Charlemagne: April 2, 748 – 28 January 28, 814 

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✪ Charlemagne 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 recognized emperor to rule from the West after the fall of the Western Roman Empire approximately three centuries earlier. Charlemagne’s reign was marked by significant political and social changes which had a lasting influence on Europe throughout the Middle Ages & beyond.

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 his father Pepin’s death and became the sole ruler three years later.

Charlemange was responsible for removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy in 774. His reign saw a period of expansion which ultimately led to the conquests of Bavaria, Saxony, and northern Spain; as well as other campaigns which led him to extend his rule over a large part of Europe. Charlemagne spread Christianity to his new conquests, as seen at the Massacre of Verden against the Saxons.

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 power and authority. Charlemagne’s position as the first emperor in the West in over 300 years brought him into direct conflict with the Eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople. Through his assumption of the imperial title, Charlemagne is considered the forerunner to the line of Holy Roman Emperors, which persisted well into the 19th Century. As king and emperor, Charlemagne also engaged in numerous reforms in administration, law, education, military organization, and religion, which would continue to shape Europe for centuries. The stability of his reign began a period of cultural activity known as the Carolingian Renaissance.

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 also considered a founding figure by multiple European states; and several historical royal houses of Europe trace their lineage directly back to him.

Several languages were spoken in Charlemagne’s world. He was known as Karlo to Early Old French (or Proto-Romance) speakers and as Carolus (or Karolus) in Medieval Latin, the formal language at the time of writing and diplomacy. Charles is the modern English form of these names. The name Charlemagne, as the emperor is normally known in English, comes from the French Charles-le-magne (‘Charles the Great’). The contemporary Royal Frankish Annals routinely call him Carolus magnus rex (‘Charles the Great King’).

Due to the prevalence in Francia of “rustic Roman,” Charlemagne was probably functionally bilingual in both Germanic and Romance dialects at an early age. According to historians, he also spoke Latin, and could understand and (perhaps) speak some Greek.

Charlemagne’s exact year of birth is uncertain, although it was most likely in 748. Presently, most scholars accept April 748 for Charlemagne’s birth. Charlemagne’s exact place of birth is also unknown. Among the places suggested by scholars are the Frankish palaces in Vaires-sur-Marne, Quierzy and Herstal.

Charlemagne’s father Pepin was educated at the Abbey of Saint-Denis, although the extent of Charlemagne’s formal education is unknown. He almost certainly was trained in military matters as a youth in Pepin’s itinerant court. Charlemagne also asserted his own education in the liberal arts in encouraging their study by his children and others; although it is unknown whether his study was as a child or at court during his later life. The question of Charlemagne’s literacy is debated, with little direct evidence available from contemporary sources. He normally had texts read aloud to him and dictated responses and decrees, but this was not an unusual practice even for a literate ruler at the time.

In 760, Charlemagne began to issue charters in his own name. The following year, he joined his father’s military campaign against Aquitaine. Aquitaine, led by the Dukes Hunald and Waiofar, was constantly in rebellion during Pepin’s reign. However, Pepin fell ill on his campaign there and died on 24 September 768; leaving Charlemagne and his brother Carloman to succeed their father. They held separate coronations, both taking place on October 9; Charlemagne at Noyon and Carloman at Soissons. The brothers also maintained separate palaces and conducted their own spheres of influence, although they were considered joint rulers of a single Frankish kingdom. Charlemagne’s capture of Duke Hunald finally marked the end of ten years of war which had been waged in the attempt to bring Aquitaine into line.

On 4 December 771 Carloman died suddenly, leaving Charlemagne as sole king of the Franks. He moved immediately to secure his hold on his brother’s territory.

Charlemagne’s first campaigning season as sole king of the Franks was spent on the eastern frontier in his first war against the Saxons, who had been engaging in border raids on the Frankish kingdom. Charlemagne responded by destroying the pagan Irminsul at Eresburg and seizing their gold and silver. The success of the war helped secure Charlemagne’s reputation among his brother’s former supporters and funded further military action. The campaign was the beginning of over 30 years of nearly-continuous warfare waged against the Saxons by Charlemagne.

Charlemagne left the siege in April 774 to celebrate Easter in Rome where Pope Adrian arranged a formal welcome for the Frankish king. They swore oaths to each other over the relics of St. Peter. Adrian presented a copy of the agreement between Pepin and Stephen III to Charlemagne outlining the papal lands and rights Pepin had agreed to protect and restore. It is unclear which lands and rights the agreement involved, which remained a point of dispute for centuries. Charlemagne placed a copy of the agreement in the chapel above St. Peter’s tomb as a symbol of his commitment, and left Rome to continue his siege.

Disease struck the Lombards shortly after Charlemagne and his army returned to Pavia, and they surrendered the city by June 774. The takeover of one kingdom by another was at that time considered “extraordinary.” Historical records refer to it as an event “without parallel.” Charlemagne secured the support of the Lombard nobles and Italian urban elites to seize power in a mainly-peaceful annexation. Charlemagne soon returned to Francia with the Lombard royal treasury.

Returning north, Charlemagne later waged another brief, destructive campaign against the Saxons in 776. This led to the surrender and submission of many Saxons, who would turn over captives and lands and submit to baptism.

Charlemagne’s focus for the next several years would be on his attempt to complete subjugation of the Saxons. Concentrating first in Westphalia in 783, he pushed into Thuringia in 784 while his son Charles the Younger continued operations in the west. At each stage of the campaigns, the Frankish armies seized wealth and Saxon captives into slavery. Unusually, Charlemagne campaigned through the winter instead of resting his army. By 785 he had suppressed the Saxon resistance to completely command all of Westphalia.

The early 790s saw a marked and renewed focus on ecclesiastical affairs by Charlemagne. In 792, he summoned a council in Regensburg to address the theological controversy over the adoptionism doctrine in the Spanish church and formulate a formal response to the Second Council of Nicea. In 794 Charlemagne called for another council in Frankfurt.

Charlemagne continued to expand his influence through diplomatic means during the 790s wars; focusing on the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain. Historians wrote Charlemagne treated the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms “like satellite states,” establishing direct relations with their English bishops.

In 795, Leo III became the Pope amid significant political opposition; his enemies accusing him of a number of crimes and physically attacking him in April 799, attempting to remove his eyes and tongue. However, Leo escaped and fled north seeking Charlemagne’s help.

Hearing evidence from the Pope and his enemies, Charlemagne sent Leo back to Rome with royal legates who were instructed to reinstate the Pope and conduct a further investigation. In August 799 Charlemagne made plans to go to Rome after an extensive tour of his lands in Neustria. Charlemagne met Leo in November near Mentana at the 12th milestone outside Rome; a traditional location where Roman emperors had began their formal entry into the city. Charlemagne presided over an assembly in order to hear the charges but believed no one could ever sit in judgment of the Pope. On 23 December, Leo swore an oath declaring his innocence of all charges. At mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Day 800, Leo proclaimed and crowned Charlemagne “emperor of the Romans” (Imperator Romanorum). Charlemagne became the first reigning emperor in the west since the deposition of Romulus Augustulus in 476.

The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire remained a significant contemporary power in European politics for Leo and Charlemagne, especially in Italy. The Byzantines continued to hold a substantial portion of Italy, with their borders not far south of Rome.

Leo’s main motivations may have been the desire to increase his standing after his political difficulties, placing himself as a power broker and securing Charlemagne as a powerful ally and protector. The Byzantine Empire’s lack of ability to influence events in Italy and support the papacy were also important to Leo’s position. According to the Royal Frankish Annals, Leo prostrated himself before Charlemagne after crowning him (an act of submission standard in Roman coronation rituals). This account presents Leo not as Charlemagne’s superior, but as the agent of the Roman people who acclaimed Charlemagne as emperor.

The title of emperor gave Charlemagne enhanced prestige and ideological authority. He immediately incorporated his new title into documents he issued, adopting the formula “Charles, most serene Augustus, crowned by God, great peaceful emperor governing the Roman empire, and who is by the mercy of God king of the Franks and the Lombards. This formulation (with the continuation of his earlier royal titles) may also represent a view of his role as emperor as being the ruler of the people of the city of Rome, as he was of the Franks and the Lombards.

Charlemagne left Italy in the summer of 801 after adjudicating several ecclesiastical disputes in Rome and experiencing an earthquake in Spoleto. He never returned to the city. Continuing trends and a ruling style established in the 790s, Charlemagne’s reign from 801 onward is a “distinct phase” characterized by a more relaxed and sedentary rule from Aachen. Although conflicts continued until the end of his reign, the relative peace of the imperial period allowed for his attention to be focused on internal governance.

As emperor, Charlemagne became involved in a religious dispute between Eastern and Western Christians over the recitation of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, the fundamental statement of the Orthodox Christian belief. The original text of the creed, adopted at the Council of Constantinople, professed the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father. A tradition developed in Western Europe the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father “and the Son,” inserting the Latin term filioque into the creed.

Charlemagne became ill in the autumn of 813 and spent his last months praying, fasting, and studying the Gospels. He developed pleurisy and was bedridden for seven days before dying on the morning of January 28, 814. The emperor’s last words were recorded as “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.”

Charlemagne’s body was prepared and buried in the chapel at Aachen by his daughters and palace officials that day. His son Louis arrived at Aachen 30 days after his father’s death to take charge of the palace and the empire. Charlemagne’s remains were exhumed by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1165 and reinterred by Frederick II in 1215.

According to historian Jennifer Davis, Charlemagne “invented medieval rulership,” and his influence can be seen extending all the way into the 19th Century. Charlemagne is often known as “the Father of Europe” because of the influence of his reign and the legacy he left across the large area of the continent. The political structures and institutions he established remained in place through his Carolingian successors and continued to exert direct influence into the 11th Century.

Charlemagne gave much of his attention to religious and ecclesiastical affairs, holding 23 synods during his reign. His synods were called to address specific issues at particular times but generally dealt with church administration and organisation, education of the clergy, and the proper forms of liturgy and worship. Charlemagne used the Christian faith as a unifying factor in his realm: and in turn, worked to impose unity on the church.

Later medieval writers depict Charlemagne as a crusader and Christian warrior. Charlemagne grew over the centuries as an historical figure of myth and emulation. Matthias Becher writes over 1,000 legends have been recorded about him; far outstripping in stature subsequent emperors and kings. ✪