Charlemagne

Charlemagne was born in 742 into a already imperial family. His father was Pepin the Short who at the time was a great controller of most of the European land. His brother also controlled a large chunk of land. With the death of both his family members Charlemagne was left a large land to rule. This is how we came to know him as emperor. "The empire created by Charlemagne extended over most of what is not regarded as western Europe."(McKitterick 38)

Charlemagne begins his imperial role with many accomplishments. In 722 Charlemagne begins many conquests against the Saxons. This drags on for a little more than 30 years, and finally thirty years later the were conquered. In 774 he conquers the Lombards of Italy.

In 778 Charlemagne moves into attack Pamplona through Spain.
In 782 Charlemagne was attacked by the Saxons in a surprise attempt against his men. In response Charlemagne killed 4'500 Saxon prisoners. In 800 A.D. a "first time in history" moment occurs.

Pope Leo crowns Charlemagne Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, this is the only time in papal history where a pope bows to a king that's not Jesus. In 802 Charlemagne establishes his court at Aachen and attempts to create a non-discriminate school for students in his empire. The problem with this is the fact that his empire was far to large. His dream was never accomplished. (Guy 8)

The Byzantine empire began with Charlemagne and he ruled for a total of 13 years. He had such an amazing empire thanks to the help of his father and brother. He accomplished many things and attacked and conquered territories. Charlemagne was truly one of the greats.


McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.