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And although his body was not pierced by the sword, the trial of many sufferings, the perilous combats in which he engaged, his daily willingness to die for the conversion of the infidel, have made of him a martyr. The Medieval Age is thought of as a dark time, where everything tended to be bleak and dismal, however there was light all through this period, and many institutions we have today were created and formed during this time. Out of this great time, we get great leaders, some of who are Alfred, Arthur, and Charlemagne. Charlemagne was the great leader and protector of the Franks, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and conqueror of Lombardy.
He was a great man even by todays standards. He stood up for what he believed in and protected what he had. Much of what we know of Charlemagne comes from The Life of Charlemagne, written by Einhard, who was a friend of Charlemagne, and was a later advisor to his son. Charlemagne, also known as Charles I, was born in 742. He was the son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada. Little is known about his childhood, no one was around at the time of Edwards writing who would have remembered it.
Charlemagne's roots can be traced back to Ansegis, Mayor of Austrasia and Begin. His most famous ancestors however, were his father and grandfather, Pepin the Short and Charles Martel, respectively. After the death of Pepin the Short, in 768, Charlemagne and his brother Carloman were proclaimed kings by their supporting nobles, and were anointed by their respective bishops, this joint ruling was only allowed if the two brothers could co-operate with each other in the ruling of the country. In 769, Aquitaine and Gascony broke into rebellion, which was a war first started by Pepin the short, but was not finished. Charlemagne was forced to try to crush these rebellions without his brother's assistance, because Carloman did not send the assistance that Charlemagne needed. Charlemagne marched his army through Bordeaux and defeated the rebel leader, Hunold.
Duke Hunold went to Lupus, Duke of the Gascons, for protection. Duke Lupus feared the Charlemagne would walk through his country and take over, so he agreed to give Hunold to Charlemagne, and also gave himself up. After the Aquitaine War, there was trouble starting up in Lombardy, to try and seal the peace with Lombardy, he married the daughter of the king of Lombardy, Desiderata. Pope Stephen III did not like this marriage, for the papacy had great influence with the Franks. Pope Stephen would have liked to see the powers of the Lombards weakened, because the Lombards territory bordered on those of the Popes land. After one year, Charlemagne divorced his wife, Desiderata and married Hildegarde.
In 771, there was a fear that Carloman and Desiderata would create an alliance and attack Charlemagne, but in December of that year, Carloman died, leaving Charlemagne in complete control of the Frankish Kingdom who voted unanimously for Charlemagne to lead all of the Franks. In 772, Charlemagne led an army into Saxony, in his first attempt to conquer the region. Charlemagne decided to stop for the winter, and instead of going back to attack Saxony, he had changed his mind and turned around and headed for Lombardy in 773. His army marched from Geneva toward Lombardy. Charlemagne's army was spilt into two groups, one commanded by him and the other by his Uncle Bernard. Although Desiderius had fortified the Italian Alps, a flanking maneuver forced him to retreat toward Lombardy.
Desiderius' army came to rest at the city of Pavia. Charlemagne laid siege to the city for several months. He then left a smaller force to siege Pavia, and took the bulk of his army to meet other Lombard threats. Being so close to Rome, Charlemagne decided to visit the Pope. In Rome he met other rulers, spiritual and earthly. In meetings with the pope, he reconfirmed the alliance between the Frankish Empire and the papacy.
In the summer of 774, Pavia was in a difficult position, they had no food, Desiderius agreed to surrender as long as the life of his men would be spared. Charlemagne, agreed to the terms, and exiled Desiderius. Charlemagne was then declared the King of Italy, and from that time onwards he was to be called King of the Franks and Lombards. Charlemagne thought the best way to rule the territories that he conquered was to leave the current governors in their place and got them to pay tribute to him. One of the son-in-laws to Desiderius refused to pay respect to Charlemagne, and he tried to restore the exiled prince Adelchis. Charlemagne then set out to crush these dissidents; he went to battle with the Lombards again.
While Charlemagne was fighting the Lombards, the Saxons again revolted, and Charlemagne again marched his armies to Saxony. He started his invasion by attacking Westphalia. Then he marched into Engria, conquered the Mid-Saxons, and then crossed into Westphalia. It was the Eastphalians who first converted to Christianity, and then the Engrians followed.
Hostages were taken for security for the oaths made. Westphalia was the last to covert, as they were stronger than the other two provinces of Saxony. As an end result of this campaign, three quarters of Saxony were loyal to Charlemagne, but not for long. In 776, Saxony revolted again.
He marched his army from Italy to Saxony with amazing speed, and took the Saxons completely by surprise. The hostages that he had taken earlier were killed, and the Saxons looked for peace. To insure his control, Charlemagne called a council at Paderborn, in the center of Engria. Many Saxons were baptized, and swore oaths to remain loyal to Charlemagne. At the council, ambassadors from Spain had come to show homage to Charlemagne, they proposed that their feudal lords become lords of Charlemagne, if he agreed to give protection. Thinking that Saxony was under control, he accepted the offer and took his army into Spain.
After conquering lands there, he learned that there was another revolt in Saxony. He then marched back to Saxony, and defeated the Westphalians. As usual, the Eastphalians and the Engrians submitted without a fight. Charlemagne then divided the Saxons politically and put them under bishops, to keep them controlled. He published a Saxon code of law, and let some Saxon Chieftains keep rule. After 2 years, the northern tribes of Saxony revolted again, and Charlemagne again subdue the revolt.
He then rounded up the leaders of the revolt, which was about 4, 500 men, and slaughtered them. Only minor Saxony revolts occurred for the time being, which were easily controlled. Charlemagne then turned his attention to other fronts. He then conquered the Slavs, Avars, the Island of Corsica, Sardinia, and the Balearic Islands. In 792, the Saxons revolted again.
It would take 2 years for Charlemagne to stop the rebellion. Charlemagne was described as a very large person, but with a very squeaky voice. He loved to have people around him. Charlemagne was a humble ruler, he did not try to elevate himself over his subjects, and he talked to each one equally, and frequently appointed former slaves as governors. Also he did not dress eloquently, he wore the same clothes as everyone else at this time. From the beginning of his day, he had people asking for advice, chatting with him, etc.
He did not like to waste time, and often had his daily planning session in his bedroom while he got dressed. He was a deeply religious person, and attended mass regularly. He also loved to eat, and regarded meal times when heart and mind were nourished. Like the Greeks, Charlemagne despised drunkenness in all people, and especially held himself to his standards. After a meal, he would often take a nap in preparation for the day ahead, which was filled with court cases, planning, and other kingly matters. In the evening, he would attend services in the chapel, before he would eat dinner.
Charlemagne loved his family, and when he was at home, would not sit down to eat without his children being present. He especially cared for his children, Charles, Carloman (who is later named Pepin), and Louis. From the beginning of their lives he always stressed education. In addition to the physical training they received, each one of them accompanied their father on the battlefield, and when each was 13, they were all commanding men.
He also gave each of his sons a portion of the kingdom to rule, so that they would gain practical experience in being a leader. Even after they were on their own, Charlemagne kept an eye on them. He was even more watchful of his daughters. He would only allow them to marry courtiers that lived in the palace. His daughters joined in on all of his activities, from the morning hunt to the various after-dinner discussions. In 791, he chooses Aix-la-Chapelle (now know as Aachen) to be the site for his new capitol.
He chose this site for several reasons. First, it was known for it's hot springs. Second, Aix-la-Chapelle was in reach of nearly...
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