Frankish kingship and expansion
A son of Pepin, Charlemagne belonged to the family that had replaced the Merovingian kings. In 768 he and his brother Carloman inherited separate portions of the Frankish kingdom. After Carloman’s death, power passed to Charles alone. Its territories crossed several modern national boundaries.
He conquered the Lombard kingdom and fought prolonged wars in Saxony. Einhard links the latter campaigns with conversion and political incorporation, while also recording population transfers. Expansion created administrative and ecclesiastical connections through military violence as well as negotiation, including coercive intervention in the religion of conquered peoples.
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Government and learning
The capitulary of 802 instructed royal envoys to investigate injustice and refer unresolved cases to the imperial court. Churchmen and lay nobles both participated. Its requirements concerning loyalty, military service and protection connected religious obligations, property and political obedience.
Learning also formed part of court life. Einhard describes Charles studying grammar with Peter of Pisa and other subjects, including rhetoric, dialectic and astronomy, with Alcuin. He even practised writing late in life. Such activity depended on teachers, copyists and ecclesiastical schools alongside royal support.
Imperial title and succession
On Christmas Day 800, Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in Rome. The title connected Frankish power with Roman imperial tradition and affected relations with Byzantium. At Aachen, his palace and chapel provided an important setting for rule; the chapel’s octagonal core survives within the cathedral.
In 813 he associated his son Louis the Pious with the imperial title. He died the following January and was buried at Aachen. Einhard’s biography preserves court knowledge but openly praises its author’s benefactor, making comparison with legislation, buildings and other evidence essential.