Charlemagne Charles the Great Biography
Charlemagne Biography
Charlemagne is also known as “Charles the Great.” He was the most famous ruler in the Middle Ages. He was the king of the Franks from 768- 814 and the emperor of the Romans from 800- 814. Charlemagne’s kingdom included most of western and central Europe. He was born in 742 and died in 814. Charlemagne was a tall man for that time at over six feet. He had a thick neck, red hair, and blue eyes. Some words that describe him would be ambitious, strong, and brutal. Charlemagne was a very smart man. He could speak and read in Latin, and even though he tried to write in Latin, he never learned how.
Charlemagne was born on April 2, 742. His father was “Pepin the Short.” In 751, Charlemagne’s father dethroned the last Merovingian king, and took the throne for himself. In a promise to the pope to protect his lands, Pepin the Short was crowned King of the Franks by Pope Stephen II in 754. When Charlemagne’s dad died in 768, Pepin the Short’s kingdom was divided into two parts. Charlemagne and his brother Carloman each got part of the land. Even though Carloman was younger, he got a bigger part of the land. Three years later in 771, Carloman died and Charlemagne received all of his brother’s land. He united the two sections together, and was now the only leader of the Frankish Empire.
Soon after his brother’s death, Charlemagne started to expand his empire. His empire in 771 went from Austrasia in the north to Septimania in the south. Its border in the east was Nordgau and the border in the west was Aquitaine. Charlemagne’s biggest and longest fight was against the Saxons. The Saxons lived in northwest Germany. This was Charlemagne’s first move to expand his kingdom. He picked the Saxons to attack because they were the last people in the area that were non- Christian, and because they had attacked the Frankish borders many times. Charlemagne made Saxony one his provinces. He put Christian churches there and made the Saxons convert to Christianity. The Saxons did not like this, so they revolted. Before Charlemagne could force his rule there permanently, he had to capture their leader,...