Charlemagne

Charlemagne: Great Emperor of Europe
By Max

Charlemagne Charlemagne was a great European leader in the late 8^th century and early 9^th century.

He was born April 2, 742 AD, in Northern Europe. Charlemagne was the son of Pepin the Short, who became king of the Franks. Charlemagne was a very tall man, especially for his time. He was 6’4” tall. He accompanied the Frankish army to defend the Pope against the Lombards, and also fought in other battles. From these experiences, he learned that strong leadership on and off the battlefield was important.

In 768 when Charlemagne was 26 years old, his father, Pepin, died. Charlemagne and Carloman, his brother, had to share leadership of the Franks.

Three years later, Carloman died which meant that Charlemagne would rule the Franks alone. Charlemagne wished to expand and strengthen the Frankish empire, so he launched several campaigns against the Saxons in Northern Europe; the Lombards in Italy; the Slavs and Avars in what are now Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and Slovenia; and the Moors of Northern Spain. He successfully conquered all of these groups and brought them under his rule.

In 799, Charlemagne helped Pope Leo III squash a rebellion. As a result, Pope Leo III crowned and anointed Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans.

As Emperor, Charlemagne improved the way the people were ruled. He also improved the economy by standardizing weights and measures. He minted a silver coin to be used throughout the empire, and he standardized tolls and customs fees so that everyone paid the same price for the certain goods or services, These changes improved business. Charlemagne also made legal improvements. He had laws organized and made some laws into statutes for the empire. He urged better methods of farming, promoted education, and spread Christianity.

Charlemagne, the great Emperor of the Western Roman Empire died in 814 at the age of 72.

Citations

Web Sites and Other Media

Lucid Interactive. "Charlemagne King of the Franks and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire" at <http://www2.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/library/96apr/charlemagne.html>(1995-2002).

Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. "Charlemagne" <http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/Refarticle.aspx?refid=761571217&pn=1> (2003).

Images

Image of coin from "Microsoft Office Design Gallery Live" <http://dgl.microsoft.com/?CAG=1> Images free for non-profit and personal use. (December-March, 2003).

Images of Charlemagne from "ArtToday.com" <http://members.clipart.com/en/index> (2003).