Medieval studies

Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, founded the Carolingian dynasty and lived from to He was a king of the Franks and eventually an emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

Manorial system definition

After the death of his brother Carloman in , this oldest son of Pepin the Short ruled over an empire that included all of Gaul and a portion of Germania. When he declared himself king of the Lombards in , he embarked on a program of expansion and led multiple military expeditions. During his 46 years at the helm, the Frankish kingdom expanded to become the biggest in Europe since the collapse of the Roman Empire.

Charlemagne was anointed Emperor of the West on Christmas Day, , with the support of the church since he had forced Christianity on the subjugated peoples. There was some debate regarding exactly when Charlemagne was born. According to Eginhard, an abbot and scholar from the ninth century, the date was April 2, Not once was a birthplace specified.

A number of scholars argue that Austrasia, in what was then the northeastern part of France, was the site of his birth. Charlemagne would have been born illegitimately as the son of Pepin the Short and Berthe the Great. More than a year after he was born, in or , his parents tied the knot in a religious ceremony. When Charlemagne was a kid, he never took the time to learn to write.

His maturity as an adult would make up for his immaturity as a child. But he could read, and he even knew a little Latin. However, materials that reflect his boyhood and childhood are so few, if not nonexistent, that it is impossible to paint a clear picture of young Charlemagne. However, he was particularly close to his younger, more ostentatious sister, Ghisla.