Alexander Wüst
Karl der Grosse
Search results
In modern German, he is known as Karl der Große. The Latin epithet magnus ('great') may have been associated with him already in his lifetime, but this is not certain. The contemporary Royal Frankish Annals routinely call him Carolus magnus rex ('Charles the great king').
Karl gilt als einer der bedeutendsten mittelalterlichen Herrscher und als einer der wichtigsten Herrscher im europäischen Geschichtsbewusstsein; bereits zu Lebzeiten wurde er Pater Europae („Vater Europas“) genannt.
- Overview
- Early years
Charlemagne was an 8th-century Frankish king who has attained a status of almost mythical proportions in the West. Among other things, he was responsible for uniting most of Europe under his rule by power of the sword, for helping to restore the Western Roman Empire and becoming its first emperor, and for facilitating a cultural and intellectual renaissance, the ramifications of which were felt in Europe for centuries afterward.
None
Read more about the Franks.
How did Charlemagne become emperor of the Holy Roman Empire?
Charlemagne was crowned “emperor of the Romans” by Pope Leo III in 800 CE, thus restoring the Roman Empire in the West for the first time since its dissolution in the 5th century. Charlemagne was selected for a variety of reasons, not least of which was his long-standing protectorate over the papacy. His protector status became explicit in 799, when the pope was attacked in Rome and fled to Charlemagne for asylum. The ensuing negotiations ended with Leo’s reinstallation as pope and Charlemagne’s own coronation as Holy Roman emperor.
Read more below: None
Around the time of the birth of Charlemagne—conventionally held to be 742 but likely to be 747 or 748—his father, Pippin III (the Short), was mayor of the palace, an official serving the Merovingian king but actually wielding effective power over the extensive Frankish kingdom. What little is known about Charlemagne’s youth suggests that he received practical training for leadership by participating in the political, social, and military activities associated with his father’s court. His early years were marked by a succession of events that had immense implications for the Frankish position in the contemporary world. In 751, with papal approval, Pippin seized the Frankish throne from the last Merovingian king, Childeric III. After meeting with Pope Stephen II at the royal palace of Ponthion in 753–754, Pippin forged an alliance with the pope by committing himself to protect Rome in return for papal sanction of the right of Pippin’s dynasty to the Frankish throne. Pippin also intervened militarily in Italy in 755 and 756 to restrain Lombard threats to Rome, and in the so-called Donation of Pippin in 756 he bestowed on the papacy a block of territory stretching across central Italy which formed the basis of a new political entity, the Papal States, over which the pope ruled.
When Pippin died in 768, his realm was divided according to Frankish custom between Charlemagne and his brother, Carloman. Almost immediately the rivalry between the two brothers threatened the unity of the Frankish kingdom. Seeking advantage over his brother, Charlemagne formed an alliance with Desiderius, king of the Lombards, accepting as his wife the daughter of the king to seal an agreement that threatened the delicate equilibrium that had been established in Italy by Pippin’s alliance with the papacy. The death of Carloman in 771 ended the mounting crisis, and Charlemagne, disregarding the rights of Carloman’s heirs, took control of the entire Frankish realm.
Learn about the life and achievements of Karl der Große, the Frankish king who became the first emperor of the Romans in 800. Discover how he united much of Europe, supported the papacy, and sparked the Carolingian Renaissance.
Nov 9, 2009 · Learn about Charlemagne, the medieval ruler who united much of Western Europe and was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in 800. Explore his life, achievements, family, death and legacy in this article.
- 2 min
Oct 11, 2020 · Also known as: Charles I, Charles le Magne, Charles le Grand (Charles the Great), Karl der Grosse, Carolus Magnus (“Charles the Great”) Most famous for: Conquering the Lombards, the Saxons, and the Avares. Accomplishments: Responsible for the Carolingian Renaissance. Other names: the Father of Europe (Pater Europae) Birth Story and childhood
Apr 26, 2023 · Charlemagne (English: Charles the Great, German: Karl der Grosse, French: Charles le Grand, Latin: Carolus Magnus, Dutch: Karel de Grote), King of Neustria (768-771), King of the Franks (771-814), King of the Lombards (774-814), and Emperor of the Romans (800-814). He was the eldest son of Pippin III and Bertrada of Laon.
