Charlemagne

Charlemagne (ca. 742 or 747 – January 28, 814) (or Charles the Great, in German Karl der Große, in Dutch Karel de Grote, in Latin Carolus Magnus, giving rise to the adjective form "Carolingian"), was king of the Franks from 771 to 814, King of the Lombards since 774, and the renewer of the Western Empire. His dual role as Emperor - Imperator Augustus - and King of the Franks provides the historical link between the Imperial dignity and the Frankish kingdoms and later Germany. Today both France and Germany look to him as a founding figure of their respective countries.

Life

Charlemagne was the elder son of Pippin the Younger (714 – 24 September 768, reigned 751 – 768) and his wife Bertrada of Laon (720 – 12 July 783); he was the brother of the Lady Bertha, mother of Roland.

Related Topics:
Pippin the Younger - 714 - 24 September - 768 - 751 - Bertrada of Laon - 720 - 12 July - 783 - Lady Bertha - Roland

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On the death of Pippin the kingdom was divided between Charlemagne and his brother Carloman. Charles took the outer parts of the kingdom, bordering on the sea, namely Neustria, Aquitania and the northern parts of Austrasia, while Carloman attained the inner parts, bordering on Italy.

Related Topics:
Carloman - Neustria - Aquitania - Austrasia - Italy

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Carloman died on 5 December 771, leaving Charlemagne the leader of a reunified Frankish kingdom.

Related Topics:
5 December - 771

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Shortly after that, he marched against the Lombards in Italy. In 774 he deposed their king Desiderius and was himself crowned king of the Lombards, permanently unifying the kingdom of Italy to the Frankish crown.

Related Topics:
Lombards - Italy - 774 - Desiderius - Kingdom of Italy

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Charlemagne was engaged in almost constant battle throughout his reign, with his legendary sword Joyeuse in hand. After thirty years of war and eighteen battles, he conquered Saxony, a goal that had been the unattainable dream of Augustus, and proceeded to convert the conquered to Catholic Christianity, using force where necessary. He dreamed of the reconquest of Spain, but never fully succeeded in this goal.

Related Topics:
Joyeuse - Saxony - Augustus - Catholic - Christianity - Spain

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In 797 (or 801?) the caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, presented Charlemagne with an Asian elephant named Abul-Abbas (See History of elephants in Europe.)

Related Topics:
797 - 801? - Caliph - Baghdad - Harun al-Rashid - Asian - Elephant - Abul-Abbas - History of elephants in Europe

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In 800, at Mass on Christmas day in Rome, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Imperator Romanorum (Emperor of the Romans). Though this, according to the sources, occurred against his intentions, Charles thus became the renewer of the Western Empire, which had expired in the 5th century. To avoid frictions with the Eastern Emperor, Charles later called himself not Imperator Romanorum (a title reserved for the Eastern Emperor), but rather as Imperator Romanum gubernans Imperium (Emperor ruling the Roman Empire).

Related Topics:
800 - Mass - Christmas - Rome - Pope Leo III - 5th century - Eastern Emperor

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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 (like the solidus, and later the shilling) or 240 deniers (like the denarius, and eventually the penny). During this period, the livre and the sou were counting units, only the denier was a coin of the realm.

Related Topics:
Sou - Offa of Mercia - Livre - Pound - Denier - Denarius - Penny

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Charlemagne applied the system to much of the European Continent, and Offa's standard was voluntarily adopted by much of England.

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Charlemagne organized his empire into 350 counties, each led by an appointed count. Counts served as judges, administrators, and they 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.

Related Topics:
Count - Capitularies - Missi dominici

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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.

Related Topics:
814 - Cathedral at Aachen - Louis the Pious - Frankish - France - Holy Roman Empire

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After Charlemagne's death, continental coinage degraded and most of Europe resorted to using the continued high quality English coin until about 1100.

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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.

Related Topics:
Monasteries - Angilbert

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Charlemagne's mother tongue was the Old High German dialect called Frankish. He also spoke Latin and understood some Greek.

Related Topics:
Old High German - Frankish - Latin - Greek

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