Montblanc – Karl the Great / Charlemagne 4810

Description

Charlemagne has been called the “Father of Europe” 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.

Charlemagne was the eldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon. He became king of the Franks in 768 following his father’s death and was initially co-ruler with his brother Carloman I until the latter’s death in 771. As sole ruler, he continued his father’s policy toward the protection of the papacy and became its sole defender, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy and leading an incursion into Muslim Spain. 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 Old St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.