Topzle Topzle

Charlemagne

Updated: Wikipedia source

Charlemagne

Charlemagne ( SHAR-lə-mayn; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian Empire from 800. He united most of Western and Central Europe and was the first recognised emperor to rule from the west after the fall of the Western Roman Empire approximately three centuries earlier. Charlemagne's reign was marked by political and social changes that had lasting influence on Europe throughout the Middle Ages. A member of the Frankish Carolingian dynasty, Charlemagne was the eldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon. With his brother Carloman I, he became king of the Franks in 768 following Pepin's death and became the sole ruler three years later. Charlemagne continued his father's policy of protecting the papacy and became its chief defender, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy in 774. His reign saw a period of expansion that led to the conquests of Bavaria, Saxony, and northern Spain, as well as other campaigns that led Charlemagne to extend his rule over a large part of Europe. Charlemagne spread Christianity to his new conquests (often by force), as seen at the Massacre of Verden against the Saxons. He also sent envoys and initiated diplomatic contact with Harun al-Rashid, the Abbasid caliph in the 790s, due to their mutual interest in Iberian affairs. In 800 Charlemagne was crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III. Although historians debate the coronation's significance, the title represented the height of his prestige and authority. Charlemagne's position as the first emperor in the West in over 300 years brought him into conflict with the Eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople. Through his assumption of the imperial title, he is considered the forerunner to the line of Holy Roman Emperors, which persisted into the 19th century. As king and emperor, Charlemagne engaged in numerous reforms in administration, law, education, military organisation, and religion, which shaped Europe for centuries. The stability of his reign began a period of cultural activity known as the Carolingian Renaissance. Charlemagne died in 814 and was buried at the Palatine Chapel (now part of Aachen Cathedral) in Aachen, his imperial capital city. Charlemagne's influence on the Middle Ages and on the territory he ruled has led him to be called the "Father of Europe" by many historians. He is seen as a founding figure by multiple European states, and several historical royal houses of Europe trace their lineage back to him. Charlemagne has been the subject of artworks, monuments and literature during and after the medieval period.

Infobox

Reign
25 December 800 – 28 January 814
Coronation
25 December 800Old St. Peter's Basilica, Rome
Predecessor
Desiderius
Successor
Louis the Pious
Co-ruler
Pepin of Italy (781–810)
Born
(748-04-02)2 April 748[a]Francia
Died
(814-01-28)28 January 814Aachen, Germany
Burial
Palatine Chapel, Aachen
Spouses
mw- Desiderata(m. c. 770; annulled 771) Hildegard(m. 771; d. 783) Fastrada(m. c. 783; d. 794) Luitgard(m. c. 794; d. 800)
IssueAmong others
Pepin the Hunchback Charles the Younger Pepin of Italy Louis the Pious
Dynasty
Carolingian
Father
Pepin the Short
Mother
Bertrada of Laon
Religion
Chalcedonian Christianity

Tables

· External links
Regnal titles
Regnal titles
Emperor Charles I the GreatCarolingian dynasty Died: 28 January 814
Regnal titles
Preceded byPepin the Short
Preceded byPepin the Short
Emperor Charles I the GreatCarolingian dynasty Died: 28 January 814
Preceded byPepin the Short
Emperor Charles I the GreatCarolingian dynasty Died: 28 January 814
King of the Franks 768–814with Carloman I (768–771)with Charles the Younger (800–811)
Emperor Charles I the GreatCarolingian dynasty Died: 28 January 814
Succeeded byLouis the Pious
New creationProblem of two emperorsConstantine VI as undisputedByzantine emperor
New creationProblem of two emperorsConstantine VI as undisputedByzantine emperor
Emperor Charles I the GreatCarolingian dynasty Died: 28 January 814
New creationProblem of two emperorsConstantine VI as undisputedByzantine emperor
Emperor Charles I the GreatCarolingian dynasty Died: 28 January 814
Holy Roman Emperor 800–814with Louis the Pious (813–814)
Preceded byDesiderius
Preceded byDesiderius
Emperor Charles I the GreatCarolingian dynasty Died: 28 January 814
Preceded byDesiderius
Emperor Charles I the GreatCarolingian dynasty Died: 28 January 814
King of the Lombards 774–814with Pepin of Italy (781–810)with Bernard of Italy (810–814)
Emperor Charles I the GreatCarolingian dynasty Died: 28 January 814
Succeeded byBernard of Italy
Emperor Charles I the GreatCarolingian dynasty Died: 28 January 814
Regnal titles
Preceded byPepin the Short
King of the Franks 768–814with Carloman I (768–771)with Charles the Younger (800–811)
Succeeded byLouis the Pious
New creationProblem of two emperorsConstantine VI as undisputedByzantine emperor
Holy Roman Emperor 800–814with Louis the Pious (813–814)
Preceded byDesiderius
King of the Lombards 774–814with Pepin of Italy (781–810)with Bernard of Italy (810–814)
Succeeded byBernard of Italy

References

  1. Alternative birth years for Charlemagne include 742 and 747. There has been scholarly debate over this topic, see § Birt
    http://mdzx.bib-bvb.de/francia/Blatt_bsb00016275,00115.html
  2. For more on the polyglot world of Charlemagne and that of both his immediate predecessors, contemporaries, and successor
    https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004432338_007
  3. "At 747 the scribe had written: 'Et ipso anno fuit natus Karolus rex' ('and in that year, King Charles was born')."
  4. Historian Johannes Fried writes that "Comparisons with other images allow us to interpret it as a sketch of an ancient e
  5. Charlemagne's third son (Carloman) was also born in 776, based on the four-year-old's 780 baptism in Pavia.
  6. The Latin title imperator, meaning "commander", used to denote successful generals in ancient Rome, but eventually came
  7. German: Zweikaiserproblem, "two-emperors problem"
  8. Latin: Karolus serenissimus augustus a deo coronatus magnus pacificus imperator Romanum gubernans imperium, qui et per m
  9. Latin: Carolus gratia dei rex francorum et langobardorum ac patricius Romanorum
  10. For more on the Basel roll, see McCormick 2011.
  11. Through Beatrice of Vermandois, great-great granddaughter of Pepin of Italy and grandmother of Hugh Capet,
  12. Through Hedwiga, great-great granddaughter of Louis the Pious and mother of Henry the Fowler
  13. Through Albert II, Count of Namur, great-grandson of Louis IV of France and great-great-grandfather of Henry the Blind
  14. Berengar II of Italy was a great-great-great grandson of Louis the Pious. The House of Ivrea later came to rule Spain an
  15. The 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS was named after Charlemagne, as was the 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg
  16. The nature of Himiltrude's relationship to Charlemagne is uncertain. A 770 letter by Pope Stephen III describes both Car
  17. Janet Nelson considers it a depiction of Charlemagne; Paul Dutton says that it was "long thought to depict Charlemagne a
  18. Riché 1993, pp. 130–132.
  19. Nelson 2019, pp. 2, 68.
  20. McKitterick 2008, p. 116.
  21. Nelson 2019, p. 2.
  22. Fried 2016, p. 529.
  23. Barbero 2004, p. 413.
  24. Fried 2016, p. 4.
  25. Becher 2005, pp. 42–43.
  26. Nonn 2008, p. 575.
  27. Fried 2016, p. 5.
  28. Waldman & Mason 2006, pp. 270, 274–275.
  29. Heather 2009, pp. 305–306.
  30. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 35.
  31. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, pp. 35–37.
  32. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 38.
  33. Frassetto 2003, p. 292.
  34. Frassetto 2003, pp. 292–293.
  35. Nelson 2019, p. 16.
  36. Waldman & Mason 2006, p. 271.
  37. McKitterick 2008, p. 65.
  38. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, pp. 51–52.
  39. McKitterick 2008, p. 71.
  40. Nelson 2019, pp. 61–65.
  41. Fried 2016, p. 17.
  42. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 55.
  43. Nelson 2019, p. 29.
  44. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 56.
  45. Fried 2016, p. 15.
  46. Collins 1998, p. 32.
  47. Barbero 2004, p. 11.
  48. Becher 2005, p. 41.
  49. Nelson 2019, pp. 28–28.
  50. Hägermann 2011, p. xxx.
  51. Barbero 2004, p. 350 n7.
  52. Nelson 2019, p. 28.
  53. Barbero 2004, p. 12.
  54. Fried 2016, pp. 15–16.
  55. Nelson 2019, p. 68.
  56. Hägermann 2011, p. xxxiii.
  57. Fried 2016, pp. 262–263.
  58. Chambers & Wilkie 2014, p. 33.
  59. McKitterick 2008, p. 318.
  60. Fried 2016, p. 24.
  61. Dutton 2016, pp. 71–72.
  62. Dutton 2016, p. 72.
  63. Fried 2016, pp. 14–15.
  64. Dutton 2016, pp. 75–80.
  65. Fried 2016, p. 271.
  66. Dutton 2016, p. 75.
  67. Dutton 2016, p. 91.
  68. Collins 1998, p. 120.
  69. McKitterick 2008, p. 73.
  70. McKitterick 2008, pp. 71–72.
  71. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 32.
  72. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 34.
  73. McKitterick 2008, p. 72.
  74. McKitterick 2008, pp. 72–73.
  75. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 62.
  76. McKitterick 2008, p. 74.
  77. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 64.
  78. McKitterick 2008, p. 75.
  79. Nelson 2019, p. 91.
  80. McKitterick 2008, p. 77.
  81. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 65.
  82. McKitterick 2008, p. 79.
  83. McKitterick 2008, p. 80.
  84. McKitterick 2008, p. 81.
  85. McKitterick 2008, p. 82.
  86. Nelson 2019, p. 99.
  87. Nelson 2019, pp. 99, 101.
  88. Nelson 2019, pp. 100–101.
  89. Nelson 2019, p. 101.
  90. Nelson 2019, pp. 84–85, 101.
  91. Nelson 2019, p. 106.
  92. Nelson 2007, p. 31.
  93. Nelson 2019, pp. 104–106.
  94. Goffart 1986.
  95. McKitterick 2008, p. 84.
  96. McKitterick 2008, p. 87.
  97. Nelson 2019, pp. 108–109.
  98. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 66.
  99. Nelson 2019, pp. 109–110.
  100. McKitterick 2008, p. 89.
  101. Nelson 2019, pp. 110–111.
  102. Fried 2016, p. 99.
  103. Nelson 2019, p. 116.
  104. Fried 2016, p. 122.
  105. Nelson 2019, p. 117.
  106. Nelson 2019, pp. 117–118.
  107. Nelson 2019, pp. 131–132.
  108. Nelson 2019, p. 133.
  109. Nelson 2019, pp. 133, 134.
  110. Nelson 2019, pp. 134–135.
  111. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 67.
  112. Nelson 2019, p. 130.
  113. Fried 2016, p. 100.
  114. Nelson 2019, p. 146.
  115. Fried 2016, p. 101.
  116. Nelson 2019, pp. 135–138.
  117. Nelson 2019, pp. 139–140.
  118. Fried 2016, p. 112.
  119. Nelson 2019, pp. 139–141.
  120. Nelson 2019, pp. 142–144.
  121. Collins 1998, pp. 61–63.
  122. Collins 1998, p. 62.
  123. Nelson 2019, p. 147.
  124. McKitterick 2008, p. 109.
  125. Nelson 2019, pp. 147–148.
  126. Nelson 2019, pp. 154–156.
  127. Nelson 2019, pp. 157–159.
  128. Nelson 2019, p. 159.
  129. Nelson 2019, pp. 159–161.
  130. Nelson 2019, p. 157.
  131. Fried 2016, p. 136.
  132. Nelson 2019, pp. 162–163.
  133. Nelson 2019, pp. 164–165.
  134. Nelson 2019, pp. 164–166.
  135. Nelson 2019, p. 166.
  136. Nelson 2019, pp. 167–170, 173.
  137. Nelson 2019, pp. 168, 172.
  138. Nelson 2019, p. 181.
  139. Nelson 2019, pp. 172–173.
  140. Nelson 2019, pp. 175–179.
  141. Nelson 2019, p. 173.
  142. Nelson 2019, pp. 182–186.
  143. Nelson 2019, p. 186.
  144. Nelson 2019, p. 191.
  145. Nelson 2019, pp. 182–183.
  146. Nelson 2019, p. 203.
  147. Nelson 2019, pp. 204–205.
  148. Nelson 2019, p. 205.
  149. Nelson 2019, p. 193.
  150. Nelson 2019, pp. 193–195.
  151. Nelson 2019, pp. 195–196.
  152. Fried 2016, p. 126.
  153. Barbero 2004, p. 46.
  154. Nelson 2019, pp. 196–197.
  155. Barbero 2004, p. 47.
  156. Nelson 2019, p. 197.
  157. Nelson 2019, pp. 200–202.
  158. Collins 1998, p. 55.
  159. Nelson 2019, pp. 208–209.
  160. Fried 2016, pp. 139–140.
  161. Nelson 2019, p. 228.
  162. Nelson 2019, pp. 225–226, 230.
  163. Nelson 2019, p. 234.
  164. Fried 2016, p. 142.
  165. Nelson 2019, p. 240.
  166. Nelson 2019, pp. 240–241.
  167. Nelson 2019, pp. 186–187.
  168. Fried 2016, p. 152.
  169. Nelson 2019, pp. 188–190.
  170. Nelson 2019, pp. 213–214.
  171. Nelson 2019, pp. 243–244.
  172. Nelson 2019, pp. 251–254.
  173. Nelson 2019, p. 294.
  174. Nelson 2019, p. 257.
  175. Fried 2016, p. 157.
  176. Nelson 2019, p. 270.
  177. Nelson 2019, pp. 270, 274–275.
  178. Nelson 2019, pp. 285–287, 438.
  179. Nelson 2019, pp. 283–284.
  180. Nelson 2019, pp. 289–292.
  181. Nelson 2019, p. 302.
  182. Nelson 2019, pp. 306–314.
  183. Nelson 2019, p. 304.
  184. Nelson 2019, pp. 340, 377–379.
  185. Riché 1993, p. 135.
  186. Nelson 2019, pp. 319–321.
  187. Nelson 2019, pp. 323–324.
  188. Nelson 2019, pp. 325–326, 329–331.
  189. Nelson 2019, pp. 356–359.
  190. Nelson 2019, p. 340.
  191. Nelson 2019, pp. 326, 333.
  192. Nelson 2019, pp. 270–271.
  193. Fried 2016, p. 83.
  194. Fried 2016, pp. 84–85.
  195. Nelson 2019, pp. 352, 400, 460.
  196. Fried 2016, p. 466.
  197. Nelson 2019, p. 353.
  198. Collins 1998, p. 74.
  199. Reuter 1985, p. 85.
  200. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 160.
  201. Collins 1998, p. 152.
  202. McKitterick 2008, p. 115.
  203. Collins 1998, p. 143.
  204. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 161.
  205. Collins 1998, p. 145.
  206. Nelson 2019, p. 381.
  207. Hornblower 2012, p. 728.
  208. Heather 2009, p. 368.
  209. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 96.
  210. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, pp. 161, 163, 165.
  211. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, pp. 165–166.
  212. Collins 1998, p. 147.
  213. Fried 2016, p. 408.
  214. Collins 1998, p. 151.
  215. Pirenne 2012, p. 233.
  216. Nelson 2019, p. 361.
  217. Nelson 2019, p. 370.
  218. Nelson 2019, p. 384.
  219. Pirenne 2012, p. 234n.
  220. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 167.
  221. Muldoon 1999, p. 24.
  222. Mayr-Harting 1996.
  223. Collins 1998, p. 148.
  224. Collins 1998, p. 149.
  225. Collins 1998, pp. 150–151.
  226. Muldoon 1999, p. 21.
  227. Muldoon 1999, pp. 25–26.
  228. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 168.
  229. McKitterick 2008, pp. 115–116.
  230. Nelson 2019, pp. 382, 385.
  231. Muldoon 1999, p. 26.
  232. Sarti 2024, pp. 7–39.
  233. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, pp. 168–169.
  234. Nelson 2019, pp. 387–389.
  235. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, pp. 173–174.
  236. Nelson 2019, p. 472.
  237. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 170.
  238. Nelson 2019, p. 462.
  239. Collins 1998, p. 169.
  240. Collins 1998, pp. 74–75.
  241. Nelson 2019, pp. 495–496.
  242. Ganshof 1965.
  243. Fried 2016, pp. 450–451.
  244. Fried 2016, pp. 448–449.
  245. Nelson 2019, pp. 409, 411.
  246. Nelson 2019, pp. 410–415.
  247. Collins 1998, p. 157.
  248. Nelson 2019, p. 429.
  249. Fried 2016, p. 477.
  250. Nelson 2019, pp. 432–435.
  251. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, pp. 167–168.
  252. Collins 1998, p. 153.
  253. Nelson 2019, pp. 458–459.
  254. McKitterick 2008, pp. 116–117.
  255. Dutton 2016, p. 60.
  256. Dutton 2016, pp. 60–61.
  257. Fried 2016, p. 441.
  258. Nelson 2019, pp. 449–452.
  259. Fried 2016, p. 442.
  260. Fried 2016, pp. 442–446.
  261. Fried 2016, p. 444.
  262. Nelson 2019, p. 449.
  263. Nelson 2019, pp. 449–450.
  264. Nelson 2019, pp. 452–453.
  265. Sterk 1988.
  266. Fried 2016, pp. 488–490.
  267. Fried 2016, p. 461.
  268. Collins 1998, p. 167.
  269. Collins 1998, p. 163.
  270. Fried 2016, p. 462.
  271. Fried 2016, pp. 462–463.
  272. Nelson 2019, p. 459.
  273. Collins 1998, p. 168.
  274. Fried 2016, p. 463.
  275. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 171.
  276. Collins 1998, p. 170.
  277. Nelson 2019, pp. 440, 453.
  278. Collins 1998, p. 158.
  279. Nelson 2019, pp. 468–470.
  280. Nelson 2019, pp. 480–481.
  281. Nelson 2019, pp. 478–480.
  282. Nelson 2019, p. 476.
  283. Fried 2016, p. 514.
  284. Nelson 2019, p. 481.
  285. Nelson 2019, pp. 482–483.
  286. Nelson 2019, pp. 483–484.
  287. Fried 2016, p. 520.
  288. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, pp. 379–381.
  289. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. 394.
  290. Riché 1993, p. 278.
  291. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, pp. 424–427.
  292. Arnold 1997, p. 83.
  293. Heather 2009, p. 369.
  294. Scales 2012, pp. 155–182.
  295. Davies 1996, pp. 316–317.
  296. Davis 2015, p. 434.
  297. Freeman 2017, p. 19.
  298. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, pp. 407, 432.
  299. Lewis 1977, pp. 246–247, n 94.
  300. Jackman 2010, pp. 9–12.
  301. Tanner 2004, pp. 263–265.
  302. Bouchard 2010, pp. 129–131.
  303. Fried 2016, p. 528.
  304. Fried 2016, pp. 527–528.
  305. Davis 2015, p. 433.
  306. Williams 1885, pp. 446–47.
  307. Chamberlin 2025, p. 475.
  308. McKitterick 2011, p. 153.
  309. Newland 2010, p. 279.
  310. Mansoor 1999, p. 180.
  311. US Army CMH 2017, p. 16.
  312. "Laureates"
    https://www.karlspreis.de/en/laureates
  313. Contreni 1984, p. 60.
  314. Contreni 1984, pp. 59, 61, 64.
  315. Contreni 1995, p. 709.
  316. Contreni 1984, p. 64.
  317. Contreni 1984, pp. 61, 68.
  318. Contreni 1984, pp. 65–66.
  319. Contreni 1984, pp. 66–67.
  320. Contreni 1995, p. 715.
  321. Leonhardt 2016, pp. 160–162.
  322. Contreni 1995, pp. 748–756.
  323. Contreni 1984, pp. 70.
  324. Contreni 1995, p. 711.
  325. Contreni 1984, p. 73.
  326. Fried 2016, p. 277.
  327. McKitterick 2008, pp. 15–20.
  328. Fried 2016, pp. 518–519.
  329. Geary 1987, pp. 275–283.
  330. McKitterick 2008, p. 20.
  331. Becher 2005, p. 138.
  332. Fried 2016, p. 539.
  333. Hardman & Ailes 2017, pp. 1–9.
  334. Kuskin 1999, pp. 513, 547–548 fn24.
  335. Bulfinch 1864, pp. xxii–xxiv.
  336. Becher 2005, p. 142–144.
  337. Becher 2005, p. 144.
  338. Becher 2005, p. 142.
  339. Becher 2005, p. 146.
  340. Becher 2005, pp. 146–148.
  341. Fried 2016, p. 541–542.
  342. Fried 2016, pp. 542–546.
  343. Tessin 1974, p. 188.
  344. Becher 2005, p. 148.
  345. Fried 2016, p. 548.
  346. Fried 2016, pp. 549–551.
  347. Noble 2015, p. 294.
  348. Noble 2015, pp. 289–290, 295–296.
  349. McKitterick 1996, p. 61.
  350. Noble 2015, pp. 269–297.
  351. McKitterick 1996, p. 82.
  352. Noble 2015, pp. 287–288.
  353. Noble 2015, p. 294–295.
  354. Noble 2015, pp. 301–302.
  355. Noble 2015, p. 287.
  356. Noble 2015, pp. 306–307.
  357. Noble 2015, pp. 292, 306–307.
  358. Siecienski 2010, p. 87.
  359. Fried 2016, p. 537.
  360. Becher 2005, p. 143.
  361. Fried 2016, p. 538.
  362. Nelson 2019, pp. xxxiv–xxxv.
  363. Costambeys, Innes & MacLean 2011, p. xxi.
  364. Nelson 2019, p. 105.
  365. Collins 1998, p. 40.
  366. Fried 2016, pp. 50–51.
  367. Nelson 2019, pp. 91, 107, 285–286.
  368. Fried 2016, p. 50.
  369. Nelson 2019, p. 440.
  370. Nelson 2019, p. 443.
  371. McKitterick 2008, p. 93.
  372. McKitterick 2008, p. 91.
  373. McKitterick 2008, pp. 94–95.
  374. McKitterick 2008, pp. 91–93.
  375. Nelson 2019, p. 441.
  376. Nelson 2019, p. 435.
  377. Barbero 2004, p. 116.
  378. Barbero 2004, p. 118.
  379. Ruhli, Blumich & Henneberg 2010.
  380. Dutton 2016, pp. 21–22.
  381. Dutton 2016, pp. 24–26.
  382. Dutton 2016, pp. 24, 26.
  383. Dutton 2016, pp. 22–23.
  384. Nelson 2019, pp. xxxvi, 495.
  385. Dutton 2016, p. 35.
  386. Fried 2016, p. 216.
  387. Fried 2016, p. 516.
  388. Dutton 2016, pp. 24–25.
  389. Coxon 2021, pp. 31, 196.
  390. Coxon 2021, p. 196.
  391. Dutton 2016, pp. 27–30.
Image
Source: —
Tip: Wheel or +/− to zoom, drag to pan, Esc to close.