Charles Carolingian (abt. 748 - 814)

Born about 2 Apr 0748 in Austrasia, Francia

Ancestors

Husband of Hildegarde (Schwaben) von Vinzagau — married before 30 Apr 0771 (to 30 Apr 0783) in Aix-la-Chapelle

Husband of Fastrada (de Franconie) Thüringen — married Oct 0783 in Worms, Germany

Descendants

Died 28 Jan 0814 at about age 65 in Aachen, Austrasia, Francia

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Biography

Charlemagne expanded the Frankish kingdom to include much of Western and Central Europe. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, and his foreign conquests and internal reforms, shaped Western Europe and the European Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of Germany, the Holy Roman Empire, and France.

Charlemagne (742/7 – 28 Jan 814) had children with two wives and six mistresses. As his two eldest sons died before him, he was succeeded by his third son Hludowic (Louis the Pious).

Name and Titles

Commonly known as: Charlemagne, King of the Franks, Emperor of the Romans

This name is commonly used in both English and French does not appear until the 12th century.

Also known as: Charles the Great, Karolus Magnus, Carolus, Karl, Karlo, etc.

• English: Charles the Great, King of the Franks, Emperor of the Romans
• French: Charlemagne, Roi des Francs, Empereur d'Occident
• German: Karl der Grosse, König des Fränkischen Reichs
• Dutch: Karel de Grote,
• Latin: Karolus (Carolus) Magnus, Rex Francorum, imperatori Romanorum
• Old Low Franconian: Karl thie Mikili, Frankana Kunink
• Old Gallo-Romance: Karlus li Magnus, Regis de les Frankes
• Old French: Charles li Magne, Rei des Francs
• Middle French: Charlemagne, Roi des Francs

"On that very and most holy day of Christmas ... Leo the pope put [a/the] crown on his head, and acclamation was made by all the people of the Romans: ‘To Charles Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor of the Romans, Life and Victory!’"^[1]

• Charlemagne titled himself: 'Carolus serenissimus augustus a Deo coranatos magnus pacificus imperator, Romanum gubernans imperium, qui et per misericordiam Dei rex Francorum atque Langobardorum'^[2]

Birth

Born: Probably 2 April 748

The day of his birth as April 2nd comes from Lorsch Calendar ("IIII. Non. Apr. Nativitatis domni et gloriosissimi Karoli imperatoris et semper Augusti.") It is the year of his birth which is uncertain. The contemporary historian Einhard wrote that Charlemagne was about age 71 at his death in 814. For this reason, the year of his birth is frequently given as 742. However, there are problems with this date and it does not match other records. He was certainly not born before the marriage of his parents which occurred in 744. The year is given as 747 in Annales Petaviani; however, there are reasons to think this is also wrong. The entry immediately before the birth of Charlemagne discusses the departure of his uncle, King Carloman, for Rome which could not have been before 15 August 747. Also, 2 April 747 was Easter Sunday, and it is unthinkable that Charlemagne could have been born on Easter without it being a widely known and celebrated fact. Bercher points out that if Easter was being used as the beginning of the New Year, then 2 April 748 would still have been 747 in that calendar system. For these reasons, the most probable date of birth for Charlemagne is 2 April 748.^[3]

Place of birth: Unknown.

The place of birth of Charlemagne is not given in any contemporary document. He is often assumed to have to have been born in Aachen ( in present day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) which was the center of Charlemagne's Frankish empire, but this not actually known. The royal court of the Franks frequently traveled from place to place, so Charlemagne could have been born in any of several cities. The best that can be said is that he was born in Francia (Kingdom of the Franks), most likely in the territory known as Austrasia (though many places in Neustria have also been suggested).

Marriages and Legitimate Children^[3]

Married: 1st - Unknown (sometimes called Desiderata), daughter of Desiderius, king of the Lombards in 770. Charlemagne's mother brought a daughter Desiderius and married her to Charlemagne in 770 to forge an alliance with Lombard kingdom. That her name was "Desiderata" is known from a single source, however, it is now thought to be very unlikely. In 770 or 771, Charlemagne repudiated this marriage to marry Hildegard. They had no children.

Married: 2nd - Hildegard, daughter of Gerold, count of Alemannia, between 770 and 772. The date of this marriage is difficult to determine due to conflicts in the records; it most likely occurred in 771. They had 9 children. She died 30 April 783 in Saxony,

Children of Charlemagne and Hildegard:

• 1. Charles the Younger (772/773 - 811), King of the Franks
• 2. Adelais (Adelaid/Adeleidis) (773/774 - 774)
• 3. Hrotrudis (Rotrud/Hruodrud, Erythro in Greek) (775 - 810), mistress of Rorico I, Comte de Rennes et du Maine.
• 4. Carloman, renamed "Pepin" (777-810), King of the Lombards (Italy) ^[4]
• 5. Louis (778 – 840, twin of Hlothar, Holy Roman Emperor
• 6. Hlothar (Lothar) (778 – 779/780. twin of Louis)
• 7. Bertrada (Berta) (779/780 - 823/4), mistress to Angilbert "the Saint"
• 8. Gisela (Gisle) (781 - 800/814)
• 9. Hildegard (783) lived 40 days

Married: 3rd - Fastrada, daughter of count Radulf, in 783. They had two children. She died 10 August 794.

Children of Charlemagne and Fastrada:

• 1. Theodrada (785-844/853), Abbess of Notre-Dame d'Argenteuil near Paris, Abbess of (some convent in) Zurich
• 2. Hiltrud (787 - 800/814), mistress of Richwin, Count of Padua, mother of Richbod (800/805 – 844)

Married: 4th - Liutgard, an Alamannian of unknown parentage. They had no children.

Mistresses and Illegitimate Children

Mistress: Hilmiltrude. Issue: 1

• Pepin "le Bossu" (the Hunchback) (770 – 811), rebelled, imprisoned at Abbey of St-Gallen and Prum.

Unknown mistress:

• Daughter Rotaïd (Hruodhaid), b. ca. 784, d. after 800, prob. after 814.

Mistress: Madelgard. Issue:

• Daughter Rothilde, d. 22 or 24 March 852, abbess of Faremoutiers.

Mistress: Gersvind. (Gerswinda). Issue:

• Daughter Adaltrude (about 790)

Mistress: Regina. Issue: 2

• Drogo (Dreux) (801 - 855), Abbot of Luxeuil, Bishop of Metz, Vicar to Pope Sergius II, Leo IV, and Benedict III in France
• Hugo (Hugues) "l'Abbé/the Abbot" (802/806 - 844), Abbot at St-Quentin, Lobbes, St-Bertin, and Noaille, Arch-Chancellor, first for Louis, then for Charles II "le Chauve"

Mistress: Adelindis (Ethelind). Issue: 1

• Theoderic (Thierry) (807 - after 818), a cleric

Death

Died: 28 Jan 814 in Aachen, Austrasia, Francia (now in present day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). Austrasia probably ceased to be a separate administrative territory within Charlemagne’s Frankish kingdom by 814, but was still a recognizable region of the Kingdom of the Franks.

"He died January twenty-eighth, the seventh day from the time that he took to his bed, at nine o'clock in the morning, after partaking of the Holy Communion, in the seventy-second year of his age and the forty-seventh of his reign" (Einhard).^[5]

Buried: "The same day" in Aachen Cathedral (Cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle).^[6]

"From the lands where the sun rises to western shores, People are crying and wailing...the Franks, the Romans, all Christians, are stung with mourning and great worry...the young and old, glorious nobles, all lament the loss of their Caesar...the world laments the death of Charles...O Christ, you who govern the heavenly host, grant a peaceful place to Charles in your kingdom. Alas for miserable me." ~ anonymous monk of Bobbio^[7]

1165: Frederick I put Charlemagne in a sarcophagus beneath the cathedral floor.

1215: He was re-interred by Frederick II in a casket of gold and silver.

Notes

Physical Character

His appearance as described by Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni in his twenty-second chapter:

"He was heavily built, sturdy, and of considerable stature .... round head, large and lively eyes, a slightly larger nose than usual, white but still attractive hair, a bright and cheerful expression, a short and fat neck, and a slightly protruding stomach. His voice was clear, but a little higher than one would have expected for a man of his build. He enjoyed good health, except for the fevers that affected him in the last few years of his life. Toward the end he dragged one leg. Even then, he stubbornly did what he wanted and refused to listen to doctors, indeed he detested them, because they wanted to persuade him to stop eating roast meat, as was his wont, and to be content with boiled meat." ^[8]

1861: Charlemagne's tomb was opened by scientists who reconstructed his skeleton and found it measured 74.9 inches (6' 2-3/4") (192 centimeters).^[9]

Charlemagne wore the traditional, non-aristocratic costume of the Frankish people (Einhard).^[10]

Religion

• Maintained father's policy towards papacy and became its protector.

• 778: Defeated by the Basques, at the Battle of Roncesvalles.

• Christianized Saxons by force.

Sources

1. ↑ Davis, RHC: A History of Medieval Europe, Longman 1977 p149-50
2. ↑ Davis, A History of Medieval Europe, p155
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Baldwin, Stewart, 'Charlemagne (Karolus Magnus, Charles the Great, Karl der Große)' revised 16 Aug 2012, in The Henry Project: The Ancestors of King Henry II of England. Online American Society of Genealogists https://fasg.org/projects/henryproject : accessed 23 May 2023).
4. ↑ Einhard, Life of Charlemagne translated by Samuel Epes Turner Page 48. (New York: American Book Company, 1880); digital image: (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Life_of_Charlemagne/qCseAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0):
5. ↑ Einhard, page 70.
6. ↑ earliest surviving planctus, the Planctus de obitu Karoli, was composed by a monk of Bobbio, which he had patronised.
7. ↑ John Julius Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, pg. 378 (?)
8. ↑ Einhard, page 56.
9. ↑ Barbero, Alessandro (2004). Charlemagne: Father of a Continent. Translated by Allan Cameron. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23943-2., pg. 91 Available on the Internet Archive. (https://archive.org/details/charlemagnefathe0000barb/page/118/mode/2up?q=opened : accessed 6 April 2024)
10. ↑ Einhard, page 58-59.

See also:

• Settipani, Christian. La préhistoire des Capétiens 481-987 (Première partie - Mérovingiens, Carolingiens et Robertiens). (Villeneuve d'Ascq, 1993).
• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, in 5 vols. (Salt Lake City, Utah, 2013): vol. V pages 481-504, Appendix: Lines from Charlemagne to William the Conqueror.
• Pagden, Percy. World's at War: The 2,500-Year Struggle Between East and West, First ed. (2008): p. 147.
• Bryce, James. The Holy Roman Empire. (London, 1875, 1968). Books.google.com LINK
• L. Orlandini, Manuel Abranches de Soveral, Reynaud de Paysac, F.L. J P de Palmas (Aurejac et Tournemire; Frankish line;
• La Galissonniere: Elections d'Arques et Rouen), Jean de Villoutreys (ref: Georges Poull), E. Wilkerson-Theaux (Laura Little), O. Auffray, A. Brabant (Genealogy of Chauvigny of Blot from "Chanoine Prevost Archiviste du Diocese de Troyes Union Typographique Domois Cote-d'Or 1925), Emmanuel Arminjon (E Levi-Provencal Histoire de l'Espagne Andalouse), Y. Gazagnes-Gazanhe, R. Sekulovich and J.P. de
• Urkundenbuch für die Geschichte des Niederrheins oder des Erzstifts Cöln, der Fürstenthümer Jülich und Berg, Geldern, Meurs, Kleve und Mark, und der Reichsstifte Elten, Essen und Werden : aus den Quellen in dem Königlichen Provinzial-Archiv zu Düsseldorf und in den Kirchen- und Stadt-Archiven der Provinz, vollständig und erläutert / hrsg. von Theod. Jos. Lacomblet Editor: Lacomblet, Theodor Joseph DNB Wikipedia Published Düsseldorf : Wolf, 1840 - Annotation Später mit Verlagsangabe Schönian, Elbersfeld und Schaub, Düsseldorf. Karl der Große and Pippin mentioned date May 3, 779 Karl der Große April 26, 802