Charlemagne (i.e. Charles Magnus 'the Great')

Born: 742 at Paris? Died: 814, bur. Basilica of St. Mary, Aix-la-Chapelle Father: Pepin III 'the Short' (714-68) Mother: Bertrada, Countess of Laon (d783) Spouse1: Himiltrude (disowned 770, commoner) Spouse2: Desiderata, dau of Lombard king (m770, dau of Lombard king) Spouse3: Hildegard, Countess of Vinzgau (d783, Swabian nobility) Spouse4: Fastrada (m783 d794, E Frank, or German) Concub1: ? (mother of Rothaide) Spouse5: Liutgarda (m794 d800, Alemanni, no children) Concub2: Madelgard Concub3: Gersvinda (Saxon) Concub4: Regina Concub5: Adallinda Children: w/Hildegard Pepin (Pippen) 773-810 (born Carloman, bap. by Pope Hadrian 781 in Rome) King of Italy m. Bertha of Toulouse Louis I the Pious 778-840, bap. " Charles d811 Rotrude Bertha Gisela w/Fastrada Theoderada Hiltrude w/unnamed concubine Rothaide w/Madelgard Ruothilde w/Gersvinda Adaltrude w/Regina Drogo Hugo w/Adallinda Theodoric At right top, a portrait from FHL book on The Netherlands, below a pic of a statue of Charlemagne on Clark's book cover (c1350 Reliquary, Aachen Cathedral Treasury) ===>>

tIoC cvr

9 Oct 1991 at Nijmegen Charlemagne's castle

by Albrecht Duerer c1512 Vintage, 2005, 226pp, Mustang

tIoC p39

tIoC p66

tIoC p104

France p68

From tIoC:
Few names in European history inspire greater thoughts of medieval romance and glory than Charlemagne. In fact, only mythical figures like King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Robin Hood, and Charlemagne's own loyal servant Roland have inspired as many legends ... One reason is [his] historic role in establishing the traditions of European royalty and nobility. Another ... was his interest in education and the arts. He invited scholars and artists throughout Europe and England to work and live at his court, and he financed the finest library collections in the Western world. As a result, more written history has been preserved about this early medieval king than about many later rulers. About 830, Einhard, Charles' close friend, adviser, and administrator in his royal govt, wrote a biography entitled Vita Caroli (The Life of Charlemagne) ... Although the HRE that [he] founded began to crumble just 27 yrs after his death, his influence lived on in the military and cultural traditions of the European nobility [e.g. French, German, Italian]; in the secular power of the RCC; and in the restoration of art, literature, and education, which he began."

Background: Charlemagne incorporated much romanitas, preserved in the form of descendants of Roman military commanders and governors who remained in Gaul long after the fall of Rome in 476 and were respected by the Germanic and Frankish leaders. The Great Migration (East to West) began at the fall of Rome (beginning 3 centuries of Lombard v. Byzantine struggle for Italy, the former winning by 568). Another Romanizing influence was the RCC, which especially influenced Clovis and the Merovingians. Admiring the heirarchy of the RCC (which had been adopted from the Roman aristocracy), Clovis "built the first aristocratic Frankish govt, which became the dominant model for most European govts until the 20C" (13). The 5C Greek historian Procopius described the Frankish "nation in matters of trust [as] the most treacherous in the world" (14), a reputation for bravery and ruthlessness they had already gained by the time of Clovis (481 AD). After Clovis, power flowed toward local counts and bishops in the 3 succeeding kingdoms (Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundy, i.e. centralized power "was not part of Frankish culture" 15). This decentralized "system of private govt and military service that began during the time of the weak [later] Merovingian kings [was called] feudalism (from feudum, the Latin word for fief ... a piece of land granted by one noble to another) ... In 613 the Merovingian king Clothar II awarded new titles to 2 powerful and wealthy Frankish families in Austrasia for their strong military and diplomatic support. The head of one of these families, Arnulf, was named Bishop of Metz, the richest and most important city in the realm. Pepin (I), the head of the other loyal family, was named mayor of the palace of Austrasia" (19) ... [both are] ggggfathers of Charlemagne ... When Arnulf's son Ansegisel m. Pepin's dau Begga, these 2 roots merged to form the trunk of Charlemagne's family tree (20) ... [Austrasian] Pepin II, the gson of both Arnulf and Pepin I, helped the Merovingian king Theuderic III gain control of all 3 Frankish realms [he was clearly in charge, the king was a mere figurehead] ... [But] when Pepin II d. 16 Dec 714 ... his fragile political alliances broke apart ... The house of Pepin might have faded into history ... had it not been for his bastard son, Charles Martel ... gfather of Charlemagne, was the first in his family line to bear the name Charles ... The name Martel, which means 'the hammer' in Latin, was added by later Carolingian historians to signify [his] military and political strength ... [tho built in part by giving church lands to (often immoral) political allies, angering the RCC and damaging it spiritually, he's also famous for repulsing the Muslim Moors at Tours 732, he d. 22 Oct 741] ... Although Charles had never assumed the title of king, most Franks apparently thought of him as their king ... when Merovingian king Theuderic d737, Charles didn't bother naming a successor ... Charles divided most of his kingdom between 2 sons, Carloman, the oldest, and Pepin III, aka 'the Short,' the father of Charlemagne ... [Charles' death sparked unrest by ambitious nobles, so his sons set up the puppet king Childeric III (found him in a monastery), Carloman and Boniface focused on church purity, Pepin on politics, Pepin in Nov 751 dethroned Childeric III and became the first Carolingian king after Carloman left politics for a monastery] ... This seemingly insignificant move was to have great implications for the politics of Europe for several centuries [i.e. succession needn't be hereditary, more merit-based, opening path to challengers, Pope legitimized Pepin in return for securing/donating 'Papal States' in Italy, remained to 1870!] ... In addition to the conquest of [previously independent] Aquitaine, Pepin led campaigns against Arab colonies in S France and against Saxon and Frisian barbarians in N Germany. As Pepin's fame and influence spread, so did the intl recognition of the Frankish kingdom, tho still remote and barbaric v. Byzantine and Arab civilizations ... [When Pepin III d. 24 Sep 768, he] divided his kingdom between his 2 sons" ... [uneasy alliance arranged by their mother Bertrada involving m. to Desiderata in 770, created peace, but Charles felt stifled, he rebelled 771, div. Desiderata, Carloman died suddenly 771 age 20].

Charlemagne: Our best source of info on him is Einhard's book, tho it is clearly hagiographic (Charlemagne and Louis rewarded Einhard richly as a trust friended and adviser). He took his Christian faith seriously and sought to uplift all his subjects in mind, body and spirit. Like Charles Martel and Pepin III, Charlemagne sought to build "a powerful central govt in the style of the Romans" (48). He kept his nobles too busy to rebel by conducting constant warfare against foreign threats - real or imagined (48). Charlemagne most wanted to conquer Saxony, which had "resisted colonization and Christianization since the time of the Romans ... still worshipped Othin [Odin, Woden => wood, wooden, Wednesday], the Germanic tree god" (51) ... 1rst Saxon campaign cut short by urgent call from Pope ... forces led by C and his uncle Bernhard [connection?] ... C's friendship w/Hadrian (met on 1rst visit to Rome) had lasting effects in binding RCC and Frank-led HRE, C "fell in love w/Rome and its traditions, pledged to restore Rome to its original glory and prestige as capital of the great Roman Empire, no cause nearer to his heart" (53) ... "The Saxons had long been natural enemies of the Franks. They represented the old Germanic tribal culture from which the Franks had evolved. Both ... had migrated west from N and C Europe during the Great Migration 3-5C. No significant boundaries separated them, so they had often fought for the same land" (54, C wanted to impose Frankish feudalism v. German tribalism, hmmm see br-oei) ... p/u at p57 ...

The romanticization of Charlemagne (see "The Matter of France" in br-doka) "became the model for later romances about King Arthur and his knights of the round table ... the basis for many medieval ideals of what a king is supposed to be and how he is supposed to act ... courage, loyalty, heroism, originality [v. dull routine] ... youth, adventure, interest, excitement, gossip, scandal ... a heartening man. To be near him was to be near the fire ... Before his day it was by no means a foregone conclusion that kingship would be a romantic tradition of high idealism and lofty devotion, of respect for law, care for religion and zeal for education. The man who made it this was [Charlemagne]. He designed and cut out the pattern of the perfect monarch, which was to guide the judgment of mankind at large for a thousand years to come ... The atheist and the republican today test bishops and kings, not by a rule of their own, but by [Charlemagne's] rule" (65-6, which is based on Christian ideals, we might add).

772 1rst Saxon campaign (cuts down Irminsul or holy tree at Paderborn)
773 Lombardia invaded, (capital) Pavia besieged
774 C's 1rst visit to Rome, Pavia falls, C declares himself King of Lombardia
775 invades Saxony, defeats Westphalians and Eastphalians
777 General Assembly at Paderborn declares annexation of Saxony
778 unsuccessful invasion of Spain, defeat at Roncesvaux (orig. of Roland legend), Witikind leads Saxon raids on Austrasian border
781 2nd visit to Rome, 2 sons bap., Pepin anointed K of Italy, Louis K of Aquitaine
782 mass execution of 4,500 Saxons at Verden
784 Saxony devastated, 10s of thousands d. of flooding, famine
785 Witikind surrenders
787 3rd visit to Rome, Bavaria invaded, Duke Tassilo submits
788 Tassilo condemned, Bavaria annexed
793 Failure of Karlsgruben canal project
795 Pepin conquers Ring of Avars in Hungary, Pope Hadrian III dies, Leo III elected
797 Wihmodia conquered, 50K Saxons deported
799 Conspiracy in Rome, Leo escapes to Paderborn to C's protection
800 Trial of Leo III, then C crowned HRE in Rome by Leo III
801 Louis captures Barcelona and other Spanish strongholds, est. Spanish March
806 C announces plan to partition empire among 3 sons
810 Pepin dies
813 C's Rhine bridge at Mainz burns, C falls ill
814 C dies, Louis becomes emperor
840 Louis the Pious dies
841 Battle of Fontenoy
843 Treaty of Verdun permanently breaks up HRE (see Lothar)

Will Durant's The Age of Faith (Volume IV in his 10-volume The Story of Civilization, Simon & Schuster, 1950, own) has a 10-page section on Charlemagne, "the greatest of medieval kings ... of German blood and speech, and shar[ing] some characteristics of his people - strength of body, courage of spirit, pride of race, and a crude simplicity many centuries apart from the urbane polish [and cynical artifice] of the modern French ... [2yrs after becoming king, responded to an urgent appeal from Pope Hadrian II to defend the Italian papal states against the Lombard Desiderius, which he did] ... Returning to his capital at Aachen, he began a series of 53 campaigns - nearly all led in person - designed to round out his empire by conquering and Christianizing Bavaria and Saxony, destroying the troublesome Avars, shielding Italy from the raiding Saracens, and strengthening the defenses of Francia against the expanding Moors of Spain ... [responded to a 777 request at Paderborn by Ibn al-Arabi, Moslem governor of Barcelona, to help fight against his own caliph [HQ1 Baghdad, HQ2 Cordova] by invading the Basque region of NE Spain, but Arabi's promised raiding help failed to appear, forcing Charlemagne to retreat, which is when he lost the famous noble Hruodland (Roland) to a Basque attack] ... loved admin more than war, and had taken to the field to force some unity of govt and faith upon a Western Europe torn for centuries past by conflicts of tribe and creed ... [introduced many improvements in admin, greatly advancing civilization ... held parliament-like assemblies at] Worms, Valenciennes, Aachen, Geneva, Paderborn ... Barring his wars, Charlemagne's was the most just and enlightened govt that Europe had known since Theodoric the Goth ... [greatly supported Church, sholarship and learning] ... Palaces were built for [him] at Ingelhiem, Nijmegen, Aachen [his favorite capital ... bur. there under the dome of the cathedral, hmmm, same as St. Mary's at Aix-la-Chapelle?]." The next section on the Carolingian Decline discusses rising pressures from Vikings (N), Magyars (E) and Muslims (SE); "In 846 - while the Saracens were attacking Rome - the Northmen conquered Frisia, burned Dordrecht, and sacked Limoges" (474). Durant notes that Louis I was "so absorbed in piety as to seem unfit to govern a rough and treacherous world" (471). Similarly, "the last Carolingian kings - Louis IV, Lothaire IV, Louis V (d987) - were well-meaning men, but they had not in their blood the iron needed to forge a living order out of the universal desolation [left by attacking Vikings]" (475). So when Louis V d. w/o issue in 987, the nobles chose one of their own, Hugh Capet.

Playing cards celebrate 4 great kings in history: Charlemagne is the king of hearts, David spades, Alexander the Great clubs, and Julius Caesar diamonds.

Jeff Sypeck's 2006 book Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and the Empires of AD 800 (HarperCollins, Mustang) mentions the '9 worthies' compiled by Medieval scholars: 1 Joshua c1300 BC, 2 Hector [Troy] c1200 BC, 3 David c1000 BC, 4 AlexGrt d332 BC, 5 Judas Maccabeus 'the hammerer' c160s BC, 6 Julius Caesar 1C BC, 7 King Arthur c450-519 AD, 8 Charlemagne c750-814 and 9 Godfrey of Bouillon famous in 1st 1097 Crusade. i.e. they were all successful empire builders, mostly Christian but also classical or Jewish.

See Merovingians and Carolingians

See Smokykin page

On BE45 Constantine VI: 'Strange as it may seem to us today, [Charlemagne et. al.] did not think of the Roman Empire as a thing of the past. They viewed the Byzantine Empire ... as [its] continuation ... [standing for] civilization, stability, tradition ... [and] still regarded Constantine VI, the boy emperor, as the RE. Therefore, in 798 the West was shocked by news that the young emperor had been overthrown by his ambitious mother, Irene ... [Charlemagne] undoubtedly perceived Irene's revolt as a sign of weakness in the empire and ... [of] opportunity for himself' (tIoC p97 [cf Roman.html], i.e. set off a sequence of events leading to his crowning as 1st HRE, seen as a legit. continuation of RE, still disputed how much he himself was involved, key turning point as West ceased to see Byzantines as 'above' them, latter's own fault thru corruption, might've been different).

From ToN.html: Amy Chua's 2007 bk 'Day of Empire' looks at 'big 8' 'hyperpowers' 1 Persia [6-4C BC] 2 Rome [3C BC - 5C AD] 3 Tang China (r618-907 AD began w/Li Yuan, cf BWH) 4 Mongols [12C AD] 5 Spain [15C] 6 TDR [17C] 7 British [18-9C] and 8 USA, says 'tolerance' 1rst builds, then (angry reaction) undermines empires, and that 'in its [8C] heyday, Tang China was by far the greatest power in the world' (p81, Taizong r626-49, Ming Huang r712-56, at its zenith, China had 60M pop. v. [Damascus-based] Umayads 36M [+ Baghdad-based Abbasids pop.?], Byz 13M and [Trier-based] Franks 10M)

In theory, the HRE title made its holder the heir of the ancient Roman emperors and [thus] the ruler of the [old] Western [Roman] Empire. In reality, HREs only ruled portions of C Europe. German kings possessed the title from AD 962 to 1806, when Napoleon abolished it. Since the 5C the West had descended into (tribalism or) decentralized feudalism ('futilism' acc. to Calvin and Hobbes), and this was an attempt to re-ignite the empire and a higher level of civilization (CHME p48).

One reason Islam made such rapid progress in the East was that the Church (both RCC and Eastern Church) had already rejected N African (esp. Copts) and other Christians who held the '1-Nature' theology. So many of them viewed Islam as 'a better deal' and cooperated in changing their churches into Mosques. Also, Muslims generally respected other 'people of the book' (Christians and Jews), tho they were saddled w/some disadvantages. But perhaps even so many were treated better than under their former distant Christian rulers (CHME p50).

In 799 several Italian nobles wanted to control the RCC. Their candidate for pope was rejected [by RCC ldrs] in favor of Leo III. But the nobles were sore losers; they hired thugs to gouge out Leo's tongue. 2 Franks brought the injured bishop to Charlemagne's palace [at Trier], where Leo was warmly welcomed by Charlemagne. But the Italians were accusing Leo of misusing church funds. Leo would've appealed to the RE, but the West no longer had one! Empress Irene ruled in the East, but Leo refused to let a woman judge him. How to resolve? Aha! On 23 Dec 800 Charlemagne declares Leo innocent of all charges; 2 days later Leo crowns Charlemagne HRE (CHME p51-2, 1st time RCC had created an emperor).

The mandylion [likely the Shroud of Turin, which had come to Constantinople via Edessa in 944, and likely from Qumran before that. It was the #1 relic at Const.] was at the center of debate at the 787 Nicaea Council. Theodore, abbot of the Monastery of Studion in Constantinople, one of the most splendid centers of Byzantine culture ... was able to fight both intellectually and politically to reassert the need to worship [or at least venerate] images ... he was able to underline a perennially valid, timeless fact: Forbidding the cult of images can be very dangerous, for it lays the groundwork for the growth of heresies. Rejecting images in the name of religion made only of ideas and mental concepts prevents contact between believers and the human aspects of Jesus: This leaves believers exposed to the ever-lurking danger of taking Jesus Christ as nothing but a spiritual entity, a symbol of the possible contact between man and God (Temp 114-5).

get 'Christendom' quote from B&C Mar/Apr 2010 p20 (rats, I gave that issue away)

Charlemagne occupies an important place in Irvin Baxter's understanding of biblical prophecy i.e. his 800 AD coronation as the 1st 'Holy Roman Emperor' by Pope Leo III marked the 1st of the top 5 post-resurrection prophecy events.

                                              [Flavius Postumius Syagrius]
                                                           |
                anonyma===Agricola, cos, 421    [Afranius]===[Syagria]
                        |   PPO Galliae                    | 
          ______________|____                   Fl. Afranius Syagrius, cos, 382
         |                  |                              |
    Eparchius Avitus   [Eparchia]===Petronius Maximus      |
       Emp. 455-456               |      Emp. 455     [Syagria] === Tonantius Ferreolus]
    Bp. Placentia 456   "the Unknown Proconsul"                  |
                                  |                              |
                 _____________ _ _|_ _ _ _ _ _                 __|
                |             |               |               |
Sigibert     Leontius     Ruricius      Papianilla=====Tonantius Ferreolus     Clovis I
K. Cologne  Bp. Arles      Bp, Limoges              | Praet. Praef. Galliae    K. Franks
d ca. 507     452-494      d ca. 507                |           453            511-533
    _|______________________                        |                 ___________|__
   |                        |                       |                |              |
Balderic              Chloderic                 Tonantius      Theoderic   Theodechildis
Abbt. Montfaucon    K, Cologne                         |       K. Austrasia         |
                    (rel. Clovis I)                    |         533-547            |
                 _________| _ _ _ _ _ _                |                            |
                |                      |               |                            |
anonyma=====Munderic                 Doda ===========Ferreolus=============Theodechildis
         | (rel.Theoderic I)        Abbss. St.  |  vir clarissimus  |
      ___|_________ __________     Peter Reims  |     Narbonne      |
     |             |          |                 |_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _|
     |             |          |                          |
   Mummolin    Baldegisel  Gundulf    Bilichilde === Ansbert
Ct. Soissons     Duke    Bp. Tongres              |   senator
      |        (m. Palatina)  |                   |
      |_ _ _ _ _ _ |          |                   |
            |      |          |                   |
        Baldegisel |          |                Arnoald
          Duke     |          |               Bp. Metz
         (m. Oda)  |          |                 601-611
           |       |          |                    |
           |_ _ _ _|_ _ _ _ _ |           _ _ _ _ _|_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                     |                   |                         |
                  Arnulf =============Doda                       Itta === Pippin "Elder"
                  Bp. Metz    |     nun at                             |
                   613-629    |   S. Peter of Reims                    |
                              |                       _________________|
                              |                      |
                          Ansegisel================Begga
                                          |
                                          |
                              Pippin "The Younger" "Major Domus"