Charlemagne (c747-c814)
Known as Charles the Great, he was King of the Franks
Born in the late 740s near Liege in modern day Belgium. Charlemagne was the son of the Frankish King, Pepin the Short. When Pepin died in 768, his kingdom was divided between his two sons and for three years, Charlemagne ruled with his younger brother Carloman. In 771, Carloman died suddenly making Charlemagne sole ruler.
Military Campaign
Charlemagne went on a thirty year military campaign to expand his kingdom. The Franks were falling back to their old ways, neglecting education. The Saxons of northern Europe were still pagans and in the south the Roman Catholic church were asserting power to recover land confiscated by the Lombards.
He invaded Saxony in 772 and eventually acheived its total conquest and the conversion to Christianity.Charlemagne also extended dominance to the south by conquering the kingdom of the Lombards in northern Italy.
In778 he invaded northern Spain then controlled by the Moors. Between 780 and 800 Charlemagne added Bohemia and subdued Avars in themiddle Danube basin to form a buffer state for the eastern border of the empire.
Charlemagne's realm encompassed France, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands. It included half of present day Italy and Germany and parts of Austria and Spain.Establishing a central government over Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire and paved the way for the development of modern Europe.
Christian Emperor of the West
In 800 there was a rebellion against Pope Leo III, Charlemagne went to his aid and defeated them. As a token of thanks, Pope Leo III crowned him on Christmas Day of that year. Declaring him Emperor of the Romans. This didn't give Charlemagne any new powers but it legitimised his rule over the Italian territories and attempted to revive the imperial tradition of the western Roman emperor.
The immense territories Charlemagne controlled became known as the Carolingian empire. Charlemagne introduced administrative reforms throughout the lands he controlled, establishing key representatives in each region and holding a general assembly each year at his court in Aachen. He standardised weights, measures and customs dues, which helped improve commerce and initiated important legal reforms. Charlemagne believed that government should be for the benefit of the governed.
He also attempted to consolidate Christianity throughout his vast empire. Charlemagne learned to read Latin and some Greek but did not master the art of writing. He persuaded many eminent scholars to come to his court and established a new library of Christian and classical works.
Charlemagne died in 814. He was King of the Franks and Christian Emperor of the West, he did much to define the shape and character of medieval Europe and he presided over the Carolingian Renaissance.
Source:
Horne, Alistair, Friend or Foe An Anglo-Saxon History of France,2004,Orion Books,London
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