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It is the period of European history from the fall of the Roman Empire in the West (5th century) to the fall of Constantinople (1453), or, more narrowly, from c. 1100 to 1453.

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Charlemagne's Early Years

Charlemagne-sometimes referred to as Charles the Great-was born around 742, the son of Bertrada of Laon (d.783) and Pepin the Short (d.768), who became king of the Franks in 751.

Charlemagne's exact birthplace is unknown, although historians have suggested Liege in present-day Belgium and Aachen in modern-day Germany as possible locations. Similarly, little is known about the future ruler's childhood and education, although as an adult, he displayed a talent for languages and could speak Latin and understand Greek, among other languages.

Did you know? Charlemagne served as a source of inspiration for such leaders as Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) and Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), who had visions of ruling a unified Europe.

After Pepin's death in 768, the Frankish kingdom was divided between Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman. The brothers had a strained relationship; however, with Carloman's death in 771, a 24-year-old Charlemagne became the sole ruler of the Franks.

Charlemagne Expands his Christian Empire

Once in power, Charlemagne sought to unite all the Germanic peoples into one kingdom, and convert his subjects to Christianity. In order to carry out this mission, he spent the majority of his reign engaged in military campaigns. Soon after becoming king, he conquered the Lombards (in present-day northern Italy), the Avars (in modern-day Austria and Hungary) and Bavaria, among others.

Charlemagne waged a bloody, three decades-long series of battles against the Saxons, a Germanic tribe of pagans, and earned a reputation for ruthlessness. In 782 at the Massacre of Verden, Charlemagne reportedly ordered the slaughter of some 4,500 Saxons. He eventually forced the Saxons to convert to Christianity, and declared that anyone who didn't get baptized or follow other Christian traditions be put to death.

Charlemagne's Family

In his personal life, Charlemagne had multiple wives and mistresses and perhaps as many as 18 children. He was reportedly a devoted father, who encouraged his children's education. He allegedly loved his daughters so much that he prohibited them from marrying while he was alive.

Einhard, a Frankish scholar and contemporary of Charlemagne, wrote a biography of the emperor after his death. In the work, titled "Vita Karoli Magni (Life of Charles the Great)," he described Charlemagne as "broad and strong in the form of his body and exceptionally tall without, however, exceeding an appropriate measure...His appearance was impressive whether he was sitting or standing despite having a neck that was fat and too short, and a large belly."

Holy Roman Emperor

In his role as a zealous defender of Christianity, Charlemagne gave money and land to the Christian church and protected the popes. As a way to acknowledge Charlemagne's power and reinforce his relationship with the church, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans and first ruler of the vast Holy Roman Empire on December 25, 800, at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

As Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne proved to be a talented diplomat and able administrator of the vast area he controlled. He promoted education and encouraged the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of renewed emphasis on scholarship and culture.

Charlemagne also instituted economic and religious reforms, and was a driving force behind the Carolingian minuscule, a standardized form of writing that later became a basis for modern European printed alphabets.

Carolingian Empire

Charlemagne ruled from a number of cities and palaces throughout the Carolingian Empire, but spent significant time in Aachen. His palace there included a school, for which he recruited the best teachers in the land.

In addition to learning, Charlemagne was interested in athletic pursuits. Known to be highly energetic, he enjoyed hunting, horseback riding and swimming. Aachen held particular appeal for him due to its therapeutic warm springs.

He was also no stranger to elegant indulgence: According to Einhard, "On great feast-days Charles made use of embroidered clothes, and shoes bedecked with precious stones. His cloak was fastened by a golden buckle, and he appeared crowned with a diadem of gold and gems."

Charlemagne's Death and Succession

Einhard wrote that Charlemagne was in good health until the final four years of his life, when he often suffered from fevers and acquired a limp. However, as the biographer notes, "Even at this time...he followed his own counsel rather than the advice of the doctors, whom he very nearly hated, because they advised him to give up roasted meat, which he loved, and to restrict himself to boiled meat instead."

In 813, Charlemagne crowned his son Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine, as co-emperor. Louis became sole emperor when Charlemagne died in January 814 at the age of 72, ending his reign of more than four decades. At the time of his death, his empire encompassed much of Western Europe.

Charlemagne was buried at the cathedral in Aachen. In the ensuing decades, his empire was divided up among his heirs, and by the late 800s, it had dissolved.

Nevertheless, Charlemagne became a legendary figure endowed with mythical qualities. In 1165, under Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, Charlemagne was canonized for political reasons; however, the Catholic Church today does not recognize his sainthood.

Charlemagne's Skull

Years after his burial in Aachen, authorities believe that pieces of Charlemagne's skull and some of his bones were exhumed for placement in church reliquaries throughout Europe. Most of his skeleton, however, is believed to have stayed at his cathedral in Aachen.

In 2014, researchers determined that Charlemagne's skull and other bones in Aachen were indeed the remains of a singularly tall, large man who died in his 70s and had bony deposits in the knee and heel bones, giving credence to the story of Charlemagne's limp. The top of the skull remains visible in an ornate golden bust securely housed in the cathedral.

Sword of Charlemagne

Another remnant from Charlemagne's reign has achieved near-mythic status: La Joyeuse, or "the Joyous," a medieval sword, is believed by some authorities to be the sword Charlemagne carried into battle.

Armory experts debate whether the sword - a 38-inch weapon with a gold hilt - is actually the sword of Charlemagne, or a later creation that was used primarily for ceremonies. Currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the sword had been used for the coronations of French kings since Philip the Bold was crowned in 1270.

Sources

Charlemagne lived on. Route Charlemagne Aachen.
Charlemagne in Aachen 2014. Medieval Histories.
Charlemagne's Bones Are Likely Authentic, Scientists Say. LiveScience.com.
The Sword of Charlemagne. MyArmoury.com.

Fact Check

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Charlemagne: Facts, Empire & Holy Roman Emperor - HISTORY

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Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, was a medieval king who established a vast Carolingian empire and was eventually crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the pope.

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a person of noble rank or birth.

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denoting something that arouses respect or admiration

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an agricultural laborer bound under the feudal system to work on his lord's estate.

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a man who served his sovereign or lord as a mounted soldier in armor.

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A building that a leader lives in like the pope.

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The definition of siege warfare can be described as a Medieval military operation involving the surrounding and blockading of a town, castle or fortress by an army attempting to capture it - to lay siege or to besiege.

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A type of

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Founder of Islam

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Islam sacred book

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A group of people with different religious beliefs

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It is a type of system that prints typography

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Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected officials.

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The Mongol Empire existed during the 13th and 14th centuries and was the largest contiguous land empire in history.

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the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome.

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He was the first founder of Great Khan of the Mongol Empire.

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The unlawful use of violence

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Constantinople was the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine Empire

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the collections of laws and legal interpretations developed under the sponsorship of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I from 529 to 565 ce.

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It was a defensive tactic.

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Was the break of communion between what are now the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches

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The Janissaries were elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops

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a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.

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the buying or selling of ecclesiastical privileges, for example pardons or benefices.

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the action of officially excluding someone from participation in the sacraments and services of the Christian Church.

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one tenth of annual produce or earnings

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Pope from 12 March 1088 to his death in 1099.

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A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish ethnicity, Saladin led the Muslim military campaign against the Crusader states in the Levant.

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The Reconquista is a name used in English to describe the period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula of about 780 years between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada to the expanding Christian kingdoms in 1491.

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The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition, was established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.

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an educational institution designed for instruction, examination, or both, of students in many branches of advanced learning, conferring degrees in various faculties, and often embodying colleges and similar institutions.

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language

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The three-field system is a regime of crop rotation that was used in medieval and early-modern Europe.

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A guild is an association of artisans or merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area.

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The British Agricultural Revolution, or Second Agricultural Revolution, was the unprecedented increase in agricultural production

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Biological warfare —also known as germ warfare—is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with the intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war.

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a person who subjects themselves or others to flogging

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longbow is a type of bow that is tall – roughly equal to the height of the user – allowing the archer a fairly long draw.

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Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans", is considered a heroine of France for her role during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years' War, and was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint. She was born to Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée, a peasant family, at Domrémy in north-east France.

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Nationalism is a political, social, and economic system characterized by the promotion of the interests of a particular nation, especially with the aim of gaining and maintaining sovereignty over the homeland.

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A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium, thereby transferring the ink.

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an Italian diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher, humanist, writer, playwright and poet of the Renaissance period.

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In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, an indulgence is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins."

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As a kid you were determined if you are going to heaven.

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The Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation.

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A place where people stay like a village.

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Bartolomeu Dias, a nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was a Portuguese explorer. He sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first to do so, setting up the route from Europe to Asia later on.

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The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed at Tordesillas on June 7, 1494, and authenticated at Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire and the Crown of Castile, along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa.

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led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century.

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Sacred object

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The Seven Years' War was a global conflict fought between 1756 and 1763.

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Maximize the exports of a nation.

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Large biting flies.

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A nation on west Africa.

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Animism is the religious belief that objects, places and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence.

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richest man ever

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The Middle Passage was the stage of the triangular trade in which millions of Africans were shipped to the New World as part of the Atlantic slave trade

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The Edict of Nantes, signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in the nation, which was still considered essentially Catholic at the time.

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Louis XIV, known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who reigned as King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715.

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a parliamentary grant to the sovereign for state needs.

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A tariff is a tax on imports or exports between sovereign states

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the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes.

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The Edict of Fontainebleau was an edict issued by Louis XIV of France, also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes had granted the Huguenots the right to practice their religion without persecution from the state.

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