History UsefulNotes / Charlemagne

The son of Pepin the Short and grandson of the legendary [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Charles “The Hammer” Martel]], Charles was born into the brutal and cutthroat world that was 8th-Century Europe. Both his father and grandfather had grand ambitions to quell the internal power struggles that plagued the Frankish kingdom and build a larger, more stable empire. But Charlemagne was the one who actually pulled it off, and he pulled it off so brilliantly that he is still regarded as one of the greatest leaders in European history, the inspiration for many statesmen and would-be conquerors throughout history...for better or for worse.

* ''[[VideoGame/CrusaderKings Crusader Kings II]]'' has a DLC named after him, which allows the player to start in 769 A.D., shortly after Pepin's death, and the beginnings of Charles' struggle with Carloman. The scenario's explanation for Carloman's sudden death was his mother favouring Charles, and poisoning Carloman in return. Bertrada also begins the scenario as Charles' spymaster.

* ''[[VideoGame/CrusaderKings Crusader Kings II]]'' has a DLC named after him, which allows the player to start in 769 A.D., amidst Charles' struggle with Carloman. The scenario's explanation for Carloman's sudden death was his mother favouring Charles, and poisoning Carloman in return. Bertrada also begins the scenario as Charles' spymaster.

* ''[[VideoGame/CusaderKings Crusader Kings II]]'' has a DLC named after him, which allows the player to start in 769 A.D., amidst Charles' struggle with Carloman. The scenario's explanation for Carloman's sudden death was her mother playing favourites with Charles, and poisoning Carloman in return.

* ''VideoGame/TotalWarAttila'' has the Age of Charlemagne campaign pack, which features Charlemagne in his rise to power, at the dawn of the medieval age.

* ''VideoGame/TotalWarAttila'' has the Age of Charlemagne campaign pack, which features the Charlemagne in his rise to power, at the dawn of the medieval age.

* [[Music/{{Charlemagne}} A pair of concept Symphonic Metal albums]] performed by Creator/ChristopherLee (one of Charlemagne's own descendants). It's where the above-mentioned EarWorm comes from.

Politically, Charlemagne’s empire was short-lived. Following his death in 814, his sole surviving son Louis took the throne. His reign was marked by unrest and civil war, and following ''his'' death in 840 his three sons divided the empire up between them, marking the end of a united Frankish empire. Socially, however, the peace and stability his reign brought to Western Europe established the foundations for a stronger, more unified society. Western Europe had been a battleground for the better part of four centuries, host to warfare, invasions, disease, and death. The psychological impact of suddenly having one benevolent overlord who really did seem to be interested in creating a more peaceful and orderly world cannot be underestimated. In the chivalric traditions, Charlemagne is depicted as the proverbial [[TheGoodKing Good King]], on par with UsefulNotes/KingArthur as a paragon of wisdom, justice, and piety.

Politically, Charlemagne’s empire was short-lived. Following his death in 814, his son Louis took the throne. His reign was marked by unrest and civil war, and following his death in 840 his three sons divided the empire up between them, marking the end of a united Frankish empire. Socially, however, the peace and stability his reign brought to Western Europe established the foundations for a stronger, more unified society. Western Europe had been a battleground for the better part of four centuries, host to warfare, invasions, disease, and death. The psychological impact of suddenly having one benevolent overlord who really did seem to be interested in creating a more peaceful and orderly world cannot be underestimated. In the chivalric traditions, Charlemagne is depicted as the proverbial [[TheGoodKing Good King]], on par with UsefulNotes/KingArthur as a paragon of wisdom, justice, and piety.

Speaking of which, Charlemagne had several wives and mistresses over the course of his life, and among them all, had close to twenty children. The royal families of England, France, Italy, and several German states can claim him as a distant ancestor. Not to mention a couple of U.S. Presidents, and [[Creator/ChristopherLee at least one awesome movie icon]].

* CoolSword: ''Joyeuse,'' said to be forged from ThunderboltIron. Or a piece of the Spear of Destiny. Or from the remains of [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila the Hun's]] Sword of Mars. Depends on who's telling the story, really.

!!Tropes as portrayed in fiction:

* CoolSword: ''Joyeuse,'' said to be forged from a piece of the Spear of Destiny. Or from the remains of [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila the Hun's]] Sword of Mars. Depends on who's telling the story.

* ''The Song of Roland'', a Medieval Epic taking place in Spain during the Umayyad Conquest, depicting the adventures of the knight Roland and his companions at the Battle of Roncesvalles. Charlemagne actually serves a supporting role to [[spoiler: the ill-fated]] Roland.

* Creator/ItaloCalvino's ''The Non-Existent Knight'' is a riff of Charlemagne romances and features the Emperor inspecting a column of knights, one of which is the titular figur, an AnimatedArmor without a person inside.

* LargeAndInCharge: Folklore holds that Charlemagne was virtually a giant, huge and imposing. In fact there's a story that the imperial foot unit of measure was based on the actual size of his foot. Historical evidence does not bear this out: he apparently stood about six feet tall, and was more thin and wiry that gigantic.

* LargeAndInCharge: Folklore holds that Charlemagne was very tall. In fact there's a story that the imperial foot unit of measure was based on the actual size of his foot. Historical evidence does not bear this out: he ''was'' tall, but not exactly an imposing giant of a man.

How much of that reputation is rooted in fact, however, is not certain. Charlemagne’s reign as King of the Franks was a period of almost constant warfare, first in building his empire, and then in maintaining it against rebellious tribes and ambitious underlords. It was a violent world that Charlemagne was born into, and he couldn’t very well get as far as he did without being equal to the violence that surrounded him. One infamous incident occurs during his campaigns against the Saxons. Charlemagne instituted a strict “Convert or Die” policy toward the Germanic pagans. At the city of Verden he was forced to put his dedication to this policy to a very dark test, slaughtering over four thousand captive Saxons who refused to embrace Christianity. Of course, violence on this scale was hardly unheard of in the Dark Ages, but the wholesale slaughter of unarmed prisoners is something of a black mark on the record of the man traditionally held up as a shining example of all that is good and just.

!!Depicted in the following works:

* [[Music/{{Charlemagne}} A pair of concept Symphonic Metal albums]] performed by Creator/ChristopherLee (one of Charlemagne's own descendants). It's where the above-mentioned EarWorm comes from.
* Series/CovingtonCross: In one episode, the Family Grey visits the Duke of Arundel, who collects antique weaponry, including a suit of armor alleged to belong to Charlemagne. When the Duke's castle is attacked, ShellShockedVeteran Armus snaps out of it long enough to don to the armor and fight off the attackers.

Such a service to the Church did not go unrewarded, for on Christmas Day, 800, Leo bestowed upon Charlemagne the title of ''Carlo Augustus, Imperator Romanorum'': '''Charles the Great, Emperor of the Romans'''. The first to bear that title in Western Europe since 476, Charlemagne’s power in Western Europe was pretty near absolute, and he almost immediately put that power to use. He began to institute widespread reform throughout the lands he controlled, introducing standardized codes of law, repairing roads, and encouraging the growth of centers of art and learning. His reign as Emperor is referred to by historians as the “Carolingian Renaissance,” and is commonly held to mark the end – or at least, the beginning of the end – of [[UsefulNotes/DarkAgeEurope TheDarkAges]].

Such a service to the Church did not go unrewarded, for on Christmas Day, 800, Leo bestowed upon Charlemagne the title of ''Carlo Augustus, Imperator Romanorum'': '''Charles the Great, Emperor of the Romans'''. The first to bear that title in Western Europe since 476, Charlemagne’s power in Western Europe was pretty near absolute, and he almost immediately put that power to use. He began to institute widespread reform throughout the lands he controlled, introducing standardized codes of law, repairing roads, and encouraging the growth of centers of art and learning. His reign as Emperor is referred to by historians as the “Carolingian Renaissance,” and is commonly held to mark the end – or at least, the beginning of the end – of UsefulNotes/TheDarkAges.

How much of that reputation is rooted in fact, however, is not certain. Charlemagne’s reign as King of the Franks was a period of almost constant warfare, first in building his empire, and then in maintaining it against rebellious tribes and ambitious underlords. It was a violent world that Charlemagne was born into, and he couldn’t very well get as far as he did without being equal to the violence that surrounded him. One infamous incident occurs during his campaigns against the Saxons. Charlemagne instituted a strict “Convert or Die” policy toward the Germanic pagans. At the city of Verden he was forced to put his dedication to this policy to a very dark test, slaughtering over four thousand Saxons who refused to embrace Christianity. Of course, violence on this scale was hardly unheard of in the Dark Ages, but it’s something of a black mark on the record of the man traditionally held up as a shining example of all that is good and just.

* ''The Song of Roland'', a Medieval Epic taking place in Spain during the Umayyad Conquest of Spain, depicting the adventures of the knight Roland and his companions at the Battle of Roncesvalles. Charlemagne actually serves a supporting role to [[spoiler: the ill-fated]] Roland.

The son of Pepin the Short and grandson of the legendary Charles “The Hammer” Martel, Charles was born into the brutal and cutthroat world that was 8th-Century Europe. Both his father and grandfather had grand ambitions to quell the internal power struggles that plagued the Frankish kingdom and build a larger, more stable empire. But Charlemagne was the one who actually pulled it off, and he pulled it off so brilliantly that he is still regarded as one of the greatest leaders in European history, the inspiration for many statesmen and would-be conquerors throughout history...for better or for worse.

* Series/CovingtonCross: In one episode, the Family Grey visits a local lord who collects antique weaponry, including a suit of armor alleged to belong to Charlemagne. When the lord's castle is attacked, ShellShockedVeteran Armus snaps out of it long enough to don to the armor and fight off the attackers.

* [[Music/{{Charlemagne}} A pair of concept Symphonic Metal albums]] performed by Creator/ChristopherLee (one of Charlemagne's own descendants).