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Listen to an article about Charlemagne

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Joan of Arc knew nothing but war. Her country of France had been fighting England for about 75 years when she was born around 1412. But when she was 16, even though she was poor and living at a time when women did not fight in the military-and certainly did not lead men-Joan came to believe that God had chosen her to lead her country to victory during what's now known as the Hundred Years War.

By 1428, England controlled much of France, and the French king no longer ruled. So Joan persuaded a local government leader to escort her through English-held territory to meet with and convince King Charles VII to let her lead his armies and help him regain the throne. Legend has it that Joan knew details about the king that no one else did, and he came to believe her claim that God had chosen her to lead.

The king ordered the army to take back the city of Orléans, accompanied by 17-year-old Joan. She cropped her hair short like a man's, donned a suit of white armor, and successfully helped French troops to victory in March 1429, even after being wounded in battle. King Charles then took back his crown a few months later. At the ceremony, Joan was at his side.

A few months later, though, Joan was captured in battle and held captive for more than a year. She was accused of witchcraft and the crime of dressing as a man. Not wanting to threaten his newly returned crown, the king didn't come to Joan's aid, and in 1431, when she was just 19, she was burned at the stake.

But beloved by France, she was officially cleared of her crimes 20 years later and became a Catholic saint in 1920. Today Joan of Arc remains the patron saint of France and a symbol of national pride.

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The teenage girl who helped lead a French army to victory

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Charlemagne

Charlemagne was the King of the Franks and the Holy Roman Emperor. He was born on April 2, 742. Nobody knows where he was born. Some of the history buffs say that it could have been in Liege, Belgium or even Aachen in modern-day Germany. He was also known as Karl and Charles the Great. He certainly had a few names didn't he? His name is Carolus Magnus in Latin and Carlo Magno is the Spanish translation.

Who was Charlemagne?

His father was Pepin the Short, the Frankish leader. Do you think he was short? Maybe he was! He became the king of the Franks in the year 751 CE.

In 754 Pope Stephen II was officially crowned Pepin and was then anointed both Charlemagne and his brother who was younger Carloman.

When Pepin died he left his empire to his two sons. Not sure this was such a good idea as they used to fight a lot! But eventually his younger brother Carloman died, and the empire was left to him and him alone!

Charlemagne was the king of the Franks from 768 until he died in 814 CE.

He was also the emperor of the Romans for 14 years in total from 800 to 814 CE. He sure had a few important jobs to do, that's for sure.

Charlemagne built a massive empire and it covered most of western and eastern Europe. He clearly wasn't afraid to get what he wanted!

He ruled over something called the Carolingian Renaissance. Wow that's a name to wrap around your tongue! It was basically all about a set of customs, traditions and values as well as a legal renewal.

Interesting Facts about Charlemagne

His father became king because all the rulers wouldn't stop killing each other! What a strange way to become king.

He was one serious fighter that you wouldn't want to get into battle with that's for sure. Want to know which lands he conquered? Well get ready...there are a lot. He conquered Germany, Lombards in Northern Italy, Rome, Bavaria and some of Spain. He sure was a busy man taking control over all of those lands!

Did you know that he was crowned as Emperor of the Romans over the Holy Roman Empire? Well he sure was. He wasn't really expecting this, but when he was in Rome in 800 CE Pope Leo III crowned him with this honour. He was called Carolus Augustus. He was one cool cat with that title as many people respected him for it, but it gave him zero powers at all! Apparently he really didn't want this title, and said that if he would have known he wouldn't have gone there at all

He was a really good leader, but he was also very good at doing all his paperwork. Argh, who wants to do lots of paperwork? Well he did! When he conquered territories he would very kindly allow them to still rule and also even allow their cultures and laws to be the same. But, everything was written down, so that nobody could say they didn't know what the laws were!

He set up all sorts of systems while he ruled, like a new type of money, different accounting codes, laws on lending money and the control of prices by the government. He was very passionate about education and built lots of schools in monasteries for people to learn in. Now that's cool. Can you believe it, but he couldn't read or write at all?

During his lifetime he took quite a few wives...in fact five in total.

Did you know that each King in a deck of cards is named after a historical ruler? Well in a deck of cards Charlemagne is the King of Hearts. How cool is that?

Charlemagne sure liked to be the centre of the party! When he had guests over he would throw a table cloth into a fire and then pull it out unharmed. Wonder how he did that?

Can you guess how many military expeditions he sent his men out on during his reign? No? Well it was a total of 50. Wow, that's quite a lot.

He had around 18 children. Can you imagine having 17 brothers and sisters?

Because of all Charlemagne's children, some of those clever scientists believe that most people alive today that have European ancestry are probably descendants of Charlemagne, however no one will ever be able to prove it, so they can keep on guessing.

Now this one is weird. Some people think that George Washington is somehow related to Charlemagne. It would be interesting to find out if that was true!

Wow, he sure was a powerful man, and did a lot in his time. Now you know all there is to know about Charlemagne.

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Charlemagne - The Middle Ages - Facts for Kids

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Charlemagne was the King of the Franks and the Holy Roman Emperor. He was born on April 2, 742. Nobody knows where he was born. Some of the history buffs say that it could have been in Liege, Belgium or even Aachen in modern-day Germany. He was also known as Karl and Charles the Great.

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Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1122 - March 31, 1204) was the daughter of William X of Aquitaine. She had a younger sister called Petronilla of Aquitaine. She brought the province of Aquitaine to England when she married Henry II of England. It stayed under English control for 300 years.

Eleanor inherited land in France at the age of 15. She married Louis VII of France on July 22, 1137, and had two daughters:

The marriage was later annulled, as there were no male children.

Eleanor then married Henry II of England on May 18, 1152, and had eight children, including:

Eleanor was greatly known for her work in the Second Crusade, for she inspired many people to join.

Eleanor supported a revolt by her children against their father's rule in 1173. This revolt was unsuccessful, and King Henry II was so furious that he locked her away in a prison. In 1189, after King Henry II died and her son, Richard, came to be the king, Eleanor was freed. Shortly after, Richard died so she supported her son John to take the English throne against the claim of her grandson Arthur of Brittany. In 1202 during the campaign at Mairebeau, she continued to thwart Arthur. Emerging triumphant, Eleanor retired to a monastery. She died there on April 1, 1204.

Images for kids

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Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1122 - March 31, 1204) was the daughter of William X of Aquitaine. She had a younger sister called Petronilla of Aquitaine. She brought the province of Aquitaine to England when she married Henry II of England. It stayed under English control for 300 years.

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Biographies for Kids: William the Conqueror

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Kids learn about the biography of William the Conqueror from the Middle Ages. The Norman who became king of England.

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Henry II

Henry II or Henry Curtmantle was King of England during middle to late 12th Century. He was also Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Lord of Ireland and Count of Nantes. He briefly ruled Scotland, Brittany and Wales as well. He belonged to the House of Plantagenet. Henry II was an energetic man who was obsessed with the idea of taking back the territories once ruled by his maternal grandfather Henry I.

He is remembered for tremendously increasing his Anglo-French domain and strengthening Royal control over these territories. In doing so he resorted to incredible violence and brute force at times. Henry II squabbled with Thomas Beckett, Archbishop of Canterbury to assert control over administration of his kingdom and reform relationship with church. His later life was marred by power struggle against his sons and wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.

This in-house strife brought his downfall. However, he left lasting influences on the future of England and is widely considered one of the most important rulers of the country's long recorded history.

Early Life: Henry II was born on March 5, 1133 in Le Mans, France. His father, Geoffrey the Fair was the Count of Anjou and his mother; Matilda was daughter of Henry I King of England and Duke of Normandy. She was previously married to Henry V, the Holy Roman Emperor, but after his death she married Henry II's father. She belonged to the powerful Norman family.

In 1135, Matilda's father Henry I died and she hoped to claim the title herself. However; her cousin Stephen of Blois was crowned as King and Duke of Normandy. This started a struggle between the two during which Geoffrey invaded Duchy of Normandy. Matilda's dream of taking English throne was to be fulfilled later by her son, Henry II.

Henry II spent his early childhood, shuttling between Normandy, Anjou and England. He was tutored by Peter of Saintes and William of Conches, two prominent academics of the time. At just fourteen years of age, Henry commissioned a small army and ventured into England. However; he had little success and was left in a difficult situation with no money to pay his troops' salary with.

Surprisingly, he was bailed out by Stephen of Blois, the very person he had launched his campaign against.

Reign: Henry II was appointed Duke of Normandy in 1150 by his father, Geoffrey. In 1151, Geoffrey died and Henry II also took charge as Count of Anjou. The same year he married Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor was formerly married to Louis VII of France.

With this marriage, Henry also came to possess Aquitaine and his territorial possessions inside France exceeded that of Louis. As a result Louis assembled a coalition against Henry. Henry fought a difficult war against several opponents simultaneously and won many battles. More importantly he survived and kept his territorial possessions intact.

In 1153, Henry II launched another campaign to take England and fought a prolonged battle of nerves against Stephen of Blois. His victories in several battles and superior military strategy forced Stephen to call for truce. A treaty was signed between the two sides called Treaty of Winchester. According to the treaty, Stephen appointed Henry II as his successor.

In 1154, Stephen of Blois died and Henry II succeeded him as King of England. In the next few years he began a concerted effort to strengthen and build a larger empire.

Later Life and Death: Later years of his life and reign were marred by tumultuous events like the Great Revolt when his sons revolted against him. This internal strife weakened his grip on the throne. He had to appoint his eldest son Young Henry as Junior King.

The in-fighting over control of different territories continued among his family members till Young Henry died in 1183. He then appointed his son Richard as his successor. His relationship with heir apparent also degenerated fast as Richard was in a hurry to take over from Henry.

Henry II eventually succumbed to a bleeding ulcer and died in 1189 at the age of 56. Richard succeeded him and was crowned King of England on July 6, 1189.

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Henry II - Henry the Second - Middle Ages

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Henry II or Henry Curtmantle was King of England during middle to late 12th Century. He was also Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Lord of Ireland and Count of Nantes. He briefly ruled Scotland, Brittany and Wales as well. He belonged to the House of Plantagenet.