Three centuries after the fall of the Roman
Empire, most of Western Europe was divided
into small Kingdoms frequently at war with
each other.
They were threatened by the Umayyad Caliphate
from the South, subject to the influence of
the Byzantine Empire from the East and prone
to the interference of the papacy.
Cultural and economic development languished,
marred by a lack of strategic vision and the
loss of centuries’ worth of classical knowledge.
Then, in the 8th Century a new ruler emerged,
a King who would bring about a cultural, political
and military renaissance.
But who could be as ruthless with his enemies,
as he was enlightened in the administration
of his Kingdom.
Today’s protagonist was hailed as the Father
of Modern Europe.
He was celebrated in art, in literature … and
even in heavy metal concept albums sung by
Christopher Lee.
His name was Charles the Great, better known
as Charlemagne.
Rise to power
Much of Charlemagne’s life is documented
by a biographer, Einhard, who was his contemporary.
And he happened to be also his maths teacher
when the King was already an adult.
However, Einhard himself admits that little
is known about his early years.
We do know that the boy Charles, later known
as Charlemagne, was probably born in Aachen,
modern-day Germany, in 742.
He was the eldest son of King Pepin of the
Franks and had a brother called Carloman.
The name ‘Charles’ means ‘Free Man’.
‘Carloman’ means ‘Free Man-Man’.
Pepin was known as ‘the short’, we may
add another nickname ‘he who had little
fantasy for names’.
King Pepin was the first of a new dynasty,
the Carolingians, named after his own father,
Charles Martel.
Charles Martel was not a King, though, he
was a Mayor of the Palace to the Kings of
the Merovingian dynasty, which had ruled the
region since the year 450.
The Merovingians had been losing power and
influence for years, becoming merely figureheads,
while the real power was wielded by the Mayor,
a role similar to today’s Prime Minister
– or Hand of the King if you like.
Pepin was bent on replacing the last of the
Merovingians, Childeric III, as monarch and
sole ruler.
To do so, he needed legitimacy, and at that
time the finest purveyor of legitimacy was
the Pope.
He addressed a letter to Pope Zachary in Rome
asking
“Is it right that a powerless ruler should
continue to bear the title of King?”
Zachary agreed immediately.
He needed a powerful champion, as the Church
in Rome was under a double threat.
Politically, the Lombard Kingdom in Italy
was increasingly hostile towards the Pope’s
secular rule.
Ideologically, the Byzantine Emperor wanted
to impose a ban on representations of Christ
in all Western European churches, as this
was seen as idolatry.
Pepin was crowned King of the Franks in 751
and named both his sons as successors.
He also defeated the Lombards, donating a
large portion of their land to Zachary.
The Pope, in return, thanked Pepin by graciously
and totally scamming him.
Let me explain.
Zachary produced a document known as the Donation
of Constantine, drafted by the Roman Emperor
himself, which stated that all Christian monarchs
gave up their rule voluntarily to the papacy
and the Pope then handed it back.
In other words: A King was such by the grace
of the Pope, and the Pope had ultimate authority
over his right to reign.
Pepin accepted this stipulation.
What he did not know, being poorly educated
and illiterate, is that the document was a
forgery, an instrument by which the papacy
sought to control Christian kingdoms.
While his father ascended to the throne and
dealt with Popes and Lombards, we can assume
that Charles was busy training to become the
warrior-king he would later become.
We are going to relate only two specific episodes
of his youth: in two occasions, at age 6,
and then at age 15, he swore an oath to allegiance
to the Papacy and Christendom.
Charles would use his sword to protect and
expand Christianity, an oath that would shape
many of his military decisions.
In 768 Pepin died and the Frankish Kingdom
was split among his two sons.
At this time the Kingdom included most of
modern day France, Belgium and some territories
in Western Germany.
Charles and Carloman did not get along well,
due to their radically different personalities.
Charles always favoured direct action, while
his brother was less impulsive.
The first major disagreement came when the
province of Aquitaine – south western France
- rebelled in 769.
Carloman was against a military intervention
while Charles could not wait to march against
the rebels … which he did, quickly defeating
them and annexing a new province, Gascony,
along the way.
The following year, 770, Charles was 28 and
thought it was time to marry.
His was a political choice: a Lombard princess,
daughter of King Desiderius.
The marriage was so unhappy and short-lived
that we don’t even know the name of the
girl!
Charles in fact repudiated her the same year
to marry a Swabian teenager, Hildegard.
Desiderius was furious.
He approached Carloman proposing an alliance
to topple that Playboy Charles – a civil
war was on the horizon.
But, very conveniently, Carloman died in 771,
apparently of natural causes.
The Frankish kingdom was now united under
Charles’ rule.
The Warrior King
For the best time of his 56 years old reign,
Charles was busy with military campaigns,
crushing rebellions, securing borders and
expanding his dominions.
According to historian C.W. Hollister, these
campaigns initially were not borne out of
a clear vision:
“Charles led his armies on yearly campaigns
as a matter of course.
Only gradually did he develop a notion of
Christian mission and a program of unifying
and systematically expanding the Christian
West”
We’ll first take a look at his wars against
the Saxons, which he waged from 772 to 804.
Nowadays Saxony corresponds to a vast area
of Northern Germany, bordering the Netherlands
and Denmark.
The Saxon people were split into several different
tribes and had been in good terms with the
Franks, which used their territory as a trade
route with the Danes.
Things changed in 772 when a Saxon party raided
and burned a church in the Frankish town of
Deventer.
It is not known why, but this was the perfect
excuse for Charles to invade.
The Saxons still held Pagan beliefs and worshiped
the Norse pantheon of Gods, something Charles
did not tolerate.
It has been speculated that the Deventer raid
may have been a false flag attack orchestrated
by the Franks.
In retaliation Charles led his army into Saxony
and destroyed the sacred tree Irminsul, a
representation of the mythical Yggdrasil,
the Tree of Life in Norse mythology.
This was only the first of eighteen invasions,
all marked by much burning, pillaging and
slaughtering.
In 777 the Saxon tribes united behind the
warrior-chief Widukind, a name which translates
as ‘Child of the forest’.
His resistance was brave and hard-fought,
but had little chance to succeed against the
Frankish armies.
Widukind did succeed in convincing King Siegfried
of Denmark to allow Saxon refugees into his
kingdom.
Charles campaigning grew increasingly ruthless,
perpetrating actions that nowadays would have
him trialled at the Hague International Court
of Justice.
In 782 he ordered the murder of 4,500 Saxon
prisoners: this was the Massacre of Verden,
an atrocity condemned even by his contemporaries.
The Saxons continued fighting, preserving
their autonomy and their religion.
But Widukind realised this could not go on
forever and allowed to be baptised in 785
as a gesture of peace.
The rebel leader disappeared from historical
records after this event, but his followers
still did not yield.
Charles continued with his campaigns, even
preventing refugees from escaping to Denmark
in 798.
After 32 years of war, Charles finally found
a solution in 804: he ordered the mass deportation
of more than 10,000 Saxons to Neustria – North
Western France – while relocating a similar
number of Franks into Saxony.
This forced displacement effectively ended
the conflict and absorbed Saxony into Charles’
dominions.
Now Charles’ territories bordered with Denmark
and this did not please the Scandinavian kings.
Siegfried of Denmark attacked Frisia (today’s
Netherlands) almost immediately.
Fortunately for the Frisians, the Dane died
shortly afterwards and his successor sued
for peace.
While waging a protracted conflict against
the Saxons, Charles was able to conduct campaigns
in other parts of Europe.
In 774, answering a plea from the Pope, he
crossed the Alps and defeated the Lombards
after besieging their capital Pavia.
The Lombard kingdom was annexed by Charles,
who now became the King of the Franks and
the Lombards.
He then turned his attention to the Basques,
who were threatening Gascony.
The Basques were – and are – a tough bunch
and defeated Charles at the Battle of Roncevaux
Pass in 778.
But ultimately they were beaten, as were the
Saracens in northern Spain.
The Franks and the Saracens, or Moors, continued
fighting intermittently until 812.
Charles was able to seize from the Moors Corsica,
Sardinia and the Balearic Islands.
In Northern Spain, the Saracens were put in
check by the foundation of the Spanish March
– a fortified buffer zone extending from
the Pyrenees to the Ebro river and Barcelona.
During the 780s Charles scored further victories
in Germania and Italy.
He expanded his kingdom southwards in 787,
by conquering part of Southern Italy after
the siege of Salerno.
He also stretched eastwards by annexing Bavaria
and Carinthia (modern Austria) in 788.
In 795 Charles attacked the powerful Empire
of the Avars of Hungary.
He had set his sights on them since the conquest
of Lombardy, but had interrupted the campaign
to deal with the Saxons.
In the meanwhile, a civil war had weakened
the Avars.
Charles took advantage and by 796 he had conquered
their fortified capital, known as ‘The Ring’,
looting their enormous treasure.
After a revolt in 799, the Avar were definitively
crushed in 803.
Further expansion continued into eastern Europe:
the Northern Balkans and the lands up to the
rivers Oder and Danube all became dependent
territories of the mighty Charlemagne.
The Carolingian War Machine
All these kingdoms and populations seemed
to succumb incredibly easily to Charles’
armies, except for the Saxons.
How did Charles achieve this?
What were his winning strategies?
The Frankish army was organised around a core
of heavy cavalry, an aristocratic warrior
elite wearing chainmail and rounded helmets,
armed with swords and lances.
They were supported by infantry carrying polearms
and shields, fighting in massed ranks.
Disappointingly for Hollywood, Charlemagne’s
armies avoided large pitched battles, if possible.
Surprisingly, when they were lured into battle,
they performed poorly, such as Roncevaux.
The Frankish established their superiority
through well-prepared long-term campaigns
instead, which harassed and worn down their
opponents.
In fact, the value of Charles’ cavalry did
not lay in spectacular charges against enemy
formations.
Rather Charles exploited its speed of deployment,
the ability to harass enemies, burn villages,
loot and pillage, before quickly moving to
another theatre.
Charles was also a master of logistics: he
usually planned his campaigns around Easter,
the period in which plenty of fodder was available
for the horses, making the most of the army’s
greatest asset.
His vassals were ordered to gather at least
three months’ worth of food prior to a campaign,
to ensure sustainability.
Unlike the custom of the time, the Frankish
army did not simply raid enemy territories,
and then left, as a means to enrich themselves.
Charles made sure that new fortresses were
built and garrisoned in the areas he invaded.
Another asset at Charles disposal was the
sheer size of his army, numbering up to 35000
men.
While relatively small numbers for late classical
period standards, this was a juggernaut compared
to the enemies of the Franks.
This allowed Charles to split his army in
two or more corps, and to perform pincer movements
to outmanoeuvre their defences.
In short, Charlemagne’s dominance in logistics
and strategy meant that he could afford to
avoid the battlefield - but if he did engage
in battle, and lost, he could still win the
war.
What really made possible this military organisation
was the administrative reforms which Charles
implemented in his reign.
Carolingian renaissance
In order to administer such a large territory,
Charles subdivided his kingdom into an inner
core and outer ‘regna’.
The core comprised the provinces of Austrasia,
Neustria, and Burgundy, supervised directly
by him and a system of envoys, the missatica
system.
The outer ‘regna’ were divided into Counties,
each ruled by a trusted Count, or Earl.
In turn, they presided over a number of lesser
vassals, each of whom was expected to train
and equip himself for cavalry warfare.
The counts could also rely on seven ‘scabini’
each, experts in law which ensured unity in
the administration of justice.
Border counties were grouped into Marches
ruled by Markgrafs, or Marquesses.
They had the responsibility to maintain borderline
fortifications and raise rapid reaction forces
in case of an invasion.
Larger territories characterised by a distinctive
ethnic group were organised as Duchies.
Charles also created two sub-kingdoms in Aquitaine
and Italy, ruled by his sons Louis and Pepin
respectively.
All the local rulers were summoned to attend
an annual assembly, the Marchfield, in which
they discussed political, judicial, military
and religious matters.
Charles’ success as a ruler can be traced
to his admiration for learning and education.
His reign ushered in the era of the Carolingian
Renaissance, characterised by a rebirth of
scholarship, literature, art, and architecture.
Charlemagne’s conquests brought him into
contact with the cultures of Moorish Spain,
Anglo-Saxon England, and Lombard Italy, which
greatly increased the institution of monastic
schools and book copying centres.
Charlemagne took a serious interest in scholarship,
promoting the liberal arts at the court, ordering
that his children and grandchildren be well-educated,
and even studying himself.
He studied grammar, rhetoric, logic, astronomy,
and arithmetic.
Surprisingly, he was not able to write, and
even his ability to read is put into question
by historians.
What is not put into question, though, was
the fact that Charles had created the largest
single political entity in Western Europe
since the fall of the Roman Empire in 476.
His Kingdom had unified wildly different territories
and ethnicities.
They had been unified by force, but had been
kept together by his administrative skills,
which included the creation of a single currency
– the livre – and even a single writing
system: the ‘Carolingian minuscule’ which
established unified rules for language, script
and grammar to ensure effective communication
among every corner of the Kingdom.
A Kingdom which was about to formally become
an Empire.
Holy Roman Emperor
In the year 800 Pope Leo III fell victim to
a conspiracy led by Roman nobles.
Accused of immorality and abuse of his office,
he was forced to flee.
Leo approached Charles asking for help to
regain the Seat of Peter.
Charles consulted with his advisor Alcuin,
who recommended that he accepted the Pope’s
plea for help.
In December of the same year, Charles travelled
to Rome to preside over Leo’s trial.
Under his forceful influence, Leo’s name
was cleared on the 23rd of the month.
On Christmas Day, the pious Charles went to
pray in front of St Peter’s tomb.
When he emerged from the crypt, he was the
target of a weird ambush.
Leo III just stepped in front of him and placed
over Charles’ head the Imperial Crown.
A Crown which had been headless in the West
for centuries.
With that simple gesture, Charlemagne had
become the Holy Roman Emperor.
In practical terms, this did not change anything
with respect to his territorial dominions.
Allegedly, Charlemagne, having been given
the choice, would have refused the Crown.
But, still, he did accept the added prestige.
As a clever man, he had understood that the
coronation was a ruse concocted by Leo to
regain some authority after his double humiliation:
first, being ousted by the Romans; then, begging
Charles for help.
Leo was basically saying: I am still enough
of a Pope to make this man an Emperor.
But Charles was no fool and knew very well
that the next step would be for Leo to pull
out the Donation of Constantine – remember?
The forgery that had fooled his dad Pepin.
Charlemagne did not fall for it and never
accepted the Papacy’s political interference
on his rule.
The Private Life of an Emperor
When dealing with the life of such a huge
public figure it is easy to forget the private
man behind the sceptre.
Thankfully, Charlemagne’s biographer Einhard
left an account of his private life.
Charles was a tall and powerful man, standing
at 6’3”, although he had a short neck
and a pot belly.
He regularly ate five meals a day, mainly
consisting of grilled or roast meat.
Apparently, he disliked doctors, after they
recommended he switched to a lighter diet
of stews.
I already mentioned his first two wives, the
unnamed Lombard princess and Hildegard.
This Swabian lady was always by his side,
even during his campaigns and bore him four
sons and five daughters, before dying aged
only 26.
Let’s do some maths here.
Although very testing, a healthy woman could
give birth to a child every 12 months.
Hildegard had nine children.
Assuming that she was constantly pregnant,
they married when she was 15.
If, however, she did have some respite between
pregnancies … well, that would place her
first pregnancy at an even younger age.
But hey, different times, different habits.
Still, Charles could have kept his ‘sceptre’
in place once in a while.
Hildegard was buried in the Metz cathedral
and her life became almost immediately fodder
for legends, in which she was re-christened
‘Blanchefleur’ or White Flower.
Shortly after Hildegard’s death, the Charles
who would not stop married Fastrada, daughter
of an Austrasian count.
According to Einhard she was
‘beautiful, ambitious and cruel’
which coincidentally is my Facebook status.
Fastrada died in 794 and Charlemagne married
a fourth time with Liutgard.
Einhard described her as
‘ailing, good and devout’
which coincidentally is my Facebook status
when my mum is online.
Liutgard barely managed to be Empress, as
she died in the year 800.
After her, Charles did not marry again, but
he did have four mistresses, with whom he
sired five more children.
Unlike many Monarchs before and after him,
Charles had a very close bond with his children,
spending plenty of time with them and taking
a personal interest in their education.
He made sure they studied to a proficient
level the subjects of grammar, rhetoric, dialectics,
geometry, astronomy and music.
After reaching the appropriate age, the sons
were taught the real manly stuff, expected
from Medieval princes: Hunting!
Horse riding!
Weapons training!
How about the daughters?
Wool spinning.
Nothing wrong with this, if it’s your calling.
But if you are a daddy’s girl how frustrating
can it be to watch your brothers go horse
riding in the woods chasing wild animals with
their pikes, while you are stuck at home spinning
wool?
It is in truth reported that Charles’ daughters
were all ‘daddy’s girls’ as in he loved
them dearly and doted on them.
But he never allowed them to marry – this
is probably for political reasons.
He already had to split his territories among
four sons, he could not afford doing the same
also for his potential son-in-laws.
Legacy
In the later years of his life, from 801 to
810, Charles faced arguably his most powerful
foe, the Byzantine Empire.
Charlemagne and Emperor Nicephorus I waged
war on land and sea for control of Venetia
and the Dalmatian coast.
The war progressed well for the Franks, plus,
in 809, Nicephorus was distracted by a new
war with the Bulgars.
The Byzantines began negotiations with the
Franks, and peace was agreed upon in which
Charlemagne gave up most of the Dalmatian
coast, in exchange for the Byzantine Emperor
recognizing him as Emperor of the West.
In 813 Charlemagne appointed his son Louis
the Pious as successor to the Holy Roman Empire.
Charlemagne died in 814, at the age of 72,
of natural causes.
Unfortunately, his death marked the beginning
of the end for the Empire and the ruling system
he had created.
As pointed out by historian Prof Cantor, this
was one of the cases in which the death of
a single personality can cause the society
around them to revert into a less developed
state.
Charlemagne had created a solid infrastructure
to ensure – at least in theory – the survival
of the Empire.
But he had sowed the seeds of the decline
with his conduct in the Saxon wars.
In addition to perpetrating a series of atrocities,
Charles’ conduct had enraged the Scandinavian
kings and eliminated the Saxony buffer zone.
The Danes waited for Charles’ death and
then unleashed their Viking raids on France,
which Louis the Pious was unable to effectively
fight back.
The deterioration was further accelerated
by the fact that the Empire was later split
amongst Louis’ three sons, who had little
interest to cooperate and to preserve Charles’
reforms.
These three, and their descendants, were also
under the influence and interference of the
Papacy: unlike Charles, they had bought into
the fraud that was the Donation of Constantine.
All in all, Charles material legacy did not
last for more than two generations.
However, he sowed the idea of the possibility
of restoring a strong, unified Empire in Western
Europe.
He is also credited for being the initiator
of the concept of a united Europe.
Moreover, the kingdoms he created were the
basis for current nation-states and his cultural
reforms slowly dragged European people out
of the Dark Ages.
