[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 21, Ed. 1, Tree #1186, Date of Import: Apr 26, 1999]
Charlemagne, in Latin Carolus Magnus, (Charles the Great), king of the
Franks(768-814) and Emperor of the Romans(800-814), 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. Charlemagne was 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. 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. 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 757-774). 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 the 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(Modern Hungary and
Austria). 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.
Charlemagne followed the policies of his predecessors; but, pursuing them
with unprecedented energy, he achieved unprecedented success. He
delighted in physical exercise, particularly hunting, riding, bathing,
and swimming. Perhaps more remarkable in this man whose very life was
war were his intellectual curiosity and alertness. He was probably
illiterate; at least, historians say that he kept tablets by his bed to
practice forming letters at night though with "ill" success. He spoke
and understood Latin, comprehended Greek, and enjoyed the company of
learned men. The vast empire Charlemagne built was in large measure a
personal accomplishment, a tribute to his bounding physical energy and
open intelligence. His success as a king depended on his success as a
military leader. On every frontier he waged long wars. His chief
concern was to spread Christianity and thus subservience to Frankish
authority among still pagan peoples. If permanent conquest and
conversion were not possible, the expeditions would still weaken
neighboring enemies and prevent them from striking into the Frankish
domains. At the pope's request he campaigned four times in Italy against
the Lombards and against factions at Rome opposed to the pope. He
suppressed the independent Bavarians and overcame the Saxons after 33
years of fighting, bring