Who is Karl, called the Great?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

He is considered one of the most talented politicians, whose empire gave impetus to the beginnings of statehood among many peoples of Europe. Who is Karl, later called the Great, and what did he do?

This ruler influenced the establishment of the papal state, repelled the holy Arab war, developed education and culture, seized new lands, carried out reforms … The king of the Franks, then the king of the Lombards, the duke of Bavaria, and in the end the emperor of the West - it's all about German Charles set his sights on recreating the Roman Empire, and succeeded.

Origin

Karl is the son of the King of the Franks Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon. Although it is interesting that his father sat on the throne as a result of a coup d'état, and not just inherited it as a successor to the monarch, although blue blood also flowed in his veins, since he was a duke.

Karl belonged to the Pipinid family, but in his honor it was renamed the Carolingian dynasty.

Regarding the place and year of birth, historians cannot come to a common denominator, because some sources mention the year 742, others - the 742nd, and some - the 747th. In what citythis happened is also one hundred percent unknown (possibly in Aachen, Chiersey or Ingelheim). But there is no doubt about the date of death: Charles died in 814 and was buried in Aachen.

Relationship with Carloman

But since the throne of the Franks was seized by Pepin, so that in the future no one could challenge the legitimacy of the power of his heirs, he ordered that his two sons (Charles and his younger brother Carloman) in 754 be anointed to the throne Pope Stephen II. Pepin did not transfer the right to the throne to one of his sons, but divided between them the territories of power, which were supposed to go to them after his death.

As a result, in 1968, Charles received Aquitaine, most of Neustria and Austrasia, as well as Thuringia, and his co-heir Carloman ruled over Burgundy, Provence, Gothia and Alemannia. And although, as they say, they had nothing to share, there was constant enmity between the brothers. For example, Charles had a legitimate fear that his brother wanted to collude with Desiderius, King of the Lombards.

That's why Karl entered into a marriage alliance with his daughter Desiderata and received the favor of influential people from his father-in-law's environment. This almost led to a war between the brothers, but Carloman fell ill and died in 771, and his wife was forced to flee with her children. Charles annexed his possessions to his own, thus centralizing power over most of Europe.

Wars

But Carl didn't stop there. Soon all of Europe was to know who Charlemagne was. He was not givenrest, constant clashes between the Franks and Saxons, both on religious (the latter adhered to paganism) and on territorial grounds, so in 772 he decided to unleash a war against them by invading Saxony.

But even before that, he sent Desiderata back, since he no longer needed a good relationship with her father. This seriously angered the king of the Lombards, and he wanted to anoint the young son of Carloman Pepin to the throne. Karl immediately launched an offensive. The armies of the Lombards and the Franks met in the region of the Alps, but thanks to a skillful military maneuver, the latter won without much effort. Desiderata fled to his capital, Pavia. But after the siege, the city surrendered, Charles forced his former father-in-law to take the veil as a monk, and he himself usurped the throne of Lombardy. At the same time, the king of the Franks secured peaceful relations with the papal state, promising him new lands.

When the Italian problems were solved, he resumed the war with the Saxons, in which he eventually won, although it took him 32 years to do so. As a result, the Saxons were forcibly converted to Christianity, and their territories joined the possessions of Charles.

Also in 787, the Duke of Bavaria Tassilon the Third was hidden in a monastery and transferred his powers to Charles. Then came the turn of the Slavic tribes of the Lyutichs, and then the Avars, to find out firsthand who Karl was. The victory was again on the side of the Franks.

Although there were defeats, for example in 777 in the battle with the Basques. The Song of Roland was written in memory of this battle.

At Christmas 800 Charles received the titleEmperor of the West.

Even during his lifetime, he divided the possessions between his three sons, but only Louis the First survived his father.

Peaceful Achievements

But the king not only fought. Who is Karl as a cultural figure? He initiated the revival, later called the Carolingian. The emperor established a system of universal education (although this applied only to men), created the Palace Academy of Arts, headed by the poet Alcuin, and contributed to the distribution of handwritten books. Under his rule, medieval Latin was formed as the language of science, the Romanesque style in architecture, roads, castles and defenses were built.

Who is Carl as a person?

Despite his accomplishments, he didn't have star disease. He did not like fine clothes and tables bursting with food, so he dressed almost like a commoner, and his dinners were modest and simple. Karl was fond of reading, astronomy, rhetoric. He had enviable eloquence and charisma. In addition, Emperor Charles was a religious man: he honored all rituals and traditions.

So, judging from the above, Charlemagne is not in vain called the father of Europe. He really made a huge contribution to the political, cultural and economic development of the territories subject to him.