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- Charlemagne, King of Franks, Emperor of the Romans was born on 2 Apr 742 in Aachen. Died in 814 in Aix-la-Chapelle. Charlemagne, in Latin Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great) (742-814), king of the Franks (768-814) and Emperor of the Romans (800-14), who led his Frankish armies to victory over numerous other peoples and established his rule in most of western and central Europe. He was the best-known and most influential king in Europe in the Middle Ages.
Early Years:
Charlemagne was born probably in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), on April 2, 742, the son of the Frankish king Pepin the Short and the grandson of Charles Martel. In 751 Pepin dethroned the last Merovingian king and assumed the royal title himself. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II in 754. Besides anointing Pepin, Pope Stephen anointed both Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman (751-71).
Within the year Pepin invaded Italy to protect the pope against the Lombards, and in 756 he again had to rush to the pope's aid. From 760 on, Pepin's main military efforts went into the conquest of Aquitaine, the lands south of the Loire River. Charlemagne accompanied his father on most of these expeditions.
Campaigns:
When Pepin died in 768, the rule of his realms was to be shared between his two sons. Charlemagne sought an alliance with the Lombards by marrying (770) the daughter of their king, Desiderius (reigned 757-74). In 771 Carloman died suddenly. Charlemagne then seized his territories, but Carloman's heirs took refuge at the court of Desiderius. By that time Charlemagne had repudiated his wife, and Desiderius was no longer friendly. In 772, when Pope Adrian I appealed to Charlemagne for help against Desiderius, the Frankish king invaded Italy, deposed his erstwhile father-in-law (774), and himself assumed the royal title. He then journeyed to Rome and reaffirmed his father's promise to protect papal lands. As early as 772 Charlemagne had fought onslaughts of the heathen Saxons on his lands. Buoyed by his Italian success, he now (775) embarked on a campaign to conquer and Christianize them. That campaign had some initial success but was to drag on for 30 years, in which time he conducted many other campaigns as well. He fought in Spain in 778; on the return trip his rear guard, led by Roland, was ambushed, a story immortalized in The Song of Roland. In 788 he subjected the Bavarians to his rule, and between 791 and 796 Charlemagne's armies conquered the empire of the Avars (corresponding roughly to modern Hungary and Austria).
Coronation:
Having thus established Frankish rule over so many other peoples, Charlemagne had in fact built an empire and become an emperor. It remained only for him to add the title. On Christmas Day, in 800, Charlemagne knelt to pray in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo III then placed a crown upon his head, and the people assembled in the church acclaimed him the great, pacific emperor of the Romans.
Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reported that the king was surprised by this coronation and that had he known it was going to happen, he would not have gone into the church that day. This report has led to much speculation by historians. Charlemagne probably desired and expected to get the imperial title and he subsequently used it. In 813 he designated his sole surviving son, Louis, as his successor, and personally crowned him.
Administration:
Charlemagne established a more permanent royal capital than had any of his predecessors. His favorite residence from 794 on was at Aix-la-Chapelle. He had a church and a palace constructed there, based in part on architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At his court he gathered scholars from all over Europe, the most famous being the English cleric Alcuin of York, whom he placed in charge of the palace school.
Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250 royal administrators called counts. Charlemagne issued hundreds of decrees, called capitularies, dealing with a broad range of topics from judicial and military matters to monasteries, education, and the management of royal estates.
The empire did not expand after 800; indeed, already in the 790s the seacoasts and river valleys experienced the first, dreaded visits of the Vikings. Charlemagne ordered a special watch against them in every harbor, but with little effect. He died before their full, destructive force was unleashed on the empire.
Evaluation:
Charlemagne is important not only for the number of his victories and the size of his empire, but for the special blend of tradition and innovation that he represented. On the one hand, he was a traditional Germanic warrior, who spent most of his adult life fighting. In the Saxon campaigns he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retaliated against rebels with merciless slaughter. On the other hand, he placed his immense power and prestige at the service of Christian doctrine, the monastic life, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule of law. His life, held up as a model to most later kings, thus embodied the fusion of Germanic, Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basis of European civilization.
He married Desiderata in 770; annulled.
He also married Hildegarde of Lizgau in 771. Hildegarde of Lizgau was born in 758. Died in 783.
They had the following children:
16 i. Charles the Younger was born in 772. Died in 811.
+17 ii. Pepin King of Italy
18 iii. Adelaide was born in 772. Died in 774.
19 iv. Rotrud, died in 810.
+20 v. Louis I Holy Roman Emperor,King of France,Germany,Aquitane
21 vi. Lothar was born in 778.
+22 vii. Bertha
He also married Fastrada in 783. Fastrada, died in 794.
They had the following children:
23 i. Theodrada
He also married Liutgard.
He also married Madelgard.
He also married Gersvind.
He also married Regina.
They had the following children:
24 i. Drogo was born in 801. Died in 855.
25 ii. Hugh, died in 844.
He also married Adalind.
They had the following children:
26 i. Richbod was born in 800/805. Died in 844.
27 ii. Theodoric was born in 807.
He also married Himiltrud.
They had the following children:
28 i. Pepin the Hunchback, died in 811.
Efter faderens bestemmelse skulle Karl dele tronen med broderen Karloman, men da denne d?de ung, blev Karl enehersker. Han var stor og st?rk (siges at have kunnet rette en hestesko ud med h?nderne), var en dygtig rytter og sv?mmer og en ivrig j?ger. Sagde heller ikke nej til kvinder, muntre fester og god mad og drikke. Men frem for alt var han en fremragende h?rf?rer og administrator. Han var i besiddelse af en st?rk vilje, som han rettede mod det ene m?l at skabe et st?rkt og m?gtigt Frankerrige.
P? Pavens anmodning om hj?lp mod longobarderne drog Karl i 743 med en h?r over Alperne og besejrede longobarderne, tog sin tidligere svigerfar til fange og kronede sig selv som Konge af Lombardiet. I Rom blev Karl k?ret til patricier, og byen modtog ham som en redningsmand. I den gamle Peterskirkes krypt svor konge og pave hinanden evig troskab. Karl lovede at beskytte kirkestatens territorium, og paven at v?re sin tro beskytters vasal.
772 angreb han sakserne, ?delagde deres gamle helligdom "Irminsul" (verden-saltets s?jle) i Westphalen og rykkede frem til Weser. 775 underlagde han sig Sakserriget, som han derefter bestr?bte sig p? at kristne. Sakserne rejste sig bestandig til opr?r. I 782 kom Widukind tilbage og f?rte an i en ny frihedskamp, da den frankiske h?r befandt sig i ?st for at underkue den slaviske sorber-stamme. Karl fremskyndede krigen, besejrede saksernes arm? endnu engang, og han tog en frygtelig h?vn: p? en eneste dag henrettede han 4500 opr?rske saksere. I de f?lgende ?r gentog sakserne deres fors?g med frisernes hj?lp, men frankerne var langt de st?rkeste. I 785 b?jede ogs? Widukin sig og bad om fred. I julen sluttede han sig under Karls overh?jhed - og lod sig d?be. Efter nye opr?r underlagde Karl sig 804 hele saksernes rige. Kort forinden var det lykkedes Karl ogs? at undertvinge Bayern, der blev en frankisk provins.
Avarerne var Karls sidste farlige fjender. De boede ved Tisza-flodens bredder i det nuv?rende ungarn, hvorfra de havde hersket over mange slaviske og germanske stammer. De havde samlet store rigdomme. 1788 stormede de vestp?, men blev standset ved Donau. Karl besluttede at eliminere den avariske trussel, og i 791 rykkede hans h?r ind i deres land, dog uden at opn? afg?rende resultat. Fire ?r senere fornyedes angrebet med en st?rre styrke og med hj?lp fra slaviske stammer. Avarernes vognf?stning blev stormet og erobret, og deres enorme skatte blev som krigsbytte f?rt til Frankerriget. Avarernes tid var forbi, meen Karls rige ekspanderede helt til Pannonien og Kroatien. Frankerriget var nu en stormagt.
Karl havde p? forskellig vis skaffet sig herred?mmet over st?rstedelen af det tidligere romerske kejserrige, og i virkeligheden herskede han som en kejser i og med, at han sad inde med den h?jeste verdslige magt i sit rige. Ydermere styrede han Kirken i sin egenskab af pavens beskytter. Karl n?rede dog ikke noget ?nske om at blive Roms kejser, da kejseren af Byzans havde en h?vdvunden ret til den romerske kejsertitel, og den ville Karl ikke anf?gte. Sk?bnen ville imidlertid, ar Karl skulle blive kejser imod sin vilje.
Pave Leo 3.'s livsf?relse gav anledning til et opr?r mod ham i Rom 799. Han flygtede og s?gte beskyttelse hos Karl. Karl bragte paven tilbage til Rom og ved hj?lp af Karl tog paven p?ny magten kort f?r jul ?r 800. Da Karl siden deltog i julemessen i Peterskirken, overrumplede paven ham, ved at s?tte kronen p? hans hoved, mens koret sang og folket deltog i kejserhyldningen og ?nskede Karl fremgang som "Guds udk?rne store og fredbringende kejser af Rom".
Han blev kanoniseret 1165.
At han var en stor/h?j mand s?s, da man i 1800-tallet i Aachen ?bnede hans relikvieskrin. En m?ling viste, at han havde v?ret 192 cm. h?j.
Kilde: Politikens verdenshistorie, ved Erling Bj?l, bind 8, "Europas f?dsel".
This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 21 July 2015.
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742 - 814 (71 år)
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