History UsefulNotes / Charlemagne

'''Charles the Great''' aka '''Charlemagne''' or '''Charles I''' (2 April 742 – 28 January 814). King of the Franks, King of the Lombards, and ''Imperator Romanorum''. Established the Carolingian Empire. Fostered the spread of Christianity throughout Western Europe. Crowned the first Roman Emperor in almost four centuries. Shed the blood of four thousand Saxon men.

The son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, as well as 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.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Speaking of Empress Irene, early in Charlemagne's reign there were rumors of an effort to negotiate a marriage between the two, creating a political union of Eastern and Western Europe that would have effectively resurrected the old Roman Empire. Nothing came of it - if it ever was anything more than a rumor in the first place - and Irene herself was overthrown a few years later by the nobles of Constantinople in favor of a male bureaucrat. (The Byzantine nobles may well have had Charlemagne's imperial title in mind when they deposed Irene, since (1) putting a man on the throne of Constantinople removed the argument that the position of Emperor was vacant and (2) they may have feared even the remote possibility of a strategic marriage between Irene and Charlemagne, as that would threaten their power base by bringing Western military strength into the picture. Of course, these were secondary considerations at best; they mostly didn't care for Irene and thought that their chosen candidate would be more pliable.)

** His empire is sometimes seen as a precursor for [[UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion the European Union]] (as the last political entity that unified Western Europe). The union of the founding member States of the EU (West Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy) correspond roughly to the Carolingian Empire. Incidentely, the European Commission is housed in the Charlemagne Building.

!!Works featuring or ferencing Charlemagne:

* In ''Videogame/FateExtellaLink'', Charlemagne appears in two variation: A Saber-class Servant that looks like a young man who represents the figure from The Song of Roland and a Ruler-class Servant (going by "Karl der Große") that looks like a larger older man in golden armor who represents him as the Holy Roman Emperor.

** His empire is sometimes seen as a precursor for [[UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion the European Union]] (as the last political entity that unified Western Europe). The union of the founding member States of the EU (West Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy) correspond roughly to the Carolingian Empire and the siege of power is also in Belgium (although in Brussels for the EU and Aachen/Aix-la-Chapelle for Charlemagne). Incidentely, the European Commission is housed in the Charlemagne Building.

** His empire is sometimes seen as a precursor for [[TheEuropeanUnion the European Union]] (as the last political entity that unified Western Europe). The union of the founding member States of the EU (West Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy) correspond roughly to the Carolingian Empire and the siege of power is also in Belgium (although in Brussels for the EU and Aachen/Aix-la-Chapelle for Charlemagne). Incidentely, the European Commission is housed in the Charlemagne Building.

** His empire is sometimes seen as a precursor for the EU (as the last political entity that unified Western Europe). The union of the founding member States of the EU (West Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy) correspond roughly to the Carolingian Empire and the siege of power is also in Belgium (although in Brussels for the EU and Aachen/Aix-la-Chapelle for Charlemagne). Incidentely, the European Commission is housed in the Charlemagne Building.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Speaking of Empress Irene, early in Charlemagne's reign there were rumors of an effort to negotiate a marriage between the two, creating a political union of Eastern and Western Europe that would have effectively resurrected the old Roman Empire. Nothing came of it - if it ever was anything more than a rumor in the first place - and Irene herself was overthrown a few years later.

!!Works featuring or referencing Charlemagne:

** [[Literature/LordOfTheRings Aragorn]] might qualify as a Charlemagne stand-in as well, since he resurrects the Kingdom of Arnor, which stands in pretty well for Western Rome. That said, he also reunites it with its Eastern counterpart (whereas Charlemagne's Frankish kingdom never remerged with Byzantium) and is crowned by a wizard rather than a pope.

'''Charles the Great''' aka '''Charlemagne''' or '''Charles I''' (2 April 742 – 28 January 814). King of the Franks, King of the Lombards, and ''Imperator Romanorum''. Established the Carolingian Empire. Fostered the spread of Christianity throughout Western Europe. Crowned the first Roman Emperor in almost four centuries. [[EarWorm Shed the blood of four thousand Saxon men]].

* 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.

** Before that, the ''Old Gods'' DLC featured his descendants in the 867 A.D. bookmark, who were squabbling over his lands and legacy. As mentioned above, his empire had fractured after the death of his son, Louis the Pious.

* BadassGrandpa: Charlemagne lived to a ripe old age even by modern standards. Medieval romances have him mowing down heathens well into his twilight years.

* Sigmar Heldenhammer of ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' is as clear a [[NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed fantasy stand-in]] for Charlemagne as you can get. Sigmar would go down in history for conquering and uniting numerous quarreling Germanic-sounding tribes into a great kingdom that would evolve after his death into a great Empire. Plus, Sigmar was deified upon death, while Charlemagne was beatified [[note]] Basically the Church's way of compromising between "Sainthood" (which they weren't prepared to grant Charlie) and "local folk hero" (which, like it or not, he was)[[/note]].

* In ''Videogame/FateExtellaLink'', Charlemagne appears in two variation: A Saber-class Servant that looks like a young man who represents the figure from The Song of Roland and a Ruler-class Servant (going by "Karl der Große") that looks like a larger older man in golden armor who represents him as the Holy Roman Emperor.

* {{Cincinnatus}}: A key component of the folklore surrounding Charlemagne was that he did not actively seek to be named Emperor, that it was a reward bestowed upon him by the Pope for his service. It's not clear from historical sources how much of that is true, but considering ''Imperator Romanorum'' was, by that point in history, a purely honorary title that Charlemagne just happened to be able to back up with actual military might, there might be something to it. Some stories even have Charlemagne taken completely unawares by the Coronation, with Leo III and his courtiers coming around and springing it on him like some kind of surprise party.

* {{Realpolitik}}: You don't get to be ''Imperator Romanorum'' without knowing how to play the game, and Charlemagne sure knew how. On top of that, Charlemagne himself was a piece on the Papacy's board. At the time, UsefulNotes/TheByzantineEmpire saw itself as the successor to the Roman Empire - and had both the political and military muscle to back up that claim - leaving Rome itself at the risk of fading into irrelevancy. The emergence of a powerful local warlord who was willing to defend and support the Vatican gave Rome the opportunity to reassert itself as the legitimate authority in Western Europe. The fact that Byzantium was currently being ruled by an ''Empress'' (Irene Sarantapechaina) didn't hurt either when Charlemagne was declared the new Roman ''Emperor''.

Speaking of which, not unlike [[UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan a certain other similar conqueror]], Charlemagne [[ReallyGetsAround got himself around.]] He 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 whopping 34 of the 45 of U.S. Presidents, and [[Creator/ChristopherLee at least one awesome movie icon]].

Speaking of which, not unlike [[UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan a certain other similar conqueror]], Charlemagne [[ReallyGetsAround got himself around.]] He 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]].

* {{Cincinnatus}}: A key component of the folklore surrounding Charlemagne was that he did not actively seek to be named Emperor, that it was a reward bestowed upon him by the Pope for his service. It's not clear from historical sources how much of that is true, but considering the title was predominately an honorary one that Charlemagne just happened to be able to back up with actual military might, there might be something to it. Some stories even have Charlemagne taken completely unawares by the Coronation, with Leo III and his courtiers coming around and springing it on him like some kind of surprise party.

* LargeAndInCharge: Folklore holds that Charlemagne was a giant among men, a massive and imposing figure. In fact there's a story that the imperial foot unit of measure was based on the actual size of his foot. The physical evidence does not bear this out: he apparently stood about six feet tall - pretty tall for his day, but not exactly freakishly so - and was more on the thin and wiry side.

* OurFounder: Tradition accounts Charlemagne as the first Holy Roman Emperor, even though [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire the actual entity]] didn't come into existence until 150 years after his death. This is technically true, since "Holy Roman Emperor" is more or less the title Leo bestowed upon Charlemagne, but any direct political continuity between the Carolingian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire is mere folklore.

'''Charles the Great''' aka '''Charlemagne''' or '''Charles I'''(2 April 742 – 28 January 814). King of the Franks, King of the Lombards, and ''Imperator Romanorum''. Established the Carolingian Empire. Fostered the spread of Christianity throughout Western Europe. Crowned the first Roman Emperor in almost four centuries. [[EarWorm Shed the blood of four thousand Saxon men]].

Lombardy was first on the list. Forming an alliance with Pope Adrian I, Charlemagne rolled into northern Italy, besieging the Lombards at Verona and Pavia, and accepting their surrender in the summer of 774. In gratitude, the Pope bestowed upon him the title of ''patrician'' [[note]] a vaguely-defined title of legislative authority, roughly equivalent to a modern-day law-enforcement marshal [[/note]]. Charlemagne himself, meanwhile, crowned himself King of Lombardy. There was very little dissent.

Greater things were to come, however, and it was after the death of Adrian in 795, that events began to be set in motion. The alliance between the Papacy and the Franks wasn’t universally approved of in Rome, and the successor to Adrian – Leo III – was very quickly selected in order to mitigate any possible influence the Franks might have on the election process. Much to the chagrin of these anti-Frankish dissenters, Leo had every intention of maintaining the alliance, sending gifts to Charlemagne and reaffirming his role as defender of Christendom. Needless to say, this did not sit well with the dissenters, and in 799 Leo was forced to flee Rome after an assassination attempt and several accusations of adultery and perjury. Naturally, he fled to Charlemagne’s court. And naturally, Charlemagne came to his aid. In late 800, Charlemagne accompanied Leo back to Rome, convened a legal council, and acquitted Leo of all the accusations his enemies had made, thus reinstating him as Pope.

Politically, Charlemagne’s empire was short-lived. Following his death in 814, his sole surviving legitimate 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 Carolingian kingdom. Culturally, 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 better 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.

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, and at the city of Verden he was forced to put his dedication to this policy to a very dark test, executing 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.

* Shows up as the Strategist hero for the Dark Ages in ''VideoGame/EmpireEarth'' (due to the game's epoch-based approach to timelines, his Warrior counterpart is Julius Caesar).

* {{Cincinnatus}}: A key component of the folklore surrounding Charlemagne was that he did not actively seek to be named Emperor, that it was a reward bestowed upon him by the Pope for his service. It's not clear from historical sources how much of that is true, but considering the title was predominately an honorary one that Charlemagne just happened to be able to back up with actual military might, there might be something to it. Some stories even have Charlemagne take completely unawares by the Coronation, with Leo III and his courtiers coming around and springing it on him like some kind of surprise party.