Holy Roman Empire, King of France Charlemagne Emperor of The

Notes:

"By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne (Charles the Great) became master of Western Europe. It was falling into decay when Charlemagne became joint king of the Franks in 768. Except in the monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and the arts. Boldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By restoring the roots of learning and order, he preserved many political rights and revived culture.
Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who crushed the Saracens (see Charles Martel). Charlemagne was the elder son of Bertrade ("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short, first "mayor of the palace" to become king of the Franks. Although schools had almost disappeared in the 8th century, historians believe that Bertrade gave young Charles some education and that he learned to read. His devotion to the church became the great driving force of his remarkable life.

Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary, Eginhard, wrote that Charlemagne had fair hair and a "face laughing and merry . . . his appearance was always stately and dignified." He had a ready wit, but could be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He delighted in hunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress: linen shirt and breeches, a silk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter, a tight coat of otter or marten skins. Over all these garments "he flung a blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him."

Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usual penalty for defeat was death, Charlemagne several times spared the lives of his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, after a Saxon uprising, he ordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and nobles to reform, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. He forced kings and princes to kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign
In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the northern half of Europe was still pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman Catholic church was striving to assert its power against the Lombard kingdom in Italy. In Charlemagne's own realm, the Franks were falling back into barbarian ways, neglecting their education and religion.
Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-year campaign that conquered and Christianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the north. He subdued the Avars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the rebellious Bavarian dukes to submit to him. When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however. For example, Charlemagne offered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius for return of lands to the pope, but, when Desiderius refused, Charlemagne seized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.

The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize. During his reign he sent out more than 50 military expeditions. He rode as commander at the head of at least half of them. He moved his armies over wide reaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every move was planned in advance. Before a campaign he told the counts, princes, and bishops throughout his realm how many men they should bring, what arms they were to carry, and even what to load in the supply wagons. These feats of organization and the swift marches later led Napoleon to study his tactics.

One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In 778 he led his army into Spain to battle the infidel Saracens. On its return, Basques ambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles, in northern Spain, and killed "Count Roland." Roland became a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see Roland).

By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vast realm covered what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and The Netherlands. It included half of present-day Italy and Germany, part of Austria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to the Ebro River. By thus establishing a central government over Western Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire and paved the way for the development of modern Europe.

Crowned Emperor
On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in Saint Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III seized a golden crown from the altar and placed it on the bowed head of the king. The throng in the church shouted, "To Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, long life and victory!"
Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation, declaring that he would not have come into the church had he known the pope's plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared to act without Charlemagne's knowledge.

The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Though Charlemagne did not use the title, he is considered the first Holy Roman emperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance
Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed that government should be for the benefit of the governed. When he came to the throne, various local governors, called "counts," had become lax and oppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators, called missi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents called capitularies and sent them out in teams of two; a churchman and a noble. They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting government, administering justice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and religious duties.
Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to discuss its affairs. In all problems he was the final arbiter, even in church issues, and he largely unified church and state.

Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his people's lot in many ways. He set up money standards to encourage commerce, tried to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged better farming methods. He especially worked to spread education and Christianity in every class of people.

He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up other schools, opening them to peasant boys as well as nobles.

Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk, Alcuin, and other scholars to his court. He learned to read Latin and some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of having jesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.

To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to train his Frankish singers. To restore some appreciation of art, he brought valuable pieces from Italy. An impressive monument to his religious devotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where he was buried (see Aachen).

At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, was living. Louis's weak rule brought on the rise of civil wars and revolts. After his death his three quarreling sons split the empire between them by the Partition of Verdun in 843.

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Source:Compton's Learning Company

Charlemagne married Swabia, COUNTESS OF VINZGAU Hildegard of about 772 in Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Hildegard (daughter of Vinzgau, DUKE OF SWABIA Gerold I Count of and Emma) was born about 758 in Of, Aachen, Rhineland, Prussia; died on 30 Apr 783 in , Thionville, Austrasia; was buried in Abbaye De St Arnoul, Metz, Austrasia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Holy Roman Empire, Himiltrud of The. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Holy Roman Empire, Regina (Reginopycrha). Regina was born about 780. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Charlemagne married (Sibilla, Bertha) Holy Roman Empire Desiderata in 771. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Charlemagne married Holy Roman Empire, COUNTESS OF FRANCE Fastrade Empress of The in 783 in Worms, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Charlemagne married Holy Roman Empire, QUEEN OF FRANCE Luttgarde Empress of The after Jun 794. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Pippin married Chrothais about 795. (daughter of William, Count of Toulouse and Mrs-William, Countess of Toulouse) was born about 777 in Of, Toulouse, Gascony. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Maine, Roricon Count of. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Bertha married Angilbert "The Saint" in 787. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Louis I or Louis the Pious

Fr. Louis le Pieux or Louis le Débonnaire, 778-840, emperor of the West (814-40), son and successor of Charlemagne. He was crowned king of Aquitaine in 781 and co-emperor with his father in 813. His court was a learned one; his advisers included Benedict of Aniane. At the Assembly of Aachen (817) he issued an imperial order that sought to preserve the unity of the empire by breaking with tradition and not dividing the empire among his heirs. He thus made his eldest son, Lothair I, co-emperor and gave Aquitaine and Bavaria to his sons Pepin I and Louis the German. Louis's attempts to create a kingdom for Charles (later Emperor of the West Charles II), his son by a second marriage, provoked several revolts by his older sons. In 822, Louis repented publicly for his persecution of the rebels. In 830, Lothair rebelled and became virtually sole ruler of the empire. However, Pepin and Louis the German, fearing Lothair's supremacy, soon restored their father to power. Another revolt by all three sons occurred in 833. Louis met the rebels near Colmar on a field known since then as the Field of Lies (Ger. Lügenfeld) because of the general defection of the imperial troops. Louis, compelled to surrender, was formally deposed, and Lothair became sole emperor. Yet in 834, Louis the German and Pepin once more joined against Lothair and restored Louis. Later he partitioned his empire between Lothair and Charles and died while attempting to uphold the partition against the Aquitanians and Louis the German.

Bibliography:

See F. L. Ganshof, The Carolingians and the Frankish Monarchy (1971).

Louis married Hesbaye, EMPRESS OF THE HOLY ROMAN Ermengarde (Irmengarde) Princess of in 794/95 in France. Ermengarde (daughter of Ingeramne, Duke of Hesbaye and Mrs-Ingeramme, Duchess of Hesbaye) was born about 778 in Of, Hesbaye, Belgium; died about 3 Oct 818 in Angers, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Louis married Bavaria, EMPRESS OF HOLY ROMAN EMP Judith Princess of in Feb 819 in Aix La Chapelle, Austrasia. Judith (daughter of Bavaria, Guelph I (Welf I) Duke of and Bavaria, Hedwig Duchess of) was born about 800 in Of, Altdorf, Bavaria; died on 19 Apr 843 in , Tours, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Cunigunde, Queen of Italy. Queen was born about 797 in France; died about 835. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Spoleto, Lambert Duke of. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Lothaire married Tours, EMPRESS OF HOLY ROMAN EMP Ermengarde Countess of on 15 Oct 821 in , Thionville, Moselle, France. Ermengarde (daughter of Alsace, COUNT OF TOURS Hugues Ii Count of Upper and Alsace, COUNTESS OF TOURS Ava Countess of Upper) was born about 800 in Of, Alsace, France; died on 20 Mar 851; was buried in Abbaye D'Erstein, Strasbourg, Alsace, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Dode. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Thierry, Count of Champagne. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Pépin married Aquitaine, Ingeltrude (Engeltrude) Queen of in 822. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ludwig married Bavaria, QUEEN OF THE GERMANS Emma Princess of in 827. Emma (daughter of Bavaria, Guelph I (Welf I) Duke of and Bavaria, Hedwig Duchess of) was born about 810 in Of, Altdorf, Bavaria; died on 31 Jan 876 in , Careme, Saxony. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Paris, Beggen (Bego) Count of. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Rotrude married Auvergne, Count of Auvergne Gerard Count of about 814. Gerard died on 25 Jun 841. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Charles II or Charles the Bald

823-77, emperor of the West (875-77) and king of the West Franks (843-77); son of Emperor Louis I by a second marriage. The efforts of Louis to create a kingdom for Charles were responsible for the repeated revolts of Louis's elder sons that disturbed the latter part of Louis's reign. When Lothair I, the eldest and heir to the imperial title, attempted to reunite the empire after Louis's death (840), Charles and Louis the German marched against their brother and defeated him at Fontenoy (841). Reaffirming their alliance in 842 (see Strasbourg, Oath of), they signed (843) with Lothair the Treaty of Verdun (see Verdun, Treaty of), which divided the empire into three parts. The part roughly corresponding to modern France fell to Charles. He was almost continuously at war with his brothers and their sons, with the Norsemen (or Normans, as they came to be known in France), and with rebellious subjects. When Charles's nephew Lothair, son of Lothair I and king of Lotharingia, died in 869, Charles seized his kingdom but was forced by the Treaty of Mersen (870) to divide it with Louis the German. In 875, at the death of his nephew Louis II, who had succeeded Lothair I as emperor, Charles secured the imperial crown. His reign witnessed the growth of the power of the nobles at the expense of the royal power and thus marked the rise of local feudalism. Charles's chief adviser was Archbishop Hincmar.

Charles married Orleans, QUEEN OF THE WEST FRANKS Ermentrude Countess of on 13 Dec 842 in , CrecyFrance. Ermentrude (daughter of of Orleans, Eudes (Odo) Count and Ingeltrude, Countess of Orleans) was born on 27 Sep 830 in Of, Orléans, Neustria; died on 6 Oct 869; was buried in St Denis, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Charles married Metz (Ardennes), QUEEN OF THE WEST FRANKS Richilde Countess of on 22 Jan 870 in Aix La ChapelleFrance. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gisela married Friuli (Unruochinger), Margrave of Friuli Eberhard Marchese Di before 840. Eberhard (son of (Unroc), Margrave of Friuli Hunroch and Engeltron) died about 864. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Pippin of Peronne, Count of Senlis, Peroone, St. Quentin, and Vermandois

Family/Spouse: Vermandois, Mrs-Pépin Countess of. Mrs-Pépin was born about 820 in Of, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Louis married Germany, Engelberge Empress of before 5 Oct 851. Engelberge (daughter of Gui, Duke of Spoleto I) died about 900. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Italy, Berenger King of. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ermengarde married Moselle (Maasgau), Count of Darnau Giselbert Count of The in 846. Giselbert (son of Giselbert Count in the Maasgau and prob. a sister of Echard Count of Hesbaye) was born about 830 in Of, Moselle, Austrasia; died about 892. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Germany, Otto Count In. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Lothair, sometimes called Lothair II

d. 869, king of Lotharingia (855-69), second son of Emperor of the West Lothair I. He inherited the region bounded by the Rhine, Scheldt, Alps, and North Sea, which became known as Lotharingia (Lorraine). He was joined to Theutberga, the sister of one of his father's vassals, in an arranged marriage; after the death of Lothair I he repudiated her and married his mistress Waldrada, by whom he had a son. Theutberga appealed to Bishop Hincmar, a counselor to King Charles the Bald of the West Franks (later Emperor of the West Charles II). Charles, Lothair's uncle, hoped to annex Lotharingia if Lothair should die without an heir, which was likely since Theutberga was barren. Hincmar supported Theutberga and with the aid of Pope Nicholas I forced Lothair to reinstate her. When Lothair died suddenly his lands were divided between his uncles, Charles the Bald and Louis the German, by the Treaty of Mersen (870).

Lothaire married Tuscany, Teutberge Countess In in 855. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Lothaire married Waldrade (Walrade) Queen of Lorraine on 15 Oct 862. Waldrade was born about 836 in Of, Lorraine; died about 868. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

I married Maine, Blichilde of about 845. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Louis married Paris, Adélaïde of about 868. Adélaïde (daughter of Paris, Adelhard of) died about 10 Nov 901. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Louis married Burgundy, QUEEN OF THE FRANKS Ansgarde Princess of between 868 and 870 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Judith married Flanders, Baudouin I Count of about 859 in Flandres, Austrasia. Baudouin (son of (Odacre), Odoscer and Mrs-Odacre) was born in in Of, Flanders, Belgium; died in 879. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Judith married Wessex, King of Wessex Æthelwulf King of about 844 in England. Æthelwulf (son of Wessex, King of Wessex Egbert King of and Wessex, Rædburga Queen of) was born between 795 and 800; died on 13 Jan 858 in England; was buried in , Stamridge. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Soleto, Bertila of. Bertila (daughter of Suppo Margrave of Spoleto in Perugia, Italy) died in Dec 915. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]