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Charlemagne: A Biography

April 26, 2014

This one gets 2 Stars only because I did actually learn something: peripatetic: traveling from place to place, especially working or based in various places for relatively short periods and capitulary: a civil or ecclesiastical ordinance. The guy used these like he was getting paid on how many times he could squeeze one in. He should be charged with misleading advertising. This was barely a bio of Charlemagne...it was more a thesis on how Europe came to be an idea that would wind up as the EU. Charles the Great only comes in for about 1/2 the book. His life, campaigns, policies, travels, etc. were not covered in the level of detail I was looking for or expecting. That said, the book isn't bad. He admits a lack of info on Charlemagne and proceeds to speculate on many parts of his life and actions. He traces the legend of Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Emperor as a force in the history. This was educational but too shallow as he covers 1200 years of European history up to establishing the EU. His style is a bit scatterbrained as he ju

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Charlemagne's Early Years

Charlemagne—sometimes referred to as Charles the Great—was born around 742, the son of Bertrada of Laon (d.783) and Pepin the Short (d.768), who became king of the Franks in 751.

Charlemagne’s exact birthplace is unknown, although historians have suggested Liege in present-day Belgium and Aachen in modern-day Germany as possible locations. Similarly, little is known about the future ruler’s childhood and education, although as an adult, he displayed a talent for languages and could speak Latin and understand Greek, among other languages.

Did you know? Charlemagne served as a source of inspiration for such leaders as Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) and Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), who had visions of ruling a unified Europe.

After Pepin’s death in 768, the Frankish kingdom was divided between Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman. The brothers had a strained relationship; however, with Carloman’s death in 771, a 24-year-old Charlemagne became the sole ruler of the Franks.

Charlemagne Expands his Christian Empire

Once in power, Charlemagne sou

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The best books on Charlemagne

Before we get to the books, could you just tell us, very briefly, when Charlemagne was around and also when Charles became Charles the Great—Charlemagne.

Charlemagne was born halfway through the eighth century and died in 814. It was a period when Europe was undergoing enormous changes. The Roman Empire had disappeared, more or less. There was a Merovingian dynasty that had just been exiled and Charlemagne’s father became king. At that point, Charlemagne was three years old. We are talking about a new dynasty here that came to power in a palace coup. Charles’s father was Pippin—Pippin III, we call him now. He played a very clever game, helped by the Pope, to oust the last Merovingian king, who was from a legitimate dynasty that had been on the throne for two and a half centuries. By really clever manoeuvring, Pippin managed to become the King of the Franks.

His son, Charles, was just ‘Charles’. He became ‘Charlemagne’ after his death. He succeeded his father and, like many sons who succeed a royal father, he tried to outdo his father in every p