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- DictionaryCharlemagne/ˈʃɑːləmeɪn/
- 1. (742–814), king of the Franks 768–814 and Holy Roman emperor (as Charles I) 800–14; Latin name Carolus Magnus; known as Charles the Great. As the first Holy Roman emperor Charlemagne promoted the arts and education, and his court became the cultural centre of the Carolingian Renaissance, the influence of which outlasted his empire.
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Charlemagne [b] ( / ˈʃɑːrləmeɪn, ˌʃɑːrləˈmeɪn / SHAR-lə-mayn, -MAYN; 2 April 748 [a] – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian Empire from 800, holding these titles until his death in 814. He united most of Western and Central Europe ...
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Charlemagne was an 8th-century Frankish king who has attained a status of almost mythical proportions in the West. Among other things, he was responsible for uniting most of Europe under his rule by power of the sword, for helping to restore the Western Roman Empire and becoming its first emperor, and for facilitating a cultural and intellectual renaissance, the ramifications of which were felt in Europe for centuries afterward.
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How did Charlemagne become emperor of the Holy Roman Empire?
Charlemagne was crowned “emperor of the Romans” by Pope Leo III in 800 CE, thus restoring the Roman Empire in the West for the first time since its dissolution in the 5th century. Charlemagne was selected for a variety of reasons, not least of which was his long-standing protectorate over the papacy. His protector status became explicit in 799, when the pope was attacked in Rome and fled to Charlemagne for asylum. The ensuing negotiations ended with Leo’s reinstallation as pope and Charlemagne’s own coronation as Holy Roman emperor.
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Around the time of the birth of Charlemagne—conventionally held to be 742 but likely to be 747 or 748—his father, Pippin III (the Short), was mayor of the palace, an official serving the Merovingian king but actually wielding effective power over the extensive Frankish kingdom. What little is known about Charlemagne’s youth suggests that he received practical training for leadership by participating in the political, social, and military activities associated with his father’s court. His early years were marked by a succession of events that had immense implications for the Frankish position in the contemporary world. In 751, with papal approval, Pippin seized the Frankish throne from the last Merovingian king, Childeric III. After meeting with Pope Stephen II at the royal palace of Ponthion in 753–754, Pippin forged an alliance with the pope by committing himself to protect Rome in return for papal sanction of the right of Pippin’s dynasty to the Frankish throne. Pippin also intervened militarily in Italy in 755 and 756 to restrain Lombard threats to Rome, and in the so-called Donation of Pippin in 756 he bestowed on the papacy a block of territory stretching across central Italy which formed the basis of a new political entity, the Papal States, over which the pope ruled.
When Pippin died in 768, his realm was divided according to Frankish custom between Charlemagne and his brother, Carloman. Almost immediately the rivalry between the two brothers threatened the unity of the Frankish kingdom. Seeking advantage over his brother, Charlemagne formed an alliance with Desiderius, king of the Lombards, accepting as his wife the daughter of the king to seal an agreement that threatened the delicate equilibrium that had been established in Italy by Pippin’s alliance with the papacy. The death of Carloman in 771 ended the mounting crisis, and Charlemagne, disregarding the rights of Carloman’s heirs, took control of the entire Frankish realm.
Nov 9, 2009 · Charlemagne was a medieval emperor who ruled much of Western Europe from 768 to 814. He was crowned by Pope Leo III in 800 as the first ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, and promoted education, culture and Christianity.
- 2 min
Mar 25, 2019 · Definition. Charlemagne (Charles the Great, also known as Charles I, l. 742-814) was King of the Franks (r. 768-814), King of the Franks and Lombards (r. 774-814), and Holy Roman Emperor (r. 800-814). He is among the best-known and most influential figures of the Early Middle Ages for his military successes which united most of Western Europe ...
- Joshua J. Mark
Charlemagne definition: king of the Franks 768–814; as Charles I, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 800–814.. See examples of CHARLEMAGNE used in a sentence.
Charlemagne was a Frankish king who expanded his kingdom and became the Christian emperor of the West in 800. He ruled over a vast empire that stretched from modern Belgium to Spain and Italy, and promoted cultural and religious reforms.
Jun 27, 2023 · Charlemagne was a Frankish ruler who conquered most of Western Europe and was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in 800. He promoted Christianity, culture, and trade, and laid the foundation for the Holy Roman Empire that lasted for a thousand years.
