Charlemange
Most Serene Augustus, Crowned by God, great and peaceful Emperor, governing the Roman Empire and, by the Mercy of God, king of the Lombards and the Franks
A coin of Charlemagne. Inscription: "KAROLVS IMP AVG".
Reign	King of the Franks: 24 September 768 – 28 January 814; King of the Lombards: 774 – 28 January 814; Emperor: 25 December 800 – 28 January 814
Coronation	King of the Franks: c. June 754, St Denis; King of the Lombards: 774; Holy Roman Emperor: 25 December 800, Rome
Titles	Patrician of the Romans
Born	c. 2 April 742 or 747
Died	28 January 814
Place of death	Aachen, Germany
Buried	Palatine Chapel in Aachen
Predecessor	Pippin the Short
Heirs Apparent	Charles the Younger, Pippin of Italy, Louis the Pious
Successor	Louis the Pious
Consort	Desiderata of Lombardy, Hildegard, Fastrada, Luitgard
Issue	Pippin the Hunchback (763-811), Charles the Younger (772 or 773-811), Carloman, renamed Pippin (773 or 777-810), King of Italy, Rotrude (or Hruodrud) (777-810), Louis the Pious (778-840), King of Aquitaine, later King and Emperor of the Franks, Bertha (779-823) Gisela (781-808) Theodrada (b.784), abbess of Argenteuil
Royal House	Carolingian Dynasty
Father	Pippin the Short
Mother	Bertrada of Laon

Charlemagne (pronounced /ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn/; Latin: Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) (742/747 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 as a rival of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Germany, and the Holy Roman Empire. is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Death of Pepin the Short (714 - 768), king of the Franks since 751. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Louis the Pious succeeds Charlemagne as king of the Franks and Emperor. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Louis the Pious succeeds Charlemagne as king of the Franks and Emperor. ... is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events December 25, Rome, coronation of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as emperor by Pope Leo III. Celtic monks begin work on the Book of Kells on the Island of Iona. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Louis the Pious succeeds Charlemagne as king of the Franks and Emperor. ... is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events December 25, Rome, coronation of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as emperor by Pope Leo III. Celtic monks begin work on the Book of Kells on the Island of Iona. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Chinese poet Li Po is presented before the emperor and given a position in the Imperial court. ... Events Abu Muslim unites the Abbasid Empire against the Umayyads. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Louis the Pious succeeds Charlemagne as king of the Franks and Emperor. ... Oche redirects here; in darts the oche is the line from which players must throw. ... Charlemagnes chapel in Aachen. ... Pepin III (714 - September 24, 768) more often known as Pepin the Short (French, Pépin le Bref; German, Pippin der Kleine), was a King of the Franks (751 - 768). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Pippin of Italy (April, 773 – July 8, 810) was the son of Charlemagne and king of Italy (781-810) under the authority of his father. ... Louis the Pious, contemporary depiction from 826 as a miles Christi (soldier of Christ), with a poem of Rabanus Maurus overlaid. ... Louis the Pious, contemporary depiction from 826 as a miles Christi (soldier of Christ), with a poem of Rabanus Maurus overlaid. ... Desiderata was one of four daughters of Desiderius, king of the Lombards, and his queen, Ansa. ... Hildegard (758-783) was the daughter of Count Gerold of Vinzgouw and Imma (Emma) of Alemannia. ... Fastrada (died 794) fourth wife of Charlemagne, married 784. ... Luitgard (died 800) was fifth and last wife of Charlemagne, married 794. ... Charlemagne und Pippin the Hunchback. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Pippin of Italy (April, 773 – July 8, 810) was the son of Charlemagne and king of Italy (781-810) under the authority of his father. ... King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers after the fall of the Roman Empire. ... Rotrude (or sometimes referred to as Hruodrud) (775 - 8/6/810) was the second daughter of Charlemagne from his marriage to Hildegard of Savoy. ... Louis the Pious, contemporary depiction from 826 as a miles Christi (soldier of Christ), with a poem of Rabanus Maurus overlaid. ... Gisela (781-808) was possibly a daughter of Charlemange and his third wife Hildegard of Savoy. ... Theodrada (b. ... An Abbess (Latin abbatissa, fem. ... Argenteuil is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. ... The following list of Frankish Kings is one of several Wikipedia lists of incumbents. ... Pepin III (714 - September 24, 768) more often known as Pepin the Short (French, Pépin le Bref; German, Pippin der Kleine), was a King of the Franks (751 - 768). ... Bertrada of Laon, also called Bertha of the Big Foot, (720 - July 12, 783) was a Frankish queen. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Events Chinese poet Li Po is presented before the emperor and given a position in the Imperial court. ... Events Abu Muslim unites the Abbasid Empire against the Umayyads. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Louis the Pious succeeds Charlemagne as king of the Franks and Emperor. ... The Franks were originally lead by dukes (military leaders) and reguli (petty kings). ... Map of Carolingian Empire The term Carolingian Empire is sometimes used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the dynasty of the Carolingians. ... A current understanding of Western Europe. ... Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Infobox Pope| English name=Leo III| image= | birth_name=Unknown| term_start=December 27, 795 | term_end=June 12, 816| predecessor=Adrian I| successor=Stephen IV| birth_date=Date of birth unknown| birthplace=Rome, Italy| dead=dead|death_date=June 12, 816| deathplace=Place of death unknown| other=Leo}} Pope Leo III (died June 12... is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events December 25, Rome, coronation of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as emperor by Pope Leo III. Celtic monks begin work on the Book of Kells on the Island of Iona. ... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Sample of Carolingian minuscule, one of the products of the Carolingian Renaissance. ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... A current understanding of Western Europe. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The following list of German Kings and Emperors is one of several Wikipedia lists of incumbents. ...

The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I. The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at Roncesvalles (778). He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty. Pepin III (714 - September 24, 768) more often known as Pepin the Short (French, Pépin le Bref; German, Pippin der Kleine), was a King of the Franks (751 - 768). ... Bertrada of Laon, also called Bertha of the Big Foot, (720 - July 12, 783) was a Frankish queen. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... The Lombards (Latin Langobardi, whence comes the alternative name Longobards found in older English texts), were a Germanic people originally from Northern Europe that entered the late Roman Empire. ... For the rugby club Saracens see Saracens (rugby club) The term Saracen comes from Greek sarakenoi. ... The Roncevaux Pass (Roncesvaux in English, Roncesvalles in Spanish, Orreaga in Basque) is the site of a famous battle in 778 in which Hroudland (later changed to Roland), prefect of Brittany March was defeated by the Basques. ... For other uses, see Saxon (disambiguation). ...

Today he is not only regarded as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity.^[1] Pierre Riché reflects:

Background

By the 6th century, the Franks were Christianised, and the Frankish Empire ruled by the Merovingians had become the most powerful of the kingdoms which succeeded the Western Roman Empire. But following the Battle of Tertry, the Merovingians declined into a state of powerlessness, for which they have been dubbed do-nothing kings (rois fainéants). Almost all government powers of any consequence were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace or major domus. This article is about the Frankish people and society. ... By Germanic Christianity is that phase in the history of Northern Europe understood, when the Germanic peoples of the Migration period and Viking Age adopted Christianity. ... The Frankish Empire was the territory of the Franks, from the 5th to the 10th centuries, from 481 ruled by Clovis I of the Merovingian Dynasty, the first king of all the Franks. ... For other uses of the term Merovingian, see Merovingian (disambiguation). ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus The Western Roman Empire in 395. ... The Battle of Tertry was an important engagement in Merovingian Gaul between the forces of Austrasia on one side and those of Neustria and Burgundy on the other. ... Roi fainéant is a French language phrase meaning do nothing king. It is primarily used to refer to the later kings of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, after they seemed to have lost their initial energy. ... Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also known by the Latin name, maior domus or majordomo, used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries. ...

In 687, Pippin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry and became the sole governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pippin himself was the grandson of two most important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pippin of Landen. Pippin the Middle was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel (the Hammer). After 737, Charles governed the Franks without a king on the throne but desisted from calling himself "king". Charles was succeeded by his sons Carloman and Pippin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. To curb separatism in the periphery of the realm, the brothers placed on the throne Childeric III, who was to be the last Merovingian king. Pippin of Herstal (or Pepin; Pépin), also known as Pippin the Middle, Pippin the Younger (as with his grandson), or Pippin II, (635 or 640–December 16, 714, Jupille) was the grandson of Pippin (I) the Elder through the marriage of Ansegisel and Begga, the daughter of the Elder. ... Arnulf of Metz (August 13, 582 – August 16, 640) was a Frankish noble who had great influence in the Merovingian kingdoms as a bishop and was later canonized as a saint. ... Pippin of Landen, also known as Pippin the Elder (580 - 640), was the Frankish Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia under the Merovingian kings Clotaire II, Dagobert I and Sigebert III from 615 or 623 to 629. ... Charles Martel (or, in modern English, Charles the Hammer) (23 August 686 – 22 October 741) was proclaimed Mayor of the Palace, ruling the Franks in the name of a titular King, and proclaimed himself Duke of the Franks (the last four years of his reign he did not even bother... Carloman (between 706 and 716[1] – 17 August[2] 754) was the son of Charles Martel, major domo or mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, and his wife Chrotrud. ... Pepin III (714 - September 24, 768) more often known as Pepin the Short (French, Pépin le Bref; German, Pippin der Kleine), was a King of the Franks (751 - 768). ... Childeric III (died about 754), called either the Idiot or the Phantom King, king of the Franks, was the fourteenth and last king of the Merovingian dynasty. ...

After Carloman resigned his office, Pippin had Childeric III deposed with Pope Zachary's approval. In 751, Pippin was elected and anointed King of the Franks and in 754, Pope Stephen II again anointed him and his young sons, now heirs to the great realm which already covered most of western and central Europe. Thus was the Merovingian dynasty replaced by the Carolingian dynasty, named after Pippin's father Charles Martel. Pope Saint Zachary (Greek Zacharias), pope (741-752). ... Stephen, elected pope in March of 752 to succeed Pope Zacharias, died of apoplexy three days later, before being consecrated. ... Also see: France in the Middle Ages. ...

Under the new dynasty, the Frankish kingdom spread to encompass an area including most of Western Europe. The division of that kingdom formed France and Germany;^[3] and the religious, political, and artistic evolutions originating from a centrally-positioned Francia made a defining imprint on the whole of Western Europe. Various Religious symbols, including (first row) Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Bahai, (second row) Islamic, tribal, Taoist, Shinto (third row) Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Jain, (fourth row) Ayyavazhi, Triple Goddess, Maltese cross, pre-Christian Slavonic Religion is the adherence to codified beliefs and rituals that generally involve a faith in a spiritual... For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation). ... This article is about the philosophical concept of Art. ...

Personal traits

Charlemagne (left) and Pippin the Hunchback. Tenth-century copy of a lost original from about 830.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (488x768, 116 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Charlemagne Pippin the Hunchback ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (488x768, 116 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Charlemagne Pippin the Hunchback ...

Date and place of birth

Charlemagne is traditionally believed to have been born on April 2, 742; however, several factors have led to a reconsideration of this date. First, the year 742 was calculated from his age given at death, rather than from attestation in primary sources. Another date is given in the Annales Petarienses, April 1, 747. In that year, April 1 was at Easter. The birth of an emperor at eastertime is a coincidence likely to provoke comment, but there was no such comment documented in 747, leading some to suspect that the Easter birthday was a pious fiction concocted as a way of honoring the Emperor. Other commentators weighing the primary records have suggested that his birth was one year later, in 748. At present, it is impossible to be certain of the date of the birth of Charlemagne. The best guesses include April 1, 747, after April 15, 747, or April 1, 748, in Herstal (where his father was born, a city close to Liège in modern day Belgium), the region from where both the Merovingian and Carolingian families originate. He went to live in his father's villa in Jupille when he was around seven, which caused Jupille to be listed as a possible place of birth in almost every history book. Other cities have been suggested, including, Prüm, Düren, Gauting and Aachen. This article is about the Christian festival. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 105th day of the year (106th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Herstal is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. ... Geography Country Belgium Community French Community Region Walloon Region Province Liège Arrondissement Liège Coordinates , , Area 69. ... Jupille (Jupille-sur-Meuse) is a former Belgian municipality. ... The title of this article contains the character ü. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Pruem. ... Düren is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, capital of Düren district. ... Gauting is a municipality in the district of Starnberg, in Bavaria, Germany with a population of approx. ... Oche redirects here; in darts the oche is the line from which players must throw. ...

Language

Charlemagne's native tongue is a matter of controversy. His mother speech was probably a Germanic dialect of the Franks of the time, but linguists differ on the identity and periodisation of the language, some going so far as to say that he did not speak Old Frankish as he was born in 742 or 747, by which time Old Frankish had become extinct. Old Frankish is reconstructed from its descendant, Old Low Franconian, also called Old Dutch, and from loanwords to Old French. Linguists know very little about Old Frankish, as it attested mainly as phrases and words in the law codes of the main Frankish tribes (especially those of the Salian and Ripuarian Franks), which are written in Latin interspersed with Germanic elements.^[4] Native Language Music, founded in 1996 by musicians Joe Sherbanee and Theo Bishop, is an independent adult contemporary record company based in Southern California that produces, markets, and distributes premium jazz, world, and new age music. ... For dialects of programming languages, see Programming language dialect. ... For the journal, see Linguistics (journal). ... Old Low Franconian is the language ancestral to the Low Franconian languages, including Dutch. ... Old Dutch (Also Old West Low Franconian) is a branch of Old Low Franconian spoken and written during the early middle ages (c. ... Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300. ...

The area of Charlemagne's birth does not make determination of his native language easier. Most historians agree he was born around Liège, like his father, but some say he was born in or around Aachen, some fifty kilometres away. At that time, this was an area of great linguistic diversity. If we take Liège (around 750) as the centre, we find Low Franconian in the north and northwest, Gallo-Romance (the ancestor of Old French) in the south and southwest and various Old High German dialects in the east. If Gallo-Romance is excluded, that means he either spoke Old Low Franconian or an Old High German dialect, probably with a strong Frankish influence. Geography Country Belgium Community French Community Region Walloon Region Province Liège Arrondissement Liège Coordinates , , Area 69. ... Oche redirects here; in darts the oche is the line from which players must throw. ... The Gallo-Romance branch of Romance languages includes French, Oïl languages, Catalan, and Occitan, among other languages. ... The (Late Old High) German speaking area of the Holy Roman Empire around 950. ...

Apart from his native language he also spoke Latin "as fluently as his own tongue" and understood a bit of Greek: Grecam vero melius intellegere quam pronuntiare poterat, "He understood Greek better than he could pronounce it."^[5] Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

Names of Charlemagne

Because of the number of languages spoken within his Empire, and his wide European fame, Charlemagne's name has been preserved in many different languages in different forms. The language of Charlemagne itself does not exist anymore, but evolved into the Franconian languages. Legend:  Dutch. ...

Charlemagne's birth-name, "Charles" was derived from his grandfather, Charles Martel (who was supposedly given the name by his father, Pippin the Middle, as a circumspectory measure to prevent Pippin's wife Plectrude from discovering her husband's infidelity). The name derives from "karl", a Germanic stem meaning "man" or "free man",^[6] related to the English "churl". The earliest extant forms of Charlemagne's name are in the Latinate form, "Carolus" or "Karolus". Charles Martel (or, in modern English, Charles the Hammer) (23 August 686 – 22 October 741) was proclaimed Mayor of the Palace, ruling the Franks in the name of a titular King, and proclaimed himself Duke of the Franks (the last four years of his reign he did not even bother... Plectrude or Plectrudis (d. ... A churl, in its earliest Anglo-Saxon meaning, was simply a man, but the word soon came to mean a non-servile peasant, still spelt ceorle, and denoting the lowest rank of freemen. ...

In many Slavic languages, the very word for "king" derives from Charles' Slavicised name.

A portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer that was painted several centuries after Charlemagne's death, the coat of arms above him show the German eagle and the French Fleur-de-lis.

Modern variants in Germanic languages (except English) are: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (580x1286, 188 KB) Summary From Greek Wikipedia, see http://upload. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (580x1286, 188 KB) Summary From Greek Wikipedia, see http://upload. ... Albrecht Dürer (pronounced ) (May 21, 1471 – April 6, 1528)[1] was a German painter, printmaker and theorist from Nuremberg, Germany. ... Categories: Stub | German coats of arms ... Fleurs-de-lys on the flag of Quebec The fleur-de-lis (also spelled fleur-de-lys; plural fleurs-de-lis or -lys) is used in heraldry, where it is particularly associated with the France monarchy (see King of France). ... The Germanic languages are a group of related languages constituting a branch of the Indo-European (IE) language family. ...

• Danish, Norwegian and Swedish: Karl den Store
• Dutch: Karel de Grote
• German: Karl der Große
• Luxembourgish: Karel de Groussen
• West Frisian: Karel de Grutte

The Germanic name was Latinised (Latin: Carolus Magnus) and preserved in the modern Romance languages (as well as English): Luxembourgish (Luxembourgish: , French: , German: , Walloon: ), also spelled Luxemburgish, is a West Germanic language spoken in Luxembourg. ... The West Frisian language (Frysk) is a language spoken mostly in the province of Fryslân in the north of the Netherlands. ... For other uses, see Latins and Latin (disambiguation). ... The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family that comprises all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ...

• Catalan: Carlemany
• French: Charlemagne and Charles le Grand, from the Old French Charles le Magne
• Italian: Carlo Magno and Carlomagno
• Portuguese: Carlos Magno
• Spanish: Carlomagno
• Walloon: Tchårlumagne and Tchåle li Grand

Modern variants in and the Slavic languages influenced by the Germanic name are: Catalan IPA: (català IPA: or []) is a Romance language, the national language of Andorra, and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia, and in the city of LAlguer in the Italian island of Sardinia. ... Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300. ... Walloon (Walon) is a regional Romance language spoken as a second language by some in Wallonia (Belgium). ...  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup...

• Croatian: Karlo Veliki
• Czech: Karel Veliký
• Polish: Karol Wielki
• Slovak: Karol Veľký
• Slovenian: Karel Veliki

The Breton variant is Karl-Veur. Slovenian or Slovene (slovenski jezik or slovenščina) is an Indo-European language that belongs to the family of South Slavic languages. ... Breton (Brezhoneg) is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany (Breizh) in France. ...

Personal appearance

Though no description from Charlemagne's lifetime exists, his personal appearance is known from a good description by Einhard, author of the biographical Vita Caroli Magni. Einhard tells in his twenty-second chapter: Einhard as scribe Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart) (c. ...

Charles was large and strong, and of lofty stature, though not disproportionately tall (his height is well known to have been seven times the length of his foot); the upper part of his head was round, his eyes very large and animated, nose a little long, hair fair, and face laughing and merry. Thus his appearance was always stately and dignified, whether he was standing or sitting; although his neck was thick and somewhat short, and his belly rather prominent; but the symmetry of the rest of his body concealed these defects. His gait was firm, his whole carriage manly, and his voice clear, but not so strong as his size led one to expect.

Charles is well known to have been tall, stately, and fair-haired, with a disproportionately thick neck. His skeleton was measured during the 18th century and his height was determined to be 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in ^[7]). The Roman tradition of realistic personal portraiture was in complete eclipse in his time, where individual traits were submerged in iconic typecastings. Charlemagne, as an ideal ruler, ought to be portrayed in the corresponding fashion, any contemporary would have assumed. The images of enthroned Charlemagne, God's representative on Earth, bear more connections to the icons of Christ in majesty than to modern (or antique) conceptions of portraiture. Charlemagne in later imagery (as in the Dürer portrait) is often portrayed with flowing blond hair, due to a misunderstanding of Einhard, who describes Charlemagne as having canitie pulchra, or "beautiful white hair", which has been rendered as blonde or fair in many translations. This article is about the religious artifacts. ... This page is about the title, office or what is known in Christian theology as the Divine Person. ... Albrecht Dürer (pronounced ) (May 21, 1471 – April 6, 1528)[1] was a German painter, printmaker and theorist from Nuremberg, Germany. ...

Dress

Part of the treasure in Aachen

Charlemagne wore the traditional, inconspicuous and distinctly non-aristocratic costume of the Frankish people, described by Einhard thus: Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 453 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1388 × 1836 pixel, file size: 280 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 453 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1388 × 1836 pixel, file size: 280 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

He used to wear the national, that is to say, the Frank dress: next to his skin a linen shirt and linen breeches, and above these a tunic fringed with silk; while hose fastened by bands covered his lower limbs, and shoes his feet, and he protected his shoulders and chest in winter by a close-fitting coat of otter or marten skins.

He wore a blue cloak and always carried a sword with him. The typical sword was of a golden or silver hilt. He wore fancy jewelled swords to banquets or ambassadorial receptions. Nevertheless: Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Look up Sword in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... This article is about the chemical element. ... See also: Hilt (band) and Peter Hilt Hilt of Szczerbiec The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. ...

He despised foreign costumes, however handsome, and never allowed himself to be robed in them, except twice in Rome, when he donned the Roman tunic, chlamys, and shoes; the first time at the request of Pope Hadrian, the second to gratify Leo, Hadrian's successor.

He could rise to the occasion when necessary. On great feast days, he wore embroidery and jewels on his clothing and shoes. He had a golden buckle for his cloak on such occasions and would appear with his great diadem, but he despised such apparel, according to Einhard, and usually dressed like the common people. This article is about a type of crown called a diadem; for alternate meanings, see Diadem. ...

Rise to power

Early life

Charlemagne was the eldest child of Pippin the Short (714 – 24 September 768, reigned from 751) and his wife Bertrada of Laon (720 – 12 July 783), daughter of Caribert of Laon and Bertrada of Cologne. Records name only Carloman, Gisela, and a short-lived child named Pippin as his younger siblings. The semi-mythical Redburga, wife of King Egbert of Wessex, is sometimes claimed to be his sister (or sister-in-law or niece), and the legendary material makes him Roland's maternal uncle through a lady Bertha. is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Bertrada of Laon, also called Bertha of the Big Foot, (720 - July 12, 783) was a Frankish queen. ... is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Births Deaths July 12: Bertrada, wife of Pippin III Categories: 783 ... Caribert (also spelled Charibert), Count of Laon, is the obscure ancestor of Charlemagne. ... Gisela (757 – 810) was the only daughter of Pippin the Younger and his wife Bertrada of Laon. ... Redburga or Raedburh was the wife of king Egbert of Wessex and may have been the sister-in-law of Charlemagne as the sister of his fourth wife, Luitgarde; other sources describe her as his sister (although Charlemagnes only sister was named Gisela) or his great-granddaughter (which would... Egbert (also Ecgbehrt or Ecgbert, means roughly The shining edge of a blade) (c. ... This article is about the legendary figure. ...

Much of what is known of Charlemagne's life comes from his biographer, Einhard, who wrote a Vita Caroli Magni (or Vita Karoli Magni), the Life of Charlemagne. Einhard says of the early life of Charles: Einhard as scribe Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart) (c. ...

It would be folly, I think, to write a word concerning Charles' birth and infancy, or even his boyhood, for nothing has ever been written on the subject, and there is no one alive now who can give information on it. Accordingly, I determined to pass that by as unknown, and to proceed at once to treat of his character, his deed, and such other facts of his life as are worth telling and setting forth, and shall first give an account of his deed at home and abroad, then of his character and pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know.

On the death of Pippin, the kingdom of the Franks was divided—following tradition—between Charlemagne and Carloman. Charles took the outer parts of the kingdom, bordering on the sea, namely Neustria, western Aquitaine, and the northern parts of Austrasia, while Carloman retained the inner parts: southern Austrasia, Septimania, eastern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence, and Swabia, lands bordering on Italy. Neustria & Austrasia The territory of Neustria originated in A.D. 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities. ... (Region flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Regional President Departments Dordogne Gironde Landes Lot-et-Garonne Pyrénées-Atlantiques Arrondissements 18 Cantons 235 Communes 2,296 Statistics Land area1 41,308 km² Population (Ranked 6th)  - January 1, 2006 est. ... Austrasia & Neustria Austrasia formed the north-eastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. ... Septimania was the western region of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed under the control of the Visigothic kingdom in 462, when Septimania was ceded to Theodoric II, king of the Visigoths. ... Coat of arms of the second Duchy of Burgundy and later of the French province of Burgundy Burgundy (French: ; German: ) is a historic region of France, inhabited in turn by Celts (Gauls), Romans (Gallo-Romans), and various Germanic peoples, most importantly the Burgundians and the Franks; the former gave their... Coat of arms of Provence Provence (Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) was a Roman province and now is a region of southeastern France on the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to Italy. ... Germany, showing modern borders. ...

Joint rule

On 9 October, immediately after the funeral of their father, both the kings withdrew from Saint Denis to be proclaimed by their nobles and consecrated by the bishops, Charlemagne in Noyon and Carloman in Soissons. is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Saint Denis can refer to: a Christian saint: see Denis Seine-Saint-Denis a France Several communes in France: Saint-Denis,in the Aude d partement Saint-Denis, in the Gard d partement Saint-Denis, in the Seine-Saint-Denis d partement, home of Saint Denis Basilica Saint-Denis, in... Noyon is a small but historic French city in the Oise département, Picardie, on the Oise Canal, approximately 60 miles north of Paris. ... Soissons is a town and commune in the Aisne département, Picardie, France, located on the Aisne River, about 60 miles northeast of Paris. ...

The first event of the brothers' reign was the rising of the Aquitainians and Gascons, in 769, in that territory split between the two kings. Years before Pippin had suppressed the revolt of Waifer, Duke of Aquitaine. Now, one Hunald (seemingly other than Hunald the duke) led the Aquitainians as far north as Angoulême. Charlemagne met Carloman, but Carloman refused to participate and returned to Burgundy. Charlemagne went to war, leading an army to Bordeaux, where he set up a camp at Fronsac. Hunold was forced to flee to the court of Duke Lupus II of Gascony. Lupus, fearing Charlemagne, turned Hunold over in exchange for peace. He was put in a monastery. Aquitaine was finally fully subdued by the Franks. The Gascon language is an Occitan dialect mostly spoken in Gascony (in the French départements of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Landes, Gers, Gironde, a part of Lot-et-Garonne, a part of Haute-Garonne, and a part of Ariège), and in the small Spanish... Waifer (a. ... Coat of arms of the duchy of Aquitaine. ... Hunald (a. ... Angoulême is a town and commune in southwestern France, préfecture (capital city) of the Charente département. ... For other uses, see Bordeaux (disambiguation). ... Lop II (also Otsoa (Eu), Lupus (La), Loup (Fr), or Lobo (Sp)) is the first-attested duke of Gascony from 769. ...

The brothers maintained lukewarm relations with the assistance of their mother Bertrada, but in 770 Charlemagne signed a treaty with Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and married a Lombard Princess (commonly known today as Desiderata), the daughter of King Desiderius, in order to surround Carloman with his own allies. Though Pope Stephen III first opposed the marriage with the Lombard princess, he would soon have little to fear from a Frankish-Lombard alliance. Tassilo III was duke of Bavaria from 748 to 787, the last of the house of the Agilolfings. ... Desiderata was one of four daughters of Desiderius, king of the Lombards, and his queen, Ansa. ... Desiderius, the last king of the Lombards, is chiefly known through his connection with Charlemagne. ... Stephen III (d. ...

Less than a year after his marriage, Charlemagne repudiated Desiderata, and quickly remarried to a 13-year-old Swabian named Hildegard. The repudiated Desiderata returned to her father's court at Pavia. The Lombard's wrath was now aroused and he would gladly have allied with Carloman to defeat Charles. But before war could break out, Carloman died on 5 December 771. Carloman's wife Gerberga fled to Desiderius' court with her sons for protection. Hildegard (758-783) was the daughter of Count Gerold of Vinzgouw and Imma (Emma) of Alemannia. ... For the municipality in the Philippines, see Pavia, Iloilo. ... is the 339th day of the year (340th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events December 4 - Austrasian King Carloman dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne king of the now complete Frank kingdom (Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Franks at Rome on Christmas Day, 800). ...

Italian campaigns

Conquest of Lombardy

The Frankish king Charlemagne was a devout Catholic who maintained a close relationship with the papacy throughout his life. In 772, when Pope Hadrian I was threatened by invaders, the king rushed to Rome to provide assistance. Shown here, the pope asks Charlemagne for help at a meeting near Rome

At the succession of Pope Hadrian I in 772, he demanded the return of certain cities in the former exarchate of Ravenna as in accordance with a promise of Desiderius' succession. Desiderius instead took over certain papal cities and invaded the Pentapolis, heading for Rome. Hadrian sent embassies to Charlemagne in autumn requesting he enforce the policies of his father, Pippin. Desiderius sent his own embassies denying the pope's charges. The embassies both met at Thionville and Charlemagne upheld the pope's side. Charlemagne promptly demanded what the pope had demanded and Desiderius promptly swore never to comply. Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard crossed the Alps in 773 and chased the Lombards back to Pavia, which they then besieged. Charlemagne temporarily left the siege to deal with Adelchis, son of Desiderius, who was raising an army at Verona. The young prince was chased to the Adriatic littoral and he fled to Constantinople to plead for assistance from Constantine V Copronymus, who was waging war with the Bulgars. Image File history File links Title: Charlemagne and the Pope Description: The Frankish king Charlemagne was a devout Catholic who maintained a close relationship with the papacy throughout his life. ... Image File history File links Title: Charlemagne and the Pope Description: The Frankish king Charlemagne was a devout Catholic who maintained a close relationship with the papacy throughout his life. ... Charlemagne comes to the aid of Pope Adrian I Adrian, or Hadrian I, (died December 25, 795) was pope from 772 to 795. ... Charlemagne comes to the aid of Pope Adrian I Adrian, or Hadrian I, (died December 25, 795) was pope from 772 to 795. ... The Exarchate of Ravenna was a center of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751 A.D., when the last Exarch was put to death by the Emperors enemies in Italy, the Lombards. ... A Pentapolis, from the Greek words penta five and polis city(-state) is geographic and/or institutional grouping of five cities. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Thionville (German: , Luxembourgish: Diedennuewen), is a town and commune in the Moselle département, in the Lorraine région, France. ... Bernard or Bernhard (b. ... Alp redirects here. ... The battle of Pavia was fought in 773–774 in what is now northern Italy, and resulted the victory of French under Charlemagne against the Lombards under King Didier, better known as Desiderius (meaning desire in Latin, and the same root as the current Italian name Desiderio). ... Adalgis (d. ... This article is about the city in Italy. ... The Adriatic Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea separating the Apennine peninsula (Italy) from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Constantine V with his father Leo III the Isaurian. ... Not to be confused with Bulgarians. ...

The siege lasted until the spring of 774, when Charlemagne visited the pope in Rome. There he confirmed his father's grants of land, with some later chronicles claiming—falsely—that he also expanded them, granting Tuscany, Emilia, Venice, and Corsica. The pope granted him the title patrician. He then returned to Pavia, where the Lombards were on the verge of surrendering. For other uses, see Tuscany (disambiguation). ... Emilia Jager, daughter of Cathy and John Jager, has been aproved that her French Rose has been awarded painting of the year. The Centre house, Lane Cove community have been very proud of this young 14 yr old girl. ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Corsica (disambiguation). ... This article is about the social and political class in ancient Rome. ...

In return for their lives, the Lombards surrendered and opened the gates in early summer. Desiderius was sent to the abbey of Corbie and his son Adelchis died in Constantinople a patrician. Charles, unusually, had himself crowned with the Iron Crown and made the magnates of Lombardy do homage to him at Pavia. Only Duke Arechis II of Benevento refused to submit and proclaimed independence. Charlemagne was now master of Italy as king of the Lombards. He left Italy with a garrison in Pavia and few Frankish counts in place that very year. Bold textTHIS IS THE PAGE THAT A.S. REALLY NEEDS!! THIS IS NOW MARKED!!! ] ps i like A.O. This article is about an abbey as a Christian monastic community. ... Corbie is a commune of the Somme département, in northern France. ... The Iron Crown of Lombardy (Corona Ferrea) is both a reliquary and one of the most ancient royal insignia of Europe. ... Arechis II (also Aretchis, Arichis, or Aregis) (d. ...

There was still instability, however, in Italy. In 776, Dukes Hrodgaud of Friuli and Hildeprand of Spoleto rebelled. Charlemagne rushed back from Saxony and defeated the duke of Friuli in battle. The duke was slain. The duke of Spoleto signed a treaty. Their co-conspirator, Arechis, was not subdued and Adelchis, their candidate in Byzantium, never left that city. Northern Italy was now faithfully his. Hrodgaud was the Duke of Friuli from 774 to 776. ... Hildeprand was the Duke of Spoleto from 774 to 789. ... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DED Capital Dresden Minister-President Georg Milbradt (CDU) Governing parties CDU / SPD Votes in Bundesrat 4 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  18,416 km² (7,110 sq mi) Population 4,252,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 231 /km... Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city, which, according to legend, was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas (Βύζας or Βύζαντας in Greek). ...

Southern Italy

In 787 Charlemagne directed his attention towards Benevento, where Arechis was reigning independently. He besieged Salerno and Arechis submitted to vassalage. However, with his death in 792, Benevento again proclaimed independence under his son Grimoald III. Grimoald was attacked by armies of Charles' or his sons' many times, but Charlemagne himself never returned to the Mezzogiorno and Grimoald never was forced to surrender to Frankish suzerainty. Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. ... Salerno is a town in Campania, south-western Italy, the capital of the province of the same name. ... A vassal, in European medieval feudalism terminology, is one who through a commendation ceremony (composed of homage and fealty) enters into mutual obligations with a lord, usually military conscription and mutual protection, in exchange for a fief. ... Grimoald III was the Lombard prince of Benevento from the death of his father, the first independent duke, Arechis II, in 788 to his own death in 806. ... The Mezzogiorno is generally viewed as encompassing Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, Apulia, and Sicily, which lie in Italys south, as well as Molise and Abruzzo, which are geographically in central or south-central Italy. ... Suzerainty (pronounced or ) is a situation in which a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which allows the tributary some limited domestic autonomy to control its foreign affairs. ...

Charles and his children

During the first peace of any substantial length (780–782), Charles began to appoint his sons to positions of authority within the realm, in the tradition of the kings and mayors of the past. In 781 he made his two younger sons kings, having them crowned by the Pope. The elder of these two, Carloman, was made king of Italy, taking the Iron Crown which his father had first worn in 774, and in the same ceremony was renamed "Pippin". The younger of the two, Louis, became king of Aquitaine. He ordered Pippin and Louis to be raised in the customs of their kingdoms, and he gave their regents some control of their subkingdoms, but real power was always in his hands, though he intended each to inherit their realm some day. Nor did he tolerate insubordination in his sons: in 792, he banished his eldest, though illegitimate, son, Pippin the Hunchback, to the monastery of Prüm, because the young man had joined a rebellion against him. Pepin (April 773 – 8 July 810) was the son of Charlemagne and king of Italy (781-810) under the authority of his father. ... King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers after the fall of the Roman Empire. ... Louis the Pious, contemporary depiction from 826 as a miles Christi (soldier of Christ), with a poem of Rabanus Maurus overlaid. ... The persons who held the title of Duke of Aquitaine (French: Duc dAquitaine}, which became part of France in 1449 but was an independent duchy before that date, with the years they held it, were: // Dukes of Aquitaine Edward III claimed the title of King of France in 1339... Charlemagne und Pippin the Hunchback. ...

The sons fought many wars on behalf of their father when they came of age. Charles was mostly preoccupied with the Bretons, whose border he shared and who insurrected on at least two occasions and were easily put down, but he was also sent against the Saxons on multiple occasions. In 805 and 806, he was sent into the Böhmerwald (modern Bohemia) to deal with the Slavs living there (Czechs). He subjected them to Frankish authority and devastated the valley of the Elbe, forcing a tribute on them. Pippin had to hold the Avar and Beneventan borders, but also fought the Slavs to his north. He was uniquely poised to fight the Byzantine Empire when finally that conflict arose after Charlemagne's imperial coronation and a Venetian rebellion. Finally, Louis was in charge of the Spanish March and also went to southern Italy to fight the duke of Benevento on at least one occasion. He took Barcelona in a great siege in the year 797 (see below). For other uses, see Bohemia (disambiguation). ... Czechs (Czech: ÄŒeÅ¡i) are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. ... Late Avar period Map showing the location of Avar Khaganate, c. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... Byzantine redirects here. ... “Venetia” redirects here. ... The Marca Hispanica (Spanish Mark or March) was a buffer zone beyond the province of Septimania, first set up by Charlemagne in 795 as a defensive barrier to keep the Muslim Moors out of the Frankish Kingdom. ...

Charlemagne's attitude toward his daughters has been the subject of much discussion. He kept them at home with him, and refused to allow them to contract sacramental marriages – possibly to prevent the creation of cadet branches of the family to challenge the main line, as had been the case with Tassilo of Bavaria – yet he tolerated their extramarital relationships, even rewarding their common-law husbands, and treasured the bastard grandchildren they produced for him. He also, apparently, refused to believe stories of their wild behaviour. After his death the surviving daughters were banished from the court by their brother, the pious Louis, to take up residence in the convents they had been bequeathed by their father. At least one of them, Bertha, had a recognised relationship, if not a marriage, with Angilbert, a member of Charlemagne's court circle. Tassilo III was duke of Bavaria from 748 to 787, the last of the house of the Agilolfings. ... Angilbert, (died February 18, 814), was a Frank who served Charlemagne as a diplomat, abbot, and semi_son_in_law. ...

Spanish campaigns

Roncesvalles campaign

Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne in