Charlemagne: Great Capitulary

About the Author

Charlemagne was born on April 2, probably at Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle). Most sources give the year as 742, but some historians have argued that he may have been born as late as 745 or even 747. His grandfather was Charles Martel, a mayor of the palace who became the virtual king of the Frankish Empire. Charlemagne's father, Pépin III, was also a mayor of the palace until Pope Stephen II acknowledged him as the king of the Franks. In this way the Merovingian Dynasty that had ruled France since the fifth century was replaced by the Carolingian Dynasty.

Little information survives about Charlemagne's early life, though it is known that after Pépin became king, Charles accompanied him on military expeditions. When Pépin died in 768, his kingdom was divided between Charles and his brother Carloman, but after Carloman died in 771, Charlemagne presided over a united Frankish Empire. Thereafter he aggressively expanded the kingdom. He launched an expedition against the Lombards in Italy and Aquitania (along the border with Spain) and then turned his attention to the Saxons on his northeastern frontier. In the east he conquered Bavaria and initiated assaults against the Asiatic Huns in Hungary. By 795 Charlemagne had conquered practically all of Christian Europe and the areas that had fallen under the Roman Empire. In 800 Pope Leo III called on Charlemagne to protect him from the people of Rome. Charlemagne answered the call, and on Christmas Day of 800 he was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. In the years that followed until his death in 814, Charlemagne labored to promote peace, learning, and efficient administration in his realms. His intention was to divide his kingdom among his three sons, but two of them died, so the kingdom passed to the remaining son, Louis the Pious.