The reign of Charlamagne

"He was born in eastern Frank land, in the district that is called Moingewi, and it was the monastery of Fulda, in the school of Saint Boniface the Martyr, that his boyhood received its first training." (source)

Charlemagne was born April 2, 742 in Northern Europe, he was the oldest child of Pippin III and Bertrada of Laon. Throughout his education he read little, if any, books; though the few that he did read were extremely intellectual. Even though he read little, he had the ability to speak old Teutonic and literary; he could also understand Greek. (source)

In 768 Charlemagne and his younger brother, Carloman, bequeathed the entire Frankish Kingdom. Though, in 771 when Carloman died, Charlemagne became the head ruler of the kingdom. During that time though, the Franks had begun to fall into barbarianism due to their neglect of religion and education. (source)

Once Charlemagne was head of government, he decided to expand his territory. In getting more land, he overthrew northern Italy, Bavaria, Spain, and Hungary. Though he had garnered up an empire, he did not give himself the title of emperor; instead, he referred to himself as the King of the Franks and the Lombard's. (source)

"An affecionate man, Charlemagne got along very well with his sister, Gisela, and their mother, Bertrada, treating both with great respect. Gisela was a nun, so she live in a convent, but Bertrada lived with Charlemagne. It was Bertrada who arranged for Charlemagne t omarry a daughter of King Desiderius of the Lombards ( a Germanic tribe whose kingdom was in Italy). But it seems this wife was not to Charlemagnes liking, because he soon ended the marriage and took a new wife named Hildegarde, with whom he had six children, according to Einhard. In 783, Charlemagne was twice bereaved when both Hildegarde and Bertrada died. Before long he found a new wife, Fastrada." (source)

"Charles has become known as Charles The Great or Charlemagne for very good reasons. His long reign changed the face of Europe politically and culturally, and he himself would remain fixed in the minds of people in the Middle Ages as the ideal king. In more recent times, many historians have taken his reign to be the beginning of the Middle Ages 'proper'. Yet in terms of territorial expansion and consolidation, of church reform and entanglement with Rome, Charlemagne's reign was merely bringing the policies of his father Pippin to their logical conclusions." (source)

"In 806, at the age of sixty-four, Charlemagne took measures to provide for the succession of his empire. He divided the realm among his three sons—Charles, Pepin, and Louis. But the death of Charles in April 810 was soon followed by that of Pepin. The remaining son, Louis, later called 'the Pious,' the least warlike and aggressive of the three, was left as the sole heir to the empire. He was crowned by his father in 813. The last years of Charlemagne's reign saw difficult times. Civil disorder increased as did disease and famine (drastic food shortages). Additionally, there were troubles on the frontiers. In many respects, the future looked dark. In 811 Charlemagne made his final will, giving a more sizable portion of his treasures to various churches of the realm than to his own heirs. He died on January 28, 814, and was buried at his palace at Aachen." (source)


Book 1
Book 2