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{{Short description|King of the Franks and first Holy Roman Emperor (748–814)}}
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{{Use British English|date=November 2024}}
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{{distinguish|Charlamagne}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Charlemagne
| more         = Carolus Magnus
| image        = Charlemagne denier Mayence 812 814.jpg
| caption      = A [[denarius]] of Charlemagne dated {{c.|812–814}} with the inscription {{small|KAROLVS IMP AVG}}<br />(''Karolus Imperator Augustus'')
| succession2   = [[Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor]] of the [[Carolingian Empire]]
| reign2        = 25 December 800 – 28 January 814
| coronation2   = 25 December 800<br />[[Old St. Peter's Basilica]], Rome
| predecessor2  = <!-- Do not add Constantine VI here; a claim of spiritual inheritance not recognised in modern scholarship has no place here -->
| successor2    = [[Louis the Pious]]
| birth_date   = {{birth date|748|4|2|df=y}}{{Efn|name=birth|Alternative birth years for Charlemagne include 742 and 747. There has been scholarly debate over this topic, see [[#Birth|§ Birth and early life]]. For full treatment of the debate, see {{harvnb|Nelson|2019|pp=28–29}}. See further Karl Ferdinand Werner, ''Das Geburtsdatum Karls des Großen'', in ''Francia'' 1, 1973, pp. 115–157 ([http://mdzx.bib-bvb.de/francia/Blatt_bsb00016275,00115.html online] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131117074120/http://mdzx.bib-bvb.de/francia/Blatt_bsb00016275%2C00115.html |date=17 November 2013 }});<br />Matthias Becher: ''Neue Überlegungen zum Geburtsdatum Karls des Großen'', in: ''Francia'' 19/1, 1992, pp. 37–60 ([http://mdzx.bib-bvb.de/francia/Blatt_bsb00016296,00047.html online] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131117074146/http://mdzx.bib-bvb.de/francia/Blatt_bsb00016296%2C00047.html |date=17 November 2013 }})}}
| birth_place  = [[Francia]]
| death_date   = {{death date|814|1|28|df=yes}}
| death_place  = [[Aachen]], Francia
| spouses      = {{Plainlist|
* {{longitem|[[Desiderata of the Lombards|Desiderata]]<br />(m. {{circa|770}}; annulled 771)}}
* {{longitem|[[Hildegard (queen)|Hildegard]]<br />(m. 771; d. 783)}}
* {{longitem|[[Fastrada]]<br />(m. {{circa|783}}; d. 794)}}
* {{longitem|[[Luitgard (Frankish queen)|Luitgard]]<br />(m. {{circa|794}}; d. 800)}}
}}
| issue        = {{Plainlist|
* [[Pepin the Hunchback]]
* [[Charles the Younger]]
* [[Pepin of Italy]]
* [[Louis the Pious]]
}}
| issue-link   = #Wives,_concubines,_and_children
| issue-pipe   = Among others
| house        = [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingian]]
| house-type   = Dynasty
| father       = [[Pepin the Short]]
| mother       = [[Bertrada of Laon]]
| signature_type = [[Signum manus]]
| religion     = [[Chalcedonian Christianity]]
| type         = King
| image_size   = 225
| succession1  = [[King of the Lombards]] {{nobold|([[King of Italy|Italy]])}}
| reign1       = June 774 – 28 January 814
| predecessor1 = [[Desiderius]]
| successor1   = [[Bernard of Italy|Bernard]]
| regent1      = [[Pepin of Italy]] (781–810)
| reg-type1    = Co-ruler
| succession  = [[King of the Franks]]
| reign       = 9 October 768 –<br />28 January 814
| coronation  = 9 October 768<br />[[Noyon]]
| regent      = [[Carloman I]] (768–771)<br />[[Charles the Younger|Charles]] (800–811)
| reg-type    = Co-ruler
| predecessor = [[Pepin the Short]]
| successor   = [[Louis the Pious]]
| place of burial = [[Aachen Cathedral]]
| signature    = Karldergrossesignatur.svg
}}
{{carolingians|268px}}

'''Charlemagne''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʃ|ɑːr|l|ə|m|eɪ|n}} {{respell|SHAR|lə|mayn}}; 2 April 748{{Efn|name=birth}} – 28 January 814) was [[List of Frankish kings|King of the Franks]] from 768, [[List of kings of the Lombards|King of the Lombards]] from 774, and [[Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor]] of what is now known as the [[Carolingian Empire]] from 800, holding these titles until his death in 814. He united most of [[Western Europe|Western]] and [[Central Europe]], and was the first recognised emperor to rule from the west after the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]] approximately three centuries earlier. Charlemagne's reign was marked by political and social changes that had lasting influence on Europe throughout the [[Middle Ages]].

A member of the Frankish [[Carolingian dynasty]], Charlemagne was the eldest son of [[Pepin the Short]] and [[Bertrada of Laon]]. With his brother, [[Carloman I]], he became king of the Franks in 768 following Pepin's death and became the sole ruler three years later. Charlemagne continued his father's policy of protecting the papacy and became its chief defender, removing the [[Lombards]] from power in [[Kingdom of the Lombards|northern Italy]] in 774. His reign saw a period of expansion that led to the conquests of [[History of Bavaria#Bavaria and the Agilolfings under Frankish overlordship|Bavaria]], [[Old Saxony|Saxony]], and [[Spanish March|northern Spain]], as well as other campaigns that led Charlemagne to extend his rule over a large part of Europe. Charlemagne spread Christianity to his new conquests (often by force), as seen at the [[Massacre of Verden]] against the [[Saxons]]. He also sent envoys and initiated diplomatic contact with the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid caliph]] [[Harun al-Rashid]] in the 790s, due to their mutual interest in Iberian affairs.

In 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor in Rome by [[Pope Leo III]]. Although historians debate the coronation's significance, the title represented the height of his prestige and authority. Charlemagne's position as the first emperor in the West in over 300 years brought him into conflict with the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Empire]] in [[Constantinople]]. Through his assumption of the imperial title, he is considered the forerunner to the line of [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s, which persisted into the nineteenth century. As king and emperor, Charlemagne engaged in a number of reforms in administration, law, education, military organisation, and religion, which shaped Europe for centuries. The stability of his reign began a period of cultural activity known as the [[Carolingian Renaissance]].

Charlemagne died in 814 and was buried at [[Aachen Cathedral]] in [[Aachen]], his imperial capital city. He was succeeded by his only surviving legitimate son, [[Louis the Pious]]. After Louis, the Frankish kingdom was divided and eventually coalesced into [[West Francia|West]] and [[East Francia]], which later became [[Kingdom of France|France]] and [[Kingdom of Germany|Germany]], respectively. Charlemagne's profound influence on the Middle Ages and influence on the territory he ruled has led him to be called the "Father of Europe" by many historians. He is seen as a founding figure by multiple European states and a number of historical royal houses of Europe trace their lineage back to him. Charlemagne has been the subject of artworks, monuments and literature during and after the medieval period.

== Name ==
Several languages were spoken in Charlemagne's world, and he was known to contemporaries as {{lang|goh|Karlus}} in the [[Old High German]] he spoke; as {{lang|fro|Karlo}} to [[Old French#History|Early Old French]] (or [[Proto-Romance]]) speakers; and as {{lang|la|Carolus}} (or {{lang|la|Karolus}}) in [[Medieval Latin]], the formal language of writing and diplomacy.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=2, 68}}{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=116}} ''Charles'' is the modern English form of these names. The name {{lang|fr|Charlemagne}}, as the emperor is normally known in English, comes from the French {{lang|fr|Charles-le-magne}} ('Charles the Great').{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=2}} In modern German and Dutch, he is known as {{lang|de|Karl der Große}} and {{lang|nl|Karel de Grote}} respectively.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=529}} The Latin [[epithet]] {{lang|la|magnus}} ('great') may have been associated with him during his lifetime, but this is not certain. The contemporary ''[[Royal Frankish Annals]]'' routinely call him {{lang|la|Carolus magnus rex}} ("Charles the great king").{{sfn|Barbero|2004|p=413}} That epithet is attested in the works of the [[Poeta Saxo]] around 900, and it had become commonly applied to him by 1000.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=4}}

Charlemagne was named after his grandfather, [[Charles Martel]].{{sfn|Becher|2005|pp=42–43}} That name, and its derivatives, are unattested before their use by Charles Martel and Charlemagne.{{sfn|Nonn|2008|p=575}} ''Karolus'' was adapted by Slavic languages as their word for "king" ({{langx|ru|korol'}}, {{langx|pl|król}} and {{langx|sk|král}}) through Charlemagne's influence or that of his great-grandson, [[Charles the Fat]].{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=5}}

==Early life and rise to power==
===Political background and ancestry===
[[File:Francia 714.png|thumb|upright=1.25|alt=Colour-coded map|{{centre|Francia in 714}}]]

By the sixth century, the western [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] tribe of the [[Franks]] had been [[Christianisation of the Germanic peoples|Christianised]]; this was due in considerable measure to the conversion of their king, [[Clovis I|Clovis&nbsp;I]], to Catholicism.{{sfn|Waldman|Mason|2006|pp=270, 274–275}} The Franks had established a kingdom in [[Gaul]] in the wake of the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire]].{{sfn|Heather|2009|pp=305–306}} This kingdom, [[Francia]], grew to encompass nearly all of present-day France and Switzerland, along with parts of modern Germany and the [[Low Countries]] under the rule of the [[Merovingian dynasty]].{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=35}} Francia was often divided under different Merovingian kings, due to the [[partible inheritance]] practised by the Franks.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=35–37}} The late seventh century saw a period of war and instability following the murder of King [[Childeric II]], which led to factional struggles among the Frankish aristocrats.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=38}}

[[Pepin of Herstal]], [[mayor of the palace]] of [[Austrasia]], ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his 687 victory at the [[Battle of Tertry]].{{sfn|Frassetto|2003|p=292}} Pepin was the grandson of two important figures of Austrasia: [[Arnulf of Metz]] and [[Pepin of Landen]].{{sfn|Frassetto|2003|pp=292–293}} The mayors of the palace had gained influence as the Merovingian kings' power waned due to divisions of the kingdom and several succession crises.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=16}} Pepin was eventually succeeded by his son Charles, later known as Charles Martel.{{sfn|Waldman|Mason|2006|p=271}} Charles did not support a Merovingian successor upon the death of King [[Theuderic IV]] in 737, leaving the throne vacant.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=65}} He made plans to divide the kingdom between his sons, [[Carloman (mayor of the palace)|Carloman]] and [[Pepin the Short]], who succeeded him after his death in 741.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=51–52}} The brothers placed the Merovingian [[Childeric III]] on the throne in 743.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=71}} Pepin married [[Bertrada of Laon|Bertrada]], a member of an influential Austrasian noble family, in 744.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=61–65}}{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=17}} In 747, Carloman abdicated and entered a monastery in Rome. He had at least two sons; the elder, [[Drogo (mayor of the palace)|Drogo]], took his place.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=55}}

===Birth===
Charlemagne's year of birth is uncertain, although it was most likely in 748.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=29}}{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=56}}{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=15}}{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=32}} An older tradition based on three sources, however, gives a birth year of 742. The ninth-century biographer [[Einhard]] reports Charlemagne as being 72 years old at the time of his death; the ''Royal Frankish Annals'' imprecisely gives his age at death as about 71, and his original epitaph called him a septuagenarian.{{sfn|Barbero|2004|p=11}} Einhard said that he did not know much about Charlemagne's early life; some modern scholars believe that, not knowing the emperor's true age, he still sought to present an exact date in keeping with the Roman imperial biographies of [[Suetonius]], which he used as a model.{{sfn|Becher|2005|p=41}}{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=28–28}} All three sources may have been influenced by [[Psalm 90]]: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten".{{sfn|Hägermann|2011|p=xxx}}

Historian [[Karl Ferdinand Werner]] challenged the acceptance of 742 as the Frankish king's birth year, citing an addition to the ''[[Annales Petaviani]]'' which records Charlemagne's birth in 747.{{sfn|Barbero|2004|p=350 n7}}{{efn|"At 747 the scribe had written: {{lang|la|'Et ipso anno fuit natus Karolus rex'}} ('and in that year, King Charles was born')."{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=29}}}} [[Lorsch Abbey]] commemorated Charlemagne's date of birth as 2 April from the mid-ninth century, and this date is likely to be genuine.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=28}}{{sfn|Barbero|2004|p=12}} Matthias Becher built on Werner's work and showed that 2 April in the year recorded would have actually been in 748, since the annalists recorded the start of the year from Easter rather than 1 January.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=29}} Presently, most scholars accept April 748 for Charlemagne's birth.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=15–16}}{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=29}}{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=56}} Charlemagne's place of birth is unknown. The Frankish palaces in [[Vaires-sur-Marne]] and [[Quierzy]] are among the places suggested by scholars.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=68}} Pepin the Short held an assembly in [[Düren]] in 748, but it cannot be proved that it took place in April or if Bertrada was with him.{{sfn|Hägermann|2011|p=xxxiii}}

===Language and education===
[[File:Charlemagne c 800.jpg|thumb|alt=A simple sketch of a man pointing at himself|Sketch thought to be of Charlemagne,{{efn|Historian Johannes Fried writes that "Comparisons with other images allow us to interpret it as a sketch of an ancient emperor or king, or even of Charlemagne himself. However sketchy and unaccomplished the drawing is, its message and its moral could not be clearer: the ruler appears here as a powerful protector, guarding the Church with his weapons and—as the following text emphasises—restoring it according to the dictates of the faith and the Church Fathers in preparation for the impending end time."{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=262–263}} }} {{Circa|800}}]]
 	
The {{lang|la|patrius sermo}} ("native tongue"){{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=68}} that Einhard refers to with regard to Charlemagne, was a Germanic language.{{sfn|Chambers|Wilkie|2014|p=33}}{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=318}} Due to the prevalence in Francia of "[[Vulgar Latin|rustic Roman]]", he was probably functionally bilingual in Germanic and Romance dialects at an early age.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=68}} Charlemagne also spoke Latin and, according to Einhard, could understand and (perhaps) speak some Greek.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=24}} Some 19th-century historians tried to use the [[Oaths of Strasbourg]] (842) to determine Charlemagne's native language. They assumed that the text's copyist, [[Nithard]], being a grandson of Charlemagne, would have spoken the same dialect as his grandfather, giving rise to the assumption that Charlemagne would have spoken language closely related to the one used in the oath, which is a form of [[Old High German]] ancestral to the modern [[Rhenish Franconian]] dialects.{{sfn|Chambers|Wilkie|2014|p=33}}{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=318}} Other authors have instead taken the place of Charlemagne's education and main residence (Aachen), to postulate that Charlemagne most likely spoke a form of [[Moselle Franconian|Moselle-]] or [[Ripuarian language|Ripuarian Franconian]]. In any case, all three dialects would have been closely related, mutually intelligible and, while classified as Old High German, none of the dialects involved can be considered typical of Old High German, showing [[Rhenish fan|varying degrees of participation]] in the [[High German consonant shift]] as well as certain similarities with [[Old Dutch]], the presumed language of the previous [[Merovingian dynasty]], mirroring the linguistic diversity still typical of the region today.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=68}} 

Charlemagne's father Pepin had been educated at the abbey of [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Denis]], although the extent of Charlemagne's formal education is unknown.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|pp=71–72}} He almost certainly was trained in military matters as a youth in Pepin's court,{{sfn|Dutton|2016|p=72}} which was [[Itinerant court|itinerant]].{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=14–15}} Charlemagne also asserted his own education in the [[Liberal arts education#History|liberal arts]] in encouraging their study by his children and others, although it is unknown whether his study was as a child or at court during his later life.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|p=72}} The question of Charlemagne's literacy is debated, with little direct evidence from contemporary sources. He normally had texts read aloud to him and dictated responses and decrees, but this was not unusual even for a literate ruler at the time.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|pp=75–80}} Historian [[Johannes Fried]] considers it likely that Charlemagne would have been able to read,{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=271}} but the medievalist Paul Dutton writes that "the evidence for his ability to read is circumstantial and inferential at best"{{sfn|Dutton|2016|p=75}} and concludes that it is likely that he never properly mastered the skill.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|p=91}} Einhard makes no direct mention of Charlemagne reading, and recorded that he only attempted to learn to write later in life.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=120}}

===<span class="anchor" id="Accession and joint reign with Carloman"></span>Accession and reign with Carloman===
There are only occasional references to Charlemagne in the Frankish [[annals]] during his father's lifetime.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=73}} By 751 or 752, Pepin had deposed Childeric and replaced him as king.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|pp=71–72}} Early Carolingian-influenced sources claim that Pepin's seizure of the throne was sanctioned beforehand by [[Pope Stephen II]],{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=32}} but modern historians dispute this.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=34}}{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=71}} It is possible that papal approval came only when Stephen travelled to Francia in 754 (apparently to request Pepin's aid against the Lombards), and on this trip [[Anointing|anointed]] Pepin as king; this legitimised his rule.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=72}}{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=34}} Charlemagne was sent to greet and escort the Pope, and he and his younger brother [[Carloman I|Carloman]] were anointed with their father.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|pp=72–73}} Pepin sidelined Drogo around the same time, sending him and his brother to a monastery.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=62}}

Charlemagne began issuing charters in his own name in 760. The following year, he joined his father's campaign against [[Aquitaine]].{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=74}} Aquitaine, led by Dukes [[Hunald I|Hunald]] and [[Waiofar]], was constantly in rebellion during Pepin's reign.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=64}} Pepin fell ill on campaign there and died on 24 September 768, and Charlemagne and Carloman succeeded their father.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=75}} They had separate coronations, Charlemagne at [[Noyon]] and Carloman at [[Soissons]], on 9 October.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=91}} The brothers maintained separate palaces and spheres of influence, although they were considered joint rulers of a single Frankish kingdom.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=77}} The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' report that Charlemagne ruled Austrasia and Carloman ruled [[Kingdom of Burgundy|Burgundy]], [[Provence]], Aquitaine, and [[Alamannia]], with no mention made of which brother received Neustria.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=77}} The immediate concern of the brothers was the ongoing uprising in Aquitaine.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=65}} They marched into Aquitaine together, but Carloman returned to Francia for unknown reasons and Charlemagne completed the campaign on his own.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=65}} Charlemagne's capture of Duke Hunald marked the end of ten years of war that had been waged in the attempt to bring Aquitaine into line.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=65}}

Carloman's refusal to participate in the war against Aquitaine led to a rift between the kings.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=65}}{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=79}} It is uncertain why Carloman abandoned the campaign; the brothers may have disagreed about control of the territory,{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=65}}{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=80}} or Carloman was focused on securing his rule in the north of Francia.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=80}} Regardless of the strife between the kings, they maintained a joint rule for practical reasons.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=81}} Charlemagne and Carloman worked to obtain the support of the clergy and local elites to solidify their positions.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=82}}

[[Pope Stephen III]] was elected in 768, but was briefly deposed by [[Antipope Constantine II]] before being restored to Rome.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=99}} Stephen's papacy experienced continuing factional struggles, so he sought support from the Frankish kings.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=99, 101}} Both brothers sent troops to Rome, each hoping to exert his own influence.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=100–101}} The Lombard king [[Desiderius]] also had interests in Roman affairs, and Charlemagne attempted to enlist him as an ally.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=101}} Desiderius already had alliances with [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]] and [[Duchy of Benevento|Benevento]] through the marriages of his daughters to their dukes,{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=84–85, 101}} and an alliance with Charlemagne would add to his influence.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=101}} Charlemagne's mother, Bertrada, went on his behalf to Lombardy in 770 and brokered a marriage alliance before returning to Francia with his new bride.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=106}} Desiderius's daughter is traditionally known as [[Desiderata of the Lombards|Desiderata]], although she may have been named Gerperga.{{sfn|Nelson|2007|p=31}}{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=65}} Anxious about the prospect of a Frankish–Lombard alliance, Pope Stephen sent a letter to both Frankish kings decrying the marriage and separately sought closer ties with Carloman.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=104–106}}

Charlemagne had already had a relationship with the Frankish noblewoman [[Himiltrude]], and they had a son in 769 named [[Pepin the Hunchback|Pepin]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=91}} [[Paul the Deacon]] wrote in his 784 {{lang|la|Gesta Episcoporum Mettensium}} that Pepin was born "before legal marriage", but does not say whether Charles and Himiltrude ever married, were joined in a non-canonical marriage ({{lang|de|[[friedelehe]]}}), or married after Pepin was born.{{sfn|Goffart|1986}} Pope Stephen's letter described the relationship as a legitimate marriage, but he had a vested interest in preventing Charlemagne from marrying Desiderius's daughter.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=84}}

Carloman died suddenly on 4 December 771, leaving Charlemagne sole king of the Franks.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=87}} He moved immediately to secure his hold on his brother's territory, forcing Carloman's widow [[Gerberga, wife of Carloman I|Gerberga]] to flee to Desiderius's court in Lombardy with their children.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=108–109}}{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=66}} Charlemagne ended his marriage to Desiderius's daughter and married [[Hildegard (queen)|Hildegard]], daughter of count [[Gerold of Anglachgau|Gerold]], a powerful magnate in Carloman's kingdom.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=66}} This was a reaction to Desiderius's sheltering of Carloman's family{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=109–110}} and a move to secure Gerold's support.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=89}}{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=110–111}}

==King of the Franks and the Lombards==
===Annexation of the Lombard Kingdom===
[[File:771 CE, Europe.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=Colour-coded map|Political map of Europe in 771, showing the Franks and their neighbors]]
Charlemagne's first campaigning season as sole king of the Franks was spent on the eastern frontier in his first [[Saxon Wars|war against the Saxons]], who had been engaging in border raids on the Frankish kingdom when Charlemagne responded by destroying the pagan [[Irminsul]] at [[Eresburg]] and seizing their gold and silver.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=99}} The success of the war helped secure Charlemagne's reputation among his brother's former supporters and funded further military action.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=116}} The campaign was the beginning of over thirty years of nearly-continuous warfare against the Saxons by Charlemagne.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=122}}

[[Pope Adrian I]] succeeded Stephen III in 772, and sought the return of papal control of cities that had been captured by Desiderius.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=117}} Unsuccessful in dealing with the Lombard king directly, Adrian sent emissaries to Charlemagne to gain his support for recovering papal territory. Charlemagne, in response to this appeal and the dynastic threat of Carloman's sons in the Lombard court, gathered his forces to intervene.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=117–118}} He first sought a diplomatic solution, offering gold to Desiderius in exchange for the return of the papal territories and his nephews.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=131–132}} This overture was rejected, and Charlemagne's army (commanded by himself and his uncle, [[Bernard, son of Charles Martel|Bernard]]) crossed the Alps to [[Siege of Pavia (773–774)|besiege]] the Lombard capital of [[Pavia]] in late 773.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=133}}

Charlemagne's second son (also named [[Charles the Younger|Charles]]) was born in 772, and Charlemagne brought the child and his wife to the camp at Pavia. Hildegard was pregnant, and gave birth to a daughter named Adelhaid. The baby was sent back to Francia, but died on the way.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=133}} Charlemagne left Bernard to maintain the siege at Pavia while he took a force to capture Verona, where Desiderius's son [[Adalgis]] had taken Carloman's sons.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=133, 134}} Charlemagne captured the city; no further record exists of his nephews or of Carloman's wife, and their fate is unknown.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=134–135}}{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=67}} Recent biographer, [[Janet Nelson]] compares them to the [[Princes in the Tower]] in the [[Wars of the Roses]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=130}} Fried suggests that the boys were forced into a monastery (a common solution of dynastic issues), or "an act of murder smooth[ed] Charlemagne's ascent to power."{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=100}} Adalgis was not captured by Charlemagne, and fled to Constantinople.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=146}}

[[File:Charlemagne and Pope Adrian I.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Painting of Charlemagne, on horseback, being received by Pope Adrian I|[[Pope Adrian I|Pope Adrian]] receiving Charlemagne at Rome, 1493]]
Charlemagne left the siege in April 774 to celebrate Easter in Rome.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=101}} Pope Adrian arranged a formal welcome for the Frankish king, and they swore oaths to each other over the relics of St. Peter.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=135–138}} Adrian presented a copy of the [[Donation of Pepin|agreement between Pepin and Stephen III]] outlining the papal lands and rights Pepin had agreed to protect and restore.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=139–140}} It is unclear which lands and rights the agreement involved, which remained a point of dispute for centuries.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=112}} Charlemagne placed a copy of the agreement in the chapel above St. Peter's tomb as a symbol of his commitment, and left Rome to continue the siege.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=139–141}}

Disease struck the Lombards shortly after his return to Pavia, and they surrendered the city by June 774.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=142–144}} Charlemagne deposed Desiderius and took the title of King of the Lombards.{{sfn|Collins|1998|pp=61–63}} The takeover of one kingdom by another was "extraordinary",{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=62}} and the authors of ''The Carolingian World'' call it "without parallel".{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=67}} Charlemagne secured the support of the Lombard nobles and Italian urban elites to seize power in a mainly-peaceful annexation.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=62}}{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=147}} Historian [[Rosamond McKitterick]] suggests that the elective nature of the Lombard monarchy eased Charlemagne's takeover,{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=109}} and [[Roger Collins]] attributes the easy conquest to the Lombard elite's "presupposition that rightful authority was in the hands of the one powerful enough to seize it".{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=62}} Charlemagne soon returned to Francia with the Lombard royal treasury and with Desiderius and his family, who would be confined to a monastery for the rest of their lives.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=147–148}}

===Frontier wars in Saxony and Spain===
[[File:Frankish Empire 481 to 814-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.4|alt=Colour-coded map|Charlemagne's additions to the [[Frankish Kingdom]]]]
The Saxons took advantage of Charlemagne's absence in Italy to raid the Frankish borderlands, leading to a Frankish counter-raid in the autumn of 774 and a reprisal campaign the following year.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=154–156}} Charlemagne was soon drawn back to Italy as Duke [[Hrodgaud of Friuli]] rebelled against him.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=157–159}} He quickly crushed the rebellion, distributing Hrodgaud's lands to the Franks to consolidate his rule in Lombardy.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=159}} Charlemagne wintered in Italy, consolidating his power by issuing charters and legislation and taking Lombard hostages.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=159–161}} Amid the 775 Saxon and [[Friuli]]an campaigns, his daughter [[Rotrude]] was born in Francia.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=157}}

Returning north, Charlemagne waged another brief, destructive campaign against the Saxons in 776.{{efn|Charlemagne's third son ([[Pepin of Italy|Carloman]]) was also born in 776, based on the four-year-old's 780 baptism in Pavia.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=136}} }} This led to the submission of many Saxons, who turned over captives and lands and submitted to [[baptism]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=162–163}} In 777, Charlemagne held an assembly at [[Paderborn]] with Frankish and Saxon men; many more Saxons came under his rule, but the Saxon magnate [[Widukind]] fled to Denmark to prepare for a new rebellion.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=164–165}}

Also at the Paderborn assembly were representatives of dissident factions from [[al-Andalus]] (Muslim Spain). They included the son and son-in-law of [[Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri]], the former governor of [[Emirate of Córdoba|Córdoba]] ousted by Caliph [[Abd al-Rahman]] in 756, who sought Charlemagne's support for al-Fihri's restoration. Also present was [[Sulayman al-Arabi]], governor of Barcelona and Girona, who wanted to become part of the Frankish kingdom and receive Charlemagne's protection rather than remain under the rule of Córdoba.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=164–166}} Charlemagne, seeing an opportunity to strengthen the security of the kingdom's southern frontier and extend his influence, agreed to intervene.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=166}} Crossing the Pyrenees, his army found little resistance until an ambush by [[Basques|Basque]] forces in 778 at the [[Battle of Roncevaux Pass]]. The Franks, defeated in the battle, withdrew with most of their army intact.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=167–170, 173}}

===Building the dynasty===
[[File:Couronnement de Louis Ier le Pieux.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|alt=Miniature from an illuminated manuscript|Adrian crowning Louis, as Charlemagne looks on]]
Charlemagne returned to Francia to greet his newborn twin sons, [[Louis the Pious|Louis]] and Lothair, who were born while he was in Spain;{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=168, 172}} Lothair died in infancy.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=181}} Again, Saxons had seized on the king's absence to raid. Charlemagne sent an army to Saxony in 779{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=172–173}} while he held assemblies, legislated, and addressed a famine in Francia.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=175–179}} Hildegard gave birth to another daughter, [[Bertha, daughter of Charlemagne|Bertha]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=181}} Charlemagne returned to Saxony in 780, holding assemblies at which he received hostages from Saxon nobles and oversaw their baptism.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=173}}

He and Hildegard travelled with their four younger children to Rome in the spring of 781, leaving Pepin and Charles at [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], to make a journey first requested by Adrian in 775.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=181}} Adrian baptised Carloman and renamed him Pepin, a name he shared with his half-brother.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=182–186}} Louis and the newly renamed Pepin were then anointed and crowned. Pepin was appointed king of the Lombards, and Louis king of Aquitaine.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=136}} This act was not nominal, since the young kings were sent to live in their kingdoms under the care of regents and advisers.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=186}} A delegation from the [[Byzantine Empire]], the remnant of the Roman Empire in the East, met Charlemagne during his stay in Rome; Charlemagne agreed to betroth his daughter Rotrude to [[Irene of Athens|Empress Irene]]'s son, Emperor [[Constantine VI]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=191}}

Hildegard gave birth to her eighth child, [[Gisela, daughter of Charlemagne|Gisela]], during this trip to Italy.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=182–183}} After the royal family's return to Francia, she had her final pregnancy and died from its complications on 30 April 783. The child, named after her, died shortly thereafter.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=203}} Charlemagne commissioned epitaphs for his wife and daughter, and arranged for a [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] to be said daily at Hildegard's tomb.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=203}} Charlemagne's mother Bertrada died shortly after Hildegard, on 12 July 783.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=204–205}} Charlemagne was remarried to [[Fastrada]], daughter of the East Frankish count Radolf, by the end of the year.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=205}}

===Saxon resistance and reprisal===
In summer 782, Widukind returned from Denmark to attack the Frankish positions in Saxony.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=193}} He defeated a Frankish army, possibly due to rivalry among the Frankish counts leading it.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=193–195}} Charlemagne came to [[Verden an der Aller|Verden]] after learning of the defeat, but Widukind fled before his arrival. Charlemagne summoned the Saxon magnates to an assembly and compelled them to turn prisoners over to him, since he regarded their previous acts as treachery. The annals record that Charlemagne had 4,500 Saxon prisoners beheaded in the [[massacre of Verden]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=195–196}} Fried writes, "Although this figure may be exaggerated, the basic truth of the event is not in doubt",{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=126}} and [[Alessandro Barbero]] calls it "perhaps the greatest stain on his reputation."{{sfn|Barbero|2004|p=46}} Charlemagne issued the ''[[Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae]]'', probably in the immediate aftermath of (or as a precursor of) the massacre.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=196–197}} With a harsh set of laws which included the death penalty for pagan practices, the ''Capitulatio'' "constituted a program for the forced [[conversion of the Saxons]]"{{sfn|Barbero|2004|p=47}} and was "aimed&nbsp;... at suppressing Saxon identity".{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=197}}

Charlemagne's focus for the next several years would be on his attempt to complete the subjugation of the Saxons. Concentrating first in [[Westphalia]] in 783, he pushed into [[Thuringia]] in 784 as his son [[Charles the Younger]] continued operations in the west. At each stage of the campaigns, the Frankish armies seized wealth and carried Saxon captives into slavery.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=200-202}} Unusually, Charlemagne campaigned through the winter instead of resting his army.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=55}} By 785, he had suppressed the Saxon resistance and completely commanded Westphalia. That summer, he met Widukind and persuaded him to end his resistance. Widukind agreed to be baptised with Charlemagne as his godfather, ending this phase of the [[Saxon Wars]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=208–209}}

===Benevento, Bavaria, and Pepin's revolt===
Charlemagne travelled to Italy in 786, arriving by Christmas. Aiming to extend his influence further into southern Italy, he marched into the Duchy of Benevento.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=139–140}} [[Arechis II of Benevento|Duke Arechis]] fled to a fortified position at [[Salerno]] before offering Charlemagne his fealty. Charlemagne accepted his submission and hostages, who included Arechis's son [[Grimoald III of Benevento|Grimoald]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=228}} In Italy, Charlemagne also met with envoys from Constantinople. Empress Irene had called the 787 [[Second Council of Nicaea]], but did not inform Charlemagne or invite any Frankish bishops. Charlemagne, probably in reaction to the perceived slight of the exclusion, broke the betrothal of his daughter Rotrude and Constantine VI.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=225–226, 230}}

[[File:Grimoald III solidus 74000878.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Both sides of an old coin|A ''[[solidus (coin)|solidus]]'' from Benevento, with Grimoald's effigy and Charlemagne's name (DOMS CAR RX, the Lord King Charles)]]
After Charlemagne left Italy, Arechis sent envoys to Irene to offer an alliance; he suggested that she send a Byzantine army with Adalgis, the exiled son of Desiderus, to remove the Franks from power in Lombardy.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=234}} Before his plans could be finalised, Aldechis and his elder son Romuald died of illness within weeks of each other.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=142}} Charlemagne sent Grimoald back to Benevento to serve as duke and return it to Frankish suzerainty.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=240}} The Byzantine army [[Byzantine expedition to Calabria (788/789)|invaded]], but were repulsed by the Frankish and Lombard forces.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=240–241}}

As affairs were being settled in Italy, Charlemagne turned his attention to Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by Duke [[Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria|Tassilo]], Charlemagne's first cousin, who had been installed by Pepin the Short in 748.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=186–187}} Tassilo's sons were also grandsons of Desiderius, and a potential threat to Charlemagne's rule in Lombardy.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=152}} The neighbouring rulers had a growing rivalry throughout their reigns, but had sworn oaths of peace to each other in 781.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=188–190}} In 784, Rotpert (Charlemagne's viceroy in Italy) accused Tassilo of conspiring with Widukind in Saxony and unsuccessfully attacked the Bavarian city of [[Bolzano]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=213–214}} Charlemagne gathered his forces to prepare for an invasion of Bavaria in 787. Dividing the army, the Franks launched a three-pronged attack. Quickly realizing his poor position, Tassilo agreed to surrender and recognise Charlemagne as his overlord.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=243–244}} The following year, Tassilo was accused of plotting with the [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] to attack Charlemagne. He was deposed and sent to a monastery, and Charlemagne absorbed Bavaria into his kingdom.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=251–254}} Charlemagne spent the next few years based in [[Regensburg]], largely focused on consolidating his rule of Bavaria and [[Avar Wars|warring against]] the Avars.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=294}} Successful campaigns against them were launched from Bavaria and Italy in 788,{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=257}} and Charlemagne led campaigns in 791 and 792.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=157}}

Charlemagne gave Charles the Younger rule of [[Maine (province)#Early Middle Ages|Maine]] in Neustria in 789, leaving Pepin the Hunchback his only son without lands.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=270}} His relationship with Himiltrude was now apparently seen as illegitimate at his court, and Pepin was sidelined from the succession.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=270, 274–275}} In 792, as his father and brothers were gathered in Regensburg, Pepin conspired with Bavarian nobles to assassinate them and install himself as king. The plot was discovered and revealed to Charlemagne before it could proceed; Pepin was sent to a monastery, and many of his co-conspirators were executed.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=285–287, 438}}

The early 790s saw a marked focus on ecclesiastical affairs by Charlemagne. He summoned a council in Regensburg in 792 to address the theological controversy over the [[adoptionism]] doctrine in the Spanish church and formulate a response to the Second Council of Nicea.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=283–284}} The council condemned adoptionism as [[heresy]] and led to the production of the ''[[Libri Carolini]]'', a detailed argument against Nicea's canons.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=289–292}} In 794, Charlemagne called another [[Council of Frankfurt|council in Frankfurt]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=302}} The council confirmed Regensburg's positions on adoptionism and Nicea, recognised the deposition of Tassilo, set grain prices, reformed Frankish coinage, forbade abbesses from blessing men, and endorsed prayer in vernacular languages.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=306–314}} Soon after the council, Fastrada fell ill and died;{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=304}} Charlemagne married the Alamannian noblewoman [[Luitgard (Frankish queen)|Luitgard]] shortly afterwards.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=340, 377–379}}{{sfn|Riché|1993|p=135}}

===Continued wars with the Saxons and Avars===
Charlemagne gathered an army after the council of Frankfurt as Saxon resistance continued, beginning a series of annual campaigns which lasted through 799.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=319–321}} The campaigns of the 790s were even more destructive than those of earlier decades, with the annal writers frequently noting Charlemagne "burning", "ravaging", "devastating", and "laying waste" the Saxon lands.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=323–324}} Charlemagne forcibly removed a large number of Saxons to Francia, installing Frankish elites and soldiers in their place.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=325–326, 329–331}} His extended wars in Saxony led to his establishing his court in [[Aachen]], which had easy access to the frontier. He built a large [[Palace of Aachen|palace]] there, including a chapel which is now part of the [[Aachen Cathedral]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=356–359}} Einhard joined the court at that time.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=340}} [[Pepin of Italy]] (Carloman) engaged in further wars against the Avars in the south, which led to the collapse of their kingdom and the eastward expansion of Frankish rule.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=326, 333}}

Charlemagne also worked to expand his influence through diplomatic means during the 790s wars, focusing on the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain. Charles the Younger proposed a marriage pact with the daughter of King [[Offa of Mercia]], but Offa insisted that Charlemagne's daughter Bertha also be given as a bride for his son.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=270–271}} Charlemagne refused the arrangement, and the marriage did not take place.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=83}} Charlemagne and Offa entered into a formal peace in 796, protecting trade and securing the rights of English pilgrims to pass through Francia on their way to Rome.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=84–85}} Charlemagne was also the host and protector of several deposed English rulers who were later restored: [[Eadberht III Præn|Eadbehrt of Kent]], [[Ecgberht, King of Wessex]], and [[Eardwulf of Northumbria]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=352, 400, 460}}{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=466}} Nelson writes that Charlemagne treated the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms "like satellite states," establishing direct relations with English bishops.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=353}} Charlemagne also forged an alliance with [[Alfonso II of Asturias]], although Einhard calls Alfonso his "dependent".{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=74}} Following his [[Sack of Lisbon (798)|sack of Lisbon]] in 798, Alfonso sent Charlemagne trophies of his victory, including armour, mules and prisoners.{{sfn|Reuter|1985|p=85}}

==Reign as emperor==
===Coronation===
After [[Pope Leo III|Leo III]] became pope in 795, he faced political opposition. His enemies accused him of a number of crimes and physically attacked him in April 799, attempting to remove his eyes and tongue.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=160}} Leo escaped and fled north to seek Charlemagne's help.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=152}} Charlemagne continued his campaign against the Saxons before breaking off to meet Leo at [[Paderborn]] in September.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=115}}{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=143}} Hearing evidence from the pope and his enemies, he sent Leo back to Rome with royal legates who were instructed to reinstate the pope and conduct a further investigation.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=161}} In August of the following year, Charlemagne made plans to go to Rome after an extensive tour of his lands in Neustria.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=161}}{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=145}} Charlemagne met Leo in November near [[Mentana]] at the twelfth milestone outside Rome, the traditional location where Roman emperors began their [[Adventus (ceremony)|formal entry]] into the city.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=145}} Charlemagne presided over an assembly to hear the charges, but believed that no one could sit in judgement of the pope. Leo swore an oath on 23 December, declaring his innocence of all charges.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=381}} At mass in [[Old St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter's Basilica]] on Christmas Day 800, Leo proclaimed Charlemagne "emperor of the Romans" (''Imperator Romanorum'') and crowned him.{{efn|The Latin title ''[[imperator]]'', meaning "commander", used to denote successful generals in ancient Rome, but eventually came to denote the position of [[Augustus]] and his successors.{{sfn|Hornblower|2012|p=728}} In German, the title was rendered as ''[[kaiser]]'', after [[Caesar (title)|''Caesar'']]. In Greek, it was rendered as ''[[autokrator]]'' and used alongside the traditional title of ''[[basileus]]''. For a discussion of Charlemagne's title and Constantinople's reaction, see {{harvnb|Sarti|2024|pp=7–39}}.}} Charlemagne was the first reigning emperor in the west since the deposition of [[Romulus Augustulus]] in 476.{{sfn|Heather|2009|p=368}} His son, [[Charles the Younger]], was anointed king by Leo at the same time.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=96}}

[[File:Karel Leo.jpg|thumb|alt=Miniature from an illuminated manuscript|Pope Leo III crowning Charlemagne. From ''Chroniques de France ou de Saint Denis'', volume 1, France, second quarter of the 14th century]]
Historians differ about the intentions of the imperial coronation, the extent to which Charlemagne was aware of it or participated in its planning, and the significance of the events for those present and for Charlemagne's reign.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=115}} Contemporary Frankish and papal sources differ in their emphasis on, and representation of, events.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=161, 163, 165}} Einhard writes that Charlemagne would not have entered the church if he knew about the pope's plan; modern historians have regarded his report as truthful or rejected it as a literary device demonstrating Charlemagne's humility.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=165–166}} Collins says that the actions surrounding the coronation indicate that it was planned by Charlemagne as early as his meeting with Leo in 799,{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=147}} and Fried writes that Charlemagne planned to adopt the title of emperor by 798 "at the latest."{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=408}} During the years before the coronation, Charlemagne's courtier [[Alcuin]] referred to his realm as an ''Imperium Christianum'' ("Christian Empire") in which "just as the inhabitants of the Roman Empire had been united by a common Roman citizenship", the new empire would be united by a common Christian faith.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=151}} This is the view of [[Henri Pirenne]], who says that "Charles was the Emperor of the ''ecclesia'' as the Pope conceived it, of the Roman Church, regarded as the universal Church".{{sfn|Pirenne|2012|p=233}}

The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire remained a significant contemporary power in European politics for Leo and Charlemagne, especially in Italy. The Byzantines continued to hold a substantial portion of Italy, with their borders not far south of Rome. Empress Irene had seized the throne from her son Constantine VI in 797, deposing and blinding him.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=361}} Irene, the first Byzantine empress, faced opposition in Constantinople because of her gender and her means of accession.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=370}} One of the earliest narrative sources for the coronation, the ''[[Annales laureshamenses|Annals of Lorsch]]'', presented a female ruler in Constantinople as a vacancy in the imperial title which justified Leo's coronation of Charlemagne.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=384}} Pirenne disagrees, saying that the coronation "was not in any sense explained by the fact that at this moment a woman was reigning in Constantinople."{{sfn|Pirenne|2012|p=234n}} Leo's main motivations may have been the desire to increase his standing after his political difficulties, placing himself as a power broker and securing Charlemagne as a powerful ally and protector.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=167}} The Byzantine Empire's lack of ability to influence events in Italy and support the papacy were also important to Leo's position.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=167}} According to the ''Royal Frankish Annals'', Leo [[Prostration|prostrated]] himself before Charlemagne after crowning him (an act of submission standard in Roman coronation rituals from the time of [[Diocletian]]). This account presents Leo not as Charlemagne's superior, but as the agent of the Roman people who acclaimed Charlemagne as emperor.{{sfn|Muldoon|1999|p=24}}

Historian Henry Mayr-Harting claims that the assumption of the imperial title by Charlemagne was an effort to incorporate the Saxons into the Frankish realm, since they did not have a native tradition of kingship.{{sfn|Mayr-Harting|1996}} However, Costambeys ''et al.'' note in ''The Carolingian World'' that "since Saxony had not been in the Roman empire it is hard to see on what basis an emperor would have been any more welcomed."{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=167}} These authors write that the decision to take the title of emperor was aimed at furthering Charlemagne's influence in Italy, as an appeal to traditional authority recognised by Italian elites within and (especially) outside his control.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=167}}

Collins also writes that becoming emperor gave Charlemagne "the right to try to impose his rule over the whole of [Italy]", considering this a motivation for the coronation.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=148}} He notes the "element of political and military risk"{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=148}} inherent in the affair due to the opposition of the Byzantine Empire and potential opposition from the Frankish elite, as the imperial title could draw him further into Mediterranean politics.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=149}} Collins sees several of Charlemagne's actions as attempts to ensure that his new title had a distinctly-Frankish context.{{sfn|Collins|1998|pp=150–151}}

Charlemagne's coronation led to a centuries-long ideological conflict between his successors and Constantinople known as the [[problem of two emperors]],{{efn|{{langx|de|Zweikaiserproblem}}, "two-emperors problem"}} which could be seen as a rejection or usurpation of the Byzantine emperors' claim to be the universal, preeminent rulers of Christendom.{{sfn|Muldoon|1999|p=21}} Historian James Muldoon writes that Charlemagne may have had a more limited view of his role, seeing the title as representing dominion over lands he already ruled.{{sfn|Muldoon|1999|pp=25–26}} However, the title of emperor gave Charlemagne enhanced prestige and ideological authority.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=168}}{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|pp=115–116}} He immediately incorporated his new title into documents he issued, adopting the formula "Charles, most serene [[Augustus (title)|augustus]], crowned by God, great peaceful emperor governing the Roman empire, and who is by the mercy of God king of the Franks and the Lombards"{{efn|{{langx|la|Karolus serenissimus augustus a deo coronatus magnus pacificus imperator Romanum gubernans imperium, qui et per misercordiam dei rex francorum atque langobardorum}}}} instead of the earlier form "Charles, by the grace of God king of the Franks and Lombards and [[Patrician (ancient Rome)#Late Roman and Byzantine period|patrician]] of the Romans."{{efn|{{langx|la|Carolus gratia dei rex francorum et langobardorum ac patricius Romanorum}}}}{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=116}} Leo acclaimed Charlemagne as "emperor of the Romans" during the coronation, but Charlemagne never used this title.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=382, 385}} The avoidance of the specific claim of being a "Roman emperor", as opposed to the more-neutral "emperor governing the Roman empire", may have been to improve relations with the Byzantines.{{sfn|Muldoon|1999|p=26}}{{sfn|Sarti|2024|pp=7-39}} This formulation (with the continuation of his earlier royal titles) may also represent a view of his role as emperor as being the ruler of the people of the city of Rome, as he was of the Franks and the Lombards.{{sfn|Muldoon|1999|p=26}}{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=168–169}}

===Governing the empire===
[[File:Aachener Dom BW 2016-07-09 13-49-15.jpg|thumb|alt=A simple seat at the top of several stone steps|Charlemagne's [[Throne of Charlemagne|throne]] in Aachen Cathedral]]
Charlemagne left Italy in the summer of 801 after adjudicating several ecclesiastical disputes in Rome and experiencing [[801 Apennine earthquake|an earthquake in Spoleto]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=387-389}} He never returned to the city.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=168}} Continuing trends and a ruling style established in the 790s,{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=173–174}} Charlemagne's reign from 801 onward is a "distinct phase"{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=472}} characterised by more sedentary rule from Aachen.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=168}} Although conflict continued until the end of his reign, the relative peace of the imperial period allowed for attention on internal governance. The Franks continued to wage war, though these wars were defending and securing the empire's frontiers,{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=170}}{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=462}} and Charlemagne rarely led armies personally.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=169}} A significant expansion of the [[Spanish March]] was achieved with a series of campaigns by Louis against the Emirate of Cordoba, culminating in the [[Siege of Barcelona (801)|801 capture of Barcelona]].{{sfn|Collins|1998|pp=74–75}}

The 802 ''[[Capitularia missorum specialia|Capitulare missorum generale]]'' was an expansive piece of legislation, with provisions governing the conduct of royal officials and requiring that all free men take an [[loyalty oath|oath of loyalty]] to Charlemagne.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=495–496}}{{sfn|Ganshof|1965}} The [[capitulary]] reformed the institution of the {{lang|la|[[Missus dominicus|missi dominici]]}}, officials who would now be assigned in pairs (a cleric and a lay aristocrat) to administer justice and oversee governance in defined territories.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=450–451}} The emperor also ordered the revision of the Lombard and Frankish legal codes.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=448–449}}

In addition to the {{lang|la|missi}}, Charlemagne also ruled parts of the empire with his sons as sub-kings.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=409, 411}} Although Pepin and Louis had some authority as kings in Italy and Aquitaine, Charlemagne had the ultimate authority and directly intervened.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=410–415}} Charles, their elder brother, had been given lands in Neustria in 789 or 790 and made a king in 800.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=157}}

The 806 charter {{lang|la|Divisio Regnorum}} (''Division of the Realm'') set the terms of Charlemagne's succession.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=429}} Charles, as his eldest son in good favour, was given the largest share of the inheritance: rule of Francia, Saxony, [[Margraviate of the Nordgau|Nordgau]], and parts of Alemannia. The two younger sons were confirmed in their kingdoms and gained additional territories; most of Bavaria and Alemmannia was given to Pepin, and Provence, Septimania, and parts of Burgundy were given to Louis.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=477}} Charlemagne did not address the inheritance of the imperial title.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=157}} The {{lang|la|Divisio}} also provided that if any of the brothers predeceased Charlemagne, their sons would inherit their share; peace was urged among his descendants.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=432–435}}

===Conflict and diplomacy with the east===
[[File:Woodcut illustration of Irene, Empress of the East, and Charlemagne - Penn Provenance Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=Coloured woodcut of Charlemagne holding a staff and Irene seated on a throne|15th-century woodcut of Charlemagne and Irene]]
After his coronation, Charlemagne sought recognition of his imperial title from Constantinople.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=167–168}} Several delegations were exchanged between Charlemagne and Irene in 802 and 803. According to the contemporary Byzantine chronicler [[Theophanes the Confessor|Thophanes]], Charlemagne made an offer of marriage to Irene which she was close to accepting.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=153}} Irene was deposed and replaced by [[Nikephoros I]], who was unwilling to recognise Charlemagne as emperor.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=153}} The two empires conflicted over control of the [[Adriatic Sea]] (especially [[Istria]] and [[Veneto]]) several times during Nikephoros' reign. Charlemagne sent envoys to Constantinople in 810 to make peace, giving up his claims to Veneto. Nikephoros died in battle before the envoys could leave Constantinople but his son-in-law and successor [[Michael I Rangabe|Michael I]] confirmed the peace, sending his own envoys to Aachen to recognise Charlemagne as emperor.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=458–459}} Charlemagne soon issued the first Frankish coins bearing his imperial title, although papal coins minted in Rome had used the title as early as 800.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|pp=116–117}}

He sent envoys and initiated diplomatic contact with the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] caliph [[Harun al-Rashid]] during the 790s, due to their mutual interest in Spanish affairs.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|p=60}} As an early sign of friendship, Charlemagne requested an elephant as a gift from Harun. Harun later provided an elephant named [[Abul-Abbas]], which arrived at Aachen in 802.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|pp=60–61}} Harun also sought to undermine Charlemagne's relations with the Byzantines, with whom he was at war. As part of his outreach, Harun gave Charlemagne nominal rule of the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] in Jerusalem and other gifts.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=441}} According to Einhard, Charlemagne "zealously strove to make friendships with kings beyond the seas" in order "that he might get some help and relief to the Christians living under their rule." A surviving administrative document, the [[Basel roll]], shows the work done by his agents in Palestine in furtherance of this goal.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=449–452}}{{efn|For more on the Basel roll, see {{harvnb|McCormick|2011}}. }}

Harun's death lead to a succession crisis and, under his successors, churches and synagogues were destroyed in the caliphate.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=442}} Unable to intervene directly, Charlemagne sent specially-minted coins and arms to the eastern Christians to defend and restore their churches and monasteries. The coins with their inscriptions were also an important tool of imperial propaganda.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=442–446}} Johannes Fried writes that deteriorating relations with Baghdad after Harun's death may have been the impetus for renewed negotiations with Constantinople which led to Charlemagne's peace with Michael in 811.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=444}}

As emperor, Charlemagne became involved in a religious dispute between Eastern and Western Christians over the recitation of the [[Nicene Creed|Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed]], the fundamental statement of orthodox Christian belief. The original text of the creed, adopted at the [[First Council of Constantinople|Council of Constantinople]], professed that the [[Holy Spirit]] proceeded from [[God the Father|the Father]]. A tradition developed in Western Europe that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father "and the [[God the Son|Son]]", inserting the Latin term {{lang|la|[[filioque]]}} into the creed.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=449}} The difference did not cause significant conflict until 807, when Frankish monks in Bethlehem were denounced as heretics by a Greek monk for using the {{lang|la|filioque}} form.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=449}} The Frankish monks appealed the dispute to Rome, where Pope Leo affirmed the text of the creed omitting the phrase and passed the report on to Charlemagne.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=449–450}} Charlemagne summoned a [[Councils of Aachen|council at Aachen in 809]] which defended the use of {{lang|la|filioque}}, and sent the decision to Rome. Leo said that the Franks could maintain their tradition, but asserted that the canonical creed did not include {{lang|la|filioque}}.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=452–453}} He commissioned two silver shields with the creed in Latin and Greek (omitting the {{lang|la|filioque}}), which he hung in [[St. Peter's Basilica]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=449}}{{sfn|Sterk|1988}} Another product of the 809 Aachen council was the ''[[Handbook of 809]]'', an illustrated [[Date of Easter|calendrical]] and astronomical compendium.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=488–490}}

===Wars with the Danes===
[[File:Europe 814.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Colour-coded map of Europe in 814|Europe at the death of the Charlemagne in 814]]
[[Scandinavia]] had been brought into contact with the Frankish world through Charlemagne's wars with the Saxons.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=461}} Raids on Charlemagne's lands by the [[Danes (tribe)|Danes]] began around 800.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=167}} Charlemagne engaged in his final campaign in Saxony in 804, seizing Saxon territory east of the [[Elbe]], removing its Saxon population, and giving the land to his [[Obotrites|Obotrite]] allies.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=163}} The Danish king [[Gudfred]], uneasy at the extension of Frankish power, offered to meet with Charlemagne to arrange peace and (possibly) hand over Saxons who had fled to him;{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=167}}{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=462}} the talks were unsuccessful.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=462}}

The northern frontier was quiet until 808, when Gudfred and some allied Slavic tribes led an incursion into the Obotrite lands and extracted tribute from over half the territory.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=462–463}}{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=167}} Charles the Younger led an army across the Elbe in response, but only attacked some of Gudfred's Slavic allies.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=459}} Gudfred again attempted diplomatic overtures in 809, but no peace was apparently made.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=168}} Danish pirates raided Frisia in 810, although it is uncertain if they were connected to Gudfred.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=463}} Charlemagne sent an army to secure Frisia while he led a force against Gudfred, who had reportedly challenged the emperor to face him in battle.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=169}}{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=463}} The battle never took place, since Gudfred was murdered by two of his own men before Charlemagne's arrival.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=462}} Gudfred's nephew and successor [[Hemming of Denmark|Hemming]] immediately sued for peace, and a commission led by Charlemagne's cousin [[Wala of Corbie|Wala]] reached a settlement with the Danes in 811.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=169}} The Danes did not pose a threat for the remainder of Charlemagne's reign, but the effects of this war and their earlier expansion in Saxony helped set the stage for the intense [[Vikings|Viking]] raids across Europe later in the ninth century.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=171}}{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=170}}

===Final years and death===
[[File:Shroud of Charlemagne manufactured in Constantinople 814.jpg|thumb|upright=1|A portion of Charlemagne's death [[shroud]]. Illustrating a [[quadriga]] (a four-horse chariot), it was manufactured in [[Constantinople]].]]
The Carolingian dynasty experienced a number of losses in 810 and 811, when Charlemagne's sister [[Gisela, Abbess of Chelles|Gisela]], his daughter Rotrude, and his sons Pepin the Hunchback, Pepin of Italy, and Charles the Younger died.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=440, 453}} The deaths of Charles and Pepin of Italy left Charlemagne's earlier plans for succession in disarray. He declared Pepin of Italy's son [[Bernard of Italy|Bernard]] ruler of Italy and made his own only surviving son, Louis, heir to the rest of the empire.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=158}} Charlemagne also made a new [[Testament of Charlemagne|will]] detailing the disposal of his property at his death, with bequests to the church, his children, and his grandchildren.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=468–470}} Einhard (possibly relying on [[Trope (literature)|tropes]] from Suetonius's ''[[The Twelve Caesars]]'') says that Charlemagne viewed the deaths of his family members, his fall from a horse, astronomical phenomena, and the collapse of part of the palace in his last years as signs of his impending death.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=480–481}} Charlemagne continued to govern with energy during his final year, ordering bishops to assemble in five ecclesiastical councils.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=478–480}} These culminated in a large assembly at Aachen, where Charlemagne crowned Louis as his co-emperor and Bernard as king in a ceremony on 11 September 813.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=476}}

Charlemagne became ill in the autumn of 813 and spent his last months praying, fasting, and studying the [[gospel]]s.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=480–481}} He developed [[pleurisy]], and was bedridden for seven days before dying on the morning of 28 January 814.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=514}} [[Thegan of Trier|Thegan]], a biographer of Louis, records the emperor's last words as "Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit" (quoting from {{Bibleverse|Luke|23:46}}).{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=481}} Charlemagne's body was prepared and buried in the [[Palatine Chapel, Aachen|chapel at Aachen]] by his daughters and palace officials that day.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=482–483}} Louis arrived at Aachen thirty days after his father's death, making a formal {{lang|la|[[Adventus (ceremony)|adventus]]}} and taking charge of the palace and the empire.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=483–484}} Charlemagne's remains were exhumed by Holy Roman Emperor [[Frederick Barbarossa]] in 1165, and reinterred in a new casket by [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] in 1215.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=520}}

{{Multiple image
| total_width       = 1000
| align             = center
| direction         = horizontal
| background color  =
| width             =
| image1            = AachenerDomSarg.jpg
| width1            =
| alt1              = An ornate marble sarcophagus
| caption1          = The [[Proserpina sarcophagus]] in which Charlemagne is thought to have been originally buried
| image2            = Regione mosana, karlsschrein, reliquiario a cassa di carlomagno, 1182-1215, 06.jpg
| width2            =
| alt2              = Another ornate, darker sarcophagus
| caption2          = The [[Karlsschrein]], in which Frederick II reinterred Charlemagne in 1215
}}

==Legacy==
===Political legacy===
[[File:Vertrag von Verdun en.svg|right|upright=1.3|thumb|alt=A colour-coded map|Partition of the Carolingian Empire after the 843 Treaty of Verdun]]
The stability and peace of Charlemagne's reign did not long outlive him. Louis' reign was marked by strife, including a number of rebellions by his sons. After Louis' death, the empire was divided among his sons into [[West Francia|West]], [[East Francia|East]], and [[Middle Francia]] by the [[Treaty of Verdun]].{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=379–381}} Middle Francia was divided several more times over the course of subsequent generations.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=394}} Carolingians would rule{{snd}}with some interruptions{{snd}}in East Francia (later the [[Kingdom of Germany]]) until 911,{{sfn|Heather|2009|p=368}} and in West Francia (which would become [[Kingdom of France|France]]) until 987.{{sfn|Riché|1993|p=278}} After 887, the imperial title was held sporadically by a series of non-dynastic Italian rulers{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=424–427}} before it lapsed in 924.{{sfn|Arnold|1997|p=83}} The East Frankish king [[Otto the Great]] conquered [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Italy]], and was crowned emperor in 962.{{sfn|Heather|2009|p=369}}  By this time, the eastern and western parts of Charlemagne's former empire had already developed distinct languages and cultures.{{sfn|Scales|2012|pp=155–182}} Otto founded (or re-established) the Holy Roman Empire, which would last until its [[Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire|dissolution]] in 1806, during the [[Napoleonic Wars]].{{sfn|Davies|1996|pp=316–317}}

According to historian Jennifer Davis, Charlemagne "invented medieval rulership" and his influence can be seen at least into the nineteenth century.{{sfn|Davis|2015|p=434}} Charlemagne is often known as "the father of Europe" because of the influence of his reign and the legacy he left across the large area of the continent.{{sfn|Freeman|2017|p=19}} The political structures he established remained in place through his Carolingian successors, and continued to exert influence into the eleventh century.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=407, 432}}

Charlemagne was an ancestor of several European ruling houses, including the [[Capetian dynasty]],{{efn|Through [[Beatrice of Vermandois]], great-great granddaughter of [[Pepin of Italy]] and grandmother of [[Hugh Capet]],{{sfn|Lewis|1977|pp=246–247, n 94}} }} the [[Ottonian dynasty]],{{efn|Through [[Hedwiga]], great-great granddaughter of [[Louis the Pious]] and mother of [[Henry the Fowler]]{{sfn|Jackman|2010|pp=9–12}} }} the [[House of Luxembourg]],{{Efn|Through [[Albert II, Count of Namur]], great-grandson of [[Louis IV of France]] and great-great-grandfather of [[Henry the Blind]]{{sfn|Tanner|2004|pp=263–265}} }} and the [[House of Ivrea]].{{Efn|[[Berengar II of Italy]] was a great-great-great grandson of [[Louis the Pious]].{{sfn|Bouchard|2010|pp=129–131}} The House of Ivrea later came to rule Spain and intermarried with the [[Habsburgs]] and the royal families of Portugal.}} The Ottonians and Capetians, direct successors of the Carolingans, drew on the legacy of Charlemagne to bolster their legitimacy and prestige; the Ottonians and their successors held their German coronations in Aachen through the Middle Ages.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=528}} The marriage of [[Philip II of France]] to [[Isabella of Hainault]] (a direct descendant of Charlemagne) was seen as a sign of increased legitimacy for their son, [[Louis VIII]], and the French kings' association with Charlemagne's legacy was stressed until the monarchy's end.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=527–528}} German and French rulers, such as Frederick Barbarossa and [[Napoleon]], cited the influence of Charlemagne and associated themselves with him.{{sfn|Davis|2015|p=433}} Both German and French monarchs considered themselves as successors of Charlemagne, enumerating him as "Charles I" in their regnal lists.{{sfn|Williams|1885|pp=446–47}}

The city of Aachen has, since 1949, awarded an international prize (the [[Charlemagne Prize|Karlspreis]] der Stadt Aachen) in honour of Charlemagne. It is awarded annually to those who promote European unity.{{sfn|Davis|2015|p=433}} Recipients of the prize include [[Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi]] (founder of the pan-European movement), [[Alcide De Gasperi]], and [[Winston Churchill]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.karlspreis.de/en/laureates | title=Laureates }}</ref>

===Carolingian Renaissance===
Contacts with the wider Mediterranean world through Spain and Italy, the influx of foreign scholars at court, and the relative stability and length of Charlemagne's reign led to a cultural revival known as the [[Carolingian Renaissance]].{{sfn|Contreni|1984|p=60}} Although the beginnings of this revival can be seen under his predecessors, Charles Martel and Pepin, Charlemagne took an active and direct role in shaping intellectual life which led to the revival's zenith.{{sfn|Contreni|1984|pp=59, 61, 64}} Charlemagne promoted learning as a matter of policy and direct patronage, with the aim of creating a more effective clergy.{{sfn|Contreni|1995|p=709}} The ''[[Admonitio generalis]]'' and ''Epistola de litteris colendis'' outlined his policies and aims for education.{{sfn|Contreni|1984|p=64}}

Intellectual life at court was dominated by Irish, Anglo-Saxon, Visigothic and Italian scholars, including [[Dungal of Bobbio]], [[Alcuin|Alcuin of York]], [[Theodulf of Orléans]], and [[Peter of Pisa]]; Franks such as Einhard and [[Angelbert]] also made substantial contributions.{{sfn|Contreni|1984|pp=61, 68}} Aside from the intellectual activity at the palace, Charlemagne promoted ecclesiastical schools and publicly funded schools for the children of the elite and future clergy.{{sfn|Contreni|1984|pp=65-66}} Students learned basic Latin literacy and grammar, arithmetic, and other subjects of the medieval liberal arts.{{sfn|Contreni|1984|pp=66–67}} From their education, it was expected that even rural priests could provide their parishioners with basic instruction in religious matters and (possibly) the literacy required for worship.{{sfn|Contreni|1995|p=715}} Latin was standardised and its use brought into territories well beyond the former Roman Empire, forming a second language community of speakers and writers and sustaining Latin creativity in the Middle Ages.{{sfn|Leonhardt|2016|pp=160–162}}

Carolingian authors produced extensive works, including legal treatises, histories, poetry, and religious texts.{{sfn|Contreni|1995|pp=748–756}}{{sfn|Contreni|1984|pp=70}} [[Scriptorium|Scriptoria]] in monasteries and cathedrals focused on copying new and old works, producing an estimated 90,000 manuscripts during the ninth century.{{sfn|Contreni|1995|p=711}} The [[Carolingian minuscule]] script was developed and popularised in medieval copying, influencing [[Renaissance]] and modern typefaces.{{sfn|Contreni|1984|p=73}} Scholar John J. Contreni considers the educational and learning revival under Charlemagne and his successors "one of the most durable and resilient elements of the Carolingian legacy".{{sfn|Contreni|1984|p=73}}

===Memory and historiography===
Charlemagne was a frequent subject of, and inspiration for, medieval writers after his death. Einhard's ''[[Vita Karoli Magni]]'', according to Johannes Fired, "can be said to have revived the defunct literary genre of the secular biography."{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=277}} Einhard drew on classical sources, such as Suetonius' ''The Twelve Caesars'', the orations of Cicero, and [[Tacitus]]' ''[[Agricola (book)|Agricola]]'' to frame his work's structure and style.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|pp=15–20}} The Carolingian period also saw a revival of the [[mirrors for princes]] genre.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=518–519}} The author of the Latin poem ''[[Visio Karoli Magni]]'', written {{circa|865}}, uses facts (apparently from Einhard) and his own observations on the decline of Charlemagne's family after their civil wars later in the ninth century as the bases of a visionary tale about Charles meeting a prophetic spectre in a dream.{{sfn|Geary|1987|pp=275–283}} [[Notker the Stammerer|Notker]]'s ''Gesta Karoli Magni'', written for Charlemagne's great-grandson Charles the Fat, presents moral anecdotes (''[[exempla]]'') to highlight the emperor's qualities as a ruler.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=20}}

[[File:Manfred III of Saluzzo as Charlemagne.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|alt=Painting of an Italian nobleman reminiscent of Charlemagne|[[Manfred III of Saluzzo]] depicted as Charlemagne ([[Castello della Manta]], 1420s)]]
Charlemagne, as a figure of myth and emulation, grew over the centuries; Matthias Becher writes that over 1,000 legends are recorded about him, far outstripping subsequent emperors and kings.{{sfn|Becher|2005|p=138}} Later medieval writers depicted Charlemagne as a crusader and Christian warrior.{{sfn|Becher|2005|p=138}}{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=539}} Charlemagne is the main figure of the medieval [[literary cycle]] known as the [[Matter of France]]. Works in this cycle, which originated during the [[Crusades]], centre on characterisations of the emperor as a leader of Christian knights in wars against Muslims. The cycle includes {{lang|fr|[[Chanson de geste|chansons de geste]]}} (epic poems) such as the ''[[Song of Roland]]'' and chronicles such as the ''[[Historia Caroli Magni]]'', also known as the ''(Pseudo-)Turpin Chronicle''.{{sfn|Hardman|Ailes|2017|pp=1–9}} Charlemagne was depicted as one of the [[Nine Worthies]], a fixture in medieval literature and art as an exemplar of a Christian king.{{sfn|Kuskin|1999|pp=513, 547–548 fn24}} Despite his central role in these legends, author [[Thomas Bulfinch]] noted that "romancers represent him as often weak and passionate, the victim of treacherous counsellors, and at the mercy of turbulent barons, on whose prowess he depends for the maintenance of his throne."{{sfn|Bulfinch|1864|pp=xxii–xxiv}}

Attention to Charlemagne became more scholarly in the early modern period as Eindhard's ''Vita'' and other sources began to be published.{{sfn|Becher|2005|p=142–144}} Political philosophers debated his legacy; [[Montesquieu]] viewed him as the first constitutional monarch and protector of freemen, but [[Voltaire]] saw him as a despotic ruler and representative of the medieval period as a [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Age]].{{sfn|Becher|2005|p=144}} As early as the sixteenth century, debate between German and French writers began about Charlemagne's "nationality".{{sfn|Becher|2005|p=142}} These contrasting portraits—a French Charlemagne versus a German ''Karl der Große''—became especially pronounced during the nineteenth century with Napoleon's use of Charlemagne's legacy and the rise of German nationalism.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=539}}{{sfn|Becher|2005|p=146}} German historiography and popular perception focused on the [[Massacre of Verden]], emphasised with Charlemagne as the "butcher" of the Germanic Saxons or downplayed as an unfortunate part of the legacy of a great German ruler.{{sfn|Becher|2005|pp=146–148}} [[Propaganda in Nazi Germany]] initially portrayed Charlemagne as an enemy of Germany, a French ruler who worked to take away the freedom and native religion of the German people.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=541–542}} This quickly shifted as [[Adolf Hitler]] endorsed a portrait of Charlemagne as a great unifier of disparate German tribes into a common nation, allowing Hitler to co-opt Charlemagne's legacy as an ideological model for his expansionist policies.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=542–546}}

Historiography after World War II focused on Charlemagne as "the father of Europe" rather than a nationalistic figure,{{sfn|Becher|2005|p=148}} a view first advanced during the nineteenth century by German romantic philosopher [[Friedrich Schlegel]].{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=539}} This view has led to Charlemagne's adoption as a political symbol of [[European integration]].{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=548}} Modern historians increasingly place Charlemagne in the context of the wider Mediterranean world, following the work of Henri Pirenne.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=549–551}}

===Religious influence and veneration===
{{further|Charlemagne and church music}}
[[File:Aix dom int vue cote.jpg|thumb|alt=Interior of a large chapel|The [[Palatine Chapel, Aachen|Palatine Chapel]], built by Charlemagne at the Aachen palace]]
Charlemagne gave much attention to religious and ecclesiastical affairs, holding 23 [[synod]]s during his reign. His synods were called to address specific issues at particular times, but generally dealt with church administration and organisation, education of the clergy, and the proper forms of liturgy and worship.{{sfn|Noble|2015|p=294}} Charlemagne used the Christian faith as a unifying factor in the realm and, in turn, worked to impose unity on the church.{{sfn|Noble|2015|pp=289–290, 295–296}}{{sfn|McKitterick|1996|p=61}} He implemented an edited version of the ''[[Jus antiquum#Dionysio-Hadriana|Dionysio-Hadriana]]'' book of [[canon law]] acquired from Pope Adrian, required use of the [[Rule of St. Benedict]] in monasteries throughout the empire, and promoted a standardised liturgy adapted from the [[Roman Rite|rites of the Roman Church]] to conform with Frankish practices.{{sfn|Noble|2015|pp=269–297}} Carolingian policies promoting unity did not eliminate the diverse practices throughout the empire, but created a shared ecclesiastical identity—according to Rosamond McKitterick, "unison, not unity."{{sfn|McKitterick|1996|p=82}}

The condition of all his subjects as a "Christian people" was an important concern.{{sfn|Noble|2015|pp=287–288}} Charlemagne's policies encouraged preaching to the laity, particularly in [[vernacular]] languages they would understand.{{sfn|Noble|2015|p=294–295}} He believed it essential to be able to recite the [[Lord's Prayer]] and the [[Apostles' Creed]], and made efforts to ensure that the clergy taught them and other basics of Christian morality.{{sfn|Noble|2015|pp=301–302}}

Thomas{{nbsp}}F.{{nbsp}}X.{{nbsp}}Noble writes that the efforts of Charlemagne and his successors to standardise Christian doctrine and practices and harmonise Frankish practices were essential steps in the development of Christianity in Europe, and the Roman Catholic or [[Latin Church]] "as a historical phenomenon, not as a theological or ecclesiological one, is a Carolingian construction."{{sfn|Noble|2015|p=287}}{{sfn|Noble|2015|pp=306–307}} He says that the medieval European concept of [[Christendom]] as an overarching community of Western Christians, rather than a collection of local traditions, is the result of Carolingian policies and ideology.{{sfn|Noble|2015|pp=292, 306–307}} Charlemagne's doctrinal policies promoting the use of {{lang|la|filioque}} and opposing the Second Council of Nicea were key steps in the [[East–West Schism|growing divide between Western and Eastern Christianity]].{{sfn|Siecienski|2010|p=87}}

Emperor [[Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto III]] attempted to have Charlemagne [[Canonization|canonised]] in 1000.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=537}} In 1165, Frederick Barbarossa persuaded [[Antipope Paschal III]] to elevate Charlemagne to sainthood.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=537}} Since Paschal's acts were not considered valid, Charlemagne was not recognised as a saint by the [[Holy See]].{{sfn|Becher|2005|p=143}} Despite this lack of official recognition, his [[Cult (religious practice)|cult]] was observed in Aachen, Reims, Frankfurt, Zurich and Regensburg, and he has been venerated in France since the reign of [[Charles V of France|Charles V]].{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=538}}

Charlemagne also drew attention from figures of the Protestant [[Reformation]], with [[Martin Luther]] criticising his apparent subjugation to the papacy by accepting his coronation from Leo.{{sfn|Becher|2005|p=144}} [[John Calvin]] and other Protestant thinkers viewed him as a forerunner of the Reformation, however, noting the ''Libri Carolini''{{'s}} condemnation of the worship of images and relics and conflicts by Charlemagne and his successors with the temporal power of the popes.{{sfn|Becher|2005|p=143}}

== Wives, concubines, and children ==
{{further|Carolingian dynasty}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
'''Wives and their children'''{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=xxxiv–xxxv}}{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=xxi}}
* [[Himiltrude]]{{efn|The nature of Himiltrude's relationship to Charlemagne is uncertain. A 770 letter by [[Pope Stephen III]] describes both Carloman and Charlemagne "by [God's] will and decision...joined in lawful marriage...[with] wives of great beauty from the same fatherland as yourselves."{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=105}} Stephen wrote this in the context of attempting to dissuade either king from entering into a marriage alliance with Desiderius.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=84}} By 784, at Charlemagne's court, Paul the Deacon wrote that their son Pepin was born "before legal marriage", but whether he means Charles and Himiltrude were never married, were joined in a non-canonical marriage or {{lang|de|[[friedelehe]]}}, or if they married after Pepin was born is unclear.{{sfn|Goffart|1986}} Roger Collins,{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=40}} Johannes Fried,{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=50–51}} and Janet Nelson{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp= 91, 107, 285–286}} all portray Himiltrude as a wife of Charlemagne in some capacity. Fried also dates the beginning of their relationship to 763 or even earlier.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=50}}}} (768–770)
** [[Pepin the Hunchback]] ({{circa|769}}/770–811)
* [[Desiderata, wife of Charlemagne|Desiderata]], daughter of [[Desiderius]], king of the [[Lombards]] (m. 770–771)
* [[Hildegard (queen)|Hildegard]] (m. 771–783) daughter of [[Gerold of Anglachgau]]
** [[Charles the Younger]] ({{circa|772/773}}–811), Duke of Maine
** Adalhaid (773/4–774), born while her parents were on campaign in Italy. She was sent back to Francia, but died before reaching Lyons{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=133}}
** [[Rotrude]] (or Hruodrud) ({{circa|775}}–810)
** [[Pepin of Italy|Carloman]] (777–810, Baptised "Pepin" 15 April 781), [[King of Italy]]
** [[Louis the Pious|Louis]] (778–840), [[King of Aquitaine]] since 781, crowned co-emperor in 813, senior Emperor from 814
** Lothair (778–779/780), twin of Louis, he died in infancy{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=181}}
** [[Bertha, daughter of Charlemagne|Bertha]] (779/780–826)
** [[Gisela, daughter of Charlemagne|Gisela]] (b. 782)
** Hildegard (782–783)
* [[Fastrada]] (m. 783–794)
** [[Theodrada]] (b. 785), Abbess of [[Argenteuil]]
** Hiltrude (b. 787, d. after 808)
* [[Luitgard (Frankish queen)|Luitgard]] (m. 794–800)
{{col-2}}
'''Concubines and their children'''{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=xxxiv–xxxv}}{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=xxi}}
* [[Gersuinda]]
** Adaltrude
* Madelgard
** [[Ruothild (daughter of Charlemagne)|Ruothild]] (d. 852), Abbess of [[Abbey of Faremoutiers|Faremoutiers]]
* Regina
** [[Drogo of Metz|Drogo]] (801–855), [[Bishop of Metz]]
** [[Hugh (abbot of Saint-Quentin)|Hugh]] ({{circa|802}}–844), [[archchancellor]] of the Empire
* Adallind
** Theodoric (b. 807)
* Unknown partners
** Hruodhaid (b. 784)
** Richbod (805–844), Abbot of [[Saint-Riquier]]
** Bernard (fl. 843), Abbot of [[Moutiers-Saint-Jean Abbey]]
{{col-end}}

[[File:Charlemagne et Louis le Pieux.jpg|thumb|alt=Miniature of Charlemagne talking to his son, with other men nearby|Charlemagne instructing his son, [[Louis the Pious]]]]
Charlemagne had at least twenty children with his wives and other partners.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=xxxiv–xxxv}}{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=xxi}} After the death of his wife Luitgard in 800, he did not remarry, but had children with unmarried partners.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=440}} He was determined that all his children, including his daughters, should receive an education in the liberal arts. His children were taught in accordance with their aristocratic status, which included training in riding and weaponry for his sons, and embroidery, spinning and weaving for his daughters.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=443}}

Rosamond McKitterick writes that Charlemagne exercised "a remarkable degree of patriarchal control&nbsp;... over his progeny," noting that only a handful of his children and grandchildren were raised outside his court.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=93}} Pepin of Italy and Louis reigned as kings from childhood and lived at their courts.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=186}} Careers in the church were arranged for his illegitimate sons.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=91}} His daughters were resident at court or at [[Chelles Abbey]] (where Charlemagne's sister was abbess), and those at court may have fulfilled the duties of queen after 800.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|pp=94–95}}

Louis and Pepin of Italy married and had children during their father's lifetime, and Charlemagne brought Pepin's daughters into his household after Pepin's death.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|pp=91–93}} Rotrude had been betrothed to Emperor Constantine VI, but the betrothal was ended.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=225–226}} None of Charlemagne's daughters married, although several had children with unmarried partners. Bertha had two sons, [[Nithard]] and Hartnid, with Charlemagne's courtier [[Angilbert]]; Rotrude had a son named [[Louis (abbot of Saint-Denis)|Louis]], possibly with Count [[Rorgon I, Count of Maine|Rorgon]]; and Hiltrude had a son named Richbod, possibly with a count named Richwin.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=441}} The {{lang|la|Divisio Regnorum}} issued by Charlemagne in 806 provided that his legitimate daughters be allowed to marry or become nuns after his death. Theodrada entered a convent, but the decisions of his other daughters are unknown.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=435}}

==Appearance and iconography==
{{Further|Iconography of Charlemagne}}
{{Multiple image
| total_width       = 200
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| background color  =
| width             =
| image1            = Charles Marville, Hôtel Carnavalet, statue of Charlemagne, ca. 1853–70 (cropped).jpg
| width1            =
| alt1              = Statue of Charlemagne on a horse, holding a sword
| caption1          =
| image2            = Bust of Charlemagne.png
| width2            =
| alt2              = A bust of Charlemagne
| caption2          =
| footer            = ''Top'': Carolingian-era [[Equestrian statuette of Charlemagne|equestrian statuette]] depicting Charlemagne or Charles the Bald. ''Bottom'': [[Bust of Charlemagne]], an idealised portrayal and reliquary said to contain Charlemagne's [[Calvaria (skull)|skull cap]], produced in the 14th century.
}}

Einhard gives a first-hand description of Charlemagne's appearance later in life:{{sfn|Barbero|2004|p=116}}

{{blockquote|He was heavily built, sturdy, and of considerable stature, although not exceptionally so, since his height was seven times the length of his own foot. He had a 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 he enjoyed good health, except for the fevers that affected him in the last few years of his life.}}

Charlemagne's tomb was opened in 1861 by scientists who reconstructed his skeleton and measured it at {{convert|1.92|m|ftin}} in length, roughly equivalent to Einhard's seven feet.{{sfn|Barbero|2004|p=118}} A 2010 estimate of his height from an [[Radiology|X-ray]] and [[CT scan]] of his [[tibia]] was {{convert|1.84|m|ftin}}; this puts him in the 99th [[percentile]] of height for his period, given that average male height of his time was {{convert|1.69|m|ftin}}. The width of the bone suggested that he was slim.{{sfn|Ruhli|Blumich|Henneberg|2010}}

Charlemagne wore his hair short, abandoning the Merovingian tradition of long-haired monarchs.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|pp=21–22}} He had a moustache (possibly imitating the Ostrogothic king [[Theoderic the Great]]), in contrast with the bearded Merovingian kings;{{sfn|Dutton|2016|pp=24–26}} future Carolingian monarchs would adopt this style.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|pp=24, 26}} Paul Dutton notes the ubiquitous crown in portraits of Charlemagne and other Carolingian rulers, replacing the earlier Merovingian long hair.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|pp=22–23}} A ninth-century statuette depicts Charlemagne or his grandson, [[Charles the Bald]]{{efn|Janet Nelson considers it a depiction of Charlemagne;{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=xxxvi, 495}} Paul Dutton says that it was "long thought to depict Charlemagne and now attributed by most to Charles the Bald,"{{sfn|Dutton|2016|p=35}} and Johannes Fried presents both as possibilities{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=216}} but considers it "highly contentious."{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=516}}}} and shows the subject as moustachioed with short hair;{{sfn|Dutton|2016|p=35}} this also appears on contemporary coinage.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|pp=24–25}}

By the twelfth century, Charlemagne was described as bearded rather than moustachioed in literary sources such as the ''Song of Roland'', the ''Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle'', and other works in Latin, French, and German.{{sfn|Coxon|2021|pp=31, 196}} The ''Pseudo-Turpin'' uniquely says that his hair was brown.{{sfn|Coxon|2021|p=196}} Later art and iconography of Charlemagne followed suit, generally depicting him in a later medieval style as bearded with longer hair.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|pp=27–30}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|23em}}

=== Works cited ===
{{Sfn whitelist|CITEREFEinhard,_putative741–829}}
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* {{Cite book |last=Tanner |first=Heather |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oRNYEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA265 |title=Families, Friends and Allies: Boulogne and Politics in Northern France and England |publisher=Brill |year=2004 |isbn=978-9-0474-0255-8 }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Waldman |first1=Carl |title=Encyclopedia of European Peoples |last2=Mason |first2=Catherine |publisher=Facts on File |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8160-4964-6 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Williams |first=J.D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGFRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA447 |title=Chambers's New Handy Volume American Encyclopædia |date=1885 |publisher=Arundel |volume=3 |pages=446–7 }}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
===Primary sources in English translation===
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book |last=Alcuin |author-link=Alcuin |title=The Rhetoric of Alcuin and Charlemagne: A Translation, with an Introduction, the Latin Text, and Notes |date=1941 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton |translator-last=Howell |translator-first=Wilbur Samuel}}
* {{Cite book |last=Alcuin |author-link=Alcuin |title=Alcuin of York, c. AD 732 to 804: His life and letters |date=1974 |publisher=Sessions Book Trust |isbn=0-9006-5721-9 |editor-last=Alcott |editor-first=Stephen |location=York |translator-last=Alcott |translator-first=Stephen}}
* {{Cite book |title=Liber Historiae Francorum |date=1973 |publisher=Coronodo Press |isbn=978-0-8729-1058-4 |editor-last=Bachrach |editor-first=Bernard S. |location=Lawrence, KS |translator-last=Bachrach |translator-first=Bernard S.}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Lives of the Eighth-Century Popes |date=1992 |publisher=Liverpool University Press |isbn=978-0-8532-3018-2 |editor-last=Davis |editor-first=Raymond |location=Liverpool |translator-last=Davis |translator-first=Raymond}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Einhard |author-link=Einhard |title=Two Lives of Charlemagne |last2=Notker |author-link2=Notker the Stammerer |date=1969 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-1404-4213-7 |location=London |translator-last=Thorpe |translator-first=Lewis}}
* {{Cite book |last=Einhard |author-link=Einhard |title=Charlemagne's Courtier: The Complete Einhard |date=1998 |publisher=Broadview Press |isbn=1-5511-1134-9 |editor-last=Dutton |editor-first=Paul |series=Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures |location=Petersborough, ON |translator-last=Dutton |translator-first=Paul}}
* {{Cite book |title=Carolingian Civilization: A Reader |publisher=Broadview Press |date=2004 |isbn=978-1-5511-1492-7 |editor-last=Dutton |editor-first=Paul |location=Petersborough, ON}}
* {{Cite book |title=Poetry of the Carolingian Renaissance |date=1985 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=978-0-8061-1939-7 |editor-last=Goodman |editor-first=Peter |location=Norman |translator-last=Goodman |translator-first=Peter}}
* {{Cite book |title=Charlemagne: Translated Sources |date=1997 |publisher=P.D. King |isbn=978-0-9511-5030-6 |editor-last=King |editor-first=P.D. |location=Lancaster |translator-last=King |translator-first=P.D.}}
* {{Cite book |title=Codex Epistolaris Carolinus: Letters from the popes to the Frankish rulers, 739–791 |publisher=Liverpool University Press |date=2021 |isbn=978-1-8003-4871-4 |editor-last=McKitterick |editor-first=Rosamond |location=Liverpool |translator-last=McKitterick |translator-first=Rosamond |editor-last2=van Espelo |editor-first2=Dorine |editor-last3=Pollard |editor-first3=Richard |editor-last4=Price |editor-first4=Richard |translator-last2=van Espelo |translator-first2=Dorine |translator-last3=Pollard |translator-first3=Richard |translator-last4=Price |translator-first4=Richard}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Reign of Charlemagne: Documents on Carolingian Government and Administration |date=1975 |publisher=Arnold |isbn=978-0-7131-5813-7 |editor-last=Lyon |editor-first=H.R. |series=Documents of Medieval History |location=London |translator-last=Lyon |translator-first=H.R. |editor-last2=Percival |editor-first2=John |translator-last2=Percival |translator-first2=John}}
* {{Cite book |title=Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories |publisher=University of Michigan Press |date=1970 |isbn=978-0-4720-8790-7 |editor-last=Scholz |editor-first=Bernhard Walter |location=Ann Arbor |translator-last=Scholz |translator-first=Bernhard Walter |editor-last2=Rogers |editor-first2=Barbara |translator-last2=Rogers |translator-first2=Barbara}}
{{Refend}}

===Secondary works===
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bachrach |first=Bernard S. |author-link=Bernard Bachrach |title=Early Carolingian Warfare Prelude to Empire |date=2011 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-2144-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cantor |first=Norman F. |title=Civilization of the Middle Ages: A Completely Revised and Expanded Edition |date=2015 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-0624-4460-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Collins |first=Roger |title=Early Medieval Europe, 300–1000 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |date=1999 |isbn=978-0-3336-5808-6 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Collins |first=Roger |title=Visigothic Spain, 409–711 |publisher=Blackwell Pub. |date=2004 |series=History of Spain |location=Malden, MA; Oxford}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fouracre |first=Paul |title=Charlemagne: Empire and Society |publisher=Manchester University Press |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-7190-7089-1 |editor-last=Joanna Story |location=Manchester |chapter=The Long Shadow of the Merovingians}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ganshof |first=F. L. |author-link=François-Louis Ganshof |url=https://archive.org/details/carolingiansfran0000gans |title=The Carolingians and the Frankish Monarchy: Studies in Carolingian History |publisher=Cornell University Press |others=trans. Janet Sondheimer |date=1971 |isbn=978-0-8014-0635-5 |location=Ithaca, NY}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gregory |first=Timothy E. |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbyzanti00greg |title=A History of Byzantium |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-6312-3513-2 |location=Malden, MA; Oxford, UK}}
* {{Cite book |last1=James |first1=David |title=Early Islamic Spain: The History of Ibn al-Qūṭiyya: a study of the unique Arabic manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, with a translation, notes and comments |last2=Ibn al-Qūṭiyya |first2=Muḥammad b ʻUmar |publisher=Routledge |date=2009 |isbn=978-0-4154-7552-5 |location=London and New York}}
* {{Cite book |title=Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants |publisher=Genealogical Pub. Co. |date=1974 |editor-last=Lewers Langston |editor-first=Aileen |location=Baltimore |editor-last2=Buck |editor-first2=J. Orton Jr.}}
* {{Cite book |last=McKitterick |first=Rosamond |title=The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians, 751–987 |publisher=Logman |date=1983 |isbn=978-0-5824-9005-5 |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History |volume= II: c. 700–900 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=1995 |isbn=978-1-1390-5571-0 |editor-last=McKitterick |editor-first=Rosamond |location=Cambridge}}
* {{Cite book |last=Palmer |first=Pauline |title=Charles The Great – Charlemagne : King, Conqueror, Emperor |publisher=Austin Macauley Publishers |date=2023 |isbn=978-1-3984-7302-7 |location=Chicago }}
* {{Cite book |last=Riché |first=Pierre |title=Daily Life in the World of Charlemagne |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |date=1978 |isbn=978-0-8122-1342-3 |series=Middle Ages Series |location=Philadelphia |translator-last=McNamara |translator-first=Jo Ann}}
* {{Cite book |last=Santosuosso |first=Antonio |author-link=Antonio Santosuosso |title=Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels: The Ways of Medieval Warfare |publisher=Westview Press |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-8133-9153-3 |location=Boulder, CO}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Sarti |first=Laury |date=2016 |title=Frankish Romanness and Charlemagne's Empire |journal=Speculum |volume=91 |issue=4 |pages=1040–58 |doi=10.1086/687993 |s2cid=163283337}}
* {{Cite book |editor-first=Jace |editor-last=Stuckey |title=The Legend of Charlemagne : Envisioning Empire in the Middle Ages |series=Explorations in Medieval Culture |location=Leiden, Boston |publisher= |date=2022 |isbn=978-90-04-46777-4 |language=en }}
* {{Cite book |last=Sypeck |first=Jeff |url=https://archive.org/details/becomingcharlema0000sype |title=Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and The Empires of A.D. 800 |publisher=Ecco/HarperCollins |date=2006 |isbn=978-0-0607-9706-5 |location=New York |url-access=registration}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links |commons=Carolus_Magnus |wikt=Charlemagne |q=Charlemagne |b=Saylor.org's Ancient Civilizations of the World/Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire |v=Middle Ages/Week 1 |s=Charlemagne }}
* [http://www.charlemagneseurope.ac.uk The Making of Charlemagne's Europe] (freely available database of prosopographical and socio-economic data from legal documents dating to Charlemagne's reign, produced by [[King's College London]])
* [https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/sbook1h.asp Internet Medieval Sourcebook], a collection of primary sources of Charlemagne's reign edited by Paul Halsall of Fordham University
* {{cite web | url=http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/ein.html | title= ''Vita Karoli Magni'' | author=Einhard | work=Medieval Latin | publisher=[[The Latin Library]] |language=la}}
* {{Internet Archive author |search=( "Charles the Great" OR Charlemagne )}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160419073559/https://aethelraed.ddns.net/charlemagne/intro.html An interactive map of Charlemagne's travels]

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{{History of the Catholic Church}}
{{Holy Roman Emperors}}
{{Antique Kings of Italy}}
{{Monarchs of France}}
{{Matter of France}}
{{Carolingians footer}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Charlemagne| ]]
[[Category:740s births]]
[[Category:814 deaths]]
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[[Category:8th-century Lombard monarchs]]
[[Category:9th-century dukes of Bavaria]]
[[Category:9th-century Holy Roman Emperors]]
[[Category:9th-century kings of Italy]]
[[Category:Carolingian dynasty]]
[[Category:Characters in The Song of Roland]]
[[Category:Frankish Christian royal saints]]
[[Category:Deaths from respiratory disease]]
[[Category:Founding monarchs in Europe]]
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[[Category:Matter of France]]
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