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Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774 and Holy Roman Emperor from 800. He united much of western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. He was the first emperor to rule from western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th censurey. The expanded Frankish state that Charlemagne founded is called the Carolingian Empire.

Charlemagne was the eldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, born before their canonical marriage.[4] He became king in 768 following his father's death, initially as co-ruler with his brother Carloman I. Carloman's sudden death in December 771 under unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom.[5] He continued his father's policy towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy and leading an incursion into Muslim Spain. He campaigned against the Saxons to his east, Christianizing them upon penalty of death and leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden. He reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at Rome's Old St. Peter's Basilica.

Charlemagne has been called the "Father of Europe" (Pater Europae),[c] as he united most of Western Europe for the first time since the classical era of the Roman Empire and united parts of Europe that had never been under Frankish or Roman rule. His rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of energetic cultural and intellectual activity within the Western Church. All Holy Roman Emperors considered their kingdoms to be descendants of Charlemagne's empire, as did the French and German monarchies. However, the Eastern Orthodox Church views Charlemagne more controversially, labelling as heterodox his support of the filioque and the Pope's recognition of him as legitimate Roman Emperor rather than Irene of Athens of the Byzantine Empire. These and other machinations led to the eventual split of Rome and Constantinople in the Great Schism of 1054.[6][d]

Charlemagne died in 814, having ruled as emperor for almost 14 years and as king for almost 46 years. He was laid to rest in his imperial capital city of Aachen. He married at least four times and had three legitimate sons, but only his son Louis the Pious survived to succeed him.

Louis was born on 16 April 778, the son of Emperor Charlemagne and Hildegardis. About 794 he married Irmingard/Ermengard, daughter of Ingram, Graf in Haspengau. Between 795 and 806 they had three sons and a daughter, all of whom would have progeny. Irmingard died in 818, and in the following year he married Judith, daughter of Welf, Graf in Bayern und Schwaben, Graf von Altdorf. They had a son and daughter who would both have progeny.

As his father's only surviving son, Louis was crowned emperor by his father in 813 without assistance from the clergy. In 816 the pope anointed him. In 817 he issued the 'Ordinatio Imperii' that effectively divided the Empire between his three sons. However this was not the only reason for the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire. High offices had become hereditary and so less subject to the emperor's favour. As well, the Vikings began raiding the Empire more frequently.

Whereas Charlemagne had been a Frankish warrior, Louis saw himself as a servant of the Church. As a result, where the papal elections had previously required Imperial approval this was no longer the case under the rule of Louis.

In 817 he brutally suppressed his nephew Bernard of Italy. However an indication of his guilt over the brutality is that in 821 he pardoned those involved in the uprising, only to have this interpreted by the Frankish nobles in 822 as a sign of weakness.

By now he had lost control over both Church and nobility. With four sons he was also plagued by dynastic problems. His second wife, Judith, wanting the largest part of the empire for her son, joined forces with Louis' sons Ludwig 'the German' and Pippin, against Lothar the eldest son. Two factions developed in the empire, one wanting to keep it united and the other to continue the Frankish custom of dividing lands between all sons.

In 829 Judith persuaded Louis to set aside his settlement of 817 and include her son Charles in the partition of the Empire. However, Ludwig and Pippin, jealous of Charles' portion, joined forces with Lothar their eldest brother, and in 830 rebelled against their father.

The eldest three sons, supported by Pope Gregory IV, defeated their father in 833. Lothar was restored as emperor designate and Louis was forced to perform a humiliating penance. However, Ludwig and Pippin were still dissatisfied and again took up arms. In 838 Pippin died, followed in 840 by Louis. Finally in 843 at Verdun the Frankish tradition triumphed and the empire was divided between the three surviving sons.

Judith was born about 800, the daughter of Welf, Graf in Bayern und Schwaben, Graf von Altdorf, and his wife, a Saxon noblewoman named Eigilwich/Heilwig. In Aachen in 819 she became the second wife of Emperor Louis 'the Pious', son of Emperor Charlemagne and his wife Hildegardis. Of their two children their son Charles would have progeny.

Judith ensured that Charles received a share of the kingdom, like his three half-brothers from Louis' first marriage. This contributed to the ensuing civil war between Louis and his sons. Rebels temporarily imprisoned Judith in the convent of Poitiers on allegations of adultery in 830. From 833 to 834 she was exiled in Tortona, Piedmont.

Judith was the first member of the Elder House of Welf to have a leading role in the Frankish kingdom. Whether by coincidence or through Judith's influence, in the years following her marriage to Louis her mother and both her brothers gained important offices in the kingdom. In 827 her sister Emma/Hemma married Ludwig II 'the German', king of the East-Franks, a son of Louis from his first marriage. Judith died at Tours on 19 April 843. She was buried at the Basilica of St. Martin in Tours.

Charles the Bald was King of Italy 876-877 King of West-France 843, Aquitaine 848 and Lorraine 869

Charles was born in Frankfurt on 13 June 823, the younger son of the Holy Roman Emperor Louis I 'the Pious', by his second wife Judith. When Charles was born, his elder half-brothers were already adults and had been assigned their own regna, or subkingdoms, by their father. The attempts made by Louis 'the Pious' to assign Charles a subkingdom, first Alemannia and then the country between the Meuse and the Pyrenees (in 832, after the rising of his son Pippin I of Aquitaine), were unsuccessful. The numerous reconciliations with the rebellious brothers Lothar I and Pippin, as well as their brother Ludwig II 'the German', king of Bavaria, made Charles' share in Aquitaine and Italy only temporary, but his father did not give up and made Charles the heir of the entire land which was once Gaul and would some day be France. At a Diet near Crémieux in 837, Louis 'the Pious' bade the nobles do homage to Charles as his heir. This led to the final rising of his sons against him, and Pippin I of Aquitaine died in 838, whereupon Charles finally received that kingdom. However Pippin's son Pippin II would be a perpetual thorn in his side.

The death of the emperor in 840 led to the outbreak of war between his sons. Charles allied himself with his brother Ludwig II 'the German' to resist the pretensions of the new emperor Lothar I, and the two allies defeated Lothar at the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye on 25 June 841. In the following year, the two brothers confirmed their alliance by the celebrated Oaths of Strasbourg. The war was brought to an end by the Treaty of Verdun in August 843. The settlement gave Charles 'the Bald' the kingdom of the West Franks, which he had been up till then governing and which practically corresponded with what is now France, as far as the Meuse, the Saône, and the Rhône, with the addition of the Spanish March as far as the Ebro. Ludwig received the eastern part of the Carolingian Empire, known as the East Francia and later Germany. Lothar retained the imperial title and the Iron Crown of Lombardy. He also received the central regions from Flanders through the Rhineland and Burgundy as king of Middle Francia.

On 13 December 842 Charles had married Ermentrudis of Orléans, daughter of Eudes, comte d'Orléans, and his wife Ingeltrud. They had nine children of whom Judith and Louis II would have progeny. She separated from Charles after he executed her rebellious brother Guillaume in 866, and retreated to a life in a nunnery.

The first years of Charles' reign, up to the death of Lothar I in 855, were comparatively peaceful. During these years the three brothers continued the system of 'confraternal government', meeting repeatedly with one another, at Koblenz (848), at Meerssen (851), and at Attigny (854). In 858, Ludwig II 'the German', invited by disaffected nobles eager to oust Charles, invaded the West Frankish kingdom. Charles was so unpopular that he was unable to summon an army, and fled to Burgundy. He was saved only by the support of the bishops, who refused to crown Ludwig king, and by the fidelity of the Welfs, who were related to his mother Judith. In 860, he in his turn tried to seize the kingdom of his nephew, Charles of Provence, but he was repulsed. On the death of his nephew Lothar II in 869, Charles tried to seize Lothar's dominions, but by the Treaty of Meerssen (870) he was compelled to share them with Ludwig II 'the German'.

Beside these family disputes, Charles had to struggle against repeated rebellions in Aquitaine and against the Bretons. Led by their chiefs Nomenoë and Erispoë, who defeated the king at Ballon (845) and Juvardeil (851), the Bretons were successful in obtaining a de facto independence. Charles also fought against the Vikings, who devastated the country of the north, the valleys of the Seine and Loire, and even up to the borders of Aquitaine. Several times Charles was forced to purchase their withdrawal at a heavy price. Charles led various expeditions against the invaders and, by the Edict of Pistres of 864, made the army more mobile by providing for a cavalry element, the predecessor of the French chivalry so famous during the next 600 years. By the same edict, he ordered fortified bridges to be put up at all the rivers to block the Viking incursions. Two of these bridges at Paris saved the city during its siege of 885-886.

In 875, after the death of the Emperor Ludwig II (son of Charles' half-brother Lothar I), Charles, supported by Pope John VIII, travelled to Italy, receiving the royal crown at Pavia and the imperial insignia in Rome on 29 December. Ludwig II 'the German', also a candidate for the succession to Emperor Ludwig II, avenged himself by invading and devastating Charles' dominions, and Charles had to return hastily to Francia. After the death of Ludwig II 'the German' (28 August 876), Charles in his turn attempted to seize Ludwig's kingdom, but was decisively beaten at Andernach on 8 October 876. In the meantime, Pope John VIII, menaced by the Saracens, was urging Charles to come to his defence in Italy. Charles again crossed the Alps, but this expedition was received with little enthusiasm by the nobles or even by Boso, his regent in Lombardy, and they refused to join his army. At the same time Karlmann, son of Ludwig II 'the German', entered northern Italy. Charles, by then ill and in great distress, started on his way back to Gaul, but died while crossing the pass of Mont Cenis at Brides-les-Bain, on 5 or 6 October 877.

Charles was succeeded by his son Louis II. Charles seems to have been a prince of education and letters, a friend of the Church, and conscious of the support he could find in the episcopate against his unruly nobles, for he chose his councillors from among the higher clergy, as in the case of Guenelon of Sens, who betrayed him, and of Hincmar of Reims.

It is unlikely that Charles was actually bald. Rather, the epithet 'the Bald' is thought to be early medieval humour and historians generally agree that he was probably quite hirsute, with a full head of hair and a beard.

Louis was the King of Aquitaine and later the King of West Francia. He was born on 1 November 846, the eldest son of Emperor Charles 'the Bald' and Ermentrudis of Orléans. He succeeded his younger brother in Aquitaine in 866 and his father in West Francia in 877, though he was never crowned emperor.

Twice married, he and his first wife Ansgard de Bourgogne, daughter of Harduin, comte de Bourgogne, had two sons, Louis and Karlmann, both of whom became kings of France, and two daughters, Hildegard and Gisla, who married Robert, count of Troyes. No progeny is recorded for these children.

With his second wife Adelheid, daughter of Adalhard, count palatine, he had a daughter Ermentrud who would become the mother of Kunigund, wife of the Wigerich, Graf im Bidgau und Ardennengau; they were the ancestors of the House of Luxemburg. Louis and Adelheid also had a posthumous son Charles, who would be known as 'the Simple' and become, long after his elder brothers' deaths, king of France.

Louis was crowned on 8 December 877 by Hincmar, archbishop of Rheims, and was crowned a second time in September 878 by Pope John VIII at Troyes while the pope was attending a council there. The pope may even have offered the imperial crown, but it was declined.

Louis was said to be physically weak and outlived his father by only two years. He had relatively little impact on politics. He was described 'a simple and sweet man, a lover of peace, justice, and religion'. In 878 he gave the counties of Barcelone, Gerona, and Besalú to Wifredo I 'el Velloso' (the Hairy) as reward for his service to Louis and his father Charles 'the Bald' against the rebel Bernard of Gothia, count of Barcelona, Rousillon, and numerous other Septimanian counties.

Louis' final act was to march against the Vikings who were then the scourge of Europe. He fell ill and died at Compiègne on 10 April 879 not long after beginning his final campaign. On his death, his realms were divided between his sons Louis and Karlmann.

Adelheid was born about 855, the daughter of Adalhard, Count Palatine. Emperor Charles 'the Bald' chose her as wife for his son Louis II 'the Stammerer', the future king of West-France. However in March 862 Louis married Ansgard de Bourgogne in a secret ceremony, and against the will of his father. Despite the birth of several children to the marriage, Emperor Charles arranged for the Pope to annul it, and Louis' marriage to Adelheid was celebrated in February 875. However, because the couple were closely related the Pope refused to crown Adelheid at the Council of Troyes in 878.

Adelheid and Louis had a daughter Ermentrud who would have progeny. After Louis died in Compiègne in 879, Adelheid gave birth to her only son Charles, the future Charles III 'the Simple', king of France. Her late husband's repudiated wife Ansgard and her two sons accused Adelheid of adultery, and she was forced to defend herself in a long, difficult process.

Ansgard's sons Louis III and Karlmann II followed their father as kings, but both died after short reigns, leaving no heirs. Adelheid was acquitted, and in the year 898 she was able to attend the coronation of her son Charles III.

Adelheid died at Laon after 9 November 901. She was buried in the abbey of Saint-Corneille, Compiègne.

Charles was born on 17 September 879, the son of Louis II 'the Stammerer', king of West-France, and Adelaide. He did not know his father, who died before Charles was born. Charles, a member of the Carolingian dynasty, ruled as king of France from 898 to 922. He married Frederuna who died in 917; he then married Eadgifu, the daughter of Edward 'the Elder' of England, on 7 October 919. As a child, Charles was prevented from succeeding to the throne when his half-brother Carloman died in 884, or when Charles 'the Fat', who succeeded Carloman, was deposed in 887. Odo, count of Paris, succeeded Charles 'the Fat'. Charles 'the Simple' became king at the death of Odo in 898.

The kingdom of Charles 'the Simple' was almost identical to today's France, but he was obliged to concede what would become known as Normandy to the Norsemen. In 922 some of the barons revolted and crowned Robert I, brother of Odo, as king. In 923, at the battle of Soissons, King Robert was killed, but Charles was also defeated. Rudolf II, duke of Burgundy was elected king, and Charles III was imprisoned.

Charles died on 7 October 929, in prison at Péronne and was buried there at the L'Abbaye de St.Fursy. His son with Eadgifu would eventually be crowned King Louis IV of France, and be known as Louis IV 'd'Outremer' as he was raised in England.

Louis was born about 920, the son of Charles III 'the Simple', king of France, and Eadgifu of Wessex, a daughter of Edward 'the Elder', king of England. Called 'd'Outremer' or 'Transmarinus' ('from overseas'), he reigned as king of France from 936 to 954. He was member of the Carolingian dynasty.

He was only two years old when his father was deposed by the nobles, who set up Robert I in his place. When Louis was only three, Robert died and was replaced by Raoul, duke of Burgundy. Raoul's ally Heribert II, comte de Vermandois, took Charles III captive by treachery and the young Louis' mother took the boy 'over the sea' to the safety of England, hence his epithet.

Charles III died in 929, but Raoul ruled on until 936, when Louis was summoned back to France unanimously by the nobles, especially Hugues 'the Great', duke of The Franks and count of Paris, who had probably organised his return to prevent Heribert II, or Raoul's brother Hugues 'the Black', taking the throne.

He was crowned king at Laon by Artald, archbishop of Reims, on Sunday 19 June 936. Effectively, his sovereignty was limited to the town of Laon and to some places in the north of France, but Louis displayed a keenness beyond his years in obtaining the recognition of his authority by his feuding nobles. Nonetheless, his reign was filled with conflict, in particular with Hugues 'the Great'.

In 939 Louis became involved in a struggle with the Emperor Otto I 'the Great' on the question of Lorraine, but then he married Otto's sister Gerberga von Sachsen, the widow of Giselbert II of Lorraine. Louis and Gerberga had eight children of whom three would have progeny. In November 942 he lost Lorraine and part of Burgundy. On 13 July 945 at Rouen he was captured by the Vikings who handed him over to Hugues 'the Great'. After his release he settled at Compiègne on 1 July 946.

Louis was about thirty-four when he died, on 10 September 954 in Reims, after a fall from his horse. He is interred at the basilica of Saint Rémi in Reims. His widow became regent for their son. In 959 she became abbess of Notre Dame in Soissons. She died in Reims on 5 May 984.