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- Charlemagne, King of Franks, Emperor of the Romans was born on 2 Apr 742in Aachen. Died in 814 in Aix-la-Chapelle. Charlemagne, in LatinCarolus Magnus (Charles the Great) (742-814), king of the Franks(768-814) and Emperor of the Romans (800-14), who led his Frankish armiesto victory over numerous other peoples and established his rule in mostof western and central Europe. He was the best-known and most influentialking in Europe in the Middle Ages.
Early Years:
Charlemagne was born probably in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), on April 2,742, the son of the Frankish king Pepin the Short and the grandson ofCharles Martel. In 751 Pepin dethroned the last Merovingian king andassumed the royal title himself. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II in754. Besides anointing Pepin, Pope Stephen anointed both Charlemagne andhis younger brother Carloman (751-71).
Within the year Pepin invaded Italy to protect the pope against theLombards, and in 756 he again had to rush to the pope's aid. From 760 on,Pepin's main military efforts went into the conquest of Aquitaine, thelands south of the Loire River. Charlemagne accompanied his father onmost of these expeditions.
Campaigns:
When Pepin died in 768, the rule of his realms was to be shared betweenhis two sons. Charlemagne sought an alliance with the Lombards bymarrying (770) the daughter of their king, Desiderius (reigned 757-74).In 771 Carloman died suddenly. Charlemagne then seized his territories,but Carloman's heirs took refuge at the court of Desiderius. By that timeCharlemagne had repudiated his wife, and Desiderius was no longerfriendly. In 772, when Pope Adrian I appealed to Charlemagne for helpagainst Desiderius, the Frankish king invaded Italy, deposed hiserstwhile father-in-law (774), and himself assumed the royal title. Hethen journeyed to Rome and reaffirmed his father's promise to protectpapal lands. As early as 772 Charlemagne had fought onslaughts of theheathen Saxons on his lands. Buoyed by his Italian success, he now (775)embarked on a campaign to conquer and Christianize them. That campaignhad some initial success but was to drag on for 30 years, in which timehe conducted many other campaigns as well. He fought in Spain in 778; onthe return trip his rear guard, led by Roland, was ambushed, a storyimmortalized in The Song of Roland. In 788 he subjected the Bavarians tohis rule, and between 791 and 796 Charlemagne's armies conquered theempire of the Avars (corresponding roughly to modern Hungary andAustria).
Coronation:
Having thus established Frankish rule over so many other peoples,Charlemagne had in fact built an empire and become an emperor. Itremained only for him to add the title. On Christmas Day, in 800,Charlemagne knelt to pray in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo IIIthen placed a crown upon his head, and the people assembled in the churchacclaimed him the great, pacific emperor of the Romans.
Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reported that the king was surprisedby this coronation and that had he known it was going to happen, he wouldnot have gone into the church that day. This report has led to muchspeculation by historians. Charlemagne probably desired and expected toget the imperial title and he subsequently used it. In 813 he designatedhis sole surviving son, Louis, as his successor, and personally crownedhim.
Administration:
Charlemagne established a more permanent royal capital than had any ofhis predecessors. His favorite residence from 794 on was atAix-la-Chapelle. He had a church and a palace constructed there, based inpart on architectural borrowings from Ravenna and Rome. At his court hegathered scholars from all over Europe, the most famous being the Englishcleric Alcuin of York, whom he placed in charge of the palace school.
Administration of the empire was entrusted to some 250 royaladministrators called counts. Charlemagne issued hundreds of decrees,called capitularies, dealing with a broad range of topics from judicialand military matters to monasteries, education, and the management ofroyal estates.
The empire did not expand after 800; indeed, already in the 790s theseacoasts and river valleys experienced the first, dreaded visits of theVikings. Charlemagne ordered a special watch against them in everyharbor, but with little effect. He died before their full, destructiveforce was unleashed on the empire.
Evaluation:
Charlemagne is important not only for the number of his victories and thesize of his empire, but for the special blend of tradition and innovationthat he represented. On the one hand, he was a traditional Germanicwarrior, who spent most of his adult life fighting. In the Saxoncampaigns he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retaliated againstrebels with merciless slaughter. On the other hand, he placed his immensepower and prestige at the service of Christian doctrine, the monasticlife, the teaching of Latin, the copying of books, and the rule of law.His life, held up as a model to most later kings, thus embodied thefusion of Germanic, Roman, and Christian cultures that became the basisof European civilization.
He married Desiderata in 770; annulled.
He also married Hildegarde of Lizgau in 771. Hildegarde of Lizgau wasborn in 758. Died in 783.
They had the following children:
16 i. Charles the Younger was born in 772. Died in 811.
+17 ii. Pepin King of Italy
18 iii. Adelaide was born in 772. Died in 774.
19 iv. Rotrud, died in 810.
+20 v. Louis I Holy Roman Emperor,King of France,Germany,Aquitane
21 vi. Lothar was born in 778.
+22 vii. Bertha
He also married Fastrada in 783. Fastrada, died in 794.
They had the following children:
23 i. Theodrada
He also married Liutgard.
He also married Madelgard.
He also married Gersvind.
He also married Regina.
They had the following children:
24 i. Drogo was born in 801. Died in 855.
25 ii. Hugh, died in 844.
He also married Adalind.
They had the following children:
26 i. Richbod was born in 800/805. Died in 844.
27 ii. Theodoric was born in 807.
He also married Himiltrud.
They had the following children:
28 i. Pepin the Hunchback, died in 811.
Efter faderens bestemmelse skulle Karl dele tronen med broderen Karloman,men da denne døde ung, blev Karl enehersker. Han var stor og stærk (sigesat have kunnet rette en hestesko ud med hænderne), var en dygtig rytterog svømmer og en ivrig jæger. Sagde heller ikke nej til kvinder, muntrefester og god mad og drikke. Men frem for alt var han en fremragendehærfører og administrator. Han var i besiddelse af en stærk vilje, somhan rettede mod det ene mål at skabe et stærkt og mægtigt Frankerrige.
På Pavens anmodning om hjælp mod longobarderne drog Karl i 743 med en hærover Alperne og besejrede longobarderne, tog sin tidligere svigerfar tilfange og kronede sig selv som Konge af Lombardiet. I Rom blev Karl kårettil patricier, og byen modtog ham som en redningsmand. I den gamlePeterskirkes krypt svor konge og pave hinanden evig troskab. Karl lovedeat beskytte kirkestatens territorium, og paven at være sin tro beskyttersvasal.
772 angreb han sakserne, ødelagde deres gamle helligdom "Irminsul"(verden-saltets søjle) i Westphalen og rykkede frem til Weser. 775underlagde han sig Sakserriget, som han derefter bestræbte sig på atkristne. Sakserne rejste sig bestandig til oprør. I 782 kom Widukindtilbage og førte an i en ny frihedskamp, da den frankiske hær befandt sigi øst for at underkue den slaviske sorber-stamme. Karl fremskyndedekrigen, besejrede saksernes armé endnu engang, og han tog en frygtelighævn: på en eneste dag henrettede han 4500 oprørske saksere. I defølgende år gentog sakserne deres forsøg med frisernes hjælp, menfrankerne var langt de stærkeste. I 785 bøjede også Widukin sig og bad omfred. I julen sluttede han sig under Karls overhøjhed - og lod sig døbe.Efter nye oprør underlagde Karl sig 804 hele saksernes rige. Kortforinden var det lykkedes Karl også at undertvinge Bayern, der blev enfrankisk provins.
Avarerne var Karls sidste farlige fjender. De boede ved Tisza-flodensbredder i det nuværende ungarn, hvorfra de havde hersket over mangeslaviske og germanske stammer. De havde samlet store rigdomme. 1788stormede de vestpå, men blev standset ved Donau. Karl besluttede ateliminere den avariske trussel, og i 791 rykkede hans hær ind i deresland, dog uden at opnå afgørende resultat. Fire år senere fornyedesangrebet med en større styrke og med hjælp fra slaviske stammer.Avarernes vognfæstning blev stormet og erobret, og deres enorme skatteblev som krigsbytte ført til Frankerriget. Avarernes tid var forbi, meenKarls rige ekspanderede helt til Pannonien og Kroatien. Frankerriget varnu en stormagt.
Karl havde på forskellig vis skaffet sig herredømmet over størstedelen afdet tidligere romerske kejserrige, og i virkeligheden herskede han som enkejser i og med, at han sad inde med den højeste verdslige magt i sitrige. Ydermere styrede han Kirken i sin egenskab af pavens beskytter.Karl nærede dog ikke noget ønske om at blive Roms kejser, da kejseren afByzans havde en hævdvunden ret til den romerske kejsertitel, og den villeKarl ikke anfægte. Skæbnen ville imidlertid, ar Karl skulle blive kejserimod sin vilje.
Pave Leo 3.'s livsførelse gav anledning til et oprør mod ham i Rom 799.Han flygtede og søgte beskyttelse hos Karl. Karl bragte paven tilbage tilRom og ved hjælp af Karl tog paven påny magten kort før jul år 800. DaKarl siden deltog i julemessen i Peterskirken, overrumplede paven ham,ved at sætte kronen på hans hoved, mens koret sang og folket deltog ikejserhyldningen og ønskede Karl fremgang som "Guds udkårne store ogfredbringende kejser af Rom".
Han blev kanoniseret 1165.
At han var en stor/høj mand sås, da man i 1800-tallet i Aachen åbnedehans relikvieskrin. En måling viste, at han havde været 192 cm. høj.
Kilde: Politikens verdenshistorie, ved Erling Bjøl, bind 8, "Europasfødsel". [2]
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Anebasen — Ole Thyge Plannthin
742 - 814 (71 år)
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