Charlemagne Great Emperor or Tyrant
Since his death, Charlemagne has been named the Father of Europe by history however, does he really deserve this title? The legacy he left behind is a great one however it is smeared with the blood of thousands who died during his cruel campaigns for expansion and power.
We don’t know much about his childhood, but we do know that he was born around 747 or 748. He also died as the Holy Roman Emperor at the age of 71.
Charlemagne’s real name is Charles whose father a regent deposed the old dynasty by colluding with the pope. Charles’s father sent a letter to the pope to question why should a country be ruled by a weak king who has no power. The pope used this as a chance to gain power and crowned Pepin (Charles’s father) King of the Franks.
Pepin died later on, and his kingdom was split into two due to the Salic law. One part was given to Charles and the other to his younger brother Carloman. Carloman soon became Charles's rival because his share of the realm was better than Charles.
His rivalry with his brother soon took a turn for the worst and their mother was the only reason a civil war had not occurred. Luckily for Charles, his brother died mysteriously which made it really convenient for Charles because it meant he was now king of a united Francia.
Warrior King!
Charlemagne is seen as the greatest warrior king of his era most of his campaign was very successful and this wasn’t different. The Lombards was a german tribe who founded a kingdom in northern Italy after the fall of Rome. Recently the pope used Pepin (Charles’s father) to stop the Lombards from attacking Rome. The campaign against them had caused the Lombards to lose a massive chunk of their land to the papacy. This did not go well with them. However, the new king of Lombardy had sought peace with the pope and married his daughter to Charlemagne.
But things didn’t end there. The pope was replaced and this new pope disliked the Lombards. The new pope soon sent a letter to Charlemagne asking him to attack the Lombards. Even though he was at war with the Saxons and most of his court opposed the war. Charlemagne still attacked the Lombards because he did not want to lose his prestige as a staunch defender of Christianity.
Lombardy soon fell and he was named the king of both the Franks and the Lombards.
Charlemagne's war with the Saxons was his longest one and ended with Charlemagne showing immense brutality towards the Saxons. The Saxons unlike the Franks were pagans something Charlemagne hated. He would frequently send armies to wreak havoc in Saxony and he even led the battle on two occasions. However, no matter how many times he conquered Saxony the Saxons would always end up rebelling and each time he had to send an army to pacify them.
Emperor of the West
In 799 after conquering and controlling Western Europe, Charlemagne's attention was required in Rome where the new pope was hated by the Roman nobility and whose life was under threat. The new pope was accused of tyranny and even the papacy behind soon started to hate him. He then sought Charlemagne’s help who replied by giving him his full support in the case even though there were rumors that a secret agreement was behind it.
To show he was still the pope Leo the third crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Western Roman Empire on Christmas day. Something historians believe was planned even though Einhard (Charlemagne biographer) claims Charlemagne would not have attended church if he knew about the scheme.
Great scholar
Even though the Franks were at war most of the time, Charlemagne was worried about the decline of learning in Western Europe. To counter this he started the Carolingian Renaissance an age where he gathered countless scholars and clerics who copied and wrote important books of the time. This group also had objectives and plans for the Empire such as improving Latin literacy. Without his wishes for a more educated Europe, most of the classic Latin texts of the time wouldn’t survive.
Father of Europe
Charlemagne encouraged learning across his empire by establishing schools so his people were more educated than others across Europe. He helped improve the Papacy and made it more powerful than it ever was. Most german tribes who were pagans before Charlemagne had converted to Christianity. Under his rule, the papacy was less corrupt and the clergies(priests)looked up to him.
His administration reforms made his empire a secure and strong powerhouse in Europe. He made so many reforms it would take an entire day to talk about them. He did miss something that would cause his entire empire to fall apart.
Charlemagne was a warrior king who stood out amongst any other except for his grandfather Charles Martel, a hero who protected Christianity from many Islam invasions. Charlemagne’s reputation is one of the main reasons his empire was able to function effectively. This also made it hard for his descendants to rule the empire properly after he died.
Power Hungry Tyrant
I believe that Charlemagne had something to do with his brother’s death for three reasons:
Firstly he didn’t like co-ruling the kingdom with him and would have to fight his brother for control of the kingdom. Something that would take a lot of time and money.
Secondly, his brother ruled a much safer and better part of the kingdom. This is was because his brother was younger however Charlemagne was not happy about the decision.
Finally, Charlemagne cared a lot about his reputation, and going to war with his brother would ruin it and he did not want to upset his mother who tried to stop both brothers from fighting.
Charlemagne was also brutal in his 30 years of warfare. For example, his men raided and massacred throughout Saxony killing thousands on his so-called quest to bring Christianity to Saxony. He never saw anyone who wasn’t a Christian, human only animals for slaughter. He even put down a rebellion by executing over 4000 Saxons because they refuse to join Christianity. Some would say he did what had to be done, others would say he was a cruel man masked as a great one.
Nonetheless, Charlemagne’s legacy inspired more people to accomplish unbelievable feats that would be remembered. Great people such as Alfred The Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Hitler admired him. Charlemagne's actions during his reign made Europe what it is today. For example, most European wars are fought in France due to how Charlemagne’s empire was split between his grandsons.
Due to the succession law, Charlemagne’s son Louis the pious split the empire into three between his sons which caused the end of Charlemagne’s great Empire. Even though his empire was unable to reach the level of the Roman Empire, it was the biggest since the end of it.
