A Leader is Born

There sits the king that holds Douce France in pow'r;
White is his beard, and blossoming white his crown,
Shapely his limbs, his countenance is proud.
Should any seek, no need to point him out.
The Song of Roland

On a cold, blistering winter day in 742, Charlemagne was born into greatness. His father, Pepin the Short, controlled a huge amount of European land ranging from present-day France to Switzerland. Charlemagne did not receive proper education as a child, which attributed to his life-long battle with illiteracy. His childhood was overtaken by the laborious task of preparing himself to control his father's land. On September 24, 768, just minutes before his death, King Pepin divided his lands between his two sons. As Russell Chamberlain's biography "Charlemagne" tells us, Charlemagne was allotted all lands running westward from present-day Ratisbon on the Danube River and from the River Saal to the North Sea. His brother, Carloman, controlled part of present-day Germany, France, and Switzerland until his untimely death in 771. This placed Charlemagne in charge of an emormous section of land and unified the kingdom of King Pepin under one ruler once again.

The Kingdom Grows Larger

Perhaps the oldest biography on Charlemagne was written by Einhard, a scholar in Charlemagne's court. Einhard was a man of considerable talents and a product of Charlemagne's education system, which will be discussed later. As a symbol of gratitiude, Einhard wrote "Vita Caroli" or "The Life of Charlemagne." His depictions of war and diplomatic matters always place Charlemagne in a favorable light and they are not always historically accurate.

Einhard writing "The Life of Charlemagne" c.805.

His chronological order of events, however, is very accurate and has proven to be an excellent guide to understanding Charlemagne's attempts to expand his kingdom. Pierre Riche's book, "Daily Life in the World of Charlemagne", describes wars, diplomatic and political affairs of Charlemagne in a much more accurate light. Few things compare with reading a biography written about someone while they were alive. Einhard's descriptions, although impersonal, helped me to visualize what Charlemagne was really like. I fully reccommend this short book of about seventy pages as a starting point for independent study of Charlemagne.

Chronological Points of Interest

• 772 - Charlemagne begins a series of long, blood-thirsty wars with the Saxons to the north of his kingdom. Only in 804, nearly thirty years later, was Saxonia conquered. These wars always kept Charlemagne very busy because there were other military conquests he was executing in other parts of modern-day Europe that demanded his time as well as his strategic abilities.

  778 - Charlemagne launches offensive attack across the Pyrenees Mountains and into Spain, where he managed to penetrate as far as Saragossa. It is thought by most people that he was able to take Saragossa but this is not so. His focus on the destruction of Pamplona is the most probable reason for his failure to take the city. As he moved back, his rearguard, which employed several important generals, was completely destroyed. This is known as the Battle of Roncevaux. Around this time, Charlemagne also began his advance to the East due to unexepected turns in the on-going wars with Saxony. He fought hard against the Sorbs, Avars, Wends and most importantly, the Slavs, which he defeated easily and thus added the lands of Eastern Germany and Hungary to his growing empire.

  782 - Saxons launch suprise attacks on Charlemagne's men with considerable success. Charlemagne responds by executing 4,500 Saxon prisoners in one day.

  800 - After delegating much of his time and effort to help Pope Leo regain respect after a scandal, Charlemagne is coronated emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (he prefered the title "King of the Franks") at St. Peter's Basilica. This day is the only time in Papal history that a pope bows to an earthly king.

  802 - Charlemagne completes the establshment of his court at Aachen and attempts to gather the best scholars in Europe at his court in hopes of turning Aachen into an educational metropolis. Alcuin works with Charlemagne to develope the Palace School, a place where people from all walks of life could receive excellent education. A non-discriminate school of this caliber was revolutionary. Around this time, Charlemagne ordered that the old sagas of the Frankish people to be written out and he began a grammar of his own native tongue. He also attempted to purge plainchant of the various dialects so that it might become universal and be performed correctly. His kingdom was so large, however, that he was unable to acheive this. Also, attempts were made by his own men to sabotage the operation, which hindered him even more. This time of educational enlightenment is supplemented by Charlemagne's construction projects such as thermal baths, a cathedral in Revenna, and a massive 500 foot bridge over the Rhine River.
  

  The magnificient throne room at Aachen.

  
  
  Here is a map of Charlemagne's kingdom. The light-green shows his kingdom holdings after his brother's death in 771. The dark-green shows his kingdom holdings in 800. His advances (as described above) can be seen here.
  

  His Reign Comes to a Close

  I believe, after studying Charlemagne, that his leadership can be separated into two overlapping parts. The first part is Charlemagne as a warrior in his first twenty-five years in power. During this time, he sought to expand his kingdom and exerted the majority of his energy on war and strategic responsibilites. The second part is Charlemagne as a creator and a Renassaince man. His coronation seemed to be a turning point for him. Although he still fought to expand his empire, more and more of his energies were spent on major construction projects and attempts to turn Aachen into an educational crossroad to the world.
  In 811, Charlemagne began the march to Verden to meet Godefrid, the king of the Norsemen, whose attacks on Charlemagne where a continual pesterence. Before Charlemagne could meet with him he was brutally murdered. Charlemagne, now seventy years old, began the trip back home from what would be his last expedition. In 813, his health had declined greatly so he delegated power to his son Louis (the Pious). Less than a year later, Charlemagne was dead.
  

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  Other Links

  • Some basic info on Charlemagne
    
  • Excellent source of detailed information
  • The Entire Text of Einhard's "The Life of Charlemagne"
    
  • Informative Encyclopedia Article on Charlemagne and the Events Surrounding his life
    

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Sources

1. Apel, William. Gregorian Chant. Bloomington, Indiana: University of Indiana Press, 1958.
   

   Boussard, Jaques. The Civilization of Charlemagne. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968.
   

   Bullough, Donald. The Age of Charlemagne. London: Paul Elek, 2nd ed., 1973.
   

   Chamberlain, Russell. Charlemagne. Great Britain: Grafton, 1986.
   

   Cyrus, Cynthia. Notes From 242:Music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance; September 14, 1998.
   

   Einhard. The Life of Charlemgne. London: Jarrold & Sons, 1970.
   

   Levy, Kenneth. Gregorian Chant and the Carolingians. Princeton:Princeton University, 1998.
   

   Riche, Pierre. Daily life in the World of Charlemagne. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1978.
   

   Woodruff, Douglas. Charlemagne. New York, D. Appleton, 1935.
   

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