditions

In 789, in recognition of his new pagan neighbours, the Slavs, Charlemagne marched an Austrasian-Saxon army across the Elbe into Abotrite territory. The Slavs immediately submitted under their leader Witzin. He then accepted the surrender of the Wiltzes under Dragovit and demanded many hostages and the permission to send, unmolested, missionaries into the pagan region. The army marched to the Baltic before turning around and marching to the Rhine with much booty and no harassment. The tributary Slavs became loyal allies. In 795, the peace broken by the Saxons, the Abotrites and Wiltzes rose in arms with their new master against the Saxons. Witzin died in battle and Charlemagne avenged him by harrying the Eastphalians on the Elbe. Thrasuco, his successor, led his men to conquest over the Nordalbingians and handed their leaders over to Charlemagne, who greatly honoured him. The Abotrites remained loyal until Charles' death and fought later against the Danes.

Charlemagne also directed his attention to the Slavs to the south of the Avar khaganate: the Carantanians and Slovenes. These people were subdued by the Lombards and Bavarii and made tributaries, but never incorporated into the Frankish state.

[edit] Imperium

[edit] Imperial diplomacy
Charlemagne's chapel at Aachen Cathedral.
Charlemagne's chapel at Aachen Cathedral.

Matters of Charlemagne's reign came to a head in late 800. In 799, Pope Leo III had been mistreated by the Romans, who tried to put out his eyes and tear out his tongue. Leo escaped, and fled to Charlemagne at Paderborn, asking him to intervene in Rome and restore him. Charlemagne, advised by Alcuin of York, agreed to travel to Rome, doing so in November 800 and holding a council on December 1. On December 23 Leo swore an oath of innocence. At Mass, on Christmas Day (December 25), when Charlemagne knelt the altar to pray, the pope crowned him Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans") in Saint Peter's Basilica. In so doing, the pope was effectively attempting to transfer the office from Constantinople to Charles. Einhard says that Charlemagne was ignorant of the pope's intent and did not want any such coronation:

[H]e at first had such an aversion that he declared that he would not have set foot in the Church the day that they [the imperial titles] were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, if he could have foreseen the design of the Pope.

Many modern scholars suggest that Charlemagne was indeed aware of the coronation; certainly he cannot have missed the bejeweled crown waiting on the altar when he came to pray. In any event, he would now use these circumstances to claim that he was the renewer of the Roman Empire, which had apparently fallen into degradation under the Byzantines. However, Charles would after 806 style himself, not Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans", a title reserved for the Byzantine emperor), but rather Imperator Romanum gubernans Imperium ("Emperor ruling the Roman Empire").

The Iconoclasm of the Isaurian Dynasty and resulting religious conflicts with the Empress Irene, sitting on the throne in Constantinople in 800, were probably the chief causes of the pope's desire to formally acclaim Charles as Roman Emperor. He also most certainly desired to increase the influence of the papacy, honour his saviour Charlemagne, and solve the constitutional issues then most troubling to European jurists in an era when Rome was not in the hands of an emperor. Thus, Charlemagne's assumption of the imperial title was not an usurpation in the eyes of the Franks or Italians. It was though in Byzantium, where it was protested by Irene and her successor Nicephorus I — neither of whom had any great effect in enforcing their protests.

The Byzantines, however, still held several territories in Italy: Venice (what was left of the Exarchate of Ravenna), Reggio (Calabria, the toe), Brindisi (Apulia, the heel), and Naples (the Ducatus Neapolitanus). These regions remained outside of Frankish hands until 804, when the Venetians, torn by infighting, transferred their allegiance to the Iron Crown of Pippin, Charles' son. The Pax Nicephori ended. Nicephorus ravaged the coasts with a fleet and the only instance of war between the Byzantines and the Franks, as it was, began. It lasted until 810, when the pro-Byzantine party in Venice gave their city back to the Byzantine Emperor and the two emperors of Europe made peace: Charlemagne received the Istrian peninsula and in 812 Emperor Michael I Rhangabes recognised his status as Emperor.

[edit] Danish attacks

After the conquest of Nordalbingia, the Frankish frontier was brought into contact with Scandinavia. The pagan Danes, "a race almost unknown to his ancestors, but destined to be only too well known to his sons" as Charles Oman described them, inhabiting the Jutland peninsula had heard many stories from Widukind and his allies who had taken refuge with them about the dangers of the Franks and the fury which their Christian king could direct against pagan neighbours.

In 808, the king of the Danes, Godfred, built the vast Danevirke across the isthmus of Schleswig. This defence, last employed in the Danish-Prussian War of 1864, was at its beginning a 30 km long earthenwork rampart. The Danevirke protected Danish land and gave Godfred the opportunity to harass Frisia and Flanders with pirate raids. He also subdued the Frank-allied Wiltzes and fought the Abotrites.

Godfred invaded Frisia and joked of visiting Aachen, but was murdered before he could do any more, either by a Frankish assassin or by one of his own men. Godfred was succeeded by his nephew Hemming and he concluded the Treaty of Heiligen with Charlemagne in late 811.

[edit] Death
Persephone sarcophagus of Charlemagne
Persephone sarcophagus of Charlemagne

In 813, Charlemagne called Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine, his only surviving legitimate son, to his court. There he crowned him with his own hands as co-emperor and sent him back to Aquitaine. He then spent the autumn hunting before returning to Aachen on 1 November. In January, he fell ill with pleurisy (Einhard 59). He took to his bed on 21 January and as Einhard tells it:

He died January twenty-eighth, the seventh day from the time that he took to his bed, at nine o'clock in the morning, after partaking of the Holy Communion, in the seventy-second year of his age and the forty-seventh of his reign.

He was buried on the day of his death, in Aachen Cathedral, although the cold weather and the nature of his illness made such a hurried burial unnecessary. A later story, told by Otho of Lomello, Count of the Palace at Aachen in the time of Otto III, would claim that he and Emperor Otto had discovered Charlemagne's tomb: the emperor, they claimed, was seated upon a throne, wearing a crown and holding a sceptre, his flesh almost entirely incorrupt. In 1165, Frederick I re-opened the tomb again, and placed the emperor in a sarcophagus beneath the floor of the cathedral.[8] In 1215 Frederick II would re-inter him in a casket made of gold and silver.

Charlemagne's death greatly affected many of his subjects, particularly those of the literary clique who had surrounded him at Aachen. An anonymous monk of Bobbio lamented:
“ From the lands where the sun rises to western shores, People are crying and wailing...the Franks, the Romans, all Christians, are stung with mourning and great worry...the young and old, glorious nobles, all lament the loss of their Caesar...the world laments the death of Charles...O Christ, you who govern the heavenly host, grant a peaceful place to Charles in your kingdom. Alas for miserable me.[9] ”

He was succeeded by his surviving son, Louis, who had been crowned the previous year. His empire lasted only another generation in its entirety; its division, according to custom, between Louis's own sons after their father's death laid the foundation for the modern states of France and Duitsland.

[edit] Administration

As an administrator, Charlemagne stands out for his many reforms: monetary, governmental, military, cultural and ecclesiastical. He is the main protagonist of the "Carolingian Renaissance".

[edit] Economic and monetary reforms
Monogram of Charlemagne, from the subscription of a royal diploma: "Signum (monogr.: KAROLVS) Caroli gloriosissimi regis"
Monogram of Charlemagne, from the subscription of a royal diploma: "Signum (monogr.: KAROLVS) Caroli gloriosissimi regis"

Charlemagne had an important role in determining the immediate economic future of Europe. Pursuing his father's reforms, Charlemagne abolished the monetary system based on the gold sou, and he and the Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia took up the system set in place by Pippin. There were strong pragmatic reasons for this abandonment of a gold standard, notably a shortage of gold itself, a direct consequence of the conclusion of peace with Byzantium and the ceding of Venice and Sicily, and the loss of their trade routes to Africa and to the east. This standardisation also had the effect of economically harmonising and unifying the complex array of currencies in use at the commencement of his reign, thus simplifying trade and commerce.

He established a new standard, the livre carolinienne (from the Latin libra, the modern pound), and based upon a pound of silver – a unit of both money and weight – which was worth 20 sous (from the Latin solidus (which was primarily an accounting device, and never actually minted), the modern shilling) or 240 deniers (from the Latin denarius, the modern penny). During this period, the livre and the sou were counting units, only the denier was a coin of the realm.

Charlemagne instituted principles for accounting practice by means of the Capitulare de villis of 802, which laid down strict rules for the way in which incomes and expenses were to be recorded.

The lending of money for interest was prohibited, strengthened in 814, when Charlemagne introduced the Capitulary for the Jews, a draconian prohibition on Jews engaging in money-lending.

In addition to this macro-management of the economy of his empire, Charlemagne also performed a significant number of acts of micro-management, such as direct control of prices and levies on certain goods and commodities.

Charlemagne applied the system to much of the European continent, and Offa's standard was voluntarily adopted by much of England. After Charlemagne's death, continental coinage degraded and most of Europe resorted to using the continued high quality English coin until about 1100.

[edit] Education reforms

A part of Charlemagne's success as warrior and administrator can be traced to his admiration for learning. His reign and the era it ushered in are often referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance because of the flowering of scholarship, literature, art, and architecture which characterise it. Charlemagne, brought into contact with the culture and learning of other countries (especially Visigothic Spain, Anglo-Saxon England and Lombard Italy) due to his vast conquests, greatly increased the provision of monastic schools and scriptoria (centres for book-copying) in Francia. Most of the surviving works of classical Latin were copied and preserved by Carolingian scholars. Indeed, the earliest manuscripts available for many ancient texts are Carolingian. It is almost certain that a text which survived to the Carolingian age survives still. The pan-European nature of Charlemagne's influence is indicated by the origins of many of the men who worked for him: Alcuin, an Anglo-Saxon from York; Theodulf, a Visigoth, probably from Septimania; Paul the Deacon, Lombard; Peter of Pisa and Paulinus of Aquileia, Italians; and Angilbert, Angilramm, Einhard and Waldo of Reichenau, Franks.

Charlemagne took a serious interest in scholarship, promoting the liberal arts at the court, ordering that his children and grandchildren be well-educated, and even studying himself under the tutelage of Paul the Deacon, from whom he learned grammar, Alcuin, with whom he studied rhetoric, dialect and astronomy (he was particularly interested in the movements of the stars), and Einhard, who assisted him in his studies of arithmetic. His great scholarly failure, as Einhard relates, was his inability to write: when in his old age he began attempts to learn – practicing the formation of letters in his bed during his free time on books and wax tablets he hid under his pillow – "his effort came too late in life and achieved little success", and his ability to read – which Einhard is silent about, and which no contemporary source supports – has also been called into question.[10]

[edit] Writing reforms
Page from the Lorsch Gospels of Charlemagne's reign
Page from the Lorsch Gospels of Charlemagne's reign

During Charles' reign, the Roman half uncial script and its cursive version, which had given rise to various continental minuscule scripts, were combined with features from the insular scripts that were being used in Irish and English monasteries. Carolingian minuscule was created partly under the patronage of Charlemagne. Alcuin of York, who ran the palace school and scriptorium at Aachen, was probably a chief influence in this. The revolutionary character of the Carolingian reform, however, can be over-emphasised; efforts at taming the crabbed Merovingian and Germanic hands had been underway before Alcuin arrived at Aachen. The new minuscule was disseminated first from Aachen, and later from the influential scriptorium at Tours, where Alcuin retired as an abbot.

[edit] Political reforms

Charlemagne engaged in many reforms of Frankish governance, but he continued also in many traditional practices, such as the division of the kingdom among sons.

[edit] Organisation

Main article: Government of the Carolingian Empire

The Carolingian king exercised the bannum, the right to rule and command. He had supreme jurisdiction in judicial matters, made legislation, led the army, and protected both the Church and the poor. His administration was an attempt to organise the kingdom, church and nobility around him, however, it was entirely dependent upon the efficiency, loyalty and support of his subjects.

[edit] Imperial coronation
Throne of Charlemagne in Aachen Cathedral
Throne of Charlemagne in Aachen Cathedral

Historians have debated for centuries whether Charlemagne was aware of the Pope's intent to crown him Emperor prior to the coronation (Charlemagne declared that he would not have entered Saint Peter's had he known), but that debate has often obscured the more significant question of why the Pope granted the title and why Charlemagne chose to accept it once he did.

Roger Collins points out (Charlemagne, pg. 147) "That the motivation behind the acceptance of the imperial title was a romantic and antiquarian interest in reviving the Roman empire is highly unlikely.". For one thing, such romance would not have appealed either to Franks or Roman Catholics at the turn of the ninth century, both of whom viewed the Classical heritage of the Roman Empire with distrust. The Franks took pride in having "fought against and thrown from their shoulders the heavy yoke of the Romans" and "from the knowledge gained in baptism, clothed in gold and precious stones the bodies of the holy martyrs whom the Romans had killed by fire, by the sword and by wild animals", as Pippin III described it in a law of 763 or 764 (Collins 151). Furthermore, the new title — carrying with it the risk that the new emperor would "make drastic changes to the traditional styles and procedures of government" or "concentrate his attentions on Italy or on Mediterranean concerns more generally" (Collins 149) — risked alienating the Frankish leadership.

For both the Pope and Charlemagne, the Roman Empire remained a significant power in European politics at this time, and continued to hold a substantial portion of Italy, with borders not very far south of the city of Rome itself — this is the empire historiography has labelled the Byzantine Empire, for its capital was Constantinople (ancient Byzantium) and its people and rulers were Greek; it was a thoroughly Hellenic state. Indeed, Charlemagne was usurping the prerogatives of the Roman Emperor in Constantinople simply by sitting in judgement over the Pope in the first place:

By whom, however, could he [the Pope] be tried? Who, in other words, was qualified to pass judgement on the Vicar of Christ? In normal circumstances the only conceivable answer to that question would have been the Emperor at Constantinople; but the imperial throne was at this moment occupied by Irene. That the Empress was notorious for having blinded and murdered her own son was, in the minds of both Leo and Charles, almost immaterial: it was enough that she was a woman. The female sex was known to be incapable of governing, and by the old Salic tradition was debarred from doing so. As far as Western Europe was concerned, the Throne of the Emperors was vacant: Irene's claim to it was merely an additional proof, if any were needed, of the degradation into which the so-called Roman Empire had fallen.
—John Julius Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, pg. 378

Coronation of an idealised king, depicted in the Sacramentary of Charles the Bald (about 870)
Coronation of an idealised king, depicted in the Sacramentary of Charles the Bald (about 870)

For the Pope, then, there was "no living Emperor at the that time" (Norwich 379), though Henri Pirenne (Mohammed and Charlemagne, pg. 234n) disputes this saying that the coronation "was not in any sense explained by the fact that at this moment a woman was reigning in Constantinople." Nonetheless, the Pope took the extraordinary step of creating one. The papacy had since 727 been in conflict with Irene's predecessors in Constantinople over a number of issues, chiefly the continued Byzantine adherence to the doctrine of iconoclasm, the destruction of Christian images; while from 750, the secular power of the Byzantine Empire in central Italy had been nullified. By bestowing the Imperial crown upon Charlemagne, the Pope arrogated to himself "the right to appoint ... the Emperor of the Romans, ... establishing the imperial crown as his own personal gift but simultaneously granting himself implicit superiority over the Emperor whom he had created.". And "because the Byzantines had proved so unsatisfactory from every point of view—political, military and doctrinal—he would select a westerner: the one man who by his wisdom and statesmanship and the vastness of his dominions ... stood out head and shoulders above his contemporaries.".
A depiction of the imperial coronation of Charlemagne
A depiction of the imperial coronation of Charlemagne

With Charlemagne's coronation, therefore, "the Roman Empire remained, so far as either of them [Charlemagne and Leo] were concerned, one and indivisible, with Charles as its Emperor", though there can have been "little doubt that the coronation, with all that it implied, would be furiously contested in Constantinople." (Norwich, Byzantium: The Apogee, pg. 3) How realistic either Charlemagne or the Pope felt it to be that the people of Constantinople would ever accept the King of the Franks as their Emperor, we cannot know; Alcuin speaks hopefully in his letters of an Imperium Christianum ("Christian Empire"), wherein, "just as the inhabitants of the [Roman Empire] had been united by a common Roman citizenship", presumably this new empire would be united by a common Christian faith (Collins 151), certainly this is the view of Pirenne when he says "Charles was the Emperor of the ecclesia as the Pope conceived it, of the Roman Church, regarded as the universal Church" (Pirenne 233).

What we do know, from the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes (Collins 153), is that Charlemagne's reaction to his coronation was to take the initial steps toward securing the Constantinopolitan throne by sending envoys of marriage to Irene, and that Irene reacted somewhat favorably to them. Only when the people of Constantinople reacted to Irene's failure to immediately rebuff the proposal by deposing her and replacing her with one of her ministers, Nicephorus I, did Charlemagne drop any ambitions toward the Byzantine throne and begin minimising his new Imperial title, and instead return to describing himself primarily as rex Francorum et Langobardum.

The title of emperor remained in his family for years to come, however, as brothers fought over who had the supremacy in the Frankish state. The papacy itself never forgot the title nor abandoned the right to bestow it. When the family of Charles ceased to produce worthy heirs, the pope gladly crowned whichever Italian magnate could best protect him from his local enemies. This devolution led, as could have been expected, to the dormancy of the title for almost forty years (924-962). Finally, in 962, in a radically different Europe from Charlemagne's, a new Roman Emperor was crowned in Rome by a grateful pope. This emperor, Otto the Great, brought the title into the hands the kings of Duitsland for almost a millennium, for it was to become the Holy Roman Empire, a true imperial successor to Charles, if not Augustus.

[edit] Divisio regnorum

In 806, Charlemagne first made provision for the traditional division of the empire on his death. For Charles the Younger he designated Austrasia and Neustria, Saxony, Burgundy, and Thuringia. To Pippin he gave Italy, Bavaria, and Swabia. Louis received Aquitaine, the Spanish March, and Provence. There was no mention of the imperial title however, which has led to the suggestion that, at that particular time, Charlemagne regarded the title as an honorary achievement which held no hereditary significance.

This division may have worked, but it was never to be tested. Pippin died in 810 and Charles in 811. Charlemagne then reconsidered the matter, and in 813, crowned his youngest son, Louis, co-emperor and co-King of the Franks, granting him a half-share of the empire and the rest upon Charlemagne's own death. The only part of the Empire which Louis was not promised was Italy, which Charlemagne specifically bestowed upon Pippin's illegitimate son Bernard.

[edit] Cultural significance
The Coronation of Charlemagne, by assistants of Raphael , circa 1516-1517
The Coronation of Charlemagne, by assistants of Raphael , circa 1516-1517

Charlemagne had an immediate afterlife. The author of the Visio Karoli Magni written around 865 uses facts gathered apparently from Einhard and his own observations on the decline of Charlemagne's family after the dissensions of civil war (840–43) as the basis for a visionary tale of Charles' meeting with a prophetic spectre in a dream.

Charlemagne, being a model knight as one of the Nine Worthies, enjoyed an important afterlife in European culture. One of the great medieval literary cycles, the Charlemagne cycle or the Matter of France, centres on the deeds of Charlemagne—the King with the Grizzly Beard of Roland fame—and his historical commander of the border with Brittany, Roland, and the paladins who are analogous to the knights of the Round Table or King Arthur's court. Their tales constitute the first chansons de geste.

Charlemagne himself was accorded sainthood inside the Holy Roman Empire after the twelfth century. His canonisation by Antipope Paschal III, to gain the favour of Frederick Barbarossa in 1165, was never recognised by the Holy See, which annulled all of Paschal's ordinances at the Third Lateran Council in 1179. However, he has been acknowledged as cultus confirmed.

Charlemagne is sometimes credited with supporting the insertion of the filioque into the Nicene Creed. The Franks had inherited a Visigothic tradition of referring to the Holy Spirit as deriving from God the Father and Son (Filioque), and under Charlemagne, the Franks challenged the 381 Council of Constantinople proclamation that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father alone. Pope Leo III rejected this notion, and had the Nicene Creed carved into the doors of Old St. Peter's Basilica without the offending phrase; the Frankish insistence lead to bad relations between Rome and Francia. Later, the Roman Catholic Church would adopt the phrase, leading to dispute between Rome and Constantinople. Some see this as one of many pre-cursors to the East-West Schism centuries later.[11]

In the Divine Comedy the spirit of Charlemagne appears to Dante in the Heaven of Mars, among the other "warriors of the faith".

According to folk etymology, Charlemagne was commemorated in the old name Charles's Wain for the Big Dipper in the constellation of Ursa Major.

French volunteers in the Wehrmacht and later Waffen-SS during the World War II were organised in a unit called 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French). A German Waffen-SS unit used "Karl der Große" for some time in 1943, but then chose the name 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg instead.

The city of Aachen has, since 1949, awarded an international prize (called the Karlspreis der Stadt Aachen) in honour of Charlemagne. It is awarded annually to "personages of merit who have promoted the idea of western unity by their political, economic and literary endeavours."[12] Winners of the prize include Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, the founder of the pan-European movement, Alcide De Gasperi, and Winston Churchill.

Charlemagne is memorably quoted by Henry Jones (played by Sean Connery) in the film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Immediately after using his umbrella to induce a flock of seagulls to smash through the glass cockpit of a pursuing German fighter plane, Henry Jones remarks "I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne: 'Let my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the sky'." Despite the quote's popularity since the movie, there is no evidence that Charlemagne actually said this. [2]

The Economist, the weekly news and international affairs newspaper, features a one page article every week entitled "Charlemagne", focusing on European government.

[edit] Family

[edit] Marriages and heirs

Charlemagne had twenty children over the course of his life with eight of his ten known wives or concubines.

* His first relationship was with Himiltrude. The nature of this relationship is variously described as concubinage, a legal marriage or as a Friedelehe.[13] Charlemagne put her aside when he married Desiderata. The union produced two children:
o Amaudru, a daughter[14]
o Pippin the Hunchback (c. 769-811)

* After her, his first wife was Desiderata, daughter of Desiderius, king of the Lombards, married in 770, annulled in 771
* His second wife was Hildegard (757 or 758-783), married 771, died 783. By her he had nine children:
o Charles the Younger (c.772-4 December 811), Duke of Maine, and crowned King of the Franks on 25 December 800
o Carloman, renamed Pippin (April 773-8 July 810), King of Italy
o Adalhaid (774), who was born whilst her parents were on campaign in Italy. She was sent back to Francia, but died before reaching Lyons
o Rotrude (or Hruodrud) (775-6 June 810)
o Louis (778-20 June 840), twin of Lothair, King of Aquitaine since 781, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 813, senior Emperor from 814
o Lothair (778-6 February 779/780), twin of Louis, he died in infancy[15]
o Bertha (779-826)
o Gisela (781-808)
o Hildegarde (782-783)
* His third wife was Fastrada, married 784, died 794. By her he had:
o Theodrada (b.784), abbess of Argenteuil
o Hiltrude (b.787)
* His fourth wife was Luitgard, married 794, died childless

[edit] Concubinages and illegitimate children

* His first known concubine was Gersuinda. By her he had:
o Adaltrude (b.774)
* His second known concubine was Madelgard. By her he had:
o Ruodhaid (775-810), abbess of Faremoutiers
* His third known concubine was Amaltrud of Vienne. By her he had:
o Alpaida (b.794)
* His fourth known concubine was Regina. By her he had:
o Drogo (801-855), Bishop of Metz from 823 and abbot of Luxeuil Abbey
o Hugh (802-844), archchancellor of the Empire
* His fifth known concubine was Ethelind. By her he had:
o Richbod (805-844), Abbott of Saint-Riquier
o Theodoric (b. 807)

[edit] References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Charlemagne

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Riché, Preface xviii
2. ^ Riché, xviii.
3. ^ Oman, Charles. The Dark Ages 476–919 Rivingtons: London, 1914. Regards Charlemagne's grandsons as the first kings of France and Duitsland, which at the time comprised the whole of the Carolingian Empire save Italy.
4. ^ Original text of the Salic law.
5. ^ Einhard, Life, 25.
6. ^ Etymology of "Charles/Karl/Karel"
7. ^ chronique.com: [1]
8. ^ Chamberlin, Russell, The Emperor Charlemagne, pp. 222–224
9. ^ Dutton, PE, Carolingian Civilization: A Reader
10. ^ Dutton, Paul Edward, Charlemagne's Mustache
11. ^ Riche, Pierre, The Carolingians, p.124
12. ^ Chamberlin, Russell, The Emperor Charlemagne, p. ???
13. ^ Charlemagne's biographer Einhard (Vita Karoli Magni, ch. 20) calls her a "concubine" and Paulus Diaconus speaks of Pippin's birth "before legal marriage", whereas a letter by Pope Stephen III refers to Charlemagne and his brother Carloman as being already married (to Himiltrude and Gerberga), and advises them not to dismiss their wives. Historians have interpreted the information in different ways. Some, such as Pierre Riché (The Carolingians, p.86.), follow Einhard in describing Himiltrude as a concubine. Others, for example Dieter Hägemann (Karl der Große. Herrscher des Abendlands, p. 82f.), consider Himiltrude a wife in the full sense. Still others subscribe to the idea that the relationship between the two was "something more than concubinage, less than marriage" and describe it as a Friedelehe, a form of marriage unrecognized by the Church and easily dissolvable. Russell Chamberlin (The Emperor Charlemagne, p. 61.), for instance, compared it with the English system of common-law marriage. This form of relationship is often seen in a conflict between Christian marriage and more flexible Germanic concepts.
14. ^ Gerd Treffer, Die französischen Königinnen. Von Bertrada bis Marie Antoinette (8.-18. Jahrhundert) p. 30.
15. ^ "By [Hildigard] Charlemagne had four sons and four daughters, according to Paul the Deacon: one son, the twin of Lewis, called Lothar, died as a baby and is not mentioned by Einhard; two daughters, Hildigard and Adelhaid, died as babies, so that Einhard appears to err in one of his names, unless there were really five daughters." Thorpe, Lewis, Two Lives of Charlemagne, p.185

[edit] Bibliography

* Riché, Pierre (1993). The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-1342-4
* Einhard [1880] (1960). The Life of Charlemagne, trans. Samuel Epes Turner, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-06035-
* Oman, Charles (1914). The Dark Ages, 476-918, 6th ed., London: Rivingtons.
* Painter, Sidney (1953). A History of the Middle Ages, 284-1500. New York: Knopf.
* Santosuosso, Antonio (2004). Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels: The Ways of Medieval Warfare. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-9153-9.
* Scholz, Bernhard Walter; with Barbara Rogers (1970). Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08790-8. Comprises the Annales regni Francorum and The History of the Sons of Louis the Pious
* Charlemagne: Biographies and general studies, from Encyclopædia Britannica, full-article, latest edition.
* Barbero, Alessandro (2004). Charlemagne: Father of a Continent, trans. Allan Cameron, Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23943-1.
* Becher, Matthias (2003). Charlemagne, trans. David S. Bachrach, New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09796-4.
* Ganshof, F. L. (1971). The Carolingians and the Frankish Monarchy: Studies in Carolingian History, trans. Janet Sondheimer, Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-0635-8.
* Langston, Aileen Lewers; and J. Orton Buck, Jr (eds.) (1974). Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co..
* Pirenne, Henri (1939). Mohammed and Charlemagne, trans. Bernard Miall, New York: Norton.
* Sypeck, Jeff (2006). Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and The Empires of A.D. 800. New York: Ecco/HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-079706-
* Wilson, Derek (2005). Charlemagne: The Great Adventure. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-179461-7.

[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Carolus Magnus
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Charlemagne

* The Life of Charlemagne by Einhard. At Medieval Sourcebook
* Vita Karoli Magni by Einhard. Latin text at The Latin Library
* A reconstructed portrait of Charlemagne, based on historical sources, in a contemporary style.
* The Sword of Charlemagne (myArmoury.com article)
* Works by or about Charlemagne in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

==========

Charles the Great (Charlemagne) King of France and Holy Roman Emperor was born about 742; died on Jan 28 814 at Aachen, Duitsland. Charles and his brother Carloman succeeded jointly as heirs to their father's kingdom in 768, as was the Frankish custom. Almost immediately after being crowned, Charles had to supress a revolt in Aquitania, a part of his half of the kingdom. He asked his brother for help, but was refused. Upon his return, he found that his brother and his mother, Bertha had entered into an alliance with Desiderius, king of the Lombards, who was at that time attempting to extend his influence over all of Italy, which the Pope viewed with alarm. Charles and Carloman married daughters of Desiderius. Charles soon realized that he needed the goodwill of the Pope to strengthen his own monarchy, and when Carloman died in 768, Charles assumed his brother's kingdom, sent his wife home, and broke off the alliance with Desiderius. He marched to Italy and restored the Papal lands to the Holy See. In this way he extended his rule over Lombardy, and became the guarantor of the temporal possessions of the Church. For the following thirty years, Charles was continuously at war, both defending his empire, and extending Catholicism to the pagan tribes of Duitsland. By 800, he had forged most of Western Europe into an efficiently run church-state. On Christmas day in that year he was crowned by Pope Leo III with the imperial crown, and became the first Holy Roman Emperor. In the following six years he turned his attention from war to statesmanship, and in those years he created many schools and established artistic curricula for them. He also established a working relationship with the Byzantine empire to the east, overhauled the judicial system, and did much to stimulate economic development in his domain. The reign of Charlemagne brought a level of cultural, political, and economic development to European civilization which had not been seen since the heyday of the Roman Empire, and which would not be seen again for many centuries. In 1806 he divided his empire among his sons, Charles, Pepin, and Louis, although he himself remained active in administrative affairs. Two of the sons, Charles and Pepin, both died before Charlemagne, and when he died in 813, Louis was left as the sole heir to the Holy Roman Empire. Charlemagne married Hildegarde.

#: 2,014,753,865,760

Weis: King of France 768-814; crowned Holy Roman Emperor 25 Dec 800

[grosenbaum2.ged]

Holy Roman Emperor

Name Suffix: Holy Roman Emperor, King Of The Franks
!NAME: Charlemagne
!TITLE: King of the Franks (768-814), Emperor of the West (800-814);"
!BIRTH:2 Apr 742, at Ingelheim, Duitsland
!MARRIAGE: ". . .(third) ca. 771, Hildegardeof Swabia,"
!DEATH: ". . . 814/4 at Aix-la-Chapelle;" "The grandson of CharlesMartel and the son of Pepin the Short, he was the second Carolingian king of the Franks (768-814) and the first Christiann Emperor of the West (800-814). One of history's great figures, he was destined to found a new Roman empire inthe West. He regarded himself as the divine agent whose mission it was to revive the civilization, religion, and culture that had been lost in the Dark Ages. . . . Under the last of the Merovingians the intellectual and cultural of Francia had almost been extinquished. Charlemagne's first concern was to re-educate the clergy. . . . he brought to France learned and renowned teachers fromabroad, Alcuin from England, Paulus Diaconus from Italy. With their help, he founded cathedral and monastic schools, and established the seven liberal arts as the general program of studies. The result, not fully apparent until his death, was a veritable renaissance in letters and arts."
!REFERENCE-NOTE: ENCYLCOPEDIA AMERICANA - 1964, pp. 310, 311 Vol. 6. Library of Congress Number:64-12146.

Name Prefix: King Name Suffix: Of Franks (Of Burgundy)

Name Prefix: King Name Suffix: Of Franks (Of Burgundy)

Alias: KING OF /FRANCE/, Emperpr of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE REFERENCE: 1954 He was the King of France. Known also as Karl der Grosse and asCharles t he Great. From Encyclopedia Britannica Online, article entitled Charlemagne: "As king of the Franks, Charlemagne conquered the Lombard kingdom inItal y, subduedthe Saxons, annexed Bavaria to his kingdom, foughtcamp aigns in Spainand Hungary, and, with the exception of the Kingd om of Asturias in Spain, southern Italy, and the British Isles,united in o ne superstate practically all the Christian lands of western Europe. In 8 00 he assumed the title ofemperor. (He is reckoned as Charles I of the Ho ly Roman Empire, as well as Charles I of France.) Besides expanding its po litical power, he also brought about a cultural renaissance in his empir e. Although this imperium survived itsfounder by only one generation, t he medieval kingdoms of France and Germanyderived all their constitution al traditions fromCharles's monarchy. Throughout medieval Europe, the pers on of Charles was considered the prototype of a Christian king and emperor ." King of the Franks (771--814), and emperor of theWest (800--14), the elde st son of Pepin the Short. He defeated the Saxons (772--804) and the Lomba rds (773--4), fought the Arabs in Spain, and took control of most of Chris tian W Europe. In 800 he was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III. In his lat er years he consolidated his vast empire, building palaces a nd churches, and promoting Christianity, education, agriculture, theart s, manufacture, and commerce, so much so that the period has become kno wn as the Carolingian Renaissance. His reign was an attempt to consolida te order and Christian culture among the nations of the West, but his empi re didnot long survive his death, for his sons lacked both his vision a nd authority.

Charlemagne (742 or 747 – 28 January 814) (also Charles the Great; from Latin, Carolus Magnus) was the King of the Franks (768–814) who conquered Italy and took the Iron Crown of Lombardy in 774 and, on a visit to Rome in 800, was crowned imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans") by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day, presaging the revival of the Roman imperial tradition in the West in the form of the Holy Roman Empire. By his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define Western Europe and the Middle Ages. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of the arts and education in the West.

The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman until the latter's death in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that he experienced the worst defeat of his life at Roncesvalles (778). He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian Dynasty.

Today regarded as the founding father of both France and Duitsland and sometimes as the Father of Europe, as he was the first ruler of a united Western Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire.

Background
The Franks, originally a pagan, barbarian, Germanic people who migrated over the River Rhine in the late fifth century into a crumbling Roman Empire, were, by the early eighth century, the rulers of Gaul and a good portion of central Europe east of the Rhine and followers of the Catholic faith. However, their ancient dynasty of kings, the Merovingians, had gradually declined into a state of powerlessness, for which they have been dubbed rois fainéants, do-nothing kings. Practically all government powers of any consequence were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace or major domus.

In 687 Pippin of Heristal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry and practically became the sole governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pippin himself was the grandson of two most important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pippin of Landen. Pippin the Middle was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later also called Martel (the Hammer). After 737, Charles governed the Franks without a king on the throne but desisted from calling himself King. Charles was succeeded by his sons Carloman and Pippin, the father of Charlemagne. To curb separatism in the periphery of the realm, the brothers placed Childeric III on the throne, who was to be the last Merovingian king.

After Carloman resigned his office, Pippin had Childeric III deposed with the Pope's approval. In 751, Pippin was elected and anointed King of the Franks and in 754, Pope Stephen II again anointed him and his young sons. Thus was the Merovingian dynasty replaced by the Carolingian dynasty, named after Pippin's father Charles Martel and its most famous member, Charlemagne.

Pippin's sons, Charlemagne and Carloman, immediately became joint heirs to the great realm which already covered most of western and central Europe. Under the new dynasty, the Frankish kingdom spread to encompass an area including most of Western Europe. The division of that kingdom formed France and Duitsland; and the religious, political, and artistic evolutions originating from a centrally-positioned Francia made a defining imprint on the whole of Western Europe. The foundations of Europe—as more than a geographic entity—were laid in the Dark Ages, largely out of the Frankish Empire.

Date and place of birth
Charlemagne's birthday was believed to be April 2, 742; however several factors led to reconsideration of this traditional date. First, the year 742 was calculated from his age given at death, rather than attestation within primary sources. Another date is given in the Annales Petarienses, April 1, 747. In that year, April 1 is Easter. The birth of an Emperor on Easter is a coincidence likely to provoke comment, but there is no such comment documented in 747, leading some to suspect that the Easter birthday was a pious fiction concocted as a way of honoring the Emperor. Other commentators weighing the primary records have suggested that the birth was one year later, 748. At present, it is impossible to be certain of the date of the birth of Charlemagne. The best guesses include April 1, 747, after April 15, 747, or April 1, 748, in Herstal (where his father was born), a city close to Liège, in Belgium, the region from which both the Meroving and Caroling families originate. He went to live in his father's villa in Jupille when he was around 7, which caused Jupille to be listed as possible place of birth in almost every history book. Other cities have been suggested, including, Prüm, Düren, or Aachen.

Family

Marriages and heirs

* His first wife was Himiltrude, married in 766. The marriage was never formally annulled. By her he had:

o Pippin the Hunchback (767-813)

* His second wife was Gerperga (often erroneously called Desiderata or Desideria), daughter of Desiderius, king of the Lombards, married in 768, annulled in 771.

* His third wife was Hildegard (757 or 758-783 or 784), married 771, died 784. By her he had:

o Charles the Younger (772 or 773-811), King of the Franks administering Neustria
o Adelaide (773 or 774-774)
o Carloman, renamed Pippin (773 or 777-810), king of Italy
o Rotrude (or Hruodrud) (777-810)
o Louis (778-840), twin of Lothair, King of the Franks since 781, administering Aquitaine during his father's lifetime, since 814 sole king and emperor Holy Roman Emperor
o Lothair (778-779 or 780), twin of Louis
o Bertha (779-823)
o Gisela (781-808)
o Hildegarde (782-783)

* His fourth wife was Fastrada, married 784, died 794. By her he had:

o Theodrada (b.784), abbess of Argenteuil
o Hiltrude (b.787)

* His fifth and favorite wife was Luitgard, married 794, died 800 childless.

Concubinages and illegitimate children

* His first known concubine was Gersuinda. By her he had:

o Adaltrude (b.774)

* His second known concubine was Madelgard. By her he had:

o Ruodhaid (775-810), abbess of Faremoutiers

* His third known concubine was Amaltrud of Vienne. By her he had:

o Alpaida (b.794)

* His fourth known concubine was Regina. By her he had:

o Drogo (801-855), bishop of Metz from 823
o Hugh (802-844), archchancellor of the Empire

* His fifth known concubine was Ethelind. By her he had:

o Theodoric (b.807)

"By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne (Charles the Great) became master of Western Europe. It was falling into decay when Charlemagne became joint king of the Franks in 768. Except in the monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and the arts. Boldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By restoring the roots of learning and order, he preserved many political rights and revived culture.

Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who crushed the Saracens (see Charles Martel). Charlemagne was the elder son of Bertrade ("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short, first "mayor of the palace" to become king of the Franks. Although schools had almost disappeared in the 8th century, historians believe that Bertrade gave young Charles some education and that he learned to read. His devotion to the church became the great driving force of his remarkable life.

Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary, Eginhard, wrote that Charlemagne had fair hair and a "face laughing and merry . . . his appearance was always stately and dignified." He had a ready wit, but could be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He delighted in hunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress: linen shirt and breeches, a silk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter, a tight coat of otter or marten skins. Over all these garments "he flung a blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him."

Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usual penalty for defeat was death, Charlemagne several times spared the lives of his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, after a Saxon uprising, he ordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and nobles to reform, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. He forced kings and princes to kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the northern half of Europe was still pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman Catholic church was striving to assert its power against the Lombard kingdom in Italy. In Charlemagne's own realm, the Franks were falling back into barbarian ways, neglecting their education and religion.

Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-year campaign that conquered and Christianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the north. He subdued the Avars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the rebellious Bavarian dukes to submit to him. When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however. For example, Charlemagne offered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius for return of lands to the pope, but, when Desiderius refused, Charlemagne seized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.

The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize. During his reign he sent out more than 50 military expeditions. He rode as commander at the head of at least half of them. He moved his armies over wide reaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every move was planned in advance. Before a campaign he told the counts, princes, and bishops throughout his realm how many men they should bring, what arms they were to carry, and even what to load in the supply wagons. These feats of organization and the swift marches later led Napoleon to study his tactics.

One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In 778 he led his army into Spain to battle the infidel Saracens. On its return, Basques ambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles, in northern Spain, and killed "Count Roland." Roland became a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see Roland).

By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vast realm covered what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Nederland. It included half of present-day Italy and Duitsland, part of Austria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to the Ebro River. By thus establishing a central government over Western Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire and paved the way for the development of modern Europe.

Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in Saint Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III seized a golden crown from the altar and placed it on the bowed head of the king. The throng in the church shouted, "To Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, long life and victory!"

Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation, declaring that he would not have come into the church had he known the pope's plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared to act without Charlemagne's knowledge.

The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Though Charlemagne did not use the title, he is considered the first Holy Roman emperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance

Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed that government should be for the benefit of the governed. When he came to the throne, various local governors, called "counts," had become lax and oppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators, called missi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents called capitularies and sent them out in teams of twoÄÄa churchman and a noble. They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting government, administering justice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and religious duties.

Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to discuss its affairs. In all problems he was the final arbiter, even in church issues, and he largely unified church and state.
Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his people's lot in many ways. He set up money standards to encourage commerce, tried to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged better farming methods. He especially worked to spread education and Christianity in every class of people.

He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up other schools, opening them to peasant boys as well as nobles.

Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk, Alcuin, and other scholars to his court. He learned to read Latin and some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of having jesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.

To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to train his Frankish singers. To restore some appreciation of art, he brought valuable pieces from Italy. An impressive monument to his religious devotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where he was buried (see Aachen).

At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, was living. Louis's weak rule brought on the rise of civil wars and revolts. After his death his three quarreling sons split the empire between them by the Partition of Verdun in 843.

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Facts about this person:

Fact 1
Acceded:768

[Norvell.FTW]

[Eno.ftw]

BIOGRAPHY: Charlemagne, emperor of the West (800-814), Carolingian king of the Franks (768-814). The son of Pepin 'The Short', he consolidated his rule in his own kingdom, invaded Italy in support of the pope, and in 774 was crowned king of the Lombards. He took NE Spain from the Moors (778) and annexed Bavaria (788). After a long struggle (772-804) he subjugated and Christianized the Saxons. In 800 he restored Leo III to the papacy and was crowned emperor by him on Christmas Day, thus laying the basis for the Holy Roman Empire and finalizing the split between the Byzantine and Roman empires. Charlemagne ruled through a highly efficient administrative system. He codified the law in his various dominions, and his court at Aachen was the center for an intellectual and artistic renaissance. The end of his reign was troubled by raids by the Norsemen. His son. Louis I, was named co-emperor in 813 and succeeded on his father's death. Charlemagne's legend soon enhanced and distorted his actual achievements. and he became the central figure of a medieval romance cycle. "The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia".

BIOGRAPHY:Charlemagne, Emperor of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE.

CONFLICT: BIRTH:2 APR 0742, Aix La Chapelle, Austrasia
DEATH:28 JAN 0814, Aix La Chapelle, Austrasia.

Karl I ?den Store? (Charlemagne) var konge av Franken 768 - 800 og tysk-romersk
keiser 800 - 814.
Han regjerte først sammen med sin bror Karlmann og var, etter dennes død i 771,
enehersker.
Karl var idealet av en herskerskikkelse, en veldig mann, både legemlig og sjelelig. En
kjempeskikkelse var han, når han viste seg til hest i spissen for sine paladinere, en utvalgt
skare av panserkledte ryttere, med hjelm, panser og benskinner av jern og med hånden på
festet til det tunge slagsverdet. Det fortelles at han var så sterk at han kunne rette ut en
hestesko med hendene. Dessuten var han en dyktig rytter og svømmer og en ivrig jeger.
Jordbruk interesserte han seg også sterkt for og gjorde sine krongods til rene mønstergårder.
Til daglig levde han meget enkelt. Som keiser Augustus brukte han helst klær som hans hustru
og døtre hadde vevet. Men ved festlige anledninger opptrådte han med imponerende pomp og
prakt. De som da ble invitert til hoffet, kunne være sikre på at stemningen i gjestebudet ville bli
munter, for deres høye vert elsket spøk og lystighet når så skulle være. God kost vanket det
også. Kongens eget veldige korpus krevde mye mat. Han klaget over at han ikke hadde godt
av de kirkelige fastene. Ville drikkelag ville han imidlertid ikke vite noe av. Når det gjaldt
drikkevarer var Karl for sin egen del meget måteholden og forsøkte også å oppdra andre i
samme retning ved formaninger og straffer. I sine krigsartikler bestemte han for eksempel at
den som opptrådte beruset i leiren, bare fikk vann å drikke til han hadde forbedret seg, og den
som kom for sent til en hærsamlig, måtte unnvære både kjøtt og vin i like mange dager som
han hadde forsømt.
Karls politikk var fra første stund mer vidtfavnende enn farens. Et uttrykk for det var
hans innblanding i Italias affærer. Til å begynne med sto Karl på god fot med langobardenes
konge Desiderius og giftet seg med hans datter. Paven var naturligvis opprørt over ?det
djevelens verk som førte til denne avskyelige forbindelse mellom den edle frankiske kongeslekt
og de troløse og stinkende langobardene?. Men det lyktes ham ikke å forhindre ekteskapet, til
tross for at han forbød det i kraft av apostelen Peters autoritet, ja truet med evig forbannelse.
Allerede et år senere forskjøt imidlertid Karl sin dronning. Grunnene til det kjenner man ikke,
men de har vel snarere vært av politisk enn av personlig art. Desiderius forsøkte å ta hevn ved
å spille ut Karls brorsønner mot ham. Samtidig åpnet langobarderkongen fiendtligheter mot
paven og rykket inn på romersk område. Da vendte paven seg til frankernes konge med bønn
om hjelp, og Karl grep med glede denne anledningen til å få en slutt på Desiderius' lumske
anslag mot sin forhenværende svigersønn. Med en sterk hær dro han over Alpene og gjorde
slutt på langobardenes rike. Kongen ble tatt til fange og forsvant i et frankisk kloster, og landet
ble et lydrike under Karl. Fra nå av - 774 - kalte han seg ?frankernes og langobardenes
konge?. Senere dro Karl flere ganger til Italia for å skape ordnede forhold der og avskaffe
misbruk som hadde vokset fram både i stat og kirke.
Hovedoppgaven for Karls utenrikspolitikk lå imidlertid ved en annen grense, den
nordlige og nordøstlige. Der fortsatte han den kamp som allerede hans farfar hadde begynt mot
de ville sakserne. Det var nødvendig å få en slutt på deres ustanselige plyndringstog inn på
frankisk område, og etterhånden satte Karl seg også større mål enn bare å holde dette
hedenske folket i sjakk. Han ønsket å innlemme det i den germansk-kristne kulturverden.
I 772 rykket Karl for første gang inn i saksernes land. Noe av det første han gjorde var
å ødelegge den eldgamle, berømte helligdommen Irminsul eller Irminsäule, i Westfalen, nordøst
for Paderborn, som var viet til den germanske krigsguden Irmin. Det var en veldig trestamme
eller stolpe som sto inne i en hellig lund og etter tradisjonen bar hele verdensaltet oppe. Irminsul
med tilhørende templer og andre bygninger ble jevnet med jorden av Karl, gull- og sølvskattene
i helligdommen ble bortført og den hellige lunden brent. Det var Karls gjengjeldelse for de
frankiske kirkene som sakserne hadde plyndret og brent. I de tre dagene ødeleggelsesverket
sto på, var det så brennende varmt at alle kilder tørket ut og soldatene led forferdelig av tørst,
men så snart hedningenes offerplass var ødelagt, skjedde det et under; i et uttørret bekkeleie i
nærheten av frankernes leir sprudlet vannet plutselig så rikelig fram at hele hæren kunne få
slukket tørsten. Underet har imidertid senere fått sin naturlige forklaring. Ved Altenbochum i
nærheten av Lippespring fantes det ennå på 1600-tallet en kilde som kaltes Bullerborn og som
hadde den merkelige egenskap at den med stort bulder og brak ga rikelig vann seks timer av
gangen og så tørret helt inn i de neste seks timer. Kampene mot sakserne fortsatt fram til 804.
Han førte også seierrike kamper fra 791 til 797 mot Avarere og 801 i Spanien. Karl utvidet
derved sitt rike i nord helt til Eider, i øst til Saale, Elben og Raab, og i syd til Volturno og Ebro.
Juldagen i år 800 fant en av verdenshistoriens mest betydningsfulle begivenheter sted i
Peterskirken. Karl overvar den dagen messen i kristenhetens fornemste tempel. Da han reiste
seg opp etter å ha forrettet sine bønner foran alteret, trådte pave Leo III fram og satte en gyllen
krone på kongens hode, mens hele menigheten ropte ?Hill deg, Carolus Augustus, den av
Gud kronede, fredsæle romerske keiser!?
En bysantisk historieskriver fra denne tiden gjør følgende refleksjon i sin beretning om
Karls kroning: ?Da brast det bånd som lenge hadde forenet Roma med Konstantinopel, det
siste bånd mellom kristenhetens to hovedsteder. Den verdenshistoriske begivenhet i år 800
leder tanken hen på det som skjedde anno 476?. I Bysants ble keiserinne Irene som regjerte i
sin sønns navn, styrtet og landsforvist i 802. Under hennes etterfølger ble forholdet mellom
Østens og Vestens keisere direkte fiendtlig. I Bysants betraktet man Karl som en usurpator som
ikke hadde noen som helst rett til keisernavnet. Karl svarte med å underlegge seg de
østromerske besittelsene rundt nordkysten av Adriaterhavet i 809. Den viktigste av dem var
Venezia, som takket være sin innbringende handel med Orienten hadde tilført Bysants en
ustanselig strøm av gull. Da den østromerske keiseren dessuten til stadighet var utsatt for et
sterkt press fra bulgarere og arabere, bestemte han seg derfor tross alt for å underhandle med
?usurpatoren?, og i 812 anerkjente han ham omsider som Vestens keiser, mot at det
østromerske rike fikk tilbake Venezia og Dalmatia. Fra da av eksisterte det altså på ny et
vestromersk keiserdømme, sideordnet med det østromerske og formelt anerkjent av dette etter
gjeldende diplomatiske regler. Karl behøvde ikke lenger å føle seg i takknemlighetsgjeld til
paven for sin høye verdighet.
Karls ry nådde imidlertid enda lenger enn til Bysants. Også med Østens mektigste
hersker, Harun al-Rasjid, sto han i diplomatisk forbindelse. Kaliffen beundret den store
frankerfyrsten og ?foretrakk hans vennskap for alle andre kongers?. Den vennskapelige
forbindelse mellom dem ble innledet i 797 da tre fornemme frankere kom som utsendinger til
?perserkongen Aron?, som kaliffen ble kalt i frankiske beretninger. Etter fem års fravær vendte
den eneste overlevende av sendemennene tilbake med rike gaver, deriblant en elefant. Karl
hadde ønsket seg nettopp en slik gave, og Harun sendte ham ?den eneste elefant han i
øyeblikket eide?. Mer kan man jo ikke forlange. Det trofaste dyret, som lød navnet
Abu-l-Abbas, kom til Aachen i 802. Keiser Karl satte meget stor pris på det, og elefanten ble tatt
hånd om på beste måte til den døde åtte år senere.
Han opprettet til rikets beskyttelse forskjellige markgrevskaper, schlesvigsk, thüringsk,
avarisk, spansk osv. Videre skapte han i alle stammer en felles rett, kapitularier. Han fremmet
handel og industru.
Almindelig dannelse og kunnskaper fremmet han ved tilkallelse av lærde menn. Han
hadde særlig omsorg for det tyske språk og for dikterkunsten.
Karl var gift fire eller fem ganger. Fjorten barn - enkelte kilder oppgir atten eller tyve - ble
resultatet av hans forskjellige ekteskap og andre forbindelser. Sin sterke sanselighet maktet
nemlig den veldige frankerfyrsten aldri å tøyle.
Helt til Karl nærmet seg 70-årsalderen fikk han beholde sin jernhelse usvekket. Men de
siste fire årene han levde, var den svære, kraftige mannen ofte plaget av feber, og en halting
på den ene foten tydet på gikt. Sorgen over å miste tre av barna, som døde i sin kraftigste
alder i løpet av årene 810 og 811, bidro også til å undergrave hans motstandskraft. I 810 døde
de to eldste og uten sammenligning mest lovende av sønnene. Tyngst var nok tapet av den
førstefødte, yndlingssønnen, som Karl hadde satt alt sitt håp til. Aldri hadde man sett den gamle
keiseren så beveget som etter dette dødsfallet.
I januar 814 ble Karl angrepet av en voldsom feber. Etter en ukes forløp følte han at
hans timeglass var runnet ut. Med lukkede øyne og armene korslagt over brystet begynte han
med svak stemme å synge salmen ?Herre, i dine hender overgir jeg min ånd?. Han døde den
28. januar etter å ha regjert i 45 år. I alminnelighet blir hans fødselsår satt til 742, og han skulle
altså da ha vært 72 år ved sin død, men det er også enkelte som hevder at han først ble født i
747 og bare var 67 år da han døde.
Karl døde i sin yndlingsby Aachen og ble begravet i domkirken der. I 1165 ble han, i
nærvær av keiser Fredrik Barbarossa, høytidelig erklært for helgen, og samtidig ble hans ben
flyttet fra den marmorsarkofag hvor de hadde hvilt i 350 år, til en kiste av tre. Senere ble denne
byttet ut med et relikvieskrin av gull, som hvert syvende år vises fram til dem som valfarter til
domkirken. Skrinet ble åpnet i 1481 etter ønske av Karls beundrer Ludvig XI av Frankrike, og
siden også to ganger på 1800-tallet, siste gang i 1861, da det ualminnelig kraftige skjelettet ble
målt og viste seg å ha en lengde av 1.92 m. Hodeskallen oppbevares for seg, i et mindre skrin
av sølv.

Charlemagne, Frankish Emperor

Charlemagne, or "Charles the Great, Carolingian King" of the Franks, came to rule over most of Europe and assumed (800) the title of Roman Emperor. He is sometimes regarded as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire. Charlemagne was probably born in 742 at Aachen. In 768 he and his brother Carloman inherited the Frankish kingdom (most of present-day France and a part of western Duitsland) from their father Pepin "The Shore". The entire kingdom passed to Charlemagne when Carloman died in 771.

     CONQUESTS

     Charlemagne inherited great wealth and a strong military organization from his father and brother. He used these assets to double the territory under Carolingian control. In 772 he opened his offensive against the Saxons, and for more than three decades he pursued a ruthless policy aimed at subjugating them and converting them to Christianity. Almost every year Charlemagne attacked one or another region of Saxon territory. Mass executions-- 4,500 Saxons were executed on a single day in 782--and deportations were used to discourage the stubborn. The Saxons proved to be a far more difficult enemy than any of the other peoples subjugated by Charlemagne. For example, the Lombards were conquered in a single extended campaign (773-74), after which Charlemagne assumed the title "King of the Lombards." In 788 he absorbed the duchy of . Bavaria, and soon thereafter he launched an offensive against the Avar empire. The Avars succumbed within a decade, yielding Charlemagne a vast hoard of gold and silver. After one disastrous campaign (778) against the Muslims in Spain, Charlemagne left the southwestern front to his son Louis. The latter (later Emperor Louis I), with the help of local Christian rulers, conquered Barcelona in 801 and controlled much of Catalonia by 814. On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne accepted the title of emperor and was crowned by Pope LEO III. For several years after he regarded the imperial title of being of little value. Moreover, he intended to divide his lands and titles among his sons, as was the Frankish custom. At his death on Jan. 28, 814, however, only one son, Louis, survived; Louis therefore assumed control of the entire Frankish empire.

ADMINISTRATION

The internal organization of Charlemagne's empire varied from region to region. In much of what is today France, and especially in the south, the old Roman civitates (fortified cities) served as the focus of most important aspects of political, military, religious, and social organization. Both the count of the city, appointed by Charlemagne as his representative, and the bishop made their respective headquarters in the civitas. The count or his agent led the local army, and the walls of the civitates afforded protection for the inhabitants both of the city and the nearby countryside. In those parts of the empire that had not been part of the Roman world, Charlemagne made an effort to impose a similar system. He divided newly conquered lands into pagi (districts), which were placed under the jurisdiction of counts who exercised the same kind of administrative powers of their counterparts to the west. Charlemagne also sought to establish these new pagi as dioceses. In frontier areas, Charlemagne often established districts that were essentially military in their purpose and organization; these were called marks or marches. Local customs were everywhere perpetuated by recognition of traditional laws. The laws, some unwritten, of each of the various peoples of the Carolingian empire, such as Salian Franks, Ripuarian Franks, Romans, Saxons, Lombards, Bavarians, Thuringians, and Jews, were codified and/or modified if local codes already existed, they were recognized. This judicial autonomy enjoyed by the several peoples of the empire indicates the diversity that not only existed but also flourished under Charlemagne. The emperor did, however, legislate to provide a system by which these various peoples could interact with each other. The central administration of the empire, like the local administrations, was rudimentary. A palatine court followed Charlemagne on his numerous campaigns; during the later years of his life, when he remained at AACHEN, the court stayed there. Charlemagne also sent missi dominici, high-ranking agents of the central government, from the court to see that his orders, often cast in the form of capitularies (ordinances divided into capitula, or chapters), were enforced. As part of his administrative efforts, Charlemagne sought to standardize weights, measures, and coinage. He also made an attempt to control and develop trade. To these ends he strongly encouraged the development of Jewish communities.

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Charlemagne's concern for administration and his interest in seeing the church function effectively led him to encourage a rudimentary educational system based in monasteries. Thus a small group of clerical and lay administrators attained a useful level of literacy.

      Charlemagne left the development and implementation of this system largely to Alcuin. The latter's work led to what some scholars have called the Carolingian Renaissance. At Charlemagne's court a group of scholars was gathered that included men from England, Spain, and Italy, as well as native Franks and probably Jews.
EVALUAtION

Charlemagne has been credited with great political and humanitarian vision and a devout religious bent; as a result, some have been led to think of his military ventures as crusades. In fact, he was a gluttonous and superstitious illiterate, or semiliterate, who had a considerable capacity for brutality. His accomplishments were due mostly to the energy with which he pursued his military goals and the ruthlessness with which he treated any opponents. Nonetheless, his achievements were considerable, and the effect of his conquests was to spread Roman Christianity across central Europe.

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BIOGRAPHY: Charlemagne, emperor of the West (800-814), Carolingian king of the Franks (768-814). The son of Pepin 'The Short', he consolidated his rule in his own kingdom, invaded Italy in support of the pope, and in 774 was crowned king of the Lombards. He took NE Spain from the Moors (778) and annexed Bavaria (788). After a long struggle (772-804) he subjugated and Christianized the Saxons. In 800 he restored Leo III to the papacy and was crowned emperor by him on Christmas Day, thus laying the basis for the Holy Roman Empire and finalizing the split between the Byzantine and Roman empires. Charlemagne ruled through a highly efficient administrative system. He codified the law in his various dominions, and his court at Aachen was the center for an intellectual and artistic renaissance. The end of his reign was troubled by raids by the Norsemen. His son. Louis I, was named co-emperor in 813 and succeeded on his father's death. Charlemagne's legend soon enhanced and distorted his actual achievements. and he became the central figure of a medieval romance cycle. "The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia".

BIOGRAPHY:Charlemagne, Emperor of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE.

CONFLICT: BIRTH:2 APR 0742, Aix La Chapelle, Austrasia
DEATH:28 JAN 0814, Aix La Chapelle, Austrasia.

Established the system of reckoning in pounds, shillings and pence. He will also be remembered as the white-haired old king in the Song of Roland; but he was neither an economist nor the rather feckless character of the Song, being rather one of the ideal examples in European history of the man of action, a type that always spells danger. In 768 Charlemagne and his brother Carloman succeeded to the joint rule of the Franks, but three years later Carloman died, and Charlemagne ruled supreme. He was as active as his father in defending and expanding his territories. In 773, when the Lombards were again putting pressure on the Pope, he crossed the Alps with astonishing speed and defeated the Lombards absolutely, putting their king in a monastery (now a family habit) and assuming the 'Iron' Crown of Lombardy himself. He now began a systematic campaign to conquer the Saxons, and ten years of the most bitter fighting ensued. The Saxons discovered an able leader in Widukind, and in 782, managed to wipe out a substantial army of Franks. Charlemagne had 4,500 Saxons beheaded at Verden in retribution, and went on to celebrate 'The Nativity of Our Lord and Easter as he was wont to do,' says Einhard, his biographer. It took nearly three years to find Widukind, and he was then baptized---a clear declaration of submission; the rest of the Saxons gave little trouble in taking baptism, or obeying their new Frankish masters---they remembered Verden. A feudal vassal of Charlemagne who should have learned a lesson from this was Duke Tassilo of Bavaria, but he preferred to behave as if he were independent of his overlord. Charlemagne gave him one chance to reform, but then found that he was plotting with his enemies, so in 788 he too was put into a monastery, and Bavaria was incorporated into the fast growing empire. In Spain he was not so successful: he had been forced to call off his invasion in 778, for his troops were needed elsewhere, and anyway the Muslims turned out to be not as disunited as he had been told; it was in this retreat that Roland died. But in 793 the Muslims attacked over his borders, so he set up an enclave on the southern side of the Pyrenees to guard the area. He now turned his attention to the Avars, relations of the Huns, who lived in the area of the middle Danube, and were phenomenally rich with tribute-money they had wrung from the Byzantine Emperors. Peaceful negotiations had failed to keep them from raiding Charlemagne's lands, and so he set out to conquer them. It was as hard a war as that against the Saxons, lasting from 791-9, and Charlemagne was wise to distribute the loot he gained from it to his war-weary people instead of keeping it for himself. Since 476 there had been no Emperor in the West, and until recently the Popes had looked to the Byzantine Emperors for protection. In 800 the Pope was set upon and deposed, and Charlemagne had to go to Rome to restore him. On Christmas Day of that year he was praying in St. Peter's when the Pope came up and crowned him as Emperor, taking him 'unawares.' Historians wrangle over the coronation of Charlemagne, and the results of their searches read like detective stories. Suffice it to say that Charlemagne must have known what was going to happen, but he was rather disturbed about the whole thing afterwards; possibly he was upset at not having the fiat of the Emperor of the East, though a woman was reigning there at the time, possibly he felt the Pope had arrogated to himself too great a part in the coronation. Certainly he kept a very healthy respect for the Byzantine Empire, though he was not a man to fear another's power: he had good relations with Haroun-al-Rashid, the Caliph of Baghdad, who sent him a white elephant, and arranged protection for pilgrims visiting Jerusalem, in the heart of Muslim territory. In a less exciting area he developed good relations also with the various Anglo-Saxons states in England; and the first commercial treaty of which we have a record in English history is a letter from Charlemagne to Offa of Mercia, then the central Anglo-Saxon state, requesting more short cloaks, but not as short as the last batch, for when one was forced by the call of nature to get off one's horse, the cloak turned out to be a very draughty affair. Einhard's biography gives us a fine picture of Charlemagne in the prime of his life: a large pleasant looking man, with rather a weak voice, who loved all forms of exercise, but excelled in swimming. He wore the ordinary dress of his nation, objecting strongly to having to dress in Roman fashion on the two occasions Popes requested it to impress the citizens of Rome. He ate and drank moderately, but had a passion for roast meat. He loved to hear music and to listen to readings from St. Augustine's City of God; he also delighted in the old songs of his nation, which his priggish son had destroyed after his death, because they were pagan. He plainly respected learning, and loved to be surrounded by learned people, but he probably didn't get very far in his own learning; he used to keep a copy-book under his pillow (he suffered from insomnia) but he never really learned to write. His palace at Aachen was the Versailles of the ninth century, beautiful and impressive, though it is a typically homely touch that he settled on this site because the swimming was good there, with natural hot springs to warm the water. The pictorial arts flourished under him, especially in the decoration of books, which themselves were written in the fine minuscule hand which was developed in his reign, and was to form the basis of the Renaissance italic hand. Schools were built up, modelled on the palace school, which was more of a university in that it served as a place for distinguished scholars to work, and a training ground for the sons of the nobility. Alcuin was called from England, and Peter of Pisa came, along with the best minds of the age. Monasteries built up huge libraries, and in their scriptoria multiple copies were made. By these means the riches of literature of the ancient world were preserved for the modern, and not even the destructive power of the Norsemen could entirely root out the achievement. Although the full effect of this educational revolution was not to be felt until after the death of Charlemagne, when the whole of Europe began to build great edifices of stone, and theologians and philosophers dared to reason, this was truly the Carolingian Renaissance, and owed a tremendous debt to the boundless vision and enthusiasm of Charlemagne himself. In fact, the cultural influences of the Carolingian state were to outlast by far the state itself. Having conquered territories, Charlemagne tended to do little but install Frankish counts there, introduce his elementary form of feudalism, and then occasionally add to the legal system such laws as were necessary. He sent round groups of 'Missi Dominici' to check on the administration of the counts, and held formal assemblies each year, which provided an elementary check on what was happening all over the Empire; but it was only while his dominant personality and military might were at the head of the system that it could work---the whole Empire was ready to spring apart into fragments when this was removed. It lacked the economic organisation necessary for unity, retaining the spirit of self-sufficiency which was the hallmark of medieval regionalism. On his death in 814, his son Louis the Pious succeeded, but on his death in 840 civil war broke out between Louis' sons, and in 843 at Verdun the Empire was divided between the three of them, one taking the western strip, one the eastern and the third taking a central strip right down from the Low Countries to half-way down Italy---Duitsland was to go a separate way from that of France, the Low Countries and Burgundy were to aim at separate development, and all were to have interest in what became of the Italian domains. It is possible to place too much emphasis on the decisiveness of this treaty for the future history of Western Europe, but even so one should remember that the year before it was made when the two leaders of West and East met to make the preliminary arrangements, the one swore his oath in French and the other in German so that their followers could understand them. The popular names for the rulers who followed in the wake of Charlemagne spell out for us the decline from greatness, Louis the Pious, Charles the Bald, Louis the Stammerer, Charles the Fat, Charles the Simple. Europe was to be divided, with disastrous results; but nonetheless people remembered the achievement of Charlemagne through the long terrible years of war and the terrible attacks from the Norsemen. They created the tradition of the Song of Roland, which was only outdone in popularity by the later re-workings of the predominantly national legends of the Germans and the Celtic lands. Perhaps it was not so bad that Arthur replaced Charlemagne in the end, for his like did not come to Europe again until the days of Napoleon. [Source: Who's Who in the Middle Ages, John Fines, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 1995].
ASC
812. This year died the Emperor Charlemagne, after a reign of five and forty winters; and Archbishop Wulfred, accompanied by Wigbert, Bishop of Wessex, undertook a journey to Rome.

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King of the Franks 768-771
When Pepin III died in 768, his sons Carloman and Charles I (called Charlemagne towards the end of his reign) succeeded as Kings of the Franks. Carloman received the strong interior - Paris and Orleans, and Charlemagne received the rebellious states and border lands in a NW crescent around Carloman's kingdom. Either Pepin did this because he favored Carloman, or because he knew that Charlemagne was a better general and needed to be the one to face the rebellions.
In 769, Aquitaine rebelled and both brothers went to face the problem. Carloman marched back home without striking a blow, leaving Charlemagne to subdue Aquitaine on his own, which he did. The hatred between the brothers was temporarily settled by their mother, Bertrada. The Lombards were making many threats to Pope Hadrian, and so he called for the Frankish kings for protection. Carloman was pro-Lombard, so Charlemagne was again on his own. In 771, the Lombard king Desiderius invaded Rome and took much Papal land. At the end of that year, Carloman died, leaving Charlemagne the entire Frankish kingdom.
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King of the Franks 768-771
When Pepin III died in 768, his sons Carloman and Charles I (called Charlemagne towards the end of his reign) succeeded as Kings of the Franks. Carloman received the strong interior - Paris and Orleans, and Charlemagne received the rebellious states and border lands in a NW crescent around Carloman's kingdom. Either Pepin did this because he favored Carloman, or because he knew that Charlemagne was a better general and needed to be the one to face the rebellions.
In 769, Aquitaine rebelled and both brothers went to face the problem. Carloman marched back home without striking a blow, leaving Charlemagne to subdue Aquitaine on his own, which he did. The hatred between the brothers was temporarily settled by their mother, Bertrada. The Lombards were making many threats to Pope Hadrian, and so he called for the Frankish kings for protection. Carloman was pro-Lombard, so Charlemagne was again on his own. In 771, the Lombard king Desiderius invaded Rome and took much Papal land. At the end of that year, Carloman died, leaving Charlemagne the entire Frankish kingdom.
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He was born in 742 to Pepin the Short, who was Mayor of the Palace ofChilderic III, the last of an ever degenerating line of Merovingian kings. In 751, with the support of the Pope, Pepin cut off Childeric's long hair, the mark of his kingship, and sent him to a monastery, arrogating to himself the royal power. He was an active ruler, imposing peace on his border-lands, and twice descending on Italy to protect the Pope from the Lombards, giving to him the duchy of Rome as his own state in the bargain.
In 768 Charlemagne and his brother Carloman succeeded to the joint rule of the Franks, but three years later Carloman died, and Charlemagneruled supreme. He was as active as his father in defending and expanding his territories. In 773, when the Lombards were again putting pressure on the Pope, he crossed the Alps with astonishing speed and defeated the Lombards absolutely, putting their king in a monastery (now a family habit) and assuming the 'Iron' Crown of Lombardy himself.
He now began a systematic campaign to conquer the Saxons, and ten years of the most bitter fighting ensued. The Saxons discovered an able leader in Widukind, and in 782, managed to wipe out a substantial army of Franks. Charlemagne had 4,500 Saxons beheaded at Verden in retribution, and went on to celebrate 'The Nativity of Our Lord and Easter as he was wont to do,' says Einhard, his biographer. It took nearly threeyears to find Widukind, and he was then baptized---a clear declaration of submission; the rest of the Saxons gave little trouble in takingbaptism, or obeying their new Frankish masters---they remembered Verden.
A feudal vassal of Charlemagne who should have learned a lesson from this was Duke Tassilo of Bavaria, but he preferred to behave as if he were independent of his overlord. Charlemagne gave him one chance to reform, but then found that he was plotting with his enemies, so in 788he too was put into a monastery, and Bavaria was incorporated into the fast growing empire.
In Spain he was not so successful: he had been forced to call off hisinvasion in 778, for his troops were needed elsewhere, and anyway theMuslims turned out to be not as disunited as he had been told; it wasin this retreat that Roland died. But in 793 the Muslims attacked over his borders, so he set up an enclave on the southern side of the Pyrenees to guard the area.
He now turned his attention to the Avars, relations of the Huns, who lived in the area of the middle Danube, and were phenomenally rich with tribute-money they had wrung from the Byzantine Emperors. Peaceful negotiations had failed to keep them from raiding Charlemagne's lands,and so he set out to conquer them. It was as hard a war as that against the Saxons, lasting from 791-9, and Charlemagne was wise to distribute the loot he gained from it to his war-weary people instead of keeping it for himself.
Since 476 there had been no Emperor in the West, and until recently the Popes had looked to the Byzantine Emperors for protection. In 800 the Pope was set upon and deposed, and Charlemagne had to go do to Rometo restore him. On Christmas Day of that year he was praying in St. Peter's when the Pope came up and crowned him as Emperor, taking him 'unawares.' Historians wrangle over the coronation of Charlemagne, and the results of their searches read like detective stories. Suffice it to say that Charlemagne must have known what was going to happen, but he was rather disturbed about the whole thing afterwards; possibly he was upset at not having the fiat of the Emperor of the East, though a woman was reigning there at the time, possibly he felt the Pope had arrogated to himself too great a part in the coronation. Certainly he kept a very healthy respect for the Byzantine Empire, though he was nota man to fear another's power: he had good relations with Haroun-al-Rashid, the Caliph of Baghdad, who sent him a white elephant, and arranged protection for pilgrims visiting Jerusalem, in the heart of Muslimterritory. In a less exciting area he developed good relations also with the various Anglo-Saxons states in England; and the first commercial treaty of which we have a record in English history is a letter from Charlemagne to Offa of Mercia, then the central Anglo-Saxon state, requesting more short cloaks, but not as short as the last batch, for when one was forced by the call of nature to get off one's horse, the cloak turned out to be a very draughty affair.
Einhard's biography gives us a fine picture of Charlemagne in the prime of his life: a large pleasant looking man, with rather a weak voice, who loved all forms of exercise, but excelled in swimming. He wore the ordinary dress of his nation, objecting strongly to having to dress in Roman fashion on the two occasions Popes requested it to impressthe citizens of Rome. He ate and drank moderately, but had a passion for roast meat. He loved to hear music and to listen to readings from St. Augustine's City of God; he also delighted in the old songs of hisnation, which his priggish son had destroyed after his death, becausethey were pagan. He plainly respected learning, and loved to be surrounded by learned people, but he probably didn't get very far in his own learning; he used to keep a copy-book under his pillow (he sufferedfrom insomnia) but he never really learned to write.
His palace at Aachen was the Versailles of the ninth century, beautiful and impressive, though it is a typically homely touch that he settled on this site because the swimming was good there, with natural hot springs to warm the water. The pictorial arts flourished under him, especially in the decoration of books, which themselves were written in the fine minuscule hand which was developed in his reign, and was to form the basis of the Renaissance italic hand. Schools were built up, modelled on the palace school, which was more of a university in that it served as a place for distinguished scholars to work, and a training ground for the sons of the nobility. Alcuin was called from England, and Peter of Pisa came, along with the best minds of the age. Monasteries built up huge libraries, and in their scriptoria multiple copies were made. By these means the riches of literature of the ancient world were preserved for the modern, and not even the destructive powerof the Norsemen could entirely root out the achievement. Although thefull effect of this educational revolution was not to be felt until after the death of Charlemagne, when the whole of Europe began to buildgreat edifices of stone, and theologians and philosophers dared to reason, this was truly the Carolingian Renaissance, and owed a tremendous debt to the boundless vision and enthusiasm of Charlemagne himself.
In fact, the cultural influences of the Carolingian state were to outlast by far the state itself. Having conquered territories, Charlemagne tended to do little but install Frankish counts there, introduce his elementary form of feudalism, and then occasionally add to the legal system such laws as were necessary. He sent round groups of 'Missi Dominici' to check on the administration of the counts, and held formal assemblies each year, which provided an elementary check on what was happening all over the Empire; but it was only while his dominant personality and military might were at the head of the system that it could work---the whole Empire was ready to spring apart into fragments when this was removed. It lacked the economic organisation necessary for unity, retaining the spirit of self-sufficiency which was the hallmark of medieval regionalism.
On his death in 814, his son Louis the Pious succeeded, but on his death in 840 civil war broke out between Louis' sons, and in 843 at Verdun the Empire was divided between the three of them, one taking the western strip, one the eastern and the third taking a central strip right down from the Low Countries to half-way down Italy---Duitsland was togo a separate way from that of France, the Low Countries and Burgundywere to aim at separate development, and all were to have interest inwhat became of the Italian domains.
It is possible to place too much emphasis on the decisiveness of thistreaty for the future history of Western Europe, but even so one should remember that the year before it was made when the two leaders of West and East met to make the preliminary arrangements, the one swore his oath in French and the other in German so that their followers could understand them.
The popular names for the rulers who followed in the wake of Charlemagne spell out for us the decline from greatness, Louis the Pious, Charles the Bald, Louis the Stammerer, Charles the Fat, Charles the Simple. Europe was to be divided, with disastrous results; but nonetheless people remembered the achievement of Charlemagne through the long terrible years of war and the terrible attacks from the Norsemen. They created the tradition of the Song of Roland, which was only outdone in popularity by the later re-workings of the predominantly national legends of the Germans and the Celtic lands.

[blended.FTW]
[mergebase.FTW]
[Fix.FTW]
King of the Franks 768-771
When Pepin III died in 768, his sons Carloman and Charles I (called Charlemagne towards the end of his reign) succeeded as Kings of the Franks. Carloman received the strong interior - Paris and Orleans, and Charlemagne received the rebellious states and border lands in a NW crescent around Carloman's kingdom. Either Pepin did this because he favored Carloman, or because he knew that Charlemagne was a better general and needed to be the one to face the rebellions.
In 769, Aquitaine rebelled and both brothers went to face the problem. Carloman marched back home without striking a blow, leaving Charlemagne to subdue Aquitaine on his own, which he did. The hatred between the brothers was temporarily settled by their mother, Bertrada. The Lombards were making many threats to Pope Hadrian, and so he called for the Frankish kings for protection. Carloman was pro-Lombard, so Charlemagne was again on his own. In 771, the Lombard king Desiderius invaded Rome and took much Papal land. At the end of that year, Carloman died, leaving Charlemagne the entire Frankish kingdom.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------
[Attempt.FTW]
King of the Franks 768-771
When Pepin III died in 768, his sons Carloman and Charles I (called Charlemagne towards the end of his reign) succeeded as Kings of the Franks. Carloman received the strong interior - Paris and Orleans, and Charlemagne received the rebellious states and border lands in a NW crescent around Carloman's kingdom. Either Pepin did this because he favored Carloman, or because he knew that Charlemagne was a better general and needed to be the one to face the rebellions.
In 769, Aquitaine rebelled and both brothers went to face the problem. Carloman marched back home without striking a blow, leaving Charlemagne to subdue Aquitaine on his own, which he did. The hatred between the brothers was temporarily settled by their mother, Bertrada. The Lombards were making many threats to Pope Hadrian, and so he called for the Frankish kings for protection. Carloman was pro-Lombard, so Charlemagne was again on his own. In 771, the Lombard king Desiderius invaded Rome and took much Papal land. At the end of that year, Carloman died, leaving Charlemagne the entire Frankish kingdom.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------

He was born in 742 to Pepin the Short, who was Mayor of the Palace ofChilderic III, the last of an ever degenerating line of Merovingian kings. In 751, with the support of the Pope, Pepin cut off Childeric's long hair, the mark of his kingship, and sent him to a monastery, arrogating to himself the royal power. He was an active ruler, imposing peace on his border-lands, and twice descending on Italy to protect the Pope from the Lombards, giving to him the duchy of Rome as his own state in the bargain.
In 768 Charlemagne and his brother Carloman succeeded to the joint rule of the Franks, but three years later Carloman died, and Charlemagneruled supreme. He was as active as his father in defending and expanding his territories. In 773, when the Lombards were again putting pressure on the Pope, he crossed the Alps with astonishing speed and defeated the Lombards absolutely, putting their king in a monastery (now a family habit) and assuming the 'Iron' Crown of Lombardy himself.
He now began a systematic campaign to conquer the Saxons, and ten years of the most bitter fighting ensued. The Saxons discovered an able leader in Widukind, and in 782, managed to wipe out a substantial army of Franks. Charlemagne had 4,500 Saxons beheaded at Verden in retribution, and went on to celebrate 'The Nativity of Our Lord and Easter as he was wont to do,' says Einhard, his biographer. It took nearly threeyears to find Widukind, and he was then baptized---a clear declaration of submission; the rest of the Saxons gave little trouble in takingbaptism, or obeying their new Frankish masters---they remembered Verden.
A feudal vassal of Charlemagne who should have learned a lesson from this was Duke Tassilo of Bavaria, but he preferred to behave as if he were independent of his overlord. Charlemagne gave him one chance to reform, but then found that he was plotting with his enemies, so in 788he too was put into a monastery, and Bavaria was incorporated into the fast growing empire.
In Spain he was not so successful: he had been forced to call off hisinvasion in 778, for his troops were needed elsewhere, and anyway theMuslims turned out to be not as disunited as he had been told; it wasin this retreat that Roland died. But in 793 the Muslims attacked over his borders, so he set up an enclave on the southern side of the Pyrenees to guard the area.
He now turned his attention to the Avars, relations of the Huns, who lived in the area of the middle Danube, and were phenomenally rich with tribute-money they had wrung from the Byzantine Emperors. Peaceful negotiations had failed to keep them from raiding Charlemagne's lands,and so he set out to conquer them. It was as hard a war as that against the Saxons, lasting from 791-9, and Charlemagne was wise to distribute the loot he gained from it to his war-weary people instead of keeping it for himself.
Since 476 there had been no Emperor in the West, and until recently the Popes had looked to the Byzantine Emperors for protection. In 800 the Pope was set upon and deposed, and Charlemagne had to go do to Rometo restore him. On Christmas Day of that year he was praying in St. Peter's when the Pope came up and crowned him as Emperor, taking him 'unawares.' Historians wrangle over the coronation of Charlemagne, and the results of their searches read like detective stories. Suffice it to say that Charlemagne must have known what was going to happen, but he was rather disturbed about the whole thing afterwards; possibly he was upset at not having the fiat of the Emperor of the East, though a woman was reigning there at the time, possibly he felt the Pope had arrogated to himself too great a part in the coronation. Certainly he kept a very healthy respect for the Byzantine Empire, though he was nota man to fear another's power: he had good relations with Haroun-al-Rashid, the Caliph of Baghdad, who sent him a white elephant, and arranged protection for pilgrims visiting Jerusalem, in the heart of Muslimterritory. In a less exciting area he developed good relations also with the various Anglo-Saxons states in England; and the first commercial treaty of which we have a record in English history is a letter from Charlemagne to Offa of Mercia, then the central Anglo-Saxon state, requesting more short cloaks, but not as short as the last batch, for when one was forced by the call of nature to get off one's horse, the cloak turned out to be a very draughty affair.
Einhard's biography gives us a fine picture of Charlemagne in the prime of his life: a large pleasant looking man, with rather a weak voice, who loved all forms of exercise, but excelled in swimming. He wore the ordinary dress of his nation, objecting strongly to having to dress in Roman fashion on the two occasions Popes requested it to impressthe citizens of Rome. He ate and drank moderately, but had a passion for roast meat. He loved to hear music and to listen to readings from St. Augustine's City of God; he also delighted in the old songs of hisnation, which his priggish son had destroyed after his death, becausethey were pagan. He plainly respected learning, and loved to be surrounded by learned people, but he probably didn't get very far in his own learning; he used to keep a copy-book under his pillow (he sufferedfrom insomnia) but he never really learned to write.
His palace at Aachen was the Versailles of the ninth century, beautiful and impressive, though it is a typically homely touch that he settled on this site because the swimming was good there, with natural hot springs to warm the water. The pictorial arts flourished under him, especially in the decoration of books, which themselves were written in the fine minuscule hand which was developed in his reign, and was to form the basis of the Renaissance italic hand. Schools were built up, modelled on the palace school, which was more of a university in that it served as a place for distinguished scholars to work, and a training ground for the sons of the nobility. Alcuin was called from England, and Peter of Pisa came, along with the best minds of the age. Monasteries built up huge libraries, and in their scriptoria multiple copies were made. By these means the riches of literature of the ancient world were preserved for the modern, and not even the destructive powerof the Norsemen could entirely root out the achievement. Although thefull effect of this educational revolution was not to be felt until after the death of Charlemagne, when the whole of Europe began to buildgreat edifices of stone, and theologians and philosophers dared to reason, this was truly the Carolingian Renaissance, and owed a tremendous debt to the boundless vision and enthusiasm of Charlemagne himself.
In fact, the cultural influences of the Carolingian state were to outlast by far the state itself. Having conquered territories, Charlemagne tended to do little but install Frankish counts there, introduce his elementary form of feudalism, and then occasionally add to the legal system such laws as were necessary. He sent round groups of 'Missi Dominici' to check on the administration of the counts, and held formal assemblies each year, which provided an elementary check on what was happening all over the Empire; but it was only while his dominant personality and military might were at the head of the system that it could work---the whole Empire was ready to spring apart into fragments when this was removed. It lacked the economic organisation necessary for unity, retaining the spirit of self-sufficiency which was the hallmark of medieval regionalism.
On his death in 814, his son Louis the Pious succeeded, but on his death in 840 civil war broke out between Louis' sons, and in 843 at Verdun the Empire was divided between the three of them, one taking the western strip, one the eastern and the third taking a central strip right down from the Low Countries to half-way down Italy---Duitsland was togo a separate way from that of France, the Low Countries and Burgundywere to aim at separate development, and all were to have interest inwhat became of the Italian domains.
It is possible to place too much emphasis on the decisiveness of thistreaty for the future history of Western Europe, but even so one should remember that the year before it was made when the two leaders of West and East met to make the preliminary arrangements, the one swore his oath in French and the other in German so that their followers could understand them.
The popular names for the rulers who followed in the wake of Charlemagne spell out for us the decline from greatness, Louis the Pious, Charles the Bald, Louis the Stammerer, Charles the Fat, Charles the Simple. Europe was to be divided, with disastrous results; but nonetheless people remembered the achievement of Charlemagne through the long terrible years of war and the terrible attacks from the Norsemen. They created the tradition of the Song of Roland, which was only outdone in popularity by the later re-workings of the predominantly national legends of the Germans and the Celtic lands.

[blended.FTW]
[mergebase.FTW]
[Fix.FTW]
King of the Franks 768-771
When Pepin III died in 768, his sons Carloman and Charles I (called Charlemagne towards the end of his reign) succeeded as Kings of the Franks. Carloman received the strong interior - Paris and Orleans, and Charlemagne received the rebellious states and border lands in a NW crescent around Carloman's kingdom. Either Pepin did this because he favored Carloman, or because he knew that Charlemagne was a better general and needed to be the one to face the rebellions.
In 769, Aquitaine rebelled and both brothers went to face the problem. Carloman marched back home without striking a blow, leaving Charlemagne to subdue Aquitaine on his own, which he did. The hatred between the brothers was temporarily settled by their mother, Bertrada. The Lombards were making many threats to Pope Hadrian, and so he called for the Frankish kings for protection. Carloman was pro-Lombard, so Charlemagne was again on his own. In 771, the Lombard king Desiderius invaded Rome and took much Papal land. At the end of that year, Carloman died, leaving Charlemagne the entire Frankish kingdom.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------
[Attempt.FTW]
King of the Franks 768-771
When Pepin III died in 768, his sons Carloman and Charles I (called Charlemagne towards the end of his reign) succeeded as Kings of the Franks. Carloman received the strong interior - Paris and Orleans, and Charlemagne received the rebellious states and border lands in a NW crescent around Carloman's kingdom. Either Pepin did this because he favored Carloman, or because he knew that Charlemagne was a better general and needed to be the one to face the rebellions.
In 769, Aquitaine rebelled and both brothers went to face the problem. Carloman marched back home without striking a blow, leaving Charlemagne to subdue Aquitaine on his own, which he did. The hatred between the brothers was temporarily settled by their mother, Bertrada. The Lombards were making many threats to Pope Hadrian, and so he called for the Frankish kings for protection. Carloman was pro-Lombard, so Charlemagne was again on his own. In 771, the Lombard king Desiderius invaded Rome and took much Papal land. At the end of that year, Carloman died, leaving Charlemagne the entire Frankish kingdom.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------

He was born in 742 to Pepin the Short, who was Mayor of the Palace ofChilderic III, the last of an ever degenerating line of Merovingian kings. In 751, with the support of the Pope, Pepin cut off Childeric's long hair, the mark of his kingship, and sent him to a monastery, arrogating to himself the royal power. He was an active ruler, imposing peace on his border-lands, and twice descending on Italy to protect the Pope from the Lombards, giving to him the duchy of Rome as his own state in the bargain.
In 768 Charlemagne and his brother Carloman succeeded to the joint rule of the Franks, but three years later Carloman died, and Charlemagneruled supreme. He was as active as his father in defending and expanding his territories. In 773, when the Lombards were again putting pressure on the Pope, he crossed the Alps with astonishing speed and defeated the Lombards absolutely, putting their king in a monastery (now a family habit) and assuming the 'Iron' Crown of Lombardy himself.
He now began a systematic campaign to conquer the Saxons, and ten years of the most bitter fighting ensued. The Saxons discovered an able leader in Widukind, and in 782, managed to wipe out a substantial army of Franks. Charlemagne had 4,500 Saxons beheaded at Verden in retribution, and went on to celebrate 'The Nativity of Our Lord and Easter as he was wont to do,' says Einhard, his biographer. It took nearly threeyears to find Widukind, and he was then baptized---a clear declaration of submission; the rest of the Saxons gave little trouble in takingbaptism, or obeying their new Frankish masters---they remembered Verden.
A feudal vassal of Charlemagne who should have learned a lesson from this was Duke Tassilo of Bavaria, but he preferred to behave as if he were independent of his overlord. Charlemagne gave him one chance to reform, but then found that he was plotting with his enemies, so in 788he too was put into a monastery, and Bavaria was incorporated into the fast growing empire.
In Spain he was not so successful: he had been forced to call off hisinvasion in 778, for his troops were needed elsewhere, and anyway theMuslims turned out to be not as disunited as he had been told; it wasin this retreat that Roland died. But in 793 the Muslims attacked over his borders, so he set up an enclave on the southern side of the Pyrenees to guard the area.
He now turned his attention to the Avars, relations of the Huns, who lived in the area of the middle Danube, and were phenomenally rich with tribute-money they had wrung from the Byzantine Emperors. Peaceful negotiations had failed to keep them from raiding Charlemagne's lands,and so he set out to conquer them. It was as hard a war as that against the Saxons, lasting from 791-9, and Charlemagne was wise to distribute the loot he gained from it to his war-weary people instead of keeping it for himself.
Since 476 there had been no Emperor in the West, and until recently the Popes had looked to the Byzantine Emperors for protection. In 800 the Pope was set upon and deposed, and Charlemagne had to go do to Rometo restore him. On Christmas Day of that year he was praying in St. Peter's when the Pope came up and crowned him as Emperor, taking him 'unawares.' Historians wrangle over the coronation of Charlemagne, and the results of their searches read like detective stories. Suffice it to say that Charlemagne must have known what was going to happen, but he was rather disturbed about the whole thing afterwards; possibly he was upset at not having the fiat of the Emperor of the East, though a woman was reigning there at the time, possibly he felt the Pope had arrogated to himself too great a part in the coronation. Certainly he kept a very healthy respect for the Byzantine Empire, though he was nota man to fear another's power: he had good relations with Haroun-al-Rashid, the Caliph of Baghdad, who sent him a white elephant, and arranged protection for pilgrims visiting Jerusalem, in the heart of Muslimterritory. In a less exciting area he developed good relations also with the various Anglo-Saxons states in England; and the first commercial treaty of which we have a record in English history is a letter from Charlemagne to Offa of Mercia, then the central Anglo-Saxon state, requesting more short cloaks, but not as short as the last batch, for when one was forced by the call of nature to get off one's horse, the cloak turned out to be a very draughty affair.
Einhard's biography gives us a fine picture of Charlemagne in the prime of his life: a large pleasant looking man, with rather a weak voice, who loved all forms of exercise, but excelled in swimming. He wore the ordinary dress of his nation, objecting strongly to having to dress in Roman fashion on the two occasions Popes requested it to impressthe citizens of Rome. He ate and drank moderately, but had a passion for roast meat. He loved to hear music and to listen to readings from St. Augustine's City of God; he also delighted in the old songs of hisnation, which his priggish son had destroyed after his death, becausethey were pagan. He plainly respected learning, and loved to be surrounded by learned people, but he probably didn't get very far in his own learning; he used to keep a copy-book under his pillow (he sufferedfrom insomnia) but he never really learned to write.
His palace at Aachen was the Versailles of the ninth century, beautiful and impressive, though it is a typically homely touch that he settled on this site because the swimming was good there, with natural hot springs to warm the water. The pictorial arts flourished under him, especially in the decoration of books, which themselves were written in the fine minuscule hand which was developed in his reign, and was to form the basis of the Renaissance italic hand. Schools were built up, modelled on the palace school, which was more of a university in that it served as a place for distinguished scholars to work, and a training ground for the sons of the nobility. Alcuin was called from England, and Peter of Pisa came, along with the best minds of the age. Monasteries built up huge libraries, and in their scriptoria multiple copies were made. By these means the riches of literature of the ancient world were preserved for the modern, and not even the destructive powerof the Norsemen could entirely root out the achievement. Although thefull effect of this educational revolution was not to be felt until after the death of Charlemagne, when the whole of Europe began to buildgreat edifices of stone, and theologians and philosophers dared to reason, this was truly the Carolingian Renaissance, and owed a tremendous debt to the boundless vision and enthusiasm of Charlemagne himself.
In fact, the cultural influences of the Carolingian state were to outlast by far the state itself. Having conquered territories, Charlemagne tended to do little but install Frankish counts there, introduce his elementary form of feudalism, and then occasionally add to the legal system such laws as were necessary. He sent round groups of 'Missi Dominici' to check on the administration of the counts, and held formal assemblies each year, which provided an elementary check on what was happening all over the Empire; but it was only while his dominant personality and military might were at the head of the system that it could work---the whole Empire was ready to spring apart into fragments when this was removed. It lacked the economic organisation necessary for unity, retaining the spirit of self-sufficiency which was the hallmark of medieval regionalism.
On his death in 814, his son Louis the Pious succeeded, but on his death in 840 civil war broke out between Louis' sons, and in 843 at Verdun the Empire was divided between the three of them, one taking the western strip, one the eastern and the third taking a central strip right down from the Low Countries to half-way down Italy---Duitsland was togo a separate way from that of France, the Low Countries and Burgundywere to aim at separate development, and all were to have interest inwhat became of the Italian domains.
It is possible to place too much emphasis on the decisiveness of thistreaty for the future history of Western Europe, but even so one should remember that the year before it was made when the two leaders of West and East met to make the preliminary arrangements, the one swore his oath in French and the other in German so that their followers could understand them.
The popular names for the rulers who followed in the wake of Charlemagne spell out for us the decline from greatness, Louis the Pious, Charles the Bald, Louis the Stammerer, Charles the Fat, Charles the Simple. Europe was to be divided, with disastrous results; but nonetheless people remembered the achievement of Charlemagne through the long terrible years of war and the terrible attacks from the Norsemen. They created the tradition of the Song of Roland, which was only outdone in popularity by the later re-workings of the predominantly national legends of the Germans and the Celtic lands.

Charlemagne
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For the American band, see Charlemagne (band).
Charlemagne
Most Serene Augustus, Crowned by God, great and peaceful Emperor, governing the Roman Empire and, by the Mercy of God, king of the Lombardsand the Franks

Charlemagne (pronounced /'??rl?me?n/; Latin: Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) (742/747 ? 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 as a rival of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. His rule is also associated with theCarolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe andthe Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Duitsland, and the Holy Roman Empire.

The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I. The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towardsthe papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from powerin Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at Roncesvalles (778). He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and aftera protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty.

Today he is not only regarded as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity.[1] Pierre Riché reflects:

? . . . he enjoyed an exceptional destiny, and by the length of his reign, by his conquests, legislation and legendary stature, he also profoundly marked the history of western Europe.[2] ?
Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Personal traits
2.1 Date and place of birth
2.2 Language
2.3 Names of Charlemagne
2.4 Personal appearance
2.5 Dress
3 Rise to power
3.1 Early life
3.2 Joint rule
4 Italian campaigns
4.1 Conquest of Lombardy
4.2 Southern Italy
5 Charles and his children
6 Spanish campaigns
6.1 Roncesvalles campaign
6.2 Wars with the Moors
7 Eastern campaigns
7.1 Saxon Wars
7.2 Submission of Bavaria
7.3 Avar campaigns
7.4 Slav expeditions
8 Imperium
8.1 Imperial diplomacy
8.2 Danish attacks
8.3 Death
9 Administration
9.1 Economic and monetary reforms
9.2 Education reforms
9.3 Writing reforms
9.4 Political reforms
9.4.1 Organisation
9.4.2 Imperial coronation
9.4.3 Divisio regnorum
10 Cultural significance
11 Family
11.1 Marriages and heirs
11.2 Concubinages and illegitimate children
12 References
12.1 Notes
12.2 Bibliography
12.3 External links

[edit] Background
By the 6th century, the Franks were Christianised, and the Frankish Empire ruled by the Merovingians had become the most powerful of the kingdoms which succeeded the Western Roman Empire. But following the Battle of Tertry, the Merovingians declined into a state of powerlessness, for which they have been dubbed do-nothing kings (rois fainéants). Almost all government powers of any consequence were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace or major domus.

In 687, Pippin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry and became the sole governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pippin himself was the grandson of two most important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pippin of Landen. Pippin the Middle was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, laterknown as Charles Martel (the Hammer). After 737, Charles governed theFranks without a king on the throne but desisted from calling himself"king". Charles was succeeded by his sons Carloman and Pippin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. To curb separatism in the periphery of the realm, the brothers placed on the throne Childeric III, who was tobe the last Merovingian king.

After Carloman resigned his office, Pippin had Childeric III deposed with Pope Zachary's approval. In 751, Pippin was elected and anointed King of the Franks and in 754, Pope Stephen II again anointed him and his young sons, now heirs to the great realm which already covered most of western and central Europe. Thus was the Merovingian dynasty replaced by the Carolingian dynasty, named after Pippin's father Charles Martel.

Under the new dynasty, the Frankish kingdom spread to encompass an area including most of Western Europe. The division of that kingdom formed France and Duitsland;[3] and the religious, political, and artistic evolutions originating from a centrally-positioned Francia made a defining imprint on the whole of Western Europe.

[edit] Personal traits

Charlemagne (left) and Pippin the Hunchback. Tenth-century copy of a lost original from about 830.
[edit] Date and place of birth
Charlemagne is traditionally believed to have been born on April 2, 742; however, several factors have led to a reconsideration of this date. First, the year 742 was calculated from his age given at death, rather than from attestation in primary sources. Another date is given inthe Annales Petarienses, April 1, 747. In that year, April 1 was at Easter. The birth of an emperor at eastertime is a coincidence likely to provoke comment, but there was no such comment documented in 747, leading some to suspect that the Easter birthday was a pious fiction concocted as a way of honoring the Emperor. Other commentators weighing the primary records have suggested that his birth was one year later, in 748. At present, it is impossible to be certain of the date of the birth of Charlemagne. The best guesses include April 1, 747, after April 15, 747, or April 1, 748, in Herstal (where his father was born, a city close to Liège in modern day Belgium), the region from where boththe Merovingian and Carolingian families originate. He went to live in his father's villa in Jupille when he was around seven, which caused Jupille to be listed as a possible place of birth in almost every history book. Other cities have been suggested, including, Prüm, Düren,Gauting and Aachen.

[edit] Language
Charlemagne's native tongue is a matter of controversy. His mother speech was probably a Germanic dialect of the Franks of the time, but linguists differ on the identity and periodisation of the language, somegoing so far as to say that he did not speak Old Frankish as he was born in 742 or 747, by which time Old Frankish had become extinct. Old Frankish is reconstructed from its descendant, Old Low Franconian, also called Old Dutch, and from loanwords to Old French. Linguists know very little about Old Frankish, as it attested mainly as phrases and words in the law codes of the main Frankish tribes (especially those ofthe Salian and Ripuarian Franks), which are written in Latin interspersed with Germanic elements.[4]

The area of Charlemagne's birth does not make determination of his native language easier. Most historians agree he was born around Liège, like his father, but some say he was born in or around Aachen, some fifty kilometres away. At that time, this was an area of great linguistic diversity. If we take Liège (around 750) as the centre, we find LowFranconian in the north and northwest, Gallo-Romance (the ancestor ofOld French) in the south and southwest and various Old High German dialects in the east. If Gallo-Romance is excluded, that means he eitherspoke Old Low Franconian or an Old High German dialect, probably witha strong Frankish influence.

Apart from his native language he also spoke Latin "as fluently as his own tongue" and understood a bit of Greek: Grecam vero melius intellegere quam pronuntiare poterat, "He understood Greek better than he could pronounce it."[5]

[edit] Names of Charlemagne
Because of the number of languages spoken within his Empire, and his wide European fame, Charlemagne's name has been preserved in many different languages in different forms. The language of Charlemagne itselfdoes not exist anymore, but evolved into the Franconian languages.

Charlemagne's birth-name, "Charles" was derived from his grandfather,Charles Martel (who was supposedly given the name by his father, Pippin the Middle, as a circumspectory measure to prevent Pippin's wife Plectrude from discovering her husband's infidelity). The name derives from "karl", a Germanic stem meaning "man" or "free man",[6] related tothe English "churl". The earliest extant forms of Charlemagne's name are in the Latinate form, "Carolus" or "Karolus".

In many Slavic languages, the very word for "king" derives from Charles' Slavicised name.

A portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer that was painted several centuries after Charlemagne's death.Modern variants in Germanic languages (except English) are:

Danish, Norwegian and Swedish: Karl den Store
Dutch: Karel de Grote
Frisian: Karel de Grutte
German: Karl der Große
Luxembourgish: Karel de Groussen
The Germanic name was Latinised (Latin: Carolus Magnus) and preservedin the modern Romance languages (as well as English):

Catalan: Carlemany
French: Charlemagne and Charles le Grand, from the Old French Charlesle Magne
Italian: Carlo Magno and Carlomagno
Portuguese: Carlos Magno
Spanish: Carlomagno
Walloon: Tchårlumagne and Tchåle li Grand
Modern variants in and the Slavic languages influenced by the Germanic name are:

Croatian: Karlo Veliki
Czech: Karel Veliký
Polish: Karol Wielki
Slovak: Karol Velký
Slovenian: Karel Veliki
The Breton variant is Karl-Veur.

[edit] Personal appearance

Portrait of Charlemagne, whom the Song of Roland names the "King withthe Grizzly Beard"?Facsimile of an engraving from the end of the sixteenth century.Though no description from Charlemagne's lifetime exists, his personal appearance is known from a good description by Einhard, author of the biographical Vita Caroli Magni. He is well known to have been tall, stately, and fair-haired, with a disproportionately thick neck. His skeleton was measured during the 18th century and his height was determined to be 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in [1]), and as Einhard tells it in his twenty-second chapter:

Charles was large and strong, and of lofty stature, though not disproportionately tall (his height is well known to have been seven times the length of his foot); the upper part of his head was round, his eyesvery large and animated, nose a little long, hair fair, and face laughing and merry. Thus his appearance was always stately and dignified, whether he was standing or sitting; although his neck was thick and somewhat short, and his belly rather prominent; but the symmetry of the rest of his body concealed these defects. His gait was firm, his wholecarriage manly, and his voice clear, but not so strong as his size led one to expect.

The Roman tradition of realistic personal portraiture was in completeeclipse at this time, where individual traits were submerged in iconic typecastings. Charlemagne, as an ideal ruler, ought to be portrayedin the corresponding fashion, any contemporary would have assumed. The images of enthroned Charlemagne, God's representative on Earth, bear more connections to the icons of Christ in majesty than to modern (or antique) conceptions of portraiture. Charlemagne in later imagery (as in the Dürer portrait) is often portrayed with flowing blond hair, due to a misunderstanding of Einhard, who describes Charlemagne as having canitie pulchra, or "beautiful white hair", which has been rendered as blonde or fair in many translations. The Latin word for blond isflavus, and rutilo, meaning auburn, is the word Tacitus uses for the hair of Germanic peoples.

[edit] Dress

Part of the treasure in AachenCharlemagne wore the traditional, inconspicuous and distinctly non-aristocratic costume of the Frankish people, described by Einhard thus:

He used to wear the national, that is to say, the Frank dress: next to his skin a linen shirt and linen breeches, and above these a tunic fringed with silk; while hose fastened by bands covered his lower limbs, and shoes his feet, and he protected his shoulders and chest in winter by a close-fitting coat of otter or marten skins.

He wore a blue cloak and always carried a sword with him. The typicalsword was of a golden or silver hilt. He wore fancy jewelled swords to banquets or ambassadorial receptions. Nevertheless:

He despised foreign costumes, however handsome, and never allowed himself to be robed in them, except twice in Rome, when he donned the Roman tunic, chlamys, and shoes; the first time at the request of Pope Hadrian, the second to gratify Leo, Hadrian's successor.

He could rise to the occasion when necessary. On great feast days, hewore embroidery and jewels on his clothing and shoes. He had a goldenbuckle for his cloak on such occasions and would appear with his great diadem, but he despised such apparel, according to Einhard, and usually dressed like the common people.

[edit] Rise to power

[edit] Early life
Charlemagne was the eldest child of Pippin the Short (714 ? 24 September 768, reigned from 751) and his wife Bertrada of Laon (720 ? 12 July 783), daughter of Caribert of Laon and Bertrada of Keulen. Recordsname only Carloman, Gisela, and a short-lived child named Pippin as his younger siblings. The semi-mythical Redburga, wife of King Egbert of Wessex, is sometimes claimed to be his sister (or sister-in-law or niece), and the legendary material makes him Roland's maternal uncle through a lady Bertha.

Much of what is known of Charlemagne's life comes from his biographer, Einhard, who wrote a Vita Caroli Magni (or Vita Karoli Magni), the Life of Charlemagne. Einhard says of the early life of Charles:

It would be folly, I think, to write a word concerning Charles' birthand infancy, or even his boyhood, for nothing has ever been written on the subject, and there is no one alive now who can give informationon it. Accordingly, I determined to pass that by as unknown, and to proceed at once to treat of his character, his deed, and such other facts of his life as are worth telling and setting forth, and shall firstgive an account of his deed at home and abroad, then of his characterand pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know.

On the death of Pippin, the kingdom of the Franks was divided?following tradition?between Charlemagne and Carloman. Charles took the outer parts of the kingdom, bordering on the sea, namely Neustria, western Aquitaine, and the northern parts of Austrasia, while Carloman retainedthe inner parts: southern Austrasia, Septimania, eastern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence, and Swabia, lands bordering on Italy.

[edit] Joint rule
On 9 October, immediately after the funeral of their father, both thekings withdrew from Saint Denis to be proclaimed by their nobles and consecrated by the bishops, Charlemagne in Noyon and Carloman in Soissons.

The first event of the brothers' reign was the rising of the Aquitainians and Gascons, in 769, in that territory split between the two kings. Years before Pippin had suppressed the revolt of Waifer, Duke of Aquitaine. Now, one Hunald (seemingly other than Hunald the duke) led the Aquitainians as far north as Angoulême. Charlemagne met Carloman, but Carloman refused to participate and returned to Burgundy. Charlemagne went to war, leading an army to Bordeaux, where he set up a camp atFronsac. Hunold was forced to flee to the court of Duke Lupus II of Gascony. Lupus, fearing Charlemagne, turned Hunold over in exchange forpeace. He was put in a monastery. Aquitaine was finally fully subduedby the Franks.

The brothers maintained lukewarm relations with the assistance of their mother Bertrada, but in 770 Charlemagne signed a treaty with Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and married a Lombard Princess (commonly known today as Desiderata), the daughter of King Desiderius, in order to surround Carloman with his own allies. Though Pope Stephen III first opposed the marriage with the Lombard princess, he would soon have little to fear from a Frankish-Lombard alliance.

Less than a year after his marriage, Charlemagne repudiated Desiderata, and quickly remarried to a 13-year-old Swabian named Hildegard. Therepudiated Desiderata returned to her father's court at Pavia. The Lombard's wrath was now aroused and he would gladly have allied with Carloman to defeat Charles. But before war could break out, Carloman diedon 5 December 771. Carloman's wife Gerberga fled to Desiderius' courtwith her sons for protection.

[edit] Italian campaigns

[edit] Conquest of Lombardy

The Frankish king Charlemagne was a devout Catholic who maintained a close relationship with the papacy throughout his life. In 772, when Pope Hadrian I was threatened by invaders, the king rushed to Rome to provide assistance. Shown here, the pope asks Charlemagne for help at ameeting near RomeAt the succession of Pope Hadrian I in 772, he demanded the return of certain cities in the former exarchate of Ravenna asin accordance with a promise of Desiderius' succession. Desiderius instead took over certain papal cities and invaded the Pentapolis, heading for Rome. Hadrian sent embassies to Charlemagne in autumn requesting he enforce the policies of his father, Pippin. Desiderius sent his own embassies denying the pope's charges. The embassies both met at Thionville and Charlemagne upheld the pope's side. Charlemagne promptly demanded what the pope had demanded and Desiderius promptly swore never to comply. Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard crossed the Alps in 773 and chased the Lombards back to Pavia, which they then besieged. Charlemagne temporarily left the siege to deal with Adelchis, son of Desiderius, who was raising an army at Verona. The young prince was chased to the Adriatic littoral and he fled to Constantinople to plead forassistance from Constantine V Copronymus, who was waging war with theBulgars.

The siege lasted until the spring of 774, when Charlemagne visited the pope in Rome. There he confirmed his father's grants of land, with some later chronicles claiming?falsely?that he also expanded them, granting Tuscany, Emilia, Venice, and Corsica. The pope granted him the title patrician. He then returned to Pavia, where the Lombards were on the verge of surrendering.

In return for their lives, the Lombards surrendered and opened the gates in early summer. Desiderius was sent to the abbey of Corbie and his son Adelchis died in Constantinople a patrician. Charles, unusually, had himself crowned with the Iron Crown and made the magnates of Lombardy do homage to him at Pavia. Only Duke Arechis II of Benevento refused to submit and proclaimed independence. Charlemagne was now master of Italy as king of the Lombards. He left Italy with a garrison in Pavia and few Frankish counts in place that very year.

There was still instability, however, in Italy. In 776, Dukes Hrodgaud of Friuli and Hildeprand of Spoleto rebelled. Charlemagne rushed back from Saxony and defeated the duke of Friuli in battle. The duke wasslain. The duke of Spoleto signed a treaty. Their co-conspirator, Arechis, was not subdued and Adelchis, their candidate in Byzantium, never left that city. Northern Italy was now faithfully his.

[edit] Southern Italy
In 787 Charlemagne directed his attention towards Benevento, where Arechis was reigning independently. He besieged Salerno and Arechis submitted to vassalage. However, with his death in 792, Benevento again proclaimed independence under his son Grimoald III. Grimoald was attacked by armies of Charles' or his sons' many times, but Charlemagne himself never returned to the Mezzogiorno and Grimoald never was forced tosurrender to Frankish suzerainty.

[edit] Charles and his children
During the first peace of any substantial length (780?782), Charles began to appoint his sons to positions of authority within the realm, in the tradition of the kings and mayors of the past. In 781 he made his two younger sons kings, having them crowned by the Pope. The elder of these two, Carloman, was made king of Italy, taking the Iron Crown which his father had first worn in 774, and in the same ceremony was renamed "Pippin". The younger of the two, Louis, became king of Aquitaine. He ordered Pippin and Louis to be raised in the customs of their kingdoms, and he gave their regents some control of their subkingdoms, but real power was always in his hands, though he intended each to inherit their realm some day. Nor did he tolerate insubordination in his sons: in 792, he banished his eldest, though illegitimate, son, Pippinthe Hunchback, to the monastery of Prüm, because the young man had joined a rebellion against him.

The sons fought many wars on behalf of their father when they came ofage. Charles was mostly preoccupied with the Bretons, whose border heshared and who insurrected on at least two occasions and were easily put down, but he was also sent against the Saxons on multiple occasions. In 805 and 806, he was sent into the Böhmerwald (modern Bohemia) todeal with the Slavs living there (Czechs). He subjected them to Frankish authority and devastated the valley of the Elbe, forcing a tributeon them. Pippin had to hold the Avar and Beneventan borders, but alsofought the Slavs to his north. He was uniquely poised to fight the Byzantine Empire when finally that conflict arose after Charlemagne's imperial coronation and a Venetian rebellion. Finally, Louis was in charge of the Spanish March and also went to southern Italy to fight the duke of Benevento on at least one occasion. He took Barcelona in a great siege in the year 797 (see below).

Charlemagne's attitude toward his daughters has been the subject of much discussion. He kept them at home with him, and refused to allow them to contract sacramental marriages ? possibly to prevent the creation of cadet branches of the family to challenge the main line, as had been the case with Tassilo of Bavaria ? yet he tolerated their extramarital relationships, even rewarding their common-law husbands, and treasured the bastard grandchildren they produced for him. He also, apparently, refused to believe stories of their wild behaviour. After his death the surviving daughters were banished from the court by their brother, the pious Louis, to take up residence in the convents they had been bequeathed by their father. At least one of them, Bertha, had a recognised relationship, if not a marriage, with Angilbert, a member of Charlemagne's court circle.

[edit] Spanish campaigns

[edit] Roncesvalles campaign

Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne in an illlustration taken from a manuscript of a chanson de gesteTo the Diet of Paderborn had comerepresentatives of the Muslim rulers of Gerona, Barcelona, and Huesca. Their masters had been cornered in the Iberian peninsula by Abd ar-Rahman I, the Umayyad emir of Córdoba. The Moorish rulers offered their homage to the great king of the Franks in return for military support. Seeing an opportunity to extend Christendom and his own power and believing the Saxons to be a fully conquered nation, he agreed to go to Spain.

In 778, he led the Neustrian army across the Western Pyrenees, while the Austrasians, Lombards, and Burgundians passed over the Eastern Pyrenees. The armies met at Zaragoza and received the homage of Soloman ibn al-Arabi and Kasmin ibn Yusuf, the foreign rulers. Zaragoza did notfall soon enough for Charles, however. Indeed, Charlemagne was facingthe toughest battle of his career and, in fear of losing, he decided to retreat and head home. He could not trust the Moors, nor the Basques, whom he had subdued by conquering Pamplona. He turned to leave Iberia, but as he was passing through the Pass of Roncesvalles one of the most famous events of his long reign occurred. The Basques fell on hisrearguard and baggage train, utterly destroying it. The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, less a battle than a mere skirmish, left many famous dead: among which were the seneschal Eggihard, the count of the palace Anselm, and the warden of the Breton March, Roland, inspiring the subsequent creation of the Song of Roland (Chanson de Roland). Thus ended the Spanish campaign in complete disaster.

[edit] Wars with the Moors
The conquest of Italy brought Charlemagne in contact with the Saracens who, at the time, controlled the Mediterranean. Pippin, his son, was much occupied with Saracens in Italy. Charlemagne conquered Corsicaand Sardinia at an unknown date and in 799 the Balearic Islands. The islands were often attacked by Saracen pirates, but the counts of Genoa and Tuscany (Boniface) kept them at bay with large fleets until theend of Charlemagne's reign. Charlemagne even had contact with the caliphal court in Baghdad. In 797 (or possibly 801), the caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, presented Charlemagne with an Asian elephant namedAbul-Abbas and a mechanical clock[citation needed], out of which camea mechanical bird to announce the hours.

In Hispania, the struggle against the Moors continued unabated throughout the latter half of his reign. His son Louis was in charge of the Spanish border. In 785, his men captured Gerona permanently and extended Frankish control into the Catalan littoral for the duration of Charlemagne's reign (and much longer, it remained nominally Frankish untilthe Treaty of Corbeil in 1258). The Muslim chiefs in the northeast ofIslamic Spain were constantly revolting against Córdoban authority and they often turned to the Franks for help. The Frankish border was slowly extended until 795, when Gerona, Cardona, Ausona, and Urgel wereunited into the new Spanish March, within the old duchy of Septimania.

In 797 Barcelona, the greatest city of the region, fell to the Frankswhen Zeid, its governor, rebelled against Córdoba and, failing, handed it to them. The Umayyad authority recaptured it in 799. However, Louis of Aquitaine marched the entire army of his kingdom over the Pyrenees and besieged it for two years, wintering there from 800 to 801, when it capitulated. The Franks continued to press forwards against the emir. They took Tarragona in 809 and Tortosa in 811. The last conquestbrought them to the mouth of the Ebro and gave them raiding access toValencia, prompting the Emir al-Hakam I to recognise their conquests in 812.

[edit] Eastern campaigns

[edit] Saxon Wars
Carolingian dynasty
Pippinids
Pippin the Elder (c. 580?640)
Grimoald (616?656)
Childebert the Adopted (d. 662)

Arnulfings
Arnulf of Metz (582?640)
Chlodulf of Metz (d. 696 or 697)
Ansegisel (c.602?before 679)
Pippin the Middle (c.635?714)
Grimoald II (d. 714)
Drogo of Champagne (670?708)
Theudoald (d. 714)

Carolingians
Charles Martel (686?741)
Carloman (d. 754)
Pepin the Short (714?768)
Carloman I (751?771)
Charlemagne (d. 814)
Louis the Pious (778?840)

After the Treaty of Verdun (843)
Lothair I, Holy Roman Emperor (795?855)
(Middle Francia)
Charles the Bald (823?877)
(Western Francia)
Louis the German (804?876)
(Eastern Francia)

Charlemagne was engaged in almost constant battle throughout his reign, often at the head of his elite scara bodyguard squadrons, with his legendary sword Joyeuse in hand. After thirty years of war and eighteen battles?the Saxon Wars?he conquered Saxonia and proceeded to convert the conquered to Roman Catholicism, using force where necessary.

The Saxons were divided into four subgroups in four regions. Nearest to Austrasia was Westphalia and furthest away was Eastphalia. In between these two kingdoms was that of Engria and north of these three, at the base of the Jutland peninsula, was Nordalbingia.

In his first campaign, Charlemagne forced the Engrians in 773 to submit and cut down an Irminsul pillar near Paderborn. The campaign was cut short by his first expedition to Italy. He returned in the year 775, marching through Westphalia and conquering the Saxon fort of Sigiburg. He then crossed Engria, where he defeated the Saxons again. Finally, in Eastphalia, he defeated a Saxon force, and its leader Hessi converted to Christianity. He returned through Westphalia, leaving encampments at Sigiburg and Eresburg, which had, up until then, been important Saxon bastions. All Saxony but Nordalbingia was under his control, but Saxon resistance had not ended.

Following his campaign in Italy subjugating the dukes of Friuli and Spoleto, Charlemagne returned very rapidly to Saxony in 776, where a rebellion had destroyed his fortress at Eresburg. The Saxons were once again brought to heel, but their main leader, duke Widukind, managed toescape to Denmark, home of his wife. Charlemagne built a new camp at Karlstadt. In 777, he called a national diet at Paderborn to integrateSaxony fully into the Frankish kingdom. Many Saxons were baptised.

In the summer of 779, he again invaded Saxony and reconquered Eastphalia, Engria, and Westphalia. At a diet near Lippe, he divided the landinto missionary districts and himself assisted in several mass baptisms (780). He then returned to Italy and, for the first time, there wasno immediate Saxon revolt. From 780 to 782, the land had peace.

He returned in 782 to Saxony and instituted a code of law and appointed counts, both Saxon and Frank. The laws were draconian on religious issues, and the indigenous forms of Germanic polytheism were gravely threatened by Christianisation. This stirred a renewal of the old conflict. That year, in autumn, Widukind returned and led a new revolt, which resulted in several assaults on the church. In response, at Verden in Lower Saxony, Charlemagne allegedly ordered the beheading of 4,500 Saxons who had been caught practising their native paganism after conversion to Christianity, known as the Bloody Verdict of Verden or Massacre of Verden. The massacre triggered two years of renewed bloody warfare (783-785). During this war the Frisians were also finally subdued and a large part of their fleet was burned. The war ended with Widukind accepting baptism.

Thereafter, the Saxons maintained the peace for seven years, but in 792 the Westphalians once again rose against their conquerors. The Eastphalians and Nordalbingians joined them in 793, but the insurrection did not catch on and was put down by 794. An Engrian rebellion followedin 796, but Charlemagne's personal presence and the presence of loyalChristian Saxons and Slavs quickly crushed it. The last insurrection of the independence-minded people occurred in 804, more than thirty years after Charlemagne's first campaign against them. This time, the most unruly of them, the Nordalbingians, found themselves effectively disempowered from rebellion. According to Einhard:

The war that had lasted so many years was at length ended by their acceding to the terms offered by the King; which were renunciation of their national religious customs and the worship of devils, acceptance of the sacraments of the Christian faith and religion, and union with the Franks to form one people.

[edit] Submission of Bavaria
In 788, Charlemagne turned his attention to Bavaria. He claimed Tassilo was an unfit ruler on account of his oath-breaking. The charges were trumped up, but Tassilo was deposed anyway and put in the monasteryof Jumièges. In 794, he was made to renounce any claim to Bavaria forhimself and his family (the Agilolfings) at the synod of Frankfurt. Bavaria was subdivided into Frankish counties, like Saxony.

[edit] Avar campaigns
In 788, the Avars, a pagan Asian horde which had settled down in whatis today Hungary (Einhard called them Huns), invaded Friuli and Bavaria. Charles was preoccupied until 790 with other things, but in that year, he marched down the Danube into their territory and ravaged it tothe Raab. Then, a Lombard army under Pippin marched into the Drava valley and ravaged Pannonia. The campaigns would have continued if the Saxons had not revolted again in 792, breaking seven years of peace.

For the next two years, Charles was occupied with the Slavs against the Saxons. Pippin and Duke Eric of Friuli continued, however, to assault the Avars' ring-shaped strongholds. The great Ring of the Avars, their capital fortress, was taken twice. The booty was sent to Charlemagne at his capital, Aachen, and redistributed to all his followers and even to foreign rulers, including King Offa of Mercia. Soon the Avar tuduns had thrown in the towel and travelled to Aachen to subject themselves to Charlemagne as vassals and Christians. This Charlemagne accepted and sent one native chief, baptised Abraham, back to Avaria with the ancient title of khagan. Abraham kept his people in line, but in 800 the Bulgarians under Krum had swept the Avar state away. In the 10th century, the Magyars settled the Pannonian plain and presented a new threat to Charlemagne's descendants.

[edit] Slav expeditions
In 789, in recognition of his new pagan neighbours, the Slavs, Charlemagne marched an Austrasian-Saxon army across the Elbe into Abotrite territory. The Slavs immediately submitted under their leader Witzin. He then accepted the surrender of the Wiltzes under Dragovit and demanded many hostages and the permission to send, unmolested, missionariesinto the pagan region. The army marched to the Baltic before turning around and marching to the Rhine with much booty and no harassment. The tributary Slavs became loyal allies. In 795, the peace broken by the Saxons, the Abotrites and Wiltzes rose in arms with their new master against the Saxons. Witzin died in battle and Charlemagne avenged him by harrying the Eastphalians on the Elbe. Thrasuco, his successor, led his men to conquest over the Nordalbingians and handed their leaders over to Charlemagne, who greatly honoured him. The Abotrites remained loyal until Charles' death and fought later against the Danes.

Charlemagne also directed his attention to the Slavs to the south of the Avar khaganate: the Carantanians and Slovenes. These people were subdued by the Lombards and Bavarii and made tributaries, but never incorporated into the Frankish state.

[edit] Imperium

[edit] Imperial diplomacy

Charlemagne's chapel at Aachen Cathedral.Matters of Charlemagne's reign came to a head in late 800. In 799, Pope Leo III had been mistreated by the Romans, who tried to put out his eyes and tear out his tongue. Leo escaped, and fled to Charlemagne at Paderborn, asking him to intervene in Rome and restore him. Charlemagne, advised by Alcuin of York, agreed to travel to Rome, doing so in November 800 and holding a council on December 1. On December 23 Leo swore an oath of innocence. AtMass, on Christmas Day (December 25), when Charlemagne knelt the altar to pray, the pope crowned him Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans") in Saint Peter's Basilica. In so doing, the pope was effectively attempting to transfer the office from Constantinople to Charles. Einhard says that Charlemagne was ignorant of the pope's intent and did not want any such coronation:

[H]e at first had such an aversion that he declared that he would nothave set foot in the Church the day that they [the imperial titles] were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, if he could have foreseen the design of the Pope.

Many modern scholars suggest that Charlemagne was indeed aware of thecoronation; certainly he cannot have missed the bejeweled crown waiting on the altar when he came to pray. In any event, he would now use these circumstances to claim that he was the renewer of the Roman Empire, which had apparently fallen into degradation under the Byzantines. However, Charles would after 806 style himself, not Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans", a title reserved for the Byzantine emperor), but rather Imperator Romanum gubernans Imperium ("Emperor ruling the Roman Empire").

The Iconoclasm of the Isaurian Dynasty and resulting religious conflicts with the Empress Irene, sitting on the throne in Constantinople in800, were probably the chief causes of the pope's desire to formally acclaim Charles as Roman Emperor. He also most certainly desired to increase the influence of the papacy, honour his saviour Charlemagne, and solve the constitutional issues then most troubling to European jurists in an era when Rome was not in the hands of an emperor. Thus, Charlemagne's assumption of the imperial title was not an usurpation in the eyes of the Franks or Italians. It was though in Byzantium, where it was protested by Irene and her successor Nicephorus I ? neither of whom had any great effect in enforcing their protests.

The Byzantines, however, still held several territories in Italy: Venice (what was left of the Exarchate of Ravenna), Reggio (Calabria, thetoe), Brindisi (Apulia, the heel), and Naples (the Ducatus Neapolitanus). These regions remained outside of Frankish hands until 804, when the Venetians, torn by infighting, transferred their allegiance to theIron Crown of Pippin, Charles' son. The Pax Nicephori ended. Nicephorus ravaged the coasts with a fleet and the only instance of war between the Byzantines and the Franks, as it was, began. It lasted until 810, when the pro-Byzantine party in Venice gave their city back to the Byzantine Emperor and the two emperors of Europe made peace: Charlemagne received the Istrian peninsula and in 812 Emperor Michael I Rhangabes recognised his status as Emperor.

[edit] Danish attacks
After the conquest of Nordalbingia, the Frankish frontier was broughtinto contact with Scandinavia. The pagan Danes, "a race almost unknown to his ancestors, but destined to be only too well known to his sons" as Charles Oman described them, inhabiting the Jutland peninsula had heard many stories from Widukind and his allies who had taken refuge with them about the dangers of the Franks and the fury which their Christian king could direct against pagan neighbours.

In 808, the king of the Danes, Godfred, built the vast Danevirke across the isthmus of Schleswig. This defence, last employed in the Danish-Prussian War of 1864, was at its beginning a 30 km long earthenwork rampart. The Danevirke protected Danish land and gave Godfred the opportunity to harass Frisia and Flanders with pirate raids. He also subdued the Frank-allied Wiltzes and fought the Abotrites.

Godfred invaded Frisia and joked of visiting Aachen, but was murderedbefore he could do any more, either by a Frankish assassin or by one of his own men. Godfred was succeeded by his nephew Hemming and he concluded the Treaty of Heiligen with Charlemagne in late 811.

[edit] Death

Persephone sarcophagus of CharlemagneIn 813, Charlemagne called Louisthe Pious, king of Aquitaine, his only surviving legitimate son, to his court. There he crowned him with his own hands as co-emperor and sent him back to Aquitaine. He then spent the autumn hunting before returning to Aachen on 1 November. In January, he fell ill with pleurisy (Einhard 59). He took to his bed on 21 January and as Einhard tells it:

He died January twenty-eighth, the seventh day from the time that he took to his bed, at nine o'clock in the morning, after partaking of the Holy Communion, in the seventy-second year of his age and the forty-seventh of his reign.

He was buried on the day of his death, in Aachen Cathedral, although the cold weather and the nature of his illness made such a hurried burial unnecessary. A later story, told by Otho of Lomello, Count of the Palace at Aachen in the time of Otto III, would claim that he and Emperor Otto had discovered Charlemagne's tomb: the emperor, they claimed,was seated upon a throne, wearing a crown and holding a sceptre, his flesh almost entirely incorrupt. The story was proved false by Frederick I, who discovered the remains of the emperor in a sarcophagus beneath the floor of the chapel.[7]

Charlemagne's death greatly affected many of his subjects, particularly those of the literary clique who had surrounded him at Aachen. An anonymous monk of Bobbio lamented:

? From the lands where the sun rises to western shores, People are crying and wailing...the Franks, the Romans, all Christians, are stung with mourning and great worry...the young and old, glorious nobles, alllament the loss of their Caesar...the world laments the death of Charles...O Christ, you who govern the heavenly host, grant a peaceful place to Charles in your kingdom. Alas for miserable me.[8] ?

He was succeeded by his surviving son, Louis, who had been crowned the previous year. His empire lasted only another generation in its entirety; its division, according to custom, between Louis's own sons after their father's death laid the foundation for the modern states of France and Duitsland.

[edit] Administration
As an administrator, Charlemagne stands out for his many reforms: monetary, governmental, military, cultural and ecclesiastical. He is the main protagonist of the "Carolingian Renaissance".

[edit] Economic and monetary reforms

Monogram of Charlemagne, from the subscription of a royal diploma: "Signum (monogr.: KAROLVS) Caroli gloriosissimi regis"Charlemagne had animportant role in determining the immediate economic future of Europe. Pursuing his father's reforms, Charlemagne abolished the monetary system based on the gold sou, and he and the Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia took up the system set in place by Pippin. There were strong pragmatic reasons for this abandonment of a gold standard, notably a shortage of gold itself, a direct consequence of the conclusion of peace with Byzantium and the ceding of Venice and Sicily, and the loss of their trade routes to Africa and to the east. This standardisation also had the effect of economically harmonising and unifying the complex array of currencies in use at the commencement of his reign, thus simplifying trade and commerce.

He established a new standard, the livre carolinienne (from the Latinlibra, the modern pound), and based upon a pound of silver ? a unit of both money and weight ? which was worth 20 sous (from the Latin solidus (which was primarily an accounting device, and never actually minted), the modern shilling) or 240 deniers (from the Latin denarius, the modern penny). During this period, the livre and the sou were counting units, only the denier was a coin of the realm.

Charlemagne instituted principles for accounting practice by means ofthe Capitulare de villis of 802, which laid down strict rules for theway in which incomes and expenses were to be recorded.

The lending of money for interest was prohibited, strengthened in 814, when Charlemagne introduced the Capitulary for the Jews, a draconian prohibition on Jews engaging in money-lending.

In addition to this macro-management of the economy of his empire, Charlemagne also performed a significant number of acts of micro-management, such as direct control of prices and levies on certain goods and commodities.

Charlemagne applied the system to much of the European continent, andOffa's standard was voluntarily adopted by much of England. After Charlemagne's death, continental coinage degraded and most of Europe resorted to using the continued high quality English coin until about 1100.

[edit] Education reforms
A part of Charlemagne's success as warrior and administrator can be traced to his admiration for learning. His reign and the era it usheredin are often referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance because of the flowering of scholarship, literature, art, and architecture which characterise it. Charlemagne, brought into contact with the culture andlearning of other countries (especially Visigothic Spain, Anglo-SaxonEngland and Lombard Italy) due to his vast conquests, greatly increased the provision of monastic schools and scriptoria (centres for book-copying) in Francia. Most of the surviving works of classical Latin were copied and preserved by Carolingian scholars. Indeed, the earliest manuscripts available for many ancient texts are Carolingian. It is almost certain that a text which survived to the Carolingian age survives still. The pan-European nature of Charlemagne's influence is indicated by the origins of many of the men who worked for him: Alcuin, an Anglo-Saxon from York; Theodulf, a Visigoth, probably from Septimania; Paul the Deacon, Lombard; Peter of Pisa and Paulinus of Aquileia, Italians; and Angilbert, Angilramm, Einhard and Waldo of Reichenau, Franks.

Charlemagne took a serious interest in scholarship, promoting the liberal arts at the court, ordering that his children and grandchildren be well-educated, and even studying himself under the tutelage of Paulthe Deacon, from whom he learned grammar, Alcuin, with whom he studied rhetoric, dialect and astronomy (he was particularly interested in the movements of the stars), and Einhard, who assisted him in his studies of arithmetic. His great scholarly failure, as Einhard relates, was his inability to write: when in his old age he began attempts to learn ? practicing the formation of letters in his bed during his free time on books and wax tablets he hid under his pillow ? "his effort came too late in life and achieved little success", and his ability to read ? which Einhard is silent about, and which no contemporary source supports ? has also been called into question.[9]

[edit] Writing reforms

Page from the Lorsch Gospels of Charlemagne's reignDuring Charles' reign, the Roman half uncial script and its cursive version, which had given rise to various continental minuscule scripts, were combined withfeatures from the insular scripts that were being used in Irish and English monasteries. Carolingian minuscule was created partly under thepatronage of Charlemagne. Alcuin of York, who ran the palace school and scriptorium at Aachen, was probably a chief influence in this. The revolutionary character of the Carolingian reform, however, can be over-emphasised; efforts at taming the crabbed Merovingian and Germanic hands had been underway before Alcuin arrived at Aachen. The new minuscule was disseminated first from Aachen, and later from the influentialscriptorium at Tours, where Alcuin retired as an abbot.

[edit] Political reforms
Charlemagne engaged in many reforms of Frankish governance, but he continued also in many traditional practices, such as the division of the kingdom among sons.

[edit] Organisation
Main article: Government of the Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian king exercised the bannum, the right to rule and command. He had supreme jurisdiction in judicial matters, made legislation, led the army, and protected both the Church and the poor. His administration was an attempt to organise the kingdom, church and nobility around him, however, it was entirely dependent upon the efficiency, loyalty and support of his subjects.

[edit] Imperial coronation

Throne of Charlemagne in Aachen CathedralHistorians have debated for centuries whether Charlemagne was aware of the Pope's intent to crown him Emperor prior to the coronation (Charlemagne declared that he would not have entered Saint Peter's had he known), but that debate has often obscured the more significant question of why the Pope granted the title and why Charlemagne chose to accept it once he did.

Roger Collins points out (Charlemagne, pg. 147) "That the motivation behind the acceptance of the imperial title was a romantic and antiquarian interest in reviving the Roman empire is highly unlikely.". For one thing, such romance would not have appealed either to Franks or Roman Catholics at the turn of the ninth century, both of whom viewed theClassical heritage of the Roman Empire with distrust. The Franks tookpride in having "fought against and thrown from their shoulders the heavy yoke of the Romans" and "from the knowledge gained in baptism, clothed in gold and precious stones the bodies of the holy martyrs whom the Romans had killed by fire, by the sword and by wild animals", as Pippin III described it in a law of 763 or 764 (Collins 151). Furthermore, the new title ? carrying with it the risk that the new emperor would "make drastic changes to the traditional styles and procedures of government" or "concentrate his attentions on Italy or on Mediterraneanconcerns more generally" (Collins 149) ? risked alienating the Frankish leadership.

For both the Pope and Charlemagne, the Roman Empire remained a significant power in European politics at this time, and continued to hold asubstantial portion of Italy, with borders not very far south of the city of Rome itself ? this is the empire historiography has labelled the Byzantine Empire, for its capital was Constantinople (ancient Byzantium) and its people and rulers were Greek; it was a thoroughly Hellenic state. Indeed, Charlemagne was usurping the prerogatives of the Roman Emperor in Constantinople simply by sitting in judgement over the Pope in the first place:

By whom, however, could he [the Pope] be tried? Who, in other words, was qualified to pass judgement on the Vicar of Christ? In normal circumstances the only conceivable answer to that question would have beenthe Emperor at Constantinople; but the imperial throne was at this moment occupied by Irene. That the Empress was notorious for having blinded and murdered her own son was, in the minds of both Leo and Charles, almost immaterial: it was enough that she was a woman. The female sex was known to be incapable of governing, and by the old Salic tradition was debarred from doing so. As far as Western Europe was concerned, the Throne of the Emperors was vacant: Irene's claim to it was merely an additional proof, if any were needed, of the degradation into which the so-called Roman Empire had fallen.

?John Julius Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, pg. 378

Coronation of an idealised king, depicted in the Sacramentary of Charles the Bald (about 870)For the Pope, then, there was "no living Emperor at the that time" (Norwich 379), though Henri Pirenne (Mohammed andCharlemagne, pg. 234n) disputes this saying that the coronation "was not in any sense explained by the fact that at this moment a woman wasreigning in Constantinople." Nonetheless, the Pope took the extraordinary step of creating one. The papacy had since 727 been in conflict with Irene's predecessors in Constantinople over a number of issues, chiefly the continued Byzantine adherence to the doctrine of iconoclasm,the destruction of Christian images; while from 750, the secular power of the Byzantine Empire in central Italy had been nullified. By bestowing the Imperial crown upon Charlemagne, the Pope arrogated to himself "the right to appoint ... the Emperor of the Romans, ... establishing the imperial crown as his own personal gift but simultaneously granting himself implicit superiority over the Emperor whom he had created.". And "because the Byzantines had proved so unsatisfactory from every point of view?political, military and doctrinal?he would select a westerner: the one man who by his wisdom and statesmanship and the vastness of his dominions ... stood out head and shoulders above his contemporaries.".

A depiction of the imperial coronation of CharlemagneWith Charlemagne's coronation, therefore, "the Roman Empire remained, so far as eitherof them [Charlemagne and Leo] were concerned, one and indivisible, with Charles as its Emperor", though there can have been "little doubt that the coronation, with all that it implied, would be furiously contested in Constantinople." (Norwich, Byzantium: The Apogee, pg. 3) How realistic either Charlemagne or the Pope felt it to be that the people of Constantinople would ever accept the King of the Franks as their Emperor, we cannot know; Alcuin speaks hopefully in his letters of an Imperium Christianum ("Christian Empire"), wherein, "just as the inhabitants of the [Roman Empire] had been united by a common Roman citizenship", presumably this new empire would be united by a common Christian faith (Collins 151), certainly this is the view of Pirenne when he says "Charles was the Emperor of the ecclesia as the Pope conceived it, of the Roman Church, regarded as the universal Church" (Pirenne 233).

What we do know, from the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes (Collins 153), is that Charlemagne's reaction to his coronation was to take the initial steps toward securing the Constantinopolitan throne by sending envoys of marriage to Irene, and that Irene reacted somewhat favorablyto them. Only when the people of Constantinople reacted to Irene's failure to immediately rebuff the proposal by deposing her and replacingher with one of her ministers, Nicephorus I, did Charlemagne drop anyambitions toward the Byzantine throne and begin minimising his new Imperial title, and instead return to describing himself primarily as rex Francorum et Langobardum.

The title of emperor remained in his family for years to come, however, as brothers fought over who had the supremacy in the Frankish state. The papacy itself never forgot the title nor abandoned the right tobestow it. When the family of Charles ceased to produce worthy heirs,the pope gladly crowned whichever Italian magnate could best protect him from his local enemies. This devolution led, as could have been expected, to the dormancy of the title for almost forty years (924-962).Finally, in 962, in a radically different Europe from Charlemagne's,a new Roman Emperor was crowned in Rome by a grateful pope. This emperor, Otto the Great, brought the title into the hands the kings of Duitsland for almost a millennium, for it was to become the Holy Roman Empire, a true imperial successor to Charles, if not Augustus.

[edit] Divisio regnorum
In 806, Charlemagne first made provision for the traditional divisionof the empire on his death. For Charles the Younger he designated Austrasia and Neustria, Saxony, Burgundy, and Thuringia. To Pippin he gave Italy, Bavaria, and Swabia. Louis received Aquitaine, the Spanish March, and Provence. There was no mention of the imperial title however, which has led to the suggestion that, at that particular time, Charlemagne regarded the title as an honorary achievement which held no hereditary significance.

This division may have worked, but it was never to be tested. Pippin died in 810 and Charles in 811. Charlemagne then reconsidered the matter, and in 813, crowned his youngest son, Louis, co-emperor and co-King of the Franks, granting him a half-share of the empire and the restupon Charlemagne's own death. The only part of the Empire which Louiswas not promised was Italy, which Charlemagne specifically bestowed upon Pippin's illegitimate son Bernard.

[edit] Cultural significance

The Coronation of Charlemagne, by assistants of Raphael , circa 1516-1517Charlemagne, being a model knight as one of the Nine Worthies, enjoyed an important afterlife in European culture. One of the great medieval literary cycles, the Charlemagne cycle or the Matter of France, centres on the deeds of Charlemagne and his historical commander of theborder with Brittany, Roland, and the paladins who are analogous to the knights of the Round Table or King Arthur's court. Their tales constitute the first chansons de geste.

Charlemagne himself was accorded sainthood inside the Holy Roman Empire after the twelfth century. His canonisation by Antipope Paschal III, to gain the favour of Frederick Barbarossa in 1165, was never recognised by the Holy See, which annulled all of Paschal's ordinances at the Third Lateran Council in 1179. However, he has been acknowledged ascultus confirmed.

Charlemagne is sometimes credited with supporting the insertion of the filioque into the Nicene Creed. The Franks had inherited a Visigothic tradition of referring to the Holy Spirit as deriving from God the Father and Son (Filioque), and under Charlemagne, the Franks challenged the 381 Council of Constantinople proclamation that the Holy Spiritproceeded from the Father alone. Pope Leo III rejected this notion, and had the Nicene Creed carved into the doors of Old St. Peter's Basilica without the offending phrase; the Frankish insistence lead to bad relations between Rome and Francia. Later, the Roman Catholic Church would adopt the phrase, leading to dispute between Rome and Constantinople. Some see this as one of many pre-cursors to the East-West Schism centuries later.[10]

In the Divine Comedy the spirit of Charlemagne appears to Dante in the Heaven of Mars, among the other "warriors of the faith".

According to folk etymology, Charlemagne was commemorated in the old name Charles's Wain for the Big Dipper in the constellation of Ursa Major.

French volunteers in the Wehrmacht and later Waffen-SS during the World War II were organised in a unit called 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French). A German Waffen-SS unit used "Karl der Große" for some time in 1943, but then chose the name 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg instead.

The city of Aachen has, since 1949, awarded an international prize (called the Karlspreis der Stadt Aachen) in honour of Charlemagne. It isawarded annually to "personages of merit who have promoted the idea of western unity by their political, economic and literary endeavours."[11] Winners of the prize include Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, the founder of the pan-European movement, Alcide De Gasperi, and Winston Churchill.

Charlemagne is memorably quoted by Henry Jones (played by Sean Connery) in the film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Immediately after using his umbrella to induce a flock of seagulls to smash through the glass cockpit of a pursuing German fighter plane, Henry Jones remarks "I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne: 'Let my armies be the rocks andthe trees and the birds in the sky'." Despite the quote's popularity since the movie, there is no evidence that Charlemagne actually said this. [2]

The Economist, the weekly news and international affairs newspaper, features a one page article every week entitled "Charlemagne", focusingon European government.

[edit] Family

[edit] Marriages and heirs
Charlemagne had seventeen children over the course of his life with eight of his ten known wives or concubines.

His first relationship was with Himiltrude. The nature of this relationship is variously described as concubinage, a legal marriage or as aFriedelehe.[12] Charlemagne put her aside when he married Desiderata.The union produced two children:
Amaudru, a daughter[13]
Pippin the Hunchback (c. 769-811)
After her, his first wife was Desiderata, daughter of Desiderius, king of the Lombards, married in 770, annulled in 771
His second wife was Hildegard (757 or 758-783), married 771, died 783. By her he had nine children:
Charles the Younger (c.772-4 December 811), Duke of Maine, and crowned King of the Franks on 25 December 800
Carloman, renamed Pippin (April 773-8 July 810), King of Italy
Adalhaid (774), who was born whilst her parents were on campaign in Italy. She was sent back to Francia, but died before reaching Lyons
Rotrude (or Hruodrud) (775-6 June 810)
Louis (778-20 June 840), twin of Lothair, King of Aquitaine since 781, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 813, senior Emperor from 814
Lothair (778-6 February 779/780), twin of Louis, he died in infancy[14]
Bertha (779-826)
Gisela (781-808)
Hildegarde (782-783)
His third wife was Fastrada, married 784, died 794. By her he had:
Theodrada (b.784), abbess of Argenteuil
Hiltrude (b.787)
His fourth wife was Luitgard, married 794, died childless

[edit] Concubinages and illegitimate children
His first known concubine was Gersuinda. By her he had:
Adaltrude (b.774)
His second known concubine was Madelgard. By her he had:
Ruodhaid (775-810), abbess of Faremoutiers
His third known concubine was Amaltrud of Vienne. By her he had:
Alpaida (b.794)
His fourth known concubine was Regina. By her he had:
Drogo (801-855), Bishop of Metz from 823 and abbot of Luxeuil Abbey
Hugh (802-844), archchancellor of the Empire
His fifth known concubine was Ethelind. By her he had:
Richbod (805-844), Abbott of Saint-Riquier
Theodoric (b. 807)

[edit] References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Charlemagne
[edit] Notes
^ Riché, Preface xviii
^ Riché, xviii.
^ Oman, Charles. The Dark Ages 476?919 Rivingtons: London, 1914. Regards Charlemagne's grandsons as the first kings of France and Duitsland, which at the time comprised the whole of the Carolingian Empire save Italy.
^ Original text of the Salic law.
^ Einhard, Life, 25.
^ Etymology of "Charles/Karl/Karel"
^ Chamberlin, Russell, The Emperor Charlemagne, pp. 222-224
^ Dutton, PE, Carolingian Civilization: A Reader
^ Dutton, Paul Edward, Charlemagne's Mustache
^ Riche, Pierre, The Carolingians, p.124
^ Chamberlin, Russell, The Emperor Charlemagne, p. ???
^ Charlemagne's biographer Einhard (Vita Karoli Magni, ch. 20) calls her a "concubine" and Paulus Diaconus speaks of Pippin's birth "beforelegal marriage", whereas a letter by Pope Stephen III refers to Charlemagne and his brother Carloman as being already married (to Himiltrude and Gerberga), and advises them not to dismiss their wives. Historians have interpreted the information in different ways. Some, such as Pierre Riché (The Carolingians, p.86.), follow Einhard in describing Himiltrude as a concubine. Others, for example Dieter Hägemann (Karl der Große. Herrscher des Abendlands, p. 82f.), consider Himiltrude a wife in the full sense. Still others subscribe to the idea that the relationship between the two was "something more than concubinage, less than marriage" and describe it as a Friedelehe, a form of marriage unrecognized by the Church and easily dissolvable. Russell Chamberlin (The Emperor Charlemagne, p. 61.), for instance, compared it with the English system of common-law marriage. This form of relationship is often seen in a conflict between Christian marriage and more flexible Germanic concepts.
^ Gerd Treffer, Die französischen Königinnen. Von Bertrada bis Marie Antoinette (8.-18. Jahrhundert) p. 30.
^ "By [Hildigard] Charlemagne had four sons and four daughters, according to Paul the Deacon: one son, the twin of Lewis, called Lothar, died as a baby and is not mentioned by Einhard; two daughters, Hildigardand Adelhaid, died as babies, so that Einhard appears to err in one of his names, unless there were really five daughters." Thorpe, Lewis,Two Lives of Charlemagne, p.185

[edit] Bibliography
Riché, Pierre (1993). The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-1342-4
Einhard [1880] (1960). The Life of Charlemagne, trans. Samuel Epes Turner, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-06035-X.
Oman, Charles (1914). The Dark Ages, 476-918, 6th ed., London: Rivingtons.
Painter, Sidney (1953). A History of the Middle Ages, 284-1500. New York: Knopf.
Santosuosso, Antonio (2004). Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels: TheWays of Medieval Warfare. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-9153-9.
Scholz, Bernhard Walter; with Barbara Rogers (1970). Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08790-8. Comprises the Annales regni Francorum and The History of the Sons of Louis the Pious
Charlemagne: Biographies and general studies, from Encyclopædia Britannica, full-article, latest edition.
Barbero, Alessandro (2004). Charlemagne: Father of a Continent, trans. Allan Cameron, Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23943-1.
Becher, Matthias (2003). Charlemagne, trans. David S. Bachrach, New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09796-4.
Ganshof, F. L. (1971). The Carolingians and the Frankish Monarchy: Studies in Carolingian History, trans. Janet Sondheimer, Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-0635-8.
Langston, Aileen Lewers; and J. Orton Buck, Jr (eds.) (1974). Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co..
Pirenne, Henri (1939). Mohammed and Charlemagne, trans. Bernard Miall, New York: Norton.
Sypeck, Jeff (2006). Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and The Empires of A.D. 800. New York: Ecco/HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-079706-1.
Wilson, Derek (2005). Charlemagne: The Great Adventure. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-179461-7.

[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Carolus MagnusWikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
CharlemagneThe Life of Charlemagne by Einhard. At Medieval Sourcebook
Vita Karoli Magni by Einhard. Latin text at The Latin Library
A reconstructed portrait of Charlemagne, based on historical sources,in a contemporary style.
The Sword of Charlemagne (myArmoury.com article)
Works by or about Charlemagne in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

[s2.FTW]

Charlemagne began his career as King of the Franks but ended it as Emperor of the entire Roman Empire of the West. As king of France, he gained victory over the Lombards of Italy, the Saxons of Northwestern Duitsland, and a number of other neighbors. He followed a policy of friendship and cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church and was crowned emperor by the pope on Christmas
Day of 800. Charlemagne's views were liberal and enlightened. Although he reigned supreme, he recognized civil reights for his subjects and a limitation on monarchic power. He possessed an unusual amount of learning and vigorously promoted education. He invited learned men to his court and established a Palace School where noble's sons and clergy were educated. His great dream
was the union of all the nations he had conquered into one great empire where the power and learning of Rome could be united with the religion of Christ. His motivation for war seemed to be the converstion of the heathens to Christianity. His last words were, "Now, Lord, into thy hand I commit my spirit." !Source: The Plantagenet Ancestry; by Lt.-Col. W.H. Turton, D.S.O.; Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1984; pp 12, 19, 171. The Plantagenet Ancestry Of
King Edward III And Queen Philippa; by George Andrews Moriarty;Mormon Pioneer Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, 1985; p5 Royal Ancestors Of Some American Families; by Michel L. Call; Salt Lake City, 1989; chart 11602. Pedigrees of Some of The Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants, Volume II; compiled by Aileen Lewers Langston & J. Orton Buck, Jr.; Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1986. Descents From Antiquity; The Augustan
Society, Inc., Torrance, CA, 1986; chart W. Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who Came To New England between 1623 and 1650, Sixth Edition; by Frederick Lewis Weis; Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1988; line 190-13. Charlemagne (Charles "The Great") King of Franks. Crowned Holy Roman Emperor 25 Dec 800, King of France 768-814. Our Noble & Gentle Families of Royal Descent Together with Their Paternal Ancestry by Joseph Foster p 178
1884 Edition. Source: Church of JC of the LDS "Ancestral File" CD-Rom database, ver 4.17.

From http://www8.informatik.uni-erlangen.de/html/chl-enter.htmlCharlemagne began his career as King of the Franks but ended it as Emperor of the entire Roman Empire of the West. As king of France, he gained victory over the Lombards of Italy, the Saxons of Northwestern Duitsland, and a number of other neighbors. He followed a policy of friendship and cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church and was crowned emperor by the pope on Christmas
Day of 800. Charlemagne's views were liberal and enlightened. Although he reigned supreme, he recognized civil reights for his subjects and a limitation on monarchic power. He possessed an unusual amount of learning and vigorously promoted education. He invited learned men to his court and established a Palace School where noble's sons and clergy were educated. His great dream
was the union of all the nations he had conquered into one great empire where the power and learning of Rome could be united with the religion of Christ. His motivation for war seemed to be the converstion of the heathens to Christianity. His last words were, "Now, Lord, into thy hand I commit my spirit." !Source: The Plantagenet Ancestry; by Lt.-Col. W.H. Turton, D.S.O.; Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1984; pp 12, 19, 171. The Plantagenet Ancestry Of
King Edward III And Queen Philippa; by George Andrews Moriarty;Mormon Pioneer Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, 1985; p5 Royal Ancestors Of Some American Families; by Michel L. Call; Salt Lake City, 1989; chart 11602. Pedigrees of Some of The Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants, Volume II; compiled by Aileen Lewers Langston & J. Orton Buck, Jr.; Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1986. Descents From Antiquity; The Augustan
Society, Inc., Torrance, CA, 1986; chart W. Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who Came To New England between 1623 and 1650, Sixth Edition; by Frederick Lewis Weis; Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1988; line 190-13. Charlemagne (Charles "The Great") King of Franks. Crowned Holy Roman Emperor 25 Dec 800, King of France 768-814. Our Noble & Gentle Families of Royal Descent Together with Their Paternal Ancestry by Joseph Foster p 178
1884 Edition. Source: Church of JC of the LDS "Ancestral File" CD-Rom database, ver 4.17.

From http://www8.informatik.uni-erlangen.de/html/chl-enter.html

Tomb apparently also at St. Denis Cathedral, north of Paris (may have been re-interred).

Basic Life Information

Charlemagne (pronounced /'??rl?me?n/; Latin: Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) (747 - 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 as a rival of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Duitsland, and the Holy Roman Empire.

The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I. The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at the Battle of Roncesvalles (778), which was memorialised in the Song of Roland. He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty.

Tenth-century copy of a lost original from about 830.Today he is regarded not only as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but also as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity. Pierre Riché reflects:

“ . . . he enjoyed an exceptional destiny, and by the length of his reign, by his conquests, legislation and legendary stature, he also profoundly marked the history of western Europe

Rise to Power

Early Life

Charlemagne was the eldest child of Pippin the Short (714 - 24 September 768, reigned from 751) and his wife Bertrada of Laon (720 - 12 July 783), daughter of Caribert of Laon and Bertrada of Keulen. Records name only Carloman, Gisela, and a short-lived child named Pippin as his younger siblings. The semi-mythical Redburga, wife of King Egbert of Wessex, is sometimes claimed to be his sister (or sister-in-law or niece), and the legendary material makes him Roland's maternal uncle through a lady Bertha.

Much of what is known of Charlemagne's life comes from his biographer, Einhard, who wrote a Vita Caroli Magni (or Vita Karoli Magni), the Life of Charlemagne. Einhard says of the early life of Charles:

It would be folly, I think, to write a word concerning Charles' birth and infancy, or even his boyhood, for nothing has ever been written on the subject, and there is no one alive now who can give information on it. Accordingly, I determined to pass that by as unknown, and to proceed at once to treat of his character, his deed, and such other facts of his life as are worth telling and setting forth, and shall first give an account of his deed at home and abroad, then of his character and pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know.

On the death of Pippin, the kingdom of the Franks was divided-following tradition-between Charlemagne and Carloman. Charles took the outer parts of the kingdom, bordering on the sea, namely Neustria, western Aquitaine, and the northern parts of Austrasia, while Carloman retained the inner parts: southern Austrasia, Septimania, eastern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence, and Swabia, lands bordering on Italy.

Joint Rule

On 9 October, immediately after the funeral of their father, both the kings withdrew from Saint Denis to be proclaimed by their nobles and consecrated by the bishops, Charlemagne in Noyon and Carloman in Soissons.

The first event of the brothers' reign was the rising of the Aquitainians and Gascons, in 769, in that territory split between the two kings. Years before Pippin had suppressed the revolt of Waifer, Duke of Aquitaine. Now, one Hunald (seemingly other than Hunald the duke) led the Aquitainians as far north as Angoulême. Charlemagne met Carloman, but Carloman refused to participate and returned to Burgundy. Charlemagne went to war, leading an army to Bordeaux, where he set up a camp at Fronsac. Hunold was forced to flee to the court of Duke Lupus II of Gascony. Lupus, fearing Charlemagne, turned Hunold over in exchange for peace. He was put in a monastery. Aquitaine was finally fully subdued by the Franks.

The brothers maintained lukewarm relations with the assistance of their mother Bertrada, but in 770 Charlemagne signed a treaty with Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and married a Lombard Princess (commonly known today as Desiderata), the daughter of King Desiderius, in order to surround Carloman with his own allies. Though Pope Stephen III first opposed the marriage with the Lombard princess, he would soon have little to fear from a Frankish-Lombard alliance.

Less than a year after his marriage, Charlemagne repudiated Desiderata, and quickly remarried to a 13-year-old Swabian named Hildegard. The repudiated Desiderata returned to her father's court at Pavia. The Lombard's wrath was now aroused and he would gladly have allied with Carloman to defeat Charles. But before war could break out, Carloman died on 5 December 771. Carloman's wife Gerberga fled to Desiderius' court with her sons for protection.

Italian Campaigns

Conquest of Lombardy

The Frankish king Charlemagne was a devout Catholic who maintained a close relationship with the papacy throughout his life. In 772, when Pope Hadrian I was threatened by invaders, the king rushed to Rome to provide assistance. Shown here, the pope asks Charlemagne for help at a meeting near RomeAt the succession of Pope Hadrian I in 772, he demanded the return of certain cities in the former exarchate of Ravenna as in accordance with a promise of Desiderius' succession. Desiderius instead took over certain papal cities and invaded the Pentapolis, heading for Rome. Hadrian sent embassies to Charlemagne in autumn requesting he enforce the policies of his father, Pippin. Desiderius sent his own embassies denying the pope's charges. The embassies both met at Thionville and Charlemagne upheld the pope's side. Charlemagne promptly demanded what the pope had demanded and Desiderius promptly swore never to comply. Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard crossed the Alps in 773 and chased the Lombards back to Pavia, which they then besieged. Charlemagne temporarily left the siege to deal with Adelchis, son of Desiderius, who was raising an army at Verona. The young prince was chased to the Adriatic littoral and he fled to Constantinople to plead for assistance from Constantine V, who was waging war with Bulgaria.

The siege lasted until the spring of 774, when Charlemagne visited the pope in Rome. There he confirmed his father's grants of land, with some later chronicles claiming-falsely-that he also expanded them, granting Tuscany, Emilia, Venice, and Corsica. The pope granted him the title patrician. He then returned to Pavia, where the Lombards were on the verge of surrendering.
In return for their lives, the Lombards surrendered and opened the gates in early summer. Desiderius was sent to the abbey of Corbie and his son Adelchis died in Constantinople a patrician. Charles, unusually, had himself crowned with the Iron Crown and made the magnates of Lombardy do homage to him at Pavia. Only Duke Arechis II of Benevento refused to submit and proclaimed independence. Charlemagne was now master of Italy as king of the Lombards. He left Italy with a garrison in Pavia and few Frankish counts in place that very year.
There was still instability, however, in Italy. In 776, Dukes Hrodgaud of Friuli and Hildeprand of Spoleto rebelled. Charlemagne rushed back from Saxony and defeated the duke of Friuli in battle. The duke was slain. The duke of Spoleto signed a treaty. Their co-conspirator, Arechis, was not subdued and Adelchis, their candidate in Byzantium, never left that city. Northern Italy was now faithfully his.

Southern Italy

In 787 Charlemagne directed his attention towards Benevento, where Arechis was reigning independently. He besieged Salerno and Arechis submitted to vassalage. However, with his death in 792, Benevento again proclaimed independence under his son Grimoald III. Grimoald was attacked by armies of Charles' or his sons' many times, but Charlemagne himself never returned to the Mezzogiorno and Grimoald never was forced to surrender to Frankish suzerainty.

Spanish Campaigns

Roncesvalles Campaign

Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne in an illustration taken from a manuscript of a chanson de gesteAccording to the Muslim historian Ibn al-Athir, the Diet of Paderborn had received the representatives of the Muslim rulers of Zaragoza, Gerona, Barcelona, and Huesca. Their masters had been cornered in the Iberian peninsula by Abd ar-Rahman I, the Umayyad emir of Córdoba. These Moorish or "Saracen" rulers offered their homage to the great king of the Franks in return for military support. Seeing an opportunity to extend Christendom and his own power and believing the Saxons to be a fully conquered nation, he agreed to go to Spain.

In 778, he led the Neustrian army across the Western Pyrenees, while the Austrasians, Lombards, and Burgundians passed over the Eastern Pyrenees. The armies met at Zaragoza and received the homage of Sulayman al-Arabi and Kasmin ibn Yusuf, the foreign rulers. Zaragoza did not fall soon enough for Charlemagne, however. Indeed, Charlemagne was facing the toughest battle of his career and, in fear of losing, he decided to retreat and head home. He could not trust the Moors, nor the Basques, whom he had subdued by conquering Pamplona. He turned to leave Iberia, but as he was passing through the Pass of Roncesvalles one of the most famous events of his long reign occurred. The Basques fell on his rearguard and baggage train, utterly destroying it. The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, less a battle than a mere skirmish, left many famous dead: among which were the seneschal Eggihard, the count of the palace Anselm, and the warden of the Breton March, Roland, inspiring the subsequent creation of the Song of Roland (Chanson de Roland).

Wars with the Moors

The conquest of Italy brought Charlemagne in contact with the Saracens who, at the time, controlled the Mediterranean. Pippin, his son, was much occupied with Saracens in Italy. Charlemagne conquered Corsica and Sardinia at an unknown date and in 799 the Balearic Islands. The islands were often attacked by Saracen pirates, but the counts of Genoa and Tuscany (Boniface) kept them at bay with large fleets until the end of Charlemagne's reign.

Charlemagne even had contact with the caliphal court in Baghdad. In 797 (or possibly 801), the caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, presented Charlemagne with an Asian elephant named Abul-Abbas and a mechanical clock, out of which came a mechanical bird to announce the hours.
In Hispania the struggle against the Moors continued unabated throughout the latter half of his reign. His son Louis was in charge of the Spanish border. In 785, his men captured Gerona permanently and extended Frankish control into the Catalan littoral for the duration of Charlemagne's reign (and much longer, it remained nominally Frankish until the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258). The Muslim chiefs in the northeast of Islamic Spain were constantly revolting against Córdoban authority and they often turned to the Franks for help. The Frankish border was slowly extended until 795, when Gerona, Cardona, Ausona, and Urgel were united into the new Spanish March, within the old duchy of Septimania.

In 797 Barcelona, the greatest city of the region, fell to the Franks when Zeid, its governor, rebelled against Córdoba and, failing, handed it to them. The Umayyad authority recaptured it in 799. However, Louis of Aquitaine marched the entire army of his kingdom over the Pyrenees and besieged it for two years, wintering there from 800 to 801, when it capitulated. The Franks continued to press forwards against the emir. They took Tarragona in 809 and Tortosa in 811. The last conquest brought them to the mouth of the Ebro and gave them raiding access to Valencia, prompting the Emir al-Hakam I to recognise their conquests in 812.

Eastern Campaigns

Saxon Wars

Map showing Charlemagne's additions (in blue) to the Frankish Kingdom.Charlemagne was engaged in almost constant battle throughout his reign, often at the head of his elite scara bodyguard squadrons, with his legendary sword Joyeuse in hand. After thirty years of war and eighteen battles-the Saxon Wars-he conquered Saxonia and proceeded to convert the conquered to Roman Catholicism, using force where necessary.

The Saxons were divided into four subgroups in four regions. Nearest to Austrasia was Westphalia and furthest away was Eastphalia. In between these two kingdoms was that of Engria and north of these three, at the base of the Jutland peninsula, was Nordalbingia.

In his first campaign, Charlemagne forced the Engrians in 773 to submit and cut down an Irminsul pillar near Paderborn. The campaign was cut short by his first expedition to Italy. He returned in the year 775, marching through Westphalia and conquering the Saxon fort of Sigiburg. He then crossed Engria, where he defeated the Saxons again. Finally, in Eastphalia, he defeated a Saxon force, and its leader Hessi converted to Christianity. He returned through Westphalia, leaving encampments at Sigiburg and Eresburg, which had, up until then, been important Saxon bastions. All Saxony but Nordalbingia was under his control, but Saxon resistance had not ended.

Following his campaign in Italy subjugating the dukes of Friuli and Spoleto, Charlemagne returned very rapidly to Saxony in 776, where a rebellion had destroyed his fortress at Eresburg. The Saxons were once again brought to heel, but their main leader, duke Widukind, managed to escape to Denmark, home of his wife. Charlemagne built a new camp at Karlstadt. In 777, he called a national diet at Paderborn to integrate Saxony fully into the Frankish kingdom. Many Saxons were baptised.

In the summer of 779, he again invaded Saxony and reconquered Eastphalia, Engria, and Westphalia. At a diet near Lippe, he divided the land into missionary districts and himself assisted in several mass baptisms (780). He then returned to Italy and, for the first time, there was no immediate Saxon revolt. In 780 Charlemagne decreed the death penalty for all Saxons who failed to be baptised, who failed to keep Christian festivals, and who cremated their dead. Saxony had peace from 780 to 782.

He returned in 782 to Saxony and instituted a code of law and appointed counts, both Saxon and Frank. The laws were draconian on religious issues, and the indigenous forms of Germanic polytheism were gravely threatened by Christianisation. This stirred a renewal of the old conflict. That year, in autumn, Widukind returned and led a new revolt, which resulted in several assaults on the church. In response, at Verden in Lower Saxony, Charlemagne allegedly ordered the beheading of 4,500 Saxons who had been caught practising their native paganism after conversion to Christianity, known as the Massacre of Verden. The massacre triggered three years of renewed bloody warfare (783-785). During this war the Frisians were also finally subdued and a large part of their fleet was burned. The war ended with Widukind accepting baptism.

Thereafter, the Saxons maintained the peace for seven years, but in 792 the Westphalians once again rose against their conquerors. The Eastphalians and Nordalbingians joined them in 793, but the insurrection did not catch on and was put down by 794. An Engrian rebellion followed in 796, but Charlemagne's personal presence and the presence of Christian Saxons and Slavs quickly crushed it. The last insurrection of the independence-minded people occurred in 804, more than thirty years after Charlemagne's first campaign against them. This time, the most unruly of them, the Nordalbingians, found themselves effectively disempowered from rebellion. According to Einhard:
The war that had lasted so many years was at length ended by their acceding to the terms offered by the King; which were renunciation of their national religious customs and the worship of devils, acceptance of the sacraments of the Christian faith and religion, and union with the Franks to form one people.

The heathen resistance in Saxony was at an end.

Submission of Bavaria

In 788, Charlemagne turned his attention to Bavaria. He claimed Tassilo was an unfit ruler on account of his oath-breaking. The charges were trumped up, but Tassilo was deposed anyway and put in the monastery of Jumièges. In 794, he was made to renounce any claim to Bavaria for himself and his family (the Agilolfings) at the synod of Frankfurt. Bavaria was subdivided into Frankish counties, like Saxony.

Avar Campaigns

In 788, the Avars, a pagan Asian horde which had settled down in what is today Hungary (Einhard called them Huns), invaded Friuli and Bavaria. Charles was preoccupied until 790 with other things, but in that year, he marched down the Danube into their territory and ravaged it to the Raab. Then, a Lombard army under Pippin marched into the Drava valley and ravaged Pannonia. The campaigns would have continued if the Saxons had not revolted again in 792, breaking seven years of peace.

For the next two years, Charles was occupied with the Slavs against the Saxons. Pippin and Duke Eric of Friuli continued, however, to assault the Avars' ring-shaped strongholds. The great Ring of the Avars, their capital fortress, was taken twice. The booty was sent to Charlemagne at his capital, Aachen, and redistributed to all his followers and even to foreign rulers, including King Offa of Mercia. Soon the Avar tuduns had thrown in the towel and travelled to Aachen to subject themselves to Charlemagne as vassals and Christians. This Charlemagne accepted and sent one native chief, baptised Abraham, back to Avaria with the ancient title of khagan. Abraham kept his people in line, but in 800 the Bulgarians under Krum had swept the Avar state away. In the 10th century, the Magyars settled the Pannonian plain and presented a new threat to Charlemagne's descendants.

Slav Expeditions

In 789, in recognition of his new pagan neighbours, the Slavs, Charlemagne marched an Austrasian-Saxon army across the Elbe into Abotrite territory. The Slavs immediately submitted under their leader Witzin. He then accepted the surrender of the Wiltzes under Dragovit and demanded many hostages and the permission to send, unmolested, missionaries into the pagan region. The army marched to the Baltic before turning around and marching to the Rhine with much booty and no harassment. The tributary Slavs became loyal allies. In 795, the peace broken by the Saxons, the Abotrites and Wiltzes rose in arms with their new master against the Saxons. Witzin died in battle and Charlemagne avenged him by harrying the Eastphalians on the Elbe. Thrasuco, his successor, led his men to conquest over the Nordalbingians and handed their leaders over to Charlemagne, who greatly honoured him. The Abotrites remained loyal until Charles' death and fought later against the Danes.

Charlemagne also directed his attention to the Slavs to the south of the Avar khaganate: the Carantanians and Slovenes. These people were subdued by the Lombards and Bavarii and made tributaries, but never incorporated into the Frankish state.

Imperium

Imperial Diplomacy

Charlemagne's chapel at Aachen Cathedral.Matters of Charlemagne's reign came to a head in late 800. In 799, Pope Leo III had been mistreated by the Romans, who tried to put out his eyes and tear out his tongue. Leo escaped, and fled to Charlemagne at Paderborn, asking him to intervene in Rome and restore him. Charlemagne, advised by Alcuin of York, agreed to travel to Rome, doing so in November 800 and holding a council on December 1. On December 23 Leo swore an oath of innocence. At Mass, on Christmas Day (December 25), when Charlemagne knelt the altar to pray, the pope crowned him Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans") in Saint Peter's Basilica. In so doing, the pope was effectively attempting to transfer the office from Constantinople to Charles. Einhard says that Charlemagne was ignorant of the pope's intent and did not want any such coronation:

[H]e at first had such an aversion that he declared that he would not have set foot in the Church the day that they [the imperial titles] were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, if he could have foreseen the design of the Pope.

Many modern scholars suggest that Charlemagne was indeed aware of the coronation; certainly he cannot have missed the bejeweled crown waiting on the altar when he came to pray. In any event, he would now use these circumstances to claim that he was the renewer of the Roman Empire, which had apparently fallen into degradation under the Byzantines. However, Charles would after 806 style himself, not Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans", a title reserved for the Byzantine emperor), but rather Imperator Romanum gubernans Imperium ("Emperor ruling the Roman Empire").

The Iconoclasm of the Isaurian Dynasty and resulting religious conflicts with the Empress Irene, sitting on the throne in Constantinople in 800, were probably the chief causes of the pope's desire to formally acclaim Charles as Roman Emperor. He also most certainly desired to increase the influence of the papacy, honour his saviour Charlemagne, and solve the constitutional issues then most troubling to European jurists in an era when Rome was not in the hands of an emperor. Thus, Charlemagne's assumption of the imperial title was not an usurpation in the eyes of the Franks or Italians. It was, however, in Byzantium, where it was protested by Irene and her successor Nicephorus I-neither of whom had any great effect in enforcing their protests.

The Byzantines, however, still held several territories in Italy: Venice (what was left of the Exarchate of Ravenna), Reggio (in Calabria), Brindisi (in Apulia), and Naples (the Ducatus Neapolitanus). These regions remained outside of Frankish hands until 804, when the Venetians, torn by infighting, transferred their allegiance to the Iron Crown of Pippin, Charles' son. The Pax Nicephori ended. Nicephorus ravaged the coasts with a fleet and the only instance of war between the Byzantines and the Franks, as it was, began. It lasted until 810, when the pro-Byzantine party in Venice gave their city back to the Byzantine Emperor and the two emperors of Europe made peace: Charlemagne received the Istrian peninsula and in 812 Emperor Michael I Rhangabes recognised his status as Emperor.

Danish Attacks

After the conquest of Nordalbingia, the Frankish frontier was brought into contact with Scandinavia. The pagan Danes, "a race almost unknown to his ancestors, but destined to be only too well known to his sons" as Charles Oman described them, inhabiting the Jutland peninsula had heard many stories from Widukind and his allies who had taken refuge with them about the dangers of the Franks and the fury which their Christian king could direct against pagan neighbours.

In 808, the king of the Danes, Godfred, built the vast Danevirke across the isthmus of Schleswig. This defence, last employed in the Danish-Prussian War of 1864, was at its beginning a 30 km long earthenwork rampart. The Danevirke protected Danish land and gave Godfred the opportunity to harass Frisia and Flanders with pirate raids. He also subdued the Frank-allied Wiltzes and fought the Abotrites.

Godfred invaded Frisia and joked of visiting Aachen, but was murdered before he could do any more, either by a Frankish assassin or by one of his own men. Godfred was succeeded by his nephew Hemming and he concluded the Treaty of Heiligen with Charlemagne in late 811.

Imperial Coronation

Historians have debated for centuries whether Charlemagne was aware of the Pope's intent to crown him Emperor prior to the coronation (Charlemagne declared that he would not have entered Saint Peter's had he known), but that debate has often obscured the more significant question of why the Pope granted the title and why Charlemagne chose to accept it once he did.

Roger Collins points out "That the motivation behind the acceptance of the imperial title was a romantic and antiquarian interest in reviving the Roman empire is highly unlikely." For one thing, such romance would not have appealed either to Franks or Roman Catholics at the turn of the ninth century, both of whom viewed the Classical heritage of the Roman Empire with distrust. The Franks took pride in having "fought against and thrown from their shoulders the heavy yoke of the Romans" and "from the knowledge gained in baptism, clothed in gold and precious stones the bodies of the holy martyrs whom the Romans had killed by fire, by the sword and by wild animals", as Pippin III described it in a law of 763 or 764 (Collins 151). Furthermore, the new title-carrying with it the risk that the new emperor would "make drastic changes to the traditional styles and procedures of government" or "concentrate his attentions on Italy or on Mediterranean concerns more generally"-risked alienating the Frankish leadership.

For both the Pope and Charlemagne, the Roman Empire remained a significant power in European politics at this time, and continued to hold a substantial portion of Italy, with borders not very far south of the city of Rome itself-this is the empire historiography has labelled the Byzantine Empire, for its capital was Constantinople (ancient Byzantium) and its people and rulers were Greek; it was a thoroughly Hellenic state. Indeed, Charlemagne was usurping the prerogatives of the Roman Emperor in Constantinople simply by sitting in judgement over the Pope in the first place:
By whom, however, could he [the Pope] be tried? Who, in other words, was qualified to pass judgement on the Vicar of Christ? In normal circumstances the only conceivable answer to that question would have been the Emperor at Constantinople; but the imperial throne was at this moment occupied by Irene. That the Empress was notorious for having blinded and murdered her own son was, in the minds of both Leo and Charles, almost immaterial: it was enough that she was a woman. The female sex was known to be incapable of governing, and by the old Salic tradition was debarred from doing so. As far as Western Europe was concerned, the Throne of the Emperors was vacant: Irene's claim to it was merely an additional proof, if any were needed, of the degradation into which the so-called Roman Empire had fallen.

-John Julius Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, pg. 378

Coronation of an idealised king, depicted in the Sacramentary of Charles the Bald (about 870)For the Pope, then, there was "no living Emperor at the that time" (Norwich 379), though Henri Pirenne (Mohammed and Charlemagne, pg. 234n) disputes this saying that the coronation "was not in any sense explained by the fact that at this moment a woman was reigning in Constantinople." Nonetheless, the Pope took the extraordinary step of creating one. The papacy had since 727 been in conflict with Irene's predecessors in Constantinople over a number of issues, chiefly the continued Byzantine adherence to the doctrine of iconoclasm, the destruction of Christian images; while from 750, the secular power of the Byzantine Empire in central Italy had been nullified. By bestowing the Imperial crown upon Charlemagne, the Pope arrogated to himself "the right to appoint ... the Emperor of the Romans, ... establishing the imperial crown as his own personal gift but simultaneously granting himself implicit superiority over the Emperor whom he had created.". And "because the Byzantines had proved so unsatisfactory from every point of view-political, military and doctrinal-he would select a westerner: the one man who by his wisdom and statesmanship and the vastness of his dominions ... stood out head and shoulders above his contemporaries.".

With Charlemagne's coronation, therefore, "the Roman Empire remained, so far as either of them [Charlemagne and Leo] were concerned, one and indivisible, with Charles as its Emperor", though there can have been "little doubt that the coronation, with all that it implied, would be furiously contested in Constantinople." (Norwich, Byzantium: The Apogee, pg. 3) How realistic either Charlemagne or the Pope felt it to be that the people of Constantinople would ever accept the King of the Franks as their Emperor, we cannot know; Alcuin speaks hopefully in his letters of an Imperium Christianum ("Christian Empire"), wherein, "just as the inhabitants of the [Roman Empire] had been united by a common Roman citizenship", presumably this new empire would be united by a common Christian faith (Collins 151), certainly this is the view of Pirenne when he says "Charles was the Emperor of the ecclesia as the Pope conceived it, of the Roman Church, regarded as the universal Church" (Pirenne 233).

19th century depiction of the imperial coronation of CharlemagneWhat we do know, from the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes (Collins 153), is that Charlemagne's reaction to his coronation was to take the initial steps toward securing the Constantinopolitan throne by sending envoys of marriage to Irene, and that Irene reacted somewhat favorably to them. Only when the people of Constantinople reacted to Irene's failure to immediately rebuff the proposal by deposing her and replacing her with one of her ministers, Nicephorus I, did Charlemagne drop any ambitions toward the Byzantine throne and begin minimising his new Imperial title, and instead return to describing himself primarily as rex Francorum et Langobardum.

The title of emperor remained in his family for years to come, however, as brothers fought over who had the supremacy in the Frankish state. The papacy itself never forgot the title nor abandoned the right to bestow it. When the family of Charles ceased to produce worthy heirs, the pope gladly crowned whichever Italian magnate could best protect him from his local enemies. This devolution led, as could have been expected, to the dormancy of the title for almost forty years (924-962). Finally, in 962, in a radically different Europe from Charlemagne's, a new Roman Emperor was crowned in Rome by a grateful pope. This emperor, Otto the Great, brought the title into the hands the kings of Duitsland for almost a millennium, for it was to become the Holy Roman Empire, a true imperial successor to Charles, if not Augustus.

Divisio Regnorum

In 806, Charlemagne first made provision for the traditional division of the empire on his death. For Charles the Younger he designated Austrasia and Neustria, Saxony, Burgundy, and Thuringia. To Pippin he gave Italy, Bavaria, and Swabia. Louis received Aquitaine, the Spanish March, and Provence. There was no mention of the imperial title however, which has led to the suggestion that, at that particular time, Charlemagne regarded the title as an honorary achievement which held no hereditary significance.

This division may have worked, but it was never to be tested. Pippin died in 810 and Charles in 811. Charlemagne then reconsidered the matter, and in 813, crowned his youngest son, Louis, co-emperor and co-King of the Franks, granting him a half-share of the empire and the rest upon Charlemagne's own death. The only part of the Empire which Louis was not promised was Italy, which Charlemagne specifically bestowed upon Pippin's illegitimate son Bernard.

Marriages and Children

Charlemagne had twenty children over the course of his life with eight of his ten known wives or concubines.

His first relationship was with Himiltrude. The nature of this relationship is variously described as concubinage, a legal marriage or as a Friedelehe. Charlemagne put her aside when he married Desiderata. The union produced two children:
Amaudru, a daughter
Pippin the Hunchback (c. 769-811)

After her, his first wife was Desiderata, daughter of Desiderius, king of the Lombards, married in 770, annulled in 771.

His second wife was Hildegard (757 or 758-783), married 771, died 783. By her he had nine children:
Charles the Younger (c.772-4 December 811), Duke of Maine, and crowned King of the Franks on 25 December 800
Carloman, renamed Pippin (April 773-8 July 810), King of Italy
Adalhaid (774), who was born whilst her parents were on campaign in Italy. She was sent back to Francia, but died before reaching Lyons
Rotrude (or Hruodrud) (775-6 June 810)
Louis (778-20 June 840), twin of Lothair, King of Aquitaine since 781, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 813, senior Emperor from 814
Lothair (778-6 February 779/780), twin of Louis, he died in infancy
Bertha (779-826)
Gisela (781-808)
Hildegarde (782-783)

His third wife was Fastrada, married 784, died 794. By her he had:
Theodrada (b.784), abbess of Argenteuil
Hiltrude (b.787)

His fourth wife was Luitgard, married 794, died childless

Relationships and Children

His first known concubine was Gersuinda. By her he had:
Adaltrude (b.774)

His second known concubine was Madelgard. By her he had:
Ruodhaid (775-810), abbess of Faremoutiers

His third known concubine was Amaltrud of Vienne. By her he had:
Alpaida (b.794)

His fourth known concubine was Regina. By her he had:
Drogo (801-855), Bishop of Metz from 823 and abbot of Luxeuil Abbey
Hugh (802-844), archchancellor of the Empire

His fifth known concubine was Ethelind. By her he had:
Richbod (805-844), Abbott of Saint-Riquier
Theodoric (b. 807)

Charles and His Children

During the first peace of any substantial length (780-782), Charles began to appoint his sons to positions of authority within the realm, in the tradition of the kings and mayors of the past. In 781 he made his two younger sons kings, having them crowned by the Pope. The elder of these two, Carloman, was made king of Italy, taking the Iron Crown which his father had first worn in 774, and in the same ceremony was renamed "Pippin". The younger of the two, Louis, became king of Aquitaine. He ordered Pippin and Louis to be raised in the customs of their kingdoms, and he gave their regents some control of their subkingdoms, but real power was always in his hands, though he intended each to inherit their realm some day. Nor did he tolerate insubordination in his sons: in 792, he banished his eldest, though illegitimate, son, Pippin the Hunchback, to the monastery of Prüm, because the young man had joined a rebellion against him.

The sons fought many wars on behalf of their father when they came of age. Charles was mostly preoccupied with the Bretons, whose border he shared and who insurrected on at least two occasions and were easily put down, but he was also sent against the Saxons on multiple occasions. In 805 and 806, he was sent into the Böhmerwald (modern Bohemia) to deal with the Slavs living there (Czechs). He subjected them to Frankish authority and devastated the valley of the Elbe, forcing a tribute on them. Pippin had to hold the Avar and Beneventan borders, but also fought the Slavs to his north. He was uniquely poised to fight the Byzantine Empire when finally that conflict arose after Charlemagne's imperial coronation and a Venetian rebellion. Finally, Louis was in charge of the Spanish March and also went to southern Italy to fight the duke of Benevento on at least one occasion. He took Barcelona in a great siege in the year 797.

Charlemagne's attitude toward his daughters has been the subject of much discussion. He kept them at home with him, and refused to allow them to contract sacramental marriages - possibly to prevent the creation of cadet branches of the family to challenge the main line, as had been the case with Tassilo of Bavaria - yet he tolerated their extramarital relationships, even rewarding their common-law husbands, and treasured the bastard grandchildren they produced for him. He also, apparently, refused to believe stories of their wild behaviour. After his death the surviving daughters were banished from the court by their brother, the pious Louis, to take up residence in the convents they had been bequeathed by their father. At least one of them, Bertha, had a recognised relationship, if not a marriage, with Angilbert, a member of Charlemagne's court circle.

Death

In 813, Charlemagne called Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine, his only surviving legitimate son, to his court. There he crowned him with his own hands as co-emperor and sent him back to Aquitaine. He then spent the autumn hunting before returning to Aachen on 1 November. In January, he fell ill with pleurisy. He took to his bed on 21 January and as Einhard tells it:
He died January twenty-eighth, the seventh day from the time that he took to his bed, at nine o'clock in the morning, after partaking of the Holy Communion, in the seventy-second year of his age and the forty-seventh of his reign.

He was buried on the day of his death, in Aachen Cathedral, although the cold weather and the nature of his illness made such a hurried burial unnecessary. A later story, told by Otho of Lomello, Count of the Palace at Aachen in the time of Otto III, would claim that he and Emperor Otto had discovered Charlemagne's tomb: the emperor, they claimed, was seated upon a throne, wearing a crown and holding a sceptre, his flesh almost entirely incorrupt. In 1165, Frederick I re-opened the tomb again, and placed the emperor in a sarcophagus beneath the floor of the cathedral. In 1215 Frederick II would re-inter him in a casket made of gold and silver.

Charlemagne's death greatly affected many of his subjects, particularly those of the literary clique who had surrounded him at Aachen. An anonymous monk of Bobbio lamented:

“ From the lands where the sun rises to western shores, People are crying and wailing...the Franks, the Romans, all Christians, are stung with mourning and great worry...the young and old, glorious nobles, all lament the loss of their Caesar...the world laments the death of Charles...O Christ, you who govern the heavenly host, grant a peaceful place to Charles in your kingdom. Alas for miserable me.”

He was succeeded by his surviving son, Louis, who had been crowned the previous year. His empire lasted only another generation in its entirety; its division, according to custom, between Louis's own sons after their father's death laid the foundation for the modern states of France and Duitsland

Legacy

Administration

As an administrator, Charlemagne stands out for his many reforms: monetary, governmental, military, cultural and ecclesiastical. He is the main protagonist of the "Carolingian Renaissance".

Economic and Monetary Reforms

Monogram of Charlemagne, from the subscription of a royal diploma: "Signum (monogr.: KAROLVS) Caroli gloriosissimi regis"Charlemagne had an important role in determining the immediate economic future of Europe. Pursuing his father's reforms, Charlemagne abolished the monetary system based on the gold sou, and he and the Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia took up the system set in place by Pippin. There were strong pragmatic reasons for this abandonment of a gold standard, notably a shortage of gold itself, a direct consequence of the conclusion of peace with Byzantium and the ceding of Venice and Sicily, and the loss of their trade routes to Africa and to the east. This standardisation also had the effect of economically harmonising and unifying the complex array of currencies in use at the commencement of his reign, thus simplifying trade and commerce.

He established a new standard, the livre carolinienne (from the Latin libra, the modern pound), and based upon a pound of silver - a unit of both money and weight - which was worth 20 sous (from the Latin solidus (which was primarily an accounting device, and never actually minted), the modern shilling) or 240 deniers (from the Latin denarius, the modern penny). During this period, the livre and the sou were counting units, only the denier was a coin of the realm.

Charlemagne instituted principles for accounting practice by means of the Capitulare de villis of 802, which laid down strict rules for the way in which incomes and expenses were to be recorded.
The lending of money for interest was prohibited, strengthened in 814, when Charlemagne introduced the Capitulary for the Jews, a draconian prohibition on Jews engaging in money-lending.

In addition to this macro-management of the economy of his empire, Charlemagne also performed a significant number of acts of micro-management, such as direct control of prices and levies on certain goods and commodities.

Charlemagne applied the system to much of the European continent, and Offa's standard was voluntarily adopted by much of England. After Charlemagne's death, continental coinage degraded and most of Europe resorted to using the continued high quality English coin until about 1100.

Education Reforms

A part of Charlemagne's success as warrior and administrator can be traced to his admiration for learning. His reign and the era it ushered in are often referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance because of the flowering of scholarship, literature, art, and architecture which characterise it. Charlemagne, brought into contact with the culture and learning of other countries (especially Visigothic Spain, Anglo-Saxon England and Lombard Italy) due to his vast conquests, greatly increased the provision of monastic schools and scriptoria (centres for book-copying) in Francia. Most of the surviving works of classical Latin were copied and preserved by Carolingian scholars. Indeed, the earliest manuscripts available for many ancient texts are Carolingian. It is almost certain that a text which survived to the Carolingian age survives still. The pan-European nature of Charlemagne's influence is indicated by the origins of many of the men who worked for him: Alcuin, an Anglo-Saxon from York; Theodulf, a Visigoth, probably from Septimania; Paul the Deacon, Lombard; Peter of Pisa and Paulinus of Aquileia, Italians; and Angilbert, Angilramm, Einhard and Waldo of Reichenau, Franks.

Charlemagne took a serious interest in scholarship, promoting the liberal arts at the court, ordering that his children and grandchildren be well-educated, and even studying himself under the tutelage of Paul the Deacon, from whom he learned grammar, Alcuin, with whom he studied rhetoric, dialect and astronomy (he was particularly interested in the movements of the stars), and Einhard, who assisted him in his studies of arithmetic. His great scholarly failure, as Einhard relates, was his inability to write: when in his old age he began attempts to learn - practicing the formation of letters in his bed during his free time on books and wax tablets he hid under his pillow - "his effort came too late in life and achieved little success", and his ability to read - which Einhard is silent about, and which no contemporary source supports - has also been called into question.

Writing Reforms

Page from the Lorsch Gospels of Charlemagne's reignDuring Charles' reign, the Roman half uncial script and its cursive version, which had given rise to various continental minuscule scripts, were combined with features from the insular scripts that were being used in Irish and English monasteries. Carolingian minuscule was created partly under the patronage of Charlemagne. Alcuin of York, who ran the palace school and scriptorium at Aachen, was probably a chief influence in this. The revolutionary character of the Carolingian reform, however, can be over-emphasised; efforts at taming the crabbed Merovingian and Germanic hands had been underway before Alcuin arrived at Aachen. The new minuscule was disseminated first from Aachen, and later from the influential scriptorium at Tours, where Alcuin retired as an abbot.

Political Reforms

Charlemagne engaged in many reforms of Frankish governance, but he continued also in many traditional practices, such as the division of the kingdom among sons.

Cultural Significance

Charlemagne had an immediate afterlife. The author of the Visio Karoli Magni written around 865 uses facts gathered apparently from Einhard and his own observations on the decline of Charlemagne's family after the dissensions of civil war (840-43) as the basis for a visionary tale of Charles' meeting with a prophetic spectre in a dream.

Charlemagne, being a model knight as one of the Nine Worthies, enjoyed an important afterlife in European culture. One of the great medieval literary cycles, the Charlemagne cycle or the Matter of France, centres on the deeds of Charlemagne-the King with the Grizzly Beard of Roland fame-and his historical commander of the border with Brittany, Roland, and the paladins who are analogous to the knights of the Round Table or King Arthur's court. Their tales constitute the first chansons de geste.

Charlemagne himself was accorded sainthood inside the Holy Roman Empire after the twelfth century. His canonisation by Antipope Paschal III, to gain the favour of Frederick Barbarossa in 1165, was never recognised by the Holy See, which annulled all of Paschal's ordinances at the Third Lateran Council in 1179. However, he has been acknowledged as cultus confirmed.
Charlemagne is sometimes credited with supporting the insertion of the filioque into the Nicene Creed. The Franks had inherited a Visigothic tradition of referring to the Holy Spirit as deriving from God the Father and Son (Filioque), and under Charlemagne, the Franks challenged the 381 Council of Constantinople proclamation that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father alone. Pope Leo III rejected this notion, and had the Nicene Creed carved into the doors of Old St. Peter's Basilica without the offending phrase; the Frankish insistence lead to bad relations between Rome and Francia. Later, the Roman Catholic Church would adopt the phrase, leading to dispute between Rome and Constantinople. Some see this as one of many pre-cursors to the East-West Schism centuries later.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne>

By comparison with Adrian, Pope Leo III (795-816) was a man of inferior calibre. Where Adrian had tried to maintain independence by balancing the Byzantine emperor againstthe Frankish king, Leo from the first showed subservience to the latter. Both in Constantinople and in Rome the situation was unstable. In Constantinople, after troubles reaching back to 790, the empress Irene had her son Constantine VI blinded and deposed in 797 and took his place, the first woman to rule the empire in her own right. Her constitutional position was thus doubtful; Alcuin in the West, in 799, regarded the
imperial throne as empty. Meanwhile, in Rome the hostile nobility exploited the opportunity to attack Leo, who in 799 fled across the Alps to his protector, Charlemagne,at Paderborn. Though unfavourably impressed by the Pope, Charlemagne was persuaded by Alcuin to send him back to Rome with a commission, which adjudged the complaints
against him false and arrested and deported his accusers. The situation, however, was still uncertain. In view of the plight of both pope and Byzantine emperor, "the whole salvation of the church of Christ" rested (so Alcuin wrote) in Charlemagne's hands, and in the autumn of 800 he set out for Rome "to restore the state of the church which was greatly disturbed." On December 23 Leo solemnly purged himself of the charges against him. Two days later, on
December 25, a large gathering assembled in St. Peter's, where the Pope was to consecrate Charlemagne's son as king. Suddenly, as Charlemagne rose from prayer, Leo placed a crown on his head and, while the assembled Romans acclaimed him as "Augustus and emperor," the Pope abased himself before Charlemagne, "adoring" him "after the manner of the emperors of old."It seems clear that this coronation was the work of the papacy, not of the Frankish king, who is said to have been surprised and angry at it. The immediate beneficiary of the coronation was the pope, whose position henceforth was secure. Charlemagne was leftto face its momentous consequences and, particularly, to secure that recognition from Constantinople without which his title was legally invalid. This, according to the chronicler Theophanes, he sought to do by offering marriage to the empress Irene, hoping thus "to reunite east and west." If so, a revolution in Constantinople and the deposition of Irene in 802 brought the plan to nothing. In any case, the coronation of Charlemagne was an extralegal, indeed an illegal and revolutionary, proceeding. The pope had no right to make him emperor. Nor did the coronation create a new western by the side of the existing eastern empire. A usurper in the eyes of the Byzantines, Charlemagne had not the least prospect of succeeding to the throne of the Caesars. The only imperial territories on which he laid hands were the duchy of Rome and the former exarchate. Otherwise he remained, as before, king of the Franks and of the Lombards. In view of the fact that in 806 he made arrangements to divide his territories among his three sons, one may doubt whether Charlemagne's empire would have survived had not the two elder sons died before him, leaving the undivided inheritance in 814 to the third son, Louis I the Pious.Although the immediate context of the imperial coronation of 800 was limited, it had wider connotations. In the first place, the separation between East and West had become an accomplished fact in the political sphere; for, though the intention in 800 was not to divide the empire, this was the practical outcome. In 812, after unsuccessful war and wearisome negotiation, the Byzantine emperor Michael I recognized Charlemagne's imperial title. It was still a personal title, and Charlemagne was recognized merely as emperor, not as emperor of the Romans; in other words, the emperor in Constantinople maintained his claim to be the only true successor to the Roman Caesars. Furthermore, the recognition was grudgingly given, and later, when Byzantium was stronger and the Carolingians weaker, Michael's successors refused to extend it automatically to Charlemagne's successors. Thus the second consequence of the act of 800 was a rivalry with Constantinople, which remained an important factor in imperial history at least until 1204. In the third place,
Charlemagne's coronation involved him and his successors ever more deeply in the ecumenical pretensions of the papacy.
The relationship between the papacy and the Frankish rulers, close for nearly 50 years before 800, was intensified when the Roman see became the first metropolitan church of Charlemagne's dominions. Religious emperors and their ecclesiastical advisers would henceforward see as the main function attaching to their imperial dignity the promotion of Christian unity. Furthermore, the fact that the pope had crowned Charlemagne emperor--rightfully or not--could not
but impress. It was the pope who had taken the initiative. Had he not, in fact, constituted Charlemagne emperor? In Innocent III's time it was to be argued that Pope Leo III had transferred the empire from the Greeks to the Germans and that his successors could transfer it elsewhere if they so wished. This was a later doctrine; but already to Charlemagne the dangers were evident. Hence when, in 813 after his agreement with Michael I, Charlemagne decided to associate his
surviving son, Louis, in the exercise of imperial power, he framed his actions accordingly. The ceremony took place not in Rome but in the imperial chapel at Aachen; the pope was not present; the constitutive act was the acclamation of the gathered Frankish nobility; and Louis either received the diadem from his father or took it with his own hands from the altar. The contrast with the Roman ceremony of 800 was deliberate. Henceforward the conflict between the two contrary views or theories of the empire--the papal and the Frankish--was to be a dominant theme.

[elen.FTW]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #4579, Date of Import: Jun 15, 2003]

Charlemagne was King of the Franks (768-771 and Lombards (774), crowned Emperor (800).

aka Charles the Great. Had two more mistresses:

Adalind, son Theodric (807-818) a cleric.
unknown, son Richbod (800-844) abbott of St-Riquier.
King of the Lombards 774. Holy Roman Emperor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne
(Charles the Great) became master of Western Europe. It was falling
into decay when Charlemagne became joint king of the Franks in 768.
Except in the monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and
the arts. Boldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By
restoring the roots of learning and order, he preserved many political
rights and revived culture.
Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who
crushed the Saracens (see Charles Martel). Charlemagne was the elder
son of Bertrade ("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short, first "mayor
of the palace" to become king of the Franks. Although schools had
almost disappeared in the 8th century, historians believe that Bertrade
gave young Charles some education and that he learned to read. His
devotion to the church motivated him throughout life.
Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary,
Eginhard, wrote that Charlemagne had fair hair and a "face laughing and
merry . . . his appearance was always stately and dignified." He had a
ready wit, but could be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He
delighted in hunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress
linen shirt and breeches, a silk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with
bands, and, in winter, a tight coat of otter or marten skins. Over all
these garments "he flung a blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt
about him."
Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usual
penalty for defeat was death, Charlemagne several times spared the
lives of his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, after a Saxon
uprising, he ordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and
nobles to reform, but he divorced two of his four wives without any
cause. He forced kings and princes to kneel at his feet, yet his mother
and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman
inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771 Carloman died, and
Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the northern
half of Europe was still pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman
Catholic church was striving to assert its power against the Lombard
kingdom in Italy. In Charlemagne's own realm, the Franks were falling
back into barbarian ways, neglecting their education and religion.
Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring
order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-year campaign that conquered
and Christianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the north. He subdued
the Avars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the
rebellious Bavarian dukes to submit to him.
When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however.
For example, Charlemagne offered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius for
return of lands to the pope, but, when Desiderius refused, Charlemagne
seized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.
The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to
organize. During his reign he sent out more than 50 military
expeditions. He rode as commander at the head of at least half of them.
He moved his armies over wide reaches of country with unbelievable
speed, but every move was planned in advance. Before a campaign he told
the counts, princes, and bishops throughout his realm how many men they
should bring, what arms they were to carry, and even what to load in
the supply wagons. These feats of organization and the swift marches
later led Napoleon to study his tactics.
One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In
778 he led his army into Spain, where they laid siege to Saragossa.
They failed to take the city, and during their retreat a group of
Basques ambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles and killed "Count
Roland." Roland became a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see
Roland).
By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His
vast realm covered what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the
Nederland. It included half of present-day Italy and Duitsland, part of
Austria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to
the Ebro River. By thus establishing a central government over Western
Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire
and paved the way for the development of modern Europe.

Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in St.
Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III seized a golden crown from the altar and
placed it on the bowed head of the king. The throng in the church
shouted, "To Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific
emperor, long life and victory!"
Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation,
declaring that he would not have come into the church had he known the
pope's plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared
to act without Charlemagne's knowledge.
The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Though
Charlemagne did not use the title, he is considered the first Holy
Roman emperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance

Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed that
government should be for the benefit of the governed. When he came to
the throne, various local governors, called "counts," had become lax
and oppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators,
called missi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents called
capitularies and sent them out in teams of two a churchman and a noble.
They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting government,
administering justice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and
religious duties.
Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to
discuss its affairs. In all problems he was the final arbiter, even in
church issues, and he largely unified church and state.
Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his
people's lot in many ways. He set up money standards to encourage
commerce, tried to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged better farming
methods. He especially worked to spread education and Christianity in
every class of people.
He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up other
schools, opening them to peasant boys as well as nobles.
Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk,
Alcuin, and other scholars to his court. He learned to read Latin and
some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of
having jesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.
To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to
train his Frankish singers. To restore some appreciation of art, he
brought valuable pieces from Italy. An impressive monument to his
religious devotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where
he was buried (see Aachen).
At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, was
living. Louis's weak rule brought on the rise of civil wars and
revolts. After his death his three quarreling sons split the empire
between them by the Partition of Verdun in 843.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Charles the Great, with an unbending will to power, a readiness to fight
resolutely against external enemies, an ability to increase his domain through
a strength of character rooted in an unbroken conviction of being at one with
the divine will, did so unite in one superstate nearly all the Christian lands
of western Europe. He combined a personal piety with enjoyment of life, a
religious sense of mission with a strong will to power, rough manners with
intellectual growth, and intransigence against his enemies with rectitude.

He was co-king of Franks with elder brother Charlemagne in 754 and King of
the East Franks from 768-771. Note about Charlemagne: Besides expanding the
political power of his empire, Charles brought a cutural renaissance in his
empire. Although this imperium survived its founder by one generation, the
medevial kingdoms of France and Gemany derived all their constitutional
traditions from Charles's monarchy. Throughout medieval Europe, the person of
Charles I was considered the prototype of a Christian king and emperor.

Charlemagne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reign King of the Franks: 24 September 768 – 28 January 814;
King of the Lombards: 774 – 28 January 814;
Emperor: 25 December 800 – 28 January 814
Coronation King of the Franks: c. June 754, St Denis;
King of the Lombards: 774;
Holy Roman Emperor: 25 December 800, Rome
Titles Patrician of the Romans
Born c.2 April 742/747
Died 28 January 814
Palace of Aachen
Buried Palatine Chapel in Aachen
Predecessor Pippin the Short
Heirs Apparent Charles the Younger, Pippin of Italy, Louis the Pious
Successor Louis the Pious
Consort Desiderata of Lombardy,
Hildegard,
Fastrada,
Luitgard
Issue Pippin the Hunchback (763-811),
Charles the Younger (772 or 773-811),
Carloman, renamed Pippin (773 or 777-810), King of Italy,
Rotrude (or Hruodrud) (777-810),
Louis the Pious (778-840), King of Aquitaine, later King and Emperor of the Franks,
Bertha (779-823)
Gisela (781-808)
Theodrada (b.784), abbess of Argenteuil
Royal House Carolingian Dynasty
Father Pippin the Short
Mother Bertrada of Laon

Charlemagne (En: pronounced /'??rl?me?n/; Fr: pronounced [?a?l?'ma?]; Latin: Carolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) (742/747 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800, in an attempted revival of the Roman Empire in the West. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages.

The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I. The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at Roncesvalles (778). He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty.

Today he is not only regarded as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity.[1] Pierre Riché reflects:

“ . . . he enjoyed an exceptional destiny, and by the length of his reign, by his conquests, legislation and legendary stature, he also profoundly marked the history of western Europe.[2] ”
Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Personal traits
2.1 Date and place of birth
2.2 Language
2.3 Names of Charlemagne
2.4 Personal appearance
2.5 Dress
3 Rise to power
3.1 Early life
3.2 Joint rule
4 Italian campaigns
4.1 Conquest of Lombardy
4.2 Southern Italy
5 Charles and his children
6 Spanish campaigns
6.1 Roncesvalles campaign
6.2 Wars with the Moors
7 Eastern campaigns
7.1 Saxon Wars
7.2 Submission of Bavaria
7.3 Avar campaigns
7.4 Slav expeditions
8 Imperium
8.1 Imperial diplomacy
8.2 Danish attacks
8.3 Death
9 Administration
9.1 Economic and monetary reforms
9.2 Education reforms
9.3 Writing reforms
9.4 Political reforms
9.4.1 Organisation
9.4.2 Imperial coronation
9.4.3 Divisio regnorum
10 Cultural significance
11 Family
11.1 Marriages and heirs
11.2 Concubinages and illegitimate children
12 References
12.1 Notes
12.2 Bibliography
12.3 External links

Background

A coin of Charlemagne. Inscription: KAROLVS IMP AVGBy the 6th century, the Franks were Christianised, and the Frankish Empire ruled by the Merovingians had become the most powerful of the kingdoms which succeeded the Western Roman Empire. But following the Battle of Tertry, the Merovingians declined into a state of powerlessness, for which they have been dubbed do-nothing kings (French: rois fainéants). Almost all government powers of any consequence were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace or major domus.

In 687, Pippin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry and became the sole governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pippin himself was the grandson of two most important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pippin of Landen. Pippin the Middle was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel (the Hammer). After 737, Charles governed the Franks without a king on the throne but desisted from calling himself "king". Charles was succeeded by his sons Carloman and Pippin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. To curb separatism in the periphery of the realm, the brothers placed on the throne Childeric III, who was to be the last Merovingian king.

After Carloman resigned his office, Pippin had Childeric III deposed with Pope Zachary's approval. In 751, Pippin was elected and anointed King of the Franks and in 754, Pope Stephen II again anointed him and his young sons, now heirs to the great realm which already covered most of western and central Europe. Thus was the Merovingian dynasty replaced by the Carolingian dynasty, named after Pippin's father Charles Martel.

Under the new dynasty, the Frankish kingdom spread to encompass an area including most of Western Europe. The division of that kingdom formed France and Duitsland;[3] and the religious, political, and artistic evolutions originating from a centrally-positioned Francia made a defining imprint on the whole of Western Europe.

Personal traits

Date and place of birth
Charlemagne is traditionally believed to have been born on April 2, 742; however, several factors have led to a reconsideration of this date. First, the year 742 was calculated from his age given at death, rather than from attestation in primary sources. Another date is given in the Annales Petarienses, April 1, 747. In that year, April 1 was at Easter. The birth of an emperor at eastertime is a coincidence likely to provoke comment, but there was no such comment documented in 747, leading some to suspect that the Easter birthday was a pious fiction concocted as a way of honoring the Emperor. Other commentators weighing the primary records have suggested that his birth was one year later, in 748. At present, it is impossible to be certain of the date of the birth of Charlemagne. The best guesses include April 1, 747, after April 15, 747, or April 1, 748, in Herstal (where his father was born), a city close to Liège, in Belgium, the region from where both the Merovingian and Carolingian families originate. He went to live in his father's villa in Jupille when he was around seven, which caused Jupille to be listed as a possible place of birth in almost every history book. Other cities have been suggested, including, Prüm, Düren, Gauting and Aachen.

Language
Charlemagne's native tongue is a matter of controversy. His mother speech was probably a Germanic dialect of the Franks of the time, but linguists differ on the identity and periodisation of the language, some going so far as to say that he did not speak Old Frankish as he was born in 742 or 747, by which time Old Frankish had become extinct. Old Frankish is reconstructed from its descendant, Old Low Franconian, also called Old Dutch, and from loanwords to Old French. Linguists know very little about Old Frankish, as it attested mainly as phrases and words in the law codes of the main Frankish tribes (especially those of the Salian and Ripuarian Franks), which are written in Latin interspersed with Germanic elements.[4]

The area of Charlemagne's birth does not make determination of his native language easier. Most historians agree he was born around Liège, like his father, but some say he was born in or around Aachen, some fifty kilometres away. At that time, this was an area of great linguistic diversity. If we take Liège (around 750) as the centre, we find Low Franconian in the north and northwest, Gallo-Romance (the ancestor of Old French) in the south and southwest and various Old High German dialects in the east. If Gallo-Romance is excluded, that means he either spoke Old Low Franconian or an Old High German dialect, probably with a strong Frankish influence.

Apart from his native language he also spoke Latin "as fluently as his own tongue" and understood a bit of Greek: Grecam vero melius intellegere quam pronuntiare poterat, "He understood Greek better than he could pronounce it."[5]

Names of Charlemagne
Because of the number of languages spoken within his Empire, and his wide European fame, Charlemagne's name has been preserved in many different languages in different forms. The language of Charlemagne itself does not exist anymore, but evolved into the Franconian languages.

Charlemagne's birth-name, "Charles" was derived from his grandfather, Charles Martel (who was supposedly given the name by his father, Pippin the Middle, as a circumspectory measure to prevent Pippin's wife Plectrude from discovering her husband's infidelity). The name derives from "karl", a Germanic stem meaning "man" or "free man",[6] related to the English "churl". The earliest extant forms of Charlemagne's name are in the Latinate form, "Carolus" or "Karolus".

In many Slavic languages, the very word for "king" derives from Charles' Slavicised name.

A portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer that was painted several centuries after Charlemagne's death.Modern variants in Germanic languages (except English) are:

Danish, Norwegian and Swedish: Karl den Store
Dutch: Karel de Grote
Frisian: Karel de Grutte
German: Karl der Große
Luxembourgish: Karel de Groussen
The Germanic name was Latinised (Latin: Carolus Magnus) and preserved in the modern Romance languages (as well as English):

Catalan: Carlemany
French: Charlemagne and Charles le Grand, from the Old French Charles le Magne
Italian: Carlo Magno and Carlomagno
Portuguese: Carlos Magno
Spanish: Carlomagno
Walloon: Tchårlumagne and Tchåle li Grand
Modern variants in and the Slavic languages influenced by the Germanic name are:

Croatian: Karlo Veliki
Czech: Karel Veliký
Polish: Karol Wielki
Slovak: Karol Velký
Slovenian: Karel Veliki
The Breton variant is Karl-Veur.

The Germanic variants (den Store, de Grote, de Grutte, der Große, and de Groussen) also refer to the fact that Charlemagne was tall (seven of his own feet, or 1.93 m (6 ft 4))[7].

Names of other Carolingian rulers also refer to their physical features. For example Pippin the Short, Charles the Bald, Charles the Fat, and Louis the Stammerer.

Personal appearance

Portrait of Charlemagne, whom the Song of Roland names the "King with the Grizzly Beard"—Facsimile of an engraving from the end of the sixteenth century.Though no description from Charlemagne's lifetime exists, his personal appearance is known from a good description by Einhard, author of the biographical Vita Caroli Magni. He is well known to have been tall, stately, and fair-haired, with a disproportionately thick neck. His skeleton was measured during the 18th century and his height was determined to be 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in [1]), and as Einhard tells it in his twenty-second chapter:

Charles was large and strong, and of lofty stature, though not disproportionately tall (his height is well known to have been seven times the length of his foot); the upper part of his head was round, his eyes very large and animated, nose a little long, hair fair, and face laughing and merry. Thus his appearance was always stately and dignified, whether he was standing or sitting; although his neck was thick and somewhat short, and his belly rather prominent; but the symmetry of the rest of his body concealed these defects. His gait was firm, his whole carriage manly, and his voice clear, but not so strong as his size led one to expect.

The Roman tradition of realistic personal portraiture was in complete eclipse at this time, where individual traits were submerged in iconic typecastings. Charlemagne, as an ideal ruler, ought to be portrayed in the corresponding fashion, any contemporary would have assumed. The images of enthroned Charlemagne, God's representative on Earth, bear more connections to the icons of Christ in majesty than to modern (or antique) conceptions of portraiture. Charlemagne in later imagery (as in the Dürer portrait) is often portrayed with flowing blond hair, due to a misunderstanding of Einhard, who describes Charlemagne as having canitie pulchra, or "beautiful white hair", which has been rendered as blonde or fair in many translations. The Latin word for blond is flavus, and rutilo, meaning auburn, is the word Tacitus uses for the hair of Germanic peoples.

Dress

Part of the treasure in AachenCharlemagne wore the traditional, inconspicuous and distinctly non-aristocratic costume of the Frankish people, described by Einhard thus:

He used to wear the national, that is to say, the Frank dress: next to his skin a linen shirt and linen breeches, and above these a tunic fringed with silk; while hose fastened by bands covered his lower limbs, and shoes his feet, and he protected his shoulders and chest in winter by a close-fitting coat of otter or marten skins.

He wore a blue cloak and always carried a sword with him. The typical sword was of a golden or silver hilt. He wore fancy jewelled swords to banquets or ambassadorial receptions. Nevertheless:

He despised foreign costumes, however handsome, and never allowed himself to be robed in them, except twice in Rome, when he donned the Roman tunic, chlamys, and shoes; the first time at the request of Pope Hadrian, the second to gratify Leo, Hadrian's successor.

He could rise to the occasion when necessary. On great feast days, he wore embroidery and jewels on his clothing and shoes. He had a golden buckle for his cloak on such occasions and would appear with his great diadem, but he despised such apparel, according to Einhard, and usually dressed like the common people.

Rise to power

Early life
Charlemagne was the eldest child of Pippin the Short (714 – 24 September 768, reigned from 751) and his wife Bertrada of Laon (720 – 12 July 783), daughter of Caribert of Laon and Bertrada of Keulen. Records name only Carloman, Gisela, and a short-lived child named Pippin as his younger siblings. The semi-mythical Redburga, wife of King Egbert of Wessex, is sometimes claimed to be his sister (or sister-in-law or niece), and the legendary material makes him Roland's maternal uncle through a lady Bertha.

Much of what is known of Charlemagne's life comes from his biographer, Einhard, who wrote a Vita Caroli Magni (or Vita Karoli Magni), the Life of Charlemagne. Einhard says of the early life of Charles:

It would be folly, I think, to write a word concerning Charles' birth and infancy, or even his boyhood, for nothing has ever been written on the subject, and there is no one alive now who can give information on it. Accordingly, I determined to pass that by as unknown, and to proceed at once to treat of his character, his deed, and such other facts of his life as are worth telling and setting forth, and shall first give an account of his deed at home and abroad, then of his character and pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know.

On the death of Pippin, the kingdom of the Franks was divided—following tradition—between Charlemagne and Carloman. Charles took the outer parts of the kingdom, bordering on the sea, namely Neustria, western Aquitaine, and the northern parts of Austrasia, while Carloman retained the inner parts: southern Austrasia, Septimania, eastern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence, and Swabia, lands bordering on Italy.

Joint rule
On 9 October, immediately after the funeral of their father, both the kings withdrew from Saint Denis to be proclaimed by their nobles and consecrated by the bishops, Charlemagne in Noyon and Carloman in Soissons.

The first event of the brothers' reign was the rising of the Aquitainians and Gascons, in 769, in that territory split between the two kings. Years before Pippin had suppressed the revolt of Waifer, Duke of Aquitaine. Now, one Hunald (seemingly other than Hunald the duke) led the Aquitainians as far north as Angoulême. Charlemagne met Carloman, but Carloman refused to participate and returned to Burgundy. Charlemagne went to war, leading an army to Bordeaux, where he set up a camp at Fronsac. Hunold was forced to flee to the court of Duke Lupus II of Gascony. Lupus, fearing Charlemagne, turned Hunold over in exchange for peace. He was put in a monastery. Aquitaine was finally fully subdued by the Franks.

The brothers maintained lukewarm relations with the assistance of their mother Bertrada, but in 770 Charlemagne signed a treaty with Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and married a Lombard Princess (commonly known today as Desiderata), the daughter of King Desiderius, in order to surround Carloman with his own allies. Though Pope Stephen III first opposed the marriage with the Lombard princess, he would soon have little to fear from a Frankish-Lombard alliance.

Less than a year after his marriage, Charlemagne repudiated Desiderata, and quickly remarried to a 13-year-old Swabian named Hildegard. The repudiated Desiderata returned to her father's court at Pavia. The Lombard's wrath was now aroused and he would gladly have allied with Carloman to defeat Charles. But before war could break out, Carloman died on 5 December 771. Carloman's wife Gerberga fled to Desiderius' court with her sons for protection.

Italian campaigns

Conquest of Lombardy

The Frankish king Charlemagne was a devout Catholic who maintained a close relationship with the papacy throughout his life. In 772, when Pope Hadrian I was threatened by invaders, the king rushed to Rome to provide assistance. Shown here, the pope asks Charlemagne for help at a meeting near Rome.At the succession of Pope Hadrian I in 772, he demanded the return of certain cities in the former exarchate of Ravenna as in accordance with a promise of Desiderius' succession. Desiderius instead took over certain papal cities and invaded the Pentapolis, heading for Rome. Hadrian sent embassies to Charlemagne in autumn requesting he enforce the policies of his father, Pippin. Desiderius sent his own embassies denying the pope's charges. The embassies both met at Thionville and Charlemagne upheld the pope's side. Charlemagne promptly demanded what the pope had demanded and Desiderius promptly swore never to comply. The invasion was not short in coming. Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard crossed the Alps in 773 and chased the Lombards back to Pavia, which they then besieged. Charlemagne temporarily left the siege to deal with Adelchis, son of Desiderius, who was raising an army at Verona. The young prince was chased to the Adriatic littoral and he fled to Constantinople to plead for assistance from Constantine V Copronymus, who was waging war with the Bulgars.

The siege lasted until the spring of 774, when Charlemagne visited the pope in Rome. There he confirmed his father's grants of land, with some later chronicles claiming—falsely—that he also expanded them, granting Tuscany, Emilia, Venice, and Corsica. The pope granted him the title patrician. He then returned to Pavia, where the Lombards were on the verge of surrendering.

In return for their lives, the Lombards surrendered and opened the gates in early summer. Desiderius was sent to the abbey of Corbie and his son Adelchis died in Constantinople a patrician. Charles, unusually, had himself crowned with the Iron Crown and made the magnates of Lombardy do homage to him at Pavia. Only Duke Arechis II of Benevento refused to submit and proclaimed independence. Charlemagne was now master of Italy as king of the Lombards. He left Italy with a garrison in Pavia and few Frankish counts in place that very year.

There was still instability, however, in Italy. In 776, Dukes Hrodgaud of Friuli and Hildeprand of Spoleto rebelled. Charlemagne rushed back from Saxony and defeated the duke of Friuli in battle. The duke was slain. The duke of Spoleto signed a treaty. Their co-conspirator, Arechis, was not subdued and Adelchis, their candidate in Byzantium, never left that city. Northern Italy was now faithfully his.

Southern Italy
In 787, Charlemagne directed his attention towards Benevento, where Arechis was reigning independently. He besieged Salerno and Arechis submitted to vassalage. However, with his death in 792, Benevento again proclaimed independence under his son Grimoald III. Grimoald was attacked by armies of Charles' or his sons' many times, but Charlemagne himself never returned to the Mezzogiorno and Grimoald never was forced to surrender to Frankish suzerainty.

Charles and his children
During the first peace of any substantial length (780–782), Charles began to appoint his sons to positions of authority within the realm, in the tradition of the kings and mayors of the past. In 781, he made his two younger sons kings, having them crowned by the Pope. The elder of these two, Carloman, was made king of Italy, taking the Iron Crown which his father had first worn in 774, and in the same ceremony was renamed "Pippin". The younger of the two, Louis, became king of Aquitaine. He ordered Pippin and Louis to be raised in the customs of their kingdoms, and he gave their regents some control of their subkingdoms, but real power was always in his hands, though he intended each to inherit their realm some day. Nor did he tolerate insubordination in his sons: in 792, he banished his eldest, though illegitimate, son, Pippin the Hunchback, to the monastery of Prüm, because the young man had joined a rebellion against him.

The sons fought many wars on behalf of their father when they came of age. Charles was mostly preoccupied with the Bretons, whose border he shared and who insurrected on at least two occasions and were easily put down, but he was also sent against the Saxons on multiple occasions. In 805 and 806, he was sent into the Böhmerwald (modern Bohemia) to deal with the Slavs living there (Czechs). He subjected them to Frankish authority and devastated the valley of the Elbe, forcing a tribute on them. Pippin had to hold the Avar and Beneventan borders, but also fought the Slavs to his north. He was uniquely poised to fight the Byzantine Empire when finally that conflict arose after Charlemagne's imperial coronation and a Venetian rebellion. Finally, Louis was in charge of the Spanish March and also went to southern Italy to fight the duke of Benevento on at least one occasion. He took Barcelona in a great siege in the year 797 (see below).

Charlemagne's attitude toward his daughters has been the subject of much discussion. He kept them at home with him, and refused to allow them to contract sacramental marriages – possibly to prevent the creation of cadet branches of the family to challenge the main line, as had been the case with Tassilo of Bavaria – yet he tolerated their extra-marital relationships, even rewarding their common-law husbands, and treasured the bastard grandchildren they produced for him. He also, apparently, refused to believe stories of their wild behaviour. After his death the surviving daughters were banished from the court by their brother, the pious Louis, to take up residence in the convents they had been bequeathed by their father. At least one of them, Bertha, had a recognised relationship, if not a marriage, with Angilbert, a member of Charlemagne's court circle.

Spanish campaigns

Roncesvalles campaign

Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne in an illlustration taken from a manuscript of a chanson de geste.To the Diet of Paderborn had come representatives of the Muslim rulers of Gerona, Barcelona, and Huesca. Their masters had been cornered in the Iberian peninsula by Abd ar-Rahman I, the Umayyad emir of Córdoba. The Moorish rulers offered their homage to the great king of the Franks in return for military support. Seeing an opportunity to extend Christendom and his own power and believing the Saxons to be a fully conquered nation, he agreed to go to Spain.

In 778, he led the Neustrian army across the Western Pyrenees, while the Austrasians, Lombards, and Burgundians passed over the Eastern Pyrenees. The armies met at Zaragoza and received the homage of Soloman ibn al-Arabi and Kasmin ibn Yusuf, the foreign rulers. Zaragoza did not fall soon enough for Charles, however. Indeed, Charlemagne was facing the toughest battle of his career and, in fear of losing, he decided to retreat and head home. He could not trust the Moors, nor the Basques, whom he had subdued by conquering Pamplona. He turned to leave Iberia, but as he was passing through the Pass of Roncesvalles one of the most famous events of his long reign occurred. The Basques fell on his rearguard and baggage train, utterly destroying it. The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, less a battle than a mere skirmish, left many famous dead: among which were the seneschal Eggihard, the count of the palace Anselm, and the warden of the Breton March, Roland, inspiring the subsequent creation of the Song of Roland (Chanson de Roland). Thus ended the Spanish campaign in complete disaster.

Wars with the Moors
The conquest of Italy brought Charlemagne in contact with the Saracens who, at the time, controlled the Mediterranean. Pippin, his son, was much occupied with Saracens in Italy. Charlemagne conquered Corsica and Sardinia at an unknown date and in 799 the Balearic Islands. The islands were often attacked by Saracen pirates, but the counts of Genoa and Tuscany (Boniface) kept them at bay with large fleets until the end of Charlemagne's reign. Charlemagne even had contact with the caliphal court in Baghdad. In 797 (or possibly 801), the caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, presented Charlemagne with an Asian elephant named Abul-Abbas and a mechanical clock, out of which came a mechanical bird to announce the hours.

In Hispania, the struggle against the Moors continued unabated throughout the latter half of his reign. His son Louis was in charge of the Spanish border. In 785, his men captured Gerona permanently and extended Frankish control into the Catalan littoral for the duration of Charlemagne's reign (and much longer, it remained nominally Frankish until the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258). The Muslim chiefs in the northeast of Islamic Spain were constantly revolting against Córdoban authority and they often turned to the Franks for help. The Frankish border was slowly extended until 795, when Gerona, Cardona, Ausona, and Urgel were united into the new Spanish March, within the old duchy of Septimania.

In 797, Barcelona, the greatest city of the region, fell to the Franks when Zeid, its governor, rebelled against Córdoba and, failing, handed it to them. The Umayyad authority recaptured it in 799. However, Louis of Aquitaine marched the entire army of his kingdom over the Pyrenees and besieged it for two years, wintering there from 800 to 801, when it capitulated. The Franks continued to press forwards against the emir. They took Tarragona in 809 and Tortosa in 811. The last conquest brought them to the mouth of the Ebro and gave them raiding access to Valencia, prompting the Emir al-Hakam I to recognise their conquests in 812.

Eastern campaigns

Saxon Wars
Carolingian dynasty
Pippinids
Pippin the Elder (c. 580–640)
Grimoald (616–656)
Childebert the Adopted (d. 662)

Arnulfings
Arnulf of Metz (582–640)
Chlodulf of Metz (d. 696 or 697)
Ansegisel (c.602–before 679)
Pippin the Middle (c.635–714)
Grimoald II (d. 714)
Drogo of Champagne (670–708)
Theudoald (d. 714)

Carolingians
Charles Martel (686–741)
Carloman (d. 754)
Pepin the Short (714–768)
Carloman I (751–771)
Charlemagne (d. 814)
Louis the Pious (778–840)

After the Treaty of Verdun (843)
Lothair I, Holy Roman Emperor (795–855)
(Middle Francia)
Charles the Bald (823–877)
(Western Francia)
Louis the German (804–876)
(Eastern Francia)

Charlemagne was engaged in almost constant battle throughout his reign, often at the head of his elite scara bodyguard squadrons, with his legendary sword Joyeuse in hand. After thirty years of war and eighteen battles—the Saxon Wars—he conquered Saxonia and proceeded to convert the conquered to Roman Catholicism, using force where necessary.

The Saxons were divided into four subgroups in four regions. Nearest to Austrasia was Westphalia and furthest away was Eastphalia. In between these two kingdoms was that of Engria and north of these three, at the base of the Jutland peninsula, was Nordalbingia.

In his first campaign, Charlemagne forced the Engrians in 773 to submit and cut down an Irminsul pillar near Paderborn. The campaign was cut short by his first expedition to Italy. He returned in the year 775, marching through Westphalia and conquering the Saxon fort of Sigiburg. He then crossed Engria, where he defeated the Saxons again. Finally, in Eastphalia, he defeated a Saxon force, and its leader Hessi converted to Christianity. He returned through Westphalia, leaving encampments at Sigiburg and Eresburg, which had, up until then, been important Saxon bastions. All Saxony but Nordalbingia was under his control, but Saxon resistance had not ended.

Following his campaign in Italy subjugating the dukes of Friuli and Spoleto, Charlemagne returned very rapidly to Saxony in 776, where a rebellion had destroyed his fortress at Eresburg. The Saxons were once again brought to heel, but their main leader, duke Widukind, managed to escape to Denmark, home of his wife. Charlemagne built a new camp at Karlstadt. In 777, he called a national diet at Paderborn to integrate Saxony fully into the Frankish kingdom. Many Saxons were baptised.

In the summer of 779, he again invaded Saxony and reconquered Eastphalia, Engria, and Westphalia. At a diet near Lippe, he divided the land into missionary districts and himself assisted in several mass baptisms (780). He then returned to Italy and, for the first time, there was no immediate Saxon revolt. From 780 to 782, the land had peace.

He returned in 782 to Saxony and instituted a code of law and appointed counts, both Saxon and Frank. The laws were draconian on religious issues, and the indigenous forms of Germanic polytheism were gravely threatened by Christianisation. This stirred a renewal of the old conflict. That year, in autumn, Widukind returned and led a new revolt, which resulted in several assaults on the church. In response, at Verden in Lower Saxony, Charlemagne allegedly ordered the beheading of 4,500 Saxons who had been caught practising their native paganism after conversion to Christianity, known as the Bloody Verdict of Verden or Massacre of Verden. The massacre triggered two years of renewed bloody warfare (783-785). During this war the Frisians were also finally subdued and a large part of their fleet was burned. The war ended with Widukind accepting baptism.

Thereafter, the Saxons maintained the peace for seven years, but in 792 the Westphalians once again rose against their conquerors. The Eastphalians and Nordalbingians joined them in 793, but the insurrection did not catch on and was put down by 794. An Engrian rebellion followed in 796, but Charlemagne's personal presence and the presence of loyal Christian Saxons and Slavs quickly crushed it. The last insurrection of the independence-minded people occurred in 804, more than thirty years after Charlemagne's first campaign against them. This time, the most unruly of them, the Nordalbingians, found themselves effectively disempowered from rebellion. According to Einhard:

The war that had lasted so many years was at length ended by their acceding to the terms offered by the King; which were renunciation of their national religious customs and the worship of devils, acceptance of the sacraments of the Christian faith and religion, and union with the Franks to form one people.

Submission of Bavaria
In 788, Charlemagne turned his attention to Bavaria. He claimed Tassilo was an unfit ruler on account of his oath-breaking. The charges were trumped up, but Tassilo was deposed anyway and put in the monastery of Jumièges. In 794, he was made to renounce any claim to Bavaria for himself and his family (the Agilolfings) at the synod of Frankfurt. Bavaria was subdivided into Frankish counties, like Saxony.

Avar campaigns
In 788, the Avars, a pagan Asian horde which had settled down in what is today Hungary (Einhard called them Huns), invaded Friuli and Bavaria. Charles was preoccupied until 790 with other things, but in that year, he marched down the Danube into their territory and ravaged it to the Raab. Then, a Lombard army under Pippin marched into the Drava valley and ravaged Pannonia. The campaigns would have continued if the Saxons had not revolted again in 792, breaking seven years of peace.

For the next two years, Charles was occupied with the Slavs against the Saxons. Pippin and Duke Eric of Friuli continued, however, to assault the Avars' ring-shaped strongholds. The great Ring of the Avars, their capital fortress, was taken twice. The booty was sent to Charlemagne at his capital, Aachen, and redistributed to all his followers and even to foreign rulers, including King Offa of Mercia. Soon the Avar tuduns had thrown in the towel and travelled to Aachen to subject themselves to Charlemagne as vassals and Christians. This Charlemagne accepted and sent one native chief, baptised Abraham, back to Avaria with the ancient title of khagan. Abraham kept his people in line, but in 800 the Bulgarians under Krum had swept the Avar state away. In the 10th century, the Magyars settled the Pannonian plain and presented a new threat to Charlemagne's descendants.

Slav expeditions
In 789, in recognition of his new pagan neighbours, the Slavs, Charlemagne marched an Austrasian-Saxon army across the Elbe into Abotrite territory. The Slavs immediately submitted under their leader Witzin. He then accepted the surrender of the Wiltzes under Dragovit and demanded many hostages and the permission to send, unmolested, missionaries into the pagan region. The army marched to the Baltic before turning around and marching to the Rhine with much booty and no harassment. The tributary Slavs became loyal allies. In 795, the peace broken by the Saxons, the Abotrites and Wiltzes rose in arms with their new master against the Saxons. Witzin died in battle and Charlemagne avenged him by harrying the Eastphalians on the Elbe. Thrasuco, his successor, led his men to conquest over the Nordalbingians and handed their leaders over to Charlemagne, who greatly honoured him. The Abotrites remained loyal until Charles' death and fought later against the Danes.

Charlemagne also directed his attention to the Slavs to the south of the Avar khaganate: the Carantanians and Slovenes. These people were subdued by the Lombards and Bavarii and made tributaries, but never incorporated into the Frankish state.

Imperium

Imperial diplomacy

Charlemagne's chapel at Aachen Cathedral.Matters of Charlemagne's reign came to a head in late 800. In 799, Pope Leo III had been mistreated by the Romans, who tried to put out his eyes and tear out his tongue. Leo escaped, and fled to Charlemagne at Paderborn, asking him to intervene in Rome and restore him. Charlemagne, advised by Alcuin of York, agreed to travel to Rome, doing so in November 800 and holding a council on December 1. On December 23, Leo swore an oath of innocence. At Mass, on Christmas Day (December 25), when Charlemagne knelt the altar to pray, the pope crowned him Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans") in Saint Peter's Basilica. In so doing, the pope was effectively attempting to transfer the office from Constantinople to Charles. Einhard says that Charlemagne was ignorant of the pope's intent and did not want any such coronation:

[H]e at first had such an aversion that he declared that he would not have set foot in the Church the day that they [the imperial titles] were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, if he could have foreseen the design of the Pope.

Many modern scholars suggest that Charlemagne was indeed aware of the coronation; certainly he cannot have missed the bejeweled crown waiting on the altar when he came to pray. In any event, he would now use these circumstances to claim that he was the renewer of the Roman Empire, which had apparently fallen into degradation under the Byzantines. However, Charles would after 806 style himself, not Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans", a title reserved for the Byzantine emperor), but rather Imperator Romanum gubernans Imperium ("Emperor ruling the Roman Empire").

The Iconoclasm of the Isaurian Dynasty and resulting religious conflicts with the Empress Irene, sitting on the throne in Constantinople in 800, were probably the chief causes of the pope's desire to formally acclaim Charles as Roman Emperor. He also most certainly desired to increase the influence of the papacy, honour his saviour Charlemagne, and solve the constitutional issues then most troubling to European jurists in an era when Rome was not in the hands of an emperor. Thus, Charlemagne's assumption of the imperial title was not an usurpation in the eyes of the Franks or Italians. It was though in Byzantium, where it was protested by Irene and her successor Nicephorus I — neither of whom had any great effect in enforcing their protests.

The Byzantines, however, still held several territories in Italy: Venice (what was left of the Exarchate of Ravenna), Reggio (Calabria, the toe), Brindisi (Apulia, the heel), and Naples (the Ducatus Neapolitanus). These regions remained outside of Frankish hands until 804, when the Venetians, torn by infighting, transferred their allegiance to the Iron Crown of Pippin, Charles' son. The Pax Nicephori ended. Nicephorus ravaged the coasts with a fleet and the only instance of war between the Byzantines and the Franks, as it was, began. It lasted until 810, when the pro-Byzantine party in Venice gave their city back to the Byzantine Emperor and the two emperors of Europe made peace: Charlemagne received the Istrian peninsula and in 812 Emperor Michael I Rhangabes recognised his status as Emperor.

Danish attacks
After the conquest of Nordalbingia, the Frankish frontier was brought into contact with Scandinavia. The pagan Danes, "a race almost unknown to his ancestors, but destined to be only too well known to his sons" as Charles Oman described them, inhabiting the Jutland peninsula had heard many stories from Widukind and his allies who had taken refuge with them about the dangers of the Franks and the fury which their Christian king could direct against pagan neighbours.

In 808, the king of the Danes, Godfred, built the vast Danevirke across the isthmus of Schleswig. This defence, last employed in the Danish-Prussian War of 1864, was at its beginning a 30 km long earthenwork rampart. The Danevirke protected Danish land and gave Godfred the opportunity to harass Frisia and Flanders with pirate raids. He also subdued the Frank-allied Wiltzes and fought the Abotrites.

Godfred invaded Frisia and joked of visiting Aachen, but was murdered before he could do any more, either by a Frankish assassin or by one of his own men. Godfred was succeeded by his nephew Hemming and he concluded the Treaty of Heiligen with Charlemagne in late 811.

Death

Persephone sarcophagus of CharlemagneIn 813, Charlemagne called Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine, his only surviving legitimate son, to his court. There he crowned him with his own hands as co-emperor and sent him back to Aquitaine. He then spent the autumn hunting before returning to Aachen on 1 November. In January, he fell ill with pleurisy (Einhard 59). He took to his bed on 21 January and as Einhard tells it:

He died January twenty-eighth, the seventh day from the time that he took to his bed, at nine o'clock in the morning, after partaking of the Holy Communion, in the seventy-second year of his age and the forty-seventh of his reign.

He was buried on the day of his death, in Aachen Cathedral, although the cold weather and the nature of his illness made such a hurried burial unnecessary. A later story, told by Otho of Lomello, Count of the Palace at Aachen in the time of Otto III, would claim that he and Emperor Otto had discovered Charlemagne's tomb: the emperor, they claimed, was seated upon a throne, wearing a crown and holding a sceptre, his flesh almost entirely incorrupt. The story was proved false by Frederick I, who discovered the remains of the emperor in a sarcophagus beneath the floor of the chapel. [8]

Charlemagne's death greatly affected many of his subjects, particularly those of the literary clique who had surrounded him at Aachen. An anonymous monk of Bobbio lamented:

“ From the lands where the sun rises to western shores, People are crying and wailing...the Franks, the Romans, all Christians, are stung with mourning and great worry...the young and old, glorious nobles, all lament the loss of their Caesar...the world laments the death of Charles...O Christ, you who govern the heavenly host, grant a peaceful place to Charles in your kingdom. Alas for miserable me.[9] ”

He was succeeded by his surviving son, Louis, who had been crowned the previous year. His empire lasted only another generation in its entirety; its division, according to custom, between Louis's own sons after their father's death laid the foundation for the modern states of France and Duitsland.

Administration
As an administrator, Charlemagne stands out for his many reforms: monetary, governmental, military, cultural and ecclesiastical. He is the main protagonist of the "Carolingian Renaissance".

Economic and monetary reforms

Monogram of Charlemagne, from the subscription of a royal diploma: "Signum (monogr.: KAROLVS) Caroli gloriosissimi regis".Charlemagne had an important role in determining the immediate economic future of Europe. Pursuing his father's reforms, Charlemagne abolished the monetary system based on the gold sou, and he and the Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia took up the system set in place by Pippin. There were strong pragmatic reasons for this abandonment of a gold standard, notably a shortage of gold itself, a direct consequence of the conclusion of peace with Byzantium and the ceding of Venice and Sicily, and the loss of their trade routes to Africa and to the east. This standardisation also had the effect of economically harmonising and unifying the complex array of currencies in use at the commencement of his reign, thus simplifying trade and commerce.

He established a new standard, the livre carolinienne (from the Latin libra, the modern pound), and based upon a pound of silver – a unit of both money and weight – which was worth 20 sous (from the Latin solidus (which was primarily an accounting device, and never actually minted), the modern shilling) or 240 deniers (from the Latin denarius, the modern penny). During this period, the livre and the sou were counting units, only the denier was a coin of the realm.

Charlemagne instituted principles for accounting practice by means of the Capitulare de villis of 802, which laid down strict rules for the way in which incomes and expenses were to be recorded.

The lending of money for interest was prohibited, strengthened in 814, when Charlemagne introduced the Capitulary for the Jews, a draconian prohibition on Jews engaging in money-lending.

In addition to this macro-management of the economy of his empire, Charlemagne also performed a significant number of acts of micro-management, such as direct control of prices and levies on certain goods and commodities.

Charlemagne applied the system to much of the European continent, and Offa's standard was voluntarily adopted by much of England. After Charlemagne's death, continental coinage degraded and most of Europe resorted to using the continued high quality English coin until about 1100.

Education reforms
A part of Charlemagne's success as warrior and administrator can be traced to his admiration for learning. His reign and the era it ushered in are often referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance because of the flowering of scholarship, literature, art, and architecture which characterise it. Charlemagne, brought into contact with the culture and learning of other countries (especially Visigothic Spain, Anglo-Saxon England and Lombard Italy) due to his vast conquests, greatly increased the provision of monastic schools and scriptoria (centres for book-copying) in Francia. Most of the surviving works of classical Latin were copied and preserved by Carolingian scholars. Indeed, the earliest manuscripts available for many ancient texts are Carolingian. It is almost certain that a text which survived to the Carolingian age survives still. The pan-European nature of Charlemagne's influence is indicated by the origins of many of the men who worked for him: Alcuin, an Anglo-Saxon from York; Theodulf, a Visigoth, probably from Septimania; Paul the Deacon, Peter of Pisa and Paulinus of Aquileia, Lombards; and Angilbert, Angilramm, Einhard and Waldo of Reichenau, Franks.

Charlemagne took a serious interest in scholarship, promoting the liberal arts at the court, ordering that his children and grandchildren be well-educated, and even studying himself under the tutelage of Paul the Deacon, from whom he learned grammar, Alcuin, with whom he studied rhetoric, dialect and astronomy (he was particularly interested in the movements of the stars), and Einhard, who assisted him in his studies of arithmetic. His great scholarly failure, as Einhard relates, was his inability to write: when in his old age he began attempts to learn – practicing the formation of letters in his bed during his free time on books and wax tablets he hid under his pillow – "his effort came too late in life and achieved little success", and his ability to read – which Einhard is silent about, and which no contemporary source supports – has also been called into question.[10]

Writing reforms

Page from the Lorsch Gospels of Charlemagne's reign.During Charles' reign, the Roman half uncial script and its cursive version, which had given rise to various continental minuscule scripts, were combined with features from the insular scripts that were being used in Irish and English monasteries. Carolingian minuscule was created partly under the patronage of Charlemagne. Alcuin of York, who ran the palace school and scriptorium at Aachen, was probably a chief influence in this. The revolutionary character of the Carolingian reform, however, can be over-emphasised; efforts at taming the crabbed Merovingian and Germanic hands had been underway before Alcuin arrived at Aachen. The new minuscule was disseminated first from Aachen, and later from the influential scriptorium at Tours, where Alcuin retired as an abbot.

Political reforms
Charlemagne engaged in many reforms of Frankish governance, but he continued also in many traditional practices, such as the division of the kingdom among sons.

Organisation
Main article: Government of the Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian king exercised the bannum, the right to rule and command. He had supreme jurisdiction in judicial matters, made legislation, led the army, and protected both the Church and the poor. His administration was an attempt to organise the kingdom, church and nobility around him, however, it was entirely dependent upon the efficiency, loyalty and support of his subjects.

Imperial coronation

Throne of Charlemagne in Aachen CathedralHistorians have debated for centuries whether Charlemagne was aware of the Pope's intent to crown him Emperor prior to the coronation (Charlemagne declared that he would not have entered Saint Peter's had he known), but that debate has often obscured the more significant question of why the Pope granted the title and why Charlemagne chose to accept it once he did.

Roger Collins points out (Charlemagne, pg. 147) "that the motivation behind the acceptance of the imperial title was a romantic and antiquarian interest in reviving the Roman empire is highly unlikely." For one thing, such romance would not have appealed either to Franks or Roman Catholics at the turn of the ninth century, both of whom viewed the Classical heritage of the Roman Empire with distrust. The Franks took pride in having "fought against and thrown from their shoulders the heavy yoke of the Romans" and "from the knowledge gained in baptism, clothed in gold and precious stones the bodies of the holy martyrs whom the Romans had killed by fire, by the sword and by wild animals", as Pippin III described it in a law of 763 or 764 (Collins 151). Furthermore, the new title — carrying with it the risk that the new emperor would "make drastic changes to the traditional styles and procedures of government" or "concentrate his attentions on Italy or on Mediterranean concerns more generally" (Collins 149) — risked alienating the Frankish leadership.

For both the Pope and Charlemagne, the Roman Empire remained a significant power in European politics at this time, and continued to hold a substantial portion of Italy, with borders not very far south of the city of Rome itself — this is the empire historiography has labelled the Byzantine Empire, for its capital was Constantinople (ancient Byzantium) and its people and rulers were Greek; it was a thoroughly Hellenic state. Indeed, Charlemagne was usurping the prerogatives of the Roman Emperor in Constantinople simply by sitting in judgement over the Pope in the first place:

By whom, however, could he [the Pope] be tried? Who, in other words, was qualified to pass judgement on the Vicar of Christ? In normal circumstances the only conceivable answer to that question would have been the Emperor at Constantinople; but the imperial throne was at this moment occupied by Irene. That the Empress was notorious for having blinded and murdered her own son was, in the minds of both Leo and Charles, almost immaterial: it was enough that she was a woman. The female sex was known to be incapable of governing, and by the old Salic tradition was debarred from doing so. As far as Western Europe was concerned, the Throne of the Emperors was vacant: Irene's claim to it was merely an additional proof, if any were needed, of the degradation into which the so-called Roman Empire had fallen.

—John Julius Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, pg. 378

Coronation of an idealised king, depicted in the Sacramentary of Charles the Bald (about 870).For the Pope, then, there was "no living Emperor at the that time" (Norwich 379), though Henri Pirenne (Mohammed and Charlemagne, pg. 234n) disputes this saying that the coronation "was not in any sense explained by the fact that at this moment a woman was reigning in Constantinople." Nonetheless, the Pope took the extraordinary step of creating one. The papacy had since 727 been in conflict with Irene's predecessors in Constantinople over a number of issues, chiefly the continued Byzantine adherence to the doctrine of iconoclasm, the destruction of Christian images; while from 750, the secular power of the Byzantine Empire in central Italy had been nullified. By bestowing the Imperial crown upon Charlemagne, the Pope arrogated to himself "the right to appoint ... the Emperor of the Romans, ... establishing the imperial crown as his own personal gift but simultaneously granting himself implicit superiority over the Emperor whom he had created." And "because the Byzantines had proved so unsatisfactory from every point of view—political, military and doctrinal—he would select a westerner: the one man who by his wisdom and statesmanship and the vastness of his dominions ... stood out head and shoulders above his contemporaries."

A depiction of the imperial coronation of Charlemagne.With Charlemagne's coronation, therefore, "the Roman Empire remained, so far as either of them [Charlemagne and Leo] were concerned, one and indivisible, with Charles as its Emperor", though there can have been "little doubt that the coronation, with all that it implied, would be furiously contested in Constantinople." (Norwich, Byzantium: The Apogee, pg. 3) How realistic either Charlemagne or the Pope felt it to be that the people of Constantinople would ever accept the King of the Franks as their Emperor, we cannot know; Alcuin speaks hopefully in his letters of an Imperium Christianum ("Christian Empire"), wherein, "just as the inhabitants of the [Roman Empire] had been united by a common Roman citizenship", presumably this new empire would be united by a common Christian faith (Collins 151), certainly this is the view of Pirenne when he says "Charles was the Emperor of the ecclesia as the Pope conceived it, of the Roman Church, regarded as the universal Church" (Pirenne 233).

What we do know, from the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes (Collins 153), is that Charlemagne's reaction to his coronation was to take the initial steps toward securing the Constantinopolitan throne by sending envoys of marriage to Irene, and that Irene reacted somewhat favorably to them. Only when the people of Constantinople reacted to Irene's failure to immediately rebuff the proposal by deposing her and replacing her with one of her ministers, Nicephorus I, did Charlemagne drop any ambitions toward the Byzantine throne and begin minimising his new Imperial title, and instead return to describing himself primarily as rex Francorum et Langobardum.

The title of emperor remained in his family for years to come, however, as brothers fought over who had the supremacy in the Frankish state. The papacy itself never forgot the title nor abandoned the right to bestow it. When the family of Charles ceased to produce worthy heirs, the pope gladly crowned whichever Italian magnate could best protect him from his local enemies. This devolution led, as could have been expected, to the dormancy of the title for almost forty years (924-962). Finally, in 962, in a radically different Europe from Charlemagne's, a new Roman Emperor was crowned in Rome by a grateful pope. This emperor, Otto the Great, brought the title into the hands the kings of Duitsland for almost a millennium, for it was to become the Holy Roman Empire, a true imperial successor to Charles, if not Augustus.

Divisio regnorum
In 806, Charlemagne first made provision for the traditional division of the empire on his death. For Charles the Younger he designated Austrasia and Neustria, Saxony, Burgundy, and Thuringia. To Pippin he gave Italy, Bavaria, and Swabia. Louis received Aquitaine, the Spanish March, and Provence. There was no mention of the imperial title however, which has led to the suggestion that, at that particular time, Charlemagne regarded the title as an honorary achievement which held no hereditary significance.

This division may have worked, but it was never to be tested. Pippin died in 810 and Charles in 811. Charlemagne then reconsidered the matter, and in 813, crowned his youngest son, Louis, co-emperor and co-King of the Franks, granting him a half-share of the empire and the rest upon Charlemagne's own death. The only part of the Empire which Louis was not promised was Italy, which Charlemagne specifically bestowed upon Pippin's illegitimate son Bernard.

Cultural significance

The Coronation of Charlemagne, by assistants of Raphael , circa 1516-1517.Charlemagne, being a model knight as one of the Nine Worthies, enjoyed an important afterlife in European culture. One of the great medieval literary cycles, the Charlemagne cycle or the Matter of France, centres on the deeds of Charlemagne and his historical commander of the border with Brittany, Roland, and the paladins who are analogous to the knights of the Round Table or King Arthur's court. Their tales constitute the first chansons de geste.

Charlemagne himself was accorded sainthood inside the Holy Roman Empire after the twelfth century. His canonisation by Antipope Paschal III, to gain the favour of Frederick Barbarossa in 1165, was never recognised by the Holy See, which annulled all of Paschal's ordinances at the Third Lateran Council in 1179. However, he has been acknowledged as cultus confirmed.

Charlemagne is sometimes credited with supporting the insertion of the filioque into the Nicene Creed. The Franks had inherited a Visigothic tradition of referring to the Holy Spirit as deriving from God the Father and Son (Filioque), and under Charlemagne, the Franks challenged the 381 Council of Constantinople proclamation that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father alone. Pope Leo III rejected this notion, and had the Nicene Creed carved into the doors of Old St. Peter's Basilica without the offending phrase; the Frankish insistence lead to bad relations between Rome and Francia. Later, the Roman Catholic Church would adopt the phrase, leading to dispute between Rome and Constantinople. Some see this as one of many pre-cursors to the East-West Schism centuries later.[11]

In the Divine Comedy the spirit of Charlemagne appears to Dante in the Heaven of Mars, among the other "warriors of the faith".

According to folk etymology, Charlemagne was commemorated in the old name Charles's Wain for the Big Dipper in the constellation of Ursa Major.

French volunteers in the Wehrmacht and later Waffen-SS during the World War II were organised in a unit called 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French). A German Waffen-SS unit used "Karl der Große" for some time in 1943, but then chose the name 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg instead.

The city of Aachen has, since 1949, awarded an international prize (called the Karlspreis) in honour of Charlemagne. It is awarded annually to "personages of merit who have promoted the idea of western unity by their political, economic and literary endeavours." Winners of the prize include Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, the founder of the pan-European movement, Alcide De Gasperi, and Winston Churchill.

Charlemagne is memorably quoted by Henry Jones (played by Sean Connery) in the film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Immediately after using his umbrella to induce a flock of seagulls to smash through the glass cockpit of a pursuing German fighter plane, Henry Jones remarks "I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne: 'Let my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the sky'." Despite the quote's popularity since the movie, there is no evidence that Charlemagne actually said this. [2]

The Economist, the weekly news and international affairs newspaper, features a one page article every week entitled "Charlemagne", focusing on European government.

The city of Aachen has since 1949 bestowed an award, the Karlspreis der Stadt Aachen, for significant contributions to the common European ideal "in remembrance of the great founder of western civilisation".[12]

Family

Marriages and heirs
Charlemagne had seventeen children over the course of his life with eight of his ten known wives or concubinues.

His first relationship was with Himiltrude. The nature of this relationship is variously described as concubinage, a legal marriage or as a Friedelehe.[13] Charlemagne put her aside when he married Desiderata. The union produced two children:
Amaudru, a daughter[14]
Pippin the Hunchback (c. 769-811)
After her, his first wife was Desiderata, daughter of Desiderius, king of the Lombards, married in 770, annulled in 771.
His second wife was Hildegard (757 or 758-783), married 771, died 783. By her he had nine children:
Charles the Younger (c.772-4 December 811), Duke of Maine, and crowned King of the Franks on 25 December 800.
Carloman, renamed Pippin (April 773-8 July 810), King of Italy
Adalhaid (774), who was born whilst her parents were on campaign in Italy. She was sent back to Francia, but died before reaching Lyons.
Rotrude (or Hruodrud) (775-6 June 810)
Louis (778-20 June 840), twin of Lothair, King of Aquitaine since 781, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 813, senior Emperor from 814.
Lothair (778-6 February 779/780), twin of Louis, he died in infancy[15]
Bertha (779-826)
Gisela (781-808)
Hildegarde (782-783)
His third wife was Fastrada, married 784, died 794. By her he had:
Theodrada (b.784), abbess of Argenteuil
Hiltrude (b.787)
His fourth wife was Luitgard, married 794, died childless.

Concubinages and illegitimate children
His first known concubine was Gersuinda. By her he had:
Adaltrude (b.774)
His second known concubine was Madelgard. By her he had:
Ruodhaid (775-810), abbess of Faremoutiers
His third known concubine was Amaltrud of Vienne. By her he had:
Alpaida (b.794)
His fourth known concubine was Regina. By her he had:
Drogo (801-855), Bishop of Metz from 823 and abbot of Luxeuil Abbey
Hugh (802-844), archchancellor of the Empire
His fifth known concubine was Ethelind. By her he had:
Richbod (805-844), Abbott of Saint-Riquier
Theodoric (b.807)

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Charlemagne
Notes
^ Riché, Preface xviii
^ Riché, xviii.
^ Oman, Charles. The Dark Ages 476–919. Rivingtons: London, 1914. Regards Charlemagne's grandsons as the first kings of France and Duitsland, which at the time comprised the whole of the Carolingian Empire save Italy.
^ Original text of the Salic law.
^ Einhard, Life, 25.
^ Etymology of "Charles/Karl/Karel"
^ Which means that Charlemagne had modern European shoe size 44 or American shoe size 10.
^ Chamberlin, Russell, The Emperor Charlemagne, pp. 222-224
^ Dutton, PE, Carolingian Civilization: A Reader
^ Dutton, Paul Edward, Charlemagne's Mustache
^ Riche, Pierre, The Carolingians, p.124
^ Chamberlin, Russell, The Emperor Charlemagne
^ Charlemagne's biographer Einhard (Vita Karoli Magni, ch. 20) calls her a "concubine" and Paulus Diaconus speaks of Pippin's birth "before legal marriage", whereas a letter by Pope Stephen III refers to Charlemagne and his brother Carloman as being already married (to Himiltrude and Gerberga), and advises them not to dismiss their wives. Historians have interpreted the information in different ways. Some, such as Pierre Riché (The Carolingians, p.86.), follow Einhard in describing Himiltrude as a concubine. Others, for example Dieter Hägemann (Karl der Große. Herrscher des Abendlands, p. 82f.), consider Himiltrude a wife in the full sense. Still others subscribe to the idea that the relationship between the two was "something more than concubinage, less than marriage" and describe it as a Friedelehe, a form of marriage unrecognized by the Church and easily dissolvable. Russell Chamberlin (The Emperor Charlemagne, p. 61.), for instance, compared it with the English system of common-law marriage. This form of relationship is often seen in a conflict between Christian marriage and more flexible Germanic concepts.
^ Gerd Treffer, Die französischen Königinnen. Von Bertrada bis Marie Antoinette (8.-18. Jahrhundert) p. 30.
^ "By [Hildigard] Charlemagne had four sons and four daughters, according to Paul the Deacon: one son, the twin of Lewis, called Lothar, died as a baby and is not mentioned by Einhard; two daughters, Hildigard and Adelhaid, died as babies, so that Einhard appears to err in one of his names, unless there were really five daughters." Thorpe, Lewis, Two Lives of Charlemagne, p.185

Bibliography
Riché, Pierre. The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe. University of Pennsylvania Press: 1993. ISBN 0-8122-1342-4
Einhard [1880] (1960). The Life of Charlemagne, trans. Samuel Epes Turner, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-06035-X.
Oman, Charles (1914). The Dark Ages, 476-918, 6th ed., London: Rivingtons.
Painter, Sidney (1953). A History of the Middle Ages, 284-1500. New York: Knopf.
Santosuosso, Antonio (2004). Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels: The Ways of Medieval Warfare. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-9153-9.
Scholz, Bernhard Walter; with Barbara Rogers (1970). Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08790-8. Comprises the Annales regni Francorum and The History of the Sons of Louis the Pious.
Charlemagne: Biographies and general studies, from Encyclopædia Britannica, full-article, latest edition.
Barbero, Alessandro (2004). Charlemagne: Father of a Continent, trans. Allan Cameron, Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23943-1.
Becher, Matthias (2003). Charlemagne, trans. David S. Bachrach, New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09796-4.
Ganshof, F. L. (1971). The Carolingians and the Frankish Monarchy: Studies in Carolingian History, trans. Janet Sondheimer, Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-0635-8.
Langston, Aileen Lewers; and J. Orton Buck, Jr (eds.) (1974). Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co..
Pirenne, Henri (1939). Mohammed and Charlemagne, trans. Bernard Miall, New York: Norton.
Sypeck, Jeff (2006). Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and The Empires of A.D. 800. New York: Ecco/HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-079706-1.
Wilson, Derek (2005). Charlemagne: The Great Adventure. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-179461-7.

External links
The Life of Charlemagne by Einhard. At Medieval Sourcebook.
Vita Karoli Magni by Einhard. Latin text at The Latin Library.
A reconstructed portrait of Charlemagne, based on historical sources, in a contemporary style.
The Sword of Charlemagne (myArmoury.com article)
Works by or about Charlemagne in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emperor Charles I the Great
Carolingian dynasty
Died: 28 January 814
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Pippin the Short King of the Franks
768 – 814
with Carloman I (768 – 771)
Charles the Younger (800 – 811) Succeeded by
Louis the Pious
New title

Title granted by
Pope Leo III (Holy) Roman Emperor
800 – 814
with Louis the Pious (813 – 814)
Preceded by
Desiderius King of the Lombards
774 – 814
with Pippin of Italy as King of Italy (781 – 810) Succeeded by
Bernard of Italy
as King of Italy

Carloman, son of Pippin III
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carloman (751 – December 4, 771) was the king of the Franks from 768 through 771. He was the second son of Pippin the Younger and Bertrada of Laon.

Along with his brother Charles (who would later be known as Charlemagne), Carloman was anointed as king by Pope Stephen II in 754. After Pippin's death in 768, Carloman and Charles divided the kingdom between them, with Carloman taking the eastern portion, Austrasia. There was considerable tension between the brothers, which may be the reason why, at Carloman's death, his wife Gerberge fled with her sons to the court of Desiderius, king of the Lombards. Because some sources state that Gerberge was Desiderius' daughter, it is difficult to judge the level of fraternal tension. Chronicles more sympathetic to Charles imply that he was bemused by Gerberge's action. Upon Carloman's death, his kingdom was absorbed into that of Charles, who then distributed portions to his own sons.

aka Charles the Great. Had two more mistresses:

Adalind, son Theodric (807-818) a cleric.
unknown, son Richbod (800-844) abbott of St-Riquier.
King of the Lombards 774. Holy Roman Emperor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne
(Charles the Great) became master of Western Europe. It was falling
into decay when Charlemagne became joint king of the Franks in 768.
Except in the monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and
the arts. Boldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By
restoring the roots of learning and order, he preserved many political
rights and revived culture.
Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who
crushed the Saracens (see Charles Martel). Charlemagne was the elder
son of Bertrade ("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short, first "mayor
of the palace" to become king of the Franks. Although schools had
almost disappeared in the 8th century, historians believe that Bertrade
gave young Charles some education and that he learned to read. His
devotion to the church motivated him throughout life.
Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary,
Eginhard, wrote that Charlemagne had fair hair and a "face laughing and
merry . . . his appearance was always stately and dignified." He had a
ready wit, but could be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He
delighted in hunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress
linen shirt and breeches, a silk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with
bands, and, in winter, a tight coat of otter or marten skins. Over all
these garments "he flung a blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt
about him."
Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usual
penalty for defeat was death, Charlemagne several times spared the
lives of his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, after a Saxon
uprising, he ordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and
nobles to reform, but he divorced two of his four wives without any
cause. He forced kings and princes to kneel at his feet, yet his mother
and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman
inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771 Carloman died, and
Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the northern
half of Europe was still pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman
Catholic church was striving to assert its power against the Lombard
kingdom in Italy. In Charlemagne's own realm, the Franks were falling
back into barbarian ways, neglecting their education and religion.
Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring
order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-year campaign that conquered
and Christianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the north. He subdued
the Avars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the
rebellious Bavarian dukes to submit to him.
When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however.
For example, Charlemagne offered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius for
return of lands to the pope, but, when Desiderius refused, Charlemagne
seized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.
The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to
organize. During his reign he sent out more than 50 military
expeditions. He rode as commander at the head of at least half of them.
He moved his armies over wide reaches of country with unbelievable
speed, but every move was planned in advance. Before a campaign he told
the counts, princes, and bishops throughout his realm how many men they
should bring, what arms they were to carry, and even what to load in
the supply wagons. These feats of organization and the swift marches
later led Napoleon to study his tactics.
One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In
778 he led his army into Spain, where they laid siege to Saragossa.
They failed to take the city, and during their retreat a group of
Basques ambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles and killed "Count
Roland." Roland became a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see
Roland).
By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His
vast realm covered what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the
Nederland. It included half of present-day Italy and Duitsland, part of
Austria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to
the Ebro River. By thus establishing a central government over Western
Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire
and paved the way for the development of modern Europe.

Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in St.
Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III seized a golden crown from the altar and
placed it on the bowed head of the king. The throng in the church
shouted, "To Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific
emperor, long life and victory!"
Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation,
declaring that he would not have come into the church had he known the
pope's plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared
to act without Charlemagne's knowledge.
The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Though
Charlemagne did not use the title, he is considered the first Holy
Roman emperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance

Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed that
government should be for the benefit of the governed. When he came to
the throne, various local governors, called "counts," had become lax
and oppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators,
called missi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents called
capitularies and sent them out in teams of two a churchman and a noble.
They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting government,
administering justice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and
religious duties.
Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to
discuss its affairs. In all problems he was the final arbiter, even in
church issues, and he largely unified church and state.
Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his
people's lot in many ways. He set up money standards to encourage
commerce, tried to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged better farming
methods. He especially worked to spread education and Christianity in
every class of people.
He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up other
schools, opening them to peasant boys as well as nobles.
Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk,
Alcuin, and other scholars to his court. He learned to read Latin and
some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of
having jesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.
To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to
train his Frankish singers. To restore some appreciation of art, he
brought valuable pieces from Italy. An impressive monument to his
religious devotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where
he was buried (see Aachen).
At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, was
living. Louis's weak rule brought on the rise of civil wars and
revolts. After his death his three quarreling sons split the empire
between them by the Partition of Verdun in 843.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Charles the Great, with an unbending will to power, a readiness to fight
resolutely against external enemies, an ability to increase his domain through
a strength of character rooted in an unbroken conviction of being at one with
the divine will, did so unite in one superstate nearly all the Christian lands
of western Europe. He combined a personal piety with enjoyment of life, a
religious sense of mission with a strong will to power, rough manners with
intellectual growth, and intransigence against his enemies with rectitude.

He was co-king of Franks with elder brother Charlemagne in 754 and King of
the East Franks from 768-771. Note about Charlemagne: Besides expanding the
political power of his empire, Charles brought a cutural renaissance in his
empire. Although this imperium survived its founder by one generation, the
medevial kingdoms of France and Gemany derived all their constitutional
traditions from Charles's monarchy. Throughout medieval Europe, the person of
Charles I was considered the prototype of a Christian king and emperor.

aka Charles the Great. Had two more mistresses:

Adalind, son Theodric (807-818) a cleric.
unknown, son Richbod (800-844) abbott of St-Riquier.
King of the Lombards 774. Holy Roman Emperor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne
(Charles the Great) became master of Western Europe. It was falling
into decay when Charlemagne became joint king of the Franks in 768.
Except in the monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and
the arts. Boldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By
restoring the roots of learning and order, he preserved many political
rights and revived culture.
Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who
crushed the Saracens (see Charles Martel). Charlemagne was the elder
son of Bertrade ("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short, first "mayor
of the palace" to become king of the Franks. Although schools had
almost disappeared in the 8th century, historians believe that Bertrade
gave young Charles some education and that he learned to read. His
devotion to the church motivated him throughout life.
Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary,
Eginhard, wrote that Charlemagne had fair hair and a "face laughing and
merry . . . his appearance was always stately and dignified." He had a
ready wit, but could be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He
delighted in hunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress
linen shirt and breeches, a silk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with
bands, and, in winter, a tight coat of otter or marten skins. Over all
these garments "he flung a blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt
about him."
Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usual
penalty for defeat was death, Charlemagne several times spared the
lives of his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, after a Saxon
uprising, he ordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and
nobles to reform, but he divorced two of his four wives without any
cause. He forced kings and princes to kneel at his feet, yet his mother
and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman
inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771 Carloman died, and
Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the northern
half of Europe was still pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman
Catholic church was striving to assert its power against the Lombard
kingdom in Italy. In Charlemagne's own realm, the Franks were falling
back into barbarian ways, neglecting their education and religion.
Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring
order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-year campaign that conquered
and Christianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the north. He subdued
the Avars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the
rebellious Bavarian dukes to submit to him.
When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however.
For example, Charlemagne offered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius for
return of lands to the pope, but, when Desiderius refused, Charlemagne
seized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.
The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to
organize. During his reign he sent out more than 50 military
expeditions. He rode as commander at the head of at least half of them.
He moved his armies over wide reaches of country with unbelievable
speed, but every move was planned in advance. Before a campaign he told
the counts, princes, and bishops throughout his realm how many men they
should bring, what arms they were to carry, and even what to load in
the supply wagons. These feats of organization and the swift marches
later led Napoleon to study his tactics.
One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In
778 he led his army into Spain, where they laid siege to Saragossa.
They failed to take the city, and during their retreat a group of
Basques ambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles and killed "Count
Roland." Roland became a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see
Roland).
By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His
vast realm covered what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the
Nederland. It included half of present-day Italy and Duitsland, part of
Austria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to
the Ebro River. By thus establishing a central government over Western
Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire
and paved the way for the development of modern Europe.

Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in St.
Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III seized a golden crown from the altar and
placed it on the bowed head of the king. The throng in the church
shouted, "To Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific
emperor, long life and victory!"
Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation,
declaring that he would not have come into the church had he known the
pope's plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared
to act without Charlemagne's knowledge.
The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Though
Charlemagne did not use the title, he is considered the first Holy
Roman emperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance

Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed that
government should be for the benefit of the governed. When he came to
the throne, various local governors, called "counts," had become lax
and oppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators,
called missi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents called
capitularies and sent them out in teams of two a churchman and a noble.
They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting government,
administering justice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and
religious duties.
Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to
discuss its affairs. In all problems he was the final arbiter, even in
church issues, and he largely unified church and state.
Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his
people's lot in many ways. He set up money standards to encourage
commerce, tried to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged better farming
methods. He especially worked to spread education and Christianity in
every class of people.
He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up other
schools, opening them to peasant boys as well as nobles.
Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk,
Alcuin, and other scholars to his court. He learned to read Latin and
some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of
having jesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.
To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to
train his Frankish singers. To restore some appreciation of art, he
brought valuable pieces from Italy. An impressive monument to his
religious devotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where
he was buried (see Aachen).
At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, was
living. Louis's weak rule brought on the rise of civil wars and
revolts. After his death his three quarreling sons split the empire
between them by the Partition of Verdun in 843.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Charles the Great, with an unbending will to power, a readiness to fight
resolutely against external enemies, an ability to increase his domain through
a strength of character rooted in an unbroken conviction of being at one with
the divine will, did so unite in one superstate nearly all the Christian lands
of western Europe. He combined a personal piety with enjoyment of life, a
religious sense of mission with a strong will to power, rough manners with
intellectual growth, and intransigence against his enemies with rectitude.

He was co-king of Franks with elder brother Charlemagne in 754 and King of
the East Franks from 768-771. Note about Charlemagne: Besides expanding the
political power of his empire, Charles brought a cutural renaissance in his
empire. Although this imperium survived its founder by one generation, the
medevial kingdoms of France and Gemany derived all their constitutional
traditions from Charles's monarchy. Throughout medieval Europe, the person of
Charles I was considered the prototype of a Christian king and emperor.

"Charles the Great"

Charlemagne
(French for Carolus Magnus, or Carlus Magnus ("Charles the Great"); German Karl der Grosse).
The name given by later generations to Charles, King of the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm>, first sovereign of the Christian Empire of the West; born 2 April, 742; died at Aachen <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01001a.htm>, 28 January, 814. Note, however, that the place of his birth (whether Aachen or Liège <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09236a.htm>) has never been fully ascertained, while the traditional date has been set one or more years later by recent writers; if Alcuin <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01276a.htm> is to be interpreted literally the year should be 745. At the time of Charles' birth, his father, Pepin the Short <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11662b.htm>, Mayor of the Palace, of the line of Arnulf, was, theoretically, only the first subject of Childeric III, the last Merovinigian King of the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm>; but this modest title implied that real power, military, civil, and even ecclesiastical, of which Childeric's crown was only the symbol. It is not certain that Bertrada (or Bertha), the mother of Charlemagne, a daughter of Charibert, Count of Laon, was legally married to Pepin until some years later than either 742 or 745.
Charlemagne's career led to his acknowledgment by the Holy See <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07424b.htm> as its chief protector and coadjutor in temporals, by Constantinople <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04301a.htm> as at least Basileus of the West. This reign, which involved to a greater degree than that of any other historical personage the organic development, and still more, the consolidation of Christian Europe, will be sketched in this article in the successive periods into which it naturally divides. The period of Charlemagne was also an epoch of reform for the Church in Gaul, and of foundation for the Church in Duitsland, marked, moreover, by an efflorescence of learning which fructified in the great Christian schools of the twelfth and later centuries.
To the Fall of Pavia (742-774)
In 752, when Charles was a child of not more than ten years, Pepin the Short had appealed to Pope Zachary <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15743b.htm> to recognize his actual rule with the kingly title and dignity. The practical effect of this appeal to the Holy See was the journey of Stephen III across the Alps two years later, for the purpose of anointing with the oil of kingship not only Pepin, but also his son Charles and a younger son, Carloman. The pope then laid upon the Christian Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm> a precept, under the gravest spiritual penalties, never "to choose their kings from any other family". Primogeniture did not hold in the Frankish law of succession; the monarchy was elective, though eligibility was limited to the male members of the one privileged family. Thus, then, at St. Denis on the Seine, in the Kingdom of Neustria, on the 28th of July, 754, the house of Arnulf was, by a solemn act of the supreme pontiff established upon the throne until then nominally occupied by the house of Merowig (Merovingians).
Charles, anointed to the kingly office while yet a mere child, learned the rudiments of war while still many years short of manhood, accompanying his father in several campaigns. This early experience is worth noting chiefly because it developed in the boy those military virtues which, joined with his extraordinary physical strength and intense nationalism, made him a popular hero of the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm> long before he became their rightful ruler. At length, in September, 768, Pepin the Short, foreseeing his end, made a partition of his dominions between his two sons. Not many days later the old king passed away.
To better comprehend the effect of the act of partition under which Charles and Carloman inherited their father's dominions, as well as the whole subsequent history of Charles' reign, it is to be observed that those dominions comprised:
first, Frankland (Frankreich) proper;
secondly, as many as seven more or less self-governing dependencies, peopled by races of various origins and obeying various codes of law.
Of these two divisions, the former extended, roughly speaking, from the boundaries of Thuringia, on the east, to what is now the Belgian and Norman coastline, on the west; it bordered to the north on Saxony, and included both banks of the Rhine from Keulen (the ancient Colonia Agrippina) to the North Sea; its southern neighbours were the Bavarians, the Alemanni, and the Burgundians. The dependent states were: the fundamentally Gaulish Neustria (including within its borders Paris), which was, nevertheless, well leavened with a dominant Frankish element; to the southwest of Neustria, Brittany, formerly Armorica, with a British and Gallo-Roman population; to the south of Neustria the Duchy of Aquitaine, lying, for the most part, between the Loire and the Garonne, with a decidedly Gallo-Roman population; and east of Aquitaine, along the valley of the Rhone, the Burgundians, a people of much the same mixed origin as those of Aquitaine, though with a large infusion of Teutonic blood. These States, with perhaps the exception of Brittany, recognized the Theodosian Code as their law. The German dependencies of the Frankish kingdom were Thuringia, in the valley of the Main, Bavaria, and Alemannia (corresponding to what was later known as Swabia). These last, at the time of Pepin's death, had but recently been won to Christianity, mainly through the preaching of St. Boniface <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02656a.htm>. The share which fell to Charles consisted of all Austrasia (the original Frankland), most of Neustria, and all of Aquitaine except the southeast corner. In this way the possessions of the elder brother surrounded the younger on two sides, but on the other hand the distribution of mm under their respective rules was such as to preclude any risk of discord arising out of the national sentiments of their various subjects.
In spite of this provident arrangement, Carloman contrived to quarrel with his brother. Hunald, formerly Duke of Aquitaine, vanquished by Pepin the Short, broke from the cloister, where he had lived as a monk for twenty years, and stirred up a revolt in the western part of the duchy. By Frankish custom Carloman should have aided Charles; the younger brother himself held part of Aquitaine; but he pretended that, as his dominion were unaffected by this revolt, it was no business of his. Hunald, however, was vanquished by Charles single-handed; he was betrayed by a nephew with whom he had sought refuge, was sent to Rome to answer for the violation of his monastic vows, and at last, after once more breaking cloister, was stoned to death by the Lombards of Pavia. For Charles the true importance of this Aquitanian episode was in its manifestation his brother's unkindly feeling in his regard, and against this danger he lost no time in taking precautions, chiefly by winning over to himself the friends whom he judged likely to be most valuable; first and foremost of these was his mother, Bertha, who had striven both earnestly and prudently to make peace between her sons, but who, when it became necessary to take sides with one or the other could not hesitate in her devotion to the elder. Charles was an affectionate son; it also appears that, in general, he was helped to power by his extraordinary gift of personal attractiveness.
Carloman died soon after this (4 December, 771), and a certain letter from "the Monk Cathwulph", quoted by Bouquet (Recueil. hist., V, 634), in enumerating the special blessings for which the king was in duty bound to be grateful, says,
Third . . . God has preserved you from the wiles of your brother . . . . Fifth, and not the least, that God has removed your brother from this earthly kingdom.
Carloman may not have been quite so malignant as the enthusiastic partisans of Charles made him out, but the division of Pepin's dominions was in itself an impediment to the growth of a strong Frankish realm such as Charles needed for the unification of the Christian Continent. Although Carloman had left two sons by his wife, Gerberga, the Frankish law of inheritance gave no preference to sons as against brother; left to their own choice, the Frankish lieges, whether from love of Charles or for the fear which his name already inspired, gladly accepted him for their king. Gerberga and her children fled to the Lombard court of Pavia. In the mean while complications had arisen in Charles' foreign policy which made his newly established supremacy at home doubly opportune.
From his father Charles had inherited the title "Patricius Romanus" which carried with it a special obligation to protect the temporal rights of the Holy See. The nearest and most menacing neighbour of St. Peter's Patrimony was Desidarius (Didier), King of the Lombards, and it was with this potentate that the dowager Bertha had arranged a matrimonial alliance for her elder son. The pope had solid temporal reasons for objecting to this arrangement. Moreover, Charles was already, in foro conscientiae, if not in Frankish law, wedded to Himiltrude. In defiance of the pope's protest (PL 98:250), Charles married Desiderata, daughter of Desiderius (770), three years later he repudiated her and married Hildegarde, the beautiful Swabian. Naturally, Desiderius was furious at this insult, and the dominions of the Holy See bore the first brunt of his wrath.
But Charles had to defend his own borders against the heathen as well as to protect Rome against the Lombard. To the north of Austrasia lay Frisia, which seems to have been in some equivocal way a dependency, and to the east of Frisia, from the left bank of the Ems (about the present Holland-Westphalia frontier), across the valley of the Weser and Aller, and still eastward to the left bank of the Elbe, extended the country of the Saxons, who in no fashion whatever acknowledged any allegiance to the Frankish kings. In 772 these Saxons were a horde of aggressive pagans offering to Christian missionaries no hope but that of martyrdom; bound together, normally, by no political organization, and constantly engaged in predatory incursions into the lands of the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm>. Their language seems to have been very like that spoken by the Egberts and Ethelreds of Britain, but the work of their Christian cousin, St. Boniface <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02656a.htm>, had not affected them as yet; they worshipped the gods of Walhalla, united in solemn sacrifice -- sometimes human -- to Irminsul (Igdrasail), the sacred tree which stood at Eresburg, and were still slaying Christian missionaries when their kinsmen in Britain were holding church synods and building cathedrals. Charles could brook neither their predatory habits nor their heathenish intolerance; it was impossible, moreover, to make permanent peace with them while they followed the old Teutonic life of free village communities. He made his first expedition into their country in July, 772, took Eresburg by storm, and burned Irminsul. It was in January of this same year that Pope Stephen III died, and Adrian I <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01155b.htm>, an opponent of Desiderius, was elected. The new pope was almost immediately assailed by the Lombard king, who seized three minor cities of the Patrimony of St. Peter, threatened Ravenna itself, and set about organizing a plot within the Curia. Paul Afiarta, the papal chamberlain, detected acting as the Lombard's secret agent, was seized and put to death. The Lombard army advanced against Rome, but quailed before the spiritual weapons of the Church, while Adrian sent a legate into Gaul to claim the aid of of the Patrician.
Thus it was that Charles, resting at Thionville after his Saxon campaign, was urgently reminded of the rough work that awaited his hand south of the Alps. Desiderius' embassy reached him soon after Adrian's. He did not take it for granted that the right was all upon Adrian's side; besides, he may have seen here an opportunity make some amends for his repudiation of the Lombard princess. Before taking up arms for the Holy See, therefore, he sent commissioners into Italy to make enquiries and when Desiderius pretended that the seizure of the papal cities was in effect only the legal foreclosure of a mortgage, Charles promptly offered to redeem them by a money payment. But Desiderius refused the money, and as Charles' commissioners reported in favour of Adrian, the only course left was war.
In the spring of 773 Charles summoned the whole military strength of the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm> for a great invasion of Lombardy. He was slow to strike, but he meant to strike hard. Data for any approximate estimate of his numerical strength are lacking, but it is certain that the army, in order to make the descent more swiftly, crossed the Alps by two passes: Mont Cenis and the Great St. Bernard. Einhard <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05366b.htm>, who accompanied the king over Mont Cenis (the St. Bernard column was led by Duke Bernhard), speaks feelingly of the marvels and perils of the passage. The invaders found Desiderius waiting for them, entrenched at Susa; they turned his flank and put the Lombard army to utter rout. Leaving all the cities of the plains to their fate, Desiderius rallied part of his forces in Pavia, his walled capital, while his son Adalghis, with the rest, occupied Verona. Charles, having been joined by Duke Bernhard, took the forsaken cities on his way and then completely invested Pavia (September, 773), whence Otger, the faithful attendant of Gerberga, could look with trembling upon the array of his countrymen. Soon after Christmas Charles withdrew from the siege a portion of the army which he employed in the capture of Verona. Here he found Gerberga and her children; as to what became of them, history is silent; they probably entered the cloister.
What history does record with vivid eloquence is the first visit of Charles to the Eternal City. There everything was done to give his entry as much as possible the air of a triumph in ancient Rome. The judges met him thirty miles from the city; the militia laid at the feet of their great patrician the banner of Rome and hailed him as their imperator. Charles himself forgot pagan Rome and prostrated himself to kiss the threshold of the Apostles, and then spent seven days in conference with the successor of Peter. It was then that he undoubtedly formed many great designs for the glory of God and the exaltation of Holy Church, which, in spite of human weaknesses and, still more, ignorance, he afterwards did his best to realize. His coronation as the successor of Constantine did not take place until twenty-six years later, but his consecration as first champion of the Catholic Church took place at Easter, 774. Soon after this (June, 774) Pavia fell, Desiderius was banished, Adalghis became a fugitive at the Byzantine court, and Charles, assuming the crown of Lombardy, renewed to Adrian the donation of of territory made by Pepin the Short after his defeat of Aistulph. (This donation is now generally admitted, as well as the original gift of Pepin at Kiersy in 752. The so-called "Privilegium Hadriani pro Carolo" granting him full right to nominate the pope and to invest all bishops is a forgery.)
To the Baptism of Wittekind (774-785)
The next twenty years of Charles' life may be considered as one long warfare. They are filled with an astounding series of rapid marches from end to end of a continent intersected by mountains, morasses, and forests, and scantily provided with roads. It would seem that the key to his long series of victories, won almost as much by moral ascendancy as by physical or mental superiority, is to be found in the inspiration communicated to his Frankish champion by Pope Adrian I. Weiss (Weltgesch., 11, 549) enumerates fifty-three distinct campaigns of Charlemagne; of these it is possible to point to only twelve or fourteen which were not undertaken principally or entirely in execution of his mission as the soldier and protector of the Church. In his eighteen campaigns against the Saxons Charles was more or less actuated by the desire to extinguish what he and his people regarded as a form of devil-worship, no less odious to them than the fetishism of Central Africa is to us.
While he was still in Italy the Saxons, irritated but not subdued by the fate of Eresburg and of Irminsul had risen in arms, harried the country of the Hessian Franks, and burned many churches; that of St. Boniface <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02656a.htm> at Fritzlar, being of stone, had defeated their efforts. Returning to the north, Charles sent a preliminary column of cavalry into the enemy's country while he held a council of the realm at Kiersy (Quercy) in September, 774, at which it was decided that the Saxons (Westfali, Ostfali, and Angrarii) must be presented with the alternative of baptism or death. The northeastern campaigns of the next seven years had for their object a conquest so decisive as to make the execution of this policy feasible. The year 775 saw the first of a series of Frankish military colonies, on the ancient Roman plan established at Sigeburg among the Westfali. Charles next subdued, temporarily at least, the Ostali, whose chieftain, Hessi, having accepted baptism, ended his life in the monastery of Fulda (see SAINT BONIFACE <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02656a.htm>; FULDA <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06313b.htm>). Then, a Frankish camp at Lübbecke on the Weser having been surprised by the Saxons, and its garrison slaughtered, Charles turned again westward, once more routed the Westfali, and received their oaths of submission.
At this stage (776) the affairs of Lombardy interrupted the Saxon crusade. Areghis of Beneventum, son-in-law of the vanquished Desiderius, had formed a plan with his brother-in-law Adalghis (Adelchis), then an exile at Constantinople, by which the latter was to make a descent upon Italy, backed by the Eastern emperor; Adrian was at the same time involved in a quarrel with the three Lombard dukes, Reginald of Clusium, Rotgaud of Friuli, and Hildebrand of Spoleto. The archbishop of Ravenna, who called himself "primate" and "exarch of Italy", was also attempting to found an independent principality at the expense of the papal state but was finally subdued in 776, and his successor compelled to be content with the title of "Vicar" or representative of the pope. The junction of the aforesaid powers, all inimical to the pope and the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm>, while Charles was occupied in Westphalia, was only prevented by the death of Constantine Copronymus in September, 775 (see BYZANTINE EMPIRE). After winning over Hildebrand and Reginald by diplomacy, Charles descended into Lombardy by the Brenner Pass (spring of 776), defeated Rotgaud, and leaving garrisons and governors, or counts (comites), as they were termed, in the reconquered cities of the Duchy of Friuli, hastened back to Saxony. There the Frankish garrison had been forced to evacuate Eresburg, while the siege of Sigeburg was so unexpectedly broken up as to give occasion later to a legend of angelic intervention in favour of the Christians. As usual, the almost incredible suddenness of the king's reappearance and the moral effect of his presence quieted the ragings of the heathen. Charles then divided the Saxon territory into Missionary districts. At the great spring hosting (champ de Mai) of Paderborn, in 777, many Saxon converts were baptized; Wittekind (Widukind), however, already the leader and afterwards the popular hero of the Saxons, had fled to his brother-in-law, Sigfrid the Dane.
The episode of the invasion of Spain comes next in chronological order. The condition of the venerable Iberian Church, still suffering under Moslem domination, appealed strongly to the king's sympathy. In 777 there came to Paderborn three Moorish emirs, enemies of the Ommeyad Abderrahman, the Moorish King of Cordova. These emirs did homage to Charles and proposed to him an invasion of Northern Spain; one of the, Ibn-el-Arabi, promised to bring to the invaders' assistance a force of Berber auxiliaries from Africa; the other two promised to exert their powerful influence at Barcelona and elsewhere north of the Ebro. Accordingly, in the spring of 778, Charles, with a host of crusaders, speaking many tongues, and which numbered among its constituents even a quota of Lombards, moved towards the Pyrenees. His trusted lieutenant, Duke Bernhard. with one division, entered Spain by the coast. Charles himself marched through the mountain passes straight to Pampelona. But Ibn-el-Arabi, who had prematurely brought on his army of Berbers, was assassinated by the emissary of Abderrahman, and though Pampelona was razed, and Barcelona and other cities fell, Saragossa held out. Apart from the moral effect of this campaign upon the Moslem rulers of Spain, its result was insignificant, though the famous ambuscade in which perished Roland, the great Paladin, at the Pass of Roncesvalles, furnished to the medieval world the material for its most glorious and influential epic, the "Chanson de Roland".
Much more important to posterity were the next succeeding events which continued and decided the long struggle in Saxony. During the Spanish crusade Wittekind had returned from his exile, bringing with him Danish allies, and was now ravaging Hesse; the Rhine valley from Deutz to Andenach was a prey to the Saxon "devil-worshipers"; the Christian missionaries were scattered or in hiding. Charles gathered his hosts at Düren, in June, 779, and stormed Wittekind's entrenched camp at Bocholt, after which campaign he seems to have considered Saxony a fairly subdued country. At any rate, the "Saxon Capitulary" (see CAPITULARIES) of 781 obliged all Saxons not only to accept baptism (and this on the pain of death) but also to pay tithes, as the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm> did for the support of the Church; moreover it confiscated a large amount of property for the benefit of the missions. This was Wittekind's last opportunity to restore the national independence and paganism; his people, exasperated against the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm> and their God, eagerly rushed to arms. At Suntal on the Weser, Charles being absent, they defeated a Frankish army killing two royal legates and five Counts. But Wittekind committed the error of enlisting as allies the non-Teutonic Sorbs from beyond the Saale; race-antagonism soon weakened his forces, and the Saxon hosts melted away. Of the so-called "Massacre of Verdun" (783) it is fair to say that the 4500 Saxons who perished were not prisoners of war; legally, they were ringleaders in a rebellion, selected as such from a number of their fellow rebels. Wittekind himself escaped beyond the Elbe. It was not until after another defeat of the Saxons at Detmold, and again at Osnabrück, on the "Hill of Slaughter", that Wittekind acknowledged the God of Charles the stronger than Odin. In 785 Wittekind received baptism at Attigny, and Charles stood godfather.
Last Steps to the Imperial Throne (785-800)
The summer of 783 began a new period in the life of Charles, in which signs begin to appear of his less amiable traits. It was in this year, signalized, according to the chroniclers, by unexampled heat and a pestilence, that the two queens died, Bertha, the king's mother, and Hildegarde, his second (or his third) wife. Both of these women, the former in particular, had exercised over him a strong influence for good. Within a few months the king married Fastrada, daughter of an Austrasian count. The succeeding years were, comparatively speaking, years of harvest after the stupendous period of ploughing and sowing that had gone before; and Charles' nature was of a type that appears to best advantage in storm and stress. What was to be the Western Empire of the Middle Ages was already hewn out in the rough when Wittekind received baptism. From that date until the coronation of Charles at Rome, in 800, his military work was chiefly in suppressing risings of the newly conquered or quelling the discontents of jealous subject princes. Thrice in these fifteen years did the Saxons rise, only to be defeated. Tassilo, Duke of Bavaria, had been a more or less rebellious vassal ever since the beginning of his reign, and Charles now made use of the pope's influence, exercised through the powerful bishops of Freising, Salzburg, and Regensburg (Ratisbon), to bring him to terms. In 786 a Thuringian revolt was quelled by the timely death, blinding, and banishment of its leaders. Next year the Lombard prince, Areghis, having fortified himself at Salerno, had actually been crowned King of the Lombards when Charles descended upon him at Beneventum, received his submission, and took his son Grimwald as a hostage, after which, finding that Tassilo had been secretly associated with the conspiracy of the Lombards, he invaded Bavaria from three sides with three armies drawn from at least five nationalities. Once more the influence of the Holy See settled the Bavarian question in Charles' favour; Adrian threatened Tassilo with excommunication if he persisted in rebellion, and as the Duke's own subjects refused to follow him to the field, he personally made submission, did homage, and in return received from Charles a new lease of his duchy (October, 787).
During this period the national discontent with Fastrada culminated in a plot in which Pepin the Hunchback, Charles' son by Himiltrude, was implicated, and though his life was spared through his father's intercession, Pepin spent what remained of his days in a monastery. Another son of Charles (Carloman, afterwards called Pepin, and crowned King of Lombardy at Rome in 781, on the occasion of an Easter visit by the king, at which time also his brother Louis was crowned King of Aquitaine) served his father in dealing with the Avars, a pagan danger on the frontier, compared with which the invasion of Septimania by the Saracens (793) was but an insignificant incident of border warfare. These Avars, probably of Turanian blood, occupied the territories north of the Save and west of the Theiss. Tassilo had invited their assistance against his overlord; and after the Duke's final submission Charles invaded their country and conquered it as far as the Raab (791). By the capture of the famous "Ring" of the Avars, with its nine concentric circles, Charles came into possession of vast quantities of gold and silver, parts of the plunder which these barbarians had been accumulating for two centuries. In this campaign King Pepin of Lombardy cooperated with his father, with forces drawn from Italy; the later stages of this war (which may be considered the last of Charles' great wars) were left in the hands of the younger king.
The last stages by which the story of Charles' career is brought to its climax touch upon the exclusive spiritual domain of the Church. He had never ceased to interest himself in the deliberations of synods, and this interest extended (an example that wrought fatal results in after ages) to the discussion of questions which would now be regarded as purely dogmatic. Charles interfered in the dispute about the Adoptionist heresy (see ADOPTIONISM; ALCUIN; FRANKFORT, COUNCIL OF). His interference was less pleasing to Adrian in the matter of Iconoclasm, a heresy with which the Empress-mother Irene and Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople, had dealt in the second Council of Nicaea. The Synod of Frankfort, wrongly informed, but inspired by Charles, took upon itself to condemn the aforesaid Council, although the latter had the sanction of the Holy See (see CAROLINE BOOKS). In the year 797 the Eastern Emperor Constantine VI, with whom his mother Irene had for some time been at variance, was by her dethroned, imprisoned, and blinded. It is significant of Charles' position as de facto Emperor of the West that Irene sent envoys to Aachen <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01001a.htm> to lay before Charles her side of this horrible story. It is also to be noted that the popular impression that Constantine had been put to death, and the aversion to committing the imperial sceptre to a woman's hand, also bore upon what followed. Lastly, it was to Charles alone that the Christians of the East were now crying out for succour against the threatening advance of the Moslem Caliph Haroun al Raschid. In 795 Adrian I died (25 Dec.), deeply regretted by Charles, who held this pope in great esteem and caused a Latin metrical epitaph to be prepared for the papal tomb. In 787 Charles had visited Rome for the third time in the interest of the pope and his secure possession of the Patrimony of Peter.
Leo III, the immediate successor of Adrian I, notified Charles of his election (26 December, 795) to the Holy See. The king sent in return rich presents by Abbot Angilbert, <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01490b.htm> whom he commissioned to deal with the pope in all manners pertaining to the royal office of Roman Patrician. While this letter is respectful and even affectionate, it also exhibits Charles' concept of the coordination of the spiritual and temporal powers, nor does he hesitate to remind the Pope of his grave spiritual obligations. The new pope, a Roman, had bitter enemies in the Eternal City, who spread the most damaging reports of his previous life. At length (25 April, 799) he was waylaid, and left unconscious. After escaping to St. Peter's he was rescued by two of the king's missi, who came with a considerable force. The Duke of Spoleto sheltered the fugitive pope, who went later to Paderborn, where the king's camp then was. Charles received the Vicar of Christ with all due reverence. Leo was sent back to Rome escorted by royal missi; the insurgents, thoroughly frightened and unable to convince Charles of the pope's iniquity, surrendered, and the missi sent Paschalis and Campulus, nephews of Adrian I and ringleaders against Pope Leo, to the king, to be dealt with at the royal pleasure.
Charles was in no hurry to take final action in this matter. He settled various affairs connected with the frontier beyond the Elbe, with the protection of the Balearic Isles against the Saracens, and of Northern Gaul against Scandinavian sea-rovers, <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11115b.htm> spent most of the winter at Aachen, and was at St. Riquier for Easter. About this time, too, he was occupied at the deathbed of Liutgarde, the queen whom he had married on the death of Fastrada (794). At Tours he conferred with Alcuin, then summoned the host of the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm> to meet at Mainz and announced to them his intention of again proceeding to Rome. Entering Italy by the Brenner Pass, he travelled by way of Ancona and Perugia to Nomentum, where Pope Leo met him and the two entered Rome together. A synod was held and the charges against Leo pronounced false. On this occasion the Frankish bishops declared themselves unauthorized to pass judgment on the Apostolic See. Of his own free will Leo, under oath, declared publicly in St. Peter's that he was innocent of the charges brought against him. Leo requested that his accusers, now themselves condemned to death, should be punished only with banishment.
After His Coronation in Rome (800-814)
Two days later (Christmas Day, 800) took place the principal event in the life of Charles. During the pontifical Mass celebrated by the pope, as the king knelt in prayer before the high altar beneath which lay the bodies of Sts. Peter <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11744a.htm> and Paul <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11567b.htm>, the Pope approached him, placed upon his head the imperial crown, did him formal reverence after the ancient manner, saluted him as Emperor and Augustus and anointed him, while the Romans present burst out with the acclamation, thrice repeated: "To Carolus Augustus crowned by God, mighty and pacific emperor, be life and victory" (Carolo, piisimo Augusto a Deo coronato, magno et pacificio Imperatori, vita et vicotria). These details are gathered from contemporary accounts (Life of Leo III in "lib. Pont."; "Annales Laurissense majores"; Einhard's <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05366b.htm> Vita Caroli; Theophanes). Though not all are found in any one narrative, there is no good reason for doubting their general accuracy. Einhard's statement (Vita Caroli 28) that Charles had no suspicion of what was about to happen, and if pre-informed would not have accepted the imperial crown, is much discussed, some seeing in it an unwillingness to imperial authority on an ecclesiastical basis, others more justly a natural hesitation before a momentous step overcome by the positive action of friends and admirers, and culminating; in the scene just described. On the other hand, there seems no reason to doubt that for some time previous the elevation of Charles had been discussed, both at home and at Rome, especially in view of two facts: the scandalous condition of the imperial government at Constantinople, and the acknowledged grandeur and solidity of the Carolingian house. He owed his elevation not to the conquest of Rome, nor to any act of the Roman Senate (then a mere municipal body), much less to the local citizenship of Rome, but to the pope, who exercised in a supreme juncture the moral supremacy in Western Christendom <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09022a.htm> which the age widely recognized in him, and to which, indeed, Charles even then owed the title that the popes had transferred to his father Pepin. It is certain that Charles constantly attributed his imperial dignity to an act of God, made known of course through the agency of the Vicar of Christ (divino nutu coronatus, a Deo coronatus, in "Capitularia", ed. Baluze, I, 247, 341, 345); also that after the ceremony he made very rich gifts to the Basilica of St. Peter, and that on the same day the pope anointed (as King of the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm>) the younger Charles, son of the emperor and at that time probably destined to succeed in the imperial dignity. The Roman Empire (Imperium Romanum), since 476 practically extinguished in the West, save for a brief interval in the sixth century, was restored by this papal act, which became the historical basis of the future relations between the popes and the successors of Charlemagne (throughout the Middle Ages no Western Emperor was considered legitimate unless he had been crowned and anointed at Rome by the successor of St. Peter). Despite the earlier goodwill and help of the papacy, the Emperor of Constantinople, legitimate heir of the imperial title (he still called himself Roman Emperor, and his capital was officially New Rome) had long proved incapable of preserving his authority in the Italian peninsula. Palace revolutions and heresy, not to speak of fiscal oppression, racial antipathy, and impotent but vicious intrigues, made him odious to the Romans and Italians generally. In any case, since the Donation of Pepin (752) the pope was formally sovereign of the duchy of Rome and the Exarchate; hence, apart from its effect on his shadowy claim to the sovereignty of all Italy, the Byzantine ruler had nothing to lose by the elevation of Charles. However, the event of Christmas Day, 800, was long resented at Constantinople, where eventually the successor of Charles was occasionally called "Emperor", or "Emperor of the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm>", but never "Roman Emperor". (For a more specific account of the new Western Empire; its nature, scope, and other important points, see HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE; TEMPORAL POWER.) Suffice it to add here that while the imperial consecration made him in theory, what he was already in fact, the principal ruler of the West, and impropriated, as it were, in the Carolingian line the majesty of ancient Rome, it also lifted Charles at once to the dignity of supreme temporal protector of Western Christendom and in particular of its head, the Roman Church. Nor did this mean only the local welfare of the papacy, the good order and peace of the Patrimony of Peter. It meant also, in face of the yet vast pagan world (barbarae nationes) of the North and the Southeast, a religious responsibility, encouragement and protection of missions, advancement of Christian culture, organization of dioceses, enforcement of a Christian discipline of life, improvement of the clergy, in a word, all the forms of governmental cooperation with the Church that we meet with in the life and the legislation of Charles. Long before this event Pope Adrian I had conferred (774) on Charles his father's dignity of Patricius Romanus, which implied primarily the protection of the Roman Church in all its rights and privileges, above all in the temporal authority which it had gradually acquired (notably in the former Byzantine Duchy of Rome and the Exarchate of Ravenna) by just titles in the course of the two preceding centuries. (See TEMPORAL POWER.) Charles, it is true, after his imperial consecration exercised practically at Rome his authority as Patricius, or protector of the Roman Church. But he did this with all due recognition of the papal sovereignty and principally to prevent the quasi-anarchy which local intrigues and passions, family interests and ambitions, and adverse Byzantine agencies were promoting. It would be unhistorical to maintain that as emperor he ignored at once the civil sovereignty of the pope in the Patrimony of Peter. This (the Duchy of Rome and the Exarchate) he significantly omitted from the partition of the Frankish State made at the Diet of Thionville, in 806. It is to be noted that in this public division of his estate he made no provision for the imperial title, also that he committed to all three sons "the defence and protection of the Roman Church". In 817 Louis the Pious, by a famous charter whose substantial authenticity there is no good reason to doubt, confirmed to Pope Paschal and his successors forever, "the city of Rome with its duchy and dependencies, as the same have been held to this day by your predecessors, under their authority and jurisdiction", adding that he did not pretend to any jurisdiction in said territory, except when solicited thereto by the pope. It may be noted here that the chroniclers of the ninth century treat as "restitution" to St. Peter the various cessions and grants of cities and territory made at this period by the Carolingian rulers within the limits of the Patrimony of Peter. The Charter of Louis the Pious was afterwards confirmed by Emperor Otto I in 962 and Henry II in 1020. These imperial documents make it clear that the acts of authority exercised by the new emperor in the Patrimony of Peter were only such as were called for by his office of Defender of the Roman Church. Kleinclausz (l'Empire carolingien, etc., Paris, 1902, 441 sqq.) denies the authenticity of the famous letter (871) of Emperor Louis II to the Greek Emperor Basil (in which the former recognizes fully the papal origin of his own imperial dignity), and attributes it to Anastasius Bibliotheca in 879. His arguments are weak; the authenticity is admitted by Gregorovius and O. Harnack. Anti-papal writers have undertaken to prove that Charles' dignity of Patricius Romanorum was equivalent to immediate and sole sovereign authority at Rome, and in law and in fact excluded any papal sovereignty. In reality this Roman patriciate, both under Pepin and Charles, was no more than a high protectorship of the civil sovereignty of the pope, whose local independence, both before and after the coronation of Charles, is historically certain, even apart from the aforesaid imperial charters.
The personal devotion of Charles to the Apostolic See <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01640c.htm> is well known. While in the preface to his Capitularies he calls himself the "devoted defender and humble helper of Holy Church", he was especially fond of the basilica of St. Peter <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13369b.htm> at Rome. Einhard <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05366b.htm> relates (Vita, c. xxvii) that he enriched it beyond all other churches and that he was particularly anxious that the City of Rome should in his reign obtain again its ancient authority. He promulgated a special law on the respect due this See of Peter (Capitulare de honoranda sede Apostolica, ed. Baluze I, 255). The letters of the popes to himself, his father, and grandfather, were collected by his order in the famous "Codex Carolinus". Gregory VII tells us (Regest., VII, 23) that he placed a part of the conquered Saxon territory under the protection of St. Peter, and sent to Rome a tribute from the same. He received from Pope Adrian the Roman canon law in the shape of the "Collectio Dionysia-Hadriana", and also (784-91) the "Gregorian Sacramentary" or liturgical use of Rome, for the guidance of the Frankish Church. He furthered also in the Frankish churches the introduction of the Gregorian chant. It is of interest to note that just before his coronation at Rome Charles received three messengers from the Patriarch of Jerusalem, bearing to the King of the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm> the keys of the Holy Sepulchre <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07425a.htm> and the banner of Jerusalem, "a recognition that the holiest place in Christendom was under the protection of the great monarch of the West" (Hodgkin). Shortly after this event, the Caliph Haroun al Raschid sent an embassy to Charles, who continued to take a deep interest in the Holy Sepulchre, and built Latin monasteries at Jerusalem, also a hospital for pilgrims. To the same period belongs the foundation of the Schola Francorum near St. Peter's Basilica, a refuge and hospital (with cemetery attached) for Frankish pilgrims to Rome, now represented by the Campo Santo de' Tedeschi <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03224d.htm> near the Vatican.
The main work of Charlemagne in the development of Western Christendom <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09022a.htm> might have been considered accomplished had he now passed away. Of all that he added during the remaining thirteen years of his life nothing increased perceptibly the stability of the structure. His military power and his instinct for organization had been successfully applied to the formation of a material power pledged to the support of the papacy, and on the other hand at least one pope (Adrian) had lent all the spiritual strength of the Holy See to help build up the new Western Empire, which his immediate successor (Leo) was to solemnly consecrate. Indeed, the remaining thirteen years of Charles' earthly career seem to illustrate rather the drawbacks of an intimate connection between Church and State than its advantages.
In those years nothing like the military activity of the emperor's earlier life appears; there were much fewer enemies to conquer. Charles' sons led here and there an expedition, as when Louis captured Barcelona (801) or the younger Charles invaded the territory of the Sorbs. But their father had somewhat larger business on his hands at this time; above all, he had to either conciliate or neutralize the jealousy of the Byzantine Empire which still had the prestige of old tradition. At Rome Charles had been hailed in due form as "Augustus" by the Roman people, but he could not help realizing that many centuries before, the right of conferring this title had virtually passed from Old to New Rome. New Rome, i.e. Constantinople, affected to regard Leo's act as one of schism. Nicephorus, the successor of Irene (803) entered into diplomatic relations with Charles, it is true, but would not recognize his imperial character. According to one account (Theophanes) Charles had sought Irene in marriage, but his plan was defeated. The Frankish emperor then took up the cause of rebellious Venetia and Dalmatia. The war was carried on by sea, under King Pepin, and in 812, after the death of Nicephorus, a Byzantine embassy at Aachen <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01001a.htm> actually addressed Charles as Basileus. About this time Charles again trenched upon the teaching prerogative of the Church, in the matter of the Filioque <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06073a.htm> although in this instance also the Holy See admitted the soundness of his doctrine, while condemning his usurpation of its functions.
The other source of discord which appeared in the new Western Empire, and from its very beginning, was that of the succession. Charles made no pretence either of right of primogeniture for his eldest son or to name a successor for himself. As Pepin the Short had divided the Frankish realm, so did Charles divide the empire among his sons, naming none of them emperor. By the will which he made in 806 the greater part of what was later called France went to Louis the Pious; Frankland proper, Frisia, Saxony, Hesse, and Franconia were to be the heritage of Charles the Young; Pepin received Lombardy and its Italian dependencies, Bavaria, and Southern Alemannia. But Pepin and Charles pre-deceased the emperor, and in 813 the magnates of the empire did homage at Aachen to Louis the Pious as King of the Franks <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06238a.htm>, and future sole ruler of the great imperial state. Thus is was that the Carolingian Empire, as a dynastic institution, ended with the death of Charles the Fat (888), while the Holy Roman Empire, continued by Otto the Great (968-973), lacked all that is now France. But the idea of a Europe welded together out of various races under the spiritual influence of one Catholic Faith and one Vicar of Christ had been exhibited in the concrete.
It remains to say something of the achievements of Charlemagne at home. His life was so full of movement, so made up of long journeys, that home in his case signifies little more than the personal environment of his court, wherever it might happen to be on any given day. There was, it is true, a general preference for Austrasia, or Frankland (after Aachen, Worms, Nymwegen, and Ingleheim were favourite residences). He took a deep and intelligent interest in the agricultural development of the realm, and in the growth of trade, both domestic and foreign. The civil legislative work of Charles consisted principally in organizing and codifying the principles of Frankish law handed down from antiquity; thus in 802 the laws of the Frisians, Thuringians, and Saxons were reduced to writing. Among these principles, it is important to note, was one by which no free man could be deprived of life or liberty without the judgment of his equals in the state. The spirit of his legislation was above all religious; he recognized as a basis and norm the ecclesiastical canons, was wont to submit his projects of law to the bishops, or to give civil authority to the decrees of synods. More than once he made laws at the suggestion of popes or bishops. For administrative purposes the State was divided into counties and hundreds, for the government of which counts and hundred-men were responsible. Side by side with the counts in the great national parliament (Reichstag, Diet) which normally met in the spring, sat the bishops, and the spiritual constituency was so closely intertwined with the temporal that in reading of a "council" under Charles, it is not always easy to ascertain whether the particular proceedings are supposed to be those of a parliament or of a synod. Nevertheless this parliament or diet was essentially bicameral (civil and ecclesiastical), and the foregoing descriptions applies to the mutual discussion of res mixtae or subjects pertaining to both orders. The one Frankish administrative institution to which Charles gave an entirely new character was the missi dominici, representatives (civil and ecclesiastical) of the royal authority, who from being royal messengers assumed under him functions much like those of papal legates, i.e. they were partly royal commissioners, partly itinerant governors. There were usually two for each province (an ecclesiastic and a lay lord), and they were bound to visit their territory (missatica) four times each year. Between these missi and the local governors or counts the power of the former great crown-vassals (dukes, Herzöge) was parcelled out. Local justice was administered by the aforesaid count (comes, Graf) in his court, held three times each year (placitum generale), with the aid of seven assessors (scabini, rachimburgi), but there was a graduated appeal ending in the person of the emperor.
While enough has been said above to show how ready he was to interfere in the Church's domain, it does not appear that this propensity arose from motives discreditable to his religious character. It would be absurd to pretend that Charlemagne was a consistent lifelong hypocrite; if he was not, then his keen practical interest in all that pertained to the services of the Church, his participation even in the chanting of the choir (though, as his biographer says, "in a subdued voice") his fastidious attention to questions of rites and ceremonies (Monachus Sangallensis), go to show, like many other traits related of him, that his strong rough nature was really impregnated with zeal, however mistaken at times, for the earthly glory of God. He sought to elevate and perfect the clergy, both monastic and secular, the latter through the enforcement of the Vita Canonica or common life. Tithes were strictly enforced for the support of the clergy and the dignity of public worship. Ecclesiastical immunities <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07690a.htm> were recognized and protected, the bishops held to frequent visitation of their dioceses, a regular religious instruction of the people provided for, and in the vernacular tongue. Through Alcuin he caused corrected copies of the Scripture to be placed in the churches, and earned great credit for his improvement of the much depraved text of the Latin Vulgate. Education, for aspirants to the priesthood at least, was furthered by the royal order of 787 to all bishops and abbots to keep open in their cathedrals and monasteries schools for the study of the seven liberal arts and the interpretation of Scriptures. He did much also to improve ecclesiastical music, and founded schools of church-song at Metz, Soissons, and St. Gall. For the contemporary development of Christian civilization through Alcuin, Einhard, and other scholars, Italian and Irish, and for the king's personal attainments in literature, see CAROLINGIAN SCHOOLS; ALCUIN; EINHARD. He spoke Latin well, and loved to listen to the reading of St. Augustine, especially "The City of God". He understood Greek, but was especially devoted to his Frankish (Old-German) mother tongue; its terms for the months and the various winds are owing to him. He attempted also to produce a German grammar, and Einhard tells us that he caused the ancient folksongs and hero-tales (barbara atque antiquissima carmina) to be collected; unfortunately this collection ceased to be appreciated and was lost at a later date.
From boyhood Charles had evinced strong domestic affections. Judged, perhaps, by the more perfectly developed Christian standards of a later day, his matrimonial relations were far from blameless; but it would be unfair to criticize by any such ethical rules the obscurely transmitted accounts of his domestic life which have come down to us. What is certain (and more pleasant to contemplate) is the picture, which his contemporaries have left us, of the delight he found in being with his children, joining in their sports, particularly in his own favourite recreation of swimming, and finding his relaxation in the society of his sons and daughters; the latter he refused to give in marriage, unfortunately for their moral character. He died in his seventy-second year, after forty-seven years of reign, and was buried in the octagonal Byzantine-Romanesque church at Aachen, built by him and decorated with marble columns from Rome and Ravenna. In the year 1000 Otto III opened the imperial tomb and found (it is said) the great emperor as he had been buried, sitting on a marble throne, robed and crowned as in life, the book of the Gospels open on his knees. In some parts of the empire popular affection placed him among the saints. For political purposes and to please Frederick Barbarossa he was canonized (1165) by the antipope <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01582a.htm> Paschal III, but this act was never ratified by insertion of his feast in the Roman Breviary or by the Universal Church; his cultus, however, was permitted at Aachen [Acta SS., 28 Jan., 3d ed., II, 490-93, 303-7, 769; his office is in Canisius, "Antiq. Lect.", III (2)]. According to his friend and biographer, Einhard, Charles was of imposing stature, to which his bright eyes and long, flowing hair added more dignity. His neck was rather short, and his belly prominent, but the symmetry of his other members concealed these defects. His clear voice was not so sonorous as his gigantic frame would suggest. Except on his visits to Rome he wore the national dress of his Frankish people, linen shirt and drawers, a tunic held by a silken cord, and leggings; his thighs were wound round with thongs of leather; his feet were covered with laced shoes. He had good health to his sixty-eighth year, when fevers set in, and he began to limp with one foot. He was his own physician, we are told, and much disliked his medical advisers who wished him to eat boiled meat instead of roast. No contemporary portrait of him has been preserved. A statuette in the Musée Carnavalet at Paris is said to be very ancient.

Charlemagne (Carolus Magnus, Charles the Great) as king of the Franks (768-814) conquered the Lombard kingdom in Italy, subdued the Saxons, annexed Bavaria to his kingdom, fought campaigns in Spain and Hungary, and, with the exception of the Kingdom of Asturias in Spain, southern Italy, and the British Isles, united in one superstate practically all the Christian lands of western Europe. In 800 he assumed the title of emperor. (He is reckoned as Charles I of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as Charles I of France.) Besides expanding its political power, he also brought about a cultural renaissance in his empire. Although this imperium survived its founder by only one generation, the medieval kingdoms of France and Duitsland derived all their constitutional traditions from Charles's monarchy. Throughout medieval Europe, the person of Charles was considered the prototype of a Christian king and emperor. Early Years. Charles was born probably in 742 (on April 2), the elder son of Pepin III, also called Pepin the Short. Pepin and his older brother, Carloman, had just jointly assumed the government of the Frankish kingdom as maior domus, or "mayor of the palace." The dynasty, later called Carolingian after Charlemagne, had originated in the Meuse-Moselle region on the borders of modern France, Duitsland, Belgium, and Nederland. In the course of a few generations, it had, as mayors of the palace to the Merovingians, gained control of the entire Frankish kingdom. Charlemagne's grandfather, Charles Martel, reconstituted a realm that had been on the point of breaking up, and, without infringing on the royal prerogatives of the otherwise powerless Merovingians, he had in effect bequeathed the empire to his sons, Pepin and Carloman, like a family inheritance. Charles grew to manhood while his father was engaged in acquiring sole sovereignty and the kingship. On Carloman's retirement to a monastery, Pepin eliminated the latter's sons from the government. Having thus prepared the way,he had himself proclaimed king in 751, after dethroning the Merovingians. An oracular response by Pope Zacharias furnished the ecclesiastical approbation for thus shunting aside the former reigning house, which had been held sacred. Zacharias' successor, Stephen II, arrived in the Frankish kingdom during the winter of 753-754, in order to seek help against the Lombards who were attacking Rome. As the reigning monarch's oldest son, Charles, then about 12 years of age, travelled ahead to welcome the Pope, who anointed him king, along with his father and his brother Carloman, thus sanctioning the new dynasty. The political alliance between the Franks and the Pope against the Lombards was affirmed on the same occasion. When his father subdued Aquitaine (France south of the Loire) in a series of yearly campaigns beginning in 760, reasserting the integrity of the Frankish kingdom all the way to the Pyrenees, Charles repeatedly accompanied the army. These youthful experiences probably contributed to the formation of Charles's character and to the formulation of his aims. He shared with his father an unbending will to power, a readiness to fight resolutely against external enemies and to increase his domains, and the determination to rule by himself even if it meant usurping the rights of close relatives. Charles early acknowledged the close connection between temporal power and the church; he had a high regard for the church and the king's duty to spread the Christian faith and, while asserting royal suzerainty over the church, considered himself accountable to God for the Christians entrusted to him. King of the Franks. In accordance with old Frankish custom, the kingdom was divided on Pepin's death in 768 between his two sons. It was not long, however, before a strong rivalry sprang up between the brothers: with his mother's support, Charles concluded, with the Lombard king Desiderius, whose daughter he married, and with his cousin Duke Tassilo of Bavaria, alliances directed against Carloman. On Carloman's sudden death in 771, Charles was able to make himself sole ruler of the kingdom, unopposed by his young nephews, whose rights he ignored. When Carloman's widow with her children and a few remaining supporters had fled to the Lombard court, and King Desiderius, breaking his alliance with Charles, put pressure on the Pope to anoint Carloman's sons as Frankish kings, Charles was forced to come to the aid of Pope Adrian I. He marched on the Lombard capital, Pavia, and after its fall made himself king of the Lombards. His brother's sons, who had fallen into his hands, disappeared. While the siege of Pavia was still in progress, Charles journeyed to Rome, where he celebrated Easter 774 with the Pope and reiterated, in St. Peter's Basilica, his father's promise to transfer to papal rule large sections of Italy. But he actually enlarged the Pope's lands only slightly, assuming for himself the sovereignty over the entire Lombard kingdom. Charles had fought the pagan Saxons, in what is now Lower Saxony and Westphalia, in retribution for their attacks on the lower Rhine region, as early as 772, before the first Italian campaign. From 775 on, however, it was his goal to subdue the whole Saxon tribe, converting it to Christianity and integrating it into his kingdom. This aim appeared to have been realized after several campaigns culminating in declarations of allegiance by the Saxon nobility and mass baptisms performed in 775-777. A diet held in 777 in Paderborn sealed the submission of the Saxons. Among those attending the diet had been some Arab emissaries from northern Spain who sought Charles's aid in their uprising against the Umayyad amir of Córdoba. In the summer of 778 Charles advanced into Spain and laid siege to Saragossa, without, however, being able to take the city. Retreating across the Pyrenees, the Frankish army was badly mauled by the Basques. Roland, warden of the Breton march, who died on this occasion, was later immortalized in legend and poetry. This defeat marks the end of the first period of Charles's rule, the period of vigorous expansion. Within a decade he had become the sole ruler of the Franks, conquered the Lombard kingdom, visited Rome, subdued the Saxons, invaded Spain. Henceforth he was concerned with defending and safeguarding his quickly won gains (which were to be extended only on the right bank of the Rhine), while consolidating the state internally and protecting cultural life and the rule of law. Not long after Charles's defeat in Spain, the Saxons rose up once more. The war against them became the longest and most cruel war fought by the Franks. In Charles's eyes, the resistance of this people that had undergone baptism and signed a treaty of allegiance amounted to political high treason and religious apostasy. These offenses called for severe punishment, and 4,500 Saxons were reported to have been executed en masse in 782. New outbreaks occurred after 792, and the last Saxons were not vanquished until 804. Between 772 and 804, Charles took the field against the Saxons no fewer than 18 times. In the end he carried out his aim of not only subjecting them to his rule but also incorporating them fully into his empire. Given the indissoluble tie between temporal power and the Christian faith, this meant they had to be converted. But the violent methods by which this missionary task was carried out had been unknown to the earlier Middle Ages, and the sanguinary punishment meted out to those who broke canon law or continued to engage in pagan practices called forth criticism in Charles's own circle, for example by Alcuin, his adviser and head of his palace school. When, in 788, Charles deposed his cousin Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria, who had acknowledged the Frankish kings as feudal lords, he in effect deprived of its independence the last of the German tribes beyond the Rhine. The Bavarians, who had long been Christians, were now directly integrated into the empire. The West Germanic tribes of the Alemanni, Bavarians, Saxons, and Thuringians thus found themselves for the first time gathered intoone political unit. Charles's conquests on the right bank of the Rhine were, however, not limited to the Germanic tribes. Making Ratisbon (Regensburg), the residence of the Bavarian dukes, his base, he conducted several campaigns, partly under his own command, against the Avar kingdom (in modern Hungary and Upper Austria). The remaining Avar principalities and the newly founded Slav states of the Danubian region drifted into a loose dependence on the Franks, whose sovereignty they more or less acknowledged. The gigantic expansion of the Frankish state, raising it far above the tribal states of the early Middle Ages, entailed qualitative as well as quantitative changes. Yet the idea of bestowing on Charles the Roman title of emperor arose only at a very late stage and out of a specific political constellation. While the Eastern, or Byzantine, Empire laid claim to universal recognition, the popes, constitutionally still subjects of Byzantium, were opposed to the iconoclastic religious policies of the Eastern emperors. Moreover, under the protection of Charles, Pope Adrian sought to erect an autonomous domain over central Italy, the more so as the Byzantines, abandoning for all practical purposes Rome and Ravenna, were asserting their rule only in Sicily and the southernmost edge of Italy. The papacy's desire for independence found a significant expression in the Donation of Constantine, a forgery dating probably from the first few years of Adrian's reign and purporting to legitimize these papal aims in the name of the first Christian emperor, Constantine I the Great. Charles paid a second visit to Rome in 781, when he had the Pope crown his young sons Pepin and Louis as kings of the Lombards and Aquitanians and gained de facto recognition of his Italian position from the Byzantine empress Irene, the mother of Constantine VI. The entente that existed between Charles and Byzantium came to an end after a Frankish attack on southern Italy in 787. Emperor of the West. In the end, local Roman conflicts brought about the clarification of the city's constitutional position. In May 799, Pope Leo III was waylaid in Rome by personal enemies. He took refuge at the court of Charles, who had him conducted back to the city and who in November 800 came to Rome himself, where he was received with imperial honours. Before Charles and a synod, Pope Leo cleared himself under oath of the charges made by his enemies. During Christmas mass in St. Peter's, the Romans acclaimed Charles emperor, whereupon the Pope crowned and perhaps anointed him. The imperial title was by nature a Roman dignity. While the acclamation represented the juridically conclusive act, it was the coronation at the hands of the Pope that, though of no constitutional importance, was to acquire for the Franks great significance. The Pope had been determined to make Charles emperor, deciding to a large extent the outward form; yet Charles was surely not surprised by these events. His famous statement quoted by one of his favourites, the Frankish historian Einhard, that he would not have set foot in church that Christmas if he had known the Pope's intention, implies a criticism of the ceremony initiated by the Pope, as well as a formal expression of humility. The crowning had been preceded by negotiations. While Charles's imperial rank was legally substantiated by the fact of his dominion over the western part of the old Roman Empire, the desire to counteract the petticoat rule of the empress Irene (who had dethroned and blinded her son in 797) also played a role. Residing in Rome four months and pronouncing sentence on the Pope's enemies as rebels guilty of lese majesty, Charles grasped the imperial reins with a firm hand. Likewise, after his return to Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), he promulgated laws in full consciousness of his rank as emperor. Byzantium braced itself for the usurper's attack, but Charles merely wished to see his new rank and his dominion over Rome recognized in negotiations; he gained his point in 812 when the emperor Michael I acknowledged him as emperor, though not as emperor of the Romans. While the imperial title did not bring Charles any additional powers, his control of Rome was now legitimized, and the estrangement of the papacy from Byzantium and its rapprochement with the Franks, a major historical event that had been initiated in 754, was rendered incontrovertible. A significant result of this development was the tradition to which Charles's assumption of the imperial title and function gave rise: all medieval concepts of empire and all the bonds between the constitutional traditions of the Franks and the later Holy Roman Empire with the Roman Empire founded by Augustus were based on the precedent of Charles's imperial title and position. Court and Administration. The creation of the empire was chiefly legitimized by Charles's efforts to raise its cultural level internally. When Charles came to power, the Frankish kingdom's cultural, administrative, and legal institutions were still relatively undeveloped. The Frankish king, for example, possessed no permanent residence. In the summer months he travelled about, deciding political issues and dispensing justice in assemblies of spiritual and temporal lords; above all, summer was the season for military campaigns. During the winter, from Christmas to Easter and sometimes longer, the king lived and held court at one of the imperial palaces. Charles especially favoured those situated in the Frankish heartland: only rarely did he spend the winter in one of the newly won territories, in encampment in Saxony, in Ratisbon, or in Rome. Not until 794 did Aachen, which the aging monarch liked because of its warm springs, become the court's abode, indeed almost a residence, during every winter and often even in summer. Here Charles built, partially with materials imported from Rome and Ravenna, the court church that is still standing, as well as the palace whose walls were incorporated into the 14th-century city hall. Charles's court consisted of his family, of the clergy in his personal service, who were called the king's capella, and of temporal officials, among them the count palatine, the seneschal, and the master of the royal household. These men were occasionally joined, on an informal basis, by other spiritual or temporal men of rank who spent some time in the ruler's presence. For Charles had the ambition to make his court the intellectual, as well as the political and administrative, centre of the realm and accordingly summoned prominent scholars from all parts of the empire and even from abroad. Among these the most important were Einhard and Alcuin. With the help of these and other literary men, Charles established a court library containing the works of the Church Fathers and those of ancient authors, and he founded a court academy for the education of young Frankish knights. Last but not least, he himself took part with his family and the learned and lay members of his entourage in a cultivated social life that afforded him entertainment no less than instruction. His mother tongue was an OldHigh German idiom, besides which he presumably understood the Old French dialect spoken by many Franks; as a grown man, he also learned Latin and some Greek, had historical and theological writings, including St. Augustine's City of God, read aloud to him, and acquired a rudimentary knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. The court's cultural interests, however, extended beyond the intellectual gratification of a small circle, such as the exchange of verses and letters. Efforts were also made to raise the level of religious observance, morality, and the process of justice throughout the empire. The clearest and most famous instance of this was the Epistula de litteris colendis, dating presumably from 784 to 785 and compiled in Charles's name by Alcuin. Its main argument lies in the assertion that the right faith--indeed, every right thought--must be clothed in the appropriate form and language, lest it be falsified; hence, the prescription of intensive study of Latin language and literature for all monastic and cathedral schools. The spiritual and literary movement called the " Carolingian renaissance" had many centres, especially in the empire's monasteries; but it cannot be evaluated without reference to Charles's court and to his endeavour to call on the best minds of the whole world, setting them to work in the education of the clergy and, in the final instance, of the whole people. The court's theological knowledge and intellectual self-confidence are reflected in the Libri Carolini, a comprehensive treatise written about 791 in Charles's name and directed against the Council of Nicaea (787), at which Greeks and papal plenipotentiaries had countenanced the practice of iconolatry; at the same time, the Libri Carolini did not spare the iconoclasts. Through this court, Charles ruled and administered his empire and dispensed justice. Once or twice a year at least, the court and the chief magistrates and nobles from all parts of the empire joined in a general assembly held either in the Frankish heartland or inone of the conquered territories. It is indicative of the unique structure of the Carolingian Empire that one cannot draw clear distinctions between an assembly of the armed forces, a constitutional assembly of the nobility, and a church synod: juridical, military, and ecclesiastical affairs were invariably discussed at one and the same time by the representatives of the nobility and the clergy. Above them all towered the figure of Charlemagne. On the local level the ruler was represented in every region by counts and bishops. Liaison between these personages and the court was maintained through royal messengers who travelled about at Charles's command, usually in pairs made up of a civil servant and a clerical dignitary. Royal commands did not have to be written out, although Charles's decrees (capitularies) increasingly came to be recorded in writing, at first rather imprecisely, in the last two decades of his reign; the forms coined by the "renaissance" gained ground only with time. Charles respected the traditional rights of the various peoples and tribes under his dominion as a matter of principle, and, after he became emperor, he had many of them recorded. The capitularies served partly as complements to tribal laws, partly as regulations applying to the most disparate aspects of public and private life, and in part also as specific instructions issued to royal messengers, counts, bishops, and others. Punitive decrees against highwaymen, dispositions concerning military levies, orders for the people to take an oath of allegiance to the emperor or to teach all Christians to recite the Lord's Prayer, are found intermingled in the capitularies with jurisdictional dispositions and regulations about the internal organization of monasteries; temporal and spiritual problems are rarely treated separately. Taken as a whole, the legal documents of Charles's reign bear witness to a great concern, born of profound moral and religious convictions, with the administration of justice and with public enlightenment, but they also show discrepancies between the ideal and reality. Limitations of His Rule. Charles's organization of the empire was, however, not without its defects and limitations. The sovereign's power was restricted only by theoretical principles of law and custom, not by institutions or countervailing forces. Significantly, the records report little about opposition movements and conspiracies, which, in fact, did exist. A rebellion that Thuringian counts launched against Charles in 786 can perhaps be explained as ethnic opposition to the centralism of the Franks. More ominous was an aristocratic conspiracy that in 792 attempted to place on the throne the hunchback Pepin, Charles's only son from his first marriage, which was later declared invalid; yet here, too, the political concepts and motives remain unknown. These events and, more clearly still, the history of the empire under Charles's successor, Louis, show the extent to which the political system had been designed for one person on whose outstanding abilities everything depended and with whose disappearance it threatened to collapse. Their self-confidence enhanced by Charles's educational policy, the clergy could not accept for all time his theocracy without opposing it with their own political and religious principles. The temporal nobility that had built the empire with the Carolingians could be firmly tied to the dynasty only as long as new conquests held out the prospect of new spoils and fiefs; if these failed to materialize, there remained only the care of one's properties in the different regions and the hope of gaining advantages from party strife. External expansion, however, could not advance substantially beyond the borders reached by 800; in fact, economic and technical resources were insufficient to hold together and administer what had already been won and to defend it against foreign enemies. Charles's empire lacked the means by which the Romans had preserved theirs: a money economy, a paid civil service, a standing army, a properly maintained network of roads and communications, a navy for coastal defense. Already in Charles's lifetime, the coasts were being threatened by the Normans. In 806 Charles planned a division of the empire between his sons, but after the death of the elder two he crowned Louis of Aquitaine his coemperor and sole successor at Aachen in 813. It was only a few months later that Charles himself died there on January 28, 814. Personality and Influence. Charlemagne's posthumous fame shone the more brightly as the following generations were unable to preserve the empire's internal peace, its unity, and its international position. Even after the Carolingian dynasty had become extinct, political tradition in the East Frankish (German) kingdom and empire, as well as in the West Frankish (French) kingdom, drew sustenance from the example set by Charlemagne. Under Otto I, Aachen became the city in which the rulers of Duitsland were crowned, and, at Frederick I Barbarossa's request, the antipope Paschal III canonized Charlemagne in 1165. In France the Capetians, beginning with Philip II Augustus, revived the traditions that had grown up around Charlemagne. The controversial question whether the Germans or the French were the true successors of Charlemagne was kept alive through the Middle Ages and into modern times. Napoleon called himself Charlemagne's successor; after the end of World War II, discussions of a united, Christian, "occidental" Europe invoked his model. Hand in hand with these political traditions went those in popular legend and poetry, culminating in the Roland epics. Nor did Charlemagne's fame stop at the boundaries of what was once his empire; some Slavic languages derived their term for "king" from his name (Czech král, Polish król, etc.). Charles left no biographical document; his personality can be constructed only from his deeds and the reports left by contemporaries. This is how Einhard, who lived at the court from about 795 on, described Charlemagne's character and appearance in his famous Vita Karoli Magni: "He had a broad and strong body of unusual height, but well-proportioned; for his height measured seven times his feet. His skull was round, the eyes were lively and rather large, the nose of more than average length, the hair gray but full, the face friendly and cheerful. Seated or standing, he thus made a dignified and stately impression even though he had a thick, short neck and a belly that protruded somewhat; but this was hidden by the good proportions of the rest of his figure. He strode with firm step and held himself like a man; he spoke with a higher voice than one would have expected of someone of his build. He enjoyed good health except for being repeatedly plagued by fevers four years before his death. Toward the end he dragged one foot." The strength of Charlemagne's personality was evidently rooted in the unbroken conviction of being at one with the divine will. Without inward contradiction, he was able to combine personal piety with enjoyment of life, a religious sense of missionwith a strong will to power, rough manners with a striving for intellectual growth, and intransigence against his enemies with rectitude. In his politically conditioned religiosity, the empire and the church grew into an institutional and spiritual unit. Although his empire survived him by only one generation, it contributed decisively to the eventual reconstitution, in the mind of a western Europe fragmented since the end of the Roman Empire, of a common intellectual, religious, and political inheritance on which later centuries could draw. Charlemagne did not create this inheritance single-handedly, but one would be hard put to imagine it without him. One of the poets at his court called him rex pater Europae--"King father of Europe." In truth, there is no other man who similarly left his mark on European history during the centuries of the Middle Ages. Source: "Charlemagne" Britannica Online. [Accessed 10 February1998].

Charlemagne (Carolus Magnus, Charles the Great) as king of the Franks (768-814) conquered the Lombard kingdom in Italy, subdued the Saxons, annexed Bavaria to his kingdom, fought campaigns in Spain and Hungary, and, with the exception of the Kingdom of Asturias in Spain, southern Italy, and the British Isles, united in one superstate practically all the Christian lands of western Europe. In 800 he assumed the title of emperor. (He is reckoned as Charles I of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as Charles I of France.) Besides expanding its political power, he also brought about a cultural renaissance in his empire. Although this imperium survived its founder by only one generation, the medieval kingdoms of France and Duitsland derived all their constitutional traditions from Charles's monarchy. Throughout medieval Europe, the person of Charles was considered the prototype of a Christian king and emperor. Early Years. Charles was born probably in 742 (on April 2), the elder son of Pepin III, also called Pepin the Short. Pepin and his older brother, Carloman, had just jointly assumed the government of the Frankish kingdom as maior domus, or "mayor of the palace." The dynasty, later called Carolingian after Charlemagne, had originated in the Meuse-Moselle region on the borders of modern France, Duitsland, Belgium, and Nederland. In the course of a few generations, it had, as mayors of the palace to the Merovingians, gained control of the entire Frankish kingdom. Charlemagne's grandfather, Charles Martel, reconstituted a realm that had been on the point of breaking up, and, without infringing on the royal prerogatives of the otherwise powerless Merovingians, he had in effect bequeathed the empire to his sons, Pepin and Carloman, like a family inheritance. Charles grew to manhood while his father was engaged in acquiring sole sovereignty and the kingship. On Carloman's retirement to a monastery, Pepin eliminated the latter's sons from the government. Having thus prepared the way,he had himself proclaimed king in 751, after dethroning the Merovingians. An oracular response by Pope Zacharias furnished the ecclesiastical approbation for thus shunting aside the former reigning house, which had been held sacred. Zacharias' successor, Stephen II, arrived in the Frankish kingdom during the winter of 753-754, in order to seek help against the Lombards who were attacking Rome. As the reigning monarch's oldest son, Charles, then about 12 years of age, travelled ahead to welcome the Pope, who anointed him king, along with his father and his brother Carloman, thus sanctioning the new dynasty. The political alliance between the Franks and the Pope against the Lombards was affirmed on the same occasion. When his father subdued Aquitaine (France south of the Loire) in a series of yearly campaigns beginning in 760, reasserting the integrity of the Frankish kingdom all the way to the Pyrenees, Charles repeatedly accompanied the army. These youthful experiences probably contributed to the formation of Charles's character and to the formulation of his aims. He shared with his father an unbending will to power, a readiness to fight resolutely against external enemies and to increase his domains, and the determination to rule by himself even if it meant usurping the rights of close relatives. Charles early acknowledged the close connection between temporal power and the church; he had a high regard for the church and the king's duty to spread the Christian faith and, while asserting royal suzerainty over the church, considered himself accountable to God for the Christians entrusted to him. King of the Franks. In accordance with old Frankish custom, the kingdom was divided on Pepin's death in 768 between his two sons. It was not long, however, before a strong rivalry sprang up between the brothers: with his mother's support, Charles concluded, with the Lombard king Desiderius, whose daughter he married, and with his cousin Duke Tassilo of Bavaria, alliances directed against Carloman. On Carloman's sudden death in 771, Charles was able to make himself sole ruler of the kingdom, unopposed by his young nephews, whose rights he ignored. When Carloman's widow with her children and a few remaining supporters had fled to the Lombard court, and King Desiderius, breaking his alliance with Charles, put pressure on the Pope to anoint Carloman's sons as Frankish kings, Charles was forced to come to the aid of Pope Adrian I. He marched on the Lombard capital, Pavia, and after its fall made himself king of the Lombards. His brother's sons, who had fallen into his hands, disappeared. While the siege of Pavia was still in progress, Charles journeyed to Rome, where he celebrated Easter 774 with the Pope and reiterated, in St. Peter's Basilica, his father's promise to transfer to papal rule large sections of Italy. But he actually enlarged the Pope's lands only slightly, assuming for himself the sovereignty over the entire Lombard kingdom. Charles had fought the pagan Saxons, in what is now Lower Saxony and Westphalia, in retribution for their attacks on the lower Rhine region, as early as 772, before the first Italian campaign. From 775 on, however, it was his goal to subdue the whole Saxon tribe, converting it to Christianity and integrating it into his kingdom. This aim appeared to have been realized after several campaigns culminating in declarations of allegiance by the Saxon nobility and mass baptisms performed in 775-777. A diet held in 777 in Paderborn sealed the submission of the Saxons. Among those attending the diet had been some Arab emissaries from northern Spain who sought Charles's aid in their uprising against the Umayyad amir of Córdoba. In the summer of 778 Charles advanced into Spain and laid siege to Saragossa, without, however, being able to take the city. Retreating across the Pyrenees, the Frankish army was badly mauled by the Basques. Roland, warden of the Breton march, who died on this occasion, was later immortalized in legend and poetry. This defeat marks the end of the first period of Charles's rule, the period of vigorous expansion. Within a decade he had become the sole ruler of the Franks, conquered the Lombard kingdom, visited Rome, subdued the Saxons, invaded Spain. Henceforth he was concerned with defending and safeguarding his quickly won gains (which were to be extended only on the right bank of the Rhine), while consolidating the state internally and protecting cultural life and the rule of law. Not long after Charles's defeat in Spain, the Saxons rose up once more. The war against them became the longest and most cruel war fought by the Franks. In Charles's eyes, the resistance of this people that had undergone baptism and signed a treaty of allegiance amounted to political high treason and religious apostasy. These offenses called for severe punishment, and 4,500 Saxons were reported to have been executed en masse in 782. New outbreaks occurred after 792, and the last Saxons were not vanquished until 804. Between 772 and 804, Charles took the field against the Saxons no fewer than 18 times. In the end he carried out his aim of not only subjecting them to his rule but also incorporating them fully into his empire. Given the indissoluble tie between temporal power and the Christian faith, this meant they had to be converted. But the violent methods by which this missionary task was carried out had been unknown to the earlier Middle Ages, and the sanguinary punishment meted out to those who broke canon law or continued to engage in pagan practices called forth criticism in Charles's own circle, for example by Alcuin, his adviser and head of his palace school. When, in 788, Charles deposed his cousin Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria, who had acknowledged the Frankish kings as feudal lords, he in effect deprived of its independence the last of the German tribes beyond the Rhine. The Bavarians, who had long been Christians, were now directly integrated into the empire. The West Germanic tribes of the Alemanni, Bavarians, Saxons, and Thuringians thus found themselves for the first time gathered intoone political unit. Charles's conquests on the right bank of the Rhine were, however, not limited to the Germanic tribes. Making Ratisbon (Regensburg), the residence of the Bavarian dukes, his base, he conducted several campaigns, partly under his own command, against the Avar kingdom (in modern Hungary and Upper Austria). The remaining Avar principalities and the newly founded Slav states of the Danubian region drifted into a loose dependence on the Franks, whose sovereignty they more or less acknowledged. The gigantic expansion of the Frankish state, raising it far above the tribal states of the early Middle Ages, entailed qualitative as well as quantitative changes. Yet the idea of bestowing on Charles the Roman title of emperor arose only at a very late stage and out of a specific political constellation. While the Eastern, or Byzantine, Empire laid claim to universal recognition, the popes, constitutionally still subjects of Byzantium, were opposed to the iconoclastic religious policies of the Eastern emperors. Moreover, under the protection of Charles, Pope Adrian sought to erect an autonomous domain over central Italy, the more so as the Byzantines, abandoning for all practical purposes Rome and Ravenna, were asserting their rule only in Sicily and the southernmost edge of Italy. The papacy's desire for independence found a significant expression in the Donation of Constantine, a forgery dating probably from the first few years of Adrian's reign and purporting to legitimize these papal aims in the name of the first Christian emperor, Constantine I the Great. Charles paid a second visit to Rome in 781, when he had the Pope crown his young sons Pepin and Louis as kings of the Lombards and Aquitanians and gained de facto recognition of his Italian position from the Byzantine empress Irene, the mother of Constantine VI. The entente that existed between Charles and Byzantium came to an end after a Frankish attack on southern Italy in 787. Emperor of the West. In the end, local Roman conflicts brought about the clarification of the city's constitutional position. In May 799, Pope Leo III was waylaid in Rome by personal enemies. He took refuge at the court of Charles, who had him conducted back to the city and who in November 800 came to Rome himself, where he was received with imperial honours. Before Charles and a synod, Pope Leo cleared himself under oath of the charges made by his enemies. During Christmas mass in St. Peter's, the Romans acclaimed Charles emperor, whereupon the Pope crowned and perhaps anointed him. The imperial title was by nature a Roman dignity. While the acclamation represented the juridically conclusive act, it was the coronation at the hands of the Pope that, though of no constitutional importance, was to acquire for the Franks great significance. The Pope had been determined to make Charles emperor, deciding to a large extent the outward form; yet Charles was surely not surprised by these events. His famous statement quoted by one of his favourites, the Frankish historian Einhard, that he would not have set foot in church that Christmas if he had known the Pope's intention, implies a criticism of the ceremony initiated by the Pope, as well as a formal expression of humility. The crowning had been preceded by negotiations. While Charles's imperial rank was legally substantiated by the fact of his dominion over the western part of the old Roman Empire, the desire to counteract the petticoat rule of the empress Irene (who had dethroned and blinded her son in 797) also played a role. Residing in Rome four months and pronouncing sentence on the Pope's enemies as rebels guilty of lese majesty, Charles grasped the imperial reins with a firm hand. Likewise, after his return to Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), he promulgated laws in full consciousness of his rank as emperor. Byzantium braced itself for the usurper's attack, but Charles merely wished to see his new rank and his dominion over Rome recognized in negotiations; he gained his point in 812 when the emperor Michael I acknowledged him as emperor, though not as emperor of the Romans. While the imperial title did not bring Charles any additional powers, his control of Rome was now legitimized, and the estrangement of the papacy from Byzantium and its rapprochement with the Franks, a major historical event that had been initiated in 754, was rendered incontrovertible. A significant result of this development was the tradition to which Charles's assumption of the imperial title and function gave rise: all medieval concepts of empire and all the bonds between the constitutional traditions of the Franks and the later Holy Roman Empire with the Roman Empire founded by Augustus were based on the precedent of Charles's imperial title and position. Court and Administration. The creation of the empire was chiefly legitimized by Charles's efforts to raise its cultural level internally. When Charles came to power, the Frankish kingdom's cultural, administrative, and legal institutions were still relatively undeveloped. The Frankish king, for example, possessed no permanent residence. In the summer months he travelled about, deciding political issues and dispensing justice in assemblies of spiritual and temporal lords; above all, summer was the season for military campaigns. During the winter, from Christmas to Easter and sometimes longer, the king lived and held court at one of the imperial palaces. Charles especially favoured those situated in the Frankish heartland: only rarely did he spend the winter in one of the newly won territories, in encampment in Saxony, in Ratisbon, or in Rome. Not until 794 did Aachen, which the aging monarch liked because of its warm springs, become the court's abode, indeed almost a residence, during every winter and often even in summer. Here Charles built, partially with materials imported from Rome and Ravenna, the court church that is still standing, as well as the palace whose walls were incorporated into the 14th-century city hall. Charles's court consisted of his family, of the clergy in his personal service, who were called the king's capella, and of temporal officials, among them the count palatine, the seneschal, and the master of the royal household. These men were occasionally joined, on an informal basis, by other spiritual or temporal men of rank who spent some time in the ruler's presence. For Charles had the ambition to make his court the intellectual, as well as the political and administrative, centre of the realm and accordingly summoned prominent scholars from all parts of the empire and even from abroad. Among these the most important were Einhard and Alcuin. With the help of these and other literary men, Charles established a court library containing the works of the Church Fathers and those of ancient authors, and he founded a court academy for the education of young Frankish knights. Last but not least, he himself took part with his family and the learned and lay members of his entourage in a cultivated social life that afforded him entertainment no less than instruction. His mother tongue was an OldHigh German idiom, besides which he presumably understood the Old French dialect spoken by many Franks; as a grown man, he also learned Latin and some Greek, had historical and theological writings, including St. Augustine's City of God, read aloud to him, and acquired a rudimentary knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. The court's cultural interests, however, extended beyond the intellectual gratification of a small circle, such as the exchange of verses and letters. Efforts were also made to raise the level of religious observance, morality, and the process of justice throughout the empire. The clearest and most famous instance of this was the Epistula de litteris colendis, dating presumably from 784 to 785 and compiled in Charles's name by Alcuin. Its main argument lies in the assertion that the right faith--indeed, every right thought--must be clothed in the appropriate form and language, lest it be falsified; hence, the prescription of intensive study of Latin language and literature for all monastic and cathedral schools. The spiritual and literary movement called the " Carolingian renaissance" had many centres, especially in the empire's monasteries; but it cannot be evaluated without reference to Charles's court and to his endeavour to call on the best minds of the whole world, setting them to work in the education of the clergy and, in the final instance, of the whole people. The court's theological knowledge and intellectual self-confidence are reflected in the Libri Carolini, a comprehensive treatise written about 791 in Charles's name and directed against the Council of Nicaea (787), at which Greeks and papal plenipotentiaries had countenanced the practice of iconolatry; at the same time, the Libri Carolini did not spare the iconoclasts. Through this court, Charles ruled and administered his empire and dispensed justice. Once or twice a year at least, the court and the chief magistrates and nobles from all parts of the empire joined in a general assembly held either in the Frankish heartland or inone of the conquered territories. It is indicative of the unique structure of the Carolingian Empire that one cannot draw clear distinctions between an assembly of the armed forces, a constitutional assembly of the nobility, and a church synod: juridical, military, and ecclesiastical affairs were invariably discussed at one and the same time by the representatives of the nobility and the clergy. Above them all towered the figure of Charlemagne. On the local level the ruler was represented in every region by counts and bishops. Liaison between these personages and the court was maintained through royal messengers who travelled about at Charles's command, usually in pairs made up of a civil servant and a clerical dignitary. Royal commands did not have to be written out, although Charles's decrees (capitularies) increasingly came to be recorded in writing, at first rather imprecisely, in the last two decades of his reign; the forms coined by the "renaissance" gained ground only with time. Charles respected the traditional rights of the various peoples and tribes under his dominion as a matter of principle, and, after he became emperor, he had many of them recorded. The capitularies served partly as complements to tribal laws, partly as regulations applying to the most disparate aspects of public and private life, and in part also as specific instructions issued to royal messengers, counts, bishops, and others. Punitive decrees against highwaymen, dispositions concerning military levies, orders for the people to take an oath of allegiance to the emperor or to teach all Christians to recite the Lord's Prayer, are found intermingled in the capitularies with jurisdictional dispositions and regulations about the internal organization of monasteries; temporal and spiritual problems are rarely treated separately. Taken as a whole, the legal documents of Charles's reign bear witness to a great concern, born of profound moral and religious convictions, with the administration of justice and with public enlightenment, but they also show discrepancies between the ideal and reality. Limitations of His Rule. Charles's organization of the empire was, however, not without its defects and limitations. The sovereign's power was restricted only by theoretical principles of law and custom, not by institutions or countervailing forces. Significantly, the records report little about opposition movements and conspiracies, which, in fact, did exist. A rebellion that Thuringian counts launched against Charles in 786 can perhaps be explained as ethnic opposition to the centralism of the Franks. More ominous was an aristocratic conspiracy that in 792 attempted to place on the throne the hunchback Pepin, Charles's only son from his first marriage, which was later declared invalid; yet here, too, the political concepts and motives remain unknown. These events and, more clearly still, the history of the empire under Charles's successor, Louis, show the extent to which the political system had been designed for one person on whose outstanding abilities everything depended and with whose disappearance it threatened to collapse. Their self-confidence enhanced by Charles's educational policy, the clergy could not accept for all time his theocracy without opposing it with their own political and religious principles. The temporal nobility that had built the empire with the Carolingians could be firmly tied to the dynasty only as long as new conquests held out the prospect of new spoils and fiefs; if these failed to materialize, there remained only the care of one's properties in the different regions and the hope of gaining advantages from party strife. External expansion, however, could not advance substantially beyond the borders reached by 800; in fact, economic and technical resources were insufficient to hold together and administer what had already been won and to defend it against foreign enemies. Charles's empire lacked the means by which the Romans had preserved theirs: a money economy, a paid civil service, a standing army, a properly maintained network of roads and communications, a navy for coastal defense. Already in Charles's lifetime, the coasts were being threatened by the Normans. In 806 Charles planned a division of the empire between his sons, but after the death of the elder two he crowned Louis of Aquitaine his coemperor and sole successor at Aachen in 813. It was only a few months later that Charles himself died there on January 28, 814. Personality and Influence. Charlemagne's posthumous fame shone the more brightly as the following generations were unable to preserve the empire's internal peace, its unity, and its international position. Even after the Carolingian dynasty had become extinct, political tradition in the East Frankish (German) kingdom and empire, as well as in the West Frankish (French) kingdom, drew sustenance from the example set by Charlemagne. Under Otto I, Aachen became the city in which the rulers of Duitsland were crowned, and, at Frederick I Barbarossa's request, the antipope Paschal III canonized Charlemagne in 1165. In France the Capetians, beginning with Philip II Augustus, revived the traditions that had grown up around Charlemagne. The controversial question whether the Germans or the French were the true successors of Charlemagne was kept alive through the Middle Ages and into modern times. Napoleon called himself Charlemagne's successor; after the end of World War II, discussions of a united, Christian, "occidental" Europe invoked his model. Hand in hand with these political traditions went those in popular legend and poetry, culminating in the Roland epics. Nor did Charlemagne's fame stop at the boundaries of what was once his empire; some Slavic languages derived their term for "king" from his name (Czech král, Polish król, etc.). Charles left no biographical document; his personality can be constructed only from his deeds and the reports left by contemporaries. This is how Einhard, who lived at the court from about 795 on, described Charlemagne's character and appearance in his famous Vita Karoli Magni: "He had a broad and strong body of unusual height, but well-proportioned; for his height measured seven times his feet. His skull was round, the eyes were lively and rather large, the nose of more than average length, the hair gray but full, the face friendly and cheerful. Seated or standing, he thus made a dignified and stately impression even though he had a thick, short neck and a belly that protruded somewhat; but this was hidden by the good proportions of the rest of his figure. He strode with firm step and held himself like a man; he spoke with a higher voice than one would have expected of someone of his build. He enjoyed good health except for being repeatedly plagued by fevers four years before his death. Toward the end he dragged one foot." The strength of Charlemagne's personality was evidently rooted in the unbroken conviction of being at one with the divine will. Without inward contradiction, he was able to combine personal piety with enjoyment of life, a religious sense of missionwith a strong will to power, rough manners with a striving for intellectual growth, and intransigence against his enemies with rectitude. In his politically conditioned religiosity, the empire and the church grew into an institutional and spiritual unit. Although his empire survived him by only one generation, it contributed decisively to the eventual reconstitution, in the mind of a western Europe fragmented since the end of the Roman Empire, of a common intellectual, religious, and political inheritance on which later centuries could draw. Charlemagne did not create this inheritance single-handedly, but one would be hard put to imagine it without him. One of the poets at his court called him rex pater Europae--"King father of Europe." In truth, there is no other man who similarly left his mark on European history during the centuries of the Middle Ages. Source: "Charlemagne" Britannica Online. [Accessed 10 February1998].

Charlemagne (Carolus Magnus, Charles the Great) as king of the Franks (768-814) conquered the Lombard kingdom in Italy, subdued the Saxons, annexed Bavaria to his kingdom, fought campaigns in Spain and Hungary, and, with the exception of the Kingdom of Asturias in Spain, southern Italy, and the British Isles, united in one superstate practically all the Christian lands of western Europe. In 800 he assumed the title of emperor. (He is reckoned as Charles I of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as Charles I of France.) Besides expanding its political power, he also brought about a cultural renaissance in his empire. Although this imperium survived its founder by only one generation, the medieval kingdoms of France and Duitsland derived all their constitutional traditions from Charles's monarchy. Throughout medieval Europe, the person of Charles was considered the prototype of a Christian king and emperor. Early Years. Charles was born probably in 742 (on April 2), the elder son of Pepin III, also called Pepin the Short. Pepin and his older brother, Carloman, had just jointly assumed the government of the Frankish kingdom as maior domus, or "mayor of the palace." The dynasty, later called Carolingian after Charlemagne, had originated in the Meuse-Moselle region on the borders of modern France, Duitsland, Belgium, and Nederland. In the course of a few generations, it had, as mayors of the palace to the Merovingians, gained control of the entire Frankish kingdom. Charlemagne's grandfather, Charles Martel, reconstituted a realm that had been on the point of breaking up, and, without infringing on the royal prerogatives of the otherwise powerless Merovingians, he had in effect bequeathed the empire to his sons, Pepin and Carloman, like a family inheritance. Charles grew to manhood while his father was engaged in acquiring sole sovereignty and the kingship. On Carloman's retirement to a monastery, Pepin eliminated the latter's sons from the government. Having thus prepared the way,he had himself proclaimed king in 751, after dethroning the Merovingians. An oracular response by Pope Zacharias furnished the ecclesiastical approbation for thus shunting aside the former reigning house, which had been held sacred. Zacharias' successor, Stephen II, arrived in the Frankish kingdom during the winter of 753-754, in order to seek help against the Lombards who were attacking Rome. As the reigning monarch's oldest son, Charles, then about 12 years of age, travelled ahead to welcome the Pope, who anointed him king, along with his father and his brother Carloman, thus sanctioning the new dynasty. The political alliance between the Franks and the Pope against the Lombards was affirmed on the same occasion. When his father subdued Aquitaine (France south of the Loire) in a series of yearly campaigns beginning in 760, reasserting the integrity of the Frankish kingdom all the way to the Pyrenees, Charles repeatedly accompanied the army. These youthful experiences probably contributed to the formation of Charles's character and to the formulation of his aims. He shared with his father an unbending will to power, a readiness to fight resolutely against external enemies and to increase his domains, and the determination to rule by himself even if it meant usurping the rights of close relatives. Charles early acknowledged the close connection between temporal power and the church; he had a high regard for the church and the king's duty to spread the Christian faith and, while asserting royal suzerainty over the church, considered himself accountable to God for the Christians entrusted to him. King of the Franks. In accordance with old Frankish custom, the kingdom was divided on Pepin's death in 768 between his two sons. It was not long, however, before a strong rivalry sprang up between the brothers: with his mother's support, Charles concluded, with the Lombard king Desiderius, whose daughter he married, and with his cousin Duke Tassilo of Bavaria, alliances directed against Carloman. On Carloman's sudden death in 771, Charles was able to make himself sole ruler of the kingdom, unopposed by his young nephews, whose rights he ignored. When Carloman's widow with her children and a few remaining supporters had fled to the Lombard court, and King Desiderius, breaking his alliance with Charles, put pressure on the Pope to anoint Carloman's sons as Frankish kings, Charles was forced to come to the aid of Pope Adrian I. He marched on the Lombard capital, Pavia, and after its fall made himself king of the Lombards. His brother's sons, who had fallen into his hands, disappeared. While the siege of Pavia was still in progress, Charles journeyed to Rome, where he celebrated Easter 774 with the Pope and reiterated, in St. Peter's Basilica, his father's promise to transfer to papal rule large sections of Italy. But he actually enlarged the Pope's lands only slightly, assuming for himself the sovereignty over the entire Lombard kingdom. Charles had fought the pagan Saxons, in what is now Lower Saxony and Westphalia, in retribution for their attacks on the lower Rhine region, as early as 772, before the first Italian campaign. From 775 on, however, it was his goal to subdue the whole Saxon tribe, converting it to Christianity and integrating it into his kingdom. This aim appeared to have been realized after several campaigns culminating in declarations of allegiance by the Saxon nobility and mass baptisms performed in 775-777. A diet held in 777 in Paderborn sealed the submission of the Saxons. Among those attending the diet had been some Arab emissaries from northern Spain who sought Charles's aid in their uprising against the Umayyad amir of Córdoba. In the summer of 778 Charles advanced into Spain and laid siege to Saragossa, without, however, being able to take the city. Retreating across the Pyrenees, the Frankish army was badly mauled by the Basques. Roland, warden of the Breton march, who died on this occasion, was later immortalized in legend and poetry. This defeat marks the end of the first period of Charles's rule, the period of vigorous expansion. Within a decade he had become the sole ruler of the Franks, conquered the Lombard kingdom, visited Rome, subdued the Saxons, invaded Spain. Henceforth he was concerned with defending and safeguarding his quickly won gains (which were to be extended only on the right bank of the Rhine), while consolidating the state internally and protecting cultural life and the rule of law. Not long after Charles's defeat in Spain, the Saxons rose up once more. The war against them became the longest and most cruel war fought by the Franks. In Charles's eyes, the resistance of this people that had undergone baptism and signed a treaty of allegiance amounted to political high treason and religious apostasy. These offenses called for severe punishment, and 4,500 Saxons were reported to have been executed en masse in 782. New outbreaks occurred after 792, and the last Saxons were not vanquished until 804. Between 772 and 804, Charles took the field against the Saxons no fewer than 18 times. In the end he carried out his aim of not only subjecting them to his rule but also incorporating them fully into his empire. Given the indissoluble tie between temporal power and the Christian faith, this meant they had to be converted. But the violent methods by which this missionary task was carried out had been unknown to the earlier Middle Ages, and the sanguinary punishment meted out to those who broke canon law or continued to engage in pagan practices called forth criticism in Charles's own circle, for example by Alcuin, his adviser and head of his palace school. When, in 788, Charles deposed his cousin Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria, who had acknowledged the Frankish kings as feudal lords, he in effect deprived of its independence the last of the German tribes beyond the Rhine. The Bavarians, who had long been Christians, were now directly integrated into the empire. The West Germanic tribes of the Alemanni, Bavarians, Saxons, and Thuringians thus found themselves for the first time gathered intoone political unit. Charles's conquests on the right bank of the Rhine were, however, not limited to the Germanic tribes. Making Ratisbon (Regensburg), the residence of the Bavarian dukes, his base, he conducted several campaigns, partly under his own command, against the Avar kingdom (in modern Hungary and Upper Austria). The remaining Avar principalities and the newly founded Slav states of the Danubian region drifted into a loose dependence on the Franks, whose sovereignty they more or less acknowledged. The gigantic expansion of the Frankish state, raising it far above the tribal states of the early Middle Ages, entailed qualitative as well as quantitative changes. Yet the idea of bestowing on Charles the Roman title of emperor arose only at a very late stage and out of a specific political constellation. While the Eastern, or Byzantine, Empire laid claim to universal recognition, the popes, constitutionally still subjects of Byzantium, were opposed to the iconoclastic religious policies of the Eastern emperors. Moreover, under the protection of Charles, Pope Adrian sought to erect an autonomous domain over central Italy, the more so as the Byzantines, abandoning for all practical purposes Rome and Ravenna, were asserting their rule only in Sicily and the southernmost edge of Italy. The papacy's desire for independence found a significant expression in the Donation of Constantine, a forgery dating probably from the first few years of Adrian's reign and purporting to legitimize these papal aims in the name of the first Christian emperor, Constantine I the Great. Charles paid a second visit to Rome in 781, when he had the Pope crown his young sons Pepin and Louis as kings of the Lombards and Aquitanians and gained de facto recognition of his Italian position from the Byzantine empress Irene, the mother of Constantine VI. The entente that existed between Charles and Byzantium came to an end after a Frankish attack on southern Italy in 787. Emperor of the West. In the end, local Roman conflicts brought about the clarification of the city's constitutional position. In May 799, Pope Leo III was waylaid in Rome by personal enemies. He took refuge at the court of Charles, who had him conducted back to the city and who in November 800 came to Rome himself, where he was received with imperial honours. Before Charles and a synod, Pope Leo cleared himself under oath of the charges made by his enemies. During Christmas mass in St. Peter's, the Romans acclaimed Charles emperor, whereupon the Pope crowned and perhaps anointed him. The imperial title was by nature a Roman dignity. While the acclamation represented the juridically conclusive act, it was the coronation at the hands of the Pope that, though of no constitutional importance, was to acquire for the Franks great significance. The Pope had been determined to make Charles emperor, deciding to a large extent the outward form; yet Charles was surely not surprised by these events. His famous statement quoted by one of his favourites, the Frankish historian Einhard, that he would not have set foot in church that Christmas if he had known the Pope's intention, implies a criticism of the ceremony initiated by the Pope, as well as a formal expression of humility. The crowning had been preceded by negotiations. While Charles's imperial rank was legally substantiated by the fact of his dominion over the western part of the old Roman Empire, the desire to counteract the petticoat rule of the empress Irene (who had dethroned and blinded her son in 797) also played a role. Residing in Rome four months and pronouncing sentence on the Pope's enemies as rebels guilty of lese majesty, Charles grasped the imperial reins with a firm hand. Likewise, after his return to Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), he promulgated laws in full consciousness of his rank as emperor. Byzantium braced itself for the usurper's attack, but Charles merely wished to see his new rank and his dominion over Rome recognized in negotiations; he gained his point in 812 when the emperor Michael I acknowledged him as emperor, though not as emperor of the Romans. While the imperial title did not bring Charles any additional powers, his control of Rome was now legitimized, and the estrangement of the papacy from Byzantium and its rapprochement with the Franks, a major historical event that had been initiated in 754, was rendered incontrovertible. A significant result of this development was the tradition to which Charles's assumption of the imperial title and function gave rise: all medieval concepts of empire and all the bonds between the constitutional traditions of the Franks and the later Holy Roman Empire with the Roman Empire founded by Augustus were based on the precedent of Charles's imperial title and position. Court and Administration. The creation of the empire was chiefly legitimized by Charles's efforts to raise its cultural level internally. When Charles came to power, the Frankish kingdom's cultural, administrative, and legal institutions were still relatively undeveloped. The Frankish king, for example, possessed no permanent residence. In the summer months he travelled about, deciding political issues and dispensing justice in assemblies of spiritual and temporal lords; above all, summer was the season for military campaigns. During the winter, from Christmas to Easter and sometimes longer, the king lived and held court at one of the imperial palaces. Charles especially favoured those situated in the Frankish heartland: only rarely did he spend the winter in one of the newly won territories, in encampment in Saxony, in Ratisbon, or in Rome. Not until 794 did Aachen, which the aging monarch liked because of its warm springs, become the court's abode, indeed almost a residence, during every winter and often even in summer. Here Charles built, partially with materials imported from Rome and Ravenna, the court church that is still standing, as well as the palace whose walls were incorporated into the 14th-century city hall. Charles's court consisted of his family, of the clergy in his personal service, who were called the king's capella, and of temporal officials, among them the count palatine, the seneschal, and the master of the royal household. These men were occasionally joined, on an informal basis, by other spiritual or temporal men of rank who spent some time in the ruler's presence. For Charles had the ambition to make his court the intellectual, as well as the political and administrative, centre of the realm and accordingly summoned prominent scholars from all parts of the empire and even from abroad. Among these the most important were Einhard and Alcuin. With the help of these and other literary men, Charles established a court library containing the works of the Church Fathers and those of ancient authors, and he founded a court academy for the education of young Frankish knights. Last but not least, he himself took part with his family and the learned and lay members of his entourage in a cultivated social life that afforded him entertainment no less than instruction. His mother tongue was an OldHigh German idiom, besides which he presumably understood the Old French dialect spoken by many Franks; as a grown man, he also learned Latin and some Greek, had historical and theological writings, including St. Augustine's City of God, read aloud to him, and acquired a rudimentary knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. The court's cultural interests, however, extended beyond the intellectual gratification of a small circle, such as the exchange of verses and letters. Efforts were also made to raise the level of religious observance, morality, and the process of justice throughout the empire. The clearest and most famous instance of this was the Epistula de litteris colendis, dating presumably from 784 to 785 and compiled in Charles's name by Alcuin. Its main argument lies in the assertion that the right faith--indeed, every right thought--must be clothed in the appropriate form and language, lest it be falsified; hence, the prescription of intensive study of Latin language and literature for all monastic and cathedral schools. The spiritual and literary movement called the " Carolingian renaissance" had many centres, especially in the empire's monasteries; but it cannot be evaluated without reference to Charles's court and to his endeavour to call on the best minds of the whole world, setting them to work in the education of the clergy and, in the final instance, of the whole people. The court's theological knowledge and intellectual self-confidence are reflected in the Libri Carolini, a comprehensive treatise written about 791 in Charles's name and directed against the Council of Nicaea (787), at which Greeks and papal plenipotentiaries had countenanced the practice of iconolatry; at the same time, the Libri Carolini did not spare the iconoclasts. Through this court, Charles ruled and administered his empire and dispensed justice. Once or twice a year at least, the court and the chief magistrates and nobles from all parts of the empire joined in a general assembly held either in the Frankish heartland or inone of the conquered territories. It is indicative of the unique structure of the Carolingian Empire that one cannot draw clear distinctions between an assembly of the armed forces, a constitutional assembly of the nobility, and a church synod: juridical, military, and ecclesiastical affairs were invariably discussed at one and the same time by the representatives of the nobility and the clergy. Above them all towered the figure of Charlemagne. On the local level the ruler was represented in every region by counts and bishops. Liaison between these personages and the court was maintained through royal messengers who travelled about at Charles's command, usually in pairs made up of a civil servant and a clerical dignitary. Royal commands did not have to be written out, although Charles's decrees (capitularies) increasingly came to be recorded in writing, at first rather imprecisely, in the last two decades of his reign; the forms coined by the "renaissance" gained ground only with time. Charles respected the traditional rights of the various peoples and tribes under his dominion as a matter of principle, and, after he became emperor, he had many of them recorded. The capitularies served partly as complements to tribal laws, partly as regulations applying to the most disparate aspects of public and private life, and in part also as specific instructions issued to royal messengers, counts, bishops, and others. Punitive decrees against highwaymen, dispositions concerning military levies, orders for the people to take an oath of allegiance to the emperor or to teach all Christians to recite the Lord's Prayer, are found intermingled in the capitularies with jurisdictional dispositions and regulations about the internal organization of monasteries; temporal and spiritual problems are rarely treated separately. Taken as a whole, the legal documents of Charles's reign bear witness to a great concern, born of profound moral and religious convictions, with the administration of justice and with public enlightenment, but they also show discrepancies between the ideal and reality. Limitations of His Rule. Charles's organization of the empire was, however, not without its defects and limitations. The sovereign's power was restricted only by theoretical principles of law and custom, not by institutions or countervailing forces. Significantly, the records report little about opposition movements and conspiracies, which, in fact, did exist. A rebellion that Thuringian counts launched against Charles in 786 can perhaps be explained as ethnic opposition to the centralism of the Franks. More ominous was an aristocratic conspiracy that in 792 attempted to place on the throne the hunchback Pepin, Charles's only son from his first marriage, which was later declared invalid; yet here, too, the political concepts and motives remain unknown. These events and, more clearly still, the history of the empire under Charles's successor, Louis, show the extent to which the political system had been designed for one person on whose outstanding abilities everything depended and with whose disappearance it threatened to collapse. Their self-confidence enhanced by Charles's educational policy, the clergy could not accept for all time his theocracy without opposing it with their own political and religious principles. The temporal nobility that had built the empire with the Carolingians could be firmly tied to the dynasty only as long as new conquests held out the prospect of new spoils and fiefs; if these failed to materialize, there remained only the care of one's properties in the different regions and the hope of gaining advantages from party strife. External expansion, however, could not advance substantially beyond the borders reached by 800; in fact, economic and technical resources were insufficient to hold together and administer what had already been won and to defend it against foreign enemies. Charles's empire lacked the means by which the Romans had preserved theirs: a money economy, a paid civil service, a standing army, a properly maintained network of roads and communications, a navy for coastal defense. Already in Charles's lifetime, the coasts were being threatened by the Normans. In 806 Charles planned a division of the empire between his sons, but after the death of the elder two he crowned Louis of Aquitaine his coemperor and sole successor at Aachen in 813. It was only a few months later that Charles himself died there on January 28, 814. Personality and Influence. Charlemagne's posthumous fame shone the more brightly as the following generations were unable to preserve the empire's internal peace, its unity, and its international position. Even after the Carolingian dynasty had become extinct, political tradition in the East Frankish (German) kingdom and empire, as well as in the West Frankish (French) kingdom, drew sustenance from the example set by Charlemagne. Under Otto I, Aachen became the city in which the rulers of Duitsland were crowned, and, at Frederick I Barbarossa's request, the antipope Paschal III canonized Charlemagne in 1165. In France the Capetians, beginning with Philip II Augustus, revived the traditions that had grown up around Charlemagne. The controversial question whether the Germans or the French were the true successors of Charlemagne was kept alive through the Middle Ages and into modern times. Napoleon called himself Charlemagne's successor; after the end of World War II, discussions of a united, Christian, "occidental" Europe invoked his model. Hand in hand with these political traditions went those in popular legend and poetry, culminating in the Roland epics. Nor did Charlemagne's fame stop at the boundaries of what was once his empire; some Slavic languages derived their term for "king" from his name (Czech král, Polish król, etc.). Charles left no biographical document; his personality can be constructed only from his deeds and the reports left by contemporaries. This is how Einhard, who lived at the court from about 795 on, described Charlemagne's character and appearance in his famous Vita Karoli Magni: "He had a broad and strong body of unusual height, but well-proportioned; for his height measured seven times his feet. His skull was round, the eyes were lively and rather large, the nose of more than average length, the hair gray but full, the face friendly and cheerful. Seated or standing, he thus made a dignified and stately impression even though he had a thick, short neck and a belly that protruded somewhat; but this was hidden by the good proportions of the rest of his figure. He strode with firm step and held himself like a man; he spoke with a higher voice than one would have expected of someone of his build. He enjoyed good health except for being repeatedly plagued by fevers four years before his death. Toward the end he dragged one foot." The strength of Charlemagne's personality was evidently rooted in the unbroken conviction of being at one with the divine will. Without inward contradiction, he was able to combine personal piety with enjoyment of life, a religious sense of missionwith a strong will to power, rough manners with a striving for intellectual growth, and intransigence against his enemies with rectitude. In his politically conditioned religiosity, the empire and the church grew into an institutional and spiritual unit. Although his empire survived him by only one generation, it contributed decisively to the eventual reconstitution, in the mind of a western Europe fragmented since the end of the Roman Empire, of a common intellectual, religious, and political inheritance on which later centuries could draw. Charlemagne did not create this inheritance single-handedly, but one would be hard put to imagine it without him. One of the poets at his court called him rex pater Europae--"King father of Europe." In truth, there is no other man who similarly left his mark on European history during the centuries of the Middle Ages. Source: "Charlemagne" Britannica Online. [Accessed 10 February1998].

Biography of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne

aka Charles the Great. Had two more mistresses:

Adalind, son Theodric (807-818) a cleric.
unknown, son Richbod (800-844) abbott of St-Riquier.
King of the Lombards 774. Holy Roman Emperor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne
(Charles the Great) became master of Western Europe. It was falling
into decay when Charlemagne became joint king of the Franks in 768.
Except in the monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and
the arts. Boldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By
restoring the roots of learning and order, he preserved many political
rights and revived culture.
Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who
crushed the Saracens (see Charles Martel). Charlemagne was the elder
son of Bertrade ("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short, first "mayor
of the palace" to become king of the Franks. Although schools had
almost disappeared in the 8th century, historians believe that Bertrade
gave young Charles some education and that he learned to read. His
devotion to the church motivated him throughout life.
Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary,
Eginhard, wrote that Charlemagne had fair hair and a "face laughing and
merry . . . his appearance was always stately and dignified." He had a
ready wit, but could be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He
delighted in hunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress
linen shirt and breeches, a silk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with
bands, and, in winter, a tight coat of otter or marten skins. Over all
these garments "he flung a blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt
about him."
Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usual
penalty for defeat was death, Charlemagne several times spared the
lives of his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, after a Saxon
uprising, he ordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and
nobles to reform, but he divorced two of his four wives without any
cause. He forced kings and princes to kneel at his feet, yet his mother
and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman
inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771 Carloman died, and
Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the northern
half of Europe was still pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman
Catholic church was striving to assert its power against the Lombard
kingdom in Italy. In Charlemagne's own realm, the Franks were falling
back into barbarian ways, neglecting their education and religion.
Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring
order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-year campaign that conquered
and Christianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the north. He subdued
the Avars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the
rebellious Bavarian dukes to submit to him.
When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however.
For example, Charlemagne offered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius for
return of lands to the pope, but, when Desiderius refused, Charlemagne
seized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.
The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to
organize. During his reign he sent out more than 50 military
expeditions. He rode as commander at the head of at least half of them.
He moved his armies over wide reaches of country with unbelievable
speed, but every move was planned in advance. Before a campaign he told
the counts, princes, and bishops throughout his realm how many men they
should bring, what arms they were to carry, and even what to load in
the supply wagons. These feats of organization and the swift marches
later led Napoleon to study his tactics.
One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In
778 he led his army into Spain, where they laid siege to Saragossa.
They failed to take the city, and during their retreat a group of
Basques ambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles and killed "Count
Roland." Roland became a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see
Roland).
By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His
vast realm covered what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the
Nederland. It included half of present-day Italy and Duitsland, part of
Austria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to
the Ebro River. By thus establishing a central government over Western
Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire
and paved the way for the development of modern Europe.

Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in St.
Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III seized a golden crown from the altar and
placed it on the bowed head of the king. The throng in the church
shouted, "To Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific
emperor, long life and victory!"
Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation,
declaring that he would not have come into the church had he known the
pope's plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared
to act without Charlemagne's knowledge.
The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Though
Charlemagne did not use the title, he is considered the first Holy
Roman emperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance

Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed that
government should be for the benefit of the governed. When he came to
the throne, various local governors, called "counts," had become lax
and oppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators,
called missi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents called
capitularies and sent them out in teams of two a churchman and a noble.
They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting government,
administering justice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and
religious duties.
Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to
discuss its affairs. In all problems he was the final arbiter, even in
church issues, and he largely unified church and state.
Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his
people's lot in many ways. He set up money standards to encourage
commerce, tried to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged better farming
methods. He especially worked to spread education and Christianity in
every class of people.
He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up other
schools, opening them to peasant boys as well as nobles.
Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk,
Alcuin, and other scholars to his court. He learned to read Latin and
some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of
having jesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.
To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to
train his Frankish singers. To restore some appreciation of art, he
brought valuable pieces from Italy. An impressive monument to his
religious devotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where
he was buried (see Aachen).
At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, was
living. Louis's weak rule brought on the rise of civil wars and
revolts. After his death his three quarreling sons split the empire
between them by the Partition of Verdun in 843.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Charles the Great, with an unbending will to power, a readiness to fight
resolutely against external enemies, an ability to increase his domain through
a strength of character rooted in an unbroken conviction of being at one with
the divine will, did so unite in one superstate nearly all the Christian lands
of western Europe. He combined a personal piety with enjoyment of life, a
religious sense of mission with a strong will to power, rough manners with
intellectual growth, and intransigence against his enemies with rectitude.

aka Charles the Great. Had two more mistresses:

Adalind, son Theodric (807-818) a cleric.
unknown, son Richbod (800-844) abbott of St-Riquier.
King of the Lombards 774. Holy Roman Emperor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne
(Charles the Great) became master of Western Europe. It was falling
into decay when Charlemagne became joint king of the Franks in 768.
Except in the monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and
the arts. Boldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By
restoring the roots of learning and order, he preserved many political
rights and revived culture.
Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who
crushed the Saracens (see Charles Martel). Charlemagne was the elder
son of Bertrade ("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short, first "mayor
of the palace" to become king of the Franks. Although schools had
almost disappeared in the 8th century, historians believe that Bertrade
gave young Charles some education and that he learned to read. His
devotion to the church motivated him throughout life.
Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary,
Eginhard, wrote that Charlemagne had fair hair and a "face laughing and
merry . . . his appearance was always stately and dignified." He had a
ready wit, but could be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He
delighted in hunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress
linen shirt and breeches, a silk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with
bands, and, in winter, a tight coat of otter or marten skins. Over all
these garments "he flung a blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt
about him."
Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usual
penalty for defeat was death, Charlemagne several times spared the
lives of his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, after a Saxon
uprising, he ordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and
nobles to reform, but he divorced two of his four wives without any
cause. He forced kings and princes to kneel at his feet, yet his mother
and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman
inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771 Carloman died, and
Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the northern
half of Europe was still pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman
Catholic church was striving to assert its power against the Lombard
kingdom in Italy. In Charlemagne's own realm, the Franks were falling
back into barbarian ways, neglecting their education and religion.
Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring
order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-year campaign that conquered
and Christianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the north. He subdued
the Avars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the
rebellious Bavarian dukes to submit to him.
When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however.
For example, Charlemagne offered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius for
return of lands to the pope, but, when Desiderius refused, Charlemagne
seized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.
The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to
organize. During his reign he sent out more than 50 military
expeditions. He rode as commander at the head of at least half of them.
He moved his armies over wide reaches of country with unbelievable
speed, but every move was planned in advance. Before a campaign he told
the counts, princes, and bishops throughout his realm how many men they
should bring, what arms they were to carry, and even what to load in
the supply wagons. These feats of organization and the swift marches
later led Napoleon to study his tactics.
One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In
778 he led his army into Spain, where they laid siege to Saragossa.
They failed to take the city, and during their retreat a group of
Basques ambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles and killed "Count
Roland." Roland became a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see
Roland).
By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His
vast realm covered what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the
Nederland. It included half of present-day Italy and Duitsland, part of
Austria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to
the Ebro River. By thus establishing a central government over Western
Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire
and paved the way for the development of modern Europe.

Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in St.
Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III seized a golden crown from the altar and
placed it on the bowed head of the king. The throng in the church
shouted, "To Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific
emperor, long life and victory!"
Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation,
declaring that he would not have come into the church had he known the
pope's plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared
to act without Charlemagne's knowledge.
The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Though
Charlemagne did not use the title, he is considered the first Holy
Roman emperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance

Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed that
government should be for the benefit of the governed. When he came to
the throne, various local governors, called "counts," had become lax
and oppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators,
called missi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents called
capitularies and sent them out in teams of two a churchman and a noble.
They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting government,
administering justice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and
religious duties.
Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to
discuss its affairs. In all problems he was the final arbiter, even in
church issues, and he largely unified church and state.
Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his
people's lot in many ways. He set up money standards to encourage
commerce, tried to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged better farming
methods. He especially worked to spread education and Christianity in
every class of people.
He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up other
schools, opening them to peasant boys as well as nobles.
Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk,
Alcuin, and other scholars to his court. He learned to read Latin and
some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of
having jesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.
To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to
train his Frankish singers. To restore some appreciation of art, he
brought valuable pieces from Italy. An impressive monument to his
religious devotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where
he was buried (see Aachen).
At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, was
living. Louis's weak rule brought on the rise of civil wars and
revolts. After his death his three quarreling sons split the empire
between them by the Partition of Verdun in 843.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Charles the Great, with an unbending will to power, a readiness to fight
resolutely against external enemies, an ability to increase his domain through
a strength of character rooted in an unbroken conviction of being at one with
the divine will, did so unite in one superstate nearly all the Christian lands
of western Europe. He combined a personal piety with enjoyment of life, a
religious sense of mission with a strong will to power, rough manners with
intellectual growth, and intransigence against his enemies with rectitude.

He was co-king of Franks with elder brother Charlemagne in 754 and King of
the East Franks from 768-771. Note about Charlemagne: Besides expanding the
political power of his empire, Charles brought a cutural renaissance in his
empire. Although this imperium survived its founder by one generation, the
medevial kingdoms of France and Gemany derived all their constitutional
traditions from Charles's monarchy. Throughout medieval Europe, the person of
Charles I was considered the prototype of a Christian king and emperor.

keizer

keizer

!DESCENT: Frederick Lewis Weis and Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., Ancestral Roots
of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700, 7th ed., at 163
(1992). Line 50-13, 190-13.

He was annointed King along with his brother by Pope Stephen III at Saint-Denis in 754. After his father's death, Charles took possession of his half of the kingdom, the western portion, on Oct. 9, 768. After Carloman's death, he annexed his kingdom.
He waged his first campaign against the pagan Saxons in retaliation for a raid in 772. He invaded Italy to aid the Pope and defeated theLombards under Desideratus in 774, he suppressed a Lombard revolt in 775.
His intervention in Spain to chastise the Moors was repulsed by the fortifications at Saragossa in 778, and his rearguard, commanded by his nephew Roland, was ambushed and destroyed by Basques at the pass of Roncesvalles near Burguete in 778. This story was later romantized as "The Song of Roland".
Goaded by fierce Saxon resistance, he determined to conquer Saxony and began a series of brutal campaigns. He founded the bishopric of Bremen in 781. He defeated them at the battles of Detmold and the Hase in 783, and wintered in Saxony, finally achieving the submission of the Saxon chieftain, Widukind, in 785.
Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usual penalty for defeat was death, Charlemagne several times spared the lives of his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, after a Saxon uprising, he ordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded.
He directed several further campaigns, especially after a revolt in793, but by 798 most of the tribes were subdued.
He drove Duke Tossila III out of Bavaria and annexed it in 788. soon after, he was drawn into war against the marauding Avars on the middle Danube plain and defeated them gradually annexing their territory as far as Lake Balaton and northern Croatia by 803.
He had invaded Spain again in 796 and captured Barcelona in 801.
He was crowned Emperor in Rome on Christmas Day in 800 by Pope Leo III in recognition of his power and achievements.
He waged a desultory and inconclusive war with the Byzantines for control of Venizia (Venice) and the Dalmation coast between 802 and 812 which ended with a negotiated peace and Byzantine recognition of his Imperial title.
The last years of his reign were relatively quiet. Charles died after four years of failing health, from pleurisy, and is buried in the chapel at Aachen (now part of the cathedral) (Aachen = Aix la Chapelle).
Physically imposing, a contemporary account states that he was almost seven feet in height, in an era when few men were even six feet - "large and strong, and of lofty stature, though not disproportionately tall...the upper part of his head was round, his eyes very large and animated, nose a little long, hair fair, and face laughing and merry." He was warm, outgoing and athletic. and highly intelligent, he was a ruler of extraordinary abilities. He delighted in hunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress--linen shirt and breeches, a silk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter, a tight coat of otter or marten skins. Over all these garments "he flung a blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him." He was a superb military organizer, his campaigns demonstrate determination, imagination,consistent strategy and excellent logistics. He compelled the clergy and nobles to reform, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. He forced kings and princes to kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household. Through his administrative reforms he sought to bring unity and order to his realm, especially through the "missi dominici" administrative circuit riders. He also propounded art and learning, but most of his cultural and administrative initiatives lapsed after his death. He was rightly known as "a light in the Dark Ages".

["Almanach de Gotha"]
The Empire of the Germans was founded by Charles the Great (Charlemagne), whose coronation on Christmas Day 800 gave Papal approval to the unification of France, most of modern Duitsland, Nederland, Belgium and Luxembourg, and northern Italy under his rule. Although his male line descendants had died out within little more than a century, Charlemagne is the ancestor of every existing Christian European ruling or former ruling dynasty. The only modern survivors of the Empire are the ecclesiastical Princes - the German Archbishops and Bishops - and the Sovereign Princes of Liechtenstein. With the death of Charlemagne no ruler until Napoleon ever held sway over his lands and the Imperial title became the legacy of the Germans.

[Excerpts from Wikipedia, "Charlemagne", retrieved 4 Oct 07]
Charlemagne (Latin: Carolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) (742/747 - 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800, in an attempted revival of the Roman Empire in the West. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define Western Europe and the Middle Ages. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture.

His original name in the Old Frankish language was never recorded, but early instances of his name in Latin read "Carolus" or "Karolus". The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman until the latter's death in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at Roncesvalles (778). He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty.

Today regarded by some as the founding father of both France and Duitsland and sometimes as the Father of Europe, he was the first ruler of a Western European empire since the fall of the Roman Empire. H. G. Wells said in his Short History of the World:

"Charlemagne, who began to reign in 768, found himself lord of a realm so large that he could think of reviving the title of Latin Emperor. He conquered North Italy and made himself master of Rome."

Personal traits

Date and place of birth
Charlemagne is traditionally believed to have been born on April 2, 742; however, several factors have led to a reconsideration of this date. First, the year 742 was calculated from his age given at death, rather than from attestation in primary sources. Another date is given in the Annales Petarienses, April 1, 747. In that year, April 1 was at Easter. The birth of an emperor at eastertime is a coincidence likely to provoke comment, but there was no such comment documented in 747, leading some to suspect that the Easter birthday was a pious fiction concocted as a way of honoring the Emperor. Other commentators weighing the primary records have suggested that his birth was one year later, in 748. At present, it is impossible to be certain of the date of the birth of Charlemagne. The best guesses include April 1, 747, after April 15, 747, or April 1, 748, in Herstal (where his father was born), a city close to Liège, in Belgium, the region from where both the Merovingian and Carolingian families originate. He went to live in his father's villa in Jupille when he was around seven, which caused Jupille to be listed as a possible place of birth in almost every history book. Other cities have been suggested, including, Prüm, Düren, Gauting and Aachen.

Names of Charlemagne
Because of the number of languages spoken within his Empire, Charlemagne's name has been preserved in many different languages in different forms. The language of Charlemagne itself does not exist anymore, but evolved into the Franconian languages. "Charles" derives from a Germanic stem meaning "man" or "free man".[5] It is related to the English "churl". In many Slavic languages, the very word for "king" derives from Charles' Slavicised name.

Modern variants in Germanic languages (except English) are:

Danish, Norwegian and Swedish: Karl den Store
Dutch: Karel de Grote
Frisian: Karel de Grutte
German: Karl der Große
Luxembourgish: Karel de Groussen
The Germanic name was Latinised (Latin: Carolus Magnus) and preserved in the modern Romance languages (as well as English):

Catalan: Carlemany
French: Charlemagne and Charles le Grand, from the Old French Charles le Magne
Italian: Carlo Magno and Carlomagno
Portuguese: Carlos Magno
Spanish: Carlomagno
Walloon: Tchårlumagne and Tchåle li Grand
Modern variants in and the Slavic languages influenced by the Germanic name are:

Croatian: Karlo Veliki
Czech: Karel Veliký
Polish: Karol Wielki
Slovak: Karol Velký
Slovenian: Karel Veliki
The Breton variant is Karl-Veur.

The Germanic variants (den Store, de Grote, de Grutte, der Große, and de Groussen) also refer to the fact that Charlemagne was tall (seven of his own feet, or 1.93 m (6 ft 4))[6]. Names of other Carolingian rulers also refer to their physical features. For example Pippin the Short, Charles the Bald, Charles the Fat, Louis the Blind, and Louis the Child.

Personal appearance

Though no description from Charlemagne's lifetime exists, his personal appearance is known from a good description by Einhard, author of the biographical Vita Caroli Magni. He is well known to have been tall, stately, and fair-haired, with a disproportionately thick neck. His skeleton was measured during the 18th century and his height was determined to be 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in [3]), and as Einhard tells it in his twenty-second chapter:

Charles was large and strong, and of lofty stature, though not disproportionately tall (his height is well known to have been seven times the length of his foot); the upper part of his head was round, his eyes very large and animated, nose a little long, hair fair, and face laughing and merry. Thus his appearance was always stately and dignified, whether he was standing or sitting; although his neck was thick and somewhat short, and his belly rather prominent; but the symmetry of the rest of his body concealed these defects. His gait was firm, his whole carriage manly, and his voice clear, but not so strong as his size led one to expect.

The Roman tradition of realistic personal portraiture was in complete eclipse at this time, where individual traits were submerged in iconic typecastings. Charlemagne, as an ideal ruler, ought to be portrayed in the corresponding fashion, any contemporary would have assumed. The images of enthroned Charlemagne, God's representative on Earth, bear more connections to the icons of Christ in majesty than to modern (or antique) conceptions of portraiture. Charlemagne in later imagery (as in the Dürer portrait) is often portrayed with flowing blond hair, due to a misunderstanding of Einhard, who describes Charlemagne as having canitie pulchra, or "beautiful white hair", which has been rendered as blonde or fair in many translations. The Latin word for blond is flavus, and rutilo, meaning auburn, is the word Tacitus uses for the hair of Germanic peoples.

Rise to power

Early life
Charlemagne was the eldest child of Pippin the Short (714 - 24 September 768, reigned from 751) and his wife Bertrada of Laon (720 - 12 July 783), daughter of Caribert of Laon and Bertrada of Keulen. The reliable records name only Carloman and Gisela as his younger siblings. Later accounts, however, indicate that Redburga, wife of King Egbert of Wessex, might have been his sister (or sister-in-law or niece), and the legendary material makes him Roland's maternal uncle through a lady Bertha.

Much of what is known of Charlemagne's life comes from his biographer, Einhard, who wrote a Vita Caroli Magni (or Vita Karoli Magni), the Life of Charlemagne. Einhard says of the early life of Charles:

"It would be folly, I think, to write a word concerning Charles' birth and infancy, or even his boyhood, for nothing has ever been written on the subject, and there is no one alive now who can give information on it. Accordingly, I determined to pass that by as unknown, and to proceed at once to treat of his character, his deed, and such other facts of his life as are worth telling and setting forth, and shall first give an account of his deed at home and abroad, then of his character and pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know."

On the death of Pippin, the kingdom of the Franks was divided - following tradition - between Charlemagne and Carloman. Charles took the outer parts of the kingdom, bordering on the sea, namely Neustria, western Aquitaine, and the northern parts of Austrasia, while Carloman retained the inner parts: southern Austrasia, Septimania, eastern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence, and Swabia, lands bordering on Italy. Perhaps Pippin regarded Charlemagne as the better warrior, but Carloman may have regarded himself as the more deserving son, being the son, not of a mayor of the palace, but of a king.

Joint rule
On 9 October, immediately after the funeral of their father, both the kings withdrew from Saint Denis to be proclaimed by their nobles and consecrated by the bishops, Charlemagne in Noyon and Carloman in Soissons.

The first event of the brothers' reign was the rising of the Aquitainians and Gascons, in 769, in that territory split between the two kings. Years before Pippin had suppressed the revolt of Waifer, Duke of Aquitaine. Now, one Hunald (seemingly other than Hunald the duke) led the Aquitainians as far north as Angoulême. Charlemagne met Carloman, but Carloman refused to participate and returned to Burgundy. Charlemagne went to war, leading an army to Bordeaux, where he set up a camp at Fronsac. Hunold was forced to flee to the court of Duke Lupus II of Gascony. Lupus, fearing Charlemagne, turned Hunold over in exchange for peace. He was put in a monastery. Aquitaine was finally fully subdued by the Franks.

The brothers maintained lukewarm relations with the assistance of their mother Bertrada, but Charlemagne signed a treaty with Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and married a daughter of King Desiderius of the Lombards who may have been named Gerperga in order to surround Carloman with his own allies. Though Pope Stephen III first opposed the marriage with the Lombard princess, he would have little to fear of a Frankish-Lombard alliance in a few months.

Charlemagne repudiated his wife and quickly married another, a 13-year-old Swabian named Hildegard. The repudiated Gerperga returned to her father's court at Pavia. The Lombard's wrath was now aroused and he would gladly have allied with Carloman to defeat Charles. But before war could break out, Carloman died on 5 December 771. Carloman's wife Gerberga (often confused by contemporary historians with Charlemagne's former wife, who probably shared her name) fled to Desiderius' court with her sons for protection. This action is usually considered either a sign of Charlemagne's enmity or Gerberga's confusion.

Charles and his children
During the first peace of any substantial length (780?782), Charles began to appoint his sons to positions of authority within the realm, in the tradition of the kings and mayors of the past. In 780, he had disinherited his eldest son, Pippin the Hunchback, because the young man had joined a rebellion against him. Pippin had been duped, through flattery, into joining a rebellion of nobles who pretended to despise Charles' treatment of Himiltrude, Pippin's mother, in 770. Charles renamed his son Carloman as Pippin to keep the name alive in the dynasty. In 781, he made his oldest three sons kings. The eldest, Charles, received the kingdom of Neustria, containing the regions of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine. The second eldest, Pippin, was made king of Italy, taking the Iron Crown which his father had first worn in 774. His third eldest son, Louis, became king of Aquitaine. He tried to make his sons a true Neustrian, Italian, and Aquitainian and he gave their regents some control of their subkingdoms, but real power was always in his hands, though he intended each to inherit their realm some day.

The sons fought many wars on behalf of their father when they came of age. Charles was mostly preoccupied with the Bretons, whose border he shared and who insurrected on at least two occasions and were easily put down, but he was also sent against the Saxons on multiple occasions. In 805 and 806, he was sent into the Böhmerwald (modern Bohemia) to deal with the Slavs living there (Czechs). He subjected them to Frankish authority and devastated the valley of the Elbe, forcing a tribute on them. Pippin had to hold the Avar and Beneventan borders, but also fought the Slavs to his north. He was uniquely poised to fight the Byzantine Empire when finally that conflict arose after Charlemagne's imperial coronation and a Venetian rebellion. Finally, Louis was in charge of the Spanish March and also went to southern Italy to fight the duke of Benevento on at least one occasion. He took Barcelona in a great siege in the year 797 (see below).

It is difficult to understand Charlemagne's attitude toward his daughters. None of them contracted a sacramental marriage. This may have been an attempt to control the number of potential alliances. Charlemagne certainly refused to believe the stories (mostly true) of their wild behaviour. After his death the surviving daughters entered or were forced to enter nunneries by their own brother, the pious Louis. At least one of them, Bertha, had a recognised relationship, if not a marriage, with Angilbert, a member of Charlemagne's court circle.

Death
In 813, Charlemagne called Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine, his only surviving legitimate son, to his court. There he crowned him as his heir and sent him back to Aquitaine. He then spent the autumn hunting before returning to Aachen on 1 November. In January, he fell ill with pleurisy (Einhard 59). He took to his bed on 21 January and as Einhard tells it:

He died January twenty-eighth, the seventh day from the time that he took to his bed, at nine o'clock in the morning, after partaking of the Holy Communion, in the seventy-second year of his age and the forty-seventh of his reign.
When Charlemagne died in 28 January 814, he was buried in his own Cathedral at Aachen. He was succeeded by his surviving son, Louis, who had been crowned the previous year. His empire lasted only another generation in its entirety; its division, according to custom, between Louis's own sons after their father's death laid the foundation for the modern states of France and Duitsland.

Marriages and heirs
Charlemagne had seventeen children over the course of his life time with three of his five wives and with five of his concubines.

- His first wife was Himiltrude, married in 766. The marriage was never formally annulled. By her he had:
-- Pippin the Hunchback (767-813)
- His second wife was Gerperga (often erroneously called Desiderata or Desideria), daughter of Desiderius, king of the Lombards, married in 768, annulled in 771.
- His third wife was Hildegard (757 or 758-783 or 784), married 771, died 784. By her he had nine children:
-- Charles the Younger (772 or 773-811), King of the Franks administering Neustria
-- Adelaide (773 or 774-774)
-- Carloman, renamed Pippin (773 or 777-810), King of Italy
-- Rotrude (or Hruodrud) (777-810)
-- Louis (778-840), twin of Lothair, King of the Franks since 781, administering Aquitaine during his father's lifetime, since 814 sole King and Holy Roman Emperor
-- Lothair (778-779 or 780), twin of Louis
-- Bertha (779-823)
-- Gisela (781-808)
-- Hildegarde (782-783)
- His fourth wife was Fastrada, married 784, died 794. By her he had:
-- Theodrada (b.784), abbess of Argenteuil
-- Hiltrude (b.787)
- His fifth and favourite wife was Luitgard, married 794, died childless.

Concubinages and illegitimate children
- His first known concubine was Gersuinda. By her he had:
-- Adaltrude (b.774)
- His second known concubine was Madelgard. By her he had:
-- Ruodhaid (775-810), abbess of Faremoutiers
- His third known concubine was Amaltrud of Vienne. By her he had:
-- Alpaida (b.794)
- His fourth known concubine was Regina. By her he had:
-- Drogo (801-855), bishop of Metz from 823 and abbot of Luxeuil Abbey
-- Hugh (802-844), archchancellor of the Empire
- His fifth known concubine was Ethelind. By her he had:
-- Richbod (805-844) Abbott of Saint-Riquier
-- Theodoric (b.807)

Charlemagne, or "Charles the Great, Carolingian King" of the Franks, came to rule over most of Europe and assumed (800) the title of Roman Emperor. He is sometimes regarded as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire. Charlemagne was probably born in 742 at Aachen. In 768 he and his brother Carloman inherited the Frankish kingdom (most of present-day France and a part of western Duitsland) from their father Pepin "The Shore". The entire kingdom passed to Charlemagne when Carloman died in 771.

Charlemagne inherited great wealth and a strong military organization from his father and brother. He used these assets to double the territory under Carolingian control. In 772 he opened his offensive against the Saxons, and for more than three decades he pursued a ruthless policy aimed at subjugating them and converting them to Christianity. Almost every year Charlemagne attacked one or another region of Saxon territory. Mass executions-- 4,500 Saxons were executed on a single day in 782--and deportations were used to discourage the stubborn. The Saxons proved to be a far more difficult enemy than any of the other peoples subjugated by Charlemagne. For example, the Lombards were conquered in a single extended campaign (773-74), after which Charlemagne assumed the title "King of the Lombards." In 788 he absorbed the duchy of . Bavaria, and soon thereafter he launched an offensive against the Avar empire. The Avars succumbed within a decade, yielding Charlemagne a vast hoard of gold and silver. After one disastrous campaign (778) against the Muslims in Spain, Charlemagne left the southwestern front to his son Louis.

The latter (later Emperor Louis I), with the help of local Christian rulers, conquered Barcelona in 801 and controlled much of Catalonia by 814. On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne accepted the title of emperor and was crowned by Pope LEO III. For several years after he regarded the imperial title of being of little value. Moreover, he intended to divide his lands and titles among his sons, as was the Frankish custom. At his death on Jan. 28, 814, however, only one son, Louis, survived; Louis therefore assumed control of the entire Frankish empire.

The internal organization of Charlemagne's empire varied from region to region. In much of what is today France, and especially in the south, the old Roman civitates (fortified cities) served as the focus of most important aspects of political, military, religious, and social organization. Both the count of the city, appointed by Charlemagne as his representative, and the bishop made their respective headquarters in the civitas. The count or his agent led the local army, and the walls of the civitates afforded protection for the inhabitants both of the city and the nearby countryside. In those parts of the empire that had not been part of the Roman world, Charlemagne made an effort to impose a similar system. He divided newly conquered lands into pagi (districts), which were placed under the jurisdiction of counts who exercised the same kind of administrative powers of their counterparts to the west. Charlemagne also sought to establish these new pagi as dioceses. In frontier areas, Charlemagne often established districts that were essentially military in their purpose and organization; these were called marks or marches. Local customs were everywhere perpetuated by recognition of traditional laws. The laws, some unwritten, of each of the various peoples of the Carolingian empire, such as Salian Franks, Ripuarian Franks, Romans, Saxons, Lombards, Bavarians, Thuringians, and Jews, were codified and/or modified if local codes already existed, they were recognized.

This judicial autonomy enjoyed by the several peoples of the empire indicates the diversity that not only existed but also flourished under Charlemagne. The emperor did, however, legislate to provide a system by which these various peoples could interact with each other. The central administration of the empire, like the local administrations, was rudimentary. A palatine court followed Charlemagne on his numerous campaigns; during the later years of his life, when he remained at AACHEN, the court stayed there. Charlemagne also sent missi dominici, high-ranking agents of the central government, from the court to see that his orders, often cast in the form of capitularies (ordinances divided into capitula, or chapters), were enforced. As part of his administrative efforts, Charlemagne sought to standardize weights, measures, and coinage. He also made an attempt to control and develop trade. To these ends he strongly encouraged the development of Jewish communities.

Charlemagne's concern for administration and his interest in seeing the church function effectively led him to encourage a rudimentary educational system based in monasteries. Thus a small group of clerical and lay administrators attained a useful level of literacy. Charlemagne left the development and implementation of this system largely to Alcuin. The latter's work led to what some scholars have called the Carolingian Renaissance. At Charlemagne's court a group of scholars was gathered that included men from England, Spain, and Italy, as well as native Franks and probably Jews.

Charlemagne has been credited with great political and humanitarian vision and a devout religious bent; as a result, some have been led to think of his military ventures as crusades. In fact, he was a gluttonous and superstitious illiterate, or semiliterate, who had a considerable capacity for brutality. His accomplishments were due mostly to the energy with which he pursued his military goals and the ruthlessness with which he treated any opponents. Nonetheless, his achievements were considerable, and the effect of his conquests was to spread Roman Christianity across central Europe.

Einhard, Charlemagne's biographer, describes him as 6'3.5", short neck, with a slight paunch in his later years. He was strong and towered over other men. He believed in moderation, disliked drunkards, and fasting. Feasting was fine in moderation. A natural person, he disliked fuss and chastised his men for hunting in silks instead of leathers. He genuinely liked people and ideas. Charlemagne's empire was inherited by his only surviving son, Louis the Pious. His grandsons split the territory between them. Louis the German's territory will be the basis of modern Duitsland. Charles the Bald inherited what will become France. The strip between them which included Italy was inherited by Lothar. He died first and the French and Germans have fought over control of his section which included Alsace Lorraine into the twentieth century. Many towns in this area including Aachen(Aix la Chapelle) have two names, one French and one German.

Charlemagne, or "Charles the Great, Carolingian King" of the Franks, came to rule over most of Europe and assumed (800) the title of Roman Emperor. He is sometimes regarded as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire. Charlemagne was probably born in 742 at Aachen. In 768 he and his brother Carloman inherited the Frankish kingdom (most of present-day France and a part of western Duitsland) from their father Pepin "The Shore". The entire kingdom passed to Charlemagne when Carloman died in 771.

Charlemagne inherited great wealth and a strong military organization from his father and brother. He used these assets to double the territory under Carolingian control. In 772 he opened his offensive against the Saxons, and for more than three decades he pursued a ruthless policy aimed at subjugating them and converting them to Christianity. Almost every year Charlemagne attacked one or another region of Saxon territory. Mass executions-- 4,500 Saxons were executed on a single day in 782--and deportations were used to discourage the stubborn. The Saxons proved to be a far more difficult enemy than any of the other peoples subjugated by Charlemagne. For example, the Lombards were conquered in a single extended campaign (773-74), after which Charlemagne assumed the title "King of the Lombards." In 788 he absorbed the duchy of . Bavaria, and soon thereafter he launched an offensive against the Avar empire. The Avars succumbed within a decade, yielding Charlemagne a vast hoard of gold and silver. After one disastrous campaign (778) against the Muslims in Spain, Charlemagne left the southwestern front to his son Louis.

The latter (later Emperor Louis I), with the help of local Christian rulers, conquered Barcelona in 801 and controlled much of Catalonia by 814. On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne accepted the title of emperor and was crowned by Pope LEO III. For several years after he regarded the imperial title of being of little value. Moreover, he intended to divide his lands and titles among his sons, as was the Frankish custom. At his death on Jan. 28, 814, however, only one son, Louis, survived; Louis therefore assumed control of the entire Frankish empire.

The internal organization of Charlemagne's empire varied from region to region. In much of what is today France, and especially in the south, the old Roman civitates (fortified cities) served as the focus of most important aspects of political, military, religious, and social organization. Both the count of the city, appointed by Charlemagne as his representative, and the bishop made their respective headquarters in the civitas. The count or his agent led the local army, and the walls of the civitates afforded protection for the inhabitants both of the city and the nearby countryside. In those parts of the empire that had not been part of the Roman world, Charlemagne made an effort to impose a similar system. He divided newly conquered lands into pagi (districts), which were placed under the jurisdiction of counts who exercised the same kind of administrative powers of their counterparts to the west. Charlemagne also sought to establish these new pagi as dioceses. In frontier areas, Charlemagne often established districts that were essentially military in their purpose and organization; these were called marks or marches. Local customs were everywhere perpetuated by recognition of traditional laws. The laws, some unwritten, of each of the various peoples of the Carolingian empire, such as Salian Franks, Ripuarian Franks, Romans, Saxons, Lombards, Bavarians, Thuringians, and Jews, were codified and/or modified if local codes already existed, they were recognized.

This judicial autonomy enjoyed by the several peoples of the empire indicates the diversity that not only existed but also flourished under Charlemagne. The emperor did, however, legislate to provide a system by which these various peoples could interact with each other. The central administration of the empire, like the local administrations, was rudimentary. A palatine court followed Charlemagne on his numerous campaigns; during the later years of his life, when he remained at AACHEN, the court stayed there. Charlemagne also sent missi dominici, high-ranking agents of the central government, from the court to see that his orders, often cast in the form of capitularies (ordinances divided into capitula, or chapters), were enforced. As part of his administrative efforts, Charlemagne sought to standardize weights, measures, and coinage. He also made an attempt to control and develop trade. To these ends he strongly encouraged the development of Jewish communities.

Charlemagne's concern for administration and his interest in seeing the church function effectively led him to encourage a rudimentary educational system based in monasteries. Thus a small group of clerical and lay administrators attained a useful level of literacy. Charlemagne left the development and implementation of this system largely to Alcuin. The latter's work led to what some scholars have called the Carolingian Renaissance. At Charlemagne's court a group of scholars was gathered that included men from England, Spain, and Italy, as well as native Franks and probably Jews.

Charlemagne has been credited with great political and humanitarian vision and a devout religious bent; as a result, some have been led to think of his military ventures as crusades. In fact, he was a gluttonous and superstitious illiterate, or semiliterate, who had a considerable capacity for brutality. His accomplishments were due mostly to the energy with which he pursued his military goals and the ruthlessness with which he treated any opponents. Nonetheless, his achievements were considerable, and the effect of his conquests was to spread Roman Christianity across central Europe.

Einhard, Charlemagne's biographer, describes him as 6'3.5", short neck, with a slight paunch in his later years. He was strong and towered over other men. He believed in moderation, disliked drunkards, and fasting. Feasting was fine in moderation. A natural person, he disliked fuss and chastised his men for hunting in silks instead of leathers. He genuinely liked people and ideas. Charlemagne's empire was inherited by his only surviving son, Louis the Pious. His grandsons split the territory between them. Louis the German's territory will be the basis of modern Duitsland. Charles the Bald inherited what will become France. The strip between them which included Italy was inherited by Lothar. He died first and the French and Germans have fought over control of his section which included Alsace Lorraine into the twentieth century. Many towns in this area including Aachen(Aix la Chapelle) have two names, one French and one German.

KING PEPIN AND HIS QUEEN, BIG-FOOT BERHTA, (BERTHE AU GRAND PIED), HA D ASON,
CHARLEMAGNE, CHARLES THE GREAT. GREAT HE WAS BY RECKONING-GREAT INPHYS IQUE, IN
PROWEASA, IN PURPOSE , IN INTELLIGENCE, IN INDUSTRY. HIS SKELTON SHOW S HIS
HEIGHT TO HAVE BEEN SIX FOOT FOUR INCHES; HE TOWERED ABOIVE THE LITTLE MEN OF
HIS TIME. HIS HAIR WAS FLAXEN, HIS HEAD ROUND, HIS EYES LARGE ANDVIVAC IOUS,
HIS NECK THICK AND SHORT. HE WORE A DROOPING FRANKISH MUSTACHE, NOT TH EFLOWINF
BEARD OF LEGEND. THOUGH NORMALLY TEMPERATE IN EATING AND DRINKING, HED EVELOPED
A PAUNCH IN LATER LIFE. HIS VOICE WAS HIGH-PITCHED;HE WAS INCLINED TOS PUTTER
IN HIS SPEECH. HE LOVED HUNTING AND VIOLENT GAMES, AND PURSUED THE BIS ONAND
THE AUROCH INT HE EASTERN FORESTS. HE WAS SAID TO BE THE BEST SWIMMER INHIS
KINGDOM; HE HAD A GREAT MARBLE POOL AT HIS PALACE IN AACHEN THAT WOULD HOLD A
HUNDRED BATHERS. HE WAS EXTREMELY AMOROUS. HE HATED POMP, CEREMONIES A ND
BANQUETS. HE WAS HEARTY AND INFORMAL AND INVITED EVERYONE, NO MATTER W HATHIS
RANK, TO DINNER. HE WAS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL; ANYONE SEEKING JUSTICE WASI NVITED
TO RING A BELL AT HIS PALACE GATE. ACCORDING TO LEGEND, AN ABANDONEDHO RSE ONCE
DID SO AND THE EMEPEROR SOUGHT OUT THE HEARTLESS OWNER AND PUNISHED HI MFOR
DISCARDING A FAITHFUL SERVANT. HE ORDINARILY SPOKE GERMAN BUT WAS FLUE NTIN
LATINA ND KNEW A LITTLE GREEK. HE WAS FOND OF MUSIC AND TOOK PRIDE IN HISBOY'S
CHOIR. THE FIRST FOLKLORIST, HE COLLECTED OLD FRANKISH BALLADS, WHICH
UNFORTUNATLEY WERE DESTROYED BY HIS PIOUS SON. HE EVEN BEGAN COMPILIN G A
GRAMMER OF HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE. HE ALSO TRIED TO WRITE, AND USED TO KE EP
TABLETS AND BLANKS IN BED UNDER HIS PILLOW, THAT AT LEISURE HOURS HE M IGHT
ACCUSTOM HIS HAND TO FORM THE LETTERS' OWEVER, AS HE DID NOET BEGIN HI SEFFORTS
IN DUE SEASON, BUT LATE IN LIFE, THEY MET WITH ILL SUCCESS. SO SAYS HI SFRIEND
AND BIOGRAPHER, EINHARD.

Charlemagen, King of the Franks, Emperor of the Romans, was born on 2A pr. 742 in Aachen. Died 814 in Ais--la-Chapelle. Charlemagne, in Latin Caolus Magnus (Charles the Great) (742-814), king of the Franks (768-8 14)and Emperor of the Romans (800-814), who led his Frankish armies to victory over numerous other peoples and established his rule in most o fwestern and central Europe. He was best known and most influential ki ngin Europe in the Middle Ages.

Early Years

Charlemagns was born probably in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) on April 2,7 42, the son of Frankish King Peplin the Short and the grandson ofCharl es Martel. In 751 Pepin dethroned the las Merovingian king andassumed the royal title himself. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II in754. Besi des anointing Pepin, Pope Stephen anointed both Charlemagne andhis you nger brother Carloman (751-771)

Within the yar Pepin Invaded Italy to protect teh pope against theLomb ards and in 756 he again had to rush to the pope's aid. From 760 on,Pe pin main military efforts went into the conquest of Aquitaine, theland s south of the Loire River. Charlemagne accompanied his father onmost of these expeditions.

Campaigns

When Pepin died in 768, the rule of his realms was to be shared betwee nhis two sons. Charlemagne sought alliance with the Lombards by marryi ng(770) the daughter of their king, Desiderius (reigned 757-774). In 7 71Carloman died suddenly. Charlemagne then siezed his territoried, but Carloman's heirs took refuge at the court of Desiderius. By that timeC harlemagne had repudiated his wife, and Desidirius was no longerfriend ly. In 772 when Pope Adrian I appealed to CHarlemagene for helpagains t Desiderius, the Frankish king invaded Italy, deposed hiserstwhile fa ther-in-law (774) and himslef assumed the royal title. Hethen journeye d to Rome and reaffirmed his father's promise to protectpapal lands. A s early as 772 Charlemagne had fought onslaughts of theheathen Saxson s on his lands. Buoyed by his Italian success, he now (775)embarked o n a campaign to conquer and Christianize them. That campaignhad some i ntital success but was to drag on for 30 years, in which timehe conduc ted many other campaigns as well. He fought in Spain in 778; onthe ret urn trip his rear guard, led by Roland, was ambushed, a storyimmortali zed in The Song of Roland. In 788 he subjected the Bavarians tohis rul e, and between 791 and 796 Charlemagne's armies conquered theempire o f the Avar's ( corresponding roughly to modern Hungary andAustria)

Coronation

Having thus established Frankish rule over so many other peoples,Charl emagen had in fact built an empire and become emperor. It remainedonl y for him to add the title. On Christmas Day in 800, Charlemagne knelt to pray in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo III then placed acr own upon his head and the people assembled in the church acclaimed him the great, pacific emperor of the Romans.

Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reported that the king was surprise dby this coronation and that had he known it was going to happen, he w ouldnot have gone into thte church that day. This report has led to mu chspeculation by historians. Charlemagne prpbably desired and especte d toget the imperial title and he subsequently used it. In 813 he desi gnatedhis sole surviving son,Louis, as his successor and personally cr owned him.

Administration

Charlemagne established a more permanent royal capital than had any of his predecessors. His favorite residence form 794 on was atAix-la-Chap elle. He had a church and a palace constructed there and basedin part on architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At his courthe gath ered scholars from all over Europe, the most famous being theEnglish c leric Alcuin of York, whom he placed in charge of the palaceschool.

Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250 royaladministra tors called counts. Charlemagne issued hundreds of decrees,called capi tularies, dealing with a braod range of topics from judicialand milita ry matters to monastaries, education and the management ofroyal estate s.

The empire did not expand after 800; indeed, already in the 790's thes eacoasts and river valleys experienced the first, dreaded visits of th eVikings. Charlemagne ordered a special watch against them in everyhar bor, but with little effect. He died before their full, destructivefor ce was unleasehed on the empire.

Evaluation

Charlemagen is important not only for the number of his victories and thesize of his empire, but for the special blend fo tradition and inno vationthat he represented. On the one hand, he was a traditional Germa nicwarrior, who spent most of his adult life fighting. In the Saxoncam paigns he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retalitated againstrebe ls with merciless slaughter. On the other hand, he placed his immensep ower and prestige at the service of Christian doctrine, the monasticli fe, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule of law.H is life, held up as a model to most later kings, thus embodied thefusi on of Germanic, Roman and Chritian cultures that became the basis ofEu ropen civilization.

In 800 he restored Leo III to the Papacy and was crowned emperor by him on Christmas Day, thus laying the basis for the Holy Roman Empire and fina lizing the split between the Byzantine and Roman empires. Charlemagne ruled through a highly efficient administrative system. He codified the law in his various dominions and his court at Aachen was the center for an intellectual and artistic renaissance. The end of his reign was troubled by raids by the Norsemen. His son, Louis I, was named coemperor in 81 3 and succeeded on his father's death. Charlemagne''s legend soon enhanced and distorted his actual achievements, and he became the central figure of medieval romance cycle.
Charles the Great, King of France 767-814, Emperor of the West, 25 Dec 80 0-814; born in Aachen, Rhineland, Duitsland; died Aachen (Royalty, 130)
(Charles the Great) Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, CAROLINGIAN king of the FRANKS, came to rule over most of Europe and assumed (800) the title of Roman emperor. He is sometimes regarded as the founder of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE.
Charlemagne was probably born in 742 at Aachen. In 768 he and his brother Carloman inherited the Frankish kingdom (most of present-day France and a part of western Duitsland) from their father PEPIN THE SHORT. The entire kingdom passed to Charlem agne when Carloman died in 771.
CONQUESTS
Charlemagne inherited great wealth and a strong military organization fro m his father and brother. He used these assets to double the territory un der Carolingian control. In 772 he opened his offensive against the SAXONS, and for more than three decade s he pursued a ruthless policy aimed a t subjugating them and converting them to Christianity. Almost every year Charlemagne attacked one or another region of Saxon territory. Mass executions-- 4,500 Saxons were executed on a single day in 782-- and deportations were used to discourage the stubborn. The Saxons proved to be a far more difficult enemy than any of the other peoples subjugated by Charle magne. For example, the LOMBARDS were conquered in a single extended camp aign (773-74) , after which Charlemagne assumed the title "king of the Lombards." In 788 he absorbed the duchy of Bavaria, and soon thereafter h e launched an offensive against the AVAR empire.
The Avars succumbed within a decade, yielding Charlemagne a vast hoard o f gold and silver. After one disastrous campaign (778) against the Muslims in Spain, Charlemag ne left the southwestern front to his son Louis. The latter (later Emperor LOUIS I), with the help of local Christian rulers, conquered Barcelona in 801 and controlled much of Catalonia by 814. On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne accepted the title of emperor and was crowned by Pope LEO III. For several years after he regarded the imperial title of being of little value. Moreover, he intended to divide his lands and titles among his sons, as was the Frankish custom. At his death on Jan. 28, 814, however, only one son, Louis, survived; Louis therefore assumed control of t he entire Frankish empire.
The internal organization of Charlemagne's empire varied from region to region. In much of what is today France, and especially in the south, the old Roman civitates (fortified cities) served as the focus of most important aspects of political, military, religious, and social organization . Both the count of the city, appointed by Charlemagne as his representative, and the bishop made their respective headquarters in the civitas. The count or his agent led the local army, and the walls of the civitates a fforded protection for the inhabitants both of the city and the nearby countryside. In those parts of the empire that had not been part of the Rom an world, Charlemagne made an effort to impose a similar system. He divided
newly conquered lands into pagi (districts), which were placed under the jurisdiction of counts who exercised the same kind of administrative powers of their counterparts to the west. Charlemagne also sought to establish these new pagi as dioceses.
In frontier areas, Charlemagne often established districts that were essentially military in their purpose and organization; these were called marks or marches. Local customs were everywhere perpetuated by recognition of traditional laws. The la ws, some unwritten, of each of the various peo ples of the Carolingian empire, such as Salian Franks, Ripuarian Franks , Romans, Saxons, Lombards, Bavarians, Thuringians, and Jews, were codifi ed and/or modified if local codes already existed, the y were recognized . This judicial autonomy enjoyed by the several peoples of the empire ind icates the diversity that not only existed but also flourished under Char lemagne. The emperor did, however, legislate to provide a system by whic h these vari ous peoples could interact with each other. The central admi nistration of the empire, like the local administrations, was rudimentary . A palatine court followed Charlemagne on his numerous campaigns; durin g the later years of his life, when he rem ained at AACHEN, the court sta yed there. Charlemagne also sent missi dominici, high-ranking agents of t he central government, from the court to see that his orders, often cas t in the form of capitularies (ordinances divided into capitula, or chap t ers), were enforced. As part of his administrative efforts, Charlemagn e sought to standardize weights, measuresand coinage. He also made an att empt to control and develop trade. To these ends he strongly encouraged t he development of Jewish communities.
harlemagne's concern for administration and his interest in seeing the ch urch fun ction effectively led him to encourage a rudimentary educationa l system based in monasteries. Thus a small group of clerical and lay adm inistrators attained a useful level of literacy. Charlemagne left the dev elopment and implementation of this system largely to ALCUIN. The latter' s work led to wha t some scholars have called the Carolingian Renaissance . At Charlemagne's court a group of scholars was gathered that included m en from England, Spain, and Italy, as well as native Franks and probabl y Jews.
Charlemagne has been credited with great political and humanitarian visio n and a devou t religious bent; as a result, some have been led to thin k of his military ventures as crusades. In fact, he was a gluttonous an d superstitious illiterate, or semiliterate, who had a considerable capac ity for brutality. His accomplishments were du e mostly to the energy wit h which he pursued his military goals and the ruthlessness with which h e treated any opponents. Nonetheless, his achievements were considerable , and the effect of his conquests was to spread Roman Christianity acros s central Europe. He married Hildegrade, daughter of Gerold I Count of Vinzgau and Emma, ci rca 771. Born, 758. Died, 30 Apr 783.
2 i. [2] Pepin King of Italy.
3 ii. Louis I Frankish Emperor.
Additional wives: Luitgard, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire; Galiena, o f the Holy Roman Empire; Desiderata, Holy Roman Empire, also known as Emp ress Sibilla, m. 770 King of the Franks 768-800
King of the Lombards 774-800
Frankish Emperor 800-814
When Pepin III died in 768, his sons Carloman and Charles I (called Charl emagne towards the end of his reign) succeeded as Kings of the Franks. Ca rloman received the strong interior - Paris and Orleans, and Charlemagn e received the rebellious states and border lands in a NW crescent aroun d Carloman's kingdom. Either Pepin did this because he favored Carloman , or because he knew that Charlemagne was a better general and needed t o be the one to face the rebellions.
In 769, Aquitaine rebelled and both brothers went to face the problem. Ca rloman marched back home without striking a blow, leaving Charlemagne t o subdue Aquitaine on his own, which he did. The hatred between the broth ers was temporarily settled by their mother, Bertrada. The Lombards wer e making many threats to Pope Hadrian, and so he called for the Frankis h kings for protection. Carloman was pro-Lombard, so Charlemagne was agai n on his own. In 771, the Lombard king Desiderius invaded Rome and took m uch Papal land. At the end of that year, Carloman died, leaving Charlemag ne the entire Frankish kingdom.
In 772, Charlemagne executed his first Saxon campaign, and while it was s mall it was a success. He planned for one the next year, but in January H adrian sent envoys to Charlemagne formally asking for help. In May he gat hered all his forces at Geneva and launched an Italian attack. He persona lly led the main force, and a smaller force was led by his uncle Bernar d to attack the flank of the Lombard army. In June of 774, Pavia fell an d Lombardy was completely conquered by Charlemagne. He sent Desiderius an d his family to monasteries and took the crown for himself. Hadrian the n crowned Pepin king of Lombardy with his father.
In 778, Charlemagne invaded Muslim Spain, taking Barcelona, Pampelona, an d Saragossa. However, Charlemagne's army was ambushed and many generals w ere killed. In 781, after his defeat in Spain, Aquitaine was on the borde r of rebellion once again, so he put his son Louis as king there. In 793 , the Saracens invaded Aquitaine under their Caliph Hisham. Two years lat er the Spanish March was created, with William as its Count. The next yea r King Louis and Count William secured the Spanish territories, and Willi am conquered Barcelona, the Balearics, and all of Navarre.
Since 772, Charlemagned campaigned in Saxony almost every year. After muc h fighting he finally converted their king Widukind and incorperated Saxo ny into the Frankish empire, with Widukind as its first Duke. By gainin g Saxony, Charlemagne received many attacks from the Slavs, but was abl e to not only defeat them but take much of their land in modern Duitsland , Austria, and as far east as Hungary.
On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne was in Rome for the crowning of his so n Charles (designated to be his successor). The Pope Leo III crowned Char lemagne before mass, saying "Carolo augusto, a Deo coronato, magne et pac ifico imperatore romanorum, vita et victoria!" (To Charles, Augustus, cro wned by God, great and peaceful Emperor, life and victory!) He then "ador ed" Charlemagne in the Byzantine manner by prostrating himself and touchi ng the ground with his forehead three times. This Carolingian Empire di d not last long, but it did lead to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle A ges.
In 806, Charlemagne set up a will in which Charles, Pepin, and Louis woul d receive equal shares of the Empire on his death. In July of 810, Pepi n died, and he was followed by Charles in December of 811. In 813 Byzanti ne nobles came to greet Charlemagne as Emperor. Louis was called from Aqu itaine and crowned co-Emperor and designated successor to the imperial cr own, then sent back to Aquitaine. That year, Charlemagne spent the entir e month of October hunting, and in January of the next year, at the age o f 70, died. Charlemagne
(French for Carolus Magnus, or Carlus Magnus ("Charles the Great"); Germa n Karl der Grosse).
The name given by later generations to Charles, King of the Franks , firs t sovereign of the Christian Empire of the West; born 2 April, 742; die d at Aachen , 28 January, 814. Note, however, that the place of his birt h (whether Aachen or Liège ) has never been fully ascertained, while th e traditional date has been set one or more years later by recent writers ; if Alcuin is to be interpreted literally the year should be 745. At th e time of Charles' birth, his father, Pepin the Short , Mayor of the Pala ce, of the line of Arnulf, was, theoretically, only the first subject o f Childeric III, the last Merovinigian King of the Franks ; but this mode st title implied that real power, military, civil, and even ecclesiastica l, of which Childeric's crown was only the symbol. It is not certain tha t Bertrada (or Bertha), the mother of Charlemagne, a daughter of Chariber t, Count of Laon, was legally married to Pepin until some years later tha n either 742 or 745.
Charlemagne's career led to his acknowledgment by the Holy See as its chi ef protector and coadjutor in temporals, by Constantinople as at least Ba sileus of the West. This reign, which involved to a greater degree than t hat of any other historical personage the organic development, and stil l more, the consolidation of Christian Europe , will be sketched in thi s article in the successive periods into which it naturally divides. Th e period of Charlemagne was also an epoch of reform for the Church in Gau l, and of foundation for the Church in Duitsland, marked, moreover, by an e fflorescence of learning which fructified in the great Christian school s of the twelfth and later centuries.
To the Fall of Pavia (742-774)
In 752, when Charles was a child of not more than ten years, Pepin the Sh ort had appealed to Pope Zachary to recognize his actual rule with the ki ngly title and dignity. The practical effect of this appeal to the Holy S ee was the journey of Stephen III across the Alps two years later, for th e purpose of anointing with the oil of kingship not only Pepin , but als o his son Charles and a younger son, Carloman. The pope then laid upon th e Christian Franks a precept, under the gravest spiritual penalties, nev er "to choose their kings from any other family". Primogeniture did not h old in the Frankish law of succession; the monarchy was elective, thoug h eligibility was limited to the male members of the one privileged famil y. Thus, then, at St. Denis on the Seine, in the Kingdom of Neustria, o n the 28th of July, 754, the house of Arnulf was, by a solemn act of th e supreme pontiff established upon the throne until then nominally occupi ed by the house of Merowig (Merovingians).
Charles, anointed to the kingly office while yet a mere child, learned th e rudiments of war while still many years short of manhood, accompanyin g his father in several campaigns. This early experience is worth notin g chiefly because it developed in the boy those military virtues which, j oined with his extraordinary physical strength and intense nationalism, m ade him a popular hero of the Franks long before he became their rightfu l ruler. At length, in September, 768, Pepin the Short , foreseeing his e nd, made a partition of his dominions between his two sons. Not many day s later the old king passed away.
To better comprehend the effect of the act of partition under which Charl es and Carloman inherited their father's dominions, as well as the whol e subsequent history of Charles' reign, it is to be observed that those d ominions comprised:
first, Frankland (Frankreich) proper;
secondly, as many as seven more or less self-governing dependencies, peop led by races of various origins and obeying various codes of law.
Of these two divisions, the former extended, roughly speaking, from the b oundaries of Thuringia, on the east, to what is now the Belgian and Norma n coastline, on the west; it bordered to the north on Saxony, and include d both banks of the Rhine from Keulen (the ancient Colonia Agrippina) t o the North Sea; its southern neighbours were the Bavarians, the Alemanni , and the Burgundians. The dependent states were: the fundamentally Gauli sh Neustria (including within its borders Paris), which was, nevertheless , well leavened with a dominant Frankish element; to the southwest of Neu stria, Brittany, formerly Armorica, with a British and Gallo-Roman popula tion; to the south of Neustria the Duchy of Aquitaine, lying, for the mos t part, between the Loire and the Garonne, with a decidedly Gallo-Roman p opulation; and east of Aquitaine, along the valley of the Rhone, the Burg undians, a people of much the same mixed origin as those of Aquitaine, th ough with a large infusion of Teutonic blood. These States, with perhap s the exception of Brittany, recognized the Theodosian Code as their law . The German dependencies of the Frankish kingdom were Thuringia, in th e valley of the Main, Bavaria, and Alemannia (corresponding to what was l ater known as Swabia). These last, at the time of Pepin's death, had bu t recently been won to Christianity , mainly through the preaching of St . Boniface . The share which fell to Charles consisted of all Austrasia ( the original Frankland ), most of Neustria, and all of Aquitaine except t he southeast corner. In this way the possessions of the elder brother sur rounded the younger on two sides, but on the other hand the distributio n of races under their respective rules was such as to preclude any ris k of discord arising out of the national sentiments of their various subj ects.
In spite of this provident arrangement, Carloman contrived to quarrel wit h his brother. Hunald, formerly Duke of Aquitaine, vanquished by Pepin th e Short , broke from the cloister, where he had lived as a monk for twent y years, and stirred up a revolt in the western part of the duchy. By Fra nkish custom Carloman should have aided Charles; the younger brother hims elf held part of Aquitaine; but he pretended that, as his dominion were u naffected by this revolt, it was no business of his. Hunald, however, wa s vanquished by Charles single-handed; he was betrayed by a nephew with w hom he had sought refuge, was sent to Rome to answer for the violation o f his monastic vows, and at last, after once more breaking cloister, wa s stoned to death by the Lombards of Pavia. For Charles the true importan ce of this Aquitanian episode was in its manifestation his brother's unki ndly feeling in his regard, and against this danger he lost no time in ta king precautions, chiefly by winning over to himself the friends whom h e judged likely to be most valuable; first and foremost of these was hi s mother, Bertha, who had striven both earnestly and prudently to make pe ace between her sons, but who, when it became necessary to take sides wit h one or the other could not hesitate in her devotion to the elder. Charl es was an affectionate son; it also appears that, in general, he was help ed to power by his extraordinary gift of personal attractiveness.
Carloman died soon after this (4 December, 771), and a certain letter fro m "the Monk Cathwulph", quoted by Bouquet (Recueil. hist., V, 634), in en umerating the special blessings for which the king was in duty bound to b e grateful, says,
Third . . . God has preserved you from the wiles of your brothe r . . . . Fifth, and not the least, that God has removed your brother fro m this earthly kingdom.
Carloman may not have been quite so malignant as the enthusiastic partisa ns of Charles made him out, but the division of Pepin's dominions was i n itself an impediment to the growth of a strong Frankish realm such as C harles needed for the unification of the Christian Continent . Although C arloman had left two sons by his wife, Gerberga, the Frankish law of inhe ritance gave no preference to sons as against brother; left to their ow n choice, the Frankish lieges, whether from love of Charles or for the fe ar which his name already inspired, gladly accepted him for their king. G erberga and her children fled to the Lombard court of Pavia. In the mea n while complications had arisen in Charles' foreign policy which made hi s newly established supremacy at home doubly opportune.
From his father Charles had inherited the title "Patricius Romanus" whic h carried with it a special obligation to protect the temporal rights o f the Holy See . The nearest and most menacing neighbour of St. Peter's P atrimony was Desidarius (Didier), King of the Lombards, and it was with t his potentate that the dowager Bertha had arranged a matrimonial allianc e for her elder son. The pope had solid temporal reasons for objecting t o this arrangement. Moreover, Charles was already, in foro conscientiae , if not in Frankish law, wedded to Himiltrude. In defiance of the pope' s protest (PL 98:250), Charles married Desiderata, daughter of Desideriu s (770), three years later he repudiated her and married Hildegarde, th e beautiful Swabian. Naturally, Desiderius was furious at this insult, an d the dominions of the Holy See bore the first brunt of his wrath.
But Charles had to defend his own borders against the heathen as well a s to protect Rome against the Lombard. To the north of Austrasia lay Fris ia, which seems to have been in some equivocal way a dependency, and to t he east of Frisia, from the left bank of the Ems (about the present Holla nd - Westphalia frontier), across the valley of the Weser and Aller, an d still eastward to the left bank of the Elbe, extended the country of th e Saxons, who in no fashion whatever acknowledged any allegiance to the F rankish kings. In 772 these Saxons were a horde of aggressive pagans offe ring to Christian missionaries no hope but that of martyrdom; bound toget her, normally, by no political organization, and constantly engaged in pr edatory incursions into the lands of the Franks . Their language seems t o have been very like that spoken by the Egberts and Ethelreds of Britain , but the work of their Christian cousin, St. Boniface , had not affecte d them as yet; they worshipped the gods of Walhalla, united in solemn sac rifice -- sometimes human -- to Irminsul (Igdrasail), the sacred tree whi ch stood at Eresburg, and were still slaying Christian missionaries whe n their kinsmen in Britain were holding church synods and building cathed rals. Charles could brook neither their predatory habits nor their heathe nish intolerance; it was impossible, moreover, to make permanent peace wi th them while they followed the old Teutonic life of free village communi ties. He made his first expedition into their country in July, 772, too k Eresburg by storm, and burned Irminsul. It was in January of this sam e year that Pope Stephen III died, and Adrian I , an opponent of Desideri us, was elected. The new pope was almost immediately assailed by the Lomb ard king, who seized three minor cities of the Patrimony of St. Peter , t hreatened Ravenna itself, and set about organizing a plot within the Curi a. Paul Afiarta, the papal chamberlain, detected acting as the Lombard' s secret agent, was seized and put to death . The Lombard army advanced a gainst Rome , but quailed before the spiritual weapons of the Church, whi le Adrian sent a legate into Gaul to claim the aid of of the Patrician.
Thus it was that Charles, resting at Thionville after his Saxon campaign , was urgently reminded of the rough work that awaited his hand south o f the Alps. Desiderius' embassy reached him soon after Adrian's. He did n ot take it for granted that the right was all upon Adrian's side; besides , he may have seen here an opportunity make some amends for his repudiati on of the Lombard princess. Before taking up arms for the Holy See , ther efore, he sent commissioners into Italy to make enquiries and when Deside rius pretended that the seizure of the papal cities was in effect only th e legal foreclosure of a mortgage, Charles promptly offered to redeem the m by a money payment. But Desiderius refused the money, and as Charles' c ommissioners reported in favour of Adrian, the only course left was war.
In the spring of 773 Charles summoned the whole military strength of th e Franks for a great invasion of Lombardy. He was slow to strike, but h e meant to strike hard. Data for any approximate estimate of his numerica l strength are lacking, but it is certain that the army, in order to mak e the descent more swiftly, crossed the Alps by two passes: Mont Cenis an d the Great St. Bernard. Einhard , who accompanied the king over Mont Cen is (the St. Bernard column was led by Duke Bernhard), speaks feelingly o f the marvels and perils of the passage. The invaders found Desiderius wa iting for them, entrenched at Susa; they turned his flank and put the Lom bard army to utter rout. Leaving all the cities of the plains to their fa te, Desiderius rallied part of his forces in Pavia, his walled capital, w hile his son Adalghis, with the rest, occupied Verona. Charles, having be en joined by Duke Bernhard, took the forsaken cities on his way and the n completely invested Pavia (September, 773), whence Otger, the faithfu l attendant of Gerberga, could look with trembling upon the array of hi s countrymen. Soon after Christmas Charles withdrew from the siege a port ion of the army which he employed in the capture of Verona. Here he foun d Gerberga and her children; as to what became of them, history is silent ; they probably entered the cloister.
What history does record with vivid eloquence is the first visit of Charl es to the Eternal City . There everything was done to give his entry as m uch as possible the air of a triumph in ancient Rome . The judges met hi m thirty miles from the city; the militia laid at the feet of their grea t patrician the banner of Rome and hailed him as their imperator. Charle s himself forgot pagan Rome and prostrated himself to kiss the threshol d of the Apostles, and then spent seven days in conference with the succe ssor of Peter. It was then that he undoubtedly formed many great design s for the glory of God and the exaltation of Holy Church, which, in spit e of human weaknesses and, still more, ignorance, he afterwards did his b est to realize. His coronation as the successor of Constantine did not ta ke place until twenty-six years later, but his consecration as first cham pion of the Catholic Church took place at Easter , 774. Soon after this ( June, 774) Pavia fell, Desiderius was banished, Adalghis became a fugitiv e at the Byzantine court, and Charles, assuming the crown of Lombardy, re newed to Adrian the donation of of territory made by Pepin the Short afte r his defeat of Aistulph. (This donation is now generally admitted, as we ll as the original gift of Pepin at Kiersy in 752. The so-called "Privile gium Hadriani pro Carolo" granting him full right to nominate the pope an d to invest all bishops is a forgery.)
To the Baptism of Wittekind (774-785)
The next twenty years of Charles' life may be considered as one long warf are. They are filled with an astounding series of rapid marches from en d to end of a continent intersected by mountains, morasses, and forests , and scantily provided with roads. It would seem that the key to his lon g series of victories, won almost as much by moral ascendancy as by physi cal or mental superiority, is to be found in the inspiration communicate d to his Frankish champion by Pope Adrian I. Weiss (Weltgesch., 11, 549 ) enumerates fifty-three distinct campaigns of Charlemagne; of these it i s possible to point to only twelve or fourteen which were not undertake n principally or entirely in execution of his mission as the soldier an d protector of the Church. In his eighteen campaigns against the Saxons C harles was more or less actuated by the desire to extinguish what he an d his people regarded as a form of devil-worship , no less odious to the m than the fetishism of Central Africa is to us.
While he was still in Italy the Saxons, irritated but not subdued by th e fate of Eresburg and of Irminsul had risen in arms, harried the countr y of the Hessian Franks , and burned many churches; that of St. Bonifac e at Fritzlar, being of stone, had defeated their efforts. Returning to t he north, Charles sent a preliminary column of cavalry into the enemy's c ountry while he held a council of the realm at Kiersy (Quercy) in Septemb er, 774, at which it was decided that the Saxons (Westfali, Ostfali, an d Angrarii) must be presented with the alternative of baptism or death. T he northeastern campaigns of the next seven years had for their objec t a conquest so decisive as to make the execution of this policy feasible . The year 775 saw the first of a series of Frankish military colonies, o n the ancient Roman plan established at Sigeburg among the Westfali. Char les next subdued, temporarily at least, the Ostali, whose chieftain, Hess i, having accepted baptism, ended his life in the monastery of Fulda (se e SAINT BONIFACE ; FULDA ). Then, a Frankish camp at Lübbecke on the Wese r having been surprised by the Saxons, and its garrison slaughtered, Char les turned again westward, once more routed the Westfali, and received th eir oaths of submission.
At this stage (776) the affairs of Lombardy interrupted the Saxon crusade . Areghis of Beneventum, son-in-law of the vanquished Desiderius, had for med a plan with his brother-in-law Adalghis (Adelchis), then an exile a t Constantinople, by which the latter was to make a descent upon Italy, b acked by the Eastern emperor; Adrian was at the same time involved in a q uarrel with the three Lombard dukes, Reginald of Clusium, Rotgaud of Friu li, and Hildebrand of Spoleto. The archbishop of Ravenna, who called hims elf "primate" and "exarch of Italy", was also attempting to found an inde pendent principality at the expense of the papal state but was finally su bdued in 776, and his successor compelled to be content with the title o f "Vicar" or representative of the pope. The junction of the aforesaid po wers, all inimical to the pope and the Franks , while Charles was occupie d in Westphalia , was only prevented by the death of Constantine Copronym us in September, 775 (see BYZANTINE EMPIRE ). After winning over Hildebra nd and Reginald by diplomacy, Charles descended into Lombardy by the Bren ner Pass (spring of 776), defeated Rotgaud, and leaving garrisons and gov ernors, or counts (comites), as they were termed, in the reconquered citi es of the Duchy of Friuli, hastened back to Saxony. There the Frankish ga rrison had been forced to evacuate Eresburg, while the siege of Sigebur g was so unexpectedly broken up as to give occasion later to a legend o f angelic intervention in favour of the Christians . As usual, the almos t incredible suddenness of the king's reappearance an

WFT 6122 Holy Roman Emper King Of The Franks Charlemagne
wft 6064 born 742

Charlemagne
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 800-814
King of the Franks
Born circa 747 /748
Died 28 January 814 Aachen
Buried Aachen
Married (1) 769 Div.771
NN, daughter of Desiderius, King of The Longobards
Married (2) 30 April 771
Hildegardis, daughter of Gerold I, Graf in Kraichgau,
Vintzgau and Imma/Emma
Born 758
Died 30 April 783
Buried Metz
Married (3) October 783
Fastrada
Died 10 August 794 Frankfurt am Main
Buried Mainz
Married (4) 794
Luitgard
Child by (a) Himiltrud
Child by (b) NN
Child by (c) Madelgarda
Child by (d) Gersvinda
Children by (e) Regina
Child by (f) Adallind
Children, Generation I

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[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 19, Ed. 1, Tree #1362, Date of Import: 20 Nov 1999]

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Charles The Great

CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne(Charles the Great) became m aster of Western Europe. It was falling intodecay when Charlemagne became joint king of the F ranks in 768. Except inthe monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and the arts.B oldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By restoring theroots of learning an d order, he preserved many political rights andrevived culture.
Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who crushed theSaracens (see Charle s Martel). Charlemagne was the elder son of Bertrade("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short , first "mayor of the palace" tobecome king of the Franks. Although schools had almost disapp eared in the8th century, historians believe that Bertrade gave young Charles someeducation an d that he learned to read. His devotion to the churchmotivated him throughout life.
Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary, Eginhard,wrote that Charlemagn e had fair hair and a "face laughing and merry . . .his appearance was always stately and dig nified." He had a ready wit, butcould be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He delig hted inhunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress linen shirt andbreeches, a s ilk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter,a tight coat of otter or marten sk ins. Over all these garments "he flunga blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him. "
Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usualpenalty for defeat was dea th, Charlemagne several times spared the livesof his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, aft er a Saxon uprising, heordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and nobles tore form, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. Heforced kings and princes t o kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his twofavorite wives often overruled him in his ow n household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inheritedthe kingdom of the Fran ks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne becamesole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the n orthern half of Europe wasstill pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman Catholic church wa sstriving to assert its power against the Lombard kingdom in Italy. InCharlemagne's own realm , the Franks were falling back into barbarianways, neglecting their education and religion.
Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order toEurope. In 772 he lau nched a 30-year campaign that conquered andChristianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the nor th. He subdued theAvars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the rebelliousBavaria n dukes to submit to him.
When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however. Forexample, Charlemagne off ered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius forreturn of lands to the pope, but, when Desideriu s refused, Charlemagneseized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.
The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize.During his reign he se nt out more than 50 military expeditions. He rodeas commander at the head of at least half o f them. He moved his armiesover wide reaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every mo ve wasplanned in advance. Before a campaign he told the counts, princes, andbishops throughou t his realm how many men they should bring, what armsthey were to carry, and even what to loa d in the supply wagons. Thesefeats of organization and the swift marches later led Napoleon t o studyhis tactics.
One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In 778he led his army into S pain, where they laid siege to Saragossa. Theyfailed to take the city, and during their retre at a group of Basquesambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles and killed "Count Roland." Rolan dbecame a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see Roland).
By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vastrealm covered what ar e now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and theNetherlands. It included half of present-day Ital y and Duitsland, part ofAustria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to t heEbro River. By thus establishing a central government over WesternEurope, Charlemagne resto red much of the unity of the old Roman Empireand paved the way for the development of moder n Europe.

Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in St. Peter'sin Rome, Pope Leo II I seized a golden crown from the altar and placed iton the bowed head of the king. The thron g in the church shouted, "ToCharles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, lo ng lifeand victory!"
Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation, declaringthat he would not hav e come into the church had he known the pope's plan.However, some historians say the pope wou ld not have dared to act withoutCharlemagne's knowledge.
The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. ThoughCharlemagne did not use th e title, he is considered the first Holy Romanemperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance

Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed thatgovernment should be for th e benefit of the governed. When he came to thethrone, various local governors, called "counts ," had become lax andoppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators, calle dmissi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents calledcapitularies and sent them ou t in teams of two a churchman and a noble.They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting gov ernment, administeringjustice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and religious duti es.
Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to discussits affairs. In all p roblems he was the final arbiter, even in churchissues, and he largely unified church and sta te.
Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his people's lotin many ways. He se t up money standards to encourage commerce, tried tobuild a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged bet ter farming methods. Heespecially worked to spread education and Christianity in every clas s ofpeople.
He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up otherschools, opening them t o peasant boys as well as nobles.
Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk, Alcuin,and other scholars t o his court. He learned to read Latin and some Greekbut apparently did not master writing. A t meals, instead of havingjesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.
To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to train hisFrankish singers. T o restore some appreciation of art, he broughtvaluable pieces from Italy. An impressive monum ent to his religiousdevotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where he wasburie d (see Aachen).
At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, wasliving. Louis's weak rul e brought on the rise of civil wars and revolts.After his death his three quarreling sons spl it the empire between themby the Partition of Verdun in 843.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright c 1993, 1994 Compton's NewMedia, Inc.

---------------------------------------------------------
Charlemagne was canonized by an antipope, Paschal III, in 1165. This is,of course, not recog nized by the church but is recognized by many inGermany and France and his feast is kept in A achen on Jan 28.

---------------------------------------------------------
Charlemagne, in Latin Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great) (742-814), kingof the Franks (768-81 4) and Emperor of the Romans (800-14), who led hisFrankish armies to victory over numerous ot her peoples and establishedhis rule in most of western and central Europe. He was the best-kn own andmost influential king in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Early Years

Charlemagne was born probably in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), on April 2,742, the son of the Fra nkish king Pepin the Short and the grandson ofCharles Martel. In 751 Pepin dethroned the las t Merovingian king andassumed the royal title himself. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II in75 4. Besides anointing Pepin, Pope Stephen anointed both Charlemagne andhis younger brother Car loman (751-71).

Within the year Pepin invaded Italy to protect the pope against theLombards, and in 756 he ag ain had to rush to the pope's aid. From 760 on,Pepin's main military efforts went into the co nquest of Aquitaine, thelands south of the Loire River. Charlemagne accompanied his father on most of these expeditions.

Campaigns

When Pepin died in 768, the rule of his realms was to be shared betweenhis two sons. Charlema gne sought an alliance with the Lombards bymarrying (770) the daughter of their king, Desider ius (reigned 757-74).In 771 Carloman died suddenly. Charlemagne then seized his territories,b ut Carloman's heirs took refuge at the court of Desiderius. By that timeCharlemagne had repud iated his wife, and Desiderius was no longerfriendly. In 772, when Pope Adrian I appealed t o Charlemagne for helpagainst Desiderius, the Frankish king invaded Italy, deposed hiserstwhi le father-in-law (774), and himself assumed the royal title. Hethen journeyed to Rome and rea ffirmed his father's promise to protectpapal lands. As early as 772 Charlemagne had fought on slaughts of theheathen Saxons on his lands. Buoyed by his Italian success, he now (775)embark ed on a campaign to conquer and Christianize them. That campaignhad some initial success bu t was to drag on for 30 years, in which timehe conducted many other campaigns as well. He fou ght in Spain in 778; onthe return trip his rear guard, led by Roland, was ambushed, a storyim mortalized in The Song of Roland. In 788 he subjected the Bavarians tohis rule, and between 7 91 and 796 Charlemagne's armies conquered theempire of the Avars (corresponding roughly to mo dern Hungary and Austria).

Coronation

Having thus established Frankish rule over so many other peoples,Charlemagne had in fact buil t an empire and become an emperor. Itremained only for him to add the title. On Christmas Day , in 800,Charlemagne knelt to pray in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo IIIthen place d a crown upon his head, and the people assembled in the churchacclaimed him the great, pacif ic emperor of the Romans.

Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reported that the king was surprisedby this coronation an d that had he known it was going to happen, he wouldnot have gone into the church that day. T his report has led to muchspeculation by historians. Charlemagne probably desired and expecte d toget the imperial title and he subsequently used it. In 813 he designatedhis sole survivin g son, Louis, as his successor, and personally crownedhim.

Administration

Charlemagne established a more permanent royal capital than had any ofhis predecessors. His f avorite residence from 794 on was atAix-la-Chapelle. He had a church and a palace constructe d there, based inpart on architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At his court hegathe red scholars from all over Europe, the most famous being the Englishcleric Alcuin of York, wh om he placed in charge of the palace school.

Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250 royaladministrators called counts. Cha rlemagne issued hundreds of decrees,called capitularies, dealing with a broad range of topic s from judicialand military matters to monasteries, education, and the management ofroyal est ates.

The empire did not expand after 800; indeed, already in the 790s theseacoasts and river valle ys experienced the first, dreaded visits of theVikings. Charlemagne ordered a special watch a gainst them in everyharbor, but with little effect. He died before their full, destructivefor ce was unleashed on the empire.

Evaluation

Charlemagne is important not only for the number of his victories and thesize of his empire , but for the special blend of tradition and innovationthat he represented. On the one hand , he was a traditional Germanicwarrior, who spent most of his adult life fighting. In the Sax oncampaigns he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retaliated againstrebels with merciless s laughter. On the other hand, he placed his immensepower and prestige at the service of Christ ian doctrine, the monasticlife, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule o f law.His life, held up as a model to most later kings, thus embodied thefusion of Germanic , Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basisof European civilization.

Contributed by: Lester K. Little

Biographic entry: B1323

"Charlemagne," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1993 MicrosoftCorporation. Copyright (c ) 1993 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation

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[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 19, Ed. 1, Tree #1362, Date of Import: 20 Nov 1999]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #2553, Date of Import: Jun 20, 1997]

Charles The Great

CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne(Charles the Great) became m aster of Western Europe. It was falling intodecay when Charlemagne became joint king of the F ranks in 768. Except inthe monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and the arts.B oldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By restoring theroots of learning an d order, he preserved many political rights andrevived culture.
Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who crushed theSaracens (see Charle s Martel). Charlemagne was the elder son of Bertrade("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short , first "mayor of the palace" tobecome king of the Franks. Although schools had almost disapp eared in the8th century, historians believe that Bertrade gave young Charles someeducation an d that he learned to read. His devotion to the churchmotivated him throughout life.
Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary, Eginhard,wrote that Charlemagn e had fair hair and a "face laughing and merry . . .his appearance was always stately and dig nified." He had a ready wit, butcould be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He delig hted inhunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress linen shirt andbreeches, a s ilk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter,a tight coat of otter or marten sk ins. Over all these garments "he flunga blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him. "
Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usualpenalty for defeat was dea th, Charlemagne several times spared the livesof his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, aft er a Saxon uprising, heordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and nobles tore form, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. Heforced kings and princes t o kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his twofavorite wives often overruled him in his ow n household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inheritedthe kingdom of the Fran ks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne becamesole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the n orthern half of Europe wasstill pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman Catholic church wa sstriving to assert its power against the Lombard kingdom in Italy. InCharlemagne's own realm , the Franks were falling back into barbarianways, neglecting their education and religion.
Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order toEurope. In 772 he lau nched a 30-year campaign that conquered andChristianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the nor th. He subdued theAvars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the rebelliousBavaria n dukes to submit to him.
When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however. Forexample, Charlemagne off ered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius forreturn of lands to the pope, but, when Desideriu s refused, Charlemagneseized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.
The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize.During his reign he se nt out more than 50 military expeditions. He rodeas commander at the head of at least half o f them. He moved his armiesover wide reaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every mo ve wasplanned in advance. Before a campaign he told the counts, princes, andbishops throughou t his realm how many men they should bring, what armsthey were to carry, and even what to loa d in the supply wagons. Thesefeats of organization and the swift marches later led Napoleon t o studyhis tactics.
One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In 778he led his army into S pain, where they laid siege to Saragossa. Theyfailed to take the city, and during their retre at a group of Basquesambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles and killed "Count Roland." Rolan dbecame a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see Roland).
By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vastrealm covered what ar e now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and theNetherlands. It included half of present-day Ital y and Duitsland, part ofAustria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to t heEbro River. By thus establishing a central government over WesternEurope, Charlemagne resto red much of the unity of the old Roman Empireand paved the way for the development of moder n Europe.

Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in St. Peter'sin Rome, Pope Leo II I seized a golden crown from the altar and placed iton the bowed head of the king. The thron g in the church shouted, "ToCharles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, lo ng lifeand victory!"
Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation, declaringthat he would not hav e come into the church had he known the pope's plan.However, some historians say the pope wou ld not have dared to act withoutCharlemagne's knowledge.
The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. ThoughCharlemagne did not use th e title, he is considered the first Holy Romanemperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance

Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed thatgovernment should be for th e benefit of the governed. When he came to thethrone, various local governors, called "counts ," had become lax andoppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators, calle dmissi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents calledcapitularies and sent them ou t in teams of two a churchman and a noble.They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting gov ernment, administeringjustice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and religious duti es.
Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to discussits affairs. In all p roblems he was the final arbiter, even in churchissues, and he largely unified church and sta te.
Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his people's lotin many ways. He se t up money standards to encourage commerce, tried tobuild a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged bet ter farming methods. Heespecially worked to spread education and Christianity in every clas s ofpeople.
He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up otherschools, opening them t o peasant boys as well as nobles.
Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk, Alcuin,and other scholars t o his court. He learned to read Latin and some Greekbut apparently did not master writing. A t meals, instead of havingjesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.
To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to train hisFrankish singers. T o restore some appreciation of art, he broughtvaluable pieces from Italy. An impressive monum ent to his religiousdevotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where he wasburie d (see Aachen).
At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, wasliving. Louis's weak rul e brought on the rise of civil wars and revolts.After his death his three quarreling sons spl it the empire between themby the Partition of Verdun in 843.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright c 1993, 1994 Compton's NewMedia, Inc.

---------------------------------------------------------
Charlemagne was canonized by an antipope, Paschal III, in 1165. This is,of course, not recog nized by the church but is recognized by many inGermany and France and his feast is kept in A achen on Jan 28.

---------------------------------------------------------
Charlemagne, in Latin Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great) (742-814), kingof the Franks (768-81 4) and Emperor of the Romans (800-14), who led hisFrankish armies to victory over numerous ot her peoples and establishedhis rule in most of western and central Europe. He was the best-kn own andmost influential king in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Early Years

Charlemagne was born probably in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), on April 2,742, the son of the Fra nkish king Pepin the Short and the grandson ofCharles Martel. In 751 Pepin dethroned the las t Merovingian king andassumed the royal title himself. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II in75 4. Besides anointing Pepin, Pope Stephen anointed both Charlemagne andhis younger brother Car loman (751-71).

Within the year Pepin invaded Italy to protect the pope against theLombards, and in 756 he ag ain had to rush to the pope's aid. From 760 on,Pepin's main military efforts went into the co nquest of Aquitaine, thelands south of the Loire River. Charlemagne accompanied his father on most of these expeditions.

Campaigns

When Pepin died in 768, the rule of his realms was to be shared betweenhis two sons. Charlema gne sought an alliance with the Lombards bymarrying (770) the daughter of their king, Desider ius (reigned 757-74).In 771 Carloman died suddenly. Charlemagne then seized his territories,b ut Carloman's heirs took refuge at the court of Desiderius. By that timeCharlemagne had repud iated his wife, and Desiderius was no longerfriendly. In 772, when Pope Adrian I appealed t o Charlemagne for helpagainst Desiderius, the Frankish king invaded Italy, deposed hiserstwhi le father-in-law (774), and himself assumed the royal title. Hethen journeyed to Rome and rea ffirmed his father's promise to protectpapal lands. As early as 772 Charlemagne had fought on slaughts of theheathen Saxons on his lands. Buoyed by his Italian success, he now (775)embark ed on a campaign to conquer and Christianize them. That campaignhad some initial success bu t was to drag on for 30 years, in which timehe conducted many other campaigns as well. He fou ght in Spain in 778; onthe return trip his rear guard, led by Roland, was ambushed, a storyim mortalized in The Song of Roland. In 788 he subjected the Bavarians tohis rule, and between 7 91 and 796 Charlemagne's armies conquered theempire of the Avars (corresponding roughly to mo dern Hungary and Austria).

Coronation

Having thus established Frankish rule over so many other peoples,Charlemagne had in fact buil t an empire and become an emperor. Itremained only for him to add the title. On Christmas Day , in 800,Charlemagne knelt to pray in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo IIIthen place d a crown upon his head, and the people assembled in the churchacclaimed him the great, pacif ic emperor of the Romans.

Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reported that the king was surprisedby this coronation an d that had he known it was going to happen, he wouldnot have gone into the church that day. T his report has led to muchspeculation by historians. Charlemagne probably desired and expecte d toget the imperial title and he subsequently used it. In 813 he designatedhis sole survivin g son, Louis, as his successor, and personally crownedhim.

Administration

Charlemagne established a more permanent royal capital than had any ofhis predecessors. His f avorite residence from 794 on was atAix-la-Chapelle. He had a church and a palace constructe d there, based inpart on architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At his court hegathe red scholars from all over Europe, the most famous being the Englishcleric Alcuin of York, wh om he placed in charge of the palace school.

Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250 royaladministrators called counts. Cha rlemagne issued hundreds of decrees,called capitularies, dealing with a broad range of topic s from judicialand military matters to monasteries, education, and the management ofroyal est ates.

The empire did not expand after 800; indeed, already in the 790s theseacoasts and river valle ys experienced the first, dreaded visits of theVikings. Charlemagne ordered a special watch a gainst them in everyharbor, but with little effect. He died before their full, destructivefor ce was unleashed on the empire.

Evaluation

Charlemagne is important not only for the number of his victories and thesize of his empire , but for the special blend of tradition and innovationthat he represented. On the one hand , he was a traditional Germanicwarrior, who spent most of his adult life fighting. In the Sax oncampaigns he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retaliated againstrebels with merciless s laughter. On the other hand, he placed his immensepower and prestige at the service of Christ ian doctrine, the monasticlife, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule o f law.His life, held up as a model to most later kings, thus embodied thefusion of Germanic , Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basisof European civilization.

Contributed by: Lester K. Little

Biographic entry: B1323

"Charlemagne," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1993 MicrosoftCorporation. Copyright (c ) 1993 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation

[SPARKMAN DATABASE.FTW]

[muncyeagle.FBC.FTW]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 19, Ed. 1, Tree #1362, Date of Import: 20 Nov 1999]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #2553, Date of Import: Jun 20, 1997]

Charles The Great

CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne(Charles the Great) became m aster of Western Europe. It was falling intodecay when Charlemagne became joint king of the F ranks in 768. Except inthe monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and the arts.B oldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By restoring theroots of learning an d order, he preserved many political rights andrevived culture.
Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who crushed theSaracens (see Charle s Martel). Charlemagne was the elder son of Bertrade("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short , first "mayor of the palace" tobecome king of the Franks. Although schools had almost disapp eared in the8th century, historians believe that Bertrade gave young Charles someeducation an d that he learned to read. His devotion to the churchmotivated him throughout life.
Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary, Eginhard,wrote that Charlemagn e had fair hair and a "face laughing and merry . . .his appearance was always stately and dig nified." He had a ready wit, butcould be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He delig hted inhunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress linen shirt andbreeches, a s ilk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter,a tight coat of otter or marten sk ins. Over all these garments "he flunga blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him. "
Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usualpenalty for defeat was dea th, Charlemagne several times spared the livesof his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, aft er a Saxon uprising, heordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and nobles tore form, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. Heforced kings and princes t o kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his twofavorite wives often overruled him in his ow n household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inheritedthe kingdom of the Fran ks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne becamesole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the n orthern half of Europe wasstill pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman Catholic church wa sstriving to assert its power against the Lombard kingdom in Italy. InCharlemagne's own realm , the Franks were falling back into barbarianways, neglecting their education and religion.
Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order toEurope. In 772 he lau nched a 30-year campaign that conquered andChristianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the nor th. He subdued theAvars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the rebelliousBavaria n dukes to submit to him.
When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however. Forexample, Charlemagne off ered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius forreturn of lands to the pope, but, when Desideriu s refused, Charlemagneseized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.
The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize.During his reign he se nt out more than 50 military expeditions. He rodeas commander at the head of at least half o f them. He moved his armiesover wide reaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every mo ve wasplanned in advance. Before a campaign he told the counts, princes, andbishops

Long Bios at
http://www.chronique.com/Library/MedHistory/charlemagne.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne

 He was so fond of his daughters that he dissuaded them from marriage, saying that he could not bear to be without them. They consoled themselves with unlicensed amours, and bore several illegitimate children. Charlemagne accepted these accidents with good humor, since he himself, following the custom of his predecessors, had four successive wives and five mistresses or concubines. His abounding vitality made him extremely sensitive to feminine charms; and his women preferred a share in him to the monopoly of any other man. His harem bore him some eighteen children, of whom eight were legitimate.

He was six feet four inches tall, and built to scale.
He had beautiful white hair, animated eyes, a powerful nose...
a presence "always stately and dignified." He was temperate
in eating and drinking, abominated drunkenness, and kept
in good health despite every exposure and hardship.
—Eginhardt (the King's secretary) describing Charlemagne
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96apr/charlemagne.html

Charlemagne (742 or 747 – 28 January 814) (also Charles the Great[1]; from Latin, Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus), son of , was the king of the Franks from 768 to 814 and king of the Lombards from 774 to 814. He was crowned Imperator Augustus in Rome on Christmas Day, 800 by Pope Leo III and is therefore regarded as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire (as Charles I). Through military conquest and defence, he solidified and expanded his realm to cover most of Western Europe and is today regarded as the founding father of both France and Duitsland and sometimes as the Father of Europe. His was the first truly imperial power in the West since the Fall of the Roman Empire.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne

Marriages and heirs
His first wife was Himiltrude, married in 766. The marriage was never formally annulled. By her he had:
• Pippin the Hunchback (767-813)
His second wife was Gerperga (often erroneously called Desiderata or Desideria), daughter of Desiderius, king of the Lombards, married in 768, annulled in 771.
His third wife was Hildegard of Savoy (757 or 758-783 or 784), married 771, died 784. By her he had:
• Charles the Younger (772 or 773-811), king of Neustria from 781
• Adelaide (773 or 774-774)
• Carloman, baptised Pippin (773 or 777-810), king of Italy from 781
• Rotrude (or Hruodrud) (777-810)
• Louis (778-840), twin of Lothair, king of Aquitaine from 781 and emperor and king of the Franks from 814
• Lothair (778-779 or 780), twin of Louis
• Bertha (779-823)
• Gisela (781-808)
• Hildegarde (782-783)
His fourth wife was Fastrada, married 784, died 794. By her he had:
• Theodrada (b.784), abbess of Argenteuil
• Hiltrude (b.787)
His fifth and favourite wife was Luitgard, married 794, died 800 childless.

Concubinages and illegitimate children
His first known concubine was Gersuinda. By her he had:
• Adaltrude (b.774)
His second known concubine was Madelgard. By her he had:
• Ruodhaid (775-810), abbess of Faremoutiers
His third known concubine was Amaltrud of Vienne. By her he had:
• Alpaida (b.794)
His fourth known concubine was Regina. By her he had:
• Drogo (801-855), bishop of Metz from 823
• Hugh (802-844), archchancellor of the Empire
His fifth known concubine was Ethelind. By her he had:
• Theodoric (b.807)

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[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 19, Ed. 1, Tree #1362, Date of Import: 20 Nov 1999]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #2553, Date of Import: Jun 20, 1997]

Charles The Great

CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne(Charles the Great) became m aster of Western Europe. It was falling intodecay when Charlemagne became joint king of the F ranks in 768. Except inthe monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and the arts.B oldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By restoring theroots of learning an d order, he preserved many political rights andrevived culture.
Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who crushed theSaracens (see Charle s Martel). Charlemagne was the elder son of Bertrade("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short , first "mayor of the palace" tobecome king of the Franks. Although schools had almost disapp eared in the8th century, historians believe that Bertrade gave young Charles someeducation an d that he learned to read. His devotion to the churchmotivated him throughout life.
Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary, Eginhard,wrote that Charlemagn e had fair hair and a "face laughing and merry . . .his appearance was always stately and dig nified." He had a ready wit, butcould be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He delig hted inhunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress linen shirt andbreeches, a s ilk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter,a tight coat of otter or marten sk ins. Over all these garments "he flunga blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him. "
Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usualpenalty for defeat was dea th, Charlemagne several times spared the livesof his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, aft er a Saxon uprising, heordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and nobles tore form, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. Heforced kings and princes t o kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his twofavorite wives often overruled him in his ow n household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inheritedthe kingdom of the Fran ks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne becamesole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the n orthern half of Europe wasstill pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman Catholic church wa sstriving to assert its power against the Lombard kingdom in Italy. InCharlemagne's own realm , the Franks were falling back into barbarianways, neglecting their education and religion.
Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order toEurope. In 772 he lau nched a 30-year campaign that conquered andChristianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the nor th. He subdued theAvars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the rebelliousBavaria n dukes to submit to him.
When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however. Forexample, Charlemagne off ered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius forreturn of lands to the pope, but, when Desideriu s refused, Charlemagneseized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.
The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize.During his reign he se nt out more than 50 military expeditions. He rodeas commander at the head of at least half o f them. He moved his armiesover wide reaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every mo ve wasplanned in advance. Before a campaign he told the counts, princes, andbishops throughou t his realm how many men they should bring, what armsthey were to carry, and even what to loa d in the supply wagons. Thesefeats of organization and the swift marches later led Napoleon t o studyhis tactics.
One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In 778he led his army into S pain, where they laid siege to Saragossa. Theyfailed to take the city, and during their retre at a group of Basquesambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles and killed "Count Roland." Rolan dbecame a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see Roland).
By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vastrealm covered what ar e now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and theNetherlands. It included half of present-day Ital y and Duitsland, part ofAustria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to t heEbro River. By thus establishing a central government over WesternEurope, Charlemagne resto red much of the unity of the old Roman Empireand paved the way for the development of moder n Europe.

Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in St. Peter'sin Rome, Pope Leo II I seized a golden crown from the altar and placed iton the bowed head of the king. The thron g in the church shouted, "ToCharles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, lo ng lifeand victory!"
Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation, declaringthat he would not hav e come into the church had he known the pope's plan.However, some historians say the pope wou ld not have dared to act withoutCharlemagne's knowledge.
The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. ThoughCharlemagne did not use th e title, he is considered the first Holy Romanemperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance

Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed thatgovernment should be for th e benefit of the governed. When he came to thethrone, various local governors, called "counts ," had become lax andoppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators, calle dmissi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents calledcapitularies and sent them ou t in teams of two a churchman and a noble.They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting gov ernment, administeringjustice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and religious duti es.
Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to discussits affairs. In all p roblems he was the final arbiter, even in churchissues, and he largely unified church and sta te.
Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his people's lotin many ways. He se t up money standards to encourage commerce, tried tobuild a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged bet ter farming methods. Heespecially worked to spread education and Christianity in every clas s ofpeople.
He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up otherschools, opening them t o peasant boys as well as nobles.
Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk, Alcuin,and other scholars t o his court. He learned to read Latin and some Greekbut apparently did not master writing. A t meals, instead of havingjesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.
To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to train hisFrankish singers. T o restore some appreciation of art, he broughtvaluable pieces from Italy. An impressive monum ent to his religiousdevotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where he wasburie d (see Aachen).
At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, wasliving. Louis's weak rul e brought on the rise of civil wars and revolts.After his death his three quarreling sons spl it the empire between themby the Partition of Verdun in 843.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright c 1993, 1994 Compton's NewMedia, Inc.

---------------------------------------------------------
Charlemagne was canonized by an antipope, Paschal III, in 1165. This is,of course, not recog nized by the church but is recognized by many inGermany and France and his feast is kept in A achen on Jan 28.

---------------------------------------------------------
Charlemagne, in Latin Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great) (742-814), kingof the Franks (768-81 4) and Emperor of the Romans (800-14), who led hisFrankish armies to victory over numerous ot her peoples and establishedhis rule in most of western and central Europe. He was the best-kn own andmost influential king in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Early Years

Charlemagne was born probably in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), on April 2,742, the son of the Fra nkish king Pepin the Short and the grandson ofCharles Martel. In 751 Pepin dethroned the las t Merovingian king andassumed the royal title himself. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II in75 4. Besides anointing Pepin, Pope Stephen anointed both Charlemagne andhis younger brother Car loman (751-71).

Within the year Pepin invaded Italy to protect the pope against theLombards, and in 756 he ag ain had to rush to the pope's aid. From 760 on,Pepin's main military efforts went into the co nquest of Aquitaine, thelands south of the Loire River. Charlemagne accompanied his father on most of these expeditions.

Campaigns

When Pepin died in 768, the rule of his realms was to be shared betweenhis two sons. Charlema gne sought an alliance with the Lombards bymarrying (770) the daughter of their king, Desider ius (reigned 757-74).In 771 Carloman died suddenly. Charlemagne then seized his territories,b ut Carloman's heirs took refuge at the court of Desiderius. By that timeCharlemagne had repud iated his wife, and Desiderius was no longerfriendly. In 772, when Pope Adrian I appealed t o Charlemagne for helpagainst Desiderius, the Frankish king invaded Italy, deposed hiserstwhi le father-in-law (774), and himself assumed the royal title. Hethen journeyed to Rome and rea ffirmed his father's promise to protectpapal lands. As early as 772 Charlemagne had fought on slaughts of theheathen Saxons on his lands. Buoyed by his Italian success, he now (775)embark ed on a campaign to conquer and Christianize them. That campaignhad some initial success bu t was to drag on for 30 years, in which timehe conducted many other campaigns as well. He fou ght in Spain in 778; onthe return trip his rear guard, led by Roland, was ambushed, a storyim mortalized in The Song of Roland. In 788 he subjected the Bavarians tohis rule, and between 7 91 and 796 Charlemagne's armies conquered theempire of the Avars (corresponding roughly to mo dern Hungary and Austria).

Coronation

Having thus established Frankish rule over so many other peoples,Charlemagne had in fact buil t an empire and become an emperor. Itremained only for him to add the title. On Christmas Day , in 800,Charlemagne knelt to pray in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo IIIthen place d a crown upon his head, and the people assembled in the churchacclaimed him the great, pacif ic emperor of the Romans.

Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reported that the king was surprisedby this coronation an d that had he known it was going to happen, he wouldnot have gone into the church that day. T his report has led to muchspeculation by historians. Charlemagne probably desired and expecte d toget the imperial title and he subsequently used it. In 813 he designatedhis sole survivin g son, Louis, as his successor, and personally crownedhim.

Administration

Charlemagne established a more permanent royal capital than had any ofhis predecessors. His f avorite residence from 794 on was atAix-la-Chapelle. He had a church and a palace constructe d there, based inpart on architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At his court hegathe red scholars from all over Europe, the most famous being the Englishcleric Alcuin of York, wh om he placed in charge of the palace school.

Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250 royaladministrators called counts. Cha rlemagne issued hundreds of decrees,called capitularies, dealing with a broad range of topic s from judicialand military matters to monasteries, education, and the management ofroyal est ates.

The empire did not expand after 800; indeed, already in the 790s theseacoasts and river valle ys experienced the first, dreaded visits of theVikings. Charlemagne ordered a special watch a gainst them in everyharbor, but with little effect. He died before their full, destructivefor ce was unleashed on the empire.

Evaluation

Charlemagne is important not only for the number of his victories and thesize of his empire , but for the special blend of tradition and innovationthat he represented. On the one hand , he was a traditional Germanicwarrior, who spent most of his adult life fighting. In the Sax oncampaigns he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retaliated againstrebels with merciless s laughter. On the other hand, he placed his immensepower and prestige at the service of Christ ian doctrine, the monasticlife, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule o f law.His life, held up as a model to most later kings, thus embodied thefusion of Germanic , Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basisof European civilization.

Contributed by: Lester K. Little

Biographic entry: B1323

"Charlemagne," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1993 MicrosoftCorporation. Copyright (c ) 1993 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation

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[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 19, Ed. 1, Tree #1362, Date of Import: 20 Nov 1999]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #2553, Date of Import: Jun 20, 1997]

Charles The Great

CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne(Charles the Great) became m aster of Western Europe. It was falling intodecay when Charlemagne became joint king of the F ranks in 768. Except inthe monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and the arts.B oldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By restoring theroots of learning an d order, he preserved many political rights andrevived culture.
Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who crushed theSaracens (see Charle s Martel). Charlemagne was the elder son of Bertrade("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short , first "mayor of the palace" tobecome king of the Franks. Although schools had almost disapp eared in the8th century, historians believe that Bertrade gave young Charles someeducation an d that he learned to read. His devotion to the churchmotivated him throughout life.
Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary, Eginhard,wrote that Charlemagn e had fair hair and a "face laughing and merry . . .his appearance was always stately and dig nified." He had a ready wit, butcould be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He delig hted inhunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress linen shirt andbreeches, a s ilk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter,a tight coat of otter or marten sk ins. Over all these garments "he flunga blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him. "
Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usualpenalty for defeat was dea th, Charlemagne several times spared the livesof his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, aft er a Saxon uprising, heordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and nobles tore form, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. Heforced kings and princes t o kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his twofavorite wives often overruled him in his ow n household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inheritedthe kingdom of the Fran ks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne becamesole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the n orthern half of Europe wasstill pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman Catholic church wa sstriving to assert its power against the Lombard kingdom in Italy. InCharlemagne's own realm , the Franks were falling back into barbarianways, neglecting their education and religion.
Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order toEurope. In 772 he lau nched a 30-year campaign that conquered andChristianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the nor th. He subdued theAvars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the rebelliousBavaria n dukes to submit to him.
When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however. Forexample, Charlemagne off ered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius forreturn of lands to the pope, but, when Desideriu s refused, Charlemagneseized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.
The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize.During his reign he se nt out more than 50 military expeditions. He rodeas commander at the head of at least half o f them. He moved his armiesover wide reaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every mo ve wasplanned in advance. Before a campaign he told the counts, princes, andbishops throughou t his realm how many men they should bring, what armsthey were to carry, and even what to loa d in the supply wagons. Thesefeats of organization and the swift marches later led Napoleon t o studyhis tactics.
One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In 778he led his army into S pain, where they laid siege to Saragossa. Theyfailed to take the city, and during their retre at a group of Basquesambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles and killed "Count Roland." Rolan dbecame a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see Roland).
By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vastrealm covered what ar e now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and theNetherlands. It included half of present-day Ital y and Duitsland, part ofAustria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to t heEbro River. By thus establishing a central government over WesternEurope, Charlemagne resto red much of the unity of the old Roman Empireand paved the way for the development of moder n Europe.

Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in St. Peter'sin Rome, Pope Leo II I seized a golden crown from the altar and placed iton the bowed head of the king. The thron g in the church shouted, "ToCharles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, lo ng lifeand victory!"
Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation, declaringthat he would not hav e come into the church had he known the pope's plan.However, some historians say the pope wou ld not have dared to act withoutCharlemagne's knowledge.
The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. ThoughCharlemagne did not use th e title, he is considered the first Holy Romanemperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance

Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed thatgovernment should be for th e benefit of the governed. When he came to thethrone, various local governors, called "counts ," had become lax andoppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators, calle dmissi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents calledcapitularies and sent them ou t in teams of two a churchman and a noble.They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting gov ernment, administeringjustice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and religious duti es.
Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to discussits affairs. In all p roblems he was the final arbiter, even in churchissues, and he largely unified church and sta te.
Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his people's lotin many ways. He se t up money standards to encourage commerce, tried tobuild a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged bet ter farming methods. Heespecially worked to spread education and Christianity in every clas s ofpeople.
He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up otherschools, opening them t o peasant boys as well as nobles.
Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk, Alcuin,and other scholars t o his court. He learned to read Latin and some Greekbut apparently did not master writing. A t meals, instead of havingjesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.
To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to train hisFrankish singers. T o restore some appreciation of art, he broughtvaluable pieces from Italy. An impressive monum ent to his religiousdevotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where he wasburie d (see Aachen).
At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, wasliving. Louis's weak rul e brought on the rise of civil wars and revolts.After his death his three quarreling sons spl it the empire between themby the Partition of Verdun in 843.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright c 1993, 1994 Compton's NewMedia, Inc.

---------------------------------------------------------
Charlemagne was canonized by an antipope, Paschal III, in 1165. This is,of course, not recog nized by the church but is recognized by many inGermany and France and his feast is kept in A achen on Jan 28.

---------------------------------------------------------
Charlemagne, in Latin Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great) (742-814), kingof the Franks (768-81 4) and Emperor of the Romans (800-14), who led hisFrankish armies to victory over numerous ot her peoples and establishedhis rule in most of western and central Europe. He was the best-kn own andmost influential king in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Early Years

Charlemagne was born probably in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), on April 2,742, the son of the Fra nkish king Pepin the Short and the grandson ofCharles Martel. In 751 Pepin dethroned the las t Merovingian king andassumed the royal title himself. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II in75 4. Besides anointing Pepin, Pope Stephen anointed both Charlemagne andhis younger brother Car loman (751-71).

Within the year Pepin invaded Italy to protect the pope against theLombards, and in 756 he ag ain had to rush to the pope's aid. From 760 on,Pepin's main military efforts went into the co nquest of Aquitaine, thelands south of the Loire River. Charlemagne accompanied his father on most of these expeditions.

Campaigns

When Pepin died in 768, the rule of his realms was to be shared betweenhis two sons. Charlema gne sought an alliance with the Lombards bymarrying (770) the daughter of their king, Desider ius (reigned 757-74).In 771 Carloman died suddenly. Charlemagne then seized his territories,b ut Carloman's heirs took refuge at the court of Desiderius. By that timeCharlemagne had repud iated his wife, and Desiderius was no longerfriendly. In 772, when Pope Adrian I appealed t o Charlemagne for helpagainst Desiderius, the Frankish king invaded Italy, deposed hiserstwhi le father-in-law (774), and himself assumed the royal title. Hethen journeyed to Rome and rea ffirmed his father's promise to protectpapal lands. As early as 772 Charlemagne had fought on slaughts of theheathen Saxons on his lands. Buoyed by his Italian success, he now (775)embark ed on a campaign to conquer and Christianize them. That campaignhad some initial success bu t was to drag on for 30 years, in which timehe conducted many other campaigns as well. He fou ght in Spain in 778; onthe return trip his rear guard, led by Roland, was ambushed, a storyim mortalized in The Song of Roland. In 788 he subjected the Bavarians tohis rule, and between 7 91 and 796 Charlemagne's armies conquered theempire of the Avars (corresponding roughly to mo dern Hungary and Austria).

Coronation

Having thus established Frankish rule over so many other peoples,Charlemagne had in fact buil t an empire and become an emperor. Itremained only for him to add the title. On Christmas Day , in 800,Charlemagne knelt to pray in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo IIIthen place d a crown upon his head, and the people assembled in the churchacclaimed him the great, pacif ic emperor of the Romans.

Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reported that the king was surprisedby this coronation an d that had he known it was going to happen, he wouldnot have gone into the church that day. T his report has led to muchspeculation by historians. Charlemagne probably desired and expecte d toget the imperial title and he subsequently used it. In 813 he designatedhis sole survivin g son, Louis, as his successor, and personally crownedhim.

Administration

Charlemagne established a more permanent royal capital than had any ofhis predecessors. His f avorite residence from 794 on was atAix-la-Chapelle. He had a church and a palace constructe d there, based inpart on architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At his court hegathe red scholars from all over Europe, the most famous being the Englishcleric Alcuin of York, wh om he placed in charge of the palace school.

Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250 royaladministrators called counts. Cha rlemagne issued hundreds of decrees,called capitularies, dealing with a broad range of topic s from judicialand military matters to monasteries, education, and the management ofroyal est ates.

The empire did not expand after 800; indeed, already in the 790s theseacoasts and river valle ys experienced the first, dreaded visits of theVikings. Charlemagne ordered a special watch a gainst them in everyharbor, but with little effect. He died before their full, destructivefor ce was unleashed on the empire.

Evaluation

Charlemagne is important not only for the number of his victories and thesize of his empire , but for the special blend of tradition and innovationthat he represented. On the one hand , he was a traditional Germanicwarrior, who spent most of his adult life fighting. In the Sax oncampaigns he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retaliated againstrebels with merciless s laughter. On the other hand, he placed his immensepower and prestige at the service of Christ ian doctrine, the monasticlife, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule o f law.His life, held up as a model to most later kings, thus embodied thefusion of Germanic , Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basisof European civilization.

Contributed by: Lester K. Little

Biographic entry: B1323

"Charlemagne," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1993 MicrosoftCorporation. Copyright (c ) 1993 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation

[SPARKMAN DATABASE.FTW]

[muncyeagle.FBC.FTW]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 19, Ed. 1, Tree #1362, Date of Import: 20 Nov 1999]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #2553, Date of Import: Jun 20, 1997]

Charles The Great

CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne(Charles the Great) became m aster of Western Europe. It was falling intodecay when Charlemagne became joint king of the F ranks in 768. Except inthe monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and the arts.B oldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By restoring theroots of learning an d order, he preserved many political rights andrevived culture.
Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who crushed theSaracens (see Charle s Martel). Charlemagne was the elder son of Bertrade("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short , first "mayor of the palace" tobecome king of the Franks. Although schools had almost disapp eared in the8th century, historians believe that Bertrade gave young Charles someeducation an d that he learned to read. His devotion to the churchmotivated him throughout life.
Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary, Eginhard,wrote that Charlemagn e had fair hair and a "face laughing and merry . . .his appearance was always stately and dig nified." He had a ready wit, butcould be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He delig hted inhunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress linen shirt andbreeches, a s ilk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter,a tight coat of otter or marten sk ins. Over all these garments "he flunga blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him. "
Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usualpenalty for defeat was dea th, Charlemagne several times spared the livesof his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, aft er a Saxon uprising, heordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and nobles tore form, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. Heforced kings and princes t o kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his twofavorite wives often overruled him in his ow n household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inheritedthe kingdom of the Fran ks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne becamesole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the n orthern half of Europe wasstill pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman Catholic church wa sstriving to assert its power against the Lombard kingdom in Italy. InCharlemagne's own realm , the Franks were falling back into barbarianways, neglecting their education and religion.
Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order toEurope. In 772 he lau nched a 30-year campaign that conquered andChristianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the nor th. He subdued theAvars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the rebelliousBavaria n dukes to submit to him.
When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however. Forexample, Charlemagne off ered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius forreturn of lands to the pope, but, when Desideriu s refused, Charlemagneseized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.
The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize.During his reign he se nt out more than 50 military expeditions. He rodeas commander at the head of at least half o f them. He moved his armiesover wide reaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every mo ve wasplanned in advance. Before a campaign he told the counts, princes, andbishops

Charlemagne unified France, most of modern Duitsland, Nederland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Northern Italy. He is the ancestor of virtually the entire modern European monarchy and some contend he is a common ancestor for nearly everyone in theWestern World.

Charlemagne was brutal in his campaign to conquer the Saxon tribes of Duitsland.

http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:2797071&id=I22575

# Name: Charlemagne Emperor Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
# Given Name: Charlemagne Emperor Of
# Surname: Holy Roman Empire
# NPFX: King
# NSFX: King Of The Franks
# Name: Charles The Great
# Given Name: Charles The Great
# Surname:
# Title: King Of The Franks
# Sex: M
# Birth: 2 Apr 742 in Ingelheim, Rheinhessen, Hesse-Darmstadt, Prussia
# Christening: 754 St Denis, Paris, Seine, France
# Death: 28 Jan 814 in , Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia 1
# Burial: Aachen Cathedral, Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia
# Reference Number: 251
# Ancestral File #: 9GCC-89 1 2 3 4
# Occupation: Austria only until 771 1
# Event: may have been illiterate EDUC 2
# Occupation: Emperor of the West
# Occupation: King of the Franks; Crowned Holy Roman Emperor, 25 Dec 800
# Change Date: 8 Dec 2003 at 04:10
# Note:

GIVN Charlemagne, Emperor Of
SURN HOLY ROMAN EMPIR
AFN 9GCC-89
PEDI birth

GIVN Charlemagne, King of France Emperor
SURN HOLY ROMAN EMPIR
NSFX **

GIVN Charlemagne, Emperor of
SURN Holy Roman Empir
AFN 9GCC-89
PEDI birth

GIVN Charlemagne Emperor Of The
SURN HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
NSFX [KING OF THE FRANKS]
AFN 9GCC-89
_PRIMARY Y
From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
REPO @REPO27@
TITL Ancestral File (TM)
AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
REPO @REPO82@

DATE 5 NOV 1999
TIME 22:37:36

SURN Holy Roman Empire
GIVN Charlemagne Emperor of The
NSFX Emperor
AFN 9GCC-89
_UID 2EDBC9860C1636479D4533946149D9769906
REPO @REPO19@
TITL Ancestral File (TM)
AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
DATE 23 Dec 2000
TIME 00:00:00

GIVN Charlemagne Emperor Of The
SURN HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
NSFX [KING OF THE FRANKS]
AFN 9GCC-89
_PRIMARY Y
From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
REPO @REPO27@
TITL Ancestral File (TM)
AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
REPO @REPO82@

DATE 5 NOV 1999
TIME 22:37:36

TITL Dunham.FTW
REPO
CALN
MEDI Other
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Nov 26, 2000

TITL World Family Tree Vol. 4, Ed. 1
AUTH BrdÌœerbund Software, Inc.
PUBL Release date: August 23, 1996
Customer pedigree.
REPO
CALN
MEDI Family Archive CD
PAGE Tree #2715
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: 17 May 1998
TITL World Family Tree Vol. 4, Ed. 1
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Ref; AFN: 9GCC-89

GIVN Charlemagne
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AFN 9GCC-89
DATE 25 APR 2000
TIME 20:45:40

Charlemagne 742?-814, emperor of the West (800-814), Carolingian king of the Franks (768-814). The son of PEPIN THE SHORT, he consolidated his rule in his own kingdom, invaded Italy in support of the pope, and in 774 was crowned king of the Lombards. He took NE Spain from the MOORS (778) and annexed Bavaria (788). After a long struggle (772-804) he subjugated and Christianized the Saxons. In 800 he restored LEO III to the papacy and was crowned emperor by him on Christmas Day, thus laying the basis for the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE and finalizing the split between the Byzantine and Roman empires. Charlemagne ruled through a highly efficient administrative system. He codified the law in his various dominions, and his court at AACHEN was the center for an intellectual and artistic renaissance. The end of his reign was troubled by raids by the NORSEMEN. His son, LOUIS I, was named co-emperor in 813 and succeeded on his father's death. Charlemagne's legend soon enhanced and distorted his actual achievements, and he became the central figure of a medieval romance cycle.

Charlemage's empire also included most of Duitsland (Saxony, Alamannia and Bavaria) and northern Italy (Lombardy). Although Charlemagne planned to subdivide the knigdom between his sons, all but one pre-deceased him with the result that a united empire was continued.

Father: Pepin "The Short" Of FRANKS b: Abt 714 in Of Austrasia, France,
Mother: Bertrada "Broadfoot" Of LAON b: Abt 720 in Laon, Aisne, France

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Marriage 1 Desiderata SIBILLA b: Abt 758 in Lombardy, Italy,

* Note:

_UID 085D61C628C73149B6B9D6E2DD34C189777F

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
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_MASTER Y
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TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999

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TITL Charlemagne and Hidegard d'allemaine.FTW
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Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
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TEXT Date of Import: Mar 13, 1999
1 _FA1
2 DATE 771
2 SOUR S031819
3 DATA
4 TEXT Date of Import: Mar 13, 1999
1 _MEND Divorce

* Divorced: Y
* Married: 770 Divorced
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Children

1. Has Children Louis I "The Pious" Carolingian Of The FRANKS b: 16 Apr 778 in Casseneuil, Lot Et Garonne, France

Marriage 2 Hildegard Schwabien Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 757 in Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia

* Note:

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_FREL Natural
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_FREL Natural
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_FREL Natural
_MREL Natural
_FREL Natural
_MREL Natural
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_MREL Family member
_FREL Natural
_MREL Natural
_FREL Natural
_MREL Natural

_FREL Natural
_MREL Natural
_FREL Natural
_MREL Natural
_FREL Natural
_MREL Natural
_FREL Natural
_MREL Natural
_FREL Family member
_MREL Family member
_FREL Natural
_MREL Natural
_FREL Natural
_MREL Natural

TITL Dunham.FTW
REPO
CALN
MEDI Other
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Nov 26, 2000

In 771 Charlemagne married his first wife Hildegarde of Swabia.Probably in Swabia.
ABBR SOURCE #320
TITL Webster's Biographical Dictionary
PUBL G. C. Merriam Co. Springfield, Mass. 1963 Edition
PAGE Webster page 283.
Divorced at Rome, , , .
In 774, while in Rome, Charlemagne repudiated his marriage toHildegarde, daughter of Swabian king Desiderius in 771.
In 771 Charlemagne married his first wife Hildegarde of Swabia.Probably in Swabia.
ABBR SOURCE #320
TITL Webster's Biographical Dictionary
PUBL G. C. Merriam Co. Springfield, Mass. 1963 Edition
PAGE Webster page 283.
Divorced at Rome, , , .
In 774, while in Rome, Charlemagne repudiated his marriage toHildegarde, daughter of Swabian king Desiderius in 771.

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Brabant.FTW
ABBR Brabant.FTW
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_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999
REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
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Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
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TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999
REPO @REPO1@
TITL Brabant.FTW
ABBR Brabant.FTW
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_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999
REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
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TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999
REPO @REPO1@
TITL World Family Tree Vol. 3, Ed. 1
AUTH Brøderbund Software, Inc.
PUBL Release date: February 9, 1996
ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 3, Ed. 1
Customer pedigree.
Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
_MASTER Y
PAGE Tree #6584
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 28, 1999
REPO @REPO1@
TITL joan beaufort and james i 6584.FTW
ABBR joan beaufort and james i 6584.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
PAGE Tree #6584
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 28, 1999
REPO @REPO1@
TITL Charlemagne and Hidegard d'allemaine.FTW
ABBR Charlemagne and Hidegard d'allemaine.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 13, 1999
REPO @REPO1@
TITL Charles III of France and dau of Edward I of England.FTW
ABBR Charles III of France and dau of Edward I of England.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 13, 1999

* Married: Abt 772 in Aachen, Rhineland, Duitsland, Prussia 3
* Change Date: 27 Sep 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Dhouda Of FRANCE
2. Has No Children Aupals Or ALPIS
3. Has No Children Charles CAROLINGIAN
4. Has No Children Charles 'The Younger' Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: 772 in Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia
5. Has No Children Adelaide Of PRUSSIA b: 773 in Aachen, Rhineland, Duitsland
6. Has Children Pepin CARLOMAN b: 12 Apr 781 in Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia, Duitsland
7. Has No Children Adelheid Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: 774 in Of, Pavie, Lombardy, Italy
8. Has Children Rotrud Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Aug 774 in Of Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia
9. Has No Children Lyderic Of HARLEBEC b: 776
10. Has Children Louis I "The Pious" Carolingian Of The FRANKS b: 16 Apr 778 in Casseneuil, Lot Et Garonne, France
11. Has No Children Lotharingia "Lothaire" Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Aug 778 in Casseneuil, Lot Et Garonne, France
12. Has No Children Bertha Of PRUSSIA b: 779 in Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia
13. Has No Children Gisaele Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: 781 in Milano, Lombardy, Italy
14. Has No Children Hildegard Of FRANCE b: 783
15. Has Children Pepin I Carloman Of ITALY b: Bef 12 Apr 781 in Of Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia
16. Has No Children Hildegarde Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: 782 in Of, Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia
17. Has No Children Alpisaupais De PARIS b: Bef 787

Marriage 3 Fastrada The Saxon Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 763 in Westphalia - Dtr Of Wittekind (Widukind), ,

* Note:

_UID 7CCB25D2CE3E664696F083B4EBC6AE93A5DC

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999
REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999
REPO @REPO1@
TITL Charlemagne and Hidegard d'allemaine.FTW
ABBR Charlemagne and Hidegard d'allemaine.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 13, 1999

* Married: 783 in , Worms,
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Marriage 4 Gerswind A Saxon Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 768 in Of, Old Saxony,

* Note:

_UID 45C7F541B4621B45804E5599F08FCEC98ABC

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999

About the time Charlemagne executed 4,500 Saxon hostages at Verdun, hemay have married again.

* Married: Abt 783 in Saxony, ,
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Marriage 5 Luitgard Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 774 in , Allemania, Duitsland

* Note:

_UID 9C5F4C82B748C541960930AA771030EFED76

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
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_MASTER Y
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TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Charlemagne and Hidegard d'allemaine.FTW
ABBR Charlemagne and Hidegard d'allemaine.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 13, 1999

* Married: After 794 in Duitsland, ,
* Change Date: 27 Sep 2003

Marriage 6 Reginopycrha (Regina) Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 770 in Of, Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia

* Note:

_UID 3DAC0DA011DFFE4AB3B83FED1DB193440A4D

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999

* Married: Abt 792
* Change Date: 27 Sep 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Drogo Of METZ b: Abt 792 in Of Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia
2. Has No Children Bishop Of Metz DROGO b: Between 792-801
3. Has Children Hugo L'abbe "The Bastard" HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 794 in Of Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia
4. Has No Children Hugo CHARLEMAGNE b: Between 794-806
5. Has No Children Adelinda "Bastard" Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 796 in Of Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia

Marriage 7 Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 774 in Of Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia

* Note:

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
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_MASTER Y
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TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999

* Married:
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Marriage 8 Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 776 in Of Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia

* Married:
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Marriage 9 Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 778 in Of Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia

* Note:

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999

* Married:
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Marriage 10 Galiena Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 780 in Of Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia

* Note:

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999

* Married: After 810
* Change Date: 27 Sep 2003

Marriage 11 Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 780 in Of, Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia

* Married:
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Marriage 12 Himiltrude UNKNOWN

* Married: Abt 768
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Pepin 'The Hunchback' UNKNOWN b: Abt 769

Marriage 13 Desideria UNKNOWN

* Married: 770 Annulled 3
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Marriage 14 Fastrada UNKNOWN

* Married: 783 3
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Theodrada Of AREGENTEUIL
2. Has No Children Hiltrude of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

Marriage 15 Liutgard (Luitgard) UNKNOWN

* Married: 794 3
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Marriage 16 Madelgard UNKNOWN

* Married:
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Ruothild Of FAREMOUNTIERS

Marriage 17 Gerswinda (Gersvind) Of SAXONY

* Married:
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Children

1. Has Children Adaltrude (Aupais) ST PETER'S-RHEIM b: 760

Marriage 18 Regina UNKNOWN

* Married:
* Change Date: 10 Aug 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Drogo Of METZ b: 801
2. Has No Children Hugh Of ST. QUENTIN b: 802

Marriage 19 Himiltrud Of HIMILTRUDE b: Abt 746 in Aachen, Rhineland, Duitsland

* Note:

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Charlemagne and Hidegard d'allemaine.FTW
ABBR Charlemagne and Hidegard d'allemaine.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 13, 1999

_UID 4982A3894B0531428F6DEDE42EBC2029BACE

REPO @REPO1@
TITL World Family Tree Vol. 2, Ed. 1
AUTH Brøderbund Software, Inc.
PUBL Release date: November 29, 1995
ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 2, Ed. 1
Customer pedigree.
Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
_MASTER Y
PAGE Tree #1414
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 17, 1999
REPO @REPO1@
TITL Mabel De Me.FTW
ABBR Mabel De Me.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
PAGE Tree #1414
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 17, 1999

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999

Divorced at Saxony, , , .
Divorced at Saxony, , , .

* Married: Bef 769
* Event: Other-Begin 768
* Change Date: 27 Sep 2003

Children

1. Has Children Adaltrude (Aupais) ST PETER'S-RHEIM b: 760
2. Has No Children Pepin The HUNCHBACK b: Abt 769 in Aachen, Rhineland, Duitsland
3. Has No Children Rothais Or ROTHAIDE b: Abt 771 in Aachen, Rhineland, Duitsland

Marriage 20 Desiderata UNKNOWN b: Abt 755 in Lombard, Italy

* Married: 770
* Change Date: 13 Sep 2003

Marriage 21 Fastrada Of FRANCONIA b: 763 in France

* Married: 783
* Change Date: 13 Sep 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Theodrade CHARLEMAGNE b: Abt 784
2. Has No Children Hiltrude CHARLEMAGNE b: Abt 785

Marriage 22 Maldegarde MATHALGARD b: Abt 766 in Aachen, Rhineland, Duitsland

* Note:

_UID 0CA1117E33E2D4489CE2781A321AE98D3F42

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999

* Married: Abt 788
* Change Date: 27 Sep 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Abbess Of Farmoutier ROTHILDE b: Abt 788

Marriage 23 Gerswinda VON SAXONY b: 745 in Saxony, Duitsland

* Married:
* Change Date: 13 Sep 2003

Children

1. Has Children Adaltrude (Aupais) ST PETER'S-RHEIM b: 760

Marriage 24 Concubine #2 UNKNOWN b: Abt 774 in Aachen, Rhineland, Duitsland

* Married: Abt 798
* Change Date: 13 Sep 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Bellinandra CHARLEMAGNE b: Abt 798

Marriage 25 Concubine #3 UNKNOWN b: Abt 776 in Aachen, Rhineland, Duitsland

* Married: Abt 800
* Change Date: 13 Sep 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Gertruda CHARLEMAGNE b: Abt 800

Marriage 26 Concubine #4 UNKNOWN b: Abt 778 in Aachen, Rhineland, Duitsland

* Married: Abt 802
* Change Date: 13 Sep 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Emma CHARLEMAGNE b: Abt 802

Marriage 27 Concubine #5 UNKNOWN b: Abt 780 in Aachen, Rhineland, Duitsland

* Married: Abt 804
* Change Date: 13 Sep 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Hrhodhaid CHARLEMAGNE b: Abt 804

Marriage 28 Adelheid Adelinde Of HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE b: Abt 785 in Aachen, Rhineland, Duitsland

* Note:

_UID 6D83F5FB708BA14A93011E1542DDA14895A4

REPO @REPO1@
TITL Pepin714.FTW
ABBR Pepin714.FTW
Source Media Type: Other
_MASTER Y
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: Mar 16, 1999

* Married: Abt 810
* Change Date: 27 Sep 2003

Children

1. Has No Children Dietrich The MONK b: 810

Sources:

1. Abbrev: The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens
Title: The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens
Author: Mike Ashley
Publication: Carroll & Graf History
2. Abbrev: Quest For the Past
Title: Quest For the Past
Author: Reader’s Digest Staff
3. Abbrev: 3 Angelz
Title: 3 Angelz
Author: Laura...
4. Abbrev: #982
Title: #982
Author: Anne Fremantle
Publication: Time-Life Books, New York

[2957] COLVER31.TXT file, Emperor in 800

BJOHNSN.GED file 'Crowned Holy Roman Emperor'

Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, b. 2 Apr 742

AUREJAC.GED, du 768 au 814 Roi des Francs, Empereur d'Occident 800-814.

WSHNGT.ASC file (Geo Wash Ah'tafel) # 558421004 = 29429896, Emp. of the West: b 2 Apr 742 Aachen, Rhineland,Duitsland, d 28 Jan 814 Aix-la-Chappel, France

"Our Royal Descent from Alfred 'the Great' ..." in Steve Clare papers, p 43, d 28 Jan 828

New Advent Catholic Enclyclopedia http://www.knight.org/advent): Charlemagne, French for Carolus Magnus, or Carlus Magnus ("Charles the Great"); German Karl der Grosse. The name given by later generations to Charles, King of the Franks, first sovereign of the Christian Empire of the West. The place of his birth (whether Aachen or Lige) has never been fully ascertained; died at Aachen 28 January 814

[Clodius II - Charlemagne.FTW]

[F PaepinThe Short KING OF FRANCE.FTW]

Page I of 3 Wordpad Charlemagne
FamilySearchO Ancestral File TM v4.1 9
Charlemagne Emperor Of The HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE (AFN: 9GCC- 89)
Sex: M Event(s): Born: Apr 0742 Aix La Chapelle, Austrasia , St Denis, , France 28 Jan 814
Aix La Chapelle, Austrasia
Buried: Notre Dame D'Aix La Chapelle, , Austrasia Marriage( s): spouse: Desiderata (Sibill, Bertha) Empress Of The HOL Y ROMAN EMPIRE (AFN: 9GCC-XQ) Marriage. (Div) 0771
Spouse: Hildegard Empress Of The HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE(AFN:9GCD -17)
Marriage: Abt 0772 Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia .
Spouse: Fastrade Empress Of The HOLY RQMAN EMPIRE (AFN: 9GC D-CX) Marriage.- 0783
Worms
Charlemagne: WORDPAD : CHARLEMAGNE P2
Page 2 of 3 ~
Spouse: Luttgarde Empress Of The HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE (AFN: 9G CD-L5) Marriage: Aft 0794/6
Spouse: Himiltrud Of The HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE (AFN: 9GCD-MB)
Marriage: Spouse: Maldegarde (Hathalgard)(Concubine Of Th e HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE (AFN: 9GCD-QT)
Marriage: Spouse: Gerswind (Concubine) Of The HOLY-ROMAN EM PIRE (AFN-. 9GCD- S6)
Marriage: Spouse: .Regina (Reginopycrha) (Concubine) Of Th e HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE (AFN: 9GCD-VJ)
Marriage: Spouse: Mrs-Charlemagne (Concubine) Of The HOL Y ROMAN EMPIRE (AFN: 9GCF-2J)
CHARLEMAGNE P3. WORD PAD
Marriage: Spouse: Adaelaeide(Adelinde) (Concubine) Of The H OLY ROMAN EMPIRE (AFN: 90CF-BW)
However, despite the many marvels of this electronic age, t echnology cannot think for us. It makes it easier to find e ach other and share information, but we still have to use o ur noggins and sift through the chaff to find the wheat. A n example of the challenges facing us turned up when I wen t exploring for information on Charlemagne after a reader i nformed me he had uploaded a large GEDCOM of royal and "May flower" lines. I have no royal or noble lines, and am somew hat awed by those who can make legitimate links to ancien t pedigrees of medieval Europe.
A cursory search for "Charlemagne" at WORLDCONNECT turned u p 63 results, and of those all but one apparently pertain t o the most influential king in Europe in the Middle Ages. A nother search on the Web turned up a great deal of historic al and genealogical material about him, including the fac t that he was born before his parents were married. Whe n I went back to compare the genealogical files I saw sever al discrepancies:-- His date of birth is given as 2 April 7 47 by several, while 2 April 742 is listed by the majority . All the historical sites and encyclopedia references I fo und give only the year 742 or circa 742, while a couple o f genealogical sites give the complete date. -- His place o f birth (listed as unknown by historians) is listed by gene alogists variously as: Aachen, Ingelheim, Ingolheim, and Ai x-la-Chapelle. Ingelheim is listed as being in Rhinehessen , Hesse-Darmstadt, Rheinland, Prussia, Deutschland, and Car olingian. Since I knew several of these localities did no t exist by those names in 742, I went scurrying to gazettee rs and atlases (online and offline). The city of Aachen (no wen, Duitsland) is thought to be the birthplace of Charlemag ne. Aachen in French is Aix-la-Chapelle.
At the time of his birth this would have been part of the a rea called Austrasia in the Frankish Kingdom. Localities sh ould be entered in our databases as they were at the time o f the event, not where they are now.
Charlemagne's date of death is given as 28 January 813/14 b y many genealogists, while the historians record it as 28 J anuary 814. I am puzzled by the use of double dating sinc e it was only used in the 16th to 18th centuries in conjunc tion with the
changing from the Julian calendar (Old Style) to Gregoria n calendar (New Style), starting in 1522 in Venice and even tually in Great Britain and its colonies in 1752. The Julia n calendar would have been the one used in the 9th century , and January 1
was the first date of its year, so why the double date?
Charlemagne, pronounced SHAHR luh mayn (742-814), or Charle s the Great, was the most famous ruler of the Middle Ages a nd a key figure in European history. He conquered much o f western Europe and united it under a great empire. Charl emagne revived the political and cultural life of Europe, w hich had collapsed after the fall of the West Roman Empir e in the A.D. 400's. His activities laid the foundation o f the European civilization that arose during the later Mid dle Ages.
More is known about Charlemagne than most medieval rulers b ecause of a biography written by Einhard, a friend of his s on Louis the Pious. This biography describes Charlemagne a s more than 6 feet (2 meters) tall, with piercing eyes, fai r hair, a thick neck, and a potbelly. He was strong, fon d of exercise, and had an alert mind and a forceful persona lity. Charlemagne could read and speak Latin, the languag e of educated people of his time. However, he never learne d to write it.
Military conquests. Charlemagne was a son of Pepin the Sho rt, who became king of the Franks in 751 (see FRANKS). Aft er Pepin died in 768, his two sons, Charlemagne and Carloma n, shared the Frankish kingdom. The kingdom covered what i s now Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Nederland, and par t of western Duitsland. Charlemagne became the sole ruler o f the Frankish kingdom following Carloman's death in 771.
Charlemagne began to expand his kingdom almost immediately . He conquered Lombardy and Bavaria and added them to hi s realm. He took land and treasure from the Avars in easte rn Europe.
Charlemagne waged his longest and bitterest campaign agains t the Saxons, a pagan people in northwestern Duitsland. He s ubdued the Saxons after about 30 years of war and forced th em to accept Christianity.
Charlemagne also waged war in Spain. He was returning fro m an expedition there in 778 when a mountain people calle d the Basques ambushed and wiped out his rear guard. Thi s incident became the subject of the famous epic poem The S ong of Roland. In the poem, however, the ambushers were th e Moors, a Muslim people who ruled Spain (see ROLAND).
By 800, Charlemagne's realm extended from central Italy nor th to Denmark and from eastern Duitsland west to the Atlanti c Ocean. Throughout his reign, Charlemagne followed a polic y of friendship and cooperation with the Christian church . He protected the church and continually extended its pow er. In recognition of Charlemagne's vast power, and to str engthen the king's alliance with the church, Pope Leo III c rowned him emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day, 800 (se e ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH [Charlemagne]).
Administration and influence. In Charlemagne's time, Europ e had hardly any towns, trade, or industry. Almost all th e people made their living by farming, and they raised bare ly enough to feed themselves. Few people had much money, a nd the government and laws of the old Roman Empire had disa ppeared.
To improve conditions, Charlemagne introduced a number of r eforms. He granted large estates to loyal nobles, who, i n return, provided military and political services to the k ing. The nobles also maintained the roads, bridges, and for tifications on their land. This arrangement, called feudal ism, became the basic political and military system of Euro pe for the next 400 years (see FEUDALISM). Charlemagne hel ped increase the supply of food by introducing more efficie nt methods of farming. To stimulate trade, he coined silve r money and encouraged the establishment of markets.
Charlemagne was devoted to justice and good government. H e decreed that all courts be held regularly and that judge s base their decisions only on accepted law. He divided hi s realm into districts and appointed efficient officers t o administer them. Periodically, Charlemagne sent royal ins pectors to carry his orders to the districts and to repor t on local conditions. In this way, he kept control of th e distant parts of his empire.
Charlemagne also improved education and culture by establis hing a school at his palace in Aachen. This palace schoo l attracted the best teachers and students in Europe. It e ducated clergymen, thus strengthening the church, and train ed teachers for schools throughout the empire. Scholars a t the schools collected and copied ancient Roman manuscript s, which otherwise would have been lost forever. They als o developed a new style of handwriting, called Carolingia n minuscule. This style of handwriting later became the mo del for printing. The revival of learning under Charlemagn e is sometimes called the Carolingian Renaissance.
After Charlemagne died in 814, his empire fell apart. Atta cks by Vikings and other invaders weakened the empire, an d in 843, Charlemagne's grandsons divided it into three par ts. By the late 800's, the empire had ceased to exist. Ho wever, the cultural revival begun by Charlemagne had a last ing effect on European civilization. Charlemagne's empir e also inspired later attempts to unite many European natio ns. Some scholars trace the origins of the Holy Roman Empi re back to Charlemagne's empire.
Contributor: Bryce Lyon, Ph.D., Barnaby C. and Mary Critchf ield Keeney Emeritus Prof. of History, Brown Univ.
Charlemagne, Emperor 800-814 King of The Franks, ( 742- 81 4)
Married (2) 30 April 771
Hildegardis, daughter of Gerold I, Count in Kraichgau,
Vintzgau and Imma/Emma
Charles has become known as Charles The Great or Charlemagn e for very good reasons. His long reign changed the face o f Europe politically and culturally, and he himself would r emain fixed in the minds of people in the Middle Ages as th e ideal king. In more recent times, many historians have ta ken his reign to be the beginning of the Middle Ages 'prope r'. Yet in terms of territorial expansion and consolidation , of church reform and entanglement with Rome, Charlemagne' s reign was merely bringing the policies of his father Pipp in to their logical conclusions.
Charlemagne became the subject of the first medieval biogra phy of a layman, written by Einhard, one of his learned cou rtiers. Following his literary model, Suetonius's word port rait of the Emperor Augustus, Einhard described Charlemagne 's appearance, his dress, his eating and drinking habits, h is religious practices and intellectual interests, giving u s a vivid if not perhaps entirely reliable picture of the F rankish monarch. He was strong, tall, and healthy, and at e moderately. He loved excercise: riding and hunting, and p erhaps more surprising, swimming. Einhard tells us that h e chose Aachen as the site for his palace because of its ho t springs, and that he used to bathe there with his family , friends, and courtiers. He spoke and read Latin as well a s his native Frankish, and could understand Greek, and eve n speak it a little. He learned grammar, rhetoric, amd math ematics from the learned clerics he gathered around him, bu t although he kept writing-tablets under his pillow for pra ctice (he used to wake up several times in the night) he ne ver mastered the art of writing. It was because he was a ti reless and remarkably successful general that he was able t o make such a mark upon European history. He concluded Pipp in's wars with Aquitaine, and proclaimed his son Louis as k ing in 781; the one serious defeat he suffered was in thes e wars, at Roncevaux in the Pyrenees, a defeat one day immo rtalized in "The Song of Roland" and later 'chansons de ges te'.
He added Saxony to his realm after years of vicious campaig ning; and, towards the end of his reign, moving against th e Danes; he destroyed the kingdom of the Avars in Hungary ; he subdued the Bretons, the Bavarians, and various Slav p eople. In the south he began the reconquest of Spain from t he Arabs and established the Spanish March in the north-eas t of the peninsula.But perhaps his most significant campaig ns were south of the Alps, in Italy. Pope Hadrian appeale d to Charlemagne for help against Desiderius of the Lombard s. The campaign in the winter of 773-4 was short and decisi ve. Desiderius was exiled, and Charlemagne, "king of the Fr anks", added "and the Lombards" to his title; later he appo inted his son Pepin as King of Italy.
But popes were still not free of all their enemies. In 79 9 Leo III was ambushed by a rival party of Roman aristocrat s, who tried to gouge out his eyes and cut off his tongue . Leo fled to Charlemage, who was at Paderborn preparing fo r another war against the Saxons. Charlemagne ordered Leo I II to be restored and, later in the year 800, came to Rom e himself. On Christmas Day, in St. Peter's, Pope Leo III c rowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans.
Now he was also going to be plagued by dynastic problems. H is second wife, Judith, wanting the largest part of the emp ire for her son, joined forces with Louis's sons, Ludwig th e German and Pippin, against Lothar, the eldest son. The re sults were that two factions developed in the Empire, one w anting to keep the Empire united and the other to continu e the Frankish custom of dividing lands between all sons.
In 829 Judith pursuaded Louis the Pious to set aside his se ttlement of 817 and include Judith's son, Charles, in the p artition of the Empire. However, Ludwig the German and Pipp in, jealous of Charles's portion, joined forces with Lothar , their eldest brother and, in 830, rebelled against thei r father. The eldest three sons, supported by Pope Gregor y IV, defeated their father in 833. Lothar was restored a s Emperor designate and Louis the Pious was forced to perfo rm a humiliating penance. However, Ludwig the German and Pi ppin were still dissatisfied and again took up arms. In 83 8 Pippin died followed, in 840, by Louis the Pious; but i t took until 843 when, at Verdun, the Frankish tradition tr iumphed and the Empire was divided between the three surviv ing sons.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Worldroots Home Page,http://worldroots.clicktron.com/brigit te/royal/bio/charlemag nebio.html
Charlemagne, Emperor Of The Holy Roman Empire, King of th e Franks was king of the Franks from AD 768 to 814 and 'Emp eror of the Romans' from 800 to 814. He became a key figur e in the development of western Europe's medieval civilizat ion. By his almost constant military campaigns, Charlemagn e created a vast empire in the West which included much o f the western part of the old Roman Empire as well as som e new territory. He was the first Germanic ruler to assum e the title of emperor, and the 'empire' he revived laste d in one form or another for a thousand years. Culturally a nd politically, he left his mark on the newly rising civili zation of the West. Probably no ruler of the early Middle A ges better deserved the title of 'The Great.'
Charlemagne was the son of Pepin the Short, and the grandso n of Charles Martel. From 768 to 771, Charlemagne shared Pe pin's kingdom with his brother, Carloman. When Carloman die d, Charlemagne became sole ruler. He took up with energy th e work begun by his father and grandfather. His first ste p was to repress his hostile neighbors. Charlemagne gaine d wide acclaim for his outstanding military ability, persis tence, and success. He waged more than 50 campaigns agains t neighboring Germanic peoples on all sides, and against th e Avars, Slavs, Byzantines, and Moors.

Charlemagne's first great war was against the Lombards, a G ermanic people who had invaded Italy in the late 500's. The y had been a source of trouble to the popes ever since. I n conquering them, Charlemagne followed Pepin's policy of f riendship and cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church. T his also served Charlemagne's own interests, because he bec ame ruler of the Lombard kingdom in Italy.

The long Saxon war was the most important of Charlemagne' s military ventures. The Saxons, who held the whole northwe stern part of Duitsland, were pagans. Their defeat after 30 y ears of war prepared the way for the religious conversion a nd civilization of Duitsland.

By means of other wars, Charlemagne put down a rebellion i n Aquitaine, added Bavaria to his kingdom, and establishe d several border states to protect his outlying conquests . In eastern Europe, he defeated the Slavs and Avars and ma de possible eastward migration by the Germans.

Charlemagne had built a vast and sprawling state that share d borders with such different peoples as the Slavs, Byzanti nes, and Moslems. He defended the Roman Catholic Church an d constantly extended its power. He was far more powerful t han the imperial successors of Constantine, the first Chris tian emperor in the West, and he ruled a much more extensiv e area. Because of his great holdings, he decided to reviv e the Roman Empire, but as a new empire that was European a nd Christian in Character. The relations of the popes wit h the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman, emperors in Canstantinop le had been breaking down since the middle 700's. An allian ce between the Roman Catholic Church and the Franks, accomp lished by proclaiming Charlemagne emperor, made good sense . Pope Leo III placed the imperial crown on Charlemagne's h ead on Christmas Day, 800. The most important effect of thi s act was that it revived the idea of empire in the West, a n idea which caused both harm and good in succeeding centur ies.

Einhard, Charlemagne's secretary and friend, described th e emperor as large and strong of body, fond of active exerc ise, genial but dignified, and sensible and moderate in hi s way of life. Charlemagne clearly recognized his duties an d responsibilities, and was a tireless worker. He could no t reverse the long trend toward decentralized government. B ut he could and did control the power of the nobles and mai ntain a considerable degree of law and order in a trouble d age. His administrative methods helped raise the standar d of living.

Charlemagne's greatest contribution was his work as a patro n of culture and extender of civilization. The Palace Schoo l, set up at his capital in Aachen under the leadership o f the English scholar Alcuin (735-804), stimulated interes t in education, philosophy, and literature. Most of the lea ding scholars were churchman, so this vast cultural activit y greatly strengthened the church and had far-reaching an d lasting results. In this way, Charlemagne, by means of hi s power and eminence, gave western Europe a unified cultur e so strong that it survived the terrible invasions and dis orders of the next 200 years.

Source: 'The World Book Encyclopedia', 1968, C291-292. 'Anc estral Roots of Certain American Colonists ...', Frederic k Lewis Weis, 1993, p cvi.

aka Charles the Great. Had two more mistresses:
Adalind, son Theodric (807-818) a cleric.
unknown, son Richbod (800-844) abbott of St-Riquier.
King of the Lombards 774. Holy Roman Emperor.Karl der Grosse..Charlemagne URL: http://www.aritek.com/hartgen/htm/charlemagne.htm

1. Emperor Charles Charlemagne - also known as: the Great - was born on 2 Apr 0747 in Aix La Chapelle, Austrasia and died on 29 Jan 0813/0814 in Aix la Chapelle, France . He was the son of King Pepin I "The Short" of France and Countess Bertha "Greatfoot" of Laon.
emperor Charles married Empress Hildegard of Savoy about 0772 in Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia. Empress Hildegard was born in 0758 in Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia. She was the daughter of Count Gerold of Vinzgau I and Duchess Emma of Swabia. She died on 30 Apr 0783 in Thionville, Austrasia .
Empress Hildegard - Charlemagne married Hildegard in 771 after divorcing Desideria. With her, he had most of his children and all of his heirs. She was the daughter of an Alemani duke.

emperor Charles - In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the Franks were falling back into barbarian ways, neglecting their education and religion. The Saxons of northern Europe were still pagans. In the south, the Roman Catholic church was asserting its power to recover land confiscated by the Lombard kingdom of Italy. Europe was in turmoil.

CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne (Charles the Great) became master of Western Europe. It was falling into decay when Charlemagne became joint king of the Franks in 768. Except in the monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and the arts. Boldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By restoring the roots of learning and order, he preserved many political rights and revived culture. Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who crushed the Saracens. Charlemagne was the elder son of Bertrade ("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short, first "mayor of the palace" to become king of the Franks. Although schools had almost disappeared in the 8th century, historians believe that Bertrade gave young Charles some education and that he learned to read. His devotion to the church motivated him throughout life. Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary, Eginhard, wrote that Charlemagne had fair hair and a "face laughing and merry . . . his appearance was always stately and dignified." He had a ready wit, but could be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He delighted in hunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress--linen shirt and breeches, a silk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter, a tight coat of otter or marten skins. Over all these garments "he flung a blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him." Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usual penalty for defeat was death, Charlemagne several times spared the lives of his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, after a Saxon uprising, he ordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and nobles to reform, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. He forced kings and princes to kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household. Charlemagne Begins His Reign

Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-year campaign that conquered and Christianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the north. He subdued the Avars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the rebellious Bavarian dukes to submit to him.

When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however. For example, Charlemagne offered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius for return of lands to the pope, but, when Desiderius refused, Charlemagne seized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.

The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize. During his reign he sent out more than 50 military expeditions. He rode as commander at the head of at least half of them. He moved his armies over wide reaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every move was planned in advance. Before a campaign he told the counts, princes, and bishops throughout his realm how many men they should bring, what arms they were to carry, and even what to load in the supply wagons. These feats of organization and the swift marches later led Napoleon to study his tactic

One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In 778 he led his army into Spain, where they laid siege to Saragossa. They failed to take the city, and during their retreat a group of Basques ambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles and killed "Count Roland." Roland became a great hero of medieval songs and romances.

By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vast realm covered what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Nederland. It included half of present-day Italy and Duitsland, part of Austria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to the Ebro River. By thus establishing a central government over Western Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire and paved the way for the development of modern Europe. Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in St. Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III seized a golden crown from the altar and placed it on the bowed head of the king. The throng in the church shouted, "To Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, long life and victory!"

Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation, declaring that he would not have come into the church had he known the pope's plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared to act without Charlemagne's knowledge.

The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Though Charlemagne did not use the title, he is considered the first Holy Roman emperor (see Holy Roman Empire). Reform and Renaissance Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed that government should be for the benefit of the governed. When he came to the throne, various local governors, called "counts," had become lax and oppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators, called missi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents called capitularies and sent them out in teams of two--a churchman and a noble. They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting government, administering justice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and religious duties.

Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to discuss its affairs. In all problems he was the final arbiter, even in church issues, and he largely unified church and state.

Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his people's lot in many ways. He set up money standards to encourage commerce, tried to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged better farming methods. He especially worked to spread education and Christianity in every class of people.

He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up other schools, opening them to peasant boys as well as nobles.

Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk, Alcuin, and other scholars to his court. He learned to read Latin and some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of having jesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.

To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to train his Frankish singers. To restore some appreciation of art, he brought valuable pieces from Italy. An impressive monument to his religious devotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where he was burie

At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, was living. Louis's weak rule brought on the rise of civil wars and revolts. After his death his three quarreling sons split the empire between them by the Partition of Verdun in 843. Children with Empress Hildegard of Savoy (Quick Family Chart)
i. emperor Louis I "The Pious" of Roman Empire was born Aug 0778 in Casseneuil, France and died on 20 Jun 0840 in Mainz, Duitsland . See #2. belo
ii. King Pepin of Italy was born Apr 0777, lived in Aachenn, Rhineland, Prussia and died on 8 Jul 0810 in Milan, Italy . See #3. below.
Children with Unknown (Quick Family Chart)
iii. Aupais
Aupais married Begue. Begue was born in 0816. .

[Geoffrey De Normandie, Gedcom BSJTK Smith Family Tree.ged]

REFN: R22
CORO: 25 Dec 0800The great Basilica of old Saint Peter's in (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX) (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX) (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX)@pg 724
Alias: Charles The Great
Charlemagne 742?-814, emperor of the West (800-814), Carolingian
king of the Franks (768-814). The s on of PEPIN THE SHORT, he
consolidated his rule in his own kingdom, invaded It aly in
support of the pope, and in 774 was crowned king of the
Lombards. He t ook NE Spain from the MOORS (778) and annexed
Bavaria (788). After a long stru ggle (772-804) he subjugated and
Christianized the Saxons. In 800 he restored LEO III to the
papacy and was crowned emperor by him on Christmas Day, thus
l aying the basis for the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE and finalizing the
split between the Byzantine and Roman empires. Charlemagne ruled
through a highly efficient adm inistrative system. He codified
the law in his various dominions, and his cour t at AACHEN was
the center for an intellectual and artistic renaissance. The e nd
of his reign was troubled by raids by the NORSEMEN. His son,
LOUIS I, was named co-emperor in 813 and succeeded on his
father's death. Charlemagne's leg end soon enhanced and distorted
his actual achievements, and he became the cen tral figure of a
medieval romance cycle.
@S1005@
Charlemage's empire also included most of Duitsland (Saxony,
Alamannia and Bavaria) and northern Italy ( Lombardy). Although
charlemagne planned to subdivide the knigdom between his sons,
all but one pre-deceased him with the result that a united
empire was c ontinued.
@(XXXXX@XXXX.XXX) 724

Note: Anointed by Pope Stephen II in 754. Spoke Latin. After 760 accompanies his father during his military efforts to conquer the lands south the Loire River, or Aquitaine as they are more commonly known. Charlemagne invaded Italy in support of the pope and was crowned, King of the Lombards. He t ook Northeastern Spain from the Moors in 778 and annexed bavaria in 788. After a long strugg le, he subjugated and christianized the Saxons. In 800, Charlemagene restored Leo III to th e papacy and was crowned Emperor of the West on Christmas day. this action layed the foundat ion for the Holy Roman empire and finalized the split between East and West, Byzantine and Ro man Empires. He ruled through a highly efficient administrative system. He codified the la w in his various dominions. His court at Aachen, Prussia was the center for an intellectua l and cultural renaissance.
The end of his reign was troubled by invasion by the Norsemen.. In 813, his son, Louis I wa s crowned co-

Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, CAROLINGIAN king of the FRANKS, came to rule over most of Europe and assumed (800) the title of Roman emperor. He is sometimes regarded as the founder of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE. In 768 he and his brother Carloman inherited the Frankish kingdom (most of present-day France and a part of western Duitsland) from their father PEPIN THE SHORT. The entire kingdom passed to Charlemagne when Carloman died in 771. He inherited great wealth and a strong military organization from his father and brother. He used these assets to double the territory under Carolingian control. In 772 he opened his offensive against the SAXONS, and for more than three decades he pursued a ruthless policy aimed at subjugating them and converting them to Christianity. Almost every year Charlemagne attacked one or another region of Saxon territory. --4,500 Saxons were executed on a single day in 782--and deportations were used to discourage the stubborn. The Saxons proved to be a far more difficult enemy than any of the other peoples subjugated by Charlemagne. For example, the LOMBARDS were conquered in a single extended campaign 773-74), after which Charlemagne assumed the title "king of the Lombards." In 788 he absorbed the duchy of Bavaria, and soon thereafter he launched an offensive against the AVAR empire. The Avars succumbed within a decade, yielding Charlemagne a vast hoard of gold and silver. After one disastrous campaign (778) against the Muslims in Spain, Charlemagne left the southwestern front to his son Louis, (later Emperor LOUIS I) who, with the help of local Christian rulers, conquered Barcelona in 801 and controlled much of Catalonia by 814. On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne accepted the title of emperor and was crowned by Pope LEO III. For several years after he regarded the imperial title of being of little value. Moreover, he intended to divide his lands and titles among his sons, as was the Frankish custom. At his death on Jan. 28, 814, however, only one son, Louis, survived; Louis therefore assumed control of the entire Frankish empire.

king of the Franks (768-814), king of the Lombards (774-814), and emperor (800-814).

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Charlemagne

(French for Carolus Magnus, or Carlus Magnus ("Charles the
Great"); German Karl der Grosse).

The name given by later generations to Charles, King of the Franks,
first sovereign of the Christian Empire of the West; born 2 April,
742; died at Aachen, 28 January, 814. Note, however, that the place
of his birth (whether Aachen or Liège) has never been fully
ascertained, while the traditional date has been set one or more years
later by recent writers; if Alcuin is to be interpreted literally the year
should be 745. At the time of Charles' birth, his father, Pepin the
Short, Mayor of the Palace, of the line of Arnulf, was, theoretically,
only the first subject of Childeric III, the last Merovinigian King of
the Franks; but this modest title implied that real power, military,
civil, and even ecclesiastical, of which Childeric's crown was only
the symbol. It is not certain that Bertrada (or Bertha), the mother of
Charlemagne, a daughter of Charibert, Count of Laon, was legally
married to Pepin until some years later than either 742 or 745.

Charlemagne's career led to his acknowledgment by the Holy See as
its chief protector and coadjutor in temporals, by Constantinople as
at least Basileus of the West. This reign, which involved to a greater
degree than that of any other historical personage the organic
development, and still more, the consolidation of Christian Europe,
will be sketched in this article in the successive periods into which it
naturally divides. The period of Charlemagne was also an epoch of
reform for the Church in Gaul, and of foundation for the Church in
Duitsland, marked, moreover, by an efflorescence of learning which
fructified in the great Christian schools of the twelfth and later
centuries.

To the Fall of Pavia (742-774)

In 752, when Charles was a child of not more than ten years, Pepin
the Short had appealed to Pope Zachary to recognize his actual rule
with the kingly title and dignity. The practical effect of this appeal to
the Holy See was the journey of Stephen III across the Alps two
years later, for the purpose of anointing with the oil of kingship not
only Pepin, but also his son Charles and a younger son, Carloman.
The pope then laid upon the Christian Franks a precept, under the
gravest spiritual penalties, never "to choose their kings from any
other family". Primogeniture did not hold in the Frankish law of
succession; the monarchy was elective, though eligibility was
limited to the male members of the one privileged family. Thus,
then, at St. Denis on the Seine, in the Kingdom of Neustria, on the
28th of July, 754, the house of Arnulf was, by a solemn act of the
supreme pontiff established upon the throne until then nominally
occupied by the house of Merowig (Merovingians).

Charles, anointed to the kingly office while yet a mere child, learned
the rudiments of war while still many years short of manhood,
accompanying his father in several campaigns. This early experience
is worth noting chiefly because it developed in the boy those
military virtues which, joined with his extraordinary physical
strength and intense nationalism, made him a popular hero of the
Franks long before he became their rightful ruler. At length, in
September, 768, Pepin the Short, foreseeing his end, made a
partition of his dominions between his two sons. Not many days
later the old king passed away.

To better comprehend the effect of the act of partition under which
Charles and Carloman inherited their father's dominions, as well as
the whole subsequent history of Charles' reign, it is to be observed
that those dominions comprised:

first, Frankland (Frankreich) proper;
secondly, as many as seven more or less self-governing
dependencies, peopled by races of various origins and obeying
various codes of law.

Of these two divisions, the former extended, roughly speaking, from
the boundaries of Thuringia, on the east, to what is now the Belgian
and Norman coastline, on the west; it bordered to the north on
Saxony, and included both banks of the Rhine from Keulen (the
ancient Colonia Agrippina) to the North Sea; its southern
neighbours were the Bavarians, the Alemanni, and the Burgundians.
The dependent states were: the fundamentally Gaulish Neustria
(including within its borders Paris), which was, nevertheless, well
leavened with a dominant Frankish element; to the southwest of
Neustria, Brittany, formerly Armorica, with a British and
Gallo-Roman population; to the south of Neustria the Duchy of
Aquitaine, lying, for the most part, between the Loire and the
Garonne, with a decidedly Gallo-Roman population; and east of
Aquitaine, along the valley of the Rhone, the Burgundians, a people
of much the same mixed origin as those of Aquitaine, though with a
large infusion of Teutonic blood. These States, with perhaps the
exception of Brittany, recognized the Theodosian Code as their law.
The German dependencies of the Frankish kingdom were Thuringia,
in the valley of the Main, Bavaria, and Alemannia (corresponding to
what was later known as Swabia). These last, at the time of Pepin's
death, had but recently been won to Christianity, mainly through the
preaching of St. Boniface. The share which fell to Charles consisted
of all Austrasia (the original Frankland), most of Neustria, and all
of Aquitaine except the southeast corner. In this way the possessions
of the elder brother surrounded the younger on two sides, but on the
other hand the distribution of mm under their respective rules was
such as to preclude any risk of discord arising out of the national
sentiments of their various subjects.

In spite of this provident arrangement, Carloman contrived to
quarrel with his brother. Hunald, formerly Duke of Aquitaine,
vanquished by Pepin the Short, broke from the cloister, where he
had lived as a monk for twenty years, and stirred up a revolt in the
western part of the duchy. By Frankish custom Carloman should
have aided Charles; the younger brother himself held part of
Aquitaine; but he pretended that, as his dominion were unaffected by
this revolt, it was no business of his. Hunald, however, was
vanquished by Charles single-handed; he was betrayed by a nephew
with whom he had sought refuge, was sent to Rome to answer for
the violation of his monastic vows, and at last, after once more
breaking cloister, was stoned to death by the Lombards of Pavia. For
Charles the true importance of this Aquitanian episode was in its
manifestation his brother's unkindly feeling in his regard, and
against this danger he lost no time in taking precautions, chiefly by
winning over to himself the friends whom he judged likely to be
most valuable; first and foremost of these was his mother, Bertha,
who had striven both earnestly and prudently to make peace between
her sons, but who, when it became necessary to take sides with one
or the other could not hesitate in her devotion to the elder. Charles
was an affectionate son; it also appears that, in general, he was
helped to power by his extraordinary gift of personal attractiveness.

Carloman died soon after this (4 December, 771), and a certain
letter from "the Monk Cathwulph", quoted by Bouquet (Recueil.
hist., V, 634), in enumerating the special blessings for which the
king was in duty bound to be grateful, says,

Third . . . God has preserved you from the wiles of your
brother . . . . Fifth, and not the least, that God has removed
your brother from this earthly kingdom.

Carloman may not have been quite so malignant as the enthusiastic
partisans of Charles made him out, but the division of Pepin's
dominions was in itself an impediment to the growth of a strong
Frankish realm such as Charles needed for the unification of the
Christian Continent. Although Carloman had left two sons by his
wife, Gerberga, the Frankish law of inheritance gave no preference
to sons as against brother; left to their own choice, the Frankish
lieges, whether from love of Charles or for the fear which his name
already inspired, gladly accepted him for their king. Gerberga and
her children fled to the Lombard court of Pavia. In the mean while
complications had arisen in Charles' foreign policy which made his
newly established supremacy at home doubly opportune.

From his father Charles had inherited the title "Patricius Romanus"
which carried with it a special obligation to protect the temporal
rights of the Holy See. The nearest and most menacing neighbour of
St. Peter's Patrimony was Desidarius (Didier), King of the
Lombards, and it was with this potentate that the dowager Bertha
had arranged a matrimonial alliance for her elder son. The pope had
solid temporal reasons for objecting to this arrangement. Moreover,
Charles was already, in foro conscientiae, if not in Frankish law,
wedded to Himiltrude. In defiance of the pope's protest (PL
98:250), Charles married Desiderata, daughter of Desiderius (770),
three years later he repudiated her and married Hildegarde, the
beautiful Swabian. Naturally, Desiderius was furious at this insult,
and the dominions of the Holy See bore the first brunt of his wrath.

But Charles had to defend his own borders against the heathen as
well as to protect Rome against the Lombard. To the north of
Austrasia lay Frisia, which seems to have been in some equivocal
way a dependency, and to the east of Frisia, from the left bank of the
Ems (about the present Holland-Westphalia frontier), across the
valley of the Weser and Aller, and still eastward to the left bank of
the Elbe, extended the country of the Saxons, who in no fashion
whatever acknowledged any allegiance to the Frankish kings. In 772
these Saxons were a horde of aggressive pagans offering to
Christian missionaries no hope but that of martyrdom; bound
together, normally, by no political organization, and constantly
engaged in predatory incursions into the lands of the Franks. Their
language seems to have been very like that spoken by the Egberts
and Ethelreds of Britain, but the work of their Christian cousin, St.
Boniface, had not affected them as yet; they worshipped the gods of
Walhalla, united in solemn sacrifice -- sometimes human -- to
Irminsul (Igdrasail), the sacred tree which stood at Eresburg, and
were still slaying Christian missionaries when their kinsmen in
Britain were holding church synods and building cathedrals. Charles
could brook neither their predatory habits nor their heathenish
intolerance; it was impossible, moreover, to make permanent peace
with them while they followed the old Teutonic life of free village
communities. He made his first expedition into their country in July,
772, took Eresburg by storm, and burned Irminsul. It was in January
of this same year that Pope Stephen III died, and Adrian I, an
opponent of Desiderius, was elected. The new pope was almost
immediately assailed by the Lombard king, who seized three minor
cities of the Patrimony of St. Peter, threatened Ravenna itself, and
set about organizing a plot within the Curia. Paul Afiarta, the papal
chamberlain, detected acting as the Lombard's secret agent, was
seized and put to death. The Lombard army advanced against Rome,
but quailed before the spiritual weapons of the Church, while
Adrian sent a legate into Gaul to claim the aid of of the Patrician.

Thus it was that Charles, resting at Thionville after his Saxon
campaign, was urgently reminded of the rough work that awaited his
hand south of the Alps. Desiderius' embassy reached him soon after
Adrian's. He did not take it for granted that the right was all upon
Adrian's side; besides, he may have seen here an opportunity make
some amends for his repudiation of the Lombard princess. Before
taking up arms for the Holy See, therefore, he sent commissioners
into Italy to make enquiries and when Desiderius pretended that the
seizure of the papal cities was in effect only the legal foreclosure of
a mortgage, Charles promptly offered to redeem them by a money
payment. But Desiderius refused the money, and as Charles'
commissioners reported in favour of Adrian, the only course left
was war.

In the spring of 773 Charles summoned the whole military strength
of the Franks for a great invasion of Lombardy. He was slow to
strike, but he meant to strike hard. Data for any approximate
estimate of his numerical strength are lacking, but it is certain that
the army, in order to make the descent more swiftly, crossed the
Alps by two passes: Mont Cenis and the Great St. Bernard. Einhard,
who accompanied the king over Mont Cenis (the St. Bernard
column was led by Duke Bernhard), speaks feelingly of the marvels
and perils of the passage. The invaders found Desiderius waiting for
them, entrenched at Susa; they turned his flank and put the Lombard
army to utter rout. Leaving all the cities of the plains to their fate,
Desiderius rallied part of his forces in Pavia, his walled capital,
while his son Adalghis, with the rest, occupied Verona. Charles,
having been joined by Duke Bernhard, took the forsaken cities on
his way and then completely invested Pavia (September, 773),
whence Otger, the faithful attendant of Gerberga, could look with
trembling upon the array of his countrymen. Soon after Christmas
Charles withdrew from the siege a portion of the army which he
employed in the capture of Verona. Here he found Gerberga and her
children; as to what became of them, history is silent; they probably
entered the cloister.

What history does record with vivid eloquence is the first visit of
Charles to the Eternal City. There everything was done to give his
entry as much as possible the air of a triumph in ancient Rome. The
judges met him thirty miles from the city; the militia laid at the feet
of their great patrician the banner of Rome and hailed him as their
imperator. Charles himself forgot pagan Rome and prostrated
himself to kiss the threshold of the Apostles, and then spent seven
days in conference with the successor of Peter. It was then that he
undoubtedly formed many great designs for the glory of God and the
exaltation of Holy Church, which, in spite of human weaknesses
and, still more, ignorance, he afterwards did his best to realize. His
coronation as the successor of Constantine did not take place until
twenty-six years later, but his consecration as first champion of the
Catholic Church took place at Easter, 774. Soon after this (June,
774) Pavia fell, Desiderius was banished, Adalghis became a
fugitive at the Byzantine court, and Charles, assuming the crown of
Lombardy, renewed to Adrian the donation of of territory made by
Pepin the Short after his defeat of Aistulph. (This donation is now
generally admitted, as well as the original gift of Pepin at Kiersy in
752. The so-called "Privilegium Hadriani pro Carolo" granting him
full right to nominate the pope and to invest all bishops is a
forgery.)

To the Baptism of Wittekind (774-785)

The next twenty years of Charles' life may be considered as one long
warfare. They are filled with an astounding series of rapid marches
from end to end of a continent intersected by mountains, morasses,
and forests, and scantily provided with roads. It would seem that the
key to his long series of victories, won almost as much by moral
ascendancy as by physical or mental superiority, is to be found in the
inspiration communicated to his Frankish champion by Pope Adrian
I. Weiss (Weltgesch., 11, 549) enumerates fifty-three distinct
campaigns of Charlemagne; of these it is possible to point to only
twelve or fourteen which were not undertaken principally or entirely
in execution of his mission as the soldier and protector of the
Church. In his eighteen campaigns against the Saxons Charles was
more or less actuated by the desire to extinguish what he and his
people regarded as a form of devil-worship, no less odious to them
than the fetishism of Central Africa is to us.

While he was still in Italy the Saxons, irritated but not subdued by
the fate of Eresburg and of Irminsul had risen in arms, harried the
country of the Hessian Franks, and burned many churches; that of St.
Boniface at Fritzlar, being of stone, had defeated their efforts.
Returning to the north, Charles sent a preliminary column of cavalry
into the enemy's country while he held a council of the realm at
Kiersy (Quercy) in September, 774, at which it was decided that the
Saxons (Westfali, Ostfali, and Angrarii) must be presented with the
alternative of baptism or death. The northeastern campaigns of the
next seven years had for their object a conquest so decisive as to
make the execution of this policy feasible. The year 775 saw the
first of a series of Frankish military colonies, on the ancient Roman
plan established at Sigeburg among the Westfali. Charles next
subdued, temporarily at least, the Ostali, whose chieftain, Hessi,
having accepted baptism, ended his life in the monastery of Fulda
(see BONIFACE, SAINT; FULDA). Then, a Frankish camp at
Lübbecke on the Weser having been surprised by the Saxons, and its
garrison slaughtered, Charles turned again westward, once more
routed the Westfali, and received their oaths of submission.

At this stage (776) the affairs of Lombardy interrupted the Saxon
crusade. Areghis of Beneventum, son-in-law of the vanquished
Desiderius, had formed a plan with his brother-in-law Adalghis
(Adelchis), then an exile at Constantinople, by which the latter was
to make a descent upon Italy, backed by the Eastern emperor; Adrian
was at the same time involved in a quarrel with the three Lombard
dukes, Reginald of Clusium, Rotgaud of Friuli, and Hildebrand of
Spoleto. The archbishop of Ravenna, who called himself "primate"
and "exarch of Italy", was also attempting to found an independent
principality at the expense of the papal state but was finally subdued
in 776, and his successor compelled to be content with the title of
"Vicar" or representative of the pope. The junction of the aforesaid
powers, all inimical to the pope and the Franks, while Charles was
occupied in Westphalia, was only prevented by the death of
Constantine Copronymus in September, 775 (see BYZANTINE
EMPIRE). After winning over Hildebrand and Reginald by
diplomacy, Charles descended into Lombardy by the Brenner Pass
(spring of 776), defeated Rotgaud, and leaving garrisons and
governors, or counts (comites), as they were termed, in the
reconquered cities of the Duchy of Friuli, hastened back to Saxony.
There the Frankish garrison had been forced to evacuate Eresburg,
while the siege of Sigeburg was so unexpectedly broken up as to
give occasion later to a legend of angelic intervention in favour of
the Christians. As usual, the almost incredible suddenness of the
king's reappearance and the moral effect of his presence quieted the
ragings of the heathen. Charles then divided the Saxon territory into
Missionary districts. At the great spring hosting (champ de Mai) of
Paderborn, in 777, many Saxon converts were baptized; Wittekind
(Widukind), however, already the leader and afterwards the popular
hero of the Saxons, had fled to his brother-in-law, Sigfrid the Dane.

The episode of the invasion of Spain comes next in chronological
order. The condition of the venerable Iberian Church, still suffering
under Moslem domination, appealed strongly to the king's sympathy.
In 777 there came to Paderborn three Moorish emirs, enemies of the
Ommeyad Abderrahman, the Moorish King of Cordova. These emirs
did homage to Charles and proposed to him an invasion of Northern
Spain; one of the, Ibn-el-Arabi, promised to bring to the invaders'
assistance a force of Berber auxiliaries from Africa; the other two
promised to exert their powerful influence at Barcelona and
elsewhere north of the Ebro. Accordingly, in the spring of 778,
Charles, with a host of crusaders, speaking many tongues, and which
numbered among its constituents even a quota of Lombards, moved
towards the Pyrenees. His trusted lieutenant, Duke Bernhard. with
one division, entered Spain by the coast. Charles himself marched
through the mountain passes straight to Pampelona. But
Ibn-el-Arabi, who had prematurely brought on his army of Berbers,
was assassinated by the emissary of Abderrahman, and though
Pampelona was razed, and Barcelona and other cities fell, Saragossa
held out. Apart from the moral effect of this campaign upon the
Moslem rulers of Spain, its result was insignificant, though the
famous ambuscade in which perished Roland, the great Paladin, at
the Pass of Roncesvalles, furnished to the medieval world the
material for its most glorious and influential epic, the "Chanson de
Roland".

Much more important to posterity were the next succeeding events
which continued and decided the long struggle in Saxony. During
the Spanish crusade Wittekind had returned from his exile, bringing
with him Danish allies, and was now ravaging Hesse; the Rhine
valley from Deutz to Andenach was a prey to the Saxon
"devil-worshipers"; the Christian missionaries were scattered or in
hiding. Charles gathered his hosts at Düren, in June, 779, and
stormed Wittekind's entrenched camp at Bocholt, after which
campaign he seems to have considered Saxony a fairly subdued
country. At any rate, the "Saxon Capitulary" (see CAPITULARIES)
of 781 obliged all Saxons not only to accept baptism (and this on
the pain of death) but also to pay tithes, as the Franks did for the
support of the Church; moreover it confiscated a large amount of
property for the benefit of the missions. This was Wittekind's last
opportunity to restore the national independence and paganism; his
people, exasperated against the Franks and their God, eagerly rushed
to arms. At Suntal on the Weser, Charles being absent, they defeated
a Frankish army killing two royal legates and five Counts. But
Wittekind committed the error of enlisting as allies the
non-Teutonic Sorbs from beyond the Saale; race-antagonism soon
weakened his forces, and the Saxon hosts melted away. Of the
so-called "Massacre of Verdun" (783) it is fair to say that the 4500
Saxons who perished were not prisoners of war; legally, they were
ringleaders in a rebellion, selected as such from a number of their
fellow rebels. Wittekind himself escaped beyond the Elbe. It was not
until after another defeat of the Saxons at Detmold, and again at
Osnabrück, on the "Hill of Slaughter", that Wittekind acknowledged
the God of Charles the stronger than Odin. In 785 Wittekind
received baptism at Attigny, and Charles stood godfather.

Last Steps to the Imperial Throne (785-800)

The summer of 783 began a new period in the life of Charles, in
which signs begin to appear of his less amiable traits. It was in this
year, signalized, according to the chroniclers, by unexampled heat
and a pestilence, that the two queens died, Bertha, the king's mother,
and Hildegarde, his second (or his third) wife. Both of these women,
the former in particular, had exercised over him a strong influence
for good. Within a few months the king married Fastrada, daughter
of an Austrasian count. The succeeding years were, comparatively
speaking, years of harvest after the stupendous period of ploughing
and sowing that had gone before; and Charles' nature was of a type
that appears to best advantage in storm and stress. What was to be
the Western Empire of the Middle Ages was already hewn out in the
rough when Wittekind received baptism. From that date until the
coronation of Charles at Rome, in 800, his military work was
chiefly in suppressing risings of the newly conquered or quelling the
discontents of jealous subject princes. Thrice in these fifteen years
did the Saxons rise, only to be defeated. Tassilo, Duke of Bavaria,
had been a more or less rebellious vassal ever since the beginning of
his reign, and Charles now made use of the pope's influence,
exercised through the powerful bishops of Freising, Salzburg, and
Regensburg (Ratisbon), to bring him to terms. In 786 a Thuringian
revolt was quelled by the timely death, blinding, and banishment of
its leaders. Next year the Lombard prince, Areghis, having fortified
himself at Salerno, had actually been crowned King of the Lombards
when Charles descended upon him at Beneventum, received his
submission, and took his son Grimwald as a hostage, after which,
finding that Tassilo had been secretly associated with the conspiracy
of the Lombards, he invaded Bavaria from three sides with three
armies drawn from at least five nationalities. Once more the
influence of the Holy See settled the Bavarian question in Charles'
favour; Adrian threatened Tassilo with excommunication if he
persisted in rebellion, and as the Duke's own subjects refused to
follow him to the field, he personally made submission, did homage,
and in return received from Charles a new lease of his duchy
(October, 787).

During this period the national discontent with Fastrada culminated
in a plot in which Pepin the Hunchback, Charles' son by Himiltrude,
was implicated, and though his life was spared through his father's
intercession, Pepin spent what remained of his days in a monastery.
Another son of Charles (Carloman, afterwards called Pepin, and
crowned King of Lombardy at Rome in 781, on the occasion of an
Easter visit by the king, at which time also his brother Louis was
crowned King of Aquitaine) served his father in dealing with the
Avars, a pagan danger on the frontier, compared with which the
invasion of Septimania by the Saracens (793) was but an
insignificant incident of border warfare. These Avars, probably of
Turanian blood, occupied the territories north of the Save and west
of the Theiss. Tassilo had invited their assistance against his
overlord; and after the Duke's final submission Charles invaded
their country and conquered it as far as the Raab (791). By the
capture of the famous "Ring" of the Avars, with its nine concentric
circles, Charles came into possession of vast quantities of gold and
silver, parts of the plunder which these barbarians had been
accumulating for two centuries. In this campaign King Pepin of
Lombardy cooperated with his father, with forces drawn from Italy;
the later stages of this war (which may be considered the last of
Charles' great wars) were left in the hands of the younger king.

The last stages by which the story of Charles' career is brought to its
climax touch upon the exclusive spiritual domain of the Church. He

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[db021301.FTW]

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[rw1015.FTW]

\800 Crowned Emperor of the Roman Empire

King of Franks and Roman Emperor

Charlemagne Emperor Of The HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE; CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). (Note: "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne (Charles the Great) became master of Western Europe. It was falling into decay when Charlemagne became joint king of the Franks in 768. Except in the monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and the arts. Boldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By restoring the roots of learning and order, he preserved many political rights and revived culture). He was buried at Notre Dame D'aix La Chapelle, Austrasia. He was born on 4/2/742 at Aix La Chapelle, Austrasia. He married Hildegard Empress Of The HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE circa 772 at Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia. He died on 1/28/814 at Aix La Chapelle, Austrasia, at age 71.

http://www.johnburgessdesign.com/YHFF/burgessancestors.htm
Burgess Family Ancestors
Pedigree and Most Notable
© 2001 by John Burgess Design
___________________________________
findagrave.com has Charlemagne buried at Dom (cathedral) of Aachen, Aachen, Aachen, Duitsland.

http://masseyfamgenealogy.tripod.com/a39.htm#i8986

274877907200. Charlemagne "The Great", Emperor Of The Holy Roman Empire King Of Franks King Of France , son of Pepin (Pippin) III "The Short", King Of The Franks King Of Franks Duke Of Austrasia and Bertrada (Bertha) II "Broadfoot" , Countess De Laon [Queen Of Franks, was born on 2 Apr 742-747 in Ingelheim, Rheinhessen, Hesse-Darmstadt, was christened in St. Denis, Paris, Seine, France died on 28 Jan 814 in Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia, at age 71, and was buried on 5 Feb 814 in Aachen Cathedral, Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia. Other names for Charlemagne were Emperor Of The Holy Roman Empire Charlemagne, Emperor Of The West Charlemagne King Of Franks, and Charlemagne Holy Roman Emp.

General Notes: King of the Franks 768-814; Holy Roman Emperor 800-814. He was joint king with his brother Carloman. Charlemagne = Carolus Magnus, in Latin = Charles the Great. He led his Frankish armies to victory over numerous other peoples and established his rule in most of western and central Europe. He was the best-known and most influential king in Europe in the Middle Ages.

He is described as being big and robust in frame, nearly 7 feet tall, with large and lustrous eyes, with a rather long nose, and with a ruddy and cheerful countenance. He had a commanding presence, a clear but somewhat feeble voice, and grew rather stout. His health was uniformly good, owing perhaps to his moderation in eating and drinking and to his fondness for hunting and swimming. Though givven to immorality in his private life, he was a regular observer of religious rites and took deep interest in the missons and schools of the Church. Though unable to write, he knew German and learned to read Latin. (Ancient and Medieval History, by Carlton Hayes and Parker Moon; 1929)

When his father, Pepin, was crowned by Pope Stephen in 754, the pope also anointed both Charlemagne and his brother Carloman. Charlemagne accompanied his father on most of his military expeditions. When his father died in 768, Charlemagne sought an alliance with the Lombards by marrying the daughter of the king. When his brother died suddenly in 771, Charlemagne seized his territories, but Carloman's heirs took refuge at the court of Desiderius (Charlemagne's father-in-law). By that time Charlemagne had repudiated his wife, and Desiderius was no longer friendly. In 772, when Pope Adrian I appealed to Charlemagne for help against Desiderius, the Frankish king invaded Italy, deposed his erstwhile father-in-law (774), and himself assumed the royal title. He then journeyed to Rome and reaffirmed his father's promise to protect papal lands. As early as 772 Charlemagne had fought onslaughts of the heathen Saxons on his lands. Buoyed by his Italian success, he now (774) embarked on a campaign to conquer and Christianize them. That campaign had some initial success but was to drag on for 30 years, in which time he conducted many other campaigns as well. He fought in Spain in 778; on the return trip his rear guard, led by Roland, was ambushed, a story immortalized in "The Song of Roland". In 788 he subjected the Bavarians to his rule, and between 791 and 796 Charlemagne's armies conquered the empire of the Avars (corresponding roughly to modern Hungary and Austria).
Charlemagne had thus built an empire and become an emperor. On Christmas Day, in 800, Charlemagne knelt to pray in St.Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo III then placed a crown upon his head, and the people assembled in the church acclaimed him the great, pacific emperor of the Romans. In 813 he designated his sole surviving son, Louis, as his successor, and personally crowned him. (Internet)

Charlemagne established a more permanent royal capital than had any of his predecessors. His favorite residence from 794 on was at Aix-la-Chapelle. He had a church and a palace constructed there, based in part on architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At his court he gathered scholars from all over Europe, the most famous being the English cleric Alcuin of York, whom he placed in charge of the palace school. (Internet)

He was a tireless patron of learning. He loved to read histories and study astronomy and question travellers about geography. He caused Frankish legends to be collected and put in poetical form. Under Charlemagne's guidance, Alcuin organized a "school of the palace," where the royal children were taught together with others, and likewise he founded at Tours a school which became the model for many other educational institutions throughout the Empire. (Ancient and Medieval History, by Carlton Hayes and Parker Moon; 1929)

He founded bishoprics and monasteries, was lavish in his gifts to ecclesiastical foundations, took an active part in the deliberations of church synods, and favored bishops and abbots who possessed personal piety, learning, and administrative ability. (Ancient and Medieval History, by Carlton Hayes and Parker Moon; 1929)

Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250 royal administrators called counts. Charlemagne issued hundreds of decrees, called capitularies, dealing with a broad range of topics from judicial and military matters to monasteries, education, and the management of royal estates.
The empire did not expand after 800; already in the 790's the seacoasts and river valleys experienced the first, dreaded visits of the Vikings.
Charlemagne ordered a special watch against them in every harbor, but with little effect. He died before their full, destructive force was unleashed on the empire.
Charlemagne is important not only for the number of his victories and the size of his empire, but for the special blend of tradition and innovation that he represented. On the one hand, he was a traditional Germanic warrior, who spent most of his adult life fighting. In the Saxon campaigns he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retaliated against rebels with merciless slaughter. On the other hand, he placed his immense power and prestige at the service of Christian doctrine, the monastic life, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule of law. His life, held up as a model to most later kings, thus embodied the fusion of Germanic, Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basis of European civilization. (Internet)

In the early part of his reign, invaded Northern Italy, putting an end to the Lombard kingdom. From 774 to 799 he was at war with the Saxons, at that time a heathen race east of the Rhine. In 785, Widukind, Saxon leader, submitted and was baptized a Christian, but resistance continued in the outlying portions of the region. Bavaria was next annexed and this brought Charlemagne in conflict with the Avars whose Khan became a Christian in 805. Expeditions were also sent against the Arabs of North Spain. In 800, while in Rome, Charlemagne was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day, thus reviving the Roman Empire. After a naval war in the Adriatic, in which he surrendered some disputed territory, Charlemagne was saluted by the Greek envoys as Basileus, the equality of the two empires being thus recognized. The reign of Charlemagne witnessed a revival of arts and letters, a revision of Frankish law and the writing of the laws of Saxons, Thuringians, and Frisians.

The town of Hamburg was founded by Charlemagne in 808. (Life of Anskar; from the Internet)

The monastery of New Corbey (sometimes called Corvey), had been planned by Charlemagne, and after his death was built at the instigation of his successor Ludwig in the Sollinger Wald. Adelhard was its first abbot. The original building was injured by an earthquake in 819, and in 821 the site was moved to the right bank of the River Weser, in Westphalia, and was refounded here on August 25th, 822. (Life of Ansker; from the Internet)

A real family man, Charlie kept his daughters close at hand, refusing to let them marry or enter a nunnery. Being from the Frankish cultural tradition, however, dad had a relaxed attitude about sexual activities. His daughter, Bertha, and her sisters were allowed to have love affairs, even with men of lower social standing. Dad's rules: Keep it under my roof but out of my sight. (Uppity Women of Medieval Times, by Vicki Leon, 1997)

Petty principalities developed in Bretagne. These principalities became subject to Charlemagne early in the 9th century, but in 846, under a leader, Nomen”e, who had united the country against invaders, the Bretons revolted against Charlemagne's grandson, Charles the Bald, and won independence. (Encarta Encyclopedia, CD-rom)

His name in Latin is Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great), who led his Frankish armies to victory over numerous other peoples and established his rule in most of western and central Europe. He was the best-known and most influential king in Europe in the Middle Ages. Early Years In 751 Pepin the Short dethroned the last Merovingian king and assumed the royal title himself. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II in 754. Besides anointing Pepin, Pope Stephen anointed both Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman. Within the year Pepin invaded Italy to protect the pope against the Lombards, and in 756 he again had to rush to the pope's aid. From 760 on, Pepin's main military efforts went into the conquest of Aquitaine, the lands south of the Loire River. Charlemagne accompanied his father on most of these expeditions. Campaigns When Pepin died in 768, the rule of his realms was to be shared between his two sons. Charlemagne sought an alliance with the Lombards by marrying the daughter of their king, Desiderius (reigned 757-74). In 771 Carloman died suddenly. Charlemagne then seized his territories, but Carloman's heirs took refuge at the court of Desiderius. By that time Charlemagne had repudiated his wife, and Desiderius was no longer friendly. In 772, when Pope Adrian I appealed to Charlemagne for help against Desiderius, the Frankish king invaded Italy, deposed his erstwhile father-in-law (774), and himself assumed the royal title. He then journeyed to Rome and reaffirmed his father's promise to protect papal lands. As early as 772 Charlemagne had fought onslaughts of the heathen Saxons on his lands. Buoyed by his Italian success, he now (775) embarked on a campaign to conquer and Christianize them. That campaign had some initial success but was to drag on for 30 years, in which time he conducted many other campaigns as well. He fought in Spain in 778; on the return trip his rear guard, led by Roland, was ambushed, a story immortalized in The Song of Roland. In 788 he subjected the Bavarians to his rule, and between 791 and 796 Charlemagne's armies conquered the empire of the Avars (corresponding roughly to modern Hungary and Austria). Coronation Having thus established Frankish rule over so many other peoples, Charlemagne had in fact built an empire and become an emperor. It remained only for him to add the title. On Christmas Day, in 800, Charlemagne knelt to pray in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo III then placed a crown upon his head, and the people assembled in the church acclaimed him the great, pacific emperor of the Romans. Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reported that the king was surprised by this coronation and that had he known it was going to happen, he would not have gone into the church that day. This report has led to much speculation by historians. Charlemagne probably desired and expected to get the imperial title and he subsequently used it. In 813 he designated his sole surviving son, Louis, as his successor, and personally crowned him. Administration Charlemagne established a more permanent royal capital than had any of his predecessors. His favorite residence from 794 on was at Aix-la-Chapelle. He had a church and a palace constructed there, based in part on architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At his court he gathered scholars from all over Europe, the most famous being the English cleric Alcuin of York, whom he placed in charge of the palace school. Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250 royal administrators called counts. Charlemagne issued hundreds of decrees, called capitularies, dealing with a broad range of topics from judicial and military matters to monasteries, education, and the management of royal estates. The empire did not expand after 800; indeed, already in the 790s the seacoasts and river valleys experienced the first, dreaded visits of the Vikings. Charlemagne ordered a special watch against them in every harbor, but with little effect. He died before their full, destructive force was unleashed on the empire. Evaluation Charlemagne is important not only for the number of his victories and the size of his empire, but for the special blend of tradition and innovation that he represented. On the one hand, he was a traditional Germanic warrior, who spent most of his adult life fighting. In the Saxon campaigns he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retaliated against rebels with merciless slaughter. On the other hand, he placed his immense power and prestige at the service of Christian doctrine, the monastic life, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule of law. His life, held up as a model to most later kings, thus embodied the fusion of Germanic, Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basis of European civilization. Merged General Note: His name in Latin is Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great), who led his Frankish armies to victory over numerous other peoples and established his rule in most of western and central Europe. He was the best-known and most influential king in Europe in the Middle Ages. Early Years In 751 Pepin the Short dethroned the last Merovingian king and assumed the royal title himself. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II in 754. Besides anointing Pepin, Pope Stephen anointed both Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman. Within the year Pepin invaded Italy to protect the pope against the Lombards, and in 756 he again had to rush to the pope's aid. From 760 on, Pepin's main military efforts went into the conquest of Aquitaine, the lands south of the Loire River. Charlemagne accompanied his father on most of these expeditions. Campaigns When Pepin died in 768, the rule of his realms was to be shared between his two sons. Charlemagne sought an alliance with the Lombards by marrying the daughter of their king, Desiderius (reigned 757-74). In 771 Carloman died suddenly. Charlemagne then seized his territories, but Carloman's heirs took refuge at the court of Desiderius. By that time Charlemagne had repudiated his wife, and Desiderius was no longer friendly. In 772, when Pope Adrian I appealed to Charlemagne for help against Desiderius, the Frankish king invaded Italy, deposed his erstwhile father-in-law (774), and himself assumed the royal title. He then journeyed to Rome and reaffirmed his father's promise to protect papal lands. As early as 772 Charlemagne had fought onslaughts of the heathen Saxons on his lands. Buoyed by his Italian success, he now (775) embarked on a campaign to conquer and Christianize them. That campaign had some initial success but was to drag on for 30 years, in which time he conducted many other campaigns as well. He fought in Spain in 778; on the return trip his rear guard, led by Roland, was ambushed, a story immortalized in The Song of Roland. In 788 he subjected the Bavarians to his rule, and between 791 and 796 Charlemagne's armies conquered the empire of the Avars (corresponding roughly to modern Hungary and Austria). Coronation Having thus established Frankish rule over so many other peoples, Charlemagne had in fact built an empire and become an emperor. It remained only for him to add the title. On Christmas Day, in 800, Charlemagne knelt to pray in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo III then placed a crown upon his head, and the people assembled in the church acclaimed him the great, pacific emperor of the Romans. Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reported that the king was surprised by this coronation and that had he known it was going to happen, he would not have gone into the church that day. This report has led to much speculation by historians. Charlemagne probably desired and expected to get the imperial title and he subsequently used it. In 813 he designated his sole surviving son, Louis, as his successor, and personally crowned him. Administration Charlemagne established a more permanent royal capital than had any of his predecessors. His favorite residence from 794 on was at Aix-la-Chapelle. He had a church and a palace constructed there, based in part on architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At his court he gathered scholars from all over Europe, the most famous being the English cleric Alcuin of York, whom he placed in charge of the palace school. Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250 royal administrators called counts. Charlemagne issued hundreds of decrees, called capitularies, dealing with a broad range of topics from judicial and military matters to monasteries, education, and the management of royal estates. The empire did not expand after 800; indeed, already in the 790s the seacoasts and river valleys experienced the first, dreaded visits of the Vikings. Charlemagne ordered a special watch against them in every harbor, but with little effect. He died before their full, destructive force was unleashed on the empire. Evaluation Charlemagne is important not only for the number of his victories and the size of his empire, but for the special blend of tradition and innovation that he represented. On the one hand, he was a traditional Germanic warrior, who spent most of his adult life fighting. In the Saxon campaigns he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retaliated against rebels with merciless slaughter. On the other hand, he placed his immense power and prestige at the service of Christian doctrine, the monastic life, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule of law. His life, held up as a model to most later kings, thus embodied the fusion of Germanic, Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basis of European civilization.

Naissance
La naissance et l'enfance de Charlemagne restent obscures, faute de documents d'époque. On ne connaît par exemple pas exactement son lieu de naissance (Aix-la-Chapelle ou Liège, Charlemagne serait né a Quierzy-sur-Oise, Pépin le Bref y ayant fêté Pâques en 747.

Son arrivée sur le trône
À la mort de Pépin le Bref, ses deux fils Charles (futur Charlemagne) et Carloman furent tous deux élus rois par une assemblée populaire ; Charles se vit attribuer la partie de territoire que possédait son père, et Carloman le royaume qui avait été celui de leur oncle Carloman. Malheureusement, en 771, soit après un peu plus de trois années de règne et de paix relative entre les deux frères, Carloman décède. Sa veuve, Gerbera, se réfugie en Italie avec ses fils et quelques partisans, et Charles, alors âgé de vingt-neuf ans, est rapidement élu souverain de tout le royaume franc.

Charlemagne commence ses conquêtes vers le Nord et l'Est (Bavière, Saxe, Frise) et vers le Sud (Nord de l'Ebre en Espagne).

À Noël 800, Charlemagne est couronné empereur des Romains par le pape Léon III. Toutefois dans ses actes le souverain se titrait « empereur gouvernant l'Empire romain, roi des Francs et des Lombards » (Karolus, serenissimus augustus, a Deo coronatus, magnus et pacificus imperator, Romanum gubernans imperium, qui et per misericordiam Dei rex Francorum et Langobardorum)

Le monogramme de Charlemagne
Charlemagne n'apprit à écrire que tardivement, et il ne parvint jamais à maîtriser cette difficile technique, ce qui motiva la création d'une école du palais, afin que les hommes qui devaient le servir soient à même de rédiger des rapports.

Cependant, afin de lui permettre de signer autrement que d'une simple croix, Eginhard lui apprit à tracer ce signe simple, un monogramme, qui contient toutes les lettres de son nom, Charles (Karolus en latin).
Les consonnes sont sur les branches de la croix, les voyelles contenues dans le losange central (A en haut, O est le losange, U est la moitié inférieure).

Bien que ne sachant pas écrire, Charlemagne savait lire ; il parlait le teuton et le roman, et connaissait le latin et un peu de grec.
La vie de Charlemagne fut relatée par le moine Eginhard, qui le suivit tout au long de sa vie.

Voir également Les Carolingiens.

La figure de Charlemagne fut idéalisée dans la culture médiévale, notamment au travers des chansons de geste, dans lesquelles il est assisté de neuf preux. France Gall a chanté Sacré Charlemagne en 1964.

Chronologie

768 : Début du règne de Charlemagne, roi des Francs.Il règne avec son frère Carloman jusqu'en 771.
771 : Charlemagne règne seul.
25 décembre 800: Charlemagne, roi des Francs, est sacré empereur d'Occident à Rome par le pape Léon III. Début du nouvel Empire d'Occident.
812 Par le traité d'Aix-la-Chapelle, l'empereur d'Orient Michel Ier reconnaît Charlemagne comme empereur d'Occident.

"Canonisé par Paschal III. Il est vrai que c'était un antipape, mais ce décret a acquis force de loi, n'y ayant pas eu de réclamation de la part des papes légitimes. La fête du Bienheureux Charlemagne se fait avec le rite double de première classe à Aix-la-Chapelle, et il est encore honoré dans plusieurs églises de France et d'Allemagne. L'Université de Paris l'a choisi pour patron en 1661." (Alban Butler, Vie des pères, martyres et autres saints, 1745 / Apollon)

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L'empire électif actuel des Allemands et l'empire de Charlemagne, passage extrait des Mémoires pour le Dauphin, année 1666, par Louis XIV.

"L'Empereur avait cru de son intérêt de me faire part de son élection, comme ses prédécesseurs aux miens; (...)

Pour apprendre à ce prince à mieux me connaître, j'obligeais à rayer dans les pouvoirs de ses ministres les quelités de comte de Ferrette et de Landgrave d'Alsace, ces États m'ayant été cédés par le traité de Munster. Je lui fis aussi retrancher d'un projet de ligue contre les Turcs, le titre qu'il se donnait de chef du peuple chrétien, comme si il eût véritablement possédé le même empire et les mêmes droits qu'avait autrefois Charlemagne, après avoir défendu la religion contre les Saxons, les Huns et les Sarrazins.

Et sur ce sujet, mon fils, de peur qu'on ne veuille vous imposer quelquefois les beaux noms d'Empire romain, de César ou de successeur de ces grands empereurs, dont nous tirons nous-même nos origines, je me sens obligé de vous faire remarquer combien ces empereurs d'aujourd'hui sont éloignés de cette grandeur dont ils affectent les titres.

Quand ces titres furent mis dans notre maison, elle régnait tout à la fois sur la France, sur les Pays-Bas, sur l'Allemagne, sur l'Italie et sur la meilleure partie de l'Espagne qu'elle avait distribuée à divers seigneurs particuliers, s'en réservant la souveraineté. Les sanglantes défaites de plusieurs peuples venus du Nord et du Midi pour la ruine de la chrétienté, avaient porté la terreur du nom français par toute la Terre.

Charlemagne (...) était monté à ce haut point de gloire, non pas par l'élection de quelques princes, mais par le courage et les victoires qui sont l'élection et les suffrages du Ciel même. Et l'on n'avait point vu de domination aussi étendue que la sienne, hors les quatre fameuses monarchies (...) Celle des Romains était la dernière, tout-à-fait éteinte en Occident, et dont on ne voyait plus en Orient que quelques restes faibles, misérables et languissants.(...)

Ce nom (d'empereur) sembla seul pouvoir distinguer et désigner l'élévation extraordinaire de Charlemagne, et bien que cette élévation même, qu'il ne tenait que de Dieu et de son épée, lui donnât assez de droit pour prendre tel titre qu'il aurait voulu, le pape fut bien aise de contribuer à sa gloire, et de rendre en lui cette qualité d'empereur plus authentique par un couronnement solennel, comme le sacre, encore qu'il ne donne pas la royauté, mais la déclare au peuples et la rend en nous plus auguste, plus inviolable, plus sainte.

Mais cette grandeur de Charlemagne (...) ne dura pas longtemps après lui, diminuée premièrement par les partages qui se faisaient alors entre les enfants de France, puis par la faiblesse et le peu d'application de ses descendants, en particulier de la branche qui s'était établie en-deça du Rhin; car les empires, mon fils, ne se conservent que comme ils s'acquièrent, c'est-à-dire par la vigueur, par la vigilance et par le travail.

Les Allemands, s'emparèrent bientôt de cette dignité, ou plutôt en subrogèrent une autre en la place, et l'on tâcha, comme dans tous les grands changements, à faire que chacun trouvât ses avantages pour ne pas s'y opposer : les peuples et les États particuliers s'y engagèrent par tous les privilèges qu'on leur donna sous le nom de liberté; les princes d'Allemagne, parce qu'on rendait cette dignité élective, et qu'ils acquéraient par là le droit d'y nommer ou d'y prétendre; les papes, enfin, parce qu'on faisait toujours profession de la tenir de leur autorité (...).

Mais pour en revenir aux empereurs d'aujourd'hui, on doit les regarder seulement comme les chefs et les capitaines généraux d'une République d'Allemagne, assez nouvelle en comparaison de plusieurs autres États, et qui ne saurait prétendre à aucune supériorité sur les nations voisines.

Leurs résolutions les plus importantes sont soumises aux délibérations des États de l'Empire: on leur impose, en les élisant, les conditions qu'on veut.

En cette qualité d'empereur, ils n'ont que très peu de revenus, et si ils ne possédaient pas de leur chef d'autres États héréditaires, ils seraient réduits à n'avoir pour habitation dans tout l'Empire que l'unique ville de Bamberg, que l'évêque, qui en est seigneur souverain, est obligé de leur céder dans ce cas là. Plusieurs princes, qui pouvaient par l'élection parvenir à cette dignité, n'en ont pas voulue, la croyant plus onéreuse qu'honorable.

Je ne vois donc pas, mon fils, pour quelle raison les rois de France, qui peuvent se vanter qu'il n'y a aujourd'hui dans le monde, sans exceptions, ni meilleure maison que la leur, ni monarchie aussi ancienne, ni puissance plus grande, iraient se soumettre en quelquechose à ces princes électifs."

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Le 4 décembre 771 meurt Carloman (20 ans). Celui-ci est le petit-fils de Charles Martel et le fils cadet de Pépin le Bref, roi des Francs, et de la reine Bertrade (surnommée Berthe au grand pied par nos écoliers).

Frères rivaux:

Trois ans plus tôt, à la mort de Pépin, le royaume des Francs, hérité des Mérovingiens, a été partagé entre Carloman et son frère aîné, Charles, selon la coutume germanique.

La capitale de l'aîné est fixée à Noyon, celle du cadet à Soissons, à quelques kilomètres de distance! Malgré cette proximité, les relations entre les deux frères sont tendues.

Charles, plus actif que son frère, supporte mal de n'avoir reçu que la part la plus pauvre de ce royaume immense qui s'étendait de part et d'autre du Rhin.

Dès la première année, Carloman refuse à Charles son aide pour soumettre les Aquitains. Qu'à cela ne tienne, Charles (le futur Charlemagne) règle leur compte aux Aquitains et par la même occasion s'empare de la Gascogne, au sud de la Garonne.

La mort inopinée de son frère permet à Charles (29 ans) de mettre la main sur l'ensemble des possessions paternelles, après avoir déshérité les enfants de Carloman. Il peut régner désormais sans partage sur le royaum

Seul maître du royaume

Le jeune roi des Francs est un Barbare illettré qui ne parle que le francique, la langue des Francs.

Intelligent et énergique, il n'a de cesse de s'instruire et d'apprendre le latin auprès des meilleurs clercs de son temps, dont le plus connu est le moine anglais Alcuin.

Comme il souffre de rhumatismes, il établit sa résidence principale près d'une source thérapeutique, en Rhénanie, au c oeur de son royaume, en un lieu qui s'appellera Aix-la-Chapelle. Mais le roi n'y réside pas souvent. Il n'a de cesse de voyager pour inspecter ses représentants et combattre ses ennemis.

Charles restaure un semblant d'administration dans l'Occident européen ravagé par les guerres intestines.

C'est ainsi qu'il divise son royaume en comtés, sous l'autorité d'un compagnon du roi (du latin, comes, comitis , dont nous avons fait comte) et en 250 entités de base du nom de «pagi», d'après le mot latin pagus qui désigne une circonscription rurale (en France, beaucoup de ces pagi sont devenus à la Révolution des départements).

Les habitants des pagi, surtout des travailleurs de la terre, sont désignés sous le terme pagenses, dont nous vient le mot paysan.

Pour éviter les abus de pouvoir des seigneurs locaux, Charles délègue fréquemment ses proches dans les pagi.

Ces représentants, ou missi dominici (en latin, envoyés de la cour) vont deux par deux et se surveillent l'un l'autre! L'un est un comte et l'autre un évêque.

Attentif aux affaires religieuses, Charles constitue aussi une quinzaine d'archevêchés pour favoriser l'évangélisation de l'Occident.

Le règne personnel de Charles 1er, très long (42 ans), est une suite incessante de guerres, en premier lieu contre les fils de Carloman et leurs partisans, en second lieu contre les Saxons païens de Germanie, les musulmans d'Espagne et les Lombards qui menacent le pape.

Sacre romain

Les services rendus à la papauté valent au roi des Francs de recevoir du pape Léon III, à la Noël 800, le titre inédit d'«Empereur des Romains». Le sacre de Charlemagne couronné empereur d'Occident par le pape Léon III, le 25 décembre 800. Miniature extraite d'une édition du XIV° siècle des Grandes Chroniques de France. Bibliothèque royale, Bruxelles

Par son sacre dans la Ville éternelle, Charles se démarque de son père, sacré à Saint-Denis. Il se présente de façon symbolique en continuateur lointain de l'empire romain et rompt de la sorte avec la lignée de Clovis, qui a unifié trois siècles plus tôt les territoires francs des deux côtés du Rhin.

Avec le sacre de Charles le Grand, le monde romain de l'Antiquité se trouve désormais partagé entre trois empires rivaux: l'empire byzantin (capitale: Constantinople), l'empire arabe (capitale: Bagdad) et l'empire CAROLINGIEN (capitale: Aix-la-Chapelle).

Ce partage en trois zones culturelles distinctes et souvent ennemies va perdurer jusqu'à nous. En dépit des apparences, c'est un nouveau monde qui naît dans la douleur et succède à l'ancien empire méditerranéen de Rome. Ce dernier tirait sa prospérité des relations maritimes entre l'Occident et l'Orient.

Selon la thèse célèbre de l'historien Henri Pirenne (1), l'antagonisme entre les religions chrétienne et musulmane, à partir du VIIe siècle, aurait rendu très périlleuse la navigation en Méditerranée et limité les échanges commerciaux.

C'est ainsi que l'empire de Charlemagne se recentra sur les pays rhénans; Charles étendant lui-même les possessions reçues de son père jusqu'à l'Elbe, à l'est, et jusqu'à l'Ebre, au sud des Pyrénées.

Les activités économiques de l'empire se concentrèrent autour d'un axe vital constitué par les régions situées entre Rhin et Meuse, en liaison étroite avec l'Italie.

(1) Henri Pirenne, Mahomet et Charlemagne, PUF, 1963 [retour]

http://www.herodote.net

Notes de Patrick BINET : Pour tenter de vous éclairer sur ce débat, j'ai consulté "La préhistoire des Capétiens" 1ère partie de Christian Settipani et Patrick Van Kerrebrouck dans la collection "Nouvelle histoire de l'auguste maison de France", 1993. J'ai peur que cela ne fasse qu'épaissir notre "mystère sur la date de naissance".

Il est sûr qu'il s'agit d'un travail très sérieux qui mérite la confiance...et il écrit : Charles (le Magne) est né le 2 avril 748 près d'Aix-la-Chapelle...
Il disserte en note longuement sur la date pour apporter la démonstration, mais n'indique pour le lieu que la certitude d'une absence complète de certitude !
Je sais... la date est en contradiction avec ce qu'il avait écrit précédemment dans "les ancêtres de Charlemagne", mais c'est une publication plus récente... (YC)
Portrait XIXème: http://www.TOURNEMIRE.net/images/charlemagne.jpeg

Arguably the founder of the Frankish Empire in Western Europe, Charlemagne was the elder son of Pepin the Short (714 - September 24, 768, reigned 751 - 768, the brother of the Lady Bertha (mother of Roland), the first Carolingian king, and his wife Bertrada of Laon (720 - July 12, 783). Pepin the Short indulged in the monopoly of the coining of money, deciding on the opening and closure of minting shops, the weight, title and the subjects represented.
European coinage began with Pepin the Short who revived the system put in place by the ancient Greeks and Romans and kept going by the Eastern Roman Empire (1 libra = 20 solidi = 240 denarii).
On the death of Pepin the kingdom was divided between Charlemagne and his brother Carloman (Carloman ruled Austrasia). Carloman died on December 5, 771, leaving Charlemagne the leader of a reunified Frankish kingdom. Charlemagne was engaged in almost constant battle throughout his reign. He conquered Saxony in the 8th century, a goal that had been the unattainable dream of Augustus. It took Charlemagne more than 18 battles to win this victory. He proceeded to force Catholicism on the conquered, slaughtering those who refused to convert. He dreamed of the reconquest of Spain, but never fully succeeded in this goal.
In 800, at Mass on Christmas day in Rome, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, a title that had been out of use in the West since the abdication of Romulus Augustulus in 476. While this title helped to make Europe independent of Constantinople, Charlemagne did not use the title until much later, as he feared it would create dependence on the Pope.
Pursuing his father's reforms, Charlemagne did away with the monetary system based on the gold sou. Both he and King Offa of Mercia took up the system set in place by Pippin. He set up a new standard, the livre (i.e. pound)- both monetary and unit of weight- which was worth 20 sous (as per the solidus, and later the shilling) or 240 deniers (as per the denari, and eventually the penny). During this period, the livre and the sou were counting units, only the denier was a coin of the realm.
Charlemagne applied the system to much of the European Continent, and Offa's standard was voluntarily adopted by much of England.
Autograph of Charlemagne
Charlemagne organized his empire into 350 counties, each led by an appointed count. Counts served as judges, administrators, and enforced capitularies. To enforce loyalty, he set up the system of Missi Dominici, meaning 'Envoys of the Lord.' In this system, one representative of the church and one representative of the emperor would head to the different counties and every year report back to Charlemagne on their status.
Europe at the death of Charles The Great 814. -"A School Atlas of English History" ed. by Samuel Rawson Gardiner, M.A. LL.D.
When Charlemagne died in 814, he was buried in his own Cathedral <../life/cathedrals.html> at Aachen. He was succeeded by his only son to survive him, Louis the Pious, after whose reign the empire was divided between his three surviving sons according to Frankish tradition. These three kingdoms would be the foundations of later France and the Holy Roman Empire.
After Charlemagne's death, continental coinage degraded and most of Europe resorted to using the continued high quality English coin until about 1100.
It is difficult to understand Charlemagne's attitude toward his daughters. None of them contracted a sacramental marriage. This may have been an attempt to control the number of potential alliances. After his death the surviving daughters entered or were forced to enter monasteries. At least one of them, Bertha, had a recognized relationship, if not a marriage, with Angilbert, a member of Charlemagne's court circle.
Cultural significance
Charlemagne's reign is often referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance because of the flowering of scholarship, literature, art and architecture. Most of the surviving works of classical Latin were copied and preserved by Carolingian scholars. The pan-European nature of Charlemagne's influence is indicated by the origins of many of the men who worked for him: Alcuin, an Anglo-Saxon; Theodulf, a Visigoth; Paul the Deacon, a Lombard; and Angilbert and Einhard, Franks. Charlemagne enjoyed an important afterlife in European culture. One of the great medieval literature cycles, the Charlemagne cycle or Matter of France, centers around the deeds of Charlemagne's historical commander of the Breton border, Roland, and the paladins who served as a counterpart to the knights of the Round Table; their tales were first told in the chansons de geste. Charlemagne himself was accorded sainthood inside the Holy Roman Empire after the 12th Century. He was a model knight as one of the Nine Worthies
It is frequently claimed by genealogists that all people with European ancestry alive today are probably descended from Charlemagne. However, only a small percentage can actually prove descent from him. Charlemagne's marriage and relationship politics and ethics did, however, result in a fairly large number of descendants, all of whom had far better life expectancies than is usually the case for children in that time period. They were married into houses of nobility and as a result of intermarriages many people of noble descent can indeed trace their ancestry back to Charlemagne

!Name is; Charlemagne, Emperor of The /HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE/
Title is; King of the Franks.

Emporer Charles Charlemagne - also known as: the Great - was born on 2 Apr 0747 in Aix La Chapelle, Austrasia and died on 29 Jan 0813/0814 in Aix la Chapelle, France . He was the son of King Pepin I "The Short" of France and Countess Bertha "Greatfoot" of Laon. Emporer Charles married Empress Hildegard of Savoy about 0772 in Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia. Empress Hildegard was born in 0758 in Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia. She was the daughter of Count Gerold of Vinzgau I and Duchess Emma of Swabia. She died on 30 Apr 0783 in Thionville, Austrasia . Empress Hildegard - Charlemagne married Hildegard in 771 after divorcing Desideria. With her, he had most of his children and all of his heirs. She was the daughter of an Alemani duke. Emporer Charles - In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the Franks were fallin

Even before a Carolingian, Charlemagne, became king of the Franks in 768 and emperor in 800, his grandfather Charles Martel had amassed sufficient power to "save" Europe from the Moors at Tours in 732. Martel's talents and military forces were passed on to Charlemagne's father, Pepin the Short, whose aid to the missionary Saint Boniface was compensated by the pope's endorsement of Pepin and his sons as the legitimate dynasty of the Frankish kingdom. Upon these foundations, Charlemagne waged innumerable wars and gained all Europe from the Pyrenees to the Vistula. His rule encompassed more than Gaul or the Frankish kingdom, but it left a strong imprint upon France nevertheless. It also foreshadowed the feudal system, which was already being born.

Within the Frankish state, the vigorous and attractive Charlemagne extended royal power and financial resources. In exchange for extensive but nonhereditary land grants and the right to levy local taxes, lords of manors furnished military and judicial services to the king, and the lower classes provided labor on road and other public works. As a check on the local notables, Charlemagne sent out teams of missi dominici (usually a bishop and a count) to inspect the districts and report on any irregularities. Two assemblies were held each year, possible forerunners of the States-General (parliament). In the spring session noblemen had opportunity to discuss their problems, and the king could present his program or impressions of the realm.

In his capital at Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) and in other towns, Charlemagne rekindled intellectual life by gathering holy men, scholars, and literary figures like Alcuin. Works of Greek and particularly Latin were copied and analyzed in new schools founded by favored churchmen. Charlemagne's encouragement of learning had perhaps more long-range significance for French and Western civilization than his sensational military and political ventures.

Charlemagne
Encyclopædia Britannica Article

born April 2, c. 742
died Jan. 28, 814, Aachen, Austrasia [now in Duitsland]

also called Charles I , byname Charles the Great , French Charles le Grand , Latin Carolus Magnus , German Karl der Grosse king of the Franks (768–814), king of the Lombards (774–814), and emperor (800–814).

As king of the Franks, Charlemagne conquered the Lombard kingdom in Italy, subdued the Saxons, annexed Bavaria to his kingdom, fought campaigns in Spain and Hungary, and, with the exception of the Kingdom of Asturias in Spain, southern Italy, and the British Isles, united in one superstate practically all the Christian lands of western Europe. In 800 he assumed the title of emperor. (He is reckoned as Charles I of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as Charles I of France.) Besides expanding its political power, he also brought about a cultural renaissance in his empire. Although this imperium survived its founder by only one generation, the medieval kingdoms of France and Duitsland derived all their constitutional traditions from Charles's monarchy. Throughout medieval Europe, the person of Charles was considered the prototype of a Christian king and emperor.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Arguably the founder of the Frankish Empire in Western Europe, Charlemagne was the elder son of Pepin the Short (714 - September 24, 768, reigned 751 - 768, the brother of the Lady Bertha (mother of Roland), the first Carolingian king, and his wife Bertrada of Laon (720 - July 12, 783). Pepin the Short indulged in the monopoly of the coining of money, deciding on the opening and closure of minting shops, the weight, title and the subjects represented.
European coinage began with Pepin the Short who revived the system put in place by the ancient Greeks and Romans and kept going by the Eastern Roman Empire (1 libra = 20 solidi = 240 denarii).
On the death of Pepin the kingdom was divided between Charlemagne and his brother Carloman (Carloman ruled Austrasia). Carloman died on December 5, 771, leaving Charlemagne the leader of a reunified Frankish kingdom. Charlemagne was engaged in almost constant battle throughout his reign. He conquered Saxony in the 8th century, a goal that had been the unattainable dream of Augustus. It took Charlemagne more than 18 battles to win this victory. He proceeded to force Catholicism on the conquered, slaughtering those who refused to convert. He dreamed of the reconquest of Spain, but never fully succeeded in this goal.
In 800, at Mass on Christmas day in Rome, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, a title that had been out of use in the West since the abdication of Romulus Augustulus in 476. While this title helped to make Europe independent of Constantinople, Charlemagne did not use the title until much later, as he feared it would create dependence on the Pope.
Pursuing his father's reforms, Charlemagne did away with the monetary system based on the gold sou. Both he and King Offa of Mercia took up the system set in place by Pippin. He set up a new standard, the livre (i.e. pound)- both monetary and unit of weight- which was worth 20 sous (as per the solidus, and later the shilling) or 240 deniers (as per the denari, and eventually the penny). During this period, the livre and the sou were counting units, only the denier was a coin of the realm.
Charlemagne applied the system to much of the European Continent, and Offa's standard was voluntarily adopted by much of England.
Autograph of Charlemagne
Charlemagne organized his empire into 350 counties, each led by an appointed count. Counts served as judges, administrators, and enforced capitularies. To enforce loyalty, he set up the system of Missi Dominici, meaning 'Envoys of the Lord.' In this system, one representative of the church and one representative of the emperor would head to the different counties and every year report back to Charlemagne on their status.
Europe at the death of Charles The Great 814. -"A School Atlas of English History" ed. by Samuel Rawson Gardiner, M.A. LL.D.
When Charlemagne died in 814, he was buried in his own Cathedral <../life/cathedrals.html> at Aachen. He was succeeded by his only son to survive him, Louis the Pious, after whose reign the empire was divided between his three surviving sons according to Frankish tradition. These three kingdoms would be the foundations of later France and the Holy Roman Empire.
After Charlemagne's death, continental coinage degraded and most of Europe resorted to using the continued high quality English coin until about 1100.
It is difficult to understand Charlemagne's attitude toward his daughters. None of them contracted a sacramental marriage. This may have been an attempt to control the number of potential alliances. After his death the surviving daughters entered or were forced to enter monasteries. At least one of them, Bertha, had a recognized relationship, if not a marriage, with Angilbert, a member of Charlemagne's court circle.
Cultural significance
Charlemagne's reign is often referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance because of the flowering of scholarship, literature, art and architecture. Most of the surviving works of classical Latin were copied and preserved by Carolingian scholars. The pan-European nature of Charlemagne's influence is indicated by the origins of many of the men who worked for him: Alcuin, an Anglo-Saxon; Theodulf, a Visigoth; Paul the Deacon, a Lombard; and Angilbert and Einhard, Franks. Charlemagne enjoyed an important afterlife in European culture. One of the great medieval literature cycles, the Charlemagne cycle or Matter of France, centers around the deeds of Charlemagne's historical commander of the Breton border, Roland, and the paladins who served as a counterpart to the knights of the Round Table; their tales were first told in the chansons de geste. Charlemagne himself was accorded sainthood inside the Holy Roman Empire after the 12th Century. He was a model knight as one of the Nine Worthies
It is frequently claimed by genealogists that all people with European ancestry alive today are probably descended from Charlemagne. However, only a small percentage can actually prove descent from him. Charlemagne's marriage and relationship politics and ethics did, however, result in a fairly large number of descendants, all of whom had far better life expectancies than is usually the case for children in that time period. They were married into houses of nobility and as a result of intermarriages many people of noble descent can indeed trace their ancestry back to Charlemagne

!Name is; Charlemagne, Emperor of The /HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE/
Title is; King of the Franks.

Charles was large and strong, and of lofty stature, though not disproportionately tall (his height is well known to have been seven times the length of his foot); the upper part of his head was round, his eyesvery large and animated, nose a little long, hair fair, and face laughing and merry. Thus his appearance was always stately and dignified, whether he was standing or sitting; although his neck was thick and somewhat short, and his belly rather prominent; but the symmetry of the rest of his body concealed these defects. His gait was firm, his wholecarriage manly, and his voice clear, but not so strong as his size led one to expect.

Research on Charlemagne;

The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon , he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I . The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens , who menaced his realm from Spain . It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at Roncesvalles (778). He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons , and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty

Today he is not only regarded as the founding father of both France and Duitsland , but as 'the father of Europe': his empire consisted of most of western Europe, and the so-called "Carolingian renaissance" which he fostered encouraged a vast amount of political, spiritual and cultural output by laymen and churchmen, that would forge a common European identity. The city of Aachen has since 1949 bestowed an award, theKarlspreis der Stadt Aachen, for significant contributions to the common European ideal "In remembrance of the great founder of western civilisation".Pierre Riché reflects; 'He enjoyed an exceptional destiny and by the length of his reign, by his conquests, legislation and gendarystature, he also profoundly marked the history of Western Europe.'

By the 6th century, the Franks were Christianised , and the Frankish Empire ruled by the Merovingians had become the most powerful of the kingdoms which succeeded the Western Roman Empire. But following the Battle of Tertry , the Merovingians declined into a state of powerlessness, for which they have been dubbed do-nothing kings .Almost all government powers of any consequence were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace or major domus.
In 687, Pippin of Herstal , mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry and became the sole governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pippin himself was the grandson of two most important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pippin of Landen . Pippin the Middle was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel (the Hammer). After 737, Charles governed the Franks without a king on the throne but desisted from calling himself "king". Charles was succeeded by his sons Carloman son of Charles Martel and Pippin the Short ,the father of Charlemagne. To curb separatism in the periphery of the realm, the brothers placed on the throne Childeric III , who was to be the last Merovingian king.
After Carloman resigned his office, Pippin had Childeric III deposed with Pope Zachary's approval. In 751, Pippin was elected and anointed King of the Franks and in 754, Pope Stephen II again anointed him and his young sons, now heirs to the great realm which already covered most of western and central Europe. Thus was the Merovingian dynasty replaced by the Carolingian dynasty, named after Pippin's father Charles Martel.
Under the new dynasty, the Frankish kingdom spread to encompass an area including most of Western Europe. The division of that kingdom formed France and Duitsland and the religious political and artistic evolutions originating from a centrally-positioned Francia made a defining imprint on the whole of Western Europe.

Pedigrees of the Barons, Philadelphia, PA: Brookfield Publishing Co,
1942. [Alan B. Wilson 6 Nov '95 ref.
Bernard S. Bachrach, State-building in Medieval France: studies in
early Angevin history..essays.. ] : ..2 apr 747 - 28 Jan 814).//
[Ahnentafel by Philippe Houdry, from various sources, ver. 3 (Aug. 31,
1994) posted by Tom Camfield]: Frankish King 768-800, Roman Emperor
800-814.//
[Ancestral Safari, Wm. G. Cook, Parke's Newsletter 1991 #3] : Emperor
from 800 - 814.//
[Mecedes Snyder, fidonet Aug 27 '95] '..aka Charles the Great..born
Ingolheim.. acceded 768..King of Lombards 774. Holy Roman Emperor..'//
[Maryanne Rick, Fidonet July 20 '95]: Historical fiction is another
source. Not to be considered a primary source, but can be a very
useful road map. Costain's four books on the Plantagenets are well
researched and good reading...and they're indexed.
Clovis 'the Riparian', King of Keulen (kinsman of Clovis I) Childebert,
King of Keulen Sigebert 'the Lame', King of Keulen Cloderic 'the
Paracide', King of Keulen (d. 509) Munderic of Virty en Perthois St.
Gondolfus Bodegeisel II (Arnoldus), Markgrave of the Schelde (d. 601) m
Oda St. Arnulf, Bishop of Metz (582-640) m Dode Ansegisel of Metz m
Begga, dau. of Pepin of Landen Pepin of Herstal Charles Martel and his
mistress, Rotrude de Treves Pepin 'the Short', King of the Franks m
Bertrade de Laon Charlemagne. 'Ancestral Roots of 60 Colonists' was
another source for the above.// [Brandy, soc.gen.med. Aug '95]: I'm
totally confused now. Lothair II had a daughter Gisela by Waldrada,
right? According to my searches Daughter Gisela married a Danish 'king'
named Godefroi (or similar spelling). I also read (in French, but did
okay) that Lothair's Gisela had a brother, Hugue, that gave her to
same said 'Norman Chief'. Unfortunately I kept reading when I should
have stopped. I found a book on Charlemagne and in the index I saw
Gisela - Sister and Gisela - Daughter. My blond brain though Lothair
and looked it up, found nothing interesting and went to the index to
look for Hugue. Found him, I smiled and closed the book. Halfway out
the door It slammed back into my pea-brain that I read these as
*Charlemagne's* children. I went back to double-check. Yup,
Charley's. Now I can't find my original French excerpt to see that I
hadn't read the Hugue giving away Gisela as Lothair's when it was
Charlemagne's. You think *you're* confused now? Imagine me :) Does
anyone know if BOTH Lothair II and Charley had children by the same
names? Maybe this could account for the son of Gisela and Godefroi,
Sigfried, being born a few years after his father death in my records.
Perhaps I had the info on the other Godefroi, the one that warred with
Charley, marrying Charley's daughter Gisela and not Lothair's. I only
say this because a *cousin* says his record of Lothair's Gisela
married a man named Deitrich.//
[Anders Berg - anders.berg - at - pi.se - Stockholm, SWEDEN] : rprod -
at - PRIMENET.COM () wrote: 'I'm totally confused now. Lothair II had
a daughter Gisela by Waldrada...'
I've just received the new edition (rather a facsimile with up-to-date
notes and corrections) of Brandenburg's Die Nachkommen Karls des
Grossen (Neustadt an der Aisch 1995). You are right about Lothar II. He
had four children with Waldrade: - Hugo, * ca 855/63, + after 895 -
Gisela, * ca 860/65, +907; m. 882 to Gottfried, 'norrmannischer
heerfuhrer', +885 - Bertha - Irmgard.
..'Unfortunately I kept reading when I should have stopped. I found a
book on Charlemagne and in the index I saw Gisela - Sister and Gisela -
Daughter..'
Yes, they did. Among Charlemagne's many children I found: - Gisela, *
before 781, + after 800 - Hugo, *802/06, +844. Gisela's mother was
Hildegard and Hugo's the conkubine Regina.
..'Maybe this could account for the son of Gisela and Godefroi,
Sigfried, being born a few years after his father death in my
records..'.
No descendants of Gisela and Gottfried are listed. Check your source
for that one.
'..Perhaps I had the info on the other Godefroi, the one that warred
with Charley, marrying Charley's daughter Gisela and not Lothair's..'
Again, this is not documented in Brandenburg. Charlemagne's daughter
Gisela's marriage (if any) is not known. She may be the daughter (name
unknown) that married Richwin (?) and was the mother of Ricbodo
[Brandenburg III 19]. See Brandenburg p. 85.//

768-814: King of France [Ref: Weis AR #50]
Dec 25 800: Crowned Holy Roman Emperor [Ref: Weis AR #50] of Sixty
Colonists, 6th Edition, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co, 1988.

Liege ?, Ingleheim ?

WikipediaForever Donate Now[Hide][Show]Wikipedia Forever Our shared knowledge. Our shared treasure. Help us protect it. [Show]Wikipedia Forever Our shared knowledge. Our shared treasure. Help us protect it. Charlemagne
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For other uses, see Charlemagne (disambiguation).
Charlemagne
Rex Francorum (King of the Franks)
Rex Langobardorum (King of the Lombards)
Imperator Romanorum (Emperor of the Romans)

A coin of Charlemagne's with the inscription KAROLVS IMP AVG ("Carolus Imperator Augustus")
Reign 768 - 814
Coronation 25 December 800
Predecessor Pippin the Short
Successor Louis the Pious
Father Pippin the Short
Mother Bertrada of Laon
Born 2 April 742(742-04-02)
Liège
Died 28 January 814 (aged 71)
Aachen
Burial Aachen Cathedral
Carolingian dynasty
Pippinids
Pippin the Elder (c. 580-640)
Grimoald (616-656)
Childebert the Adopted (d. 662)

Arnulfings
Arnulf of Metz (582-640)
Chlodulf of Metz (d. 696 or 697)
Ansegisel (c.602-before 679)
Pippin the Middle (c.635-714)
Grimoald II (d. 714)
Drogo of Champagne (670-708)
Theudoald (d. 714)

Carolingians
Charles Martel (686-741)
Carloman (d. 754)
Pepin the Short (714-768)
Carloman I (751-771)
Charlemagne (d. 814)
Louis the Pious (778-840)

After the Treaty of Verdun (843)
Lothair I, Holy Roman Emperor (795-855)
(Middle Francia)
Charles the Bald (823-877)
(Western Francia)
Louis the German (804-876)
(Eastern Francia)

Charlemagne (pronounced /'??rl?me?n/; Latin: Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) (2 April 742 - 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 which temporarily made him a rival of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Duitsland (where he is known as Karl der Große), and the Holy Roman Empire.

The son of King Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I. The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at the Battle of Roncesvalles (778) memorialised in the Song of Roland. He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty.

Today he is regarded not only as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but also as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity.[1]

Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Personal traits
2.1 Date and place of birth
2.2 Language
2.3 Personal appearance
2.4 Dress
3 Rise to power
3.1 Early life
3.2 Joint rule
4 Italian campaigns
4.1 Conquest of Lombardy
4.2 Southern Italy
5 Charles and his children
6 Spanish campaigns
6.1 Roncesvalles campaign
6.2 Wars with the Moors
7 Eastern campaigns
7.1 Saxon Wars
7.2 Submission of Bavaria
7.3 Avar campaigns
7.4 Slav expeditions
8 Imperium
8.1 Imperial diplomacy
8.2 Danish attacks
8.3 Death
9 Administration
9.1 Military
9.2 Economic and monetary reforms
9.3 Education reforms
9.4 Church reforms
9.5 Writing reforms
9.6 Political reforms
9.6.1 Organisation
9.6.2 Imperial coronation
9.6.3 Divisio regnorum
10 Cultural significance
11 Ancestry
12 Family
12.1 Marriages and heirs
12.2 Concubinages and illegitimate children
13 References
13.1 Notes
13.2 Bibliography
14 External links

[edit] Background
By the 6th century, the Franks were Christianised, and Francia ruled by the Merovingians had become the most powerful of the kingdoms which succeeded the Western Roman Empire. But following the Battle of Tertry, the Merovingians declined into a state of powerlessness, for which they have been dubbed do-nothing kings (rois fainéants). Almost all government powers of any consequence were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace or major domus.

In 687, Pippin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry and became the sole governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pippin himself was the grandson of two most important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pippin of Landen. Pippin the Middle was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel (the Hammer). After 737, Charles governed the Franks without a king on the throne but desisted from calling himself "king." Charles was succeeded by his sons Carloman and Pippin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. To curb separatism in the periphery of the realm, the brothers placed on the throne Childeric III, who was to be the last Merovingian king.

After Carloman resigned his office, Pippin had Childeric III deposed with Pope Zachary's approval. In 751, Pippin was elected and anointed King of the Franks and in 754, Pope Stephen II again anointed him and his young sons, now heirs to the great realm which already covered most of western and central Europe. Thus was the Merovingian dynasty replaced by the Carolingian dynasty, named after Pippin's father Charles Martel.

Under the new dynasty, the Frankish kingdom spread to encompass an area including most of Western Europe. The division of that kingdom formed France and Duitsland;[2] and the religious, political, and artistic evolutions originating from a centrally-positioned Francia made a defining imprint on the whole of Western Europe.

[edit] Personal traits
[edit] Date and place of birth
Charlemagne is believed to have been born in 742; however, several factors have led to a reconsideration of this date. First, the year 742 was calculated from his age given at death, rather than from attestation in primary sources. Another date is given in the Annales Petaviani, that of 2 April 747.[3]. In that year, 2 April was at Easter. The birth of an emperor at eastertime is a coincidence likely to provoke comment, but there was no such comment documented in 747, leading some to suspect that the Easter birthday was a pious fiction concocted as a way of honoring the Emperor. Other commentators weighing the primary records have suggested that his birth was one year later, in 748. At present, it is impossible to be certain of the date of the birth of Charlemagne. The best guesses include 1 April 747, after 15 April 747, or 1 April 748, in Herstal (where his father was born, a town close to Liège in modern day Belgium), the region from where both the Merovingian and Carolingian families originate. He went to live in his father's villa in Jupille when he was around seven, which caused Jupille to be listed as a possible place of birth in almost every history book. Other cities have been suggested, including, Prüm, Düren, Gauting and Aachen.

Charlemagne (left) and Pippin the Hunchback. Tenth-century copy of a lost original from about 830.Dubbed Charles le Magne "Charles the Great", he was named after his grandfather, Charles Martel. The name derives from Germanic *karlaz "free man, commoner",[4] which gave German Kerl "man, guy" and English churl. His name, however, is first attested in its Latin form, "Carolus" or "Karolus."

In many eastern European languages, the very word for "king" derives from Charles' name. (e.g., Polish: król, Czech: král, Lithuanian: karalius, Hungarian: király, Serbo-Croatian: kralj/????, Russian: ??????, Turkish: kral)

[edit] Language
Charlemagne's native language is a matter of controversy. It was probably a Germanic dialect of the Ripuarian Franks, but linguists differ on its identity and chronology. Some linguists go so far as to say that he did not speak Old Frankish as he was born in 742 or 747, by which time Old Frankish had become extinct. Old Frankish is reconstructed from its descendant, Old Low Franconian, which would give rise to the Dutch language and to the modern dialects in the German North Rhineland, which were dubbed Ripuarian in modern times. Another important source are loanwords in Old French. Linguists know very little about Old Frankish, as it is attested mainly as phrases and words in the law codes of the main Frankish tribes (especially those of the Salian and Ripuarian Franks), which are written in Latin interspersed with Germanic elements.[5] The Franconian language, which was a form of Lower German, had been replaced with an Old High German form in the area comprising the contemporary Southern Rhineland, The Palatinate South Hessen and Northern parts of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. The present Dutch language area along with the modern Ripuarian areas in the North Rhine region preserved a Lower German form of Franconian dubbed Old Low Franconian or Old Dutch.

The area of Charlemagne's birth does not make determination of his native language easier. Most historians agree he was born around Liège, like his father, but some say he was born in or around Aachen, some 50 km away. At that time, this was an area of great linguistic diversity. If we take Liège (around 750) as the centre, we find:

Old East Low Franconian in the city, north and northwest;
the closely related Old Ripuarian Franconian (a central Old High German dialect) to the east and in Aachen; and
Gallo-Romance (the ancestor of the Walloon dialect of Old French) in the south and southwest.
The names he gave his children are also good indicators of the language he spoke, as all of his daughters received Old High German names.

Apart from his native language he also spoke Latin "as fluently as his own tongue" and understood a bit of Greek: Grecam vero melius intellegere quam pronuntiare poterat, "He understood Greek better than he could pronounce it."[6]

[edit] Personal appearance
Though no description from Charlemagne's lifetime exists, his personal appearance is known from a good description by Einhard, author of the biography Vita Karoli Magni. Einhard tells in his twenty-second chapter:[7]

He was heavily built, sturdy, and of considerable stature, although not exceptionally so, given that he stood seven feet tall. He had a round head, large and lively eyes, a slightly larger nose than usual, white but still attractive hair, a bright and cheerful expression, a short and fat neck, and a slightly protruding stomach. His voice was clear, but a little higher than one would have expected for a man of his build. He enjoyed good health, except for the fevers that affected him in the last few years of his life. Toward the end he dragged one leg. Even then, he stubbornly did what he wanted and refused to listen to doctors, indeed he detested them, because they wanted to persuade him to stop eating roast meat, as was his wont, and to be content with boiled meat.

The physical portrait provided by Einhard is confirmed by contemporary depictions of the emperor, such as coins and his 8-inch bronze statue kept in the Louvre. Charles description of Charlemagne's height at 7 feet (6 feet 3 inches, or 190.50 centimeters) was not far off. Though it was Herculean stature, particularly in a period in which people were a little shorter than most today, archaeology has confirmed his tallness: in 1861, Charlemagne's tomb was opened by scientists who reconstructed his skeleton and found that it indeed measured 74.9 inches (192 centimeters). [8]

Charles is well known to have been fair-haired, tall, and stately, with a disproportionately thick neck. The Roman tradition of realistic personal portraiture was in complete eclipse in his time, where individual traits were submerged in iconic typecastings. Charlemagne, as an ideal ruler, ought to be portrayed in the corresponding fashion, any contemporary would have assumed. The images of enthroned Charlemagne, God's representative on Earth, bear more connections to the icons of Christ in majesty than to modern (or antique) conceptions of portraiture. Charlemagne in later imagery (as in the Dürer portrait) is often portrayed with flowing blond hair, due to a misunderstanding of Einhard, who describes Charlemagne as having canitie pulchra, or "beautiful white hair", which has been rendered as blonde or fair in many translations.

[edit] Dress

Part of the treasure in AachenCharlemagne wore the traditional, inconspicuous and distinctly non-aristocratic costume of the Frankish people, described by Einhard thus:

He used to wear the national, that is to say, the Frank dress: next to his skin a linen shirt and linen breeches, and above these a tunic fringed with silk; while hose fastened by bands covered his lower limbs, and shoes his feet, and he protected his shoulders and chest in winter by a close-fitting coat of otter or marten skins.

He wore a blue cloak and always carried a sword with him. The typical sword was of a golden or silver hilt. He wore fancy jewelled swords to banquets or ambassadorial receptions. Nevertheless:

He despised foreign costumes, however handsome, and never allowed himself to be robed in them, except twice in Rome, when he donned the Roman tunic, chlamys, and shoes; the first time at the request of Pope Hadrian, the second to gratify Leo, Hadrian's successor.

He could rise to the occasion when necessary. On great feast days, he wore embroidery and jewels on his clothing and shoes. He had a golden buckle for his cloak on such occasions and would appear with his great diadem, but he despised such apparel, according to Einhard, and usually dressed like the common people.

[edit] Rise to power
[edit] Early life
Charlemagne was the eldest child of Pepin the Short (714 - 24 September 768, reigned from 751) and his wife Bertrada of Laon (720 - 12 July 783), daughter of Caribert of Laon and Bertrada of Keulen. Records name only Carloman, Gisela, and a short-lived child named Pippin as his younger siblings. The semi-mythical Redburga, wife of King Egbert of Wessex, is sometimes claimed to be his sister (or sister-in-law or niece), and the legendary material makes him Roland's maternal uncle through a lady Bertha.

Much of what is known of Charlemagne's life comes from his biographer, Einhard, who wrote a Vita Caroli Magni (or Vita Karoli Magni), the Life of Charlemagne. Einhard says of the early life of Charles:

It would be folly, I think, to write a word concerning Charles' birth and infancy, or even his boyhood, for nothing has ever been written on the subject, and there is no one alive now who can give information on it. Accordingly, I determined to pass that by as unknown, and to proceed at once to treat of his character, his deeds, and such other facts of his life as are worth telling and setting forth, and shall first give an account of his deeds at home and abroad, then of his character and pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know.

On the death of Pippin, the kingdom of the Franks was divided-following tradition-between Charlemagne and Carloman. Charles took the outer parts of the kingdom, bordering on the sea, namely Neustria, western Aquitaine, and the northern parts of Austrasia, while Carloman retained the inner parts: southern Austrasia, Septimania, eastern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence, and Swabia, lands bordering on Italy.

[edit] Joint rule
On 9 October, immediately after the funeral of their father, both the kings withdrew from Saint Denis to be proclaimed by their nobles and consecrated by the bishops, Charlemagne in Noyon and Carloman in Soissons.

The first event of the brothers' reign was the rising of the Aquitainians and Gascons, in 769, in that territory split between the two kings. Years before Pippin had suppressed the revolt of Waifer, Duke of Aquitaine. Now, one Hunald (seemingly other than Hunald the duke) led the Aquitainians as far north as Angoulême. Charlemagne met Carloman, but Carloman refused to participate and returned to Burgundy. Charlemagne went to war, leading an army to Bordeaux, where he set up a camp at Fronsac. Hunold was forced to flee to the court of Duke Lupus II of Gascony. Lupus, fearing Charlemagne, turned Hunold over in exchange for peace. He was put in a monastery. Aquitaine was finally fully subdued by the Franks.

The brothers maintained lukewarm relations with the assistance of their mother Bertrada, but in 770 Charlemagne signed a treaty with Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and married a Lombard Princess (commonly known today as Desiderata), the daughter of King Desiderius, in order to surround Carloman with his own allies. Though Pope Stephen III first opposed the marriage with the Lombard princess, he would soon have little to fear from a Frankish-Lombard alliance.

Less than a year after his marriage, Charlemagne repudiated Desiderata, and quickly remarried to a 13-year-old Swabian named Hildegard. The repudiated Desiderata returned to her father's court at Pavia. The Lombard's wrath was now aroused and he would gladly have allied with Carloman to defeat Charles. But before war could break out, Carloman died on 5 December 771. Carloman's wife Gerberga fled to Desiderius' court with her sons for protection.

[edit] Italian campaigns
[edit] Conquest of Lombardy

The Frankish king Charlemagne was a devout Catholic who maintained a close relationship with the papacy throughout his life. In 772, when Pope Hadrian I was threatened by invaders, the king rushed to Rome to provide assistance. Shown here, the pope asks Charlemagne for help at a meeting near RomeAt the succession of Pope Hadrian I in 772, he demanded the return of certain cities in the former exarchate of Ravenna as in accordance with a promise of Desiderius' succession. Desiderius instead took over certain papal cities and invaded the Pentapolis, heading for Rome. Hadrian sent embassies to Charlemagne in autumn requesting he enforce the policies of his father, Pippin. Desiderius sent his own embassies denying the pope's charges. The embassies both met at Thionville and Charlemagne upheld the pope's side. Charlemagne promptly demanded what the pope had demanded and Desiderius promptly swore never to comply. Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard crossed the Alps in 773 and chased the Lombards back to Pavia, which they then besieged. Charlemagne temporarily left the siege to deal with Adelchis, son of Desiderius, who was raising an army at Verona. The young prince was chased to the Adriatic littoral and he fled to Constantinople to plead for assistance from Constantine V, who was waging war with Bulgaria.

The siege lasted until the spring of 774, when Charlemagne visited the pope in Rome. There he confirmed his father's grants of land, with some later chronicles claiming-falsely-that he also expanded them, granting Tuscany, Emilia, Venice, and Corsica. The pope granted him the title patrician. He then returned to Pavia, where the Lombards were on the verge of surrendering.

In return for their lives, the Lombards surrendered and opened the gates in early summer. Desiderius was sent to the abbey of Corbie and his son Adelchis died in Constantinople a patrician. Charles, unusually, had himself crowned with the Iron Crown and made the magnates of Lombardy do homage to him at Pavia. Only Duke Arechis II of Benevento refused to submit and proclaimed independence. Charlemagne was now master of Italy as king of the Lombards. He left Italy with a garrison in Pavia and few Frankish counts in place that very year.

There was still instability, however, in Italy. In 776, Dukes Hrodgaud of Friuli and Hildeprand of Spoleto rebelled. Charlemagne rushed back from Saxony and defeated the duke of Friuli in battle. The duke was slain. The duke of Spoleto signed a treaty. Their co-conspirator, Arechis, was not subdued and Adelchis, their candidate in Byzantium, never left that city. Northern Italy was now faithfully his.

[edit] Southern Italy
In 787 Charlemagne directed his attention towards Benevento, where Arechis was reigning independently. He besieged Salerno and Arechis submitted to vassalage. However, with his death in 792, Benevento again proclaimed independence under his son Grimoald III. Grimoald was attacked by armies of Charles' or his sons' many times, but Charlemagne himself never returned to the Mezzogiorno and Grimoald never was forced to surrender to Frankish suzerainty.

[edit] Charles and his children
During the first peace of any substantial length (780-782), Charles began to appoint his sons to positions of authority within the realm, in the tradition of the kings and mayors of the past. In 781 he made his two younger sons kings, having them crowned by the Pope. The elder of these two, Carloman, was made king of Italy, taking the Iron Crown which his father had first worn in 774, and in the same ceremony was renamed "Pippin." The younger of the two, Louis, became king of Aquitaine. Charlemagne ordered Pippin and Louis to be raised in the customs of their kingdoms, and he gave their regents some control of their subkingdoms, but real power was always in his hands, though he intended each to inherit their realm some day. Nor did he tolerate insubordination in his sons: in 792, he banished his eldest, though illegitimate, son, Pippin the Hunchback, to the monastery of Prüm, because the young man had joined a rebellion against him.

Charles was determined to have his children educated, including his daughters, as he himself was not. His children were taught all the arts and his daughters were learned in the way of women. His sons took archery, horsemanship, and other outdoors activities.

The sons fought many wars on behalf of their father when they came of age. Charles was mostly preoccupied with the Bretons, whose border he shared and who insurrected on at least two occasions and were easily put down, but he was also sent against the Saxons on multiple occasions. In 805 and 806, he was sent into the Böhmerwald (modern Bohemia) to deal with the Slavs living there (Czechs). He subjected them to Frankish authority and devastated the valley of the Elbe, forcing a tribute on them. Pippin had to hold the Avar and Beneventan borders, but also fought the Slavs to his north. He was uniquely poised to fight the Byzantine Empire when finally that conflict arose after Charlemagne's imperial coronation and a Venetian rebellion. Finally, Louis was in charge of the Spanish March and also went to southern Italy to fight the duke of Benevento on at least one occasion. He took Barcelona in a great siege in the year 797 (see below).

Charlemagne's attitude toward his daughters has been the subject of much discussion. He kept them at home with him, and refused to allow them to contract sacramental marriages - possibly to prevent the creation of cadet branches of the family to challenge the main line, as had been the case with Tassilo of Bavaria - yet he tolerated their extramarital relationships, even rewarding their common-law husbands, and treasured the illigitimate grandchildren they produced for him. He also, apparently, refused to believe stories of their wild behaviour. After his death the surviving daughters were banished from the court by their brother, the pious Louis, to take up residence in the convents they had been bequeathed by their father. At least one of them, Bertha, had a recognised relationship, if not a marriage, with Angilbert, a member of Charlemagne's court circle.

[edit] Spanish campaigns
See also: Abbasid-Carolingian alliance
[edit] Roncesvalles campaign

Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne in an illustration taken from a manuscript of a chanson de gesteAccording to the Muslim historian Ibn al-Athir, the Diet of Paderborn had received the representatives of the Muslim rulers of Zaragoza, Gerona, Barcelona, and Huesca. Their masters had been cornered in the Iberian peninsula by Abd ar-Rahman I, the Umayyad emir of Córdoba. These Moorish or "Saracen" rulers offered their homage to the great king of the Franks in return for military support. Seeing an opportunity to extend Christendom and his own power and believing the Saxons to be a fully conquered nation, he agreed to go to Spain.

In 778, he led the Neustrian army across the Western Pyrenees, while the Austrasians, Lombards, and Burgundians passed over the Eastern Pyrenees. The armies met at Zaragoza and Charlemagne received the homage of the Muslim rulers, Sulayman al-Arabi and Kasmin ibn Yusuf, but the city did not fall for him. Indeed, Charlemagne was facing the toughest battle of his career where the Muslims had the upper hand and forced him to retreat. He decided to go home, since he could not trust the Basques, whom he had subdued by conquering Pamplona. He turned to leave Iberia, but as he was passing through the Pass of Roncesvalles one of the most famous events of his long reign occurred. The Basques fell on his rearguard and baggage train, utterly destroying it. The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, less a battle than a mere skirmish, left many famous dead: among which were the seneschal Eggihard, the count of the palace Anselm, and the warden of the Breton March, Roland, inspiring the subsequent creation of the Song of Roland (La Chanson de Roland).

[edit] Wars with the Moors

Harun al-Rashid receiving a delegation of Charlemagne in Baghdad, by Julius Köckert.The conquest of Italy brought Charlemagne in contact with the Saracens who, at the time, controlled the Mediterranean. Pippin, his son, was much occupied with Saracens in Italy. Charlemagne conquered Corsica and Sardinia at an unknown date and in 799 the Balearic Islands. The islands were often attacked by Saracen pirates, but the counts of Genoa and Tuscany (Boniface) kept them at bay with large fleets until the end of Charlemagne's reign. Charlemagne even had contact with the caliphal court in Baghdad. In 797 (or possibly 801), the caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, presented Charlemagne with an Asian elephant named Abul-Abbas and a clock.[9]

In Hispania the struggle against the Moors continued unabated throughout the latter half of his reign. His son Louis was in charge of the Spanish border. In 785, his men captured Gerona permanently and extended Frankish control into the Catalan littoral for the duration of Charlemagne's reign (and much longer, it remained nominally Frankish until the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258). The Muslim chiefs in the northeast of Islamic Spain were constantly revolting against Córdoban authority and they often turned to the Franks for help. The Frankish border was slowly extended until 795, when Gerona, Cardona, Ausona, and Urgel were united into the new Spanish March, within the old duchy of Septimania.

In 797 Barcelona, the greatest city of the region, fell to the Franks when Zeid, its governor, rebelled against Córdoba and, failing, handed it to them. The Umayyad authority recaptured it in 799. However, Louis of Aquitaine marched the entire army of his kingdom over the Pyrenees and besieged it for two years, wintering there from 800 to 801, when it capitulated. The Franks continued to press forwards against the emir. They took Tarragona in 809 and Tortosa in 811. The last conquest brought them to the mouth of the Ebro and gave them raiding access to Valencia, prompting the Emir al-Hakam I to recognise their conquests in 812.

[edit] Eastern campaigns
[edit] Saxon Wars

Map showing Charlemagne's additions (in blue) to the Frankish Kingdom.Charlemagne was engaged in almost constant battle throughout his reign, often at the head of his elite scara bodyguard squadrons, with his legendary sword Joyeuse in hand. After thirty years of war and eighteen battles-the Saxon Wars-he conquered Saxonia and proceeded to convert the conquered to Roman Catholicism, sometimes using force.

The Saxons were divided into four subgroups in four regions. Nearest to Austrasia was Westphalia and furthest away was Eastphalia. In between these two kingdoms was that of Engria and north of these three, at the base of the Jutland peninsula, was Nordalbingia.

In his first campaign, Charlemagne forced the Engrians in 773 to submit and cut down an Irminsul pillar near Paderborn. The campaign was cut short by his first expedition to Italy. He returned in the year 775, marching through Westphalia and conquering the Saxon fort of Sigiburg. He then crossed Engria, where he defeated the Saxons again. Finally, in Eastphalia, he defeated a Saxon force, and its leader Hessi converted to Christianity. He returned through Westphalia, leaving encampments at Sigiburg and Eresburg, which had, up until then, been important Saxon bastions. All Saxony but Nordalbingia was under his control, but Saxon resistance had not ended.

Following his campaign in Italy subjugating the dukes of Friuli and Spoleto, Charlemagne returned very rapidly to Saxony in 776, where a rebellion had destroyed his fortress at Eresburg. The Saxons were once again brought to heel, but their main leader, duke Widukind, managed to escape to Denmark, home of his wife. Charlemagne built a new camp at Karlstadt. In 777, he called a national diet at Paderborn to integrate Saxony fully into the Frankish kingdom. Many Saxons were baptised.

In the summer of 779, he again invaded Saxony and reconquered Eastphalia, Engria, and Westphalia. At a diet near Lippe, he divided the land into missionary districts and himself assisted in several mass baptisms (780). He then returned to Italy and, for the first time, there was no immediate Saxon revolt. In 780 Charlemagne decreed the death penalty for all Saxons who failed to be baptised, who failed to keep Christian festivals, and who cremated their dead. Saxony had peace from 780 to 782.

Charlemagne (742-814) receiving the submission of Witikind at Paderborn in 785, by Ary Scheffer (1795-1858). Versailles.He returned in 782 to Saxony and instituted a code of law and appointed counts, both Saxon and Frank. The laws were draconian on religious issues, and the indigenous forms of Germanic polytheism were gravely threatened by Christianisation. This stirred a renewal of the old conflict. That year, in autumn, Widukind returned and led a new revolt, which resulted in several assaults on the church. In response, at Verden in Lower Saxony, Charlemagne allegedly ordered the beheading of 4,500 Saxons who had been caught practising their native paganism after conversion to Christianity, known as the Massacre of Verden ("Verdener Blutgericht"). The massacre triggered three years of renewed bloody warfare (783-785). During this war the Frisians were also finally subdued and a large part of their fleet was burned. The war ended with Widukind accepting baptism.

Thereafter, the Saxons maintained the peace for seven years, but in 792 the Westphalians once again rose against their conquerors. The Eastphalians and Nordalbingians joined them in 793, but the insurrection did not catch on and was put down by 794. An Engrian rebellion followed in 796, but Charlemagne's personal presence and the presence of Christian Saxons and Slavs quickly crushed it. The last insurrection of the independence-minded people occurred in 804, more than thirty years after Charlemagne's first campaign against them. This time, the most unruly of them, the Nordalbingians, found themselves effectively disempowered from rebellion. According to Einhard:

The war that had lasted so many years was at length ended by their acceding to the terms offered by the King; which were renunciation of their national religious customs and the worship of devils, acceptance of the sacraments of the Christian faith and religion, and union with the Franks to form one people.

Saxon resistance to Charlemagne's rule was at an end.

[edit] Submission of Bavaria
In 788, Charlemagne turned his attention to Bavaria. He claimed Tassilo was an unfit ruler on account of his oath-breaking. The charges were trumped up, but Tassilo was deposed anyway and put in the monastery of Jumièges. In 794, he was made to renounce any claim to Bavaria for himself and his family (the Agilolfings) at the synod of Frankfurt. Bavaria was subdivided into Frankish counties, like Saxony.

[edit] Avar campaigns
In 788, the Avars, a pagan Asian horde which had settled down in what is today Hungary (Einhard called them Huns), invaded Friuli and Bavaria. Charles was preoccupied until 790 with other things, but in that year, he marched down the Danube into their territory and ravaged it to the Raab. Then, a Lombard army under Pippin marched into the Drava valley and ravaged Pannonia. The campaigns would have continued if the Saxons had not revolted again in 792, breaking seven years of peace.

For the next two years, Charles was occupied with the Slavs against the Saxons. Pippin and Duke Eric of Friuli continued, however, to assault the Avars' ring-shaped strongholds. The great Ring of the Avars, their capital fortress, was taken twice. The booty was sent to Charlemagne at his capital, Aachen, and redistributed to all his followers and even to foreign rulers, including King Offa of Mercia. Soon the Avar tuduns had thrown in the towel and travelled to Aachen to subject themselves to Charlemagne as vassals and Christians. This Charlemagne accepted and sent one native chief, baptised Abraham, back to Avaria with the ancient title of khagan. Abraham kept his people in line, but in 800 the Bulgarians under Krum swept the Avar state away. In the 10th century, the Magyars settled the Pannonian plain and presented a new threat to Charlemagne's descendants.

[edit] Slav expeditions
In 789, in recognition of his new pagan neighbours, the Slavs, Charlemagne marched an Austrasian-Saxon army across the Elbe into Obotrite territory. The Slavs immediately submitted under their leader Witzin. Charlemagne then accepted the surrender of the Wiltzes under Dragovit and demanded many hostages and the permission to send, unmolested, missionaries into the pagan region. The army marched to the Baltic before turning around and marching to the Rhine with much booty and no harassment. The tributary Slavs became loyal allies. In 795, the peace broken by the Saxons, the Abotrites and Wiltzes rose in arms with their new master against the Saxons. Witzin died in battle and Charlemagne avenged him by harrying the Eastphalians on the Elbe. Thrasuco, his successor, led his men to conquest over the Nordalbingians and handed their leaders over to Charlemagne, who greatly honoured him. The Abotrites remained loyal until Charles' death and fought later against the Danes.

Charlemagne also directed his attention to the Slavs to the south of the Avar khaganate: the Carantanians and Carniolans. These people were subdued by the Lombards and Bavarii and made tributaries, but never incorporated into the Frankish state.

[edit] Imperium
[edit] Imperial diplomacy

Charlemagne's chapel at Aachen Cathedral.In 799, Pope Leo III had been mistreated by the Romans, who tried to put out his eyes and tear out his tongue. Leo escaped, and fled to Charlemagne at Paderborn, asking him to intervene in Rome and restore him. Charlemagne, advised by Alcuin of York, agreed to travel to Rome, doing so in November 800 and holding a council on December 1. On 23 December Leo swore an oath of innocence. At Mass, on Christmas Day (25 December), when Charlemagne knelt at the altar to pray, the pope crowned him Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans") in Saint Peter's Basilica. In so doing, the pope was effectively attempting to transfer the office from Constantinople to Charles. Einhard says that Charlemagne was ignorant of the pope's intent and did not want any such coronation:

[H]e at first had such an aversion that he declared that he would not have set foot in the Church the day that they [the imperial titles] were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, if he could have foreseen the design of the Pope.

Many modern scholars suggest that Charlemagne was indeed aware of the coronation; certainly he cannot have missed the bejeweled crown waiting on the altar when he came to pray. In any event, he used these circumstances to claim that he was the renewer of the Roman Empire, which had apparently fallen into degradation under the Byzantines. In his official charters from 801 onward, Charles preferred the style Karolus serenissimus Augustus a Deo coronatus magnus pacificus imperator Romanum gubernans imperium ("Charles, most serene Augustus crowned by God, the great, peaceful emperor ruling the Roman empire") to the more direct Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans").[10]

The Iconoclasm of the Isaurian Dynasty and resulting religious conflicts with the Empress Irene, sitting on the throne in Constantinople in 800, were probably the chief causes of the pope's desire to formally acclaim Charles as Roman Emperor. He also most certainly desired to increase the influence of the papacy, honour his saviour Charlemagne, and solve the constitutional issues then most troubling to European jurists in an era when Rome was not in the hands of an emperor. Thus, Charlemagne's assumption of the imperial title was not an usurpation in the eyes of the Franks or Italians. It was, however, in Byzantium, where it was protested by Irene and her successor Nicephorus I-neither of whom had any great effect in enforcing their protests.

The Byzantines, however, still held several territories in Italy: Venice (what was left of the Exarchate of Ravenna), Reggio (in Calabria), Brindisi (in Apulia), and Naples (the Ducatus Neapolitanus). These regions remained outside of Frankish hands until 804, when the Venetians, torn by infighting, transferred their allegiance to the Iron Crown of Pippin, Charles' son. The Pax Nicephori ended. Nicephorus ravaged the coasts with a fleet and the only instance of war between the Byzantines and the Franks, as it was, began. It lasted until 810, when the pro-Byzantine party in Venice gave their city back to the Byzantine Emperor and the two emperors of Europe made peace: Charlemagne received the Istrian peninsula and in 812 the emperor Michael I Rhangabes recognised his status as Emperor,[11] although not necessarily as "Emperor of the Romans".[12]

[edit] Danish attacks
After the conquest of Nordalbingia, the Frankish frontier was brought into contact with Scandinavia. The pagan Danes, "a race almost unknown to his ancestors, but destined to be only too well known to his sons" as Charles Oman described them, inhabiting the Jutland peninsula had heard many stories from Widukind and his allies who had taken refuge with them about the dangers of the Franks and the fury which their Christian king could direct against pagan neighbours.

In 808, the king of the Danes, Godfred, built the vast Danevirke across the isthmus of Schleswig. This defence, last employed in the Danish-Prussian War of 1864, was at its beginning a 30 km long earthenwork rampart. The Danevirke protected Danish land and gave Godfred the opportunity to harass Frisia and Flanders with pirate raids. He also subdued the Frank-allied Wiltzes and fought the Abotrites.

Godfred invaded Frisia and joked of visiting Aachen, but was murdered before he could do any more, either by a Frankish assassin or by one of his own men. Godfred was succeeded by his nephew Hemming, who concluded the Treaty of Heiligen with Charlemagne in late 811.

[edit] Death

Persephone sarcophagus of Charlemagne
Portion of the 814 death shroud of Charlemagne. It represents a quadriga and was manufactured in Constantinople.In 813, Charlemagne called Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine, his only surviving legitimate son, to his court. There Charlemagne crowned his son with his own hands as co-emperor and sent him back to Aquitaine. He then spent the autumn hunting before returning to Aachen on 1 November. In January, he fell ill with pleurisy.[13] He took to his bed on 21 January and as Einhard tells it:

He died January twenty-eighth, the seventh day from the time that he took to his bed, at nine o'clock in the morning, after partaking of the Holy Communion, in the seventy-second year of his age and the forty-seventh of his reign.

Frederick II's gold and silver casket for CharlemagneHe was buried on the day of his death, in Aachen Cathedral, although the cold weather and the nature of his illness made such a hurried burial unnecessary. The earliest surviving planctus, the Planctus de obitu Karoli, was composed by a monk of Bobbio, which he had patronised.[14] A later story, told by Otho of Lomello, Count of the Palace at Aachen in the time of Otto III, would claim that he and Emperor Otto had discovered Charlemagne's tomb: the emperor, they claimed, was seated upon a throne, wearing a crown and holding a sceptre, his flesh almost entirely incorrupt. In 1165, Frederick I re-opened the tomb again, and placed the emperor in a sarcophagus beneath the floor of the cathedral.[15] In 1215 Frederick II would re-inter him in a casket made of gold and silver.

Charlemagne's death greatly affected many of his subjects, particularly those of the literary clique who had surrounded him at Aachen. An anonymous monk of Bobbio lamented:

From the lands where the sun rises to western shores, People are crying and wailing...the Franks, the Romans, all Christians, are stung with mourning and great worry...the young and old, glorious nobles, all lament the loss of their Caesar...the world laments the death of Charles...O Christ, you who govern the heavenly host, grant a peaceful place to Charles in your kingdom. Alas for miserable me.[16]

He was succeeded by his surviving son, Louis, who had been crowned the previous year. His empire lasted only another generation in its entirety; its division, according to custom, between Louis's own sons after their father's death laid the foundation for the modern states of France and Duitsland.

[edit] Administration
As an administrator, Charlemagne stands out for his many reforms: monetary, governmental, military, cultural and ecclesiastical. He is the main protagonist of the "Carolingian Renaissance."

[edit] Military
It has long been held that the dominance of Charlemagne's military was based on a "cavalry revolution" lead by Charles Martel in 730s. However, the stirrup, which made the 'shock cavalry' lance charge possible, was not introduced to the Frankish kingdom until the late eighth century. [17] Instead, Charlemagne's success rested primarily on novel siege technologies and excellent logistics.[18] However, large numbers of horses were used by the Frankish military during the age of Charlemagne. This was because horses provided a quick, long-distance method of transporting troops, which was critical to building and maintaining such a large empire.[19]

[edit] Economic and monetary reforms

Monogram of Charlemagne, from the subscription of a royal diploma: "Signum (monogr.: KAROLVS) Caroli gloriosissimi regis"Charlemagne had an important role in determining the immediate economic future of Europe. Pursuing his father's reforms, Charlemagne abolished the monetary system based on the gold sou, and he and the Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia took up the system set in place by Pippin. There were strong pragmatic reasons for this abandonment of a gold standard, notably a shortage of gold itself, a direct consequence of the conclusion of peace with Byzantium and the ceding of Venice and Sicily, and the loss of their trade routes to Africa and to the east. This standardisation also had the effect of economically harmonising and unifying the complex array of currencies in use at the commencement of his reign, thus simplifying trade and commerce.

Charlemagne, denier, Tours, 793-812.He established a new standard, the livre carolinienne (from the Latin libra, the modern pound), and based upon a pound of silver - a unit of both money and weight - which was worth 20 sous (from the Latin solidus [which was primarily an accounting device, and never actually minted], the modern shilling) or 240 deniers (from the Latin denarius, the modern penny). During this period, the livre and the sou were counting units, only the denier was a coin of the realm.

Charlemagne instituted principles for accounting practice by means of the Capitulare de villis of 802, which laid down strict rules for the way in which incomes and expenses were to be recorded.

The lending of money for interest was prohibited, strengthened in 814, when Charlemagne introduced the Capitulary for the Jews, a draconian prohibition on Jews engaging in money-lending.

In addition to this macro-management of the economy of his empire, Charlemagne also performed a significant number of acts of micro-management, such as direct control of prices and levies on certain goods and commodities.

Charlemagne applied the system to much of the European continent, and Offa's standard was voluntarily adopted by much of England. After Charlemagne's death, continental coinage degraded and most of Europe resorted to using the continued high quality English coin until about 1100.

[edit] Education reforms
A part of Charlemagne's success as warrior and administrator can be traced to his admiration for learning. His reign and the era it ushered in are often referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance because of the flowering of scholarship, literature, art, and architecture which characterise it. Charlemagne, brought into contact with the culture and learning of other countries (especially Visigothic Spain, Anglo-Saxon England and Lombard Italy) due to his vast conquests, greatly increased the provision of monastic schools and scriptoria (centres for book-copying) in Francia. Most of the surviving works of classical Latin were copied and preserved by Carolingian scholars. Indeed, the earliest manuscripts available for many ancient texts are Carolingian. It is almost certain that a text which survived to the Carolingian age survives still. The pan-European nature of Charlemagne's influence is indicated by the origins of many of the men who worked for him: Alcuin, an Anglo-Saxon from York; Theodulf, a Visigoth, probably from Septimania; Paul the Deacon, Lombard; Peter of Pisa and Paulinus of Aquileia, Italians; and Angilbert, Angilramm, Einhard and Waldo of Reichenau, Franks.

Charlemagne took a serious interest in scholarship, promoting the liberal arts at the court, ordering that his children and grandchildren be well-educated, and even studying himself (in a time when even leaders who promoted education did not take time to learn themselves) under the tutelage of Paul the Deacon, from whom he learned grammar, Alcuin, with whom he studied rhetoric, dialectic (logic) and astronomy (he was particularly interested in the movements of the stars), and Einhard, who assisted him in his studies of arithmetic. His great scholarly failure, as Einhard relates, was his inability to write: when in his old age he began attempts to learn - practicing the formation of letters in his bed during his free time on books and wax tablets he hid under his pillow - "his effort came too late in life and achieved little success", and his ability to read - hich Einhard is silent about, and which no contemporary source supports - has also been called into question.[20]

[edit] Church reforms
See also: Charlemagne and church music
[edit] Writing reforms

Page from the Lorsch Gospels of Charlemagne's reignDuring Charles' reign, the Roman half uncial script and its cursive version, which had given rise to various continental minuscule scripts, were combined with features from the insular scripts that were being used in Irish and English monasteries. Carolingian minuscule was created partly under the patronage of Charlemagne. Alcuin of York, who ran the palace school and scriptorium at Aachen, was probably a chief influence in this. The revolutionary character of the Carolingian reform, however, can be over-emphasised; efforts at taming the crabbed Merovingian and Germanic hands had been underway before Alcuin arrived at Aachen. The new minuscule was disseminated first from Aachen, and later from the influential scriptorium at Tours, where Alcuin retired as an abbot.

[edit] Political reforms
Charlemagne engaged in many reforms of Frankish governance, but he continued also in many traditional practices, such as the division of the kingdom among sons.

[edit] Organisation
Main article: Government of the Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian king exercised the bannum, the right to rule and command. He had supreme jurisdiction in judicial matters, made legislation, led the army, and protected both the Church and the poor. His administration was an attempt to organise the kingdom, church and nobility around him, however, it was entirely dependent upon the efficiency, loyalty and support of his subjects.

[edit] Imperial coronation

Throne of Charlemagne and the subsequent German Kings in Aachen CathedralHistorians have debated for centuries whether Charlemagne was aware of the Pope's intent to crown him Emperor prior to the coronation (Charlemagne declared that he would not have entered Saint Peter's had he known), but that debate has often obscured the more significant question of why the Pope granted the title and why Charlemagne chose to accept it once he did.

Roger Collins points out[21] "That the motivation behind the acceptance of the imperial title was a romantic and antiquarian interest in reviving the Roman empire is highly unlikely." For one thing, such romance would not have appealed either to Franks or Roman Catholics at the turn of the ninth century, both of whom viewed the Classical heritage of the Roman Empire with distrust. The Franks took pride in having "fought against and thrown from their shoulders the heavy yoke of the Romans" and "from the knowledge gained in baptism, clothed in gold and precious stones the bodies of the holy martyrs whom the Romans had killed by fire, by the sword and by wild animals", as Pippin III described it in a law of 763 or 764 (Collins 151). Furthermore, the new title-carrying with it the risk that the new emperor would "make drastic changes to the traditional styles and procedures of government" or "concentrate his attentions on Italy or on Mediterranean concerns more generally"-risked alienating the Frankish leadership.[22]

For both the Pope and Charlemagne, the Roman Empire remained a significant power in European politics at this time, and continued to hold a substantial portion of Italy, with borders not very far south of the city of Rome itself-this is the empire historiography has labelled the Byzantine Empire, for its capital was Constantinople (ancient Byzantium) and its people and rulers were Greek; it was a thoroughly Hellenic state. Indeed, Charlemagne was usurping the prerogatives of the Roman Emperor in Constantinople simply by sitting in judgement over the Pope in the first place:

By whom, however, could he [the Pope] be tried? Who, in other words, was qualified to pass judgement on the Vicar of Christ? In normal circumstances the only conceivable answer to that question would have been the Emperor at Constantinople; but the imperial throne was at this moment occupied by Irene. That the Empress was notorious for having blinded and murdered her own son was, in the minds of both Leo and Charles, almost immaterial: it was enough that she was a woman. The female sex was known to be incapable of governing, and by the old Salic tradition was debarred from doing so. As far as Western Europe was concerned, the Throne of the Emperors was vacant: Irene's claim to it was merely an additional proof, if any were needed, of the degradation into which the so-called Roman Empire had fallen.
-John Julius Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, pg. 378

Coronation of an idealised king, depicted in the Sacramentary of Charles the Bald (about 870)For the Pope, then, there was "no living Emperor at the that time" (Norwich 379), though Henri Pirenne (Mohammed and Charlemagne, pg. 234n) disputes this saying that the coronation "was not in any sense explained by the fact that at this moment a woman was reigning in Constantinople." Nonetheless, the Pope took the extraordinary step of creating one. The papacy had since 727 been in conflict with Irene's predecessors in Constantinople over a number of issues, chiefly the continued Byzantine adherence to the doctrine of iconoclasm, the destruction of Christian images; while from 750, the secular power of the Byzantine Empire in central Italy had been nullified. By bestowing the Imperial crown upon Charlemagne, the Pope arrogated to himself "the right to appoint ... the Emperor of the Romans, ... establishing the imperial crown as his own personal gift but simultaneously granting himself implicit superiority over the Emperor whom he had created." And "because the Byzantines had proved so unsatisfactory from every point of view-political, military and doctrinal-he would select a westerner: the one man who by his wisdom and statesmanship and the vastness of his dominions ... stood out head and shoulders above his contemporaries."

With Charlemagne's coronation, therefore, "the Roman Empire remained, so far as either of them [Charlemagne and Leo] were concerned, one and indivisible, with Charles as its Emperor", though there can have been "little doubt that the coronation, with all that it implied, would be furiously contested in Constantinople." (Norwich, Byzantium: The Apogee, pg. 3) How realistic either Charlemagne or the Pope felt it to be that the people of Constantinople would ever accept the King of the Franks as their Emperor, we cannot know; Alcuin speaks hopefully in his letters of an Imperium Christianum ("Christian Empire"), wherein, "just as the inhabitants of the [Roman Empire] had been united by a common Roman citizenship", presumably this new empire would be united by a common Christian faith (Collins 151), certainly this is the view of Pirenne when he says "Charles was the Emperor of the ecclesia as the Pope conceived it, of the Roman Church, regarded as the universal Church" (Pirenne 233).

19th century depiction of the imperial coronation of CharlemagneWhat we do know, from the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes (Collins 153), is that Charlemagne's reaction to his coronation was to take the initial steps toward securing the Constantinopolitan throne by sending envoys of marriage to Irene, and that Irene reacted somewhat favorably to them. Only when the people of Constantinople reacted to Irene's failure to immediately rebuff the proposal by deposing her and replacing her with one of her ministers, Nicephorus I, did Charlemagne drop any ambitions toward the Byzantine throne and begin minimising his new Imperial title, and instead return to describing himself primarily as rex Francorum et Langobardum.

The title of emperor remained in his family for years to come, however, as brothers fought over who had the supremacy in the Frankish state. The papacy itself never forgot the title nor abandoned the right to bestow it. When the family of Charles ceased to produce worthy heirs, the pope gladly crowned whichever Italian magnate could best protect him from his local enemies. This devolution led, as could have been expected, to the dormancy of the title for almost forty years (924-962). Finally, in 962, in a radically different Europe from Charlemagne's, a new Roman Emperor was crowned in Rome by a grateful pope. This emperor, Otto the Great, brought the title into the hands the kings of Duitsland for almost a millennium, for it was to become the Holy Roman Empire, a true imperial successor to Charles, if not Augustus.

[edit] Divisio regnorum
In 806, Charlemagne first made provision for the traditional division of the empire on his death. For Charles the Younger he designated Austrasia and Neustria, Saxony, Burgundy, and Thuringia. To Pippin he gave Italy, Bavaria, and Swabia. Louis received Aquitaine, the Spanish March, and Provence. There was no mention of the imperial title however, which has led to the suggestion that, at that particular time, Charlemagne regarded the title as an honorary achievement which held no hereditary significance.

This division might have worked, but it was never to be tested. Pippin died in 810 and Charles in 811. Charlemagne then reconsidered the matter, and in 813, crowned his youngest son, Louis, co-emperor and co-King of the Franks, granting him a half-share of the empire and the rest upon Charlemagne's own death. The only part of the Empire which Louis was not promised was Italy, which Charlemagne specifically bestowed upon Pippin's illegitimate son Bernard.

The Coronation of Charlemagne, by assistants of Raphael , circa 1516-1517[edit] Cultural significance
Charlemagne had an immediate afterlife. The author of the Visio Karoli Magni written around 865 uses facts gathered apparently from Einhard and his own observations on the decline of Charlemagne's family after the dissensions of civil war (840-43) as the basis for a visionary tale of Charles' meeting with a prophetic spectre in a dream.

Charlemagne, being a model knight as one of the Nine Worthies, enjoyed an important afterlife in European culture. One of the great medieval literary cycles, the Charlemagne cycle or the Matter of France, centres on the deeds of Charlemagne-the King with the Grizzly Beard of Roland fame-and his historical commander of the border with Brittany, Roland, and the paladins who are analogous to the knights of the Round Table or King Arthur's court. Their tales constitute the first chansons de geste.

Charlemagne himself was accorded sainthood inside the Holy Roman Empire after the twelfth century. His canonisation by Antipope Paschal III, to gain the favour of Frederick Barbarossa in 1165, was never recognised by the Holy See, which annulled all of Paschal's ordinances at the Third Lateran Council in 1179. However, he has been acknowledged as cultus confirmed. In the Divine Comedy the spirit of Charlemagne appears to Dante in the Heaven of Mars, among the other "warriors of the faith."

Charlemagne is sometimes credited with supporting the insertion of the filioque into the Nicene Creed. The Franks had inherited a Visigothic tradition of referring to the Holy Spirit as deriving from God the Father and Son (Filioque), and under Charlemagne, the Franks challenged the 381 Council of Constantinople proclamation that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father alone. Pope Leo III rejected this notion, and had the Nicene Creed carved into the doors of Old St. Peter's Basilica without the offending phrase; the Frankish insistence lead to bad relations between Rome and Francia. Later, the Roman Catholic Church would adopt the phrase, leading to dispute between Rome and Constantinople. Some see this as one of many pre-cursors to the East-West Schism centuries later.[23]

French volunteers in the Wehrmacht and later Waffen-SS during the World War II were organised in a unit called 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French). A German Waffen-SS unit used "Karl der Große" for some time in 1943, but then chose the name 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg instead.

The city of Aachen has, since 1949, awarded an international prize (called the Karlspreis der Stadt Aachen) in honour of Charlemagne. It is awarded annually to "personages of merit who have promoted the idea of western unity by their political, economic and literary endeavours."[24] Winners of the prize include Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, the founder of the pan-European movement, Alcide De Gasperi, and Winston Churchill.

Charlemagne is memorably quoted by Dr Henry Jones Sr. (played by Sean Connery) in the film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Immediately after using his umbrella to induce a flock of seagulls to smash through the glass cockpit of a pursuing German fighter plane, Henry Jones remarks "I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne: 'Let my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the sky'." Despite the quote's popularity since the movie, there is no evidence that Charlemagne actually said this.[25]

The Economist, the weekly news and international affairs newspaper, features a one page article every week entitled "Charlemagne", focusing on European government.

[edit] Ancestry
[show]v • d • eAncestors of Charlemagne
16. Ansegisel

8. Pippin of Herstal

17. Begga

4. Charles Martel

18. Dodo

9. Alpaida

2. Pippin the Short

20. Warinus

10. Leudwinus

21. Kunza of Metz

5. Rotrude of Trier

22. Chrodobertus II

11. d. of Chrodobertus II

23. Doda

1. Charlemagne

24. Ansegisel

12. Martin of Laon

25. Begga

6. Caribert of Laon

13. Bertrada of Prüm

3. Bertrada of Laon

7. Bertrada of Keulen

[edit] Family
[edit] Marriages and heirs
Charlemagne had twenty children over the course of his life with eight of his ten known wives or concubines. Nonetheless, he only had four legitimate grandsons, the four sons of his third son Louis, plus a grandson who was born illegitimate, but included in the line of inheritance in any case (Bernard of Italy, only son of Charlemagne's third son Pepin of Italy), so that the claimants to his inheritance remained few.

His first relationship was with Himiltrude. The nature of this relationship is variously described as concubinage, a legal marriage or as a Friedelehe.[26] (Charlemagne put her aside when he married Desiderata.) The union with Himiltrude produced two children:
Amaudru, a daughter[27]
Pippin the Hunchback (c. 769-811)
After her, his first wife was Desiderata, daughter of Desiderius, king of the Lombards; married in 770, annulled in 771
His second wife was Hildegard (757 or 758-783), married 771, died 783. By her he had nine children:
Charles the Younger (c.772-4 December 811), Duke of Maine, and crowned King of the Franks on 25 December 800
Carloman, renamed Pippin (April 773-8 July 810), King of Italy
Adalhaid (774), who was born whilst her parents were on campaign in Italy. She was sent back to Francia, but died before reaching Lyons
Rotrude (or Hruodrud) (775-6 June 810)
Louis (778-20 June 840), twin of Lothair, King of Aquitaine since 781, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 813, senior Emperor from 814
Lothair (778-6 February 779/780), twin of Louis, he died in infancy[28]
Bertha (779-826)
Gisela (781-808)
Hildegarde (782-783)
His third wife was Fastrada, married 784, died 794. By her he had:
Theodrada (b.784), abbess of Argenteuil
Hiltrude (b.787)
His fourth wife was Luitgard, married 794, died childless
[edit] Concubinages and illegitimate children
His first known concubine was Gersuinda. By her he had:
Adaltrude (b.774)
His second known concubine was Madelgard. By her he had:
Ruodhaid (775-810), abbess of Faremoutiers
His third known concubine was Amaltrud of Vienne. By her he had:
Alpaida (b.794)
His fourth known concubine was Regina. By her he had:
Drogo (801-855), Bishop of Metz from 823 and abbot of Luxeuil Abbey
Hugh (802-844), archchancellor of the Empire
His fifth known concubine was Ethelind. By her he had:
Richbod (805-844), Abbott of Saint-Riquier
Theodoric (b. 807)
[edit] References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Charlemagne
[edit] Notes
^ Riché, Preface xviii, Pierre Riché reflects: "[H]e enjoyed an exceptional destiny, and by the length of his reign, by his conquests, legislation and legendary stature, he also profoundly marked the history of western Europe."
^ Oman, Charles. The Dark Ages 476-919 Rivingtons: London, 1914. Regards Charlemagne's grandsons as the first kings of France and Duitsland, which at the time comprised the whole of the Carolingian Empire save Italy.
^ "The year is given as 747 in Annales Petaviani ["Et ipso anno fuit natus Karolus rex." Annales Petaviani, s.a. 747, MGH SS 1:11.
^ Etymology of "Charles/Karl/Karel"
^ Original text of the Salic law.
^ Einhard, Life, 25.
^ Charlemagne By Alessandro Barbero, Allan Cameron P. 116
^ Charlemagne By Alessandro Barbero, Allan Cameron P. 118
^ Gene W. Heck When worlds collide: exploring the ideological and political foundations of the clash of civilizations Rowman & Littlefield, 2007 ISBN 0742558568, p. 172 [1]
^ Cf. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Diplomata Karolinorum I, 77ff.
^ eum imperatorem et basileum appellantes, cf. Royal Frankish Annals, a. 812.
^ E. Eichmann, Die Kaiserkrönung im Abendland I (Würzburg: 1942), 33.
^ Einhard, Life, p. 59
^ Peter Godman (1985), Latin Poetry of the Carolingian Renaissance (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press), 206-211.
^ Chamberlin, Russell, The Emperor Charlemagne, pp. 222-224
^ Dutton, PE, Carolingian Civilization: A Reader
^ Hooper, Nicholas / Bennett, Matthew. The Cambridge illustrated atlas of warfare: the Middle Ages Cambridge University Press, 1996, Pg. 12-13 ISBN 0521440491, 9780521440493
^ Bowlus, Charles R. The battle of Lechfeld and its aftermath, August 955: the end of the age of migrations in the Latin West Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2006, Pg. 49 ISBN 0754654702, 9780754654704
^ Hooper, Nicholas / Bennett, Matthew. The Cambridge illustrated atlas of warfare: the Middle Ages Cambridge University Press, 1996, Pg. 12-13 ISBN 0521440491, 9780521440493
^ Dutton, Paul Edward, Charlemagne's Mustache
^ Collins, Charlemagne, p. 147.
^ Collins, Charlemagne, p. 149.
^ Riche, Pierre, The Carolingians, p.124
^ Chamberlin, Russell, The Emperor Charlemagne, p. ???
^ Quid plura? | "Flying birds, excellent birds..."
^ Charlemagne's biographer Einhard (Vita Karoli Magni, ch. 20) calls her a "concubine" and Paulus Diaconus speaks of Pippin's birth "before legal marriage", whereas a letter by Pope Stephen III refers to Charlemagne and his brother Carloman as being already married (to Himiltrude and Gerberga), and advises them not to dismiss their wives. Historians have interpreted the information in different ways. Some, such as Pierre Riché (The Carolingians, p.86.), follow Einhard in describing Himiltrude as a concubine. Others, for example Dieter Hägemann (Karl der Große. Herrscher des Abendlands, p. 82f.), consider Himiltrude a wife in the full sense. Still others subscribe to the idea that the relationship between the two was "something more than concubinage, less than marriage" and describe it as a Friedelehe, a form of marriage unrecognized by the Church and easily dissolvable. Russell Chamberlin (The Emperor Charlemagne, p. 61.), for instance, compared it with the English system of common-law marriage. This form of relationship is often seen in a conflict between Christian marriage and more flexible Germanic concepts.
^ Gerd Treffer, Die französischen Königinnen. Von Bertrada bis Marie Antoinette (8.-18. Jahrhundert) p. 30.
^ "By [Hildigard] Charlemagne had four sons and four daughters, according to Paul the Deacon: one son, the twin of Lewis, called Lothar, died as a baby and is not mentioned by Einhard; two daughters, Hildigard and Adelhaid, died as babies, so that Einhard appears to err in one of his names, unless there were really five daughters." Thorpe, Lewis, Two Lives of Charlemagne, p.185
[edit] Bibliography
Barbero, Alessandro (2004). Charlemagne: Father of a Continent. trans. Allan Cameron. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23943-1.
Becher, Matthias (2003). Charlemagne. trans. David S. Bachrach. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09796-4.
Einhard (1960) [1880]. The Life of Charlemagne. trans. Samuel Epes Turner. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-06035-X. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/einhard.html.
Ganshof, F. L. (1971). The Carolingians and the Frankish Monarchy: Studies in Carolingian History. trans. Janet Sondheimer. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-0635-8.
Langston, Aileen Lewers; and J. Orton Buck, Jr (eds.) (1974). Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co..
McKitterick, R. (2008). Charlemagne: The Formation of a European Identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Riché, Pierre (1993). The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-1342-4
Oman, Charles (1914). The Dark Ages, 476-918 (6th ed. ed.). London: Rivingtons.
Painter, Sidney (1953). A History of the Middle Ages, 284-1500. New York: Knopf.
Pirenne, Henri (1939). Mohammed and Charlemagne. trans. Bernard Miall. New York: Norton.
Santosuosso, Antonio (2004). Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels: The Ways of Medieval Warfare. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-9153-9.
Scholz, Bernhard Walter; with Barbara Rogers (1970). Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08790-8. Comprises the Annales regni Francorum and The History of the Sons of Louis the Pious
Charlemagne: Biographies and general studies, from Encyclopædia Britannica, full-article, latest edition.
Sypeck, Jeff (2006). Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and The Empires of A.D. 800. New York: Ecco/HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-079706-1.
Wilson, Derek (2005). Charlemagne: The Great Adventure. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-179461-7.
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Carolus Magnus
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Charlemagne's biography
The Life of Charlemagne by Einhard. At Medieval Sourcebook
Vita Karoli Magni by Einhard. Latin text at The Latin Library
A reconstructed portrait of Charlemagne, based on historical sources, in a contemporary style.
The Sword of Charlemagne (myArmoury.com article)
Charlemagne Picture Gallery
Charter given by Charlemagne for St. Emmeram's Abbey showing the Emperor's seal, 22.2.794 . Taken from the collections of the Lichtbildarchiv älterer Originalurkunden at Marburg University
Works by or about Charlemagne in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
Emperor Charles I the Great
Carolingian dynasty
Died: 28 January 814
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Pippin the Short King of the Franks
768 - 814
with Carloman I (768 - 771)
Charles the Younger (800 - 811) Succeeded by
Louis the Pious
Vacant
Title last held by
Romulus Augustulus Emperor of the Romans
800 - 814
with Louis the Pious (813 - 814)
Preceded by
Desiderius King of the Lombards
774 - 814
with Pippin of Italy
as King of Italy (781 - 810) Succeeded by
Bernard of Italy
as King of Italy
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[Jeremiah Brown.FTW]

[From Ancestry.com 22592.GED]

Charlemagne known as Rex Francorum et Langobardorum. He was born April 2, 742 in Aachen, Neustrie. Between the years 767 and 814, Charlemagne's title after 800 A.D. was Carolus serenissimus augustus a Deo coronatus magnus et pacificus imperator Romanum gubernans imperium, qui est per misericordium Dei rex
Francorum et Langobardorum. It was designed to include the Romas in the Frankish empire without centering the Empire upon them. Charlemagne stressed the royal and Frankish bases for his power. Charlemagne was also referred to as Charles.

The Franks, over whom Charlemagne came to reign in the year 768, were originally a loose confederation of Germanic tribes. By the 6th century they had begun to force their way into Gaul (France and Belgium), and there they eventually settled. The modern name of France comes from the word "frank". The Franks ousted the Gallic landowners who were the last remnants of the Roman Empire, conquered the Visigoths in the south of France, and fought other Germanic tribes such as the Burgundians and the Alamanni. The great Frankish leader who unified the confederacy into a powerful entity was Clovis, first of the Merovingian kings. These rulers were replaced several centuries later by the House of St. Arnulf, the family line of Charlemagne.

The Merovingian dynasty developed the Franks into a national entity and made many conquests. However, by the 7th century, the powerful blood of Clovis had been diluted considerably and King Sigibert III of the Merovings was a mere puppet under the control of his Mayor of the Palace. It was from these Mayors of the Palace - senior officers of the royal house - that Charlemagne's ancestors were eventually to become kings.

The following is a description of Charlemagne from his chroniclers: He was tall and stoutly built. His height just 7 times the length of his foot. His head was round, his eyes large and lively, his nose somewhat above the common size, his expression bright and cheerful. His health was excellent. He frequently rode and hunted and enjoyed swimming. His capital city of Aachen (Aix la Chapelle) was partly chosen because of its hot springs, where Charles swam daily in the great bath.

Charlemagne was the King of Franks 767-814, and Emperor of the West from Dec. 25, 800 ; King of the Francs (767-814) ; and Emperor of the Occident (800-814). Charlemagne succeeded his father, Pepin Le Bref, in 768 and reigned with his brother Carloman. Between 782 and 785 hardly a year passed without confrontation with the Saxons. In 772, during the first major expedition, the Irminsul was destroyed. That year also saw the beginning of a 30 year war against the Saxons as the Francs ravaged the Saxon land by steel and by fore.

In 773, the Francs routed the Lombards who sought refuge in Pavia. Gerberge and her children then took refuge in Verona where Charles took them prisoners. Didier's son, Adalgise, successfully escaped the assaults and spent the rest of his life in Constantinople. On June 5, 774, Charles reclaimed the title of King of the Lombards and of the Francs as he triumphantly entered Pavia. In 775 the castle of Siegburg and the castle of Eresburg were reorganized. Near Hoxter, a large number of Westphalian Saxons were slaughtered in the Sachsen-graben. In 777, at Paderborn, an assembly inaugurated the ecclesiastical organization of Saxony, which divided the country into
missionary zones. In 777, Charles had been visited by Solaman, Ibn-al-Arabi, who had turned against his master, the Emire Abd-al-Rahman and offered Charles the cities entrusted to his care.

In 778, Charles crosses the Pyrenees, occupies Pampelune, and marched on Sarabossa. But upon learning that the Saxons had once more rebelled and were crossing the Rhine, he turned back. On August 15, the rear guard, under the command of the Seneschal Eginhard, the Count of the Palace Anselm, and of Roland, Duke of the Marche of Brittany, was attacked by Basques or Gascons forces. In the meantime, the Saxons ravaged the Frankish holdings from Keulen to the Moselle. In 779 and 781, Widukind, a Westphalian noble, defeated the
Frankish armies in the Sutel mountains. Charlemagne is reputed to have 4,500 Saxons beheaded in Verdun. In 782, the country was divided into counties administered by Saxon. At Attigny, in 785, Widukind and his son-in-law, Abbi, submittted to Charlemagne who enforced their baptism and became their Godfather. In December 795, Hadrian I was succeeded by Pope Leon III. By 797, Saxony was conquered. In a brilliant military campaign (773-774), he put an end to the Lombard Dynasty and took the title King of the Lombards. He conquered Bavaria (781-788) and then the land of the Avares (792-799), a people related to the Huns. 797 proved to be a year of diplomacy. In the early part of the year, several Sarasin chiefs ( Zata and Abdallah) gave homage to Charlemagne at Aix and Gerona, Caserres and Vich became occupied by the Francs. While in Aix, Charlemagne also received the ambassador of the Emperor of Constantinople, Constantin VI, arriving with offers of friendship. In Heerstall, later in the year, the Huns made peace. Charlemagne also received the ambassodor from Alfonzo, King of Galicia and of the Asturias. On April 25, 799, the Feast of St. Mark, the Pope is assailed by aristocrats loyal to Byzantium in front of the Church of St. Stephen and Sylvester. He was thrown in the monastery of St. Erasmus, but escaped and sought refuge under the Duke of Spoleto.

On Dec. 23, 800 , according to the Liber Pontificalis, the Pope was cleared of all charges brought by the rebellious aristocrats. Charlemagne's task was to determine the appropriate punishment for those who had perpetrated the assault on the Holy Father. On Dec. 25, 800, Pope Leon III, crowned him Emperor of the Occident. This was made possible because the Emperor Constatin VI had effectively been dethroned by his mother, Irene, who had him blinded and then proclaimed herself the "Basileus". Unfortunately a throne occupied by a woman according to Nomen Imperatoris, is a vacant one. The day after the crowning, Pope Leon III proclaimed the year ONE of the Empire, and the money was stamped with the Pope's image on one side and that of Charlemagne on the other.

On the death of his 3rd wife, Charles lived with no less than 3 concubines who bore him numerous children. This pagan kingly behavior gave rise to criticism from the Church. The relaxed morality of Charles himself extended to some members of his large family. Two of his daughters lived in "sin" without any comment from their father, but as soon as Louis the Pious inherited the crown, he banished these sisters to appease the Church.

Charles died after complications following a winter cold. He was buried in the cathedral at Aachen, in a sarcophagus taken from an ancient Roman site somewhere in Italy. A golden shrine was placed over his tomb, with an image of Charles and the simple inscription (translated): Within this tomb is laid the body of the Christian Emperor Charlemagne, who guided the kingdom of the Franks with distinction and ruled in with success for 47 years.

He had a total of 10 spouses of which five were lawful. He was the King of Franks 768-814 as was also known as Charles the Great or Carlus Magnus.

*************************

The battle of the Pyrenees is the subject of one of the most well-known medieval epics, "The Song of Roland". The following is taken from the introduction to "The Song of Roland", in "Medieval Epics", translated by W.S. Merwin, Modern Library, Random House, New York, 1963.

Some time near the end of July, Charles Martel (Charles the King, Charles the Emperor, Charles the Great, Charlemagne) turned his army north toward the Pyrenees and France. The year was 778. He was thirty-six years old and he was not used to failure, but even the royal chroniclers would have difficulty in trying to describe his ambitious summer campaign in Spain as though it had been a success.

It had not been hastily conceived. Suleiman, the Moorish governor of Barcelona, had visited Charles in the spring of 777 to urge him to cross the Pyrenees, and the request, and Charles' response to it, were both influenced by dynastic and religious promptings which had histories of their own.

Suleiman was a member of the Abassid dynasty, descended from an uncle of Mohammed. Earlier in the century the Abassids had overthrown the reigning Umayyad dynasty and assassinated every member of it except one, Abdur Rahman, who had escaped to Spain and established himself there as the Emir. Suleiman's hatred of Rahman was understandable, and it had already led him to seek and to obtain the protection of his Christian neighbor, King Pepin of France, Charles' father.

There were other reasons why Charles would have been sympathetic to Suleiman. He was himself a member of a young dynasty, a matter of subtle importance in a world governed to a great degree by tradition. And then, Abdur Rahman, as the last representative of the Umayyads, stood for the family which, half a century before, had commanded the great Moorish invasion of France. At that time the apparently invincible Umayyads had forced their way as far north as Tours before Charles' grandfather, Charles Martel, turned them back. It was the Umayyads whom Charles' father, Pepin, had fought and at last driven from France.

But doubtless none of these considerations would have impelled Charles to cross the Pyrenees if it had not been for a more powerful and obvious motive: his own ambition. In the first nine years of his reign he had conquered Aquitaine, beaten the Saxons and the Lombards, and become the official guardian of Christendom, whose boundaries he had extended to the north and east. An expedition into Spain would give him a chance to unify the different parts of his realm in a common effort, and incidentally to conquer the as yet unsubjected Basque provinces. Suleiman probably stressed the apparent fact that Rahman was a menace to Charles' southern frontier, and very possibly he would have told the French king that if he were to attack Rahman now he could not help succeeding, that the Abassids themselves were raising an army of Berbers to send against the Umayyad, and that the people of Spain were on the point of rebellion. The exact details of the embassage and the terms of the agreement that was reached are not known. But by Easter 778 Charles was in Poitou with an immense army recruited from every part of his kingdom: it included Goths, contingents from Septimania and Provence, Austrasians, Neustrians, Lombards, Burgundians, and Bavarians. After Easter he crossed the western end of the Pyrenees, through the Basque country, at the head of half his army. He sent the other half around the eastern end of the mountains. They were to meet before Saragossa.

Just what happened that summer was carefully obscured in the accounts and will never be known. Certainly there were no great triumphs. The Christian natives of Spain did not hasten to overthrow the tolerant Moorish rule and welcome the Franks; on the contrary, the Christians of the kingdom of Asturias preferred their own independence to the presence of a foreign army however dear to the Pope. It is also possible that they were in league with Rahman. At any rate they resisted the Franks. The Christian city of Pampelona refused entry to Charles and had to be stormed; it was the only city in the entire campaign which was actually taken. The native rebellion against Rahman never amounted to much and Suleiman himself had a falling out with his Moorish allies on the African continent. When the Frankish army assembled before Saragossa the city defied it, despite Suleiman's diplomatic efforts; it is not known how hard Charles tried to take it, but he had no siege machinery, and he failed. By some time in July he had received the formal surrender of a few cities -- a gesture which may have owed as much to his alliance with Suleiman as it did to his own army -- and he had gained some hostages, and little else. There is no way of knowing just why he abandoned the campaign so early in the summer. It is possible that he saw nothing to be gained by staying, in the circumstances, and was simply cutting his losses. Supplies may have run dangerously low. It is conceivable that the campaign had turned out far worse than the accounts would lead us to suppose, and that the army was in fact retreating. Even if that were so it cannot have been a rushed or disorderly retreat: in August the army stopped at Pampelona long enough to raze the walls of the city to punish the inhabitants for their resistance, and no doubt to weaken the Spanish side of the frontier. It has been suggested (by Fawtier) that if Charles had not been in a hurry, for some reason, he would have paused long enough to celebrate the important feast of the Dormition of the Virgin on August 15th. At any event he did not do so, but pushed on into the Pyrenees.

What happened next is one of the great riddles. In the earliest history of Charles' expedition, the one included in a chronicle known as the Annales Royales, there is no reference to any military action whatever in the Pyrenees. All later writers on the subject have agreed that the author had something of importance to be silent about. Of such importance, in fact, that his immediate successors evidently felt that mere silence would not serve to conceal it, and set about explaining it. The original Annales were rewritten and expanded roughly a quarter of a century after they were first compiled. It was long thought that the rewriting was done by Charlemagne's biographer Einhard, and though it is now certain that the changes are not his, the second edition of the chronicle is still referred to as the Annales dites d'Einhard. In this work there is a brief and contradictory account of something which happened on the way back from Spain. The Basques, it says here, from positions at the tops of the mountains attacked the rear guard and put the whole army in disorder; the Franks were caught at a disadvantage and did badly; most of the commanders of the different sections of the army were killed, and the enemy, helped by the nature of the terrain, managed to carry off the baggage and escape. There is a reference, too, to the bitterness of Charles' grief.

Then there is Einhard's own account. In the first place he is more ingenious than his predecessors at making it sound as though the Spanish campaign had been a success; then, having built up the picture, he sets against it the Pyrenean ambush on the way back as a relatively minor mishap. It was the treacherous Gascons, he says; they waited until the army was spread out in a long line in the gorges, and then they rushed down and threw the baggage train and the rear guard into confusion. There was a battle in the valley and the Franks were thrown back. The Gascons killed their opponents, the rear guard, to a man, seized the baggage, and scattered under cover of night. Their flight was made easier by their light armor and the nature of the terrain. And then Einhard says, "In this battle Egginhard the royal seneschal, Anselm the Count of the Palace, and Hruodland, the Warden of the Breton Marches, were killed, with very many others." It is one of the only two glimpses in history of the knight whose name would come to evoke one of the richest bodies of legend in the Middle Ages, and one of its greatest poems. The other is a coin, worn, but still displaying on one side the name Carlus, and on the reverse, Rodlan.
One final mention of the battle, by the chroniclers, is of interest. While the army was making its way back from Spain, Charlemagne's wife, in France, gave birth to a son, Louis, who would be his heir. Sixty years after the battle Louis' own biographer, a writer known as The Astronome, in speaking of it said that the names of those who fell in that action were so well known that there was no need to repeat them.

Of all the battles of the period, this one probably has excited most curiosity, and almost nothing about it is definitely known. It is not mere historical interest in the sources of the Roland story which still draws the speculation of scholars to what scanty evidence has come down to our times. In this case the theories of how the legend developed from the event are even more than usually dependent upon a notion of what the event was: a bitter but militarily unimportant misfortune, on the one hand, or one of the critical defeats of Charlemagne's reign, on the other.

Bedier, one of the great students of medieval literature in modem times and the editor of the Oxford text of La Chanson de Roland, propounded the theory of the development of the legend which was generally accepted for years. The battle, he believed, was a minor event which had been remembered in the area near the battlefield and had become a local legend; from those beginnings it had been retold and developed in monasteries and pilgrim sanctuaries along the route leading to Santiago de Compostella, in Spain; the route crossed the Pyrenees at Roncevaux -- the Roncesvalles associated with the Roland story. Bedier, incidentally, was convinced that a number of the French chansons de geste developed in more or less the same way and may have been written by monks, or at least in collaboration with monks. With reference to the Roland, in particular, he cites the fact that the pass at Roncevaux was commended for admiration (complete with a monumental cross said to be Carolingian and other relics claiming descent from Roland and the battle) by the monks at Roncevaux in the twelfth century; he points out that one variant of the Roland legend is contained in a twelfth-century guide written for the benefit of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostella.

Bedier's theory was published just before World War I. It was subjected to criticism in the following decades by a number of scholars; one of the most interesting counter theories was put forward by Fawtier (La Chanson de Roland) in 1933. Fawtier analyzes the chroniclers' references to the battle and bases his conclusions, in great part, on the weaknesses in their accounts. The chroniclers, he insists, cannot have it both ways. Was it merely a massacre of the rear guard, or did it in fact involve the whole army and "throw it into disorder"? He poses some other interesting questions. Why, for instance, should the baggage train have been at the rear of the march, when it was usual to have it in the middle, especially in mountain country? Why should so many of the leaders of the different sections of the army have been in the rear guard (of course the legend itself, with its story of the Ganelon-Roland dispute, answers this one, but the legend in its final form came much later and a great part of it is concerned with the peculiar drama of this very situation). How many of these details, and how much of the picture of the lightning raid from the mountain tops may have been attempts to minimize and explain away a terrible defeat which had happened while Charles himself was in command?

In Fawtier's view, the battle, whether it took place at Roncevaux or elsewhere, was one of the great disasters of Charlemagne's career. The army, hurrying into the Pyrenees, was caught in a classical ambush: the van was blocked, the rear was then attacked, and the Franks had to fight their way forward, section by section, suffering losses so appalling that Charles never really managed to reassemble the survivors on the other side of the mountains, and instead set about hastily reorganizing the strong points in Aquitaine as though he expected further troubles from Spain. In fact the magnitude of the defeat was one of the things about the action which caught the popular imagination and contributed to the growth of the legend around the heroic figure of the doomed commander of the rear guard, Hruodland, Rodlan, Roland.

The legend may have grown in the region around Roncevaux, but it was elaborated in other parts of the kingdom too. By the late eleventh century, when the poem was written, it was possible for the poet to display, without fear of correction, an ignorance of the geography of Spain and, for that matter, of southern France, which indicates not only that he himself came from somewhere far from that part of the world, but also that the story and its heroes had long been familiar in places remote from the original battlefield. An audience at Roncevaux might just have been able to go along with the poet's assumption that Cordoba was near the hill city of Saragossa, which in turn was on the sea; it is unlikely that, even in the Middle Ages when simple experience was so meek an authority, they would have heard without a murmur that Narbonne and Bordeaux both lay on the same road north from Roncevaux. Furthermore, this shows a total ignorance of the Santiago pilgrim route and its monasteries, an interesting fact in view of the theory that the poem was composed in one of those places, on that route.

In Fawtier's opinion the story of the defeat was carried across France by its veterans, and in various localities, as it took on the character of legend through repetition, it was cast, in whole or in part, into the form of ballads. It is true that none of these survive, but then very little of the popular literature of the time has survived. The monks had nothing to do with the composition of La Chanson de Roland itself (although two other, later variants of the legend were composed by clerics). On the contrary, it was the legend, and perhaps the poem itself, which prompted the ecclesiastics at Roncevaux to exploit the pass as a pilgrim attraction -- an enterprise which may have contributed to the poem's preservation.

There has been considerable controversy as to just when La Chanson de Roland was written. It must have been some time in the latter half of the eleventh century, but it is not possible to be much more definite than that. The poem apparently was already well known in 1096 when, at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II made use of it in his appeal to the chivalry of France to follow in the steps of Charlemagne and send an army against Islam. Many of the crusaders who responded to Urban's summons, and many who came later, must have been following an image of themselves which derived, at least in part, from the legendary last battle of the now transfigured Hruodland.

The poem, in its original form, has not survived. Modern knowledge of it is confined to six different versions, whose separate relations to the original are not plain. There is, for instance, a twelfth century German translation by a Bavarian priest named Konrad. There is a Norse translation of the thirteenth century. There is a version in Franco-Italian, in the library of San Marco in Venice, which ends differently from the others. And there are three versions in French. One of them, known as Recension 0, or the Oxford version, has survived in a single copy, Digby Mss 23, at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. It is supposed that it was a jongleur's copy of the poem. It is the oldest of all the versions, the most beautiful, and must have been much the closest to the original. Bedier's famous edition of the poem is based on the Oxford version, which Bedier compares at all points with the others.

#Générale##Générale#Profession : Roi d'Austrasie de 768 à 771.

#Générale#Empereur d'Occident - Roi des Francs 768-800 - Empereur des Romains 800-814

inhumation : Aix-La-Chapelle Allemagne

#Générale#Naissance : ou le 2 Avril 742 à Ingelheim ALLEMAGNE
Profession : Roi des Francs de 768 à 814,
Empereur d'Occident de 800 à 814.

{geni:about_me} [http://www.geni.com/projects/Charlemagne-Emperor-of-the-West-Direct-Family-Line/1550 ''Charlemagne'''] (English: Charles the Great, German: Karl der Grosse, French: Charles le Grand, Latin: Carolus Magnus, Dutch: Karel de Grote),''' King of Neustria (768-771), King of the Franks (771-814), King of the Lombards (774-814), and Emperor of the Romans (800-814)'''. He was the '''eldest son of Pippin III and Bertrada of Laon'''.

[http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/05/olson/2497 According to this article all Europeans are descended from Charlemagne.] Here's [http://www.sarahwoodbury.com/were-all-descended-from-charlemagne-and-related-to-each-other/ another one], & another [http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2009/10/are-you-descedant-of-charlemagne.html one], & another [http://www.nbcnews.com/science/all-europeans-are-related-if-you-go-back-just-1-6C9826523 one]. And here's a quick reference [http://dgmweb.net/Ancillary/OnE/NumberAncestors.html table] for the number of ancestors each of us has per given generation.

'''Birthdate & Place unknown''': [http://www.geni.com/discussions/145711?msg=1006146 See Discussion].
Birthdate is traditionally taken as April 2 742; but 747 & 748 have also been proposed by scholars.
Amongst conjectures for Birthplace:
*Herstal, Liege (present Belgium)
*Aachen, near Aix-La-Chapelle (present Duitsland).
*Ingelheim (present Duitsland)

'''“By the sword and the cross”, Charlemagne became master of western Europe.'''

* Old Low Franconian: Karl thie Mikili, Frankana Kunink
* Latin: Carolus Magnus, Rex Francorum
* Old Gallo-Romance: Karlus li Magnus, Regis de les Frankes
* Old French: Charles li Magne, Rei des Francs
* Middle French: Charlemagne, Roi des Francs

'''Charlemagne titled himself:'''
'Carolus serenissimus augustus a Deo coranatos magnus pacificus imperator, Romanum gubernans imperium, qui et per misericordiam Dei rex Francorum atque Langobardorum'
Davis, RHC: ''A History of Medieval Europe'', Longman 1977 p155

Google translate:
Charles August, the most serene – crowned by God of Peace, is a great commander, who governs the Roman empire, & who also, by the mercy of God, is the king of the Franks and the Lombards

'''Description of Charlemagne’s crowning by the Pope on 23 December 800''', in the Frankish ''Royal Annals'' (the earliest description we have, probably written c 801 by Angilbert the chaplain). Note: this is subtly different from the papal description given in ''Liber Pontificalis'', which is written to suggest a far greater authority vested in the Pope than the Frankish point of view, here:

'On that very and most holy day of Christmas, when the king at Mass before the confession of the blessed Peter the apostle, was rising from prayer, Leo the pope put [a/the] crown on his head, and acclamation was made by all the people of the Romans: ‘To Charles Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor of the Romans, Life and Victory!’
And after the ‘praises’ (laudes), he was ‘adored’ by the apostolic [bishop] in the manner of ancient princes, and discarding the name of patrician, he was called Emperor and Augustus.'
Davis, RHC: ''A History of Medieval Europe'', Longman 1977 p149-50

=Ancestry=
Please see: [http://www.geni.com/projects/14-proven-ancestors-of-Charlemagne/30716 The 14 Proved Ancestors of Charlemagne] Project.

=Descent=
Please see: [https://www.geni.com/projects/Charlemagne-Direct-Descent-Line/1550 Charlemagne: Direct Descent Line] Project.

== Wives and Children ==
Charlemagne had twenty children over the course of his life with eight of his ten known wives and concubines. Nonetheless, he only had four legitimate grandsons, the four sons of his third son Louis, plus a grandson who was born illegitimate, but included in the line of inheritance.

=OVERVIEW OF CHARLEMAGNE'S PARTNERS, CHILDREN & GRANDCHILDREN =
> [http://www.geni.com/projects/Charlemagne-Emperor-of-the-West-Direct-Family-Line/1550 See Our '''Charlemagne project page''' for details of sources]

A. [http://www.geni.com/people/Himiltrude-concubine-of-Charlemagne/6000000008187409439 Himiltrude]:

>A1.B1 [http://www.geni.com/people/Amaudra-Carolingian-daughter-of-Charlemagne-Himiltrude/6000000000826971273 Amaudru]

>A1.B2 [http://www.geni.com/people/Pippin-the-Hunchback-Carolingian-son-of-Charlemagne-Himiltrude/6000000010526480839 Pippin the Hunchback (ca. 769–811)]

A2. [http://www.geni.com/people/Desiderata-wife-of-Charlemagne/6000000006727892012 Desiderata]

A3. [http://www.geni.com/people/Hildegard-of-Vinzgouw-wife-of-Charlemagne/6000000003715297906 Hildegard]:
>A3.B1 [http://www.geni.com/people/Charles-the-Younger-Carolingian-son-of-Charlemagne-Hildegard/6000000010615374324 Charles the Younger (ca. 772–4 December 811)]

>A3.B2 [http://www.geni.com/people/Adalhaid-Carolingian-daughter-of-Charlemagne-Hildegard-who-died-young/6000000003962400680 Adalhaid (774)]

>A3.B3 [http://www.geni.com/people/Rotrude-Carolingian-daughter-of-Charlemagne-Hildegard/6000000000826993411 Rotrude (or Hruodrud) (775–6 June 810)]

>A3.B4 [http://www.geni.com/people/Pepin-Carloman-Carolingian-son-of-Charlemagne-Hildegard/6000000003962328571 Carloman, renamed Pippin (April 777–8 July 810)]

>A3.B5 [http://www.geni.com/people/Louis-I-The-Pious-Carolingian-son-of-Charlemagne-Hildegard/6000000001266578142 Louis I The Pious (778–20 June 840)]

>*m1. Ermengard:

>>A3.B5.C1.1 Lothaire(795-855)

>>A3.B5.C1.2 Pepin (797-838)

>>A3.B5.C1.3 Rotrude (800-)

>>A3. B5.C1.4 Berta or Adelaide

>>A3.B5.C1.5 Hildegrard (c802-857)

>>A3.B5.C1.6 Louis (806-876)

>*m2. Judith:

>>A3.B5.C2.1 Gisela (c819-c874)

>>A3.B5.C2.2 Charles (823-877)

>>A3.B5.C2.3? Daughter

>*'m'3.Theodelinde? / Concubine:

>>A3.B5.C3.1 Alpais (c793-852)

>>A3.B5.C2 Arnoul (794-841)

>A3.B6 [http://www.geni.com/people/Lothair-twin-of-Louis-Carolingian-son-of-Charlemagne-Hildegard-who-died-young/6000000001713354138 Lothair (778–6 February 779/780)]

>A3.B7 [http://www.geni.com/people/Bertha-Carolingian-daughter-of-Charlemagne-Hildegard/6000000002134778785 Bertha (779-826)]

>A3.B8 [http://www.geni.com/people/Gisla-Carolingian-daughter-of-Charlemagne-Hildegard/6000000007922731122 Gisela (781-808)]

>A3.B9 [http://www.geni.com/people/Hildegarde-daughter-of-Charlemagne-Hildegard-who-died-young/6000000000642069883 Hildegarde (782-783)]

A4. [http://www.geni.com/people/Gersuinda-concubine-of-Charlemagne/6000000002135700754 Gersuinda]

>A4.B1 [http://www.geni.com/people/Adeltrude-Caroling-ian-daughter-of-Charlemagne-Gersuinda/6000000011159371989 Adaltrude (b.774)]

A5. [http://www.geni.com/people/Madelgard-concubine-of-Charlemagne/383257113720012446 Madelgard]

>A5.B1 [http://www.geni.com/people/Ruodhaid-Abbess-of-Faremoutiers-Carolingian-daughter-of-Charlemagne-Madelgard/6000000012877633651 Ruodhaid (775–810)]

A6. [http://www.geni.com/people/Fastrada-Romanorum/6000000006588999950#/tab/overview Fastrada]

>A6.B1 [http://www.geni.com/people/Theodrada-Abbess-of-Argenteuil-Carolingian-daughter-of-Charlemagne-Fastrada/6000000011112373858 Theodrada (b.784)]

>A6.B2 [http://www.geni.com/people/Hiltrude-Carolingian-daughter-of-Charlemagne-Fastrada/6000000010616388011 Hiltrude (b.787)]

A7. [http://www.geni.com/people/Luitgard-wife-of-Charlemagne/6000000001744971954 Luitgard]

A8. [http://www.geni.com/people/Amaltrud/6000000007898776901 Amaltrude]

>A8.B1 [http://www.geni.com/people/Alpaida/6000000012774302617 Alpaida (b.794)]

A9. [http://www.geni.com/people/Regina-concubine-of-Charlemagne/6000000000350982395 Regina]

>A9.B1 [http://www.geni.com/people/Drogo-Bishop-of-Metz-Carolingian-son-of-Charlemagne-Regina/6000000000424703679 Drogo (801–855)]

>A9.B2 [http://www.geni.com/people/Hugo-Archchancellor-of-the-Empire-Carolingian-son-of-Charlemagne-Regina/6000000001744804392 Hugh (802–844)]

A10. [http://www.geni.com/people/Adelinde-concubine-of-Charlemagne/6000000006994952065 Ethelind]:

>A10.B1 [http://www.geni.com/people/Richbod-Carolingian-son-of-Charlemagne-Ethelind/6000000007899194438 Richbod (805–844)]

>A10.B2 [http://www.geni.com/people/Theodoric-Carolingian-son-of-Charlemagne-Ethelind/6000000003796187375 Theodoric (b. 807)]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

==links==
===Wikipedia===
* [https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_die_Grote Afrikaans],
* [https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86 العربية],
* [https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8 Български].
* [https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Veur Brezhoneg],
* [https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlo_Veliki Bosanski],
* [https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Velik%C3%BD Česky],
* [https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_den_Store Dansk],
* [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_der_Gro%C3%9Fe Deutsch],
* [https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9A%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%AC%CE%B3%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%82 Ελληνικά],
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne Englsh],
* [https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlomagno Español],
* [https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Suur Eesti],
* [https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C فارسی],
* [https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaarle_Suuri Suomi],
* [https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne Français],
* [https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%9C_%D7%94%D7%92%D7%93%D7%95%D7%9C עברית],
* [https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlo_Veliki Hrvatski],
* [https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/I._K%C3%A1roly_frank_cs%C3%A1sz%C3%A1r Magyar],
* [https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne Bahasa Indonesia],
* [https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlamagn%C3%BAs Íslenska],
* [https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Magno Italiano],
* [https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E5%A4%A7%E5%B8%9D 日本語],
* [https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%99%E1%83%90%E1%83%A0%E1%83%9A%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%93%E1%83%98%E1%83%93%E1%83%98 ქართული],
* [https://kaa.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karolus_Magnus Qaraqalpaqsha],
* [https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%B9%B4%EB%A1%A4%EB%A3%A8%EC%8A%A4_%EB%8C%80%EC%A0%9C 한국어],
* [https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karolis_Didysis Lietuvių],
* [https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C4%81rlis_Lielais Latviešu],
* [https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%BE_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8 Македонски],
* [https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne Bahasa Melayu],
* [https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_de_Grote Nederlands],
* [https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_den_store Norsk (bokmål)],
‬*[https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karol_Wielki Polski],
* [https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Magno Português],
* [https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_cel_Mare Română],
* [https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9 Русский],
* [https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karol_Ve%C4%BEk%C3%BD Slovenčina],
* [https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlo_Veliki Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски],
* [https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%BE_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8 Српски / srpski],
* [https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_den_store Svenska],
* [https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karolo_Mkuu Kiswahili],
* [https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%8D ไทย],
* [https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlomagno Tagalog],
* [https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Earlman Türkçe],
* [https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB_I_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9 Українська],
* [https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne Tiếng Việt],
* [https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9F%A5%E7%90%86%E5%A4%A7%E5%B8%9D 中文]

--------------------

{geni:hair_color} Blond

{geni:height_1} 6 feet

{geni:height_2} 0 inches

http://www.look.no/anita/slekt/webcards/ps04/ps04_274.htm

Charlemagne-by-Durer
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=5f75079b-c01e-4acb-bcaf-1afb73822a5b&tid=6959821&pid=-1150688654

Charlemagne & Pippin the Hunchback
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=85ff2ef0-6e3b-4166-8456-a1e9d971e7fa&tid=10771688&pid=-461626363

Charels the Great
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=6dac6705-569f-40e1-b839-674ff4b9a6cd&tid=10771688&pid=-461626363

Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire

_P_CCINFO 1-2782

Roi des Francs 768
Roi des Lombards 774
Empereur 800

1 NAME Charlemagne of the /West/ 2 SOUR S033320 3 DATA 4 TEXT Date of Import: Jan 17, 2001 1 BIRT 2 DATE 2 APR 747 2 SOUR S033320 3 DATA 4 TEXT Date of Import: Jan 17, 2001

[De La Pole.FTW]
Sources: RC 171, 231, 244, 262, 264, 269; Coe; A. Roots 50, 140; AF; Pfafman; Carolingian Ancestry. Roots: Charlemagne, King of France 768-814, crowned Holy Roman Emperor 25 Dec. 800. Charlemagne (Charles the Great). King of France, 767-814. Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, 25 Dec. 800-814.
Carolingian: Charles the Great (Charlemagne), Emperor in the West. Died 814. No wife listed. Why do AF records list some children as princesses of Holy Roman Empire and some as princesses of France?

Kröntes till Kejsare av påven Leo lll juldagen 800

BIOGRAPHY: Born and died in same city; Aix-la-Chapelle is old name of Aachen. King of Franks, then expanded realm, and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day 800 in St Peter's Basilica, Rome, by Pope Leo III.

Charlemagne
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=c9161751-c2ac-47a4-bc32-dc61aee7e464&tid=10145763&pid=-677196156

King of the Franks
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=c50db659-69f7-449f-8097-ed0d0a41cabc&tid=10145763&pid=-677196156

King of the Franks
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=c50db659-69f7-449f-8097-ed0d0a41cabc&tid=10145763&pid=-677196156

_P_CCINFO 1-7369

Charlemagne, Frankish emperor (Charles the Great) {shar'-luh-mayn} Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, CAROLINGIAN king of the FRANKS, came to rule over most of Europe and assumed (800) the title of Roman emperor. He is sometimes regarded as the founder of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE. Charlemagne was probably born in 742 at Aachen. In 768 he and his brother Carloman inherited the Frankish kingdom (most of present-day France and a part of western Duitsland) from their father PEPIN THE SHORT. The entire kingdom passed to Charlemagne when Carloman died in 771. CONQUESTS Charlemagne inherited great wealth and a strong military organization from his father and brother. He used these assets to double the territory under Carolingian control. In 772 he opened his offensive against the SAXONS, and for more than three decades he pursued a ruthless policy aimed at subjugating them and converting them to Christianity. Almost every year Charlemagne attacked one or another region of Saxon territory. Mass executions-- 4,500 Saxons were executed on a single day in 782--and deportations were used to discourage the stubborn. The Saxons proved to be a far more difficult enemy than any of the other peoples subjugated by Charlemagne. For example, the LOMBARDS were conquered in a single extended campaign (773-74), after which Charlemagne assumed the title "king of the Lombards." In 788 he absorbed the duchy of Bavaria, and soon thereafter he launched an offensive against the AVAR empire. The Avars succumbed within a decade, yielding Charlemagne a vast hoard of gold and silver. After one disastrous campaign (778) against the Muslims in Spain, Charlemagne left the southwestern front to his son Louis. The latter (later Emperor LOUIS I), with the help of local Christian rulers, conquered Barcelona in 801 and controlled much of Catalonia by 814. On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne accepted the title of emperor and was crowned by Pope LEO III. For several years after he regarded the imperial title of being of little value. Moreover, he intended to divide his lands and titles among his sons, as was the Frankish custom. At his death on Jan. 28, 814, however, only one son, Louis, survived; Louis therefore assumed control of the entire Frankish empire. ADMINISTRATION The internal organization of Charlemagne's empire varied from region to region. In much of what is today France, and especially in the south, the old Roman civitates (fortified cities) served as the focus of most important aspects of political, military, religious, and social organization. Both the count of the city, appointed by Charlemagne as his representative, and the bishop made their respective headquarters in the civitas. The count or his agent led the local army, and the walls of the civitates afforded protection for the inhabitants both of the city and the nearby countryside. In those parts of the empire that had not been part of the Roman world, Charlemagne made an effort to impose a similar system. He divided newly conquered lands into pagi (districts), which were placed under the jurisdiction of counts who exercised the same kind of administrative powers of their counterparts to the west. Charlemagne also sought to establish these new pagi as dioceses. In frontier areas, Charlemagne often established districts that were essentially military in their purpose and organization; these were called marks or marches. Local customs were everywhere perpetuated by recognition of traditional laws. The laws, some unwritten, of each of the various peoples of the Carolingian empire, such as Salian Franks, Ripuarian Franks, Romans, Saxons, Lombards, Bavarians, Thuringians, and Jews, were codified and/or modified if local codes already existed, they were recognized. This judicial autonomy enjoyed by the several peoples of the empire indicates the diversity that not only existed but also flourished under Charlemagne. The emperor did, however, legislate to provide a system by which these various peoples could interact with each other. The central administration of the empire, like the local administrations, was rudimentary. A palatine court followed Charlemagne on his numerous campaigns; during the later years of his life, when he remained at AACHEN, the court stayed there. Charlemagne also sent missi dominici, high-ranking agents of the central government, from the court to see that his orders, often cast in the form of capitularies (ordinances divided into capitula, or chapters), were enforced. As part of his administrative efforts, Charlemagne sought to standardize weights, measures, and coinage. He also made an attempt to control and develop trade. To these ends he strongly encouraged the development of Jewish communities. CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT Charlemagne's concern for administration and his interest in seeing the church function effectively led him to encourage a rudimentary educational system based in monasteries. Thus a small group of clerical and lay administrators attained a useful level of literacy. Charlemagne left the development and implementation of this system largely to ALCUIN. The latter's work led to what some scholars have called the Carolingian Renaissance. At Charlemagne's court a group of scholars was gathered that included men from England, Spain, and Italy, as well as native Franks and probably Jews. EVALUATION Charlemagne has been credited with great political and humanitarian vision and a devout religious bent; as a result, some have been led to think of his military ventures as crusades. In fact, he was a gluttonous and superstitious illiterate, or semiliterate, who had a considerable capacity for brutality. His accomplishments were due mostly to the energy with which he pursued his military goals and the ruthlessness with which he treated any opponents. Nonetheless, his achievements were considerable, and the effect of his conquests was to spread Roman Christianity across central Europe. Bernard S. Bachrach Bibliography: Almedingen, E. M., Charlemagne: A Study (1968); Bullough, Donald A., The Age of Charlemagne (1965); Chamberlin, Russell, The Emperor Charlemagne (1986); Fichtenau, Heinrich, The Carolingian Empire (1964); Ganshof, F. L., Frankish Institutions Under Charlemagne (1968); Heer, Friedrich, The World of Charlemagne (1975); Lamb, Harold, Charlemagne: The Legend and the Man (1954). See also: FRANCE, HISTORY OF; FRANKS; Duitsland, HISTORY OF. Picture Caption[s] Charlemagne (742-814), Carolingian king of the Franks, is sometimes regarded as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire. Charlemagne is depicted after his coronation as Roman emperor in this painting from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (The Bettmann Archive

1 NAME Charlemagne of the /West/ 2 SOUR S033320 3 DATA 4 TEXT Date of Import: Jan 17, 2001 1 BIRT 2 DATE 2 APR 747 2 SOUR S033320 3 DATA 4 TEXT Date of Import: Jan 17, 2001

[De La Pole.FTW]
Sources: RC 171, 231, 244, 262, 264, 269; Coe; A. Roots 50, 140; AF; Pfafman; Carolingian Ancestry. Roots: Charlemagne, King of France 768-814, crowned Holy Roman Emperor 25 Dec. 800. Charlemagne (Charles the Great). King of France, 767-814. Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, 25 Dec. 800-814.
Carolingian: Charles the Great (Charlemagne), Emperor in the West. Died 814. No wife listed. Why do AF records list some children as princesses of Holy Roman Empire and some as princesses of France?

1 NAME Charlemagne of the /West/ 2 SOUR S033320 3 DATA 4 TEXT Date of Import: Jan 17, 2001 1 BIRT 2 DATE 2 APR 747 2 SOUR S033320 3 DATA 4 TEXT Date of Import: Jan 17, 2001

[De La Pole.FTW]
Sources: RC 171, 231, 244, 262, 264, 269; Coe; A. Roots 50, 140; AF; Pfafman; Carolingian Ancestry. Roots: Charlemagne, King of France 768-814, crowned Holy Roman Emperor 25 Dec. 800. Charlemagne (Charles the Great). King of France, 767-814. Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, 25 Dec. 800-814.
Carolingian: Charles the Great (Charlemagne), Emperor in the West. Died 814. No wife listed. Why do AF records list some children as princesses of Holy Roman Empire and some as princesses of France?

Charlemagne
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=8917fe46-8ab7-47c0-9937-4b19a2f9ff2f&tid=6650027&pid=-1119547101

Charlemagne
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=845f9120-3c70-4c4a-91c3-ce77fe688642&tid=6650027&pid=-1119547101

Charlemagne_et_Louis_le_Pieux
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=3f7b2a25-d048-4a4e-935f-56c58923cc99&tid=6650027&pid=-1119547101

Kröntes till Kejsare av påven Leo lll juldagen 800

AFN:W0TP-B4

No se conoce con certeza la fecha de nacimiento de Carlos. Se proponen dos fechas: 742 ó 747, cualquiera de ellas anterior al matrimonio de Bertrada y Pipino que tuvo lugar en el año 749. De esta manera podríamos considerar a Carlos como un hijo ilegítimo que fue legitimado por su padre, costumbre corriente en el mundo romano que sería asimilada por los germanos. Sobre su educación, infancia y adolescencia no tenemos noticias, toda vez que su principal biógrafo, Eginhardo, omite esta etapa de la vida del rey aludiendo a que "no ha quedado testimonio alguno por escrito que trate de ello". A la muerte de Pipino, su padre, el reino correspondió a sus dos hijos, Carlos y Carlomán. La asamblea general de los francos proclamaron a ambos reyes con la condición de repartirse equitativamente el reino, de la misma manera que Pipino y su hermano Carlomán habían gobernado el reino como mayordomos reales durante el reinado de Childerico. Ambas partes aceptaron y se repartió el reino entre ambos hermanos, a pesar de que los partidarios de Carlomán deseaban romper esa alianza.

Tras recibir la corona, Carlos continuó la guerra de Aquitania que su padre no había concluido. Solicitó ayuda a su hermano, ayuda que no fue concedida. La rebelión de Hunoldo (769) fue sofocada y éste se refugió en territorio vascón. Esta acción no fue del agrado de Carlos que envió una delegación a Lupo II para que el rebelde fuera entregado. El duque vascón entregó a Hunoldo y sometió sus territorios a la autoridad del monarca franco. En diciembre del año 771 fallecía Carlomán, tras tres escasos años de reinado. Este fallecimiento evitaría una más que probable guerra entre los partidarios de ambos monarcas. Carlos era nombrado, según Eginhardo, "único rey con el consenso de todos los francos". En realidad, Carlos no respetó los derechos a la corona de sus sobrinos y se proclamó rey de todos los francos. La esposa de Carlomán, sus hijos y sus partidarios tuvieron que huir a Italia, poniéndose bajo la protección de Desiderio, el rey de los longobardos, lo que indica que no eran bien acogidos en la corte franca. Una de las primeras acciones que emprendió Carlos como rey único de los francos fue hacerse eco de la solicitud del papa Adriano I para expulsar a los longobardos de Italia. La guerra se prolongó entre los años 773 y 774, consiguiendo la rendición del rey Desiderio y la expulsión de su hijo Adalgiso de Italia. El papa conseguía recuperar las tierras que formarán los Estados Pontificios pero las amenazas continuaban en la península Itálica. El duque de Fruil, Rodgauso, se rebeló en el año 776. Carlos volvió a Italia para acabar con la revuelta y una vez sofocados todos los fuegos impuso a su hijo Pipino como rey. Corría el año 781. Finalizadas las campañas en Italia, Carlos pudo destinar mayores esfuerzos a combatir a los sajones, pueblo germánico que ocupaban el territorio situado entre el Elba y el mar del Norte. La delimitación de fronteras -donde se producían continuos enfrentamientos- y cuestiones religiosas -los sajones se mostraban hostiles al cristianismo al considerarlo un elemento de penetración franca"- serían las causas de la guerra. Los cronistas hacen referencia a 33 años consecutivos de lucha, manifestando que los sajones nunca cumplían los tratados y las rendiciones firmados. Carlos se puso en varias ocasiones al frente de su ejército para luchar contra el peligro sajón, confiando también las tropas a los condes cuando otros asuntos requerían su presencia. La guerra acabó hacia el año 804. Diez mil sajones fueron deportados mientras que los restantes serían acogidos en la fe cristiana y obligados a guardar fidelidad al rey franco, "formando un solo pueblo". Las miras expansionistas de Carlos no se limitaban a la península Itálica o el territorio de los sajones. En el año de 778 inició una contundente expedición contra el norte de la península Ibérica, dominada por los musulmanes. Animado por los cristianos, Carlos llegó a la plaza fuerte de Zaragoza tras tomar Pamplona. El gobernador musulmán no rindió la plaza lo que motivó el inicio de un largo asedio. Las noticias que llegaron procedentes de Sajonia no eran muy halagüeñas por lo que Carlos se retiró a Francia a través del desfiladero de Roncesvalles. El 15 de agosto de 778 la retaguardia del ejército franco sufrió una emboscada por parte de grupos de vascones, posiblemente apoyados por musulmanes. Desde lo alto de los montes, los vascones atacaron a las tropas francas dirigidas por Roldán, prefecto de la marca de Bretaña. En la desigual lucha perecieron buena parte de la élite militar franca: Roldán, el senescal Egihardo y el conde Anselmo. Cuando la vanguardia quiso reaccionar, los asaltante huyeron aprovechando lo escarpado del terreno y la oscuridad "de la noche que ya empezaba a caer". Este episodio daría lugar al famoso cantar de gesta titulado "La chanson de Roland". En el enclave navarro de Roncesvalles se conserva un edificio conocido como el "Silo de Carlomagno" donde la tradición cuenta que están enterrados los huesos de los muertos en esta batalla. Más fácil es de creer que la cantidad de restos que se conservan en este lugar procedan de los cuerpos de los peregrinos enfermos que fallecían en este lugar de acceso al Camino de Santiago.

La península de Armorica será el siguiente punto que Carlos someta a su dominio. Los pueblos bretones de esta zona se sometieron en el año 786 aunque su carácter rebelde les llevó a provocar nuevas intervenciones en los años 799 y 811. El sometimiento del ducado de Benevento, en el sur de Italia, será su próximo objetivo. El duque Aragiso se adelantó a los planes del rey franco y entregó a sus dos hijos como rehenes, al tiempo que juraba fidelidad. Carlos admitió las ofertas del duque y tras recibir los juramentos se retiró a tierras francas. En Baviera nos encontramos con el nuevo punto de conflicto debido al duque Tasilón y su alianza a los ávaros. Carlos no soportó esta desobediencia y se dirigió con un fuerte ejército la región de Baviera. El duque, ante la actitud amenazante del monarca franco, suplicó clemencia a Carlos con lo que se zanjó de manera rápida este frente de conflicto. Tasilón fue condenado a pena de prisión perpetua en el monasterio de Jumièges debido a sus antecedentes rebeldes -ya se había rebelado antes contra Carlomagno en el año 787 por lo que debió jurar fidelidad al rey franco-.

En su actitud expansionista serán los eslavos los nuevos enemigos de Carlos luchando contra los welátabos a los que se aliaron los sajones. Estos pueblos del mar Báltico se rebelaron en diferentes ocasiones realizándose diversas expediciones militares contra ellos. Pero la guerra más importante de esta década de 790 es la emprendida contra los ávaros, en la que el rey intervino personalmente en las luchas que tuvieron lugar en la actual Hungría. Serían su hijo Pipino y los demás miembros de la nobleza quienes recibieron la confianza del monarca para dirigir la larga contienda pues duraría entre los años 791 y 803. La región de Panonia quedó deshabitada según Eginhardo mientras el dinero y los tesoros acumulados por los ávaros pasaron manos francas.

Las últimas guerras libradas por Carlos fueron contra los bohemios(805), los linones (808-811) y los daneses (810), pueblo este último que pretendía dominar toda la Germania dirigido por su rey Godofredo. Como consecuencia de todas estas luchas llevadas a cabo durante los cuarenta y siete años que duró el reinado, el reino de Carlos se duplicó en proporciones respecto a lo heredado de su padre. Las fronteras se extendieron hasta la península Ibérica y el centro de Europa, contando con Italia, Germania, Sajonia y la Dacia, estableciendo en el Danubio la frontera este. De ahí la denominación "Carolus Magnus" con la que ha trascendido su nombre a la Historia y la coronación de Carlos como emperador y augusto en Roma por el papa León III el 23 de diciembre del año 800, igualándose a los emperadores de Oriente que se consideraban los auténticos herederos de los emperadores romanos. Este nombramiento como emperador sería precedido por la ayuda solicitada a Carlos por el papa León III quien había sido atacado un año antes por un grupo de conjurados que le obligaron a escapar a Sajonia donde se encontró con Carlos, solicitando su ayuda. La intervención de Carlos permitió el restablecimiento de la paz en los Estados Pontificios. Al igual que la guerra, la diplomacia también será uno de los puntos fuertes de Carlos, estableciendo contactos con los reyes más reputados de su tiempo como Alfonso II el Casto de León, Harun al-Rachid el califa abassí de Bagdad o los emperadores de Constantinopla.

Resulta francamente interesante conocer la vida privada del rey franco. Antes de sus numerosos matrimonios Carlos mantuvo relaciones con una joven noble llamada Himiltrudis, naciendo de esta relación un hijo llamado Pipino el Jorobado. Hacia el año 770 casó con Ermengarda, hija de Desiderio, el rey de los longobardos, a la que repudió por desconocidos motivos tras un año del enlace. La segunda esposa fue Hildelgarda, mujer noble de origen suabo con la que tuvo 9 hijos, cuatro varones -Carlos, Pipino y Ludovico entre ellos - y cinco mujeres - Rotrudis, Berta y Gisela son las que conocemos-. A la muerte de Hildelgarda -30 de abril del año 783- casó con Fastrada, de origen germánico, con quien al menos tuvo dos hijas: Teodorada y Hiltrudis mientras que una concubina le daba otra hija de nombre Rodaida. De nuevo viudo en el año 794 contrajo matrimonio con la alamana Liutgarda con la que no tuvo hijos. Al fallecer ésta se relacionó con cuatro concubinas: Madelgarda, con quien tuvo a Rotilda; Gersvinda, madre de Adeltrius; Regina que tuvo dos hijos, Drogón y Hugo; y Adelinda con la que tuvo a Teodorico. En total, diez relaciones conocidas de las que nacieron al menos 18 hijos conocidos. Todos estos hijos e hijas recibieron la formación típica medieval dividida en dos grupos: el "trivium" formado por la gramática, la retórica y la dialéctica y el "quadrivium" integrado por aritmética, geometría, música y astronomía. Eginhardo nos presenta a Carlos absolutamente preocupado por la educación de su vasta descendencia e incluso cuenta que ""nunca cenó sin ellos ni se fue de viaje sin llevárselos consigo". Entre los principales valores de Carlos encontramos, siempre según el cronista Eginhardo, la amistad, el interés por lo procedente de otras tierras, la honradez o el afecto hacia sus súbditos. En su descripción física alude a un hombre de alta estatura -1´92 metros según la exhumación de su cuerpo que se produjo en el año 1861-, "hermosa cabellera blanca y rostro agradable y alegre". El cronista dice que gozó de buena salud a excepción de sus últimos cuatro años en los que eran frecuentes las fiebres e incluso cojeó de un pie, pudiendo padecer la gota ya que los médicos le recomendaban la abstinencia de guisos asados, recomendaciones que el rey no seguía. Su moderación en la comida y en la bebida contrasta con esta atracción hacia los guisos. La comida siempre se acompañaba de música o de lecturas. Tras el almuerzo solía dormir dos o tres horas. Entre sus aficiones encontramos la caza, la equitación, los baños termales y la natación. Eginhardo dice que "vestía según la costumbre de su pueblo (...) sobre el cuerpo llevaba una camisa y unos calzones de lino; encima, una túnica ribeteada de seda y medias calzas y luego unas bandas alrededor de las piernas y calzado en los pies. (...) Se cubría con un manto azul y siempre llevaba ceñida una daga cuya empuñadura y cuya vaina eran de oro o plata". Durante el reinado de Carlos se manifiesta un importante renacimiento cultural al proteger a importantes personajes como Alcuino de York, quien se convirtió en uno de los principales impulsores de la cultura carolingia. El propio Carlos cultivó las artes liberales, especialmente la astronomía. También se intereso por la labor legislativa al unificar y completar las leyes francas al tiempo que ordenó la recopilación de todas las leyes de los pueblos que estaban bajo su mando. Al igual que los emperadores romanos Carlos también se preocupó por desarrollar una importante labor constructiva con la que demostrar la grandeza de su reinado como podemos constatar en los magníficos palacios de Aquisgran y su capilla palatina o la construcción de iglesias en todos los rincones de su reino. Antes de morir, Carlos asoció al trono a su hijo Ludovico, en aquellos momentos rey de Aquitania, y le nombró heredero de la corona imperial ante la asamblea de próceres. Esta ceremonia de coronación se realizó el 11 de septiembre del año 813. A primeros de noviembre, Carlos regresó de cazar a su palacio de Aquisgrán, donde sufrió un fuerte proceso febril en el mes de enero del año 814. La dieta que se le impuso para la recuperación no fue efectiva, complicándose la fiebre con "un dolor en el costado, lo que los griegos llaman pleuresía" en palabras de Eginhardo. El 28 de enero de ese año fallecía Carlomagno a la edad de 72 años, tras 47 de reinado. Su cuerpo fue sepultado en Aquisgrán.

_P_CCINFO 2-2438

No se conoce con certeza la fecha de nacimiento de Carlos. Se proponen dos fechas: 742 ó 747, cualquiera de ellas anterior al matrimonio de Bertrada y Pipino que tuvo lugar en el año 749. De esta manera podríamos considerar a Carlos como un hijo ilegítimo que fue legitimado por su padre, costumbre corriente en el mundo romano que sería asimilada por los germanos. Sobre su educación, infancia y adolescencia no tenemos noticias, toda vez que su principal biógrafo, Eginhardo, omite esta etapa de la vida del rey aludiendo a que "no ha quedado testimonio alguno por escrito que trate de ello". A la muerte de Pipino, su padre, el reino correspondió a sus dos hijos, Carlos y Carlomán. La asamblea general de los francos proclamaron a ambos reyes con la condición de repartirse equitativamente el reino, de la misma manera que Pipino y su hermano Carlomán habían gobernado el reino como mayordomos reales durante el reinado de Childerico. Ambas partes aceptaron y se repartió el reino entre ambos hermanos, a pesar de que los partidarios de Carlomán deseaban romper esa alianza.

Tras recibir la corona, Carlos continuó la guerra de Aquitania que su padre no había concluido. Solicitó ayuda a su hermano, ayuda que no fue concedida. La rebelión de Hunoldo (769) fue sofocada y éste se refugió en territorio vascón. Esta acción no fue del agrado de Carlos que envió una delegación a Lupo II para que el rebelde fuera entregado. El duque vascón entregó a Hunoldo y sometió sus territorios a la autoridad del monarca franco. En diciembre del año 771 fallecía Carlomán, tras tres escasos años de reinado. Este fallecimiento evitaría una más que probable guerra entre los partidarios de ambos monarcas. Carlos era nombrado, según Eginhardo, "único rey con el consenso de todos los francos". En realidad, Carlos no respetó los derechos a la corona de sus sobrinos y se proclamó rey de todos los francos. La esposa de Carlomán, sus hijos y sus partidarios tuvieron que huir a Italia, poniéndose bajo la protección de Desiderio, el rey de los longobardos, lo que indica que no eran bien acogidos en la corte franca. Una de las primeras acciones que emprendió Carlos como rey único de los francos fue hacerse eco de la solicitud del papa Adriano I para expulsar a los longobardos de Italia. La guerra se prolongó entre los años 773 y 774, consiguiendo la rendición del rey Desiderio y la expulsión de su hijo Adalgiso de Italia. El papa conseguía recuperar las tierras que formarán los Estados Pontificios pero las amenazas continuaban en la península Itálica. El duque de Fruil, Rodgauso, se rebeló en el año 776. Carlos volvió a Italia para acabar con la revuelta y una vez sofocados todos los fuegos impuso a su hijo Pipino como rey. Corría el año 781. Finalizadas las campañas en Italia, Carlos pudo destinar mayores esfuerzos a combatir a los sajones, pueblo germánico que ocupaban el territorio situado entre el Elba y el mar del Norte. La delimitación de fronteras -donde se producían continuos enfrentamientos- y cuestiones religiosas -los sajones se mostraban hostiles al cristianismo al considerarlo un elemento de penetración franca"- serían las causas de la guerra. Los cronistas hacen referencia a 33 años consecutivos de lucha, manifestando que los sajones nunca cumplían los tratados y las rendiciones firmados. Carlos se puso en varias ocasiones al frente de su ejército para luchar contra el peligro sajón, confiando también las tropas a los condes cuando otros asuntos requerían su presencia. La guerra acabó hacia el año 804. Diez mil sajones fueron deportados mientras que los restantes serían acogidos en la fe cristiana y obligados a guardar fidelidad al rey franco, "formando un solo pueblo". Las miras expansionistas de Carlos no se limitaban a la península Itálica o el territorio de los sajones. En el año de 778 inició una contundente expedición contra el norte de la península Ibérica, dominada por los musulmanes. Animado por los cristianos, Carlos llegó a la plaza fuerte de Zaragoza tras tomar Pamplona. El gobernador musulmán no rindió la plaza lo que motivó el inicio de un largo asedio. Las noticias que llegaron procedentes de Sajonia no eran muy halagüeñas por lo que Carlos se retiró a Francia a través del desfiladero de Roncesvalles. El 15 de agosto de 778 la retaguardia del ejército franco sufrió una emboscada por parte de grupos de vascones, posiblemente apoyados por musulmanes. Desde lo alto de los montes, los vascones atacaron a las tropas francas dirigidas por Roldán, prefecto de la marca de Bretaña. En la desigual lucha perecieron buena parte de la élite militar franca: Roldán, el senescal Egihardo y el conde Anselmo. Cuando la vanguardia quiso reaccionar, los asaltante huyeron aprovechando lo escarpado del terreno y la oscuridad "de la noche que ya empezaba a caer". Este episodio daría lugar al famoso cantar de gesta titulado "La chanson de Roland". En el enclave navarro de Roncesvalles se conserva un edificio conocido como el "Silo de Carlomagno" donde la tradición cuenta que están enterrados los huesos de los muertos en esta batalla. Más fácil es de creer que la cantidad de restos que se conservan en este lugar procedan de los cuerpos de los peregrinos enfermos que fallecían en este lugar de acceso al Camino de Santiago.

La península de Armorica será el siguiente punto que Carlos someta a su dominio. Los pueblos bretones de esta zona se sometieron en el año 786 aunque su carácter rebelde les llevó a provocar nuevas intervenciones en los años 799 y 811. El sometimiento del ducado de Benevento, en el sur de Italia, será su próximo objetivo. El duque Aragiso se adelantó a los planes del rey franco y entregó a sus dos hijos como rehenes, al tiempo que juraba fidelidad. Carlos admitió las ofertas del duque y tras recibir los juramentos se retiró a tierras francas. En Baviera nos encontramos con el nuevo punto de conflicto debido al duque Tasilón y su alianza a los ávaros. Carlos no soportó esta desobediencia y se dirigió con un fuerte ejército la región de Baviera. El duque, ante la actitud amenazante del monarca franco, suplicó clemencia a Carlos con lo que se zanjó de manera rápida este frente de conflicto. Tasilón fue condenado a pena de prisión perpetua en el monasterio de Jumièges debido a sus antecedentes rebeldes -ya se había rebelado antes contra Carlomagno en el año 787 por lo que debió jurar fidelidad al rey franco-.

En su actitud expansionista serán los eslavos los nuevos enemigos de Carlos luchando contra los welátabos a los que se aliaron los sajones. Estos pueblos del mar Báltico se rebelaron en diferentes ocasiones realizándose diversas expediciones militares contra ellos. Pero la guerra más importante de esta década de 790 es la emprendida contra los ávaros, en la que el rey intervino personalmente en las luchas que tuvieron lugar en la actual Hungría. Serían su hijo Pipino y los demás miembros de la nobleza quienes recibieron la confianza del monarca para dirigir la larga contienda pues duraría entre los años 791 y 803. La región de Panonia quedó deshabitada según Eginhardo mientras el dinero y los tesoros acumulados por los ávaros pasaron manos francas.

Las últimas guerras libradas por Carlos fueron contra los bohemios(805), los linones (808-811) y los daneses (810), pueblo este último que pretendía dominar toda la Germania dirigido por su rey Godofredo. Como consecuencia de todas estas luchas llevadas a cabo durante los cuarenta y siete años que duró el reinado, el reino de Carlos se duplicó en proporciones respecto a lo heredado de su padre. Las fronteras se extendieron hasta la península Ibérica y el centro de Europa, contando con Italia, Germania, Sajonia y la Dacia, estableciendo en el Danubio la frontera este. De ahí la denominación "Carolus Magnus" con la que ha trascendido su nombre a la Historia y la coronación de Carlos como emperador y augusto en Roma por el papa León III el 23 de diciembre del año 800, igualándose a los emperadores de Oriente que se consideraban los auténticos herederos de los emperadores romanos. Este nombramiento como emperador sería precedido por la ayuda solicitada a Carlos por el papa León III quien había sido atacado un año antes por un grupo de conjurados que le obligaron a escapar a Sajonia donde se encontró con Carlos, solicitando su ayuda. La intervención de Carlos permitió el restablecimiento de la paz en los Estados Pontificios. Al igual que la guerra, la diplomacia también será uno de los puntos fuertes de Carlos, estableciendo contactos con los reyes más reputados de su tiempo como Alfonso II el Casto de León, Harun al-Rachid el califa abassí de Bagdad o los emperadores de Constantinopla.

Resulta francamente interesante conocer la vida privada del rey franco. Antes de sus numerosos matrimonios Carlos mantuvo relaciones con una joven noble llamada Himiltrudis, naciendo de esta relación un hijo llamado Pipino el Jorobado. Hacia el año 770 casó con Ermengarda, hija de Desiderio, el rey de los longobardos, a la que repudió por desconocidos motivos tras un año del enlace. La segunda esposa fue Hildelgarda, mujer noble de origen suabo con la que tuvo 9 hijos, cuatro varones -Carlos, Pipino y Ludovico entre ellos - y cinco mujeres - Rotrudis, Berta y Gisela son las que conocemos-. A la muerte de Hildelgarda -30 de abril del año 783- casó con Fastrada, de origen germánico, con quien al menos tuvo dos hijas: Teodorada y Hiltrudis mientras que una concubina le daba otra hija de nombre Rodaida. De nuevo viudo en el año 794 contrajo matrimonio con la alamana Liutgarda con la que no tuvo hijos. Al fallecer ésta se relacionó con cuatro concubinas: Madelgarda, con quien tuvo a Rotilda; Gersvinda, madre de Adeltrius; Regina que tuvo dos hijos, Drogón y Hugo; y Adelinda con la que tuvo a Teodorico. En total, diez relaciones conocidas de las que nacieron al menos 18 hijos conocidos. Todos estos hijos e hijas recibieron la formación típica medieval dividida en dos grupos: el "trivium" formado por la gramática, la retórica y la dialéctica y el "quadrivium" integrado por aritmética, geometría, música y astronomía. Eginhardo nos presenta a Carlos absolutamente preocupado por la educación de su vasta descendencia e incluso cuenta que ""nunca cenó sin ellos ni se fue de viaje sin llevárselos consigo". Entre los principales valores de Carlos encontramos, siempre según el cronista Eginhardo, la amistad, el interés por lo procedente de otras tierras, la honradez o el afecto hacia sus súbditos. En su descripción física alude a un hombre de alta estatura -1´92 metros según la exhumación de su cuerpo que se produjo en el año 1861-, "hermosa cabellera blanca y rostro agradable y alegre". El cronista dice que gozó de buena salud a excepción de sus últimos cuatro años en los que eran frecuentes las fiebres e incluso cojeó de un pie, pudiendo padecer la gota ya que los médicos le recomendaban la abstinencia de guisos asados, recomendaciones que el rey no seguía. Su moderación en la comida y en la bebida contrasta con esta atracción hacia los guisos. La comida siempre se acompañaba de música o de lecturas. Tras el almuerzo solía dormir dos o tres horas. Entre sus aficiones encontramos la caza, la equitación, los baños termales y la natación. Eginhardo dice que "vestía según la costumbre de su pueblo (...) sobre el cuerpo llevaba una camisa y unos calzones de lino; encima, una túnica ribeteada de seda y medias calzas y luego unas bandas alrededor de las piernas y calzado en los pies. (...) Se cubría con un manto azul y siempre llevaba ceñida una daga cuya empuñadura y cuya vaina eran de oro o plata". Durante el reinado de Carlos se manifiesta un importante renacimiento cultural al proteger a importantes personajes como Alcuino de York, quien se convirtió en uno de los principales impulsores de la cultura carolingia. El propio Carlos cultivó las artes liberales, especialmente la astronomía. También se intereso por la labor legislativa al unificar y completar las leyes francas al tiempo que ordenó la recopilación de todas las leyes de los pueblos que estaban bajo su mando. Al igual que los emperadores romanos Carlos también se preocupó por desarrollar una importante labor constructiva con la que demostrar la grandeza de su reinado como podemos constatar en los magníficos palacios de Aquisgran y su capilla palatina o la construcción de iglesias en todos los rincones de su reino. Antes de morir, Carlos asoció al trono a su hijo Ludovico, en aquellos momentos rey de Aquitania, y le nombró heredero de la corona imperial ante la asamblea de próceres. Esta ceremonia de coronación se realizó el 11 de septiembre del año 813. A primeros de noviembre, Carlos regresó de cazar a su palacio de Aquisgrán, donde sufrió un fuerte proceso febril en el mes de enero del año 814. La dieta que se le impuso para la recuperación no fue efectiva, complicándose la fiebre con "un dolor en el costado, lo que los griegos llaman pleuresía" en palabras de Eginhardo. El 28 de enero de ese año fallecía Carlomagno a la edad de 72 años, tras 47 de reinado. Su cuerpo fue sepultado en Aquisgrán.

Charlemagne	Statute of Charlemagne, Notre-Dame, Paris
In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771Carloman died, and Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the Franks were falling back intobarbarian ways, neglecting their education and religion. The Saxons of northern Europe were still pagans. In thesouth, the Roman Catholic church was asserting its power to recover land confiscated by the Lombard kingdom of Italy.Europe was in turmoil.   CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne (Charles the Great) became master of WesternEurope. It was falling into decay when Charlemagne became joint king of the Franks in 768. Except in the monasteries,people had all but forgotten education and the arts. Boldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. Byrestoring the roots of learning and order, he preserved many political rights and revived culture. Charlemagne'sgrandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who crushed the Saracens. Charlemagne was the elder son of Bertrade("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short, first "mayor of the palace" to become king of the Franks. Although schoolshad almost disappeared in the 8th century, historians believe that Bertrade gave young Charles some education and thathe learned to read. His devotion to the church motivated him throughout life. Charlemagne was tall, powerful, andtireless. His secretary, Eginhard, wrote that Charlemagne had fair hair and a "face laughing and merry . . . hisappearance was always stately and dignified." He had a ready wit, but could be stern. His tastes were simple andmoderate. He delighted in hunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress--linen shirt and breeches, asilk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter, a tight coat of otter or marten skins. Over all thesegarments "he flung a blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him." Charlemagne's character was contradictory.In an age when the usual penalty for defeat was death, Charlemagne several times spared the lives of his defeatedfoes; yet in 782 at Verden, after a Saxon uprising, he ordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy andnobles to reform, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. He forced kings and princes to kneel at hisfeet, yet his mother and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household. Charlemagne Begins His Reign   Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-yearcampaign that conquered and Christianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the north. He subdued the Avars, a huge Tatartribe on the Danube. He compelled the rebellious Bavarian dukes to submit to him.   When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however. For example, Charlemagne offered to pay theLombard king Desiderius for return of lands to the pope, but, when Desiderius refused, Charlemagne seized his kingdomin 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.   The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize. During his reign he sent out more than50 military expeditions. He rode as commander at the head of at least half of them. He moved his armies over widereaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every move was planned in advance. Before a campaign he told thecounts, princes, and bishops throughout his realm how many men they should bring, what arms they were to carry, andeven what to load in the supply wagons. These feats of organization and the swift marches later led Napoleon to studyhis tactics.   One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In 778 he led his army into Spain, where theylaid siege to Saragossa. They failed to take the city, and during their retreat a group of Basques ambushed the rearguard at Roncesvalles and killed "Count Roland." Roland became a great hero of medieval songs and romances.   By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vast realm covered what are now France,Switzerland, Belgium, and Nederland. It included half of present-day Italy and Duitsland, part of Austria, and theSpanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to the Ebro River. By thus establishing a central government overWestern Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire and paved the way for the developmentof modern Europe. Crowned Emperor   On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in St. Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III seized a goldencrown from the altar and placed it on the bowed head of the king. The throng in the church shouted, "To Charles theAugust, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, long life and victory!"   Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation, declaring that he would not have come into thechurch had he known the pope's plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared to act withoutCharlemagne's knowledge.   The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Though Charlemagne did not use the title, he isconsidered the first Holy Roman emperor (see Holy Roman Empire). Reform and Renaissance Charlemagne had deep sympathyfor the peasants and believed that government should be for the benefit of the governed. When he came to the throne,various local governors, called "counts," had become lax and oppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work ofinvestigators, called missi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents called capitularies and sent them out inteams of two--a churchman and a noble. They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting government, administeringjustice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and religious duties.   Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to discuss its affairs. In all problems he was thefinal arbiter, even in church issues, and he largely unified church and state.   Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his people's lot in many ways. He set up moneystandards to encourage commerce, tried to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged better farming methods. He especiallyworked to spread education and Christianity in every class of people.   He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up other schools, opening them to peasant boys aswell as nobles.   Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk, Alcuin, and other scholars to his court. Helearned to read Latin and some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of having jestersperform, he listened to men reading from learned works.   To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to train his Frankish singers. To restore someappreciation of art, he brought valuable pieces from Italy. An impressive monument to his religious devotion is thecathedral at Aachen, which he built and where he was buried.   At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, was living. Louis's weak rule brought on therise of civil wars and revolts. After his death his three quarreling sons split the empire between them by thePartition of Verdun in 843.
For more information see the Our Folk - Hart family Web Site

from "Our Folk" by Albert D Hart, Jr.

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Charlemagne
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Charlemagne, Emperor of The Holy Roman Empire, King of Franks was king ofthe Franks from AD 768 to 814 and 'Emperor of the Romans' from 800 to814. He became a key figure in the development of western Europe'smedieval civilization. By his almost constant military campaigns,Charlemagne created a vast empire in the West which included much of thewestern part of the old Roman Empire as well as some new territory. Hewas the first Germanic ruler to assume the title of emperor, and the'empire' he revived lasted in one form or another for a thousand years.Culturally and politically, he left his mark on the newly risingcivilization of the West. Probably no ruler of the early Middle Agesbetter deserved the title of 'The Great.'

Charlemagne was the son of Pepin the Short, and the grandson of CharlesMartel. From 768 to 771, Charlemagne shared Pepin's kingdom with hisbrother, Carloman. When Carloman died, Charlemagne became sole ruler. Hetook up with energy the work begun by his father and grandfather. Hisfirst step was to repress his hostile neighbors. Charlemagne gained wideacclaim for his outstanding military ability, persistence, and success.He waged more than 50 campaigns against neighboring Germanic peoples onall sides, and against the Avars, Slavs, Byzantines, and Moors.

Charlemagne's first great war was against the Lombards, a Germanic peoplewho had invaded Italy in the late 500's. They had been a source oftrouble to the popes ever since. In conquering them, Charlemagne followedPepin's policy of friendship and cooperation with the Roman CatholicChurch. This also served Charlemagne's own interests, because he becameruler of the Lombard kingdom in Italy.

The long Saxon war was the most important of Charlemagne's militaryventures. The Saxons, who held the whole northwestern part of Duitsland,were pagans. Their defeat after 30 years of war prepared the way for thereligious conversion and civilization of Duitsland.

By means of other wars, Charlemagne put down a rebellion in Aquitaine,added Bavaria to his kingdom, and established several border states toprotect his outlying conquests. In eastern Europe, he defeated the Slavsand Avars and made possible eastward migration by the Germans.

Charlemagne had built a vast and sprawling state that shared borders withsuch different peoples as the Slavs, Byzantines, and Moslems. He defendedthe Roman Catholic Church and constantly extended its power. He was farmore powerful than the imperial successors of Constantine, the firstChristian emperor in the West, and he ruled a much more extensive area.Because of his great holdings, he decided to revive the Roman Empire, butas a new empire that was European and Christian in
Character. The relations of the popes with the Byzantine, or EasternRoman, emperors in Canstantinople had been breaking down since the middle700's. An alliance between the Roman Catholic Church and the Franks,accomplished by proclaiming Charlemagne emperor, made good sense. PopeLeo III placed the imperial crown on Charlemagne's head on Christmas Day,800. The most important effect of this act was that it revived the ideaof empire in the West, an idea which caused both harm and good insucceeding centuries.

Einhard, Charlemagne's secretary and friend, described the emperor aslarge and strong of body, fond of active exercise, genial but dignified,and sensible and moderate in his way of life. Charlemagne clearlyrecognized his duties and responsibilities, and was a tireless worker. Hecould not reverse the long trend toward decentralized government. But hecould and did control the power of the nobles and maintain a considerabledegree of law and order in a troubled age. His administrative methodshelped raise the standard of living.

Charlemagne's greatest contribution was his work as a patron of cultureand extender of civilization. The Palace School, set up at his capital inAachen under the leadership of the English scholar Alcuin (735-804),stimulated interest in education, philosophy, and literature. Most of theleading scholars were churchman, so this vast cultural activity greatlystrengthened the church and had far-reaching and lasting results. In thisway, Charlemagne, by means of his power and eminence, gave western Europea unified culture so strong that it survived the terrible invasions anddisorders of the next 200 years.

Source: 'The World Book Encyclopedia', 1968, C291-292. 'Ancestral Rootsof Certain American Colonists ...', Frederick Lewis Weis, 1993, p cvi.
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Einhard the Frank, a monk and contemporary of Charlemagne, as well as amember of his court wrote of Charlemagne's family:

According to Einhard, Charlemagne's wives were:

1. (Desidera), of the Longobards - for some unknown reason he dismissedher after a year of marriage, no children.

2. Hildegarde, Countess of Vinzgau - died 30 Apr 783, they had:

a. Charles 'the Younger,' Duke of Ingelheim, d.v.p. 811
b. Pepin I, King of Italy, d.v.p. 810
c. Rotrud, Princess of France, d.v.p. 810
d. Bertha, Princess of France, d. 826
e. Louis I 'the Pious,' Holy Roman Emperor, d. 840
f. Lothar, died in infancy
g. Adelaide, Princess of France
h. Gisela, Princess of France
i. Hildegard, Princess of France

3. Fastrada, Countess von Francien (sic) - d. 794, they had:

j. Theoderada, Abess in Argenteuil
k. Hiltrude

4. Luidgarde, She was from the Alamanni, but bore him no children.Einhard stated that after Luitgarde died, he had four concubines.

His known concubines were:

1. Madelgard

l. Rothilde (Einhard says she was child of Madelgard, ES says of unknown).

2. Gersvinda, a concubine of the Saxon race

m. Adaltrude (Einhard attributes her to Gersvinda, ES says of unknown).

3. Himiltrude, a concubine according to Einhard.

n. Pepin, a monk, d. 811 (both Einhard and ES attribute him toHimiltrude).

4. Regina, a concubine according to Einhard.

o. Drogo, Archbishop of Metz, d. 855
p. Hugo, Abbot of St. Quentin, d. 844

5. Adallinda, a concubine according to Einhard.

q. Theodric

6. Unknown concubine(s) (not mentioned by Einhard)

r. Dietrich, a monk (provided by ES, Einhard does not mention him).
s. Hruodhaid (provided by ES, Einhard does not mention him).

So it appears, according to Einhard, he had 4 wives, at least 5 (possibly6) concubines, and 18-20 children, depending on which sources you look at.

Einhard the Frank, "The Life of Charlemagne," Translated by Lewis Thorpe,The Folio Society, London, MCMLXX, Book III: The Emperor's Private Life.Also available online at:http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/einhard.html

Detlev Schwennicke, "Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichteder Europäischen Staaten," First series by Wilhelm Karl Prinz zuIsenburg, continued second series by Frank Baron Freytag von Loringhoven,Marburg, Duitsland: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Band I: Die DeutschenStaaten, 1980. Tafel 2

Tompsett's "Directory of Royal Genealogical Data" seems to follow ESclosely, although you could make a good case that Einhard's account,being a near-contemporary record, might be the more accurate source.

The greatest of medieval kings was born in 742, at a place unknown. Hewas of German blood and speech, and shared some characteristics of hispeople- strength of body, courage of spirit, pride of race, and a crudesimplicity many centuries apart from the urbane polish of the modernFrench. He had little book learning; read only a few books- but goodones; tried in his old age to learn writing, but never quite succeeded;yet he could speak old Teutonic and literary Latin, and understood Greek.

In 771 Carloman II died, and Charles at twenty-nine became sole king. Twoyears later he received from Pope Hadrian II an urgent appeal for aidagainst the Lombard Desiderius, who was invading the papal states.Charlemagne besieged and took Pavia, assumed the crown of Lombardy,confirmed the Donation of Pepin, and accepted the role of protector ofthe Church in all her temporal powers.

Returning to his capital at Aachen, he began a series of fifty-threecampaigns- nearly all led in person- designed to round out his empire byconquering and Christianizing Bavaria and Saxony, destroying thetroublesome Avars, shielding Italy from the raiding Saracens, andstrengthening the defenses of Francia against the expanding Moors ofSpain. The Saxons on his eastern frontier were pagans; they had burneddown a Christian church, and made occasional incursions into Gaul; thesereasons sufficed Charlemagne for eighteen campaigns (772-804), waged withuntiring ferocity on both sides. Charles gave the conquered Saxons achoice between baptism and death, and had 4500 Saxon rebels beheaded inone day; after which he proceeded to Thionville to celebrate the nativityof Christ.

At Paderborn in 777 Ibn al-Arabi, the Moslem governor of Barcelona, hadasked the aid of the Christian king against the caliph of Cordova.Charles led an army across the Pyrenees, besieged and captured theChristian city of Pamplona, treated the Christian but incalculableBasques of northern Spain as enemies, and advanced even to Saragossa. Butthe Moslem uprisings that al-Arabi had promised as part of the strategyagainst the caliph failed to appear; Charlemagne saw that his unaidedforces could not challenge Cordova; news came that the conquered Saxonswere in wild revolt and were marching in fury upon Keulen; and with thebetter part of valor he led his army back, in long and narrow file,through the passes of the Pyrenees.

In one such pass, at Roncesvalles in Navarre, a force of Basques pounceddown upon the rear guard of the Franks, and slaughtered nearly every manin it (778); there the noble Hruodland died, who would become threecenturies later the hero of France’s most famous poem, the Chanson deRoland.

In 795 Charlemagne sent another army across the Pyrenees; the SpanishMarch- a strip of northeast Spain- became part of Francia, Barcelonacapitulated, and Navarre and Asturias acknowledged the Frankishsovereignty (806). Meanwhile Charlemagne had subdued the Saxons (785),had driven back the advancing Slavs (789), had defeated and dispersed theAvars (790-805), and had, in the thirty-fourth year of his reign and thesixty-third of his age, resigned himself to peace.

In truth he had always loved administration more than war, and had takento the field to force some unity of government and faith upon a WesternEurope torn for centuries past by conflicts of tribe and creed. He hadnow brought under his rule all the peoples between the Vistula and theAtlantic, between the Baltic and the Pyrenees, with nearly all of Italyand much of the Balkans. How could one man competently govern so vast andvaried a realm? He was strong enough in body and nerves to bear athousand responsibilities, perils, and crises, even to his sons’ plottingto kill him. He had in him the blood or teaching of the wise and cautiousPepin III, and of the ruthless Charles Martel, and was something of ahammer himself. He extended their power, guarded it with firm militaryorganization, propped it with religious sanction and ritual. He couldvision large purposes, and could will the means as well as wish the ends.He could lead an army, persuade an assembly, humor the nobility, dominatethe clergy, rule a harem.

He made military service a condition of owning more than a pittance ofproperty, and thereby founded martial morale on the defense and extensionof one’s land. Every freeman, at the call to arms, had to report in fullequipment to the local count, and every noble was responsible for themilitary fitness of his constituents. The structure of the state restedon this organized force, supported by every available psychologicalfactor in the sanctity of anointed majesty, the ceremonial splendor ofthe imperial presence, and the tradition of obedience to establishedrule. Around the king gathered a court of administrative nobles andclergymen- the seneschal or head of the palace, the “count palatine”orchief justice, the “palsgraves”or judges of the palace court, and ahundred scholars, servants, and clerks.

The sense of public participation in the government was furthered bysemiannual assemblies of armed property owners, gathered, as military orother convenience might dictate, at Worms, Valenciennes, Aachen, Geneva,Paderborn... usually in the open air. At such assemblies the kingsubmitted to smaller groups of nobles or bishops his proposals forlegislation; they considered them, and returned them to him withsuggestions; he formulated the capitula, or chapters of legislation, andpresented these to the multitude for their shouted approval; rarely theassembly voiced disapproval with a collective grunt or moan. Hincmar,Archbishop of Reims, has transmitted an intimate picture of Charles atone of these gatherings, “saluting the men of most note, conversing withthose whom he seldom saw, showing a tender interest toward the elders,and disporting himself with the young.”

At these meetings each provincial bishop and administrator was requiredto report to the King any significant event in his locality since theprevious convocation. “The King wished to know,”says Hincmar, “whether inany part or corner of the Kingdom the people were restless, and the causethereof.” Sometimes (continuing the old Roman institution of inquisitio)the representatives of the King would summon leading citizens to inquireand give under oath a “true statement”(veredictum) as to the taxablewealth, the state of public order, the existence of crimes or criminals,in the district visited. In the ninth century, in Frank lands, thisverdict of a jurata, or sworn group of inquirers, was used to decide manylocal issues of land ownership or criminal guilt. Out of the jurata,through Norman and English developments, would come the jury system ofmodern times.

The empire was divided into counties, each governed in spiritual mattersby a bishop or archbishop, and in secular affairs by a comes (companion-of the king) or count. A local assembly of landholders convened twice orthrice a year in each provincial capital to pass upon the government ofthe region, and serve as a provincial court of appeals. The dangerousfrontier counties, or marches, had special governors- graf, margrave, ormarkherzog; Roland of Roncesvalles, for example, was governor of theBreton march. All local administration was subject to missi dominici-“emissaries of the master”- sent by Charlemagne to convey his wishes tolocal officials, to review their actions, judgments, and accounts; tocheck bribery, extortion, nepotism, and exploitation, to receivecomplaints and remedy wrongs, to protect “the Church, the poor, and wardsand widows, and the whole people”from malfeasance or tyranny, and toreport to the King the condition of the realm; the Capitulare missorumestablishing these emissaries was a Magna Carta for the people, fourcenturies before England’s Magna Carta for the aristocracy. That thiscapitulary meant what it said appears from the case of the duke ofIstria, who, being accused by the missi of divers injustices andextortions, was forced by the King to restore his thievings, compensateevery wronged man, publicly confess his crimes, and give security againsttheir repetition.

Barring his wars, Charlemagne’s was the most just and enlightenedgovernment that Europe had known since Theodoric the Goth. The sixty-fivecapitularies that remain of Charlemagne’s legislation are among the mostinteresting bodies of medieval law. They were not an organized system,but rather the extension and application of previous “barbarian”codes tonew occasion or need.
In some particulars they were less enlightened than the laws of KingLiutprand of Lombardy: they kept the old wergild, ordeals, trial bycombat, and punishment by mutilation; and decreed death for relapse intopaganism, or for eating meat in Lent- though here the priest was allowedto soften the penalty. Nor were all these capitularies laws; some wereanswers to inquiries, some were questions addressed by Charlemagne toofficials, some were moral counsels. “It is necessary,” said one article,“that every man should seek to the best of his strength and ability toserve God and walk in the way of His precepts; for the Lord Emperorcannot watch over every man in personal discipline.” Several articlesstruggled to bring more order into the sexual and marital relations ofthe people. Not all these counsels were obeyed; but there runs throughthe capitularies a conscientious effort to transform barbarism intocivilization.

Charlemagne legislated for agriculture, industry, finance, education, andreligion as well as for government and morals. His reign fell into aperiod when the economy of southern France and Italy was at low ebbthrough the control of the Mediterranean by the Saracens. “TheChristians,”said Ibn Khaldun, “could no longer float a plank upon thesea.” The whole structure of commercial relations between Western Europeand Africa and the Levant was disturbed; only the Jews- whom Charlemagnesedulously protected for this reason- connected the now hostile halves ofwhat under Rome had been a united economic world. Commerce survived inSlavic and Byzantine Europe, and in the Teutonic north. The EnglishChannel and the North Sea were alive with trade; but this too would bedisordered, even before Charlemagne’s death, by Norse piracy and raids.Vikings on the north and Moslems on the south almost closed the ports ofFrance, and made her an inland and agricultural state. The mercantilemiddle class declined, leaving no group to compete with the ruralaristocracy; French feudalism was promoted by Charlemagne’s land grantsand by the triumphs of Islam.

Charlemagne struggled to protect a free peasantry against spreadingserfdom, but the power of the nobles, and the force of circumstance,frustrated him. Even slavery grew for a time, as a result of theCarolingian wars against pagan tribes. The King’s own estates,periodically extended by confiscations, gifts, intestate reversions, andreclamation, were the chief source of the royal revenue. For the care ofthese lands he issued a Capitulare de villis astonishingly detailed, andrevealing his careful scrutiny of all state income and expense. Forests,wastelands, highways, ports, and all mineral subsoil resources were theproperty of the state. Every encouragement was given to such commerce assurvived; the fairs were protected, weights and measures and prices wereregulated, tolls were moderated, speculation in futures was checked,roads and bridges were built or repaired, a great span was thrown acrossthe Rhine at Mainz, waterways were kept open, and a canal was planned toconnect the Rhine and the Danube, and thereby the North with the BlackSea. A stable currency was maintained; but the scarcity of gold in Franceand the decline of trade led to the replacement of Constantine’s goldsolidus with the silver pound. The energy and solicitude of the Kingreached into every sphere of life. He gave to the four winds the namesthey bear today. He established a system of poor relief, taxed the noblesand the clergy to pay its costs, and then made mendicancy a crime.

Appalled by the illiteracy of his time, when hardly any but ecclesiasticscould read, and by the lack of education among the lower clergy, hecalled in foreign scholars to restore the schools of France. Paul theDeacon was lured from Monte Cassino, and Alcuin from York (782), to teachthe school that Charlemagne organized in the royal palace at Aachen.Alcuin (735-804) was a Saxon, born near York, and educated in thecathedral school that Bishop Egbert had founded there; in the eighthcentury Britain and Ireland were culturally ahead of France. When KingOffa of Mercia sent Alcuin on a mission to Charlemagne, the latter beggedthe scholar to remain; Alcuin, glad to be out of England when the Daneswere “laying it desolate, and dishonoring the monasteries withadultery,”consented to stay. He sent to England and elsewhere for booksand teachers, and soon the palace school was an active center of study,of the revision and copying of manuscripts, and of an educational reformthat spread throughout the realm.

Among the pupils were Charlemagne, his wife Liutgard, his sons, hisdaughter Gisela, his secretary Eginhard, a nun, and many more.Charlemagne was the most eager of all; he seized upon learning as he hadabsorbed states; he studied rhetoric, dialectic, astronomy; he madeheroic efforts to write, says Eginhard, “and used to keep tablets underhis pillow in order that at leisure hours he might accustom his hand toform the letters; but as he began these efforts so late in life, they metwith ill success.” He studied Latin furiously, but continued to speakGerman at his court; he compiled a German grammar, and collectedspecimens of early German poetry. When Alcuin, after eight years in thepalace school, pled for a less exciting environment, Charlemagnereluctantly made him Abbot of Tours (796). There Alcuin spurred the monksto make fairer and more accurate copies of the Vulgate of Jerome, theLatin Fathers, and the Latin classics; and other monasteries imitated theexample. Many of our best classical texts have come down to us from thesemonastic scriptoria of the ninth century; practically all extant Latinpoetry except Catullus, Tibullus, and Propertius, and nearly all extantLatin prose except Varro, Tacitus, and Apuleius, were preserved for us bythe monks of the Carolingian age. Many of the Caroline manuscripts werehandsomely illuminated by the patient art of the monks; to this "PalaceSchool" of illumination belonged the "Vienna" Gospels on which the laterGerman emperors took their coronation oath.

In 787 Charlemagne issued to all the bishops and abbots of Francia anhistoric Capitulare de litteris colendis, or directive on the study ofletters. It reproached ecclesiastics for “uncouth language”and“unlettered tongues,”and exhorted every cathedral and monastery toestablish schools where clergy and laity alike might learn to read andwrite. A further capitulary of 789 urged the directors of these schoolsto “take care to make no difference between the sons of serfs and offreemen, so that they might come and sit on the same benches to studygrammar, music, and arithmetic.”A capitulary of 805 provided for medicaleducation, and another condemned medical superstitions. That his appealswere not fruitless appears from the many cathedral or monastic schoolsthat now sprang up in France and western Duitsland. Theodulf, Bishop ofOrléans, organized schools in every parish of his diocese, welcomed allchildren to them, and forbade the priest instructors to take any fees;this is the first instance in history of free and general education.Important schools, nearly all attached to monasteries, rose in the ninthcentury at Tours, Auxerre, Pavia, St. Gall, Fulda, Ghent, and elsewhere.

To meet the demand for teachers Charlemagne imported scholars fromIreland, Britain, and Italy. Out of these schools were to come theuniversities of Europe. We must not overestimate the intellectual qualityof the age; this scholastic resurrection was the awakening of childrenrather than the maturity of such cultures as then existed inConstantinople, Baghdad, and Cordova. It did not produce any greatwriters. The formal compositions of Alcuin are stiflingly dull; only hisletters and occasional verses show him as no pompous pedant but a kindlysoul who could reconcile happiness with piety. Many men wrote poetry inthis short-lived renaissance, and the poems of Theodulf are pleasantenough in their minor way. But the only lasting composition of thatGallic age was the brief and simple biography of Charlemagne by Eginhard.It follows the plan of Suetonius’ Lives of the Caesars, and even snatchespassages therefrom to apply to Charlemagne; but all is forgiven to anauthor who modestly describes himself as "a barbarian, very little versedin the Roman tongue."

He must have been a man of talent nevertheless, for Charlemagne made himroyal steward and treasurer and intimate friend, and chose him tosupervise, perhaps to design, much of the architecture of this creativereign. Palaces were built for the Emperor at Ingelheim and Nijmegen; andat Aachen, his favorite capital, he raised the famous palace and chapelthat survived a thousand dangers to crumble under the shells and bombs ofthe Second World War. The unknown architects modeled its plan on thechurch of San Vitale at Ravenna, which owed its form to Byzantine andSyrian exemplars; the result was an Oriental cathedral stranded in theWest. The octagonal structure was surmounted by a circular dome; theinterior was divided by a circular two-storied colonnade, and was“adorned with gold and silver and lamps, railings and doors of solidbronze, columns and crucibles brought from Rome and Ravenna,” and afamous mosaic in the dome.

Charlemagne was profusely generous to the Church; at the same time hemade himself her master, and used her doctrines and personnel asinstruments of education and government. Much of his correspondence wasabout religion; he hurled scriptural quotations at corrupt officials orworldly clerics; and the intensity of his utterance forbids suspicionthat his piety was a political pose. He sent money to distressedChristians in foreign lands, and in his negotiations with Moslem rulershe insisted on fair treatment of their Christian population.

Bishops played a leading part in his councils, assemblies, andadministration; but he looked upon them, however reverently, as hisagents under God; and he did not hesitate to command them, even inmatters of doctrine or morals. He denounced image worship while the popeswere defending it; required from every priest a written description ofhow baptism was administered in his parish, sent the popes directives asnumerous as his gifts, suppressed insubordination in monasteries, andordered a strict watch on convents to prevent “whoring, drunkenness, andcovetousness”among the nuns.

In a capitulary of 811 he asked the clergy what they meant by professingto renounce the world, when “we see some of them laboring day by day, byall sorts of means, to augment their possessions; now making use, forthis purpose, of menaces of eternal flames, now of promises of eternalbeatitude; despoiling simple-minded people of their property in the nameof God or some saint, to the infinite prejudice of their lawfulheirs.”Nevertheless he allowed the clergy their own courts, decreed thata tithe or tenth of all produce of the land should be turned over to theChurch, gave the clergy control of marriages and wills, and himselfbequeathed two thirds of his estates to the bishoprics of his realm. Buthe required the bishops now and then to make substantial “gifts”to helpmeet the expenses of the government. Out of this intimate co-operation ofChurch and state came one of the most brilliant ideas in the history ofstatesmanship: the transformation of Charlemagne’s realm into a HolyRoman Empire that should have behind it all the prestige, sanctity, andstability of both Imperial and papal Rome. The popes had long resentedtheir territorial subordination to a Byzantium that gave them noprotection and no security; they saw the increasing subjection of thepatriarch to the emperor at Constantinople, and feared for their ownfreedom. We do not know who conceived or arranged the plan of a papalcoronation of Charlemagne as Roman emperor; Alcuin, Theodulf, and othersclose to him had discussed its possibility; perhaps the initiative laywith them, perhaps with the councilors of the popes.

There were great difficulties in the way: the Greek monarch already hadthe title of Roman emperor, and full historic right to that title; theChurch had no recognized authority to convey or transfer the title; togive it to a rival of Byzantium might precipitate a gigantic war ofChristian East against Christian West, leaving a ruined Europe to aconquering Islam. It was of some help that Irene had seized the Greekthrone (797); now, some said, there was no Greek emperor, and the fieldwas open to any claimant. If the bold scheme could be carried throughthere would again be a Roman emperor in the West, Latin Christianitywould stand strong and unified against schismatic Byzantium andthreatening Saracens, and, by the awe and magic of the imperial name,barbarized Europe might reach back across centuries of darkness, andinherit and Christianize the civilization and culture of the ancientworld. On December 26, 795, Leo III was chosen Pope. The Roman populacedid not like him; it accused him of various misdeeds; and on April 25,799, it attacked him, maltreated him, and imprisoned him in a monastery.He escaped, and fled for protection to Charlemagne at Paderborn. The Kingreceived him kindly, and sent him back to Rome under armed escort, andordered the Pope and his accusers to appear before him there in thefollowing year. On November 24, 800, Charlemagne entered the ancientcapital in state; on December 1 an assembly of Franks and Romans agreedto drop the charges against Leo if he would deny them on solemn oath; hedid; and the way was cleared for a magnificent celebration of theNativity. On Christmas Day, as Charlemagne, in the chlamys and sandals ofa patricius Romanus, knelt before St. Peter’s alter...

BIOGRAPHY: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2d/Portrait_of_Charlemagne_whom_the_Song_of_Roland_names_the_King_with_the_Grizzly_Beard.png/571px-Portrait_of_Charlemagne_whom_the_Song_of_Roland_names_the_King_with_the_Grizzly_Beard.png" height=300>

BIOGRAPHY: Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, Carolingian king of the Franks, came to rule over most of Europe and assumed (800) the title of Roman emperor. He is sometimes regarded as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire.

Charlemagne was probably born in 742 at Aachen. In 768 he and his brother Carloman inherited the Frankish kingdom (most of present-day France and a part of western Duitsland) from their father, Pepin the Short. The entire kingdom passed to Charlemagne when Carloman died in 771.

Charlemagne inherited great wealth and a strong military organization from his father and brother. He used these assets to double the territory under Carolingian control. In 772 he opened his offensive against the Saxons, and for more than three decades he pursued a ruthless policy aimed at subjugating them and converting them to Christianity. Almost every year Charlemagne attacked one or another region of Saxon territory. Mass executions--4,500 Saxons were executed on a single day in 782--and deportations were used to discourage the stubborn.

The Saxons proved to be a far more difficult enemy than any of the other peoples subjugated by Charlemagne. For example, the Lombards were conquered in a single extended campaign (773-74), after which Charlemagne assumed the title "king of the Lombards." In 788 he absorbed the duchy of Bavaria, and soon thereafter he launched an offensive against the Avar empire. The Avars succumbed within a decade, yielding Charlemagne a vast hoard of gold and silver. After one disastrous campaign (778) against the Muslims in Spain, Charlemagne left the southwestern front to his son Louis. The latter (later Emperor Louis I), with the help of local Christian rulers, conquered Barcelona in 801 and controlled much of Catalonia by 814.

On Christmas Day 800, Charlemagne accepted the title of emperor and was crowned by Pope Leo III. For several years after, he regarded the imperial title as being of little value. Moreover, he intended to divide his lands and titles among his sons, as was the Frankish custom. At his death on Jan. 28, 814, however, only one son, Louis, survived; Louis therefore assumed control of the entire Frankish empire.

The internal organization of Charlemagne's empire varied from region to region. In much of what is today France, and especially in the south, the old Roman civitates (fortified cities) served as the focus of most important aspects of political, military, religious, and social organization. Both the count of the city, appointed by Charlemagne as his representative, and the bishop made their respective headquarters in the civitas. The count or his agent led the local army, and the walls of the civitates afforded protection for the inhabitants both of the city and of the nearby countryside.

In those areas of the empire which had not been part of the Roman world, Charlemagne made an effort to impose a similar system. He divided newly conquered lands into pagi (districts), which were placed under the jurisdiction of counts who exercised the same kind of administrative powers as their counterparts to the west. Charlemagne also sought to establish these new pagi as dioceses. In frontier areas Charlemagne often established districts that were essentially military in their purpose and organization; these were called marks or marches.

Local customs were everywhere perpetuated by recognition of traditional laws. The laws, some unwritten, of each of the various peoples of the Carolingian empire, such as Salian Franks, Ripuarian Franks, Romans, Saxons, Lombards, Bavarians, Thuringians, and Jews, were codified; where local codes were already in existence, they were recognized. This judicial autonomy enjoyed by the several peoples of the empire indicates the diversity that not only existed but flourished under Charlemagne. The emperor did, however, legislate to provide a system by which these peoples could interact.

The central administration of the empire, like the local administrations, was rudimentary. A palatine court followed Charlemagne on his numerous campaigns; during the later years of his life, when he remained at Aachen, the court stayed there. Charlemagne also sent missi dominici, high-ranking agents of the central government, from the court to see that his orders, often cast in the form of capitularies (ordinances divided into capitula, or chapters), were enforced. As part of his administrative efforts, Charlemagne sought to standardize weights, measures, and coinage. He also made an attempt to control and develop trade. To these ends he strongly encouraged the development of Jewish communities.

Charlemagne's concern for administration and his interest in seeing the church function effectively led him to encourage a rudimentary educational system based in monasteries. Thus a small group of clerical and lay administrators attained a useful level of literacy. Charlemagne left the development and implementation of this system largely to the English scholar Alcuin. The latter's work led to what some scholars have called the Carolingian Renaissance. At Charlemagne's court a group of scholars was gathered that included men from England, Spain, and Italy, as well as native Franks and probably Jews.

Charlemagne has been credited with great political and humanitarian vision and a devout religious bent; as a result, some have been led to think of his military ventures as crusades. In fact, he was a gluttonous and superstitious illiterate, or semiliterate, who had a considerable capacity for brutality. His accomplishments were due mostly to the energy with which he pursued his military goals and the ruthlessness with which he treated any opponents. Nonetheless, his achievements were considerable, and the effect of his conquests was to spread Roman Christianity across central Europe.

-- Bernard S. Bachrach, Grolier Online

Emperor of "the west" and King of France. Said to have ha

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Charlemagne, Emperor Of The Holy Roman Empire, King of the Franks wasking of the Franks from AD 768 to 814 and 'Emperor of the Romans' from800 to 814. He became a key figure in the development of western Europe'smedieval civilization. By his almost constant military campaigns,Charlemagne created a vast empire in the West which included much of thewestern part of the old Roman Empire as well as some new territory. Hewas the first Germanic ruler to assume the title of emperor, and the'empire' he revived lasted in one form or another for a thousand years.Culturally and politically, he left his mark on the newly risingcivilization of the West. Probably no ruler of the early Middle Agesbetter deserved the title of 'The
Great.'

Charlemagne was the son of Pepin the Short, and the grandson of CharlesMartel. From 768 to 771, Charlemagne shared Pepin's kingdom with hisbrother, Carloman. When Carloman died, Charlemagne became sole ruler. Hetook up with energy
the work begun by his father and grandfather. His first step was torepress his hostile neighbors. Charlemagne gained wide acclaim for hisoutstanding military ability, persistence, and success. He waged morethan 50 campaigns against neighboring Germanic peoples on all sides, andagainst the Avars, Slavs, Byzantines, and Moors.

Charlemagne's first great war was against the Lombards, a Germanic peoplewho had invaded Italy in the late 500's. They had been a source oftrouble to the popes ever since. In conquering them, Charlemagne followedPepin's policy of friendship and cooperation with the Roman CatholicChurch. This also served Charlemagne's own interests, because he becameruler of the Lombard kingdom in Italy.

The long Saxon war was the most important of Charlemagne's militaryventures. The Saxons, who held the whole northwestern part of Duitsland,were pagans. Their defeat after 30 years of war prepared the way for thereligious conversion and civilization of Duitsland.

By means of other wars, Charlemagne put down a rebellion in Aquitaine,added Bavaria to his kingdom, and established several border states toprotect his outlying conquests. In eastern Europe, he defeated the Slavsand Avars and made possible
eastward migration by the Germans.

Charlemagne had built a vast and sprawling state that shared borders withsuch different peoples as the Slavs, Byzantines, and Moslems. He defendedthe Roman Catholic Church and constantly extended its power. He was farmore powerful than the imperial successors of Constantine, the firstChristian emperor in the West, and he ruled a much more extensive area.Because of his great holdings, he decided to revive the Roman Empire, butas a new empire that was European and Christian in
Character. The relations of the popes with the Byzantine, or EasternRoman, emperors in Canstantinople had been breaking down since the middle700's. An alliance between the Roman Catholic Church and the Franks,accomplished by proclaiming Charlemagne emperor, made good sense. PopeLeo III placed the imperial crown on Charlemagne's head on Christmas Day,800. The most important effect of this act was that it revived the ideaof empire in the West, an idea which caused both harm and good insucceeding centuries.

Einhard, Charlemagne's secretary and friend, described the emperor aslarge and strong of body, fond of active exercise, genial but dignified,and sensible and moderate in his way of life. Charlemagne clearlyrecognized his duties and responsibilities, and was a tireless worker. Hecould not reverse the long trend toward decentralized government. But hecould and did control the power of the nobles and maintain a considerabledegree of law and order in a troubled age. His administrative methodshelped raise the standard of living.

Charlemagne's greatest contribution was his work as a patron of cultureand extender of civilization. The Palace School, set up at his capital inAachen under the leadership of the English scholar Alcuin (735-804),stimulated interest in education,
philosophy, and literature. Most of the leading scholars were churchman,so this vast cultural activity greatly strengthened the church and hadfar-reaching and lasting results. In this way, Charlemagne, by means ofhis power and eminence, gave western Europe a unified culture so strongthat it survived the terrible invasions and disorders of the next 200years.

Source: 'The World Book Encyclopedia', 1968, C291-292. 'Ancestral Rootsof Certain American Colonists ...',
Frederick Lewis Weis, 1993, p cvi.

Geboren op 2 april 742 - Ingelheim bij Mainz Gestorven op 28 januari 814 - Aken , leeftijd bij overlijden: 71 jaar oud I Karel de Grote, geb. bij Aix-la-Chapelle 2.4.748, gedoopt door Bonefacius aartsbisschop van Mainz; Karel en zijn broer Carloman volgen hun vader Pippijn samen op, waarbij Karel in hoofdzaak Neustrië, Bourgondië en de Provence, en Carloman in hoofdzaak Austrasië krijgen; beiden worden gezalfd op 9.10.768, Karel te Noyon en Carloman te Soissons; na de dood van Carloman in 771 en onder het passeren van diens minderjarige zonen, wordt Karel de enige koning der Franken; hij wordt dan wederom gezalfd als zodanig te Corbeny; na een geslaagde veldtocht tegen zijn ex-schoonvader de koning der Longobarden, volgt in 774 zijn proclamatie tot koning der Longobarden; Karel was reeds met zijn vader Pippijn gezalfd tot koning, Saint-Denis 28.7.754, en tevens door paus Stephanus II verheven tot ‘patricius Romanorum’, maar deze titel voert hij pas na zijn overwinning op de Longobarden; door paus Leo III tot keizer gekroond, Rome 25.12.800; laat dan zijn ‘patricius’-titel vallen; zijn uiteindelijke titulatuur wordt: ‘Karolus serenissimus augustus a Deo coronatus magnus et pacificus imperator Romanum gubernans imperium et per misericordiam Dei rex Francorum et Longobardorum’; zijn (westers) keizerschap wordt in 812 door de Oostromeinse ‘basileus’ Michael I Rhangabe erkend; overl. Aken 28.1.814, begr. ald. (Dom). Hij had 4 echtgenotes en 6 concubines: 1. in ca. 768 een relatie met Himiltrudis (Chimiltrudis: Amautru), van Frankische origine, maar van onbekende familie. 2. tr. in 769 met een dochter van Desiderius, koning der Lombarden, en van Ansa. Karel verstootte haar echter in 770 of begin 771 en stuurde haar terug naar haar vader. 3. tr. voor 30.4.771 Hildegard (Houdiard), geb. in 758, overl. Thionville (Moselle) 30.4.783, begr. in de kerk van de abdij Saint-Arnoul van Metz (Moselle), dochter van Gerold I, frankisch graaf [in de Vinzgouw] en van Imma (Emma, Emme), dochter van de Alamannen-graaf Hnabi, achterkleindochter van hertog Godfried. Zij vergezelde Karel naar Italië in 773 en 781. 4. een relatie met een onbekende vrouw 5. tr. te Worm in oktober 783 de oost-Frankische Fastrada (Fastrée), overl.Frankfurt aan de Rijn 10.8.794, begr. in de basiliek van St. Albanus te Mainz, dochter van Radolf, graaf van Franconië. 6. tr. tussen de herfst van 794 en 796 Liutgardis (Liedgarde, Liégeard), een Alamannische, overl. Tours (Indre-et-Loire) 4.6.800 op pelgrimstocht en begr. in de kerk van Saint-Martin te Tours. 7. een relatie met Madelgardis (Mathalgarde), gezien de naam mogelijk familie van de edele Vincent Madelgaire (overl. 677). 8. een relatie met de Saxische Gerswindis 9. een relatie met Regina (Régine, Reine) in 800 10. een relatie met Adelindis in 806.

SOURCE NOTES:
http://www.art-science.com/Ken/Genealogy/PD/ch49_Charlemagne.html

SOURCE NOTES:
Occupation: King

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Original individual @P2447689884@ (@MS_NHFETTERLYFAMIL0@) merged with @P2447689879@ (@MS_NHFETTERLYFAMIL0@)
Original individual @P2447689884@ (@MS_NHFETTERLYFAMIL0@) merged with @P2447686814@ (@MS_NHFETTERLYFAMIL0@)

Han var og keiser av Occidenten fra 800-814.

Person Source

His name in Latin is Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great), who led hisFrankish armies to victory over numerous other peoples and establishedhis rule in most of western and central Europe. He was the best-knownand most influential king in Europe in the Middle Ages. Early Years In751 Pepin the Short dethroned the last Merovingian king and assumedthe royal title himself. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II in 754.Besides anointing Pepin, Pope Stephen anointed both Charlemagne andhis younger brother Carloman. Within the year Pepin invaded Italy toprotect the pope against the Lombards, and in 756 he again had to rushto the pope's aid. From 760 on, Pepin's main military efforts wentinto the conquest of Aquitaine, the lands south of the Loire River.Charlemagne accompanied his father on most of these expeditions.Campaigns When Pepin died in 768, the rule of his realms was to beshared between his two sons. Charlemagne sought an alliance with theLombards by marrying the daughter of their king, Desiderius (reigned757-74). In 771 Carloman died suddenly. Charlemagne then seized histerritories, but Carloman's heirs took refuge at the court ofDesiderius. By that time Charlemagne had repudiated his wife, andDesiderius was no longer friendly. In 772, when Pope Adrian I appealedto Charlemagne for help against Desiderius, the Frankish king invadedItaly, deposed his erstwhile father-in-law (774), and himself assumedthe royal title. He then journeyed to Rome and reaffirmed his father'spromise to protect papal lands. As early as 772 Charlemagne had foughtonslaughts of the heathen Saxons on his lands. Buoyed by his Italiansuccess, he now (775) embarked on a campaign to conquer andChristianize them. That campaign had some initial success but was todrag on for 30 years, in which time he conducted many other campaignsas well. He fought in Spain in 778; on the return trip his rear guard,led by Roland, was ambushed, a story immortalized in The Song ofRoland. In 788 he subjected the Bavarians to his rule, and between 791and 796 Charlemagne's armies conquered the empire of the Avars(corresponding roughly to modern Hungary and Austria). CoronationHaving thus established Frankish rule over so many other peoples,Charlemagne had in fact built an empire and become an emperor. Itremained only for him to add the title. On Christmas Day, in 800,Charlemagne knelt to pray in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope LeoIII then placed a crown upon his head, and the people assembled in thechurch acclaimed him the great, pacific emperor of the Romans.Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reported that the king wassurprised by this coronation and that had he known it was going tohappen, he would not have gone into the church that day. This reporthas led to much speculation by historians. Charlemagne probablydesired and expected to get the imperial title and he subsequentlyused it. In 813 he designated his sole surviving son, Louis, as hissuccessor, and personally crowned him. Administration Charlemagneestablished a more permanent royal capital than had any of hispredecessors. His favorite residence from 794 on was atAix-la-Chapelle. He had a church and a palace constructed there, basedin part on architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At hiscourt he gathered scholars from all over Europe, the most famous beingthe English cleric Alcuin of York, whom he placed in charge of thepalace school. Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250royal administrators called counts. Charlemagne issued hundreds ofdecrees, called capitularies, dealing with a broad range of topicsfrom judicial and military matters to monasteries, education, and themanagement of royal estates. The empire did not expand after 800;indeed, already in the 790s the seacoasts and river valleysexperienced the first, dreaded visits of the Vikings. Charlemagneordered a special watch against them in every harbor, but with littleeffect. He died before their full, destructive force was unleashed onthe empire. Evaluation Charlemagne is important not only for thenumber of his victories and the size of his empire, but for thespecial blend of tradition and innovation that he represented. On theone hand, he was a traditional Germanic warrior, who spent most of hisadult life fighting. In the Saxon campaigns he imposed baptism by thesword, and he retaliated against rebels with merciless slaughter. Onthe other hand, he placed his immense power and prestige at theservice of Christian doctrine, the monastic life, the teaching ofLatin, the copying of books, and the rule of law. His life, held up asa model to most later kings, thus embodied the fusion of Germanic,Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basis of Europeancivilization.

Crowned Holy Roman Emperor 25 December 800.

AKA:
Charlemagne Carolingian of France
Charles the Great

MARC:

MARC:

MARC:

Throne of Charlemagne in Aachen Cathedral
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=817c90fc-89f1-4cfe-a84a-4f0465c40edd&tid=8764362&pid=-863182751

AFN:W0TP-B4

His name in Latin is Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great), who led his
Frankish armies to victory over numerous other peoples and established his
rule in most of western and central Europe. He was the best-known and most
influential king in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Early Years

In 751 Pepin the Short dethroned the last Merovingian king and assumed the
royal title himself. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II in 754. Besides
anointing Pepin, Pope Stephen anointed both Charlemagne and his younger
brother Carloman.

Within the year Pepin invaded Italy to protect the pope against the
Lombards, and in 756 he again had to rush to the pope's aid. From 760 on,
Pepin's main military efforts went into the conquest of Aquitaine, the
lands south of the Loire River. Charlemagne accompanied his father on most
of these expeditions.

Campaigns

When Pepin died in 768, the rule of his realms was to be shared between
his two sons. Charlemagne sought an alliance with the Lombards by marrying
the daughter of their king, Desiderius (reigned 757-74). In 771 Carloman
died suddenly. Charlemagne then seized his territories, but Carloman's
heirs took refuge at the court of Desiderius. By that time Charlemagne had
repudiated his wife, and Desiderius was no longer friendly. In 772, when
Pope Adrian I appealed to Charlemagne for help against Desiderius, the
Frankish king invaded Italy, deposed his erstwhile father-in-law (774),
and himself assumed the royal title. He then journeyed to Rome and
reaffirmed his father's promise to protect papal lands. As early as 772
Charlemagne had fought onslaughts of the heathen Saxons on his lands.
Buoyed by his Italian success, he now (775) embarked on a campaign to
conquer and Christianize them. That campaign had some initial success but
was to drag on for 30 years, in which time he conducted many other
campaigns as well. He fought in Spain in 778; on the return trip his rear
guard, led by Roland, was ambushed, a story immortalized in The Song of
Roland. In 788 he subjected the Bavarians to his rule, and between 791 and
796 Charlemagne's armies conquered the empire of the Avars (corresponding
roughly to modern Hungary and Austria).

Coronation

Having thus established Frankish rule over so many other peoples,
Charlemagne had in fact built an empire and become an emperor. It remained
only for him to add the title. On Christmas Day, in 800, Charlemagne knelt
to pray in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo III then placed a
crown upon his head, and the people assembled in the church acclaimed him
the great, pacific emperor of the Romans.

Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reported that the king was surprised by
this coronation and that had he known it was going to happen, he would not
have gone into the church that day. This report has led to much
speculation by historians. Charlemagne probably desired and expected to
get the imperial title and he subsequently used it. In 813 he designated
his sole surviving son, Louis, as his successor, and personally crowned
him.

Administration

Charlemagne established a more permanent royal capital than had any of his
predecessors. His favorite residence from 794 on was at Aix-la-Chapelle.
He had a church and a palace constructed there, based in part on
architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At his court he gathered
scholars from all over Europe, the most famous being the English cleric
Alcuin of York, whom he placed in charge of the palace school.

Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250 royal
administrators called counts. Charlemagne issued hundreds of decrees,
called capitularies, dealing with a broad range of topics from judicial
and military matters to monasteries, education, and the management of
royal estates.

The empire did not expand after 800; indeed, already in the 790s the
seacoasts and river valleys experienced the first, dreaded visits of the
Vikings. Charlemagne ordered a special watch against them in every harbor,
but with little effect. He died before their full, destructive force was
unleashed on the empire.

Evaluation

Charlemagne is important not only for the number of his victories and the
size of his empire, but for the special blend of tradition and innovation
that he represented. On the one hand, he was a traditional Germanic
warrior, who spent most of his adult life fighting. In the Saxon campaigns
he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retaliated against rebels with
merciless slaughter. On the other hand, he placed his immense power and
prestige at the service of Christian doctrine, the monastic life, the
teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule of law. His life,
held up as a model to most later kings, thus embodied the fusion of
Germanic, Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basis of European
civilization.

Charlemagne (Carolus Magnus, Charles the Great) as king of the Fran k s (768-814) conquered the Lombard kingdom in Italy, subdued the Saxo ns , annexed Bavaria to his kingdom, fought campaigns in Spain and Hun gar y, and, with the exception of the Kingdom of Asturias in Spain, so uthe rn Italy, and the British Isles, united in one superstate practic all y all the Christian lands of western Europe. In 800 he assumed th e tit le of emperor. (He is reckoned as Charles I of the Holy Roman Em pire , as well as Charles I of France.) Besides expanding its politica l pow er, he also brought about a cultural renaissance in his empire . Althou gh this imperium survived its founder by only one generation , the medi eval kingdoms of France and Duitsland derived all their const itutional t raditions from Charles's monarchy. Throughout medieval Eur ope, the per son of Charles was considered the prototype of a Christia n king and em peror. Charles was born probably in 742 (on April 2), th e elder son o f Pepin III, also called Pepin the Short. Pepin and hi s older brother , Carloman, had just jointly assumed the government o f the Frankish ki ngdom as maior domus, or "mayor of the palace." Th e dynasty, later cal led Carolingian after Charlemagne, had originate d in the Meuse-Mosell e region on the borders of modern France, German y, Belgium, and The Ne therlands. In the course of a few generations , it had, as mayors of th e palace to the Merovingians, gained contro l of the entire Frankish ki ngdom. Charlemagne's grandfather, Charle s Martel, reconstituted a real m that had been on the point of breakin g up, and, without infringing o n the royal prerogatives of the otherw ise powerless Merovingians, he h ad in effect bequeathed the empire t o his sons, Pepin and Carloman, li ke a family inheritance. (see als o Index: Merovingian dynasty) Charle s grew to manhood while his fathe r was engaged in acquiring sole sover eignty and the kingship. On Carl oman's retirement to a monastery, Pepi n eliminated the latter's son s from the government. Having thus prepar ed the way, he had himself p roclaimed king in 751, after dethroning th e Merovingians. An oracula r response by Pope Zacharias furnished the e cclesiastical approbatio n for thus shunting aside the former reignin g house, which had been h eld sacred. Zacharias' successor, Stephen II , arrived in the Frankis h kingdom during the winter of 753-754, in ord er to seek help agains t the Lombards who were attacking Rome. As the r eigning monarch's old est son, Charles, then about 12 years of age, tra velled ahead to welc ome the Pope, who anointed him king, along with hi s father and his br other Carloman, thus sanctioning the new dynasty. T he political allia nce between the Franks and the Pope against the Lomb ards was affirme d on the same occasion. When his father subdued Aquita ine (France sou th of the Loire) in a series of yearly campaigns beginn ing in 760, re asserting the integrity of the Frankish kingdom all th e way to the Py renees, Charles repeatedly accompanied the army. Thes e youthful exper iences probably contributed to the formation of Charle s's character a nd to the formulation of his aims. He shared with his f ather an unben ding will to power, a readiness to fight resolutely agai nst externa l enemies and to increase his domains, and the determinatio n to rul e by himself even if it meant usurping the rights of close rel atives . Charles early acknowledged the close connection between tempor al po wer and the church; he had a high regard for the church and the k ing' s duty to spread the Christian faith and, while asserting royal su zer ainty over the church, considered himself accountable to God for t h e Christians entrusted to him. In accordance with old Frankish custo m , the kingdom was divided on Pepin's death in 768 between his two so ns . It was not long, however, before a strong rivalry sprang up betwe e n the brothers: with his mother's support, Charles concluded, with t h e Lombard king Desiderius, whose daughter he married, and with his c ou sin Duke Tassilo of Bavaria, alliances directed against Carloman. O n C arloman's sudden death in 771, Charles was able to make himself so le r uler of the kingdom, unopposed by his young nephews, whose right s he i gnored. When Carloman's widow with her children and a few remai ning su pporters had fled to the Lombard court, and King Desiderius, b reakin g his alliance with Charles, put pressure on the Pope to anoin t Carlom an's sons as Frankish kings, Charles was forced to come to th e aid o f Pope Adrian I. He marched on the Lombard capital, Pavia, an d after i ts fall made himself king of the Lombards. His brother's son s, who ha d fallen into his hands, disappeared. While the siege of Pav ia was sti ll in progress, Charles journeyed to Rome, where he celebra ted Easte r 774 with the Pope and reiterated, in St. Peter's Basilica , his fathe r's promise to transfer to papal rule large sections of It aly. But h e actually enlarged the Pope's lands only slightly, assumin g for himse lf the sovereignty over the entire Lombard kingdom. Charle s had fough t the pagan Saxons, in what is now Lower Saxony and Westph alia, in ret ribution for their attacks on the lower Rhine region, a s early as 772 , before the first Italian campaign. From 775 on, howev er, it was hi s goal to subdue the whole Saxon tribe, converting it t o Christianit y and integrating it into his kingdom. This aim appeare d to have bee n realized after several campaigns culminating in declar ations of alle giance by the Saxon nobility and mass baptisms performe d in 775-777 . A diet held in 777 in Paderborn sealed the submission o f the Saxons . Among those attending the diet had been some Arab emiss aries from no rthern Spain who sought Charles's aid in their uprisin g against the Um ayyad amir of Córdoba. In the summer of 778 Charles a dvanced into Spai n and laid siege to Saragossa, without, however, bei ng able to take th e city. Retreating across the Pyrenees, the Frankis h army was badly ma uled by the Basques. Roland, warden of the Breto n march, who died on t his occasion, was later immortalized in legen d and poetry. This defea t marks the end of the first period of Charle s's rule, the period of v igorous expansion. Within a decade he had be come the sole ruler of th e Franks, conquered the Lombard kingdom, vis ited Rome, subdued the Sax ons, invaded Spain. Henceforth he was conce rned with defending and saf eguarding his quickly won gains (which wer e to be extended only on th e right bank of the Rhine), while consolid ating the state internally a nd protecting cultural life and the rul e of law. Not long after Charle s's defeat in Spain, the Saxons rose u p once more. The war against the m became the longest and most cruel w ar fought by the Franks. In Charl es's eyes, the resistance of this pe ople that had undergone baptism an d signed a treaty of allegiance amo unted to political high treason an d religious apostasy. These offense s called for severe punishment, an d 4,500 Saxons were reported to hav e been executed en masse in 782. Ne w outbreaks occurred after 792, an d the last Saxons were not vanquishe d until 804. Between 772 and 804 , Charles took the field against the S axons no fewer than 18 times. I n the end he carried out his aim of no t only subjecting them to his r ule but also incorporating them fully i nto his empire. Given the indi ssoluble tie between temporal power an d the Christian faith, this mea nt they had to be converted. But the vi olent methods by which this mi ssionary task was carried out had been u nknown to the earlier Middl e Ages, and the sanguinary punishment mete d out to those who broke ca non law or continued to engage in pagan pra ctices called forth critic ism in Charles's own circle, for example b y Alcuin, his adviser and h ead of his palace school. When, in 788, Cha rles deposed his cousin Du ke Tassilo III of Bavaria, who had acknowled ged the Frankish kings a s feudal lords, he in effect deprived of its i ndependence the last o f the German tribes beyond the Rhine. The Bavari ans, who had long bee n Christians, were now directly integrated into t he empire. The Wes t Germanic tribes of the Alemanni, Bavarians, Saxons , and Thuringian s thus found themselves for the first time gathered in to one politica l unit. Charles's conquests on the right bank of the Rh ine were, howe ver, not limited to the Germanic tribes. Making Ratisbo n (Regensburg) , the residence of the Bavarian dukes, his base, he cond ucted severa l campaigns, partly under his own command, against the Ava r kingdom ( in modern Hungary and Upper Austria). The remaining Avar pr incipaliti es and the newly founded Slav states of the Danubian regio n drifted i nto a loose dependence on the Franks, whose sovereignty the y more o r less acknowledged. The gigantic expansion of the Frankish st ate, ra ising it far above the tribal states of the early Middle Ages , entail ed qualitative as well as quantitative changes. Yet the idea o f besto wing on Charles the Roman title of emperor arose only at a ver y lat e stage and out of a specific political constellation. While th e East ern, or Byzantine, Empire laid claim to universal recognition, t he po pes, constitutionally still subjects of Byzantium, were opposed t o th e iconoclastic religious policies of the Eastern emperors. Moreove r , under the protection of Charles, Pope Adrian sought to erect an au t onomous domain over central Italy, the more so as the Byzantines, ab an doning for all practical purposes Rome and Ravenna, were assertin g the ir rule only in Sicily and the southernmost edge of Italy. The p apacy' s desire for independence found a significant expression in th e Donati on of Constantine, a forgery dating probably from the first f ew year s of Adrian's reign and purporting to legitimize these papal a ims in t he name of the first Christian emperor, Constantine I the Gre at. Charl es paid a second visit to Rome in 781, when he had the Pop e crown hi s young sons Pepin and Louis as kings of the Lombards and A quitanian s and gained de facto recognition of his Italian position fr om the Byz antine empress Irene, the mother of Constantine VI. The ent ente that e xisted between Charles and Byzantium came to an end afte r a Frankish a ttack on southern Italy in 787. In the end, local Roma n conflicts brou ght about the clarification of the city's constitutio nal position. I n May 799, Pope Leo III was waylaid in Rome by persona l enemies. He to ok refuge at the court of Charles, who had him conduc ted back to the c ity and who in November 800 came to Rome himself, wh ere he was receive d with imperial honours. Before Charles and a synod , Pope Leo cleare d himself under oath of the charges made by his enem ies. During Christ mas mass in St. Peter's, the Romans acclaimed Charl es emperor, whereup on the Pope crowned and perhaps anointed him. Th e imperial title was b y nature a Roman dignity. While the acclamatio n represented the juridi cally conclusive act, it was the coronation a t the hands of the Pope t hat, though of no constitutional importance , was to acquire for the Fr anks great significance. The Pope had bee n determined to make Charle s emperor, deciding to a large extent th e outward form; yet Charles wa s surely not surprised by these events . His famous statement quoted b y one of his favourites, the Frankis h historian Einhard, that he woul d not have set foot in church that C hristmas if he had known the Pope' s intention, implies a criticism o f the ceremony initiated by the Pope , as well as a formal expressio n of humility. The crowning had been pr eceded by negotiations. Whil e Charles's imperial rank was legally subs tantiated by the fact of hi s dominion over the western part of the ol d Roman Empire, the desir e to counteract the petticoat rule of the emp ress Irene (who had deth roned and blinded her son in 797) also playe d a role. Residing in Rom e four months and pronouncing sentence on th e Pope's enemies as rebel s guilty of lese majesty, Charles grasped th e imperial reins with a f irm hand. Likewise, after his return to Aache n (Aix-la-Chapelle), h e promulgated laws in full consciousness of hi s rank as emperor. Byza ntium braced itself for the usurper's attack, b ut Charles merely wish ed to see his new rank and his dominion over Rom e recognized in negot iations; he gained his point in 812 when the empe ror Michael I acknow ledged him as em peror, though not as emperor of t he Romans. While th e imperial title did not bring Charle s any additio nal powers, his co ntrol of Rome was now legitimized, and the estrangem ent of the papac y from Byzantium and its rapprochement with the Franks , a major histo rical event that had been initiated in 754, was rendere d incontrovert ible. A significant result of this development was the t radition to w hich Charles's assumption of the imperial title and funct ion gave ris e: all medieval concepts of empire and all the bonds betwe en the cons titutional traditions of the Franks and the later Holy Roma n Empire w ith the Roman Empire founded by Augustus were based on the p receden t of Charles's imperial title and position. The creation of th e empir e was chiefly legitimized by Charles's efforts to raise its cul tura l level internally. When Charles came to power, the Frankish kingd om' s cultural, administrative, and legal institutions were still relat iv ely undeveloped. The Frankish king, for example, possessed no perman e nt residence. In the summer months he travelled about, deciding poli t ical issues and dispensing justice in assemblies of spiritual and te mp oral lords; above all, summer was the season for military campaigns . D uring the winter, from Christmas to Easter and sometimes longer, t he k ing lived and held court at one of the imperial palaces. Charle s espec ially favoured those situated in the Frankish heartland: onl y rarely d id he spend the winter in one of the newly won territories , in encampm ent in Saxony, in Ratisbon, or in Rome. Not until 794 di d Aachen, whic h the aging monarch liked because of its warm springs , become the cour t's abode, indeed almost a residence, during every w inter and often ev en in summer. Here Charles built, partially with ma terials imported fr om Rome and Ravenna, the court church that is stil l standing, as wel l as the palace whose walls were incorporated int o the 14th-century ci ty hall. Charles's court consisted of his family , of the clergy in hi s personal service, who were called the king's c apella, and of tempora l officials, among them the count palatine, th e seneschal, and the mas ter of the royal household. These men were oc casionally joined, on a n informal basis, by other spiritual or tempor al men of rank who spen t some time in the ruler's presence. For Charl es had the ambition to m ake his court the intellectual, as well as th e political and administr ative, centre of the realm and accordingly s ummoned prominent scholar s from all parts of the empire and even fro m abroad. Among these the m ost important were Einhard and Alcuin. Wit h the help of these and othe r literary men, Charles established a cou rt library containing the wor ks of the Church Fathers and those of an cient authors, and he founde d a court academy for the education of yo ung Frankish knights. Last bu t not least, he himself took part with h is family and the learned an d lay members of his entourage in a culti vated social life that afford ed him entertainment no less than instru ction. His mother tongue was a n Old High German idiom, besides whic h he presumably understood the Ol d French dialect spoken by many Fran ks; as a grown man, he also learne d Latin and some Greek, had histori cal and theological writings, inclu ding St. Augustine's City of God , read aloud to him, and acquired a ru dimentary knowledge of mathemat ics and astronomy. The court's cultura l interests, however, extende d beyond the intellectual gratification o f a small circle, such as th e exchange of verses and letters. Effort s were also made to raise th e level of religious observance, morality , and the process of justic e throughout the empire. The clearest and m ost famous instance of thi s was the Epistula de litteris colendis, dat ing presumably from 784 t o 785 and compiled in Charles's name by Alcui n. Its main argument lie s in the assertion that the right faith--indee d, every right thought- -must be clothed in the appropriate form and la nguage, lest it be fal sified; hence, the prescription of intensive stu dy of Latin languag e and literature for all monastic and cathedral sch ools. The spiritua l and literary movement called the " Carolingian ren aissance" had man y centres, especially in the empire's monasteries; bu t it cannot be e valuated without reference to Charles's court and to h is endeavour t o call on the best minds of the whole world, setting the m to work i n the education of the clergy and, in the final instance, o f the whol e people. The court's theological knowledge and intellectua l self-con fidence are reflected in the Libri Carolini, a comprehensiv e treatis e written about 791 in Charles's name and directed against th e Counci l of Nicaea (787), at which Greeks and papal plenipotentiarie s had co untenanced the practice of iconolatry; at the same time, the L ibri Ca rolini did not spare the iconoclasts. Through this court, Charl es rul ed and administered his empire and dispensed justice. Once or tw ic e a year at least, the court and the chief magistrates and nobles fr o m all parts of the empire joined in a general assembly held eithe r i n the Frankish heartland or in one of the conquered territories. I t i s indicative of the unique structure of the Carolingian Empire tha t on e cannot draw clear distinctions between an assembly of the arme d forc es, a constitutional assembly of the nobility, and a church syn od: jur idical, military, and ecclesiastical affairs were invariably d iscusse d at one and the same time by the representatives of the nobil ity an d the clergy. Above them all towered the figure of Charlemagne . On th e local level the ruler was represented in every region by cou nts an d bishops. Liaison between these personages and the court was m aintain ed through royal messengers who travelled about at Charles's c ommand , usually in pairs made up of a civil servant and a clerical di gnitary . Royal commands did not have to be written out, although Char les's de crees (capitularies) increasingly came to be recorded in writ ing, at f irst rather imprecisely, in the last two decades of his reig n; the for ms coined by the "renaissance" gained ground only with time . Charles r espected the traditional rights of the various peoples an d tribes unde r his dominion as a matter of principle, and, after he b ecame emperor , he had many of them recorded. The capitularies serve d partly as comp lements to tribal laws, partly as regulations applyin g to the most dis parate aspects of public and private life, and in pa rt also as specifi c instructions issued to royal messengers, counts , bishops, and others . Punitive decrees against highwaymen, dispositi ons concerning militar y levies, orders for the people to take an oat h of allegiance to the e mperor or to teach all Christians to recite t he Lord's Prayer, are fou nd intermingled in the capitularies with jur isdictional dispositions a nd regulations about the internal organizat ion of monasteries; tempora l and spiritual problems are rarely treate d separately. Taken as a who le, the legal documents of Charles's reig n bear witness to a great con cern, born of profound moral and religio us convictions, with the admin istration of justice and with public en lightenment, but they also sho w discrepancies between the ideal and r eality. Charles's organizatio n of the empire was, however, not withou t its defects and limitations . The sovereign's power was restricted o nly by theoretical principle s of law and custom, not by institution s or countervailing forces. Sig nificantly, the records report littl e about opposition movements and c onspiracies, which, in fact, did ex ist. A rebellion that Thuringian co unts launched against Charles in 7 86 can perhaps be explained as ethni c opposition to the centralism o f the Franks. More ominous was an aris tocratic conspiracy that in 79 2 attempted to place on the throne the h unchback Pepin, Charles's onl y son from his first marriage, which wa s later declared invalid; ye t here, too, the political concepts and mo tives remain unknown. Thes e events and, more clearly still, the histor y of the empire under Cha rles's successor, Louis, show the extent to w hich the political syste m had been designed for one person on whose ou tstanding abilities eve rything depended and with whose disappearance i t threatened to collap se. Their self-confidence enhanced by Charles' s educational policy, t he clergy could not accept for all time his the ocracy without opposin g it with their own political and religious prin ciples. The tempora l nobility that had built the empire with the Carol ingians could be f irmly tied to the dynasty only as long as new conque sts held out th e prospect of new spoils and fiefs; if these failed t o materialize, t here remained only the care of one's properties in th e different regi ons and the hope of gaining advantages from party stri fe. External ex pansion, however, could not advance substantially beyon d the border s reached by 800; in fact, economic and technical resource s were insu fficient to hold together and administer what had already b een won an d to defend it against foreign enemies. Charles's empire lac ked the m eans by which the Romans had preserved theirs: a money econom y, a pai d civil service, a standing army, a properly maintained networ k of ro ads and communications, a navy for coastal defense. Already i n Charle s's lifetime, the coasts were being threatened by the Normans . In 80 6 Charles planned a division of the empire between his sons, bu t afte r the death of the elder two he crowned Louis of Aquitaine his c oempe ror and sole successor at Aachen in 813. It was only a few month s lat er that Charles himself died there on January 28, 814. Charlemagn e' s posthumous fame shone the more brightly as the following generatio n s were unable to preserve the empire's internal peace, its unity, a n d its international position. Even after the Carolingian dynasty ha d b ecome extinct, political tradition in the East Frankish (German) k ingd om and empire, as well as in the West Frankish (French) kingdom , dre w sustenance from the example set by Charlemagne. Under Otto I , Aache n became the city in which the rulers of Duitsland were crowned , and, a t Frederick I Barbarossa's request, the antipope Paschal II I canonize d Charlemagne in 1165. In France the Capetians, beginning w ith Phili p II Augustus, revived the traditions that had grown up arou nd Charlem agne. The controversial question whether the Germans or th e French wer e the true successors of Charlemagne was kept alive throu gh the Middl e Ages and into modern times. Napoleon called himself Cha rlemagne's su ccessor; after the end of World War II, discussions o f a united, Chris tian, "occidental" Europe invoked his model. Hand i n hand with these p olitical traditions went those in popular legend a nd poetry, culminati ng in the Roland epics. Nor did Charlemagne's fam e stop at the boundar ies of what was once his empire; some Slavic lan guages derived their t erm for "king" from his name (Czech král, Polis h król, etc.). Charlema gne's was buried in the Aachen Cathedral. It i ncorporates two distinc t styles: the Palace Chapel of Charlemagne (bu ilt 790-805), modeled o n S. Vitale at Ravenna, is Carolingian-Romanes que; and the choir (c. 1 355) is Gothic. In the gallery (Hochmünster ) around the chapel is th e marble Königsstuhl (royal chair) of Charle magne, long used for coron ations. Charlemagne's tomb is marked by a s tone slab over which hang s a bronze chandelier presented by Frederic k I Barbarossa in 1168. Th e rich cathedral treasury contains example s of fine medieval workmansh ip and sacred relics that are displayed t o pilgrims about every seve n years.

NAME: Charlemagne /Holy Roman Empire/
NPFX Emperor

MARC:

NAME: Charlemagne /Holy Roman Empire/
NPFX Emperor

MARC:

King Charlemange of France

Karl den store (tysk Karl der GroÏe, latin Carolus Magnus, fransk Charlemagne (brukes på mange andre språk, bl.a. engelsk, av og til på norsk), italiensk Carlomagno) (født 2. april 742, død 28. januar 814) var konge av frankerne fra år 771, konge av Lombardia fra 774, og tysk-romersk keiser fra 800. Han var eldste sønn av kong Pippin den yngre av frankerne. Han var stamfar for karolingerne. Karl ble kronet til keiser av Paven i Roma, 1. juledag år 800 e. Kr. Han bodde i Aachen og er begravet i katedralen her. Karlsprisen er oppkalt etter ham.

Fødselsdato og sted
Karl den stores fødselsdag er antatt å være 1. april 742. Men flere faktorer har ført til revurdering av denne tradisjonelle datoen. For det første ble 742 utregnet av hans alder da han døde, mer enn attestert med primærkilder. For det andre dateres hans fødsel i 742 før foreldrenes ekteskap i 749, men der er ingen indikasjoner på at Karl den store ble født utenfor ekteskapet og han arvet sine foreldre. En annen dato er gitt i Annales Petariensis, 1. april 747. Det året var 1. april i påsken. Fødselen av en keiser i påsken er et sammenfall som burde føre til kommentarer, men der er ingen slike kommentarer dokumentert i 747, som har fått noen til å mistenke at påskefødselen var en from fiksjon som skulle ære keiseren. For tiden er det umulig å være sikker på datoen da Karl den store ble født. Den neste gjetningen inkluderer 1. april 747, etter 15. april 747 eller 1. april 748, antagelig i Herstal eller Jupille, hvor hans far ble født, begge nær Liége hvor en viktig del av det karolingske og merovingiske dynastiet bodde. Men andre byer er også nevnt: Prüm, Düren eller Aachen.

Liv
Karl var den eldste sønnen til Pippin den yngre og hans kone Bertrada av Laon, han var bror til Bertha, mor til Roland.

Da Pippin døde ble kongedømmet delt mellom Karl og hans bror Karloman. Karl tok de ytre delene av kongedømmet som grenset til sjøen, hovedsakelig Neustria, Aquitania og de nordlige delene av Austrasia, mens Karloman fikk de indre delene som grenset til Italia.

Karloman døde 5. desember 771 og etterlot Karl som leder av et forent frankisk kongedømme. Kort tid etterpå marsjerte han mot lombardene og la kongedømmet Italia permanent under den frankiske tronen.

Karl var engasjert i nesten konstant krigføring gjennom hele sitt styre med sitt legendariske sverd Joyeuse i hånden. Etter tretti år med krig og atten slag, sachserkrigene, erobret han Sachsen, et mål som hadde vært den uoppnåelige drømmen til Augustus, og fortsatte med å konvertere de erobrede til katolsk kristendom, med makt hvor det var nødvendig. I 782, ved Verden i nedre Sachsen, skal han ha beordret halshoggingen av 4500 sachsere på en dag (den blodige rettssaken i Verden). Sachserne hadde gjort feilen med å gjøre opprør mot det frankiske styret og ble tatt i å praktisere hedenskap etter at de hadde gått med på å bli kristne. Moderne forskere har dratt disse beskyldningene i tvil, ettersom det ikke er funnet noen arkeologiske bevis for en slik massakre og at de opprinnelige kildene kan ha skrevet ?halshogging? ved en feil istedet for ?sendt i eksil?. Karl forsøkte også å gjenerobre Spania, men klarte aldri helt dette målet. Det var under en av hans forgjeves invasjoner i det nordlige Spania at lederen for hans baktropp, grev Roland, ble drept, noe som inspirerte til skapelsen av Rolandskvadet.

Den frankiske kong Karl var en trofast kristen som fastholdt et nært forhold med paven i hele sitt liv. I 772, da Adrian I ble truet av invasjon, skyndte kongen seg til Roma for å gi assistanse. Her ber paven om hjelp i et møte nær Roma.I 797 (eller 801?) gav kalifen av Bagdad, Harun al-Rashid, Karl en asiatisk elefant kalt Abul-Abbas og en mekanisk klokke.

Under julemessen 1. juledag i Roma i år 800 kronet pave Leo III Karl Imperator Romanorum (romernes keiser). Dette ble Karls siste besøk i Roma, da han hadde ønsket selv å sette kronen på sitt hode, og mislikte at paven kom ham i forkjøpet. Går man inn hovedportalen i Peterskirken, støter man noen få meter oppe i midtskipet på en stor, rød porfyrstein nedsenket i gulvet der Karl stod da Leo overrasket ham. [1]

Selv om dette, ifølge kildene, skjedde mot hans intensjoner, ble Karl fornyeren av det vestlige riket som forsvant i det 5. århundre. For å unngå friksjoner med den østlige keiseren, kalte Karl seg senere Imperator Romanum gubernans Imperium (keiser som styrer Romerriket) istedet for Imperator Romanum, som ble forbeholdt de østlige keiserne.

Karl fulgte opp sin fars reformer og fjernet pengesystemet basert på gull sou. Både han og kong Offa av Mercia tok opp systemet innført av Pippin. Han satte opp en ny standard, livre (pund), både som mynt og vektenhet, som var verdt 20 sous (som solidus og senere skilling) eller 240 denierer (som denarius og til slutt penny). I denne perioden var livre og sou tellende enheter, bare denier var rikets mynt.

Karl innførte systemet i store deler av det europeiske kontinentet, og Offas standard ble frivillig adoptert av store deler av England.

Autografen til Karl den storeKarl organiserte imperiet sitt i 350 grevskap, hvert ledet av en oppnevnt greve. Grevene tjente som dommere, administratorer og de opprettholdt capitularier. For å opprettholde lojalitet, satte han opp et system av missi dominici, som betyr ?Herrens utsendinger?. I dette systemet ville en representant i kirken og en representant av keiseren lede de forskjellige grevskapene og hvert år rapportere tilbake til Karl om deres status.

Europa ved Karl den stores død.Da Karl døde i 814 ble han gravlagt i sin egen katedral i Aachen. Han ble etterfulgt av sin eneste overlevende sønn, Ludvig den fromme. Etter ham ble styret av imperiet delt mellom hans tre overlevende sønner ifølge frankisk tradisjon. Disse tre kongedømmene ble grunnlaget for det senere Frankrike og Det hellige romerske rike av den tyske nasjon.

Etter Karls død ble de kontinentale myntene degradert og mesteparten av Europa gikk over til å bruke engelsk mynt til rundt 1100.

Det er vanskelig å forstå Karls holdning mot sine døtre. Ingen av dem fikk et sakramentalt ekteskap. Dette kan ha vært et forsøk på å kontrollere antallet potensielle allianser. Etter hans død gikk, eller ble tvunget til å gå, de overlevende døtrene i kloster. Minst en av dem, Bertha, hadde et anerkjent forhold, om ikke ekteskap, med Angilbert, et medlem av Karls hoffsirkel.

Karls morsmål var gammelhøytysk-dialekten kalt frankisk. Han snakket også latin og forstod noe gresk.

Kulturell betydning
Mesteparten av de overlevende arbeidene av klassisk latin ble kopiert og preservert tubord. Karls innflytelse på tvers av Europa indikeres av opprinnelsen til mange av mennene som arbeidet for ham: Alcuin, en anglosakser, Theodulf, visigoter, Paulus Diaconus, lombard og Angilbert og Einhard, frankere.

Karl den store nøt et viktig etterliv i europeisk kultur. En av de store middelalderiske litteraturkretsene, Karl den store-kretsen eller Frankrikes saker, sentreres rundt dådene til Karl den stores kommandant av Breton-grensen, Roland, og paladinene som tjente som motpartene til ridderne av det runde bord. Deres eventyr ble først fortalt i chansons de geste. Karl selv ble gitt helgen-status innenfor det hellige romerske riket etter det 12. århundre. Hans kanonisering av Paschal III ble aldri anerkjent av den hellige stol. Han var modellridder som en av de ni verdige.

Det er ofte hevdet av slektsforskere at alle mennesker med europeiske forfedre i dag er antagelig etterkommere fra Karl. Men bare en liten prosentdel kan faktisk bevise avstamning fra ham. Karl ekteskaps- og forholds-politikk og etikk førte riktignok til et nokså stort antall etterkommere, og av disse hadde alle bedre muligheter for å vokse opp enn tilfellet for barn generelt på den tiden. De ble giftet inn i adelshus og som et resultat av interne ekteskap kan mange av adelsopphav virkelig spore sitt opphav tilbake til Karl. Karls slektstre var ganske omfattende, og kan spores nesten helt opp til moderne tider. Blant de mest kjente direkte etterkommerne av Karl er William Howard Taft, den 27. president i USA, den amerikanske skuespilleren Tyrone Power, den britiske skuespilleren Christopher Lee og Elisabeth II, dronning av Storbritannia og Nord-Irland. Han er uten tvil forfar til alle kongefamilier i Europa og dermed også det norske kongehuset.

En annen interessant ting med Karl var at han gjorde et alvorlig forsøk på å utdanne seg selv og andre lærde og hadde lært å lese i voksen alder, men han lærte aldri helt å skrive. Hans håndskrift var dårlig, derfra vokste legenden om at han ikke kunne skrive. Dette var en betydelig bragd for kongene på den tiden, de fleste var analfabeter.

Videre lesning
Alessandro Barbero: Charlemagne, father of a continent. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2004 ISBN 0-520-23943-1

Referanser
^ Ola Åmodt: "Roma - legender og merkverdigheter", Fritt Forlag, Oslo 2006.

700000 people connected with European Royalty
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=56273367-079c-46eb-94cf-008ebc60d7f0&tid=9692367&pid=-519970379

Charlemagne
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=87ce6942-ff3d-4ae1-8ff3-52d659311e77&tid=9692367&pid=-519970379

Charlemagne's Palace
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=0b37b859-b08f-4061-a23c-b923876cb389&tid=10771688&pid=-461626363

Charlemagne the Great
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=abaa19ce-afe0-4861-8b12-d59bcccd3063&tid=10771688&pid=-461626363

Charlemagne the Great
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=57a7fe2a-0333-4bf9-ac3f-0c4fcf1f4415&tid=10771688&pid=-461626363

Charlemagne the Great
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=da1d6818-de8c-4813-b6e3-8deb1525baae&tid=10771688&pid=-461626363

Charlemagne's Coronation
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=ce568e5f-6d79-421d-9df4-3501af25dcf4&tid=10771688&pid=-461626363

Charlemagne the Great
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=054d2f12-b1f2-4943-af12-74d25b85cbc9&tid=10771688&pid=-461626363

_P_CCINFO 2-2438

Charlamagne Shield
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=7d2b3d6b-af29-4636-b3f0-09a72bf9b175&tid=261097&pid=-1975727748

Charlemagne (742-813)
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=03859fb4-816e-4219-b22e-18340e097ad8&tid=261097&pid=-1975727748

Charlamagne King of Franks
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=9624ba08-5111-4475-ae0e-805355d83c97&tid=261097&pid=-1975727748

Charlemagne
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=af74a4dd-df16-4357-92eb-812b6b4729c7&tid=261097&pid=-1975727748

Western Europe under Charlamagne
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=885ec649-0f8b-418e-8a25-98ccfa0f5c65&tid=261097&pid=-1975727748

Charles (Charlemagne) Timeline
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=1481a816-5233-46ea-ab63-b7b1963fda89&tid=261097&pid=-1975727748

Charlamagne
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=8eea26a7-2d16-40ec-b850-f34086c03937&tid=261097&pid=-1975727748

A Learned Discussion

Series of e-mail with Chairman and Webmaster Michael DiMaio of the Historical Board for 'De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors' World Wide Web site: Available: [Online]: (http://www.roman-emperors.org/) [29 August 2001].

Amy Forliti, Associated Press wrote: "Ancient Rome has entered the digital age. De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors, found at www.roman-emperors.org, contains original essays on many of the emperors who ruled from BC 27 to 1453 AD. Complete with family trees, maps and hundreds of footnotes, the Web site is attracting users from the serious scholar to the curious moviegoer.

The Web site was started in June 1996 by Michael DiMaio, a professor who teaches philosophy and Latin at Salve Regina University in Newport who wanted to compile biographies of all the Roman emperors in one high-quality resource.

Collegues from around the world got on board, and later that year the Web site began. It has continued to grow ever since, all on volunteer efforts... And critics are paying attention. De Imperatoribus Romanis has received awards and commendations from organizations as varied as the U.S. History Channel, Encyclopedia Britannica and Library Journal..."All of the essays are peer-reviewed before they're put on the Web site, and the authors have to have academic credentials." ...for full article see The Globe & Mail. Toronto 29 August 2001

(http://www.roman-emperors.org/)

On Wed, 29 Aug 2001, John H.M. Young wrote:

What happened to Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire?

On 8/30/01 1:10 AM, Michael DiMaio at (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX) wrote:

Charles the Great was not a roman emperor. The Holy Roman empire was neither Holy nor Roman.

On Thu, 30 Aug 2001, John H.M. Young wrote:

Then why do you include The Stemmata of the Comnenus Dynasty et al?

On Thu, 30 Aug 2001, Michael DiMaio at (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX) wrote:

The Comneni family were Byzantine royalty; [the] Byzantine empire is considered to be the extension of the Roman empire. I do not understand what you are getting at unless you are referring to the western Europeans who married into the family. That happens even today. Even if a byzantine married a french girl, that does not make the french family a roman or byzantine family.

Please explain your point.

On Sat, 1 Sep 2001, John H.M. Young wrote:

Our webmaster visited me Thursday evening (from Calgary) and yes he informed me of that very same aspect. He wondered if there was a blood connection. We could not find it in your genealogy. Since Charlemagne conquered a great extent of Europe and his grandson was Lothaire I Emperor and King of Italy, then in what category do you place that particular ruling family? Could we have the reasons for the exclusion? Are you equating the so-called 'Holy Roman Empire' with France only? It would be helpful if your site had some distinctions re: Empires. One of the Toronto newspapers recently called your site one of the 15 best reference sites, thus our queries, when we could not find the answers.

On Sat, 1 Sep 2001, Michael DiMaio at (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX) wrote:

John, we define Roman empire as that founded by Augustus and connected to Augustus by Roman law. Hence, the Latin speaking empire fell in 476 in Italy and the eastern empire, connected to the west by law and through Constantine I, perished with the fall of Constantinople in 1453. I am
making a distinction that all professional historians make. Perhaps the best way to put it is that the byzantines considered themselves Romans and called themselves that and never thought of the Franks as such. I have referred your question to the DIR Praeses Senior and to the head of the
Byzantine Board.

On Sat, 1 Sep 2001, John H.M. Young wrote:

From this below, it would seem that your site is only determining territorial rule WITH authority as the distinction.

Encyclopedia.com writes:

Holy Roman Empire
Origins

The Holy Roman Empire was a successor state to the empire founded in 800 by Charlemagne (see also Carolingians), who revived the title of Roman emperor in the West. According to Carolingian theory, the Roman Empire had merely been suspended, not ended, by the abdication of the last Roman emperor in 476. In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Roman emperor, probably perceived more as a personal title than as a reference to a particular territorial rule. From the death of Arnulf (899), the last Carolingian to hold the imperial title, until Otto's coronation in Rome by Pope John XII, various rulers bore the imperial title but exercised no authority; among them were Louis III, king of Provence, and Berengar I, king of Italy.

On Sat, 1 Sep 2001, Michael DiMaio at (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX) wrote:

You have hit the nail on the head!

John:

I am in full agreement with the argument you received earlier:

Repeat
John, we define Roman empire as that founded by Augustus and connected to Augustus by Roman law. Hence, the Latin speaking empire fell in 476 in Italy and the eastern empire, connected to the west by law and through Constantine I, perished with the fall of Constantinople in 1453. I am
making a distinction that all professional historians make. Perhaps the best way to put it is that the byzantines considered themselves Romans and called themselves that and never thought of the Franks as such.

New
The Byzantine Empire is a direct continuation of the eastern Roman empire and merits inclusion in a site of Roman emperors. The Carolingian empire was a Frankish creation. The main thing "Roman" about the Holy Roman Empire was that several emperors had to go to Rome to be crowned. It was strictly a Germanic state, especially from Otto I on, and was only an imitation, not a lineal continuation, of the Roman empire. I have a doctoral field in Carolingian, so I am certainly not opposed to spreading solid information on the internet about that field . Although the Carolingian/H.R.E. is more closely connected than are the empires of Tsars, Kaisers, and Napoleon, each of these areas could make a similar case to be included in DIR.

Richard Weigel, Praeses Senior, DIR

Dear Richard

Thank you for your comment and concern. I hope that latitude will be expanded or a mirror site is created to include a most fascinating history. You chaps are doing an excellent 'systematic inquiry'.

Shall leave you to make a case for whatever.

Shall keep tabs on new items on the site.

Best
John in Toronto

******
From
Imperium. Joe Shetler at: (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX), World Wide Web: Available: [Online]:
(http://www.ghg.net/shetler/oldimp/087.html) [2 December 2002].

King of the Franks 768-800
King of the Lombards 774-800
Frankish Emperor 800-814

When Pepin III died in 768, his sons Carloman and Charles I (called Charlemagne towards the end of his reign) succeeded as Kings of the Franks. Carloman received the strong interior - Paris and Orleans, and Charlemagne received the rebellious states and border lands in a NW crescent around Carloman's kingdom. Either Pepin did this because he favored Carloman, or because he knew that Charlemagne was a better general and needed to be the one to face the rebellions.

In 769, Aquitaine rebelled and both brothers went to face the problem. Carloman marched back home without striking a blow, leaving Charlemagne to subdue Aquitaine on his own, which he did. The hatred between the brothers was temporarily settled by their mother, Bertrada. The Lombards were making many threats to Pope Hadrian, and so he called for the Frankish kings for protection. Carloman was pro-Lombard, so Charlemagne was again on his own. In 771, the Lombard king Desiderius invaded Rome and took much Papal land. At the end of that year, Carloman died, leaving Charlemagne the entire Frankish kingdom.

In 772, Charlemagne executed his first Saxon campaign, and while it was small it was a success. He planned for one the next year, but in January Hadrian sent envoys to Charlemagne formally asking for help. In May he gathered all his forces at Geneva and launched an Italian attack. He personally led the main force, and a smaller force was led by his uncle Bernard to attack the flank of the Lombard army. In June of 774, Pavia fell and Lombardy was completely conquered by Charlemagne. He sent Desiderius and his family to monasteries and took the crown for himself. Hadrian then crowned Pepin king of Lombardy with his father.

In 778, Charlemagne invaded Muslim Spain, taking Barcelona, Pampelona, and Saragossa. However, Charlemagne's army was ambushed and many generals were killed. In 781, after his defeat in Spain, Aquitaine was on the border of rebellion once again, so he put his son Louis as king there. In 793, the Saracens invaded Aquitaine under their Caliph Hisham. Two years later the Spanish March was created, with William as its Count. The next year King Louis and Count William secured the Spanish territories, and William conquered Barcelona, the Balearics, and all of Navarre.

Since 772, Charlemagne campaigned in Saxony almost every year. After much fighting he finally converted their king Widukind and incorporated Saxony into the Frankish empire, with Widukind as its first Duke. By gaining Saxony, Charlemagne received many attacks from the Slavs, but was able to not only defeat them but take much of their land in modern Duitsland, Austria, and as far east as Hungary.

On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne was in Rome for the crowning of his son Charles (designated to be his successor). The Pope, Leo III crowned Charlemagne before mass, saying "Carolo augusto, a Deo coronato, magne et pacifico imperatore romanorum, vita et victoria!" (To Charles, Augustus, crowned by God, great and peaceful Emperor, life and victory!) He then "adored" Charlemagne in the Byzantine manner by prostrating himself and touching the ground with his forehead three times. This Carolingian Empire did not last long, but it did lead to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages.

In 806, Charlemagne set up a will in which Charles, Pepin, and Louis would receive equal shares of the Empire on his death. In July of 810, Pepin died, and he was followed by Charles in December of 811. In 813 Byzantine nobles came to greet Charlemagne as Emperor. Louis was called from Aquitaine and crowned co-Emperor and designated successor to the imperial crown, then sent back to Aquitaine. That year, Charlemagne spent the entire month of October hunting, and in January of the next year, at the age of 70, died.

Rei dos Francos por morte de seu pai, em 768, que havia dividido pelos dois filhos um reino extremamente engrandecido e apoiado pelo Papa, coube a Carlomano a parte oriental. Com a sua morte precoce, ocorrida em 771, a sua herança passou para as mãos do seu irmão Carlos Magno, que assim viu novamente reunido o território do reino Franco. Carlos Magno afastou seus dois sobrinhos e usurpou o reino do irmão, desrespeitando a ordem de sucessão ao trono. A viúva de Carlomano, Gerberge, refugiou-se com os dois filhos junto a Didier, rei dos Lombardos (pai de Gerberge). Com a derrota deste, os filhos de Carlomano acabaram por ser confinados a um mosteiro.

OR "CHARLESMAGNE""CARL DER GROSSE""CAROLUS MAGNUS (CHARLES THE GREAT)"; KING OF
THE FRANKS 768; EMPORER OF THE WEST 1/28/800-814

Holy Roman Emperor

Charlemagne-2
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=02c2c268-9805-4df1-ab19-2cdd78f1e7e9&tid=6268114&pid=-1057736375

Charlemagne_coin
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=f51160bb-f5ac-4e57-a901-3fbb8cebeab0&tid=6268114&pid=-1057736375

Charlemagne Bust
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=b8f772f7-4cc4-4a06-84a4-a48a9ce6b9ae&tid=6268114&pid=-1057736375

Charlemagne or Charles The Great {742 - 814}
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=76b11cf6-bbb6-455e-a2a3-e851ef057e5a&tid=6268114&pid=-1057736375

Marriages of Charlemagne:

Name afn Marriage Date Ordinance Data

Desiderata 9gcc-xq 770 div 05 Nov 1991 Slake
Hildegard 9gcd-17 772 08 Apr 1936
Fastrada 9gcd-cx 783 23 Jun 1955 Alber
Luitgard 9gcd-l5 794 10 Nov 1953 Alber
Himiltrud 9gcd-mb 10 Nov 1953 Alber
Mathalgard 9gcd-qt concubine 1 10 Nov 1953 Alber
Gerswind 9gcd-s6 concubine 2 10 Nov 1953 Alber
Regina 9gcd-vj concubine 3 10 Nov 1953 Alber
Concubine 4 9gcf-06 21 Jun 1955 Alber
Concubine 5 9gcf-2j 21 Jun 1955 Alber
Concubine 6 9gcf-4v 28 Jun 1955 Alber
Galiena 9gcf-7d concubine 7 28 Jun 1955 Alber
Concubine 8 9gcf-8k 28 Jun 1955 Alber
Adelheid 9gcf-bw concubine 9 07 Dec 1954 Slake

Other children of Charlemagne:
________________________________________________________

Thierry "The Monk", Bastard of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
dob abt 810, of Aachen Prussia. B: 25 may 1954 Alber
afn: 9gcf-c3 E: 30 Jun 1954 Alber
SP: 7 Dec 1954 Slake

Mother was Adelheid, concubine 9. B: 11 Dec 1933 Slake
E: 11 Jun 1934 Slake
________________________________________________________

Auplas dob 773 afn: fslm-5f
Mother was UNKOWN (as of 6/20/96)
________________________________________________________

Rothaide Abbesse of FARMOUTIER
dob abt 788 B: 27 Jun 1938
afn: 9gcd-r1 E: 27 oct 1938
SP: 10 Nov 1953 Alber

Mother was Mathalgard, concubine 1. B: 27 Jun 1938 Logan
E: 26 Oct 1938 Logan
________________________________________________________

Adeltrud, Bastard of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
dob ABT 790 B: 25 Sep 1935 Sgeor
afn: 9gcd-tc E: 9 Oct 1935 Sgeor
SP: 10 Nov 1953 Alber

Mother was Gerswind, concubine 2. B: 11 DEc 1933 Slake
E: 13 Jun 1934 Slake
________________________________________________________

Bellinandra, Bastard of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
dob 798 B: 27 Jun 1938 Logan
afn: 9gcf-1c E: 7 Feb 1939 Logan
SP: 21 Jun 1955 Abler

Mother was Concubine 4. B: 25 May 1954 Alber
E: 14 Dec 1954 Alber
_________________________________________________________

Gertruda, Bastard of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
dob abt 800 B: 27 Jun 1938 Logan
afn: 9gcf-3p E: 8 Feb 1939 Logan
SP: 21 Jun 1955 Logan

Mother was Concubine 5. B: 25 may 1954 Alber
E: 14 Dec 1954 Alber
_________________________________________________________

Emma, Bastard of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
dob abt 802 B: 11 Dec 1933 Manti
afn: 9gcf-52 E: 27 Apr 1934 Manti
SP: 28 Jun 1955 Alber

Mother was Concubine 6. B: 25 May 1954 Alber
E: 21 Dec 1954 Alber
_________________________________________________________

Hruodhaid (f), Bastard of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
dob abt 804 B: 25 May 1954 Alber
afn: 9gcf-9q E: 14 Dec 1954 Alber
SP: 28 Jun 1955 Alber

Mother was Concubine 8. B: 25 May 1954 Alber
E: 14 DEc 1954 Alber
_________________________________________________________

Charlemagne, or Charles the Great (742-814), grandson of Charles Martel, was probably brought up at the court of his father, Pepin the Short, and on his death became king of the Franks, 768, at first jointly with his brother Carloman. After the latter�s death, 771, he ruled alone. His long reign of forty-six years was occupied in waging war against every race that seemed to threaten the empire. His forces were so overwhelming and so well organized, and his military and political genius so great, that the enemy rarely faced him. Charles crossed the Alps, and was soon master of Italy, the greater part of which he added to his Frankish empire; and in 776, after an unsuccessful revolt by the Lombards, he created Italy a kingdom, which he conferred on his son Pepin in 781, who was crowned king of Italy by the Pope. Meantime Charles had his attention directed to Spain by the troubles among the Saracens, and in 778 he invaded the peninsula with two armies. In 800, on the invitation of Pope Leo III, Charles again proceeded to Italy, and on Christmas Eve was crowned emperor of the Romans; and the foundation of the political system of the Middle Ages was laid. The remaining years of his reign were comparatively quiet. Himself no mean scholar, he welcomed to his court men of learning. Charlemagne was no recluse, but was fond of sport and hunting. He died in 814 at Aix-la-Chapelle, where he was buried. Consult �Life� by Eginhard in Latin, in Bibliotheca Rerum Germanicarum (1873; Eng. trans. by Glaister, 1877); Mombert�s Charles the Great; Mullinger�s The Schools of Charles the Great; Wells� The Age of Charlemagne; Davis� Charlemagne, in Heroes of the Nation series. For his governmental institutions, consult Fustel de Coulange�s �Le gouvernement de Charlemagne,� in Revue des Deux Mondes; for the literature of the period, Ampère�s Histoire littéraire de la France sous Charlemagne (2nd ed., 1868); for arts, Schnaase�s Geschichte der bildenden Künste, vol. IV (8 vols.); and for romance, Gaston Paris� Histoire poétique de Charlemagne. [World Wide Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1935]

Notes on Charlemagne King of the Franks and Roman Emperor
Upon the death of Pepin, the Frankish kingdom was divided according to custom between his two sons. Relations between the brothers were cool, but upon the early death of Carloman in 771, Charles became sole ruler of the Franks and commenced the brilliant reign which made him "Charles the Great". He fought the Saxons in 18 campaigns between 772 and 799. Saxon chiefs were persuaded to be partised and become Charles� vassals, placing much of Saxony under Frankish control. In 773, at the request of Pope Adrian I, he crossed the Alps and defeated the Lombards in Pavia in 774, capturing Desiderius, the last King of the Lombards, and taking the Lombard crown himself. Between 777 and 801, he conquered Northern Spain despite setbacks such as the battle of Roncesvalles in 778, where the rearguard of the Frankish army under Roland, was destroyed by a combination of Moors and the Christian Basques of Pamplona. In 788, Bavaria was absorbed into his dominions and he established the eastern mark of his empire on the R. Raab in Austria. In 800, he marched into Italy and on Christmas Day 800 he was Crowned by Pope Leo III and saluted as Carolus Augustus, emperor of the Romans. The remaining years of his reign were spent consolidating his empire. {Chamber�s Biographical Dictionary and Encyclopedia of Military History} [GADD.GED]

Also have birth as 2 Apr 747. [Betz Homepage http://info.lu.farmingdale.edu/~betzja/gene]

Also have death as 28 Jan 813 in Aix la Chapelle. [Betz Homepage http://info.lu.farmingdale.edu/~betzja/gene]

Is 38th great grandfather through son Pepin I or 36th great grandfather through son Louis I.

Date of birth
Charlemagne's birthday was believed to be April 1 , 742 , but several factors led to reconsideration of this traditional date. First, the year 742 was calculated from his age given at death, rather than attested with primary sources. Second, 742 precedes the marriage of his parents (in 744), yet there is no indication that Charlemagne was born out of wedlock, and he inherited from his parents. Another date is given in the Annales Petarienses, the April 2 , 747 . In that year, April 1 is Easter . Since the birth of an Emperor on Easter is a coincidence likely to provoke comment, but there is no such comment documented in 747, leading some to suspect the Easter birthday was a pious fiction concocted as a way of honoring the Emperor. Other commentators weighing the primary records have suggested that the birth was one year later, 748. So at present, it is impossible to be certain of the date of the birth of Charlemagne. The best guesses include April 1 , 747 , after April 15 , 747 , or April 1 , 748 .
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Life
Arguably the founder of the Frankish Empire in Western Europe , Charlemagne was the elder son of Pepin the Short (714 – September 24 , 768 , reigned 751 – 768 ) and his wife Bertrada of Laon (720 – July 12 , 783 ); he was the brother of the Lady Bertha mother of Roland .

Charles, eldest Son of King Pepin, receives the News of the Death of his Father and the Great Feudalists offer him the Crown.--Costumes of the Court of Burgundy in the Fifteenth Century.--Fac-simile of a Miniature of the "History of the Emperors" (Library of the Arsenal).
On the death of Pepin the kingdom was divided between Charlemagne and his brother Carloman (Carloman ruled Austrasia ). Carloman died on the 5th of December , 771 , leaving Charlemagne the leader of a reunified Frankish kingdom. Charlemagne was engaged in almost constant battle throughout his reign. He conquered Saxony in the 8th century , a goal that had been the unattainable dream of Augustus . It took Charlemagne more than 18 battles to win this victory. He proceeded to force Catholicism on the conquered, slaughtering those who refused to convert. He dreamed of the reconquest of Spain , but never fully succeeded in this goal.
In 797 (801? ) the caliph of Baghdad , Harun al-Rashid , gave Emperor Charlemagne the first historically recorded elephant in northern Europe, named Abul-Abbas , an Asian elephant. (See History of elephants in Europe .)
In 800 , at Mass on Christmas day in Rome, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Imperator Romanorum (Emperor of the Romans), a title that had been out of use in the West since the abdication of Romulus Augustulus in 476 . While this title helped to make western Europe independent of Constantinople , Charlemagne did not use the title until much later, as he feared it would create dependence on the Pope. Even then, he never referred to himself as Imperator Romanorum but rather as Imperator Romanum gubernans Imperium (Emperor ruling the Roman Empire).
Pursuing his father's reforms, Charlemagne did away with the monetary system based on the gold sou . Both he and King Offa of Mercia took up the system set in place by Pepin. He set up a new standard, the livre (i.e. pound )— both monetary and unit of weight— which was worth 20 sous (like the solidus, and later the shilling) or 240 deniers (like the denari, and eventually the penny ). During this period, the livre and the sou were counting units, only the denier was a coin of the realm.
Charlemagne applied the system to much of the European Continent, and Offa's standard was voluntarily adopted by much of England .

Autograph of Charlemagne
Charlemagne organized his empire into 350 counties, each led by an appointed count. Counts served as judges, administrators, and enforced capitularies. To enforce loyalty, he set up the system of Missi Dominici, meaning 'Envoys of the Lord.' In this system, one representative of the church and one representative of the emperor would head to the different counties and every year report back to Charlemagne on their status.

Europe at the death of Charles The Great 814. -"A School Atlas of English History" ed. by Samuel Rawson Gardiner, M.A. LL.D.
When Charlemagne died in 814 , he was buried in his own Cathedral at Aachen . He was succeeded by his only son to survive him, Louis the Pious , after whose reign the empire was divided between his three surviving sons according to Frankish tradition. These three kingdoms would be the foundations of later France and the Holy Roman Empire .
After Charlemagne's death, continental coinage degraded and most of Europe resorted to using the continued high quality English coin until about 1100 .
It is difficult to understand Charlemagne's attitude toward his daughters. None of them contracted a sacramental marriage. This may have been an attempt to control the number of potential alliances. After his death the surviving daughters entered or were forced to enter monasteries. At least one of them, Bertha, had a recognized relationship, if not a marriage, with Angilbert , a member of Charlemagne's court circle.
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Cultural significance
Charlemagne's reign is often referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance because of the flowering of scholarship, literature, art and architecture. Most of the surviving works of classical Latin were copied and preserved by Carolingian scholars. The pan-European nature of Charlemagne's influence is indicated by the origins of many of the men who worked for him: Alcuin , an Anglo-Saxon ; Theodulf , a Visigoth ; Paul the Deacon , a Lombard ; and Angilbert and Einhard , Franks . Charlemagne enjoyed an important afterlife in European culture. One of the great medieval literature cycles , the Charlemagne cycle or Matter of France , centres around the deeds of Charlemagne's historical commander of the Breton border, Roland , and the paladins who served as a counterpart to the knights of the Round Table ; their tales were first told in the chansons de geste . Charlemagne himself was accorded sainthood inside the Holy Roman Empire after the 12th Century. He was a model knight as one of the Nine Worthies .
It is frequently claimed by genealogists that all people with European ancestry alive today are probably descended from Charlemagne. However, only a small percentage can actually prove descent from him. Charlemagne's marriage and relationship politics and ethics did, however, result in a fairly large number of descendants, all of whom had far better life expectancies than is usually the case for children in that time period. They were married into houses of nobility and as a result of intermarriages many people of noble descent can indeed trace their ancestry back to Charlemagne.
Another interesting note about Charlemagne was that he took a serious effort in his and others' scholarship and had learnt to read in his adulthood, although he never quite learnt how to write. This was quite an achievement for kings at this time, of whom most were illiterate.
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Charlemagne's portraits
The Roman tradition of realistic personal portraiture was in complete eclipse at the time of Charlemagne, where individual traits were submerged in iconic typecastings. Charlemagne, as an ideal ruler, ought to be portrayed in the corresponding fashion, any contemporary would have assumed. The images of enthroned Charlemagne, God's representative on Earth, bear more connections to the icons of Christ in Majesty than to modern (or Antique) conceptions of portraiture. Even the verbal portrait by Einhard suppresses details that would have been indecorous in this context. Charlemagne in later imagery (illustration above) is often portrayed with flowing blond hair, due to a misunderstanding of Einhart's Vita caroli Magni (chapter 22) where Charlemagne in his age had canitie pulchra "beautiful white hair" which has been rendered as blond or fair in many translations. The Latin word for blond is "flavus", and "rutilo", meaning 'golden-red' or 'auburn', is the word Tacitus uses for the Germans' hair. Although no text says so, an unfounded perception has nonetheless arisen that Charlemagne was blond.

Portrait of Charlemagne, whom the Song of Roland names the King with the Grizzly Beard.--Fac-simile of an Engraving of the End of the Sixteenth Century.
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Wives
Himiltrude
Ermengarda or Desiderata
Hildegard of Savoy (married Abt 771 ) (758 –783 )
Fastrada (married 784 ) (d. 794 )
Luitgard (married 794 ) (d. 800 )
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Children
Pippin the Hunchback (d. 813 )
Charles, King of Neustria (d. 811 )
Pippin, King of Italy (ruled 781 –810 )
Louis I The Pious , King of Aquitaine, Emperor (ruled 814 –840 )
Lothar (d. 780 )
Six Daughters (Hildegarde?, Gisele?, Adelheid?, Bertha?, Lothaire?, Rotrud?)
Aupais ?
Preceded by: Pippin the Short Frankish King Also Holy Roman Emperor Succeeded by: Louis

Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, was ruler of the Franks for 47 years: 768-814 A.D. He served the last 14 years of his life as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Son of Pepin the Short and grandson of Charles Martel, he was an outstanding warrior and a fine orator, remembered for his intelligence and generosity. (1)

Before Charlemagne was crowned Emperor, there was a considerable amount of tension between the pope and Constantinople. Relations between them had been strained since the time of Justinian. In 753 AD pope Stephen III allied with Pepin the Short, the Frankish king, which insured the success of the Franks. This alliance with the Franks was important for the papacy. During the 8th century they were being threatened by Byzantine's rivals, the Lombards. Through military campaigns, the Lombard kings threatened to take over Rome and the papacy. For this reason, the papacy was in desperate need of protection. By the year 774 A.D. Charlemagne had succeeded his father as king of the Franks, and assumed kingship over the Lombards.
Charlemagne was a successful warlord. He accomplished some military endeavor in nearly every year of his reign, which led to the expansion of his (Frankish) kingdom. One of the tactics he used to ensure the loyalty of his soldiers and government officials, was dispersing booty to them. Charlemagne was hailed as the "strong right arm of God" due to the fact that he often fought for Christianity, and through political order advanced it. He cherished the Church of St. Peter and the Apostle at Rome and would heap its treasury as well as send gifts to the popes. He had an especially close relationship with Pope Hadrian I. Charlemagne's desire was, first, to re-establish the authority of the city of Rome. It was obvious he greatly admired Rome, as even his palace featured Roman-inspired architecture and decoration. And secondly, Charlemagne sought to defend the Church of St. Peter. He used his authority to protect the ecclesiastical property and provide the church with support materially. This included the enforcement of the tithe, a 10% tax of income on all Christians to support the church.
In the year 800 A.D., Charlemagne had gone to Rome to help put the affairs of the church in order. On Christmas Day, in 800 A.D., while knelt in prayer in Saint Peter's, the pope crowned Charlemagne emperor by placing a gold crown on his head. This was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. To the Byzantines, this was outrageous. They felt that the pope had committed a serious breach of faith, as they looked on Charlemagne as a barbarian. This act proved how closely the church and the government were tied. For a short time, Charlemagne was able to restore the Western Roman Empire, while at the same time continuing to govern as king of the Franks and Lombards. Charlemagne believed that the government should work to benefit those it was serving and was continually working for reforms that would improve the lives of the people. He set up money standards to encourage commerce, urged better farming methods, and worked to encourage and spread education. (2)
Charlemagne himself crowned his youngest son, Louis (the only surviving child) as his successor in 813 A.D. at Aachen. The pope was not present at this coronation and had no role in it. The empire was passed on to Louis upon Charlemagne's death in 814 A.D. It was then that the empire suffered numerous attacks and was eventually divided.
Sources:

Charlemagne
Main article Charlemagne
Upon Pippin's death in 768 , his sons, Charles and Carloman , once again divided the kingdom between themselves. However, Carloman withdrew to a monastery and died shortly thereafter, leaving sole rule to his brother, who would later become known as Charlemagne or Karl der Große (Charles the Great), a powerful and intelligent and modestly literate figure who became a legend for the later history of both France and Duitsland. Charlemagne restored an equal balance between emperor and pope.
From 772 onwards, Charles conquered and eventually defeated the Saxons to incorporate their realm into the Frankish kingdom. This campaign expanded the practice of non-Roman Christian rulers undertaking the conversion of their neighbors by armed force; Frankish Catholic missionaries, along with others from Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England , had entered Saxon lands since the mid-8th century , resulting in increasing conflict with the Saxons, who resisted the missionary efforts and parallel military incursions. Charles' main Saxon opponent, Widukind , accepted baptism in 785 as part of a peace agreement, but other Saxon leaders continued to fight. Upon his victory in 787 at Verden , Charles ordered the wholesale killing of thousands of pagan Saxon prisoners. After several more uprisings, the Saxons suffered definitive defeat in 804 . This expanded the Frankish kingdom eastwards as far as the Elbe river, something the Roman empire had only attempted once, and at which it failed in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ( AD). In order to more effectively christianize the Saxons, Charles founded several bishoprics , among them Bremen , Münster , Paderborn , and Osnabrück .
At the same time (773 –774 ), Charles conquered the Lombards and thus could include northern Italy in his sphere of influence. He renewed the Vatican donation and the promise to the papacy of continued Frankish protection.
In 788 , Tassilo, dux (duke) of Bavaria rebelled against Charles. Quashing the rebellion incorporated Bavaria into Charles' kingdom. This not only added to the royal fisc, but also drastically reduced the power and influence of the Agilolfings (Tassilo's family), another leading family among the Franks and potential rivals. Until 796 , Charles continued to expand the kingdom even farther southeast, into today's Austria and parts of Croatia .

Charlemagne's kingdom survived its founder and covered much of Western Europe from 795 until 843 when a treaty split it amongst his grandsons: Central Franks ruled by Lothar (green), East Franks ruled by Louis the German (yellow), and Charles the Bald led West Franks (purple).
Charles thus created a realm that reached from the Pyrenees in the southwest (actually, including an area in Northern Spain (Marca Hispanica ) after 795) over almost all of today's France (except Brittany , which the Franks never conquered) eastwards to most of today's Duitsland, including northern Italy and today's Austria . In the hierarchy of the church, bishops and abbots looked to the patronage of the king's palace, where the sources of patronage and security lay. Charles had fully emerged as the leader of Western Christendom , and his patronage of monastic centers of learning gave rise to the "Carolingian Renaissance " of literate culture.
On Christmas Day, 800 , Pope Leo III crowned Charles as "Emperor of the Romans " in Rome in a ceremony presented as if a surprise (Charlemagne did not wish to be indebted to the bishop of Rome), a further papal move in the series of symbolic gestures that had been defining the mutual roles of papal auctoritas and imperial potestas. Though Charlemagne, in deference to Byzantine outrage, preferred the title "Emperor, king of the Franks and Lombards", the ceremony formally acknowledged the Frankish Empire as the successor of the (Western) Roman one (although only the forged "Donation" gave the pope political authority to do this). After an initial protest at the usurpation, in 812 , the Byzantine Emperor Michael I Rhangabes acknowledged Charlemagne as co-Emperor. The coronation gave permanent legitimacy to Carolingian primacy among the Franks. The Ottonians later resurrected this connection in 962 .
Upon Charlemagne's death on January 28 , 814 in Aachen , he was buried in his own Palace Chapel at Aachen .
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Later Carolingians
Charlemagne had several sons, but only one survived him. This son, Louis the Pious , followed his father as the ruler of a united Empire. But sole inheritance remained a matter of chance, rather than intent. When Louis died in 840 , the Carolingians adhered to the custom of partible inheritance, and the Treaty of Verdun in 843 divided the Empire in three:
Louis' eldest surviving son Lothar became Emperor and ruler of the Central Franks. His three sons in turn divided this kingdom between them into Lotharingia , Burgundy and (Northern) Italy . These areas would later vanish as separate kingdoms.
Louis' second son, Louis the German , became King of the East Franks. This area formed the kernel of the later Holy Roman Empire , which eventually evolved into modern Duitsland . For a list of successors, see the List of German Kings and Emperors .
His third son Charles the Bald became King of the West Franks; this area became the foundation for the later France . For his successors, see the List of French monarchs .
On December 12 , 884 , Charles the Fat reunited most of the Carolingian Empire, aside from Burgundy .
In late 887 , his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia revolted and assumed the title as King of the East Franks ('Duitsland'). Charles retired and soon died on January 13 , 888 . Odo, Count of Paris was chosen to rule in the west ('France'), and was crowned the next month.
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Carolingian legacy
Although an historical accident, the unification of most of what is now western and central Europe under one chief ruler provided a fertile ground for the continuation of what is known as the Carolingian Renaissance . Despite the almost constant internecine warfare that the Carolingian Empire endured, the extension of Frankish rule and Roman Christianity over such a large area ensured a fundamental unity throughout the Empire. Each part of the Carolingian Empire developed differently; Frankish government and culture depended very much upon individual rulers and their aims. Those aims shifted as easily as the changing political alliances within the Frankish leading families. However, those families, the Carolingians included, all shared the same basic beliefs and ideas of government. These ideas and beliefs had their roots in a background that drew from both Roman and Germanic tradition, a tradition that began before the Carolingian ascent and continued to some extent even after the deaths of Louis the Pious and his sons.
One may note that the term "Frank" (e.g. al-Faranj in Arabic or Falangji in Chinese) was used in the Middle Ages to describe any European. During the crusades , which were at first led mostly by nobles from northern France who claimed descent from Charlemagne, both Muslims and Christians called the crusaders "Franks".
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Related articles

Konge i Frankrike fra 768. Romersk keiser 800-814.

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RESEARCH NOTES:
Holy Roman Emperor

NAME: Charlemagne /Holy Roman Empire/
NPFX Emperor

MARC:

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Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, was the son of a Frankish King. After inheriting his father's throne, Charlemagne was converted to Christianity. Encouraged by the Pope to spread his religion, he began a series of military conquests which were to lead to the formation the Holy Roman Empire. § Charlemagne's father was Pepin III, a King ofthe Franks, who was also known as Pepin the Short. When Peppin died in 768, his kingdom was inherited jointly by his two sons. However, Charlemagne's brother, Carloman, died just three years later, leaving Charlemagne the sole ruler. § Shortly afterward, Charlemagne began an extended military campaign designed to conquer neighboring territories and to convert them to Christianity. These were waged against the Saxons to the north (from 772 to 777) and the Lombards to the south (in 773). In 778 , Charlemagne began a drive into Spain to conquer the Moors, but he withdrew when some of the German tribes hehad recently overcome revolted. § Charlemagne spent the next seven years quelling various uprisings which finally ended with the surrender and baptism of the Saxon's Chief. Charlemagne there upon resumed his efforts at conquest and was able to subdue Bohemia, portions of northern Spain, and the Kingdom of the Avars (now Hungary). It was at this point that Pope Leo III asked Charlemagne to subdue an uprising of the Roman tribes. To reward Charlemagne for his success, the Pope crowned him Emperor Carolus Augustus in 800. § To consolidate his rule, Charlemagne established a capital at Aachen (now Aix-la-Chapelle in France). In addition to a palace, he built a large university, and spent the remainder of his reign promoting education and the arts. He also established a stable government and initiated good relations with other countries. However, his efforts to establish a government based on Christian principles did not survive much beyond his death since his sons were unable to maintain his authority, and the empire soon disintegrated. §

Major Events

771 - King of the Franks.
773 - King of Lombardy.
777 - Defeated the Saxons.
782 - Saxon rebellion.
788 - Overthrew the King of Bohemia.
796 - Subjugated the Avars.
800 - Became the Holy Roman Emperor.

Did you know?

Charlemagne's coronation was held on Christmas Day in St. Peter'sBasilica

Source: LDS-FHC (AFN: GS51-24)

Source: THE RUFUS PARKS PEDIGREE by Brian J.L. Berry, chart: page 55 & 61.

Page 62:

14. CHARLEMAGNE (KARL der Grosse, CHARLES the Great). b. Neustria 7 April 742-d. and bur. Aachen (Aix-la-Chappelle) 24 Jan. 814. Anointed with his father and brother Carloman by Pope Stephen III at St. Denis 28 July 754. The two brothers took possession on their father's death 768. When Carloman d. 771 CHARLES annexed his brother's kingdom. He campaigned against the Lombards 773 and 774 and after victory assumed the Lombard crown which may seen today at Monza, near Milan. He campaigned as far as northern Croatia and Carinthia and extended his kingdom to include the Saxons and Frisians. He was troubled by the Vikings, Basques and Gascons. He invaded northern Spain (Catelonia) and established the Spanish March. He divided his conquests into bishoprics and effected superficial conversion to Christianity. He was the great arbiter of the West; even the popes depended on him. On Christmas Day 800, Pope Leo crowned him Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Now began administrative reorganization. His churchmen's morale and education were of higher standard than before. He came to speak German, since his immediate ancestors were Austrasian, and Austrasia was strongly German. He could neither read not write, yet a school grew up in the palace precincts in Aachen under Alcuin, the Saxon scholar and cleric; others were attracted who developed the beautiful script we now call Carolingian miniscule. He had his elder son LOUIS proclaimed emperor 813. CHARLES was tall, and powerful, sports-minded. His belly protruded, his neck was long and so was his nose. He had a shrill voice but was jovial in conversation, still maintaining an air of majesty. In old age he had beautiful white hair. He dressed simply, in the Frankish manner, "next his skin a shirt and breeches of linen; over this a tunic bordered with silk, and a jacket of otter or rat skin in winter." A sagum or mantle of blue covered his shoulders. His gold-hilted sword always hung at his side, suspended by a belt embroidered with gold and silver. Though descended from Frankish conquerors and Gallo- Roman nobels, the Carolingian family had produced 10 saints. "Your family is holy--sancta gens" wrote Pope Stephan III to him and Carloman in 769. CHARLEMAGNE had at least seven wives. He mar. c.771 as his third, HILDEGARDE 758--30 Apr. 783, dau. of Count GERAUD of Swabia, and EMMA.

!Availability: The libraries of Ken, Karen, Kristen, Kevin, Brian, Amy, Adam and FAL.

Source: "Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists" by Frederick Lewis Weis.

Page 120 line (140-13):

13. Charlemagne (50-13), m. Hildegarde (182-5).

Page 120 line (50-13):

13. Charlemagne, b. Apr. 747, d. aix la Chapelle, 28 Jan. 813/4, King of France 768-814, crowned Holy Roman Emperor 25 Dec. 800; m. prob. (3) ca 771, Hildegarde (182-5), b. 758, d. 30 Apr. 783, dau. of Count Geroud of Swabia. (For their descendants, see Lines 50 to 196 inclusive).

Carlos Magno foi o filho mais velho de Pepino, o Breve, que foi o primeiro rei carolíngio, e de Berta de Laon. Foi irmão de Lady Berta, mãe de Rolando, marquês da Bretanha.
Pepino, o Breve empossou o monopólio da cunhagem da moeda, decidindo sobre a actividade das casas de cunhagem, o peso das moedas, o seu valor e os caracteres representados.
A cunhagem de moeda na Europa foi, pois, reiniciada com Pepino, o Breve, que recuperou o sistema utilizado pelos antigos gregos e romanos e mantido no Império Romano do Ocidente (1 libra = 20 solidi = 240 denarii).
Com a morte de Pepino, o reino foi dividido entre Carlos Magno e o seu irmão Carlomano (que governou a Austrásia). Carlomano morreu em 5 de Dezembro de 771, deixando Carlos Magno como líder de um reino Franco reunificado. Carlos Magno esteve envolvido constantemente em batalhas durante o seu reinado. Conquistou a Saxónia no século VIII, um objectivo que foi o sonho inalcançável de Augusto. Foram necessários mais de dezoito batalhas para que Carlos Magno conseguisse esta vitória definitiva. Procedeu à conversão forçada ao cristianismo dos povos conquistados, massacrando os que se recusavam a converter-se. Um dos seus objectivos era, também conquistar a Península Ibérica, mas nunca o alcançou.
Em 800, durante a missa de Natal em Roma, o Papa Leão III coroou Carlos Magno como imperador, título em desuso no ocidente desde a abdicação de Rómulo Augusto em 476 (aproveitando o facto de então reinar no Oriente uma mulher, a imperatriz Irene, o que era considerado um vazio de poder significativo). Ainda que o título o ajudasse a afirmar a sua independência em relação a Constantinopla, Carlos Magno apenas o usou bastante mais tarde, já que receava ficar dependente, por outro lado, do poder papal.

!SOURCES:
1. Tab. Gen. Souv., France 22, Tab. III
2. Die Nachkommen Karls des Grossen, Germ Pub BT, v. 11, p. 3
3. Keiser und Koenig Hist., Gen Hist 25, pt 1, p. 6-7
4. Ahnen Karl der Grossen, Germ FH 694, p. 104

!HISTORICAL NOTES:
Charlemagne began his career as King of the Franks but ended it as Emperor of the entire Roman Empire of the West. As king of France, he gained victory overthe Lombards of Italy, the Saxons of Northwestern Duitsland, and a number of other neighbors. He followed a policy of friendship and cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church and was crowned emperor by the pope on Christmas Day of 800. Charlemagne's views were liberal and enlightened. Although he reigned supreme, he recognized civil rights for his subjects and a limitation on monarchic power. He possessed an unusual amount of learning and vigorously promoted education. He invited learned men to his court and established a Palace School where noble's sonsand clergy were educated. His great dream was the union of all the nations he had conquered into one great empire where the power and learning of Rome could beunited with the religion of Christ. His motivation for war seemed to be the conversion of the heathens to Christianity. His last words were, "Now, Lord, into thy hands I commit my spirit."

Karel I "De Grote" der Franken, geboren op 02-04-748 in Aken (Dld). Karel is overleden op 28-01-814 in Aken (Dld), 65 jaar oud. Hij is begraven op 28-01-814 te Aken (Dld). Notitie bij Karel: Gedoopt door Bonefacius aartsbisschop van Mayence; Karel en zijn broer Carloman volgen hun vader Pippijn samen op, waarbij Karel in hoofdzaak Neustrië, Bourgondië en de Provence, en Carloman in hoofdzaak Austrasië krijgen; beiden worden gezalfd op 9.10.768, Karel te Noyon en Carloman te Soissons; na de dood van Carloman in 771 en onder het passeren van diens minderjarige zonen, wordt Karel de enige koning der Franken; hij wordt dan wederom gezalfd als zodanig te Corbeny; na een geslaagde veldtocht tegen zijn ex-schoonvader de koning der Longobarden, volgt in 774 zijn proclamatie tot koning der Longobarden; Karel was reeds met zijn vader Pippijn gezalfd tot koning, Saint-Denis 28.7.754, en tevens door paus Stephanus II verheven tot ?patricius Romanorum?, maar deze titel voert hij pas na zijn overwinning op de Longobarden; door paus Leo III tot keizer gekroond, Rome 25.12.800; laat dan zijn ?patricius?-titel vallen; zijn uiteindelijke titulatuur wordt: ?Karolus serenissimus augustus a Deo coronatus magnus et pacificus imperator Romanum gubernans imperium et per misericordiam Dei rex Francorum et Longobardorum?; zijn (westers) keizerschap wordt in 812 door de Oostromeinse ?basileus? Michael I Rhangabe erkend; overl. Aken 28.1.814, begr. ald. (Dom). Hij had 4 echtgenotes en 6 concubines. (bron: www.kareldegrote.nl) Onder genealogen wordt wel eens beweerd dat vrijwel alle Europeanen van Karel de Grote zouden afstammen. Karel de Grote zou weliswaar vele kinderen hebben verwekt, doch daartegenover staat dat vele van zijn historisch betuigde afstammelingen slechts een beperkt nakomelingsschap hebben gekend. (www.wikipedia.nl) Hij trouwde, 35 jaar oud, in 10-783 in Worms (Dld) met de ongeveer 19-jarige 3633810888707 Fastrada van Oostfranken, geboren omstreeks 764. Fastrada is overleden op 10-08-794 in Frankfurt ad Rijn (Dld), ongeveer 30 jaar oud. Zij is begraven te de basiliek van St. Alban te Mayence.

!SOURCES:
1. Tab. Gen. Souv., France 22, Tab. III
2. Die Nachkommen Karls des Grossen, Germ Pub BT, v. 11, p. 3
3. Keiser und Koenig Hist., Gen Hist 25, pt 1, p. 6-7
4. Ahnen Karl der Grossen, Germ FH 694, p. 104
!HISTORICAL NOTES:
Charlemagne began his career as King of the Franks but ended it as Emperor of the entire Roman Empire of the West. As king of France, he gained victory over the Lombards of Italy, the Saxons of Northwestern Duitsland, and a number of other neighbors. He followed a policy of friendship and cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church and was crowned emperor by the pope on Christmas Day of 800. Charlemagne's views were liberal and enlightened. Although he reigned supreme, he recognized civil rights for his subjects and a limitation on monarchic power. He possessed an unusual amount of learning and vigorously promoted education. He invited learned men to his court and established a Palace School where noble's sons and clergy were educated. His great dream was the union of all the nations he had conquered into one great empire where the power and learning of Rome could be united with the religion of Christ. His motivation for war seemed to be the conversion of the heathens to Christianity. His last words were, "Now, Lord, into thy hands I commit my spirit."

887136596. Kong Karl I der Grosse PIPINSON was a Konge between 768 and 800 in Franken. He was a Keiser between 800 and 814 in Tysk/Romersk. He died in 814. He was married.

Charlemagne-by-Durer
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=5f75079b-c01e-4acb-bcaf-1afb73822a5b&tid=6959821&pid=-1150688654

Charlemagne, king of the Franks, also Charles I, the Holy Roman Emperor, was a fervent promoter of Christianity and a founder of cathedrals. Although he may not actually have towered over the landscape, he was tall, having a height of 6 ft 3 in.

King of the Franks from 768 and Holy Roman Emperor from 800. By inheritance (his father was Pepin the Short ) and extensive campaigns of conquest, he united most of Western Europe by 804, when after 30 years of war the Saxons came under his control.

When Pepin died in 768 Charlemagne inherited the northern Frankish kingdom, and when Carloman died in 771 he also took possession of the rest of his father’s lands. He was involved in the first of his Saxon campaigns (772–77) when the Pope’s call for help against the Lombards reached him; he crossed the Alps, captured Pavia, and took the title of king of the Lombards in 773.

Throne of Charlemagne in Aachen Cathedral
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King Charlemagne
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Karolus money
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Part of the treasure in Aachen
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Charlemagne (left) and Pippin the Hunchback. Tenth-century copy of a lost original from about 830.
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=338133f3-1c12-4e47-9092-91589a594819&tid=8764362&pid=-863182751

Charlemagne
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=0680c574-5501-450d-a348-6fac644eb656&tid=8764362&pid=-863182751

Charlemagne (pronounced /'??rl?me?n/; Latin: Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) (2 April 742 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 as a rival of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Duitsland, and the Holy Roman Empire.

The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I. The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at the Battle of Roncesvalles (778) memorialised in the Song of Roland. He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty.

Today he is regarded not only as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but also as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity.[1]

Charlemagne (pronounced /'??rl?me?n/; Latin: Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) (2 April 742 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 as a rival of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Duitsland, and the Holy Roman Empire.

The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I. The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at the Battle of Roncesvalles (778) memorialised in the Song of Roland. He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty.

Today he is regarded not only as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but also as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity.[1]

Charlemagne map
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charlemagne
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King Charlemagne
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charlemagne
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Charlemagne map
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charlemagne
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King Charlemagne
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charlemagne
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=9e53e512-c49b-40fe-9f2d-789a6cc87c6d&tid=1173601&pid=-1493699196

!SOURCES:
1. Tab. Gen. Souv., France 22, Tab. III
2. Die Nachkommen Karls des Grossen, Germ Pub BT, v. 11, p. 3
3. Keiser und Koenig Hist., Gen Hist 25, pt 1, p. 6-7
4. Ahnen Karl der Grossen, Germ FH 694, p. 104
!HISTORICAL NOTES:
Charlemagne began his career as King of the Franks but ended it as Emperor of the entire Roman Empire of the West. As king of France, he gained victory overthe Lombards of Italy, the Saxons of Northwestern Duitsland, and a number of other neighbors. He followed a policy of friendship and cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church and was crowned emperor by the pope on Christmas Day of 800. Charlemagne's views were liberal and enlightened. Although he reigned supreme, he recognized civil rights for his subjects and a limitation on monarchic power. He possessed an unusual amount of learning and vigorously promoted education. He invited learned men to his court and established a Palace School where noble's sonsand clergy were educated. His great dream was the union of all the nations he had conquered into one great empire where the power and learning of Rome could beunited with the religion of Christ. His motivation for war seemed to be the conversion of the heathens to Christianity. His last words were, "Now, Lord, into thy hands I commit my spirit."

He was crowned Emperor in 768 at Noyous. He resided at Aix-la-Chapelle.

He was crowned at Soissons in 760.

!SOURCES:
1. Tab. Gen. Souv., France 22, Tab. III
2. Die Nachkommen Karls des Grossen, Germ Pub BT, v. 11, p. 3
3. Keiser und Koenig Hist., Gen Hist 25, pt 1, p. 6-7
4. Ahnen Karl der Grossen, Germ FH 694, p. 104
!HISTORICAL NOTES:
Charlemagne began his career as King of the Franks but ended it as Emperor of the entire Roman Empire of the West. As king of France, he gained victory overthe Lombards of Italy, the Saxons of Northwestern Duitsland, and a number of other neighbors. He followed a policy of friendship and cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church and was crowned emperor by the pope on Christmas Day of 800. Charlemagne's views were liberal and enlightened. Although he reigned supreme, he recognized civil rights for his subjects and a limitation on monarchic power. He possessed an unusual amount of learning and vigorously promoted education. He invited learned men to his court and established a Palace School where noble's sonsand clergy were educated. His great dream was the union of all the nations he had conquered into one great empire where the power and learning of Rome could beunited with the religion of Christ. His motivation for war seemed to be the conversion of the heathens to Christianity. His last words were, "Now, Lord, into thy hands I commit my spirit."

BIOGRAPHY
Son of Pippin 'the Short', King of the Franks, and his wife Bertrada, Charles has become known as Charles The Great or Charlemagne for good reasons. His long reign changed the face of Europe politically and culturally, and he himself would remain in the minds of people in the Middle Ages as the ideal king. Many historians have taken his reign to be the true beginning of the Middle Ages. Yet in terms of territorial expansion and consolidation, of church reform and entanglement with Rome, Charlemagne's reign merely brought the policies of his father Pippin to their logical conclusions.

Charlemagne became the subject of the first medieval biography of a layman, written by Einhard, one of his courtiers. Using as his literary model, the word portrait by Suetonius of the Emperor Augustus, Einhard described Charlemagne's appearance, his dress, his eating and drinking habits, his religious practices and intellectual interests, giving us a vivid if not perhaps entirely reliable picture of the Frankish monarch. He was strong, tall, and healthy, and ate moderately. He loved exercise: riding and hunting, and perhaps more surprising, swimming. Einhard tells us that he chose Aachen as the site for his palace because of its hot springs, and that he bathed there with his family, friends and courtiers. He spoke and read Latin as well as his native Frankish, and could understand Greek and even speak it a little. He learned grammar, rhetoric, and mathematics from the learned clerics he gathered around him, but although he kept writing-tablets under his pillow for practice (he used to wake up several times in the night) he never mastered the art of writing. He was able to make such a mark upon European history because he was a tireless and remarkably successful general. He concluded Pippin's wars with Aquitaine, and proclaimed his son Louis king in 781; the one serious defeat he suffered was in these wars, at Roncevaux in the Pyrenees, a defeat one day immortalised in 'The Song of Roland' and later 'chansons de geste'.

He added Saxony to his realm after years of vicious campaigning. Towards the end of his reign he moved against the Danes. He destroyed the kingdom of the Avars in Hungary. He subdued the Bretons, the Bavarians, and various Slav people. In the south he began the reconquest of Spain from the Arabs and established the Spanish March in the northeast of the peninsula.

But perhaps his most significant campaigns were south of the Alps, in Italy. Pope Hadrian appealed to Charlemagne for help against Desiderius of the Lombards. The campaign in the winter of 773-4 was short and decisive. Desiderius was exiled, and Charlemagne, 'King of the Franks', added 'and the Lombards' to his title. Later he appointed his son Pepin as King of Italy.

Popes were still not free of all their enemies. In 799 a rival party of Roman aristocrats ambushed Leo III, intending to gouge out his eyes and cut off his tongue. Leo fled to Charlemagne, who was at Paderborn preparing for another war against the Saxons. Charlemagne ordered Leo III to be restored, and in 800 he came to Rome himself. On Christmas Day 800, in St. Peter's, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans.

Karel de Grote, geb. 2.4.742; tegelijk met zijn vader en zijn jongere broer Karloman door paus Stephanus II gezalfd tot koning en patricius Romanorum St. Denis 28.7.754; volgt zijn vader op in het noordelijke gedeelte van het Frankische Rijk 24.9.768; voor dat gedeelte verheven en gezalfd tot koning der Franken Noyon 9.10.768; alleenheerser na de dood van zijn broer Karloman 4.12.771; opnieuw gezalfd als koning van alle Franken te Corbeny; tevens koning der Langobarden na de inname van Pavia in juni 774; voert daarna ook daadwerkelijk de titel van patricius Romanorum;door paus Leo 111 gekroond Rome 25.12.800 tot keizer, het Romeinse rijk besturende; laat dan de titel patricius Romanorum achterwege; dit
Westers keizerschap ook door Byzantium erkend 812; gest. Aken 28.1.814; begr. aldaar (Dom); huwt (3°) 771 Hildegard, geb. 758; gest. 30.4.783; begr. in St. Arnould bij Metz; dochter van Gerold I, graaf in de Vinzgouw, en Imma uit het geslacht van de hertogen der Alamannen.

He was crowned Emperor in 768 at Noyous. He resided at Aix-la-Chapelle.

He was crowned at Soissons in 760.

NAME: Charlemagne /Holy Roman Empire/
NPFX Emperor

NAME: Charlemagne /Holy Roman Empire/
NPFX Emperor

NAME: Charlemagne /Holy Roman Empire/
NPFX Emperor

Charlemagne coin
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Charles1 Charlemagne
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Charles I - Charlemagne
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Charlemagne coin
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charlemagne
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history
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Posts Held
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Charlemagne (pronounced /'??rl?me?n/; Latin: Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) (2 April 742 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 as a rival of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Duitsland, and the Holy Roman Empire.

The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I. The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at the Battle of Roncesvalles (778) memorialised in the Song of Roland. He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty.

Today he is regarded not only as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but also as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity.[1]

BIOGRAPHY Son of Pippin 'the Short', King of the Franks, and his wife Bertrada, Charles has become known as Charles The Great or Charlemagne for good reasons. His long reign changed the face of Europe politically and culturally, and he himself would remain i n the minds of people in the Middle Ages as the ideal king. Many historians have taken his reign to be the true beginning of the Middle Ages. Yet in terms of territorial expansion and consolidation, of church reform and entanglement with Rome, Char lemagne's reign merely brought the policies of his father Pippin to their logical conclusions. Charlemagne became the subject of the first medieval biography of a layman, written by Einhard, one of his courtiers. Using as his literary model, the word portrait by Suetonius of the Emperor Augustus, Einhard described Charlemagne's appearance, h is dress, his eating and drinking habits, his religious practices and intellectual interests, giving us a vivid if not perhaps entirely reliable picture of the Frankish monarch. He was strong, tall, and healthy, and ate moderately. He loved exercis e: riding and hunting, and perhaps more surprising, swimming. Einhard tells us that he chose Aachen as the site for his palace because of its hot springs, and that he bathed there with his family, friends and courtiers. He spoke and read Latin as w ell as his native Frankish, and could understand Greek and even speak it a little. He learned grammar, rhetoric, and mathematics from the learned clerics he gathered around him, but although he kept writing-tablets under his pillow for practice (he used to wake up several times in the night) he never mastered the art of writing. He was able to make such a mark upon European history because he was a tireless and remarkably successful general. He concluded Pippin's wars with Aquitaine, and pro claimed his son Louis king in 781; the one serious defeat he suffered was in these wars, at Roncevaux in the Pyrenees, a defeat one day immortalised in 'The Song of Roland' and later 'chansons de geste'. He added Saxony to his realm after years of vicious campaigning. Towards the end of his reign he moved against the Danes. He destroyed the kingdom of the Avars in Hungary. He subdued the Bretons, the Bavarians, and various Slav people. In the south he began the reconquest of Spain from the Arabs and established the Spanish March in the northeast of the peninsula. But perhaps his most significant campaigns were south of the Alps, in Italy. Pope Hadrian appealed to Charlemagne for help against Desiderius of the Lombards. The campaign in the winter of 773-4 was short and decisive. Desiderius was exiled, and Ch arlemagne, 'King of the Franks', added 'and the Lombards' to his title. Later he appointed his son Pepin as King of Italy. Popes were still not free of all their enemies. In 799 a rival party of Roman aristocrats ambushed Leo III, intending to gouge out his eyes and cut off his tongue. Leo fled to Charlemagne, who was at Paderborn preparing for another war against the Saxons. Charlemagne ordered Leo III to be restored, and in 800 he came to Rome himself. On Christmas Day 800, in St. Peter's, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans.

!SOURCES:
1. Tab. Gen. Souv., France 22, Tab. III
2. Die Nachkommen Karls des Grossen, Germ Pub BT, v. 11, p. 3
3. Keiser und Koenig Hist., Gen Hist 25, pt 1, p. 6-7
4. Ahnen Karl der Grossen, Germ FH 694, p. 104
!HISTORICAL NOTES:
Charlemagne began his career as King of the Franks but ended it as Emperor of the entire Roman Empire of the West. As king of France, he gained victory overthe Lombards of Italy, the Saxons of Northwestern Duitsland, and a number of other neighbors. He followed a policy of friendship and cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church and was crowned emperor by the pope on Christmas Day of 800. Charlemagne's views were liberal and enlightened. Although he reigned supreme, he recognized civil rights for his subjects and a limitation on monarchic power. He possessed an unusual amount of learning and vigorously promoted education. He invited learned men to his court and established a Palace School where noble's sonsand clergy were educated. His great dream was the union of all the nations he had conquered into one great empire where the power and learning of Rome could beunited with the religion of Christ. His motivation for war seemed to be the conversion of the heathens to Christianity. His last words were, "Now, Lord, into thy hands I commit my spirit."

Original individual @P3960130832@ (@MS_TREE2.GED0_15GM2@) merged with @P3959693991@ (@MS_TREE2.GED0_15GM2@)

Original individual @P3960130832@ (@MS_TREE2GM.GED1@) merged with @P3960133326@ (@MS_TREE2GM.GED1@)

Part of the treasure in Aachen
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=22b911e7-8865-46a5-97e6-2ebf54d58dcb&tid=8764362&pid=-863182751

Charlemagne (left) and Pippin the Hunchback. Tenth-century copy of a lost original from about 830.
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Charlemagne
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c1
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Charlemagne
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Holy Roman Emperor

Charlemagne, in Latin Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great) (742-814), king of the Franks (768-814) and Emperor of the Romans (800-14), who led his Frankish armies to victory over numerous other peoples and established his rule in most of western and central Europe. He was the best-known and most influential king in Europe in the Middle Ages.
Early Years
Charlemagne was born probably in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), on April 2, 742, the son of the Frankish king Pepin the Short and the grandson of Charles Martel. In 751 Pepin dethroned the last Merovingian king and assumed the royal title himself. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II in 754. Besides anointing Pepin, Pope Stephen anointed both Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman.
Within the year Pepin invaded Italy to protect the pope against the Lombards, and in 756 he again had to rush to the pope's aid. From 760 on, Pepin's main military efforts went into the conquest of Aquitaine, the lands south of the Loire River. Charlemagne accompanied his father on most of these expeditions.
Campaigns
When Pepin died in 768, the rule of his realms was to be shared between his two sons. Charlemagne sought an alliance with the Lombards by marrying (770) the daughter of their king, Desiderius (reigned 757-774). In 771 Carloman died suddenly. Charlemagne then seized his territories, but Carloman's heirs took refuge at the court of Desiderius. By that time Charlemagne had repudiated his wife, and Desiderius was no longer friendly. In 772, when Pope Adrian I appealed to Charlemagne for help against Desiderius, the Frankish king invaded Italy, deposed his erstwhile father-in-law (774), and himself assumed the royal title. He then journeyed to Rome and reaffirmed his father's promise to protect papal lands. As early as 772 Charlemagne had fought onslaughts of the heathen Saxons on his lands. Buoyed by his Italian success, he now (775) embarked on a campaign to conquer and Christianize them. That campaign had some initial success but was to drag on for 30 years, in which time he conducted many other campaigns as well. He fought in Spain in 778; on the return trip his rear guard, led by Roland, was ambushed, a story immortalized in The Song of Roland. In 788 he subjected the Bavarians to his rule, and between 791 and 796 Charlemagne's armies conquered the empire of the Avars (corresponding roughly to modern Hungary and Austria).
Coronation
Having thus established Frankish rule over so many other peoples, Charlemagne had in fact built an empire and become an emperor. It remained only for him to add the title. On Christmas Day, in 800, Charlemagne knelt to pray in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo III then placed a crown upon his head, and the people assembled in the church acclaimed him the great, pacific emperor of the Romans.
Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reported that the king was surprised by this coronation and that had he known it was going to happen, he would not have gone into the church that day. This report has led to much speculation by historians. Charlemagne probably desired and expected to get the imperial title and he subsequently used it. In 813 he designated his sole surviving son, Louis, as his successor, and personally crowned him.
Administration
Charlemagne established a more permanent royal capital than had any of his predecessors. His favorite residence from 794 on was at Aix-la-Chapelle. He had a church and a palace constructed there, based in part on architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At his court he gathered scholars from all over Europe, the most famous being the English cleric Alcuin of York, whom he placed in charge of the palace school.
Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250 royal administrators called counts. Charlemagne issued hundreds of decrees, called capitularies, dealing with a broad range of topics from judicial and military matters to monasteries, education, and the management of royal estates.
The empire did not expand after 800; indeed, already in the 790s the seacoasts and river valleys experienced the first, dreaded visits of the Vikings. Charlemagne ordered a special watch against them in every harbor, but with little effect. He died before their full, destructive force was unleashed on the empire.
Evaluation
Charlemagne is important not only for the number of his victories and the size of his empire, but for the special blend of tradition and innovation that he represented. On the one hand, he was a traditional Germanic warrior, who spent most of his adult life fighting. In the Saxon campaigns he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retaliated against rebels with merciless slaughter. On the other hand, he placed his immense power and prestige at the service of Christian doctrine, the monastic life, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule of law. His life, held up as a model to most later kings, thus embodied the fusion of Germanic, Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basis of European civilization.
"Charlemagne," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.

All notes of this line;
Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists by Frederic Lewis Weis
Eight lines of descent of John Prescot, founder of Lancaster, Mass
by Frederick Lewis Weis
Some Magna Carta Barons and Other royal Linages by Dorothy a. Sherman Lainson;B.A.; M.N.

Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists(7th Ed) by Frederick Lewis Weis, Th.D.; F.A.S.G. (line 50)

CHARLEMAGNE (742?-814). "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne (Charles the Great) became master of Western Europe. It was falling into decay when Charlemagne became joint king of the Franks in 768. Except in the monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and the arts. Boldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By restoring the roots of learning and order, he preserved many political rights and revived culture.

Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who crushed the Saracens (see Charles Martel). Charlemagne was the elder son of Bertrade ("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short, first "mayor of the palace" to become king of the Franks. Although schools had almost disappeared in the 8th century, historians believe that Bertrade gave young Charles some education and that he learned to read. His devotion to the church motivated him throughout life.

Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary, Eginhard, wrote that Charlemagne had fair hair and a "face laughing and merry . . . his appearance was always stately and dignified." He had a ready wit, but could be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He delighted in hunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress linen shirt and breeches, a silk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter, a tight coat of otter or marten skins. Over all these garments "he flung a blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him."

Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usual penalty for defeat was death, Charlemagne several times spared the lives of his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, after a Saxon uprising, he ordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and nobles to reform, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. He forced kings and princes to kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the northern half of Europe was still pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman Catholic church was striving to assert its power against the Lombard kingdom in Italy. In Charlemagne's own realm, the Franks were falling back into barbarian ways, neglecting their education and religion.

Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-year campaign that conquered and Christianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the north. He subdued the Avars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the rebellious Bavarian dukes to submit to him.

When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however. For example, Charlemagne offered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius for return of lands to the pope, but, when Desiderius refused, Charlemagne seized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.

The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize. During his reign he sent out more than 50 military expeditions. He rode as commander at the head of at least half of them. He moved his armies over wide reaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every move was planned in advance. Before a campaign he told the counts, princes, and bishops throughout his realm how many men they should bring, what arms they were to carry, and even what to load in the supply wagons. These feats of organization and the swift marches later led Napoleon to study his tactics.

One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In 778 he led his army into Spain, where they laid siege to Saragossa. They failed to take the city, and during their retreat a group of Basques ambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles and killed "Count Roland." Roland became a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see Roland).

By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vast realm covered what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Nederland. It included half of present-day Italy and Duitsland, part of Austria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to the Ebro River. By thus establishing a central government over Western Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire and paved the way for the development of modern Europe.

Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in St. Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III seized a golden crown from the altar and placed it on the bowed head of the king. The throng in the church shouted, "To Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, long life and victory!"

Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation, declaring that he would not have come into the church had he known the pope's plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared to act without Charlemagne's knowledge.

The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Though Charlemagne did not use the title, he is considered the first Holy Roman emperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance

Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed that government should be for the benefit of the governed. When he came to the throne, various local governors, called "counts," had become lax and oppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators, called missi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents called capitularies and sent them out in teams of two a churchman and a noble. They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting government, administering justice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and religious duties.

Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to discuss its affairs. In all problems he was the final arbiter, even in church issues, and he largely unified church and state.

Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his people's lot in many ways. He set up money standards to encourage commerce, tried to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged better farming methods. He especially worked to spread education and Christianity in every class of people.

He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up other schools, opening them to peasant boys as well as nobles.

Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk, Alcuin, and other scholars to his court. He learned to read Latin and some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of having jesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.

To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to train his Frankish singers. To restore some appreciation of art, he brought valuable pieces from Italy. An impressive monument to his religious devotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where he was buried (see Aachen).

At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, was living. Louis's weak rule brought on the rise of civil wars and revolts. After his death his three quarreling sons split the empire between them by the Partition of Verdun in 843.

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Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright © 1993, 1994 Compton’s NewMedia, Inc.

HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE. From Christmas Day in AD 800 until Aug. 6, 1806, there existed in Europe a peculiar political institution called the Holy Roman Empire. The name of the empire as it is known today did not come into general use until 1254. It has truly been said that this political arrangement was not holy, or Roman, or an empire. Any holiness attached to it came from the claims of the popes in their attempts to assert religious control in Europe. It was Roman to the extent that it tried to revive, without success, the political authority of the Roman Empire in the West as a countermeasure to the Byzantine Empire in the East. It was an empire in the loosest sense of the word at no time was it able to consolidate unchallenged political control over the vast territories it pretended to rule. There was no central government, no unity of language, no common system of law, no sense of common loyalty among the many states within it. Over the centuries the empire's boundaries shifted and shrank drastically.

Origins

The original Roman Empire ended in Italy and Western Europe in AD 476, when the last emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed. Political power passed to Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Theoretically Constantinople included all of Europe in its domain. Realistically, however, this proved impossible, as barbarian kingdoms were established throughout Western Europe. The only figure in the West who had any claim to universal authority was the pope in Rome, and he was legally bishop of Rome, confirmed in his position by the Byzantine emperor.

By the 8th century, Byzantine control of Italy had vanished. The Lombard kingdom of northern Italy had driven out the emperor's representative in Ravenna in 751. There were also strong religious differences between the pope and the church in Constantinople differences that would lead to a complete break in 1054. Confronted with this situation, the Roman popes sought political protection from the only people who would give it the kings of the Franks, the strongest power north of the Alps. In 754 the Frankish king Pepin the Short invaded Italy and conquered the Lombard kingdom. Two years later he assigned the former Byzantine territory around Ravenna to the pope. This was the birth of the Papal States of Italy, which would endure until the unification of Italy in the 19th century.

This close cooperation between popes and the Frankish kings would have far-reaching consequences. It laid the basis for centuries of conflict between emperors and popes over who had the supreme authority in Europe. According to the popes, the empire was the political arm of the church. The emperors, on the other hand, saw themselves as directly responsible to God, and they relied on conquest and control for their power.

There is little doubt that the popes hoped to become the successors of emperors in the West. Since this was politically impossible, the next best solution was to assert religious control by means of political institutions. On Dec. 25, 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor during a service at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome (see Charlemagne). The act was illegal, because popes never had the right to crown emperors. The crowning did nothing for Charlemagne. He was as before king of the Franks and Lombards and the most powerful monarch in Europe. The main practical outcome of Leo's act was to complete the separation between East and West. It thereby set up a rivalry with Constantinople, a rivalry in which neither side had a real advantage. Most significantly the coronation involved the new emperor and his successors in the political pretensions of the papacy.

Charlemagne's Empire

The empire lasted as long as it did because the idea was politically and religiously appealing to the peoples and rulers of Europe. It did not endure unbroken, however. Charlemagne's kingdom did not remain whole very long after his death. His domains were fragmented by his successors. The last of his descendants to hold the title of emperor was Charles III the Fat (881-87). From 888 France, Duitsland, and Italy were separate states (though not unified nations by any means). A succession of emperors, mostly nominees of the popes, followed Charles. With the death of the last of these in 924, the powerful Roman family of the Crescentii abolished the title of emperor in Italy at least for a time.

Rise of the Germanic Empire

The imperial title had died temporarily in Italy, but it persisted north of the Alps. It was a notion of empire that had nothing to do with Rome. By the middle of the 10th century there were two Frankish kingdoms east and west. The West Kingdom was composed largely of today's France. The East Frankish Kingdom was Germanic. From this time the Holy Roman Empire was to be basically Germanic, though it maintained pretensions of rule over greater territory, including Italy. In the German lands the kings were Saxon, not Frankish.

Otto I (died 973) was the first of the Saxon kings powerful enough to assert control over Duitsland and Italy. He was crowned emperor by Pope John XII in 962. Although he held the title, he made no pretense of governing the East Frankish lands. From his reign the empire was to be a union of German states and northern Italy.

Otto I did not claim the title of Roman emperor, but his descendants did. Otto II did so to proclaim his rivalry with the emperor at Constantinople. Otto III (ruled 983-1002) made Rome his capital. He felt himself to be the political power by which Christian domination would spread throughout Europe. Popes were subject to him and his successors down to Henry III (1039-56). By that time effective rule over Duitsland and Italy together had become impracticable. Distance alone made it difficult.

Reassertion of Papal Power

For more than 200 years, from 1056 until 1273, the popes made a political comeback. Some very strong-minded individuals were elected pope among them, Gregory VII and Innocent III were the most notable. They wasted no time in refuting the pretensions of the emperors to control the church.

It was the Investiture Controversy that brought matters to a head. At issue was the question whether political figures, such as emperors and kings, had the right to appoint bishops and heads of monasteries and to invest them with the symbols of their office. At the heart of the issue was the place of the emperor in Christian society, especially his relationship with the papacy. It was Pope Gregory VII (pope 1073-85) who initiated the controversy in 1076 by stating that only the pope had the right to crown emperors, just as it was his right to appoint bishops and other church officials. The controversy was brought to a close in 1122 by an agreement between Pope Calixtus II and Emperor Henry V, but future popes revived the issue as they saw fit.

The era of the Hohenstaufen emperors (1138-1254, except for the years 1198-1214) was a time of almost unceasing conflict between popes and emperors (see Hohenstaufen Dynasty). The greatest of these, Frederick I Barbarossa, added the word holy to the name of his empire to balance the claims of the Holy Church. He emphasized continuity with the past, going back to the days of Charlemagne. His rights as emperor, he determined, were not based on the deed of Leo III but on the territorial conquest of the Franks. Lawyers for the emperors argued against the popes, saying that "he who is chosen by the election of the princes alone is the true emperor." (The emperors were generally chosen by this time through an election held by German princes.)

The conflicts with the popes drew the Hohenstaufen emperors into Italian politics. The temptation to control Italy, and thus Rome, was persistent. Henry VI married the heiress to Sicily, and the Norman Kingdom of Sicily was used to restore imperial power in Italy. The popes reacted vigorously to this threat. They found allies in their opposition to the emperors, and by 1245 it was possible to depose Frederick II. His death in 1250 effectively ended the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages. Over the next two decades the imperial structure fell apart in Italy.

Hapsburg Rulers

If most of Italy was lost, the empire maintained itself north of the Alps in Duitsland for several centuries. It became little more than a coalition of German states, each with its own ruler. When Rudolf I of the House of Hapsburg became German king in 1273, he was the head of a federation of German princes. He abandoned all claims to the center and south of Italy and retained only nominal title to the north. (The north of Italy was not entirely free of Hapsburg domination until after World War I.) After him only four emperors were crowned by a pope or his delegate. The last was Charles V, a Hapsburg who was also king of Spain.

By the end of the Middle Ages, any hope of reviving anything like a real empire in Europe had become impossible. France and Spain were the most powerful kingdoms in Europe. Both were contending for control of the continent. The weak and disunited German states were in no position to establish any kind of control, even within their own boundaries. (Duitsland did not become united until 1870.) Charles IV therefore set out to make the empire a solely German institution. By an agreement with Pope Clement V, he abandoned Italy. He went to Rome for his coronation on April 5, 1355. He then refashioned the empire into the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.

From then the empire was essentially part of the history of Duitsland. A few emperors, notably Charles V, entertained a larger vision of power, but there was no way for him to unite his Spanish and Austrian possessions with Duitsland as long as France stood in the way. (See also Duitsland, "History.")

The 16th-century Reformation in the church further divided the weak empire. Duitsland was split into two religious camps, and the emperor was little more than the head of a religious faction. The electors, the real heads of the German states, were entrenched by virtue of championing either Roman Catholicism or Lutheranism.

The Thirty Years' War, originally a religious conflict, devastated Duitsland and further weakened what little reality the empire had left. No emperor afterward ever tried to establish a central authority. (See also Thirty Years' War.)

The end came with Napoleon. For several centuries France had been intending to annex at least the fringes of the empire. It had never happened. When Napoleon carried his wars eastward, however, he was resolved to terminate the reign of Emperor Francis II (later Francis I of Austria). The emperor saw what was coming, and he resigned his title on Aug. 6, 1806. The empire ceased to exist as a political reality. It persisted for some time as an ideal. It was used as an inspiration for the German Empire of 1870 and more so by Adolf Hitler's Third Reich (Empire) in the 1930

King of the Franks, 768-814. Crowned Carolus Agustus, Emperor of the Romans Dec. 25, 800 by Pope Leo lll. At the end of his conquests was the beginning of Ther Holy Roman Empire.
---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright © 1993, 1994 Compton’s NewMedia, Inc.

Charlemagne
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=5af634a3-ba11-4539-9f6b-2f627790c3f2&tid=2683062&pid=-675017958

Karolus money
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=acc6c9dc-ad82-4b63-b91d-270a5b2a16cf&tid=8764362&pid=-863182751

_P_CCINFO 2-2438

Original individual @P3960130832@ (@MS_TREE2.GED0_15GM2@) merged with @P3959672629@ (@MS_TREE2.GED0_15GM2@)

9-10-768 koning der Franken
25-12-800 keizer van het West-Romeinse rijk
weduwnaar 1e Hilmiltrud; 2e Desiderrata van Longobardie
hertrouwd 4e 782: Frastrade van Francie, 5e < 796 Luitgard
hertrouwd 6e Liedegardis van de Alemannen. Geen kinderen
heeft als laatste een relatie met Adelindis in 806. Hieruit werd in 807
Theodoricus geboren, die in 818 overleed
Zie verder: Winkhaus ,.Nachkommen Kar1 dem Grossen und Widukind”.

referentie: 1+

beroep: 0800 - kwartierstatenboek Prometheus XIII;; kwartierstatenboek Prometheus XIII

onderwerp multimedia: JPEG C:\bk6\karel\picture\0742KARE.JPG

onderwerp multimedia: JPEG C:\bk6\karel\picture\0742M.jpg

onderwerp multimedia: JPEG C:\bk6\karel\picture\0742munt.jpg
This individual was found on GenCircles at: http://www.gencircles.com/users/tondhwr/7/data/1
Geboren als voorkind van koning Pippijn de Korte en Bertrada; zijn geboorteplaats Ingelheim is waarschijnlijk fictief; wordt gedoopt door aartsbisschop Bonefacius van Mayence; wordt als jongen van 12 samen met zijn vader en jongere broer Karloman tot koning en patricius Romanorum (beschermheer van de Roomse kerk) gezalfd door paus Stephanus II te st Denis 754;Tegelijk met zijn vader en zijn jongere broer Karloman door paus Stephanus II gezalfd tot koning en Patricius Romanorum in St. Denis op 28-07-754. Karel en zijn broer Karloman volgen hun vader Pippijn samen op, waarbij Karel in hoofdzaak Neustrië, Bourgondië en de Provence (van 24-09-768 tot 04-12-771), en Karloman in hoofdzaak Austrasië krijgen; beiden worden gezalfd op 9.10.768, Karel te Noyon en Karloman te Soissons.
Karel was reeds met zijn vader Pippijn gezalfd tot koning, Saint-Denis 28.7.754, en tevens door paus Stephanus II verheven tot 'patricius Romanorum', maar deze titel voert hij pas na zijn overwinning op de Longobarden; door paus Leo III tot keizer gekroond, Rome 25.12.800; Hij had 4 echtgenotes en 6 concubines
Alleenheerser na de dood van zijn broer Karloman, en onder het passeren van diens minderjarige zonen, van 04-12-771 tot 28-01-814 en opnieuw gezalfd tot koning der Franken in Corbeny. Na een geslaagde veldtocht (inname van Pavia in juni 774) tegen zijn ex-schoonvader de koning der Longobarden, volgt in 774 zijn proclamatie tot koning der Longobarden. Hij voert daarna ook daadwerkelijk de titel van Patricius Romanorum. Keizer van het Romeinse Rijk, gekroond door paus Leo III in Rome op 25-12-800. Hij laat dan de titel Patricius Romanorum achterwege. Zijn uiteindelijke titulatuur wordt: 'Karolus serenissimus augustus a Deo coronatus magnus et pacificus imperator Romanum gubernans imperium et per misericordiam Dei rex Francorum et Longobardorum'. Dit westerse keizerschap wordt in 812 door de Oostromeinse 'basileus' Michael I Rhangabe erkend.
hij en Karloman volgen samen hun vader op als koningsduo 768; wordt gezalfd tot koning over Neustrië, Bourgondië en de Provence te Noyon 768; Karloman wordt gezalfd tot koning over Austasia te Soissons 768; neemt het rijk van Karloman over na diens dood, sluit diens jonge kinderen uit en wordt alleenheerser 771; wordt gezalfd tot koning der Franken te Corbeny; verovert Pavia op zijn ex-schoonvader en wordt daarmee koning der Longobarden 774; na jarenlange strijd geeft de Saksische leider Widukind zich over en laat zich dopen 785; Karel voert daarna toch nog 15 jaar lang strijd tegen diverse stammen, straft soms hard, stelt lokale graven aan en verspreidt het Christendom zodat rond de eeuwwisseling het Frankische rijk structuur heeft 785-800; komt met het Kapitular van Heristal, waarin de Franken als opvolger van het oude Israel worden genoemd en hijzelf als een nieuwe koning David 789; verdeelt zijn rijk in gouwen, bestuurd door een gouwgraaf; stopt de opmars van de Awaren naar het westen 795; ontneemt hertog Tassilos III zijn macht over Beieren en koppelt hiermee kerkelijk gezag vanuit Salzburg aan het stammengebied 798; ontfermt zich over paus Leo III, die door de Byzantijnen wordt verdreven uit Rome, helpt de paus terug te keren naar Rome onder militaire bescherming 799; wordt gekroond tot keizer van het Romeinse Rijk door paus Leo III 800; bestrijdt diverse opstanden, waaronder 802; regelt de opvolging door zijn zonen in het Divisio Regnorum 806; wordt erkend als westers keizer door de oost-Romeinse basileus Michael I Rhangabe 812; kroont zijn zoon Lodewijk (de enige overlevende uit de Divisio Regnorum) als medekeizer te Aken 813; overlijdt aan pleuris 814.
Bron: Kareldegrote.nl
Bron: ES NF Band I.1 Tafel 4

King Charlemagne
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=589655c1-7c4d-48c4-a9f9-1908cc1117d1&tid=8764362&pid=-863182751

After his father, Pepin I The Short died Charle became King of the Franks. The Mohammedans again harrassed Frankish land in the South. After he routed the Mohammedan attack, Charle Magne led his army into Spain and defeated them soundly. The Mohammedan would remain in Spain for 700 more years until they were finally driven out during Columbus' era. Charle Magne went on to conquer the Saxons. Then went on to Northern Italy where he conquered the Lombards. After seizing the crown of the Lombards in the year of 25 December 800 the pope placed a golden crown upon Charle Magne's head proclaiming him, "Emperor of the Romans". He wasn't a Roman he was a Teuton, a king of the Franks.

KONING DER FRANKEN VANAF 9/10/768.KEIZER VANAF 25/12/800.BEGRAVEN IN DE DOM VAN AKEN.

Karloman (751-4. desember 771) var frankernes konge fra 768 til 771. Han var den andre sønnen til Pipin den yngre og Bertrada av Laon.

Sammen med sin bror Karl (senere kjent som den store) ble Karloman velsignet som konge av pave Stefan II i 754. Etter Pipins død i 768 delte Karloman og Karl kongedømmet mellom seg, hvor Karloman tok den østlige delen, Austrasia. Der var betydelig spenning mellom brødrene som kan være grunnen til at hans kone Gerberge flyktet med sine sønner til hoffet til Desiderius, langobardenes konge, da Karloman døde. På grunn av at noen kilder hevder at Gerberge var Desiderius datter, er det vanskelig å vurdere graden av spenningen. Krøniker antyder at Karl moret seg over Gerberges handling. Da Karloman døde, ble hans kongedømme absorbert i Karls rike som så fordelte delene blant sine egne sønner.

Carlos Magno foi o filho mais velho de Pepino, o Breve, que foi o primeiro rei carolíngio, e de Berta de Laon.
Com a morte de Pepino, o reino foi dividido entre Carlos Magno e o seu irmão Carlomano (que governou a Austrásia). Carlomano morreu em 5 de Dezembro de 771, deixando Carlos Magno como líder de um reino Franco reunificado. Carlos Magno esteve envolvido constantemente em batalhas durante o seu reinado. Conquistou a Saxónia no século VIII, um objectivo que foi o sonho inalcançável de Augusto. Foram necessários mais de dezoito batalhas para que Carlos Magno conseguisse esta vitória definitiva. Procedeu à conversão forçada ao cristianismo dos povos conquistados, massacrando os que se recusavam a converter-se. Um dos seus objectivos era, também conquistar a Península Ibérica, mas nunca o alcançou.
Em 800, durante a missa de Natal em Roma, o Papa Leão III coroou Carlos Magno como imperador, título em desuso no ocidente desde a abdicação de Rómulo Augusto em 476 (aproveitando o facto de então reinar no Oriente uma mulher, a imperatriz Irene, o que era considerado um vazio de poder significativo). Ainda que o título o ajudasse a afirmar a sua independência em relação a Constantinopla, Carlos Magno apenas o usou bastante mais tarde, já que receava ficar dependente, por outro lado, do poder papal.

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