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Added by lwroyall

Charles I 'Charlemagne' 'Charles The Great' King of the Franks, Holy Roman Emperor

742-814
Born: Ingelheim, Rheinhessen, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany
Died: Aix-La-Chapelle, Aachen, Rheinland, Prussia

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  • Story: Charles (Charlemagne) Timeline

    <div align="center"> <font size="3"><font color="#000080"><strong>Historical Time Line of Charlemagne&#39;s Life</strong></font></font><p><font size="3">&nbsp;</font></p> <p align="center"><font size="3">&nbsp;</font></p> <p align="center"><font size="3"></font></p><p align="center"><font size="3" color="#000080"><strong>St James appears to Charlemagne </strong></font></p> </div> <p align="left"><font size="3"><strong><font color="#000080"><span> Carolingians and the Papacy</span></font></strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3" color="#000080"><strong><font face="Times New Roman"> <span>715-741 - Pope Gregory II was the first Roman pope to be elected after seven popes who were either Greek or Syrian.&nbsp;Map of Mediterranean </span></font></strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3" color="#000080"><strong><span>732&nbsp; </span>Arabs are defeated at Poitiers by Charles Martel&nbsp; </strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3"><strong><span><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000080"> 731-728 - Pope Gregory III was a Syrian who was equally skilled in Latin and Greek.&nbsp; He threatened to excommunicate the Byzantine Emperor Leo III (717-741) who had promulgated a decree that prohibited sacred images in churches (Iconoclastic Controversy).</font></span></strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3"><strong><span><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000080"> 741-752 - Pope Zacharias a Greek from Southern Italy was the last of the Greek popes.&nbsp; He was also the last pope who sent envoys to Constantinople to inform the emperor and the patriarch of his election</font></span></strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3" color="#000080"><strong><font face="Times New Roman">742 AD - Pepin the Short&#39;s son Carolus Magnus<span> (Charlemagne in French)</span> or Charles the Great is born in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) on April 2. <span>&nbsp;</span></font></strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3" color="#000080"><strong><font face="Times New Roman"> <br> 751 - Pepin the Short dethrones the last Merovingian king and takes the throne for himself. </font></strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><strong><span><font color="#000080">753 - Pope Stephen II </font></span></strong><font color="#000080"><strong> <span>(752-757) </span></strong></font> <strong><span><font color="#000080">appealed to the Byzantine emperor for military help against the Lombards.&nbsp; When his appeal failed he turned to Pepin the Short in 754.&nbsp; Pepin led a military expedition against the Lombards and defeated the Lombard King Aistulf.&nbsp; Pope Stephen recognized the legitimacy of Pepin&#39;s claim to be king of the Franks.&nbsp; Pepin gave the pope dominion over the lands of Central Italy and established the legal foundation of the Papal States (Patrimony of St Peter).&nbsp; Stephen also used the </font><font color="#0000ff"> Donation of Constantine</font><font color="#000080"> to support his claim to rule over central Italy. </font></span></strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3" color="#000080"><strong><font face="Times New Roman">754 - Pope Stephen crowns Pepin the Short.<br> <br> 756 - <span>Aistulf attacks Rome.&nbsp; </span>Pepin the Short rushes to protect Pope<span> Stephen II </span>&nbsp;<span>again </span>from the Lombards.<span>&nbsp; Pepin strips the Byzantines of control of Ravenna.</span></font></strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3" color="#000080"><strong><font face="Times New Roman">760<span> -</span> Charlemagne accompanies his father during his military efforts to conquer the lands south the Loire River, or Aquitaine as they are more commonly known. </font></strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3" color="#000080"><strong>768 - Pepin the Short dies and his kingdom is divided up between Charles and his brother Carloman.<br> <br> 770 - Charlemagne marries Desiderata, daughter of the Lombard King Desiderius. The Lombards virtually surrounded Papal states, and this marriage worried the Pope and Charlemagne&#39;s brother. <span>&nbsp;</span></strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3" color="#000080"><strong> 771 - Carloman dies, and Charlemagne unites the Frankish Empire quickly. There is some speculation as to the cause of Carloman&#39;s death, but there is no evidence to indicate Charlemagne had any knowledge of wrong- doing.<br> <br> 774 - Reacting to the Pope&#39;s plea for help, Charlemagne conquered the lands of his brief father-in-law after a lengthy siege of Pavia. Charlemagne spent the following Easter in Rome and reaffirmed his vow to protect Papal lands.<br> &nbsp;</strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3"><strong><span><font color="#000080"> Expansion of Charlemagne&#39;s Kingdom and Christianization of Northeastern Germany</font></span></strong></font><font size="3" color="#000080"><strong><br> <br> 775 - Charlemagne begins new attacks against the Saxons and their leader Widukind. <br> <br> 778 - The events surrounding the Song of Roland take place as Charlemagne&#39;s rear guard leaves Spain in Gascon territory. Though somewhat romanticized in the 4000 line epic, the defeat of Roland is the most important epic literature to come from the Middle Ages.<br> <br> 782 - In response to Widukind&#39;s attacks, Charlemagne orders the execution of 4500 Saxon prisoners in one day<span> at Verden</span>.<br> <br> 783 - On April 30, Hildegarde dies in childbirth, and Charlemagne&#39;s mother Bertrada dies three months later. Charles also begins the final three year campaign to conquer Saxony. The Saxons are finally crushed, and Charlemagne imposes strict new rules to govern all areas of their lives, laws that only the Christian Church in Saxony could remove.<br> <br> 788 - Charles overpowers the Bavarians.<br> <br> 791 - 796 - Charlemagne conquers the empire of the Avars (modern Hungary and Austria.)</strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3" color="#000080"><strong> <br> </strong></font> <font size="3" color="#000080"> <strong> <font color="#000080"><span>Charlemagne and the Papacy:&nbsp; </span>Pope Leo III (795-816)</font></strong></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3" color="#000080"><strong> <br> 795 - On Christmas day, Pope Hadrian dies and Leo the Third is named the new Pope.<br> <br> 799 - Leo III was attacked while on a religious procession in Rome. After returning to health with Charlemagne, the Pope is sent back to Rome.<br> <br> 800 - Charles decides that the Papal situation in Rome needs his personal attention, so he and his entourage (including his children) went to Rome. After arriving, Charlemagne immediately called to order a trial for the Pope. There was a&nbsp; rebellion in Rome against the Pope, and the trial could neither condemn the Pope or find him innocent. Then however, Pope Leo took an oath of innocence near the holy tomb of Saint Peter.&nbsp;<br> <br> Christmas Day, 800 - Charlemagne, after greatly helping Pope Leo III, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. With much splendor and drama in Saint Peter&#39;s Basilica, Leo presented Charles with a gold crown.<br> <br> 813 - Charlemagne delegates power to his only surviving son Louis.<br> <br> 814 - Charlemagne dies on January 28.</strong></font></p>

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  • Story: Charlemagne

    As king of the Franks, Charlemagne conquered the Lomdard kingdom in Italy, subdued the Saxons, annexed Bavaria to his kingdom, fought campaigns in Spain and Hungary, and, with the exception of the kingdom of Asturias in Spain, southern Italy, and the British Isles, united in one superstate practically all the Christian lands of western Europe. Source: Nygaard&#39;s Genealogy

  • Story: Charlemagne King Of The Franks And Holy Roman Emporor

    Charlemagne (English: Charles the Great, Dutch: Karel de Grote, German: Karl der Grosse, Latin: Carolus Magnus) was born on April 2, 742 in Northern Europe. Charles was the eldest son of Pippin III and Bertrada of Laon. &quot;By the sword and the cross,&quot; Charlemagne became master of Western Europe.<br><br>In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his younger brother Carloman inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the Franks were falling back into barbarian ways, neglecting their education and religion. The Saxons of northern Europe were still pagans. In the south, the Roman Catholic church was asserting its power to recover land confiscated by the Lombard kingdom of <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">Italy</span>. <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">Europe</span> was in turmoil.<br><br>Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order to <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">Europe</span>. In 772 he launched a 30-year military campaign to accomplish this objective. By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vast realm encompassed what are now <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">France</span>, <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">Switzerland</span>, <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">Belgium</span>, and The Netherlands. It included half of present-day <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">Italy</span> and <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">Germany</span>, and parts of <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">Austria</span> and <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">Spain</span>. By 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 <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">Europe</span>.<br><br>On <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">Christmas Day</span> in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in Saint Peter&#39;s in <span style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed">Rome</span>, Pope Leo III placed a golden crown on the bowed head of the king. 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&#39;s plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared to act without Charlemagne&#39;s knowledge.<br><br>Charlemagne learned to read Latin and some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of having jesters perform, he listened to visiting scholars read from learned works. Charlemagne believed that government should be for the benefit of the governed. He was a reformer who tried to improve his subject&#39;s lives. He set up money standards to encourage commerce and urged better farming methods.<br><br>&quot;By the sword and the cross,&quot; Charlemagne became master of Western Europe<br>As is often the case, people considered great by historians are great killers as well. Thoughtout his conquests, Charlemagne was responsible for the death of masses of people who refused to accept Christianity, or their new king. Choosing to keep faith with their old gods and leaders, many thousands were slaughtered.

 
 
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