 747 - 814 (66 years)
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| Name |
Charles Charlemagne |
| Prefix |
Emporer |
| Birth |
2 Apr 747 |
Aix La Chapelle, Austrasia  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
29 Jan 813-814 |
Aix La Chapelle, France |
| Person ID |
I52535 |
Cecilie Family |
| Last Modified |
2 Jan 2010 |
| Father |
King Pepin I Of France, b. 714, Austria d. 24 Sep 768, St. Denis, France (Age 54 years) |
| Mother |
Countess Bertha Of Laon, b. 720, Laon, Austrasia d. 12 Jul 783, Choisy, Bourgogne, France (Age 63 years) |
| Marriage |
Abt 740 |
| Family ID |
F21608 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family 1 |
Empress Hildegard Of Savoy, b. 758, Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia d. 30 Apr 783, Thionville, Austrasia (Age 25 years) |
| Marriage |
Abt 772 |
Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia |
| Children |
| | 1. Emporer Louis I Of Roman Empire, b. Aug 778, Casseneuil, France d. 20 Jun 840, Mainz, Germany (Age 61 years) |
| | 2. King Pepin Of Italy, b. Apr 777, Of Aachenn, Rhineland, Prussia d. 8 Jul 810, Milan, Italy (Age 33 years) |
| | 3. King Karloman (Peppin I) Carolingian D'italia, b. 777 d. 8 Jul 810 (Age 33 years) |
| | 4. Rotrude Carolingian Of The Franks, b. 775 d. 8 Jun 810 (Age 35 years) |
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| Family ID |
F21603 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
1 Jan 2010 |
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| Notes |
Charlemagne
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Statute of Charlemagne, Notre-Dame, Paris
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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 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.
By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vast realm covered what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It included half of present-day Italy and Germany, 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.
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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| For more information see the Our Folk - Hart family Web Site |
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| Sources |
- [S1340] Schwennicke, Detlev, ES, (Marburg: J. A. Stargardt, 1980-), I:2 (Reliability: 3).
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