Charlemagne (pronounced /ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn/; Latin: Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great; 2 April 742 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 which temporarily made him a rival of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Germany (where he is known as Karl der Große), and the Holy Roman Empire.
The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I. The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at the Battle of Roncesvalles (778) memorialised in the Song of Roland. He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty.
Today he is regarded not only as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but also as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity.[1]
Contents |
|
Motley Fool
Charlemagne . What! I'm speechless! I admit, I've never seen a single gypsy in my life. But even in elementary school they taught us that these are horrible ...
700px x 591px | 43.00kB
[source page]
Charlemagne To use any of the clipart images above including the thumbnail image in the top left corner just click and drag the picture to your desktop You may also control click Mac or right click
tbalagot
Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:38:36 GM
emerged in history such as . Charlemagne. , or Charles the Great, legends about King Arthur are abundant, and religion changes to the worship of a single God. See www.sbuniv.edu/~hgallatin/hi13le20.html#TOC Prior to the Dark Ages, ...
