Charlemagne

The only unified kingdom in Europe at the time was Frankland, which

included present day parts of Belgium, France, Germany, and the

Netherlands. By the Ninth century, however, Frankland included

most of Europe thanks to Charles the Great, or Charlemagne. He was

one of the greatest kings that Europe has ever known.

Charles, the first of two boys, was born in 742 A.D. to Queen

Bertrada and Pepin “the short”. Pepin inherited the position of mayor of the palace, or

actual ruler of the Franks. Wanting to be king in rank as well as in power,

Pepin seized the Frankish throne in 751 when Charles was only nine years

old. Charles had long looked forward to the time when he would be king,

when he would have the chance to serve his people with courage and

Three passions had so early taken root in the young prince - his

desire to rule men, his devotion to the Catholic church, and his love of literature,

science, and art. Charles had been in charge of a command of his own since

In 768 King Pepin died, leaving his kingdom to

. . .

He quickly divorced both of these young women.

They could see the great hordes of Saxons camped nearby at the base of

Suntel Mountain. The

Franks battled the Saxons for the next two years.

Charles was needed on another battlefield. In 777, the Saxons

had given or fled.

The Saxons provoked the first Frankish campaign against them

by burning a church. He hoped to liberate the

Christians of Spain from Muslim rule.

At a meeting in Saxony, Muslims asked Charles to assist

them in driving a rival Muslim leader from Spain. Roncesvalles became the scene of

one of history’s most bloodiest battles when the rear guard of Charles’ army was

ambushed and destroyed by the Basques in 778. She gave him five

daughters and four sons.

In the Frankland of the 700’s, parents usually arranged the marriages of their

offspring. In 773 Charles received

an urgent request from Rome. Until soon only

one, Pavia, still held out. They simply charged, resulting in a horrible slaughter.

Now 30 years old, happily married, and in control of the entire

Frankish kingdom, Charles turned his attention to his border problems with the Saxons.

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Approximate Word count = 1202
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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