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View Tree for Holy Roman Emperor CHARLEMAGNE Holy Roman Emperor CHARLEMAGNE " CHARLES THE GREAT" (b. 02 April 742, d. 28 January 813)


Picture of CHARLEMAGNE

CHARLEMAGNE " CHARLES THE GREAT" (son of PEPIN "THE SHORT KING Of FRANKS and BERTRADA COUNTESS OF LAON) was born 02 April 742 in Ingleheim on the Rhinehessen, Hesse-darmstadt, and died 28 January 813 in Aix La Chapelle13. He married (1) Hildegarde Of Swabia, daughter of Geroud I Count of SWABIA and Imma of ALEMANIA (Emma). He married (2) Himiltrude consort of Charlemagne. He married (3) Hildegarde Countess of Swabia (Linzgau) Empress.

 Includes NotesNotes for CHARLEMAGNE " CHARLES THE GREAT":
Name Charlemagne "Charles the Great" "King of the Franks"
Birth 2 Apr 0742, Aix la Chapelle, AUSTRASIA
Death 28 Jan 0814, Aachen, GERMANY Age: 71
Burial Notre Dame D'aix La Chapelle, AUSTRASIA
Occupation Royalty
Father 'Pepin III' "the Short" de HERSTAL "King of the Franks" (0714-0768)
Mother 'Bertrada III' "Broadfoot" LAON "Countess of Laon" (0720-0783)

Spouses
1 Himiltude

Marriage abt 0768

Children Pepin "the Hunchback" (~0769-)
Rothais

2 Desideria

Marriage 0770
Annulment 0770


3 Hildegarde de VINTZGAU "Countess of Linzgau" "Queen"
Birth 0758, Aachen, GERMANY
Death 30 Apr 0783, Thionville, Moselle, FRANCE Age: 25
Occupation Royalty
Father 'Gerold I' "Duke of Allemania" (0725->0779)
Mother Emma/Imma d'ALEMANIE (~0736-~0789)

Marriage 0771, Aix-Lu-Chapelle

Children Charles "the Younger" (~0772-0811)
Adelaide (0773-)
'Pepin I' Carloman (0773-0810)
Rotrud
Lothar (0778-)
'Louis I' "the Pious" "the Meek" "the Fair" (0778-0840)
Berthe "of the Franks" (0779-0822)
Gisela
Hildegarde
Redburga (~0783-)

4 Fastrada

Marriage 0783

Children Theodora
Hiltrude

5 Luitgard

Marriage 0794


6 Madelgard

Marriage "not married"

Children Routhild

7 Gersvind


Children Alpais
Adaltrude

8 Regina

Marriage abt 0800

Children Adaelinda
Drogo (0801-)
Hugh (0802-)

Notes for Charlemagne "Charles the Great" "King of the Franks"
[GREATx37 GRANDFATHER]+ [A] [K]
England is about to lose one of the last traces of the Emperor Charles the Great, Charlemagne, for it was he who 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.
He was born in 742 to Pepin the Short, who was Mayor of the Palace of Childeric 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 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 do 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 - Germany 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. - [1]


Charlemagne -
Founder of the Holy Roman Empire
742 - 814 A.D.
Charlemagne (Charles the Great) was born on April 2, 742 in Northern Europe. "By the sword and the cross," he became master of Western Europe. Through his enlightened leadership the roots of learning and order were restored to Medieval Europe.
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 was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-year military campaign to accomplish this objective. By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vast realm encompassed what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and The Netherlands. It included half of present-day Italy and Germany, and parts of Austria and Spain. By 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.

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in Saint Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III placed a golden crown on the bowed head of the king. 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.

Charlemagne learned to read Latin and some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of having jesters perform, he listened to visiting scholars read from learned works. Charlemagne believed that government should be for the benefit of the governed. He was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his people's lives. He set up money standards to encourage commerce, urged better farming methods and worked to spread education and Christianity.

Western Europe 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 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 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 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.



More About CHARLEMAGNE " CHARLES THE GREAT":
Date born 2: 02 April 742, Ingelheim, Rheinhessen, Hesse-Darmstadt.13
Date born 3: 02 April 742, Ingelheim, Rheinhessen, Hesse-Darmstadt.13
Date born 4: 02 April 742, Paris, France.13
Date born 5: 02 April 747, Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia.13
Burial: 29 January 813, Aachen, Rine Province, Prussia.
Died 2: 28 January 813, Aachen, Rheinland, Germany.13
Died 3: 28 January 813, Aachen, Rheinland, Germany.13
Died 4: 28 January 814, Munster, Germany.13

Children of CHARLEMAGNE " CHARLES THE GREAT" and Hildegarde Of Swabia are:
  1. +LOUIS THE PIOUS, b. August 778, Cassenueil, Aquitaine, d. 20 June 840.

Children of CHARLEMAGNE " CHARLES THE GREAT" and Himiltrude consort of Charlemagne are:
  1. Alpais ( Aupais) D'Aquitaine, d. date unknown.

Children of CHARLEMAGNE " CHARLES THE GREAT" and Hildegarde Countess of Swabia (Linzgau) Empress are:
  1. Pepin the Hunchback GREAT", d. 811.
  2. Charles Duc de Ingelheim, b. 772, d. 811.
  3. Pepin of Lombardy, b. Bet. April 773 - 776, d. 08 July 810, Milan.
  4. Adaelaeide, b. 775, Aachen, Rhineland, Germany, d. 11 March 826.
  5. Rotrude, b. August 774, Aachen, Rhineland, Germany, d. 06 June 810.
  6. Bertha of the Franks, b. 775, Aachen, Rhineland, Germany, d. 11 March 826.
  7. Gisaele, b. 781, Milano, Lombardy, Italy, d. date unknown.
  8. Louis I" The Pious", b. August 778, Casseneuil, France, d. 20 June 840, (Near) Ingelheim, Rhinessen, Hesse.
  9. Lothaire, d. date unknown.
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