Charlemagne & the Kingdom

of the Franks

Kingdom of the Franks● The Franks developed into one of Rome's greatest antagonists

during the last century of the Western Empire.● Over the next couple centuries they fought with the other major

powers around Gaul to create a substantial kingdom (sometimes called an empire) in modern-day France & Germany.

● Charles Martel won a string of civil wars to become the most powerful duke among the Franks.

● In 732, he defeated a Saracen army at the Battle of Tours and establishing a bloodline that would dominate the Franks for generations.

● Charles had not been king, but functioned as a power behind the throne and after he died his two sons Pepin and Carloman became rulers of a divided Francia.○ Pepin (the Short) ruled as king from 751 to 768.

Early Reign● When Pepin the Short died in 768 he divided his kingdom among

his two sons, Charles and Carloman II, who both ruled as kings.○ The elder son Charles ruled the northern and western

kingdom while Carloman ruled the south and east.● Carloman died in 771 and it resulted in Charles taking over the

entire Frankish kingdom.● Starting in 772 Charles began a series of military campaigns

devoted to territorial expansion and (at least officially) the spread of Christianity.

● Charles made the politically brilliant decision to defend the Pope, thus becoming ostensibly the greatest Christian king.

● When the Lombards, a Germanic group in northern Italy, attacked land claimed by the Church as Papal territory Charles rushed to the Pope's defense and crushed the Lombards.

● He took Lombardy and adopted the Papal territory as a protectorate -- this include the much diminished city of Rome.

Saxon Wars● Many Saxons migrated across the sea to Britain, but their

ancestral home was still populated by large numbers of pagan farmers and warriors in the 8th century.

● While again publicly stating that his goal was to convert the Saxons to Christianity, Charles was also deeply interested in adding territory to the Frankish kingdom.○ While he wasn't disingenuous about conversion, and he

happily converted Saxon nobles, it would be naive to think this was his primary goal.

● After conquering the Saxons and then heading to Italy to consolidate power, a rebellion was fomented by Widukind, a Saxon noble in 776.

● The Franks were able to defeat Widukind and banish him to Denmark.

● Then they began the forced conversion of the Saxons to Christianity, believing it would pacify them.

Massacre at Verden● When the Saxon rebellion broke out in Charles rounded up

with insurrectionists and ordered them to lay down their weapons.

● When they did so he granted amnesty to everyone except the ringleaders -- 4,500 men who were believed to have been ringleaders, that is.

● According to the sources the sentence was carried out all in one day.

● For centuries it was viewed as a good and pious deed, something done to protect and expand Christendom.

● But this was a violent and brutal act that was nothing short of genocide against the Saxon people.

Warrior King● During Charles' reign the Frankish kingdom

nearly doubled in size.○ Brittany was captured and the last of the

Celts were expelled from the continent.○ Germania was conquered all the way to the

Oder River.○ Most of Italy was under Frankish control or

"protected" by the king.○ Charles even pushed back against the

Moors in northern Spain.● As Charles approached his 30th year in power he

was the greatest man in Europe.● A new pontiff came to power in Rome, Pope Leo

III, a weak leader who didn't enjoy much power.○ Leo had an idea, cement the papal alliance

with the Franks by crowning the king as an emperor.

Holy Roman Empire● On Christmas day in the year 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charles

as Holy Roman Emperor.○ By doing this Leo enhanced the power of the papacy and

gave himself and his successors king-making authority.○ Charles claimed to be surprised and unprepared (cough).

● By re-branding his kingdom he announced himself as the real successor to Augustus and the lineage of Roman emperors.○ Discrediting the Byzantine Empire as being truly Roman.○ Charles may have hoped to unite all of Europe under his

authority -- which had not been accomplished since the days of Rome.

● It could be around this time that people started calling him Charles the Great, or Charlemagne (Charles Magnus in Latin).

Carolingian Renaissance● A period of intense economic, educational, military, and

cultural reform that swept Europe.● Intellectual Reform: a greater emphasis was placed on

literacy and education.○ Carolingian monks are responsible for transcribing many

of the classical sources we use to interpret Greek & Roman history today.

● Economic Reform: a gold shortage forced Charlemagne to adopt silver livre, variousions of this would be in use for hundreds of years.

● Legal Reform: Charlemagne broke his kingdom into regions similar to counties and each one had a legal professional functioning like a judge, enforcing the law.○ He also ordered laws be written down, something even

Romans didn't always do.

Charlemagne's Demise● In 813, Charlemagne sensed his impending death and made his

son Louis the Pious his co-emperor, securing his dynasty.● In January 814 he took sick with pleurisy and after suffering

for a week he took his last rights and died.● In 817 Louis decided to divide the empire to make it easier to

govern and secure his bloodline.○ Lothair was named co-emperor.○ Pepin received Aquatain (southern France)○ Louis the German received Bavaria (southern Germany).

● Louis the Pious started to lose his grip on power as a series of domestic scandals rocked the empire and threats from Viking raiders increased.

● When Louis died in 840 the empire was divided among his three surviving sons, Lothair, Louis the German, and Charles the Bald.○ A civil war broke out that resulted in the division of the

empire.

● The Treaty of Verdun between Charlemagne's grandsons ended the civil war but divided the empire.○ When Lothair died in 855 he split his ⅓ of the

empire between his three sons, further dividing and weakening it.

○ When Lothair II died in 869 his uncles Charles the Bald and Louis the German absorbed his kingdom -- thus creating the traditional boundaries between France and Germany.

● Over the next 130 years the Carolingians fought amongst themselves for control of the entire empire (as well as fending off Viking raids) but never would East and West Francia be truly united.

● In 987 the last Carolingian was deposed in West Francia and a new dynasty arose, creating the Kingdom of France.

Charlemagne's arm -- Yes! Really!

People in Medieval Europe were obsessed with relics.

Even though he died in 814, his body was exhumed

and displayed many times and some of his bones were

sent throughout Europe as relics.

In 1481 King Louis XI of France commissioned this

gold arm reliquary that contains the radius and ulna

of Charlemagne.

The arm is on display in his old capital city of Aachen,

Germany.