1535944

[SUSANNA KEENE.FTW]

King of France 768-814.
King of the Lombards.
First Germanic ruler to assume the title of Emperor.
Created a vast empire in the West (the western part of ancient
Roman Empire + new lands).
The 'empire' he revived lasted in one form or another for a
thousand years.
Shared kingdom with his brother Carloman.
Gained wide acclaim for his military success, waged over 50
campaigns.
Subjugated neigboring Germans & waged war vs. Avars, Slavs,
Byzantines & Moors.
Aided the Pope by defeating Lombards & becoming their king.
Defeated pagan Saxons after 30 years of war.
Founded the Holy Roman Empire. Crowned by Pope Leo III in 800.
Controlled power of nobles & extended law over a troubled
domain.
Patron of culture and extender of civilization.
Charlemagne, Emperor Of The Holy Roman Empire, King of the
Franks was king of the Franks from AD 768 to 814 and 'Emperor
of the Romans' from 800 to 814. He became a key figure in the
development of western Europe's medieval civilization. By his
almost constant military campaigns, Charlemagne created a vast
empire in the West which included much of the western part of
the old Roman Empire as well as some new territory. He was the
first Germanic ruler to assume the title of emperor, and the
'empire' he revived lasted in one form or another for a
thousand years. Culturally and politically, he left his mark on
the newly rising civilization of the West. Probably no ruler of
the early Middle Ages better deserved the title of 'The Great.'

Charlemagne was the son of Pepin the Short, and the grandson of
Charles Martel. From 768 to 771, Charlemagne shared Pepin's
kingdom with his brother, Carloman. When Carloman died,
Charlemagne became sole ruler. He took up with energy the work
begun by his father and grandfather. His first step was to
repress his hostile neighbors. Charlemagne gained wide acclaim
for his outstanding military ability, persistence, and success.
He waged more than 50 campaigns against neighboring Germanic
peoples on all sides, and against the Avars, Slavs, Byzantines,
and Moors.

Charlemagne's first great war was against the Lombards, a
Germanic people who had invaded Italy in the late 500's. They
had been a source of trouble to the popes ever since. In
conquering them, Charlemagne followed Pepin's policy of
friendship and cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church. This
also served Charlemagne's own interests, because he became
ruler of the Lombard kingdom in Italy.

The long Saxon war was the most important of Charlemagne's
military ventures. The Saxons, who held the whole northwestern
part of Germany, were pagans. Their defeat after 30 years of
war prepared the way for the religious conversion and
civilization of Germany.

By means of other wars, Charlemagne put down a rebellion in
Aquitaine, added Bavaria to his kingdom, and established
several border states to protect his outlying conquests. In
eastern Europe, he defeated the Slavs and Avars and made
possible eastward migration by the Germans.

Charlemagne had built a vast and sprawling state that shared
borders with such different peoples as the Slavs, Byzantines,
and Moslems. He defended the Roman Catholic Church and
constantly extended its power. He was far more powerful than
the imperial successors of Constantine, the first Christian
emperor in the West, and he ruled a much more extensive area.
Because of his great holdings, he decided to revive the Roman
Empire, but as a new empire that was European and Christian in
Character. The relations of the popes with the Byzantine, or
Eastern Roman, emperors in Canstantinople had been breaking
down since the middle 700's. An alliance between the Roman
Catholic Church and the Franks, accomplished by proclaiming
Charlemagne emperor, made good sense. Pope Leo III placed the
imperial crown on Charlemagne's head on Christmas Day, 800.
The most important effect of this act was that it revived the
idea of empire in the West, an idea which caused both harm and
good in succeeding centuries.

Einhard, Charlemagne's secretary and friend, described the
emperor as large and strong of body, fond of active exercise,
genial but dignified, and sensible and moderate in his way of
life. Charlemagne clearly recognized his duties and
responsibilities, and was a tireless worker. He could not
reverse the long trend toward decentralized government. But he
could and did control the power of the nobles and maintain a
considerable degree of law and order in a troubled age. His
administrative methods helped raise the standard of living.

Charlemagne's greatest contribution was his work as a patron of
culture and extender of civilization. The Palace School, set up
at his capital in Aachen under the leadership of the English
scholar Alcuin (735-804), stimulated interest in education,
philosophy, and literature. Most of the leading scholars were
churchman, so this vast cultural activity greatly strengthened
the church and had far-reaching and lasting results. In this
way, Charlemagne, by means of his power and eminence, gave
western Europe a unified culture so strong that it survived the
terrible invasions and disorders of the next 200 years.

Source: 'The World Book Encyclopedia', 1968, C291-292.
'Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists ...',
Frederick Lewis Weis, 1993, p cvi.

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