Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor

747 - 814  (66 years)

• Name	Charlemagne
  	More is known about Charlemagne than most medieval rulers because of a biography written by Einhard, a friend of his son Louis the Pious. This biography describes Charlemagne as more than six feet tall, with piercing eyes, fair hair, a thick neck, and a potbelly. He was strong, fond of exercise, and had an alert mind and a forceful personality. Charlemagne could read and speak Latin, the language of educated people of the time. However, he never learned to write it. [3]
  Relationship	with Robert Alan Roy
  Birth	2 Apr 747	Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany   [1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
  Reign	From 767 to 814 (19 years)  [1, 4]
  King of the Franks (Carolingian dynasty)
  Land/House	768 (20 years)
  When Pépin the Short died in 768, the Frankish lands were divided according to ancient Frankinsh law and tradition between Pépin's sons Carloman and Charles. During the next three years until Carloman's death in 771, relations between the two brothers were sometimes strained. In 774, Charles "the Great" or Karolus Magnus, more widely known as Charlemagne, conquered Lombardy and confirmed his father's donation of the Papal States. Charlemagne added Bavaria to his realm, and eventually defeated the Saxons and forced them to convert to Christianity. Charlemagne also waged war in Spain. He was returning from an expedition there in 778 when a mountain people called the Basques ambushed and wiped out his rear guard. This incident became the subject of the famous epic poem The Song of Roland, however, the ambushers were the Moors. [3]
  	Charlemagne's Empire in 814
  Reign	From 800 to 814 (52 years)  [1, 2, 3, 4, 8]
  Holy Roman Emperor
  On 25 December 800, he was crowed Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in Rome.
  	The Coronation of Charlemagne
  Death	28 Jan 814	Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany   [1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
  Burial	Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
  Agency: choir of the Palatine Chapel, Aachen Cathedral
  	Charlemagne's Tomb
  Siblings	2 brothers and 1 sister
  + 1. Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor,   b. 2 Apr 747, Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany d. 28 Jan 814, Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany  (Age 66 years) ▻Himiltrude,   m. 798   ▻Desiderata of the Lombards,   m. 770   ▻Hildegarde, Countess in Linzgau,   b. 758   d. 30 Apr 783  (Age 25 years) m. 771   ▻Fastrada,   m. 783   ▻Luitgard,   m. 794   ▻unknown partner,     > 2. Carloman "the Younger", King of Burgundy,   b. 751   d. 4 Dec 771  (Age 20 years)   3. Gisela, Abbess of Chelles   4. Pépin   d. young
  Oldest Known Ancestors	Paternal Line: Charles Martel ,   b. 688, Heristal, Wallonia, Belgium d. 22 Oct 741, Quierzy, Hauts-de-France, France Maternal Line: Bertrada
  Person ID, Branch	I12	Roy Line, Boudreau Line
  Last Modified	18 Mar 2021

  
  

  Father	Pépin "the Short", King of the Franks,   b. 714/15, Austrasia d. 24 Sep 768 (Age 53 years)
  Mother	Bertha "Broadfoot",   b. Abt 720, Laon, Hauts-de-France, France d. 12 Jul 783 (Age 63 years)
  Family ID	F23	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Spouse / Partner 1	Himiltrude  [3]
  Marriage	798  [3]
  Type: Not married
  Age at Marriage	He : ~ 50 years and 8 months - She : ??.
  Children	1 son and 1 daughter
  + 1. Alpais, Abbess of St. Peter's, Rheims  [Father: Natural]  [Mother: Natural]   2. Pépin the Hunchback,   b. 769  [Father: Natural]  [Mother: Natural]
  Family ID	F17	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	5 Oct 2019

  
  

  Spouse / Partner 2	Desiderata of the Lombards
  Marriage	770  [3]
  She was married to Charlemagne in 770, in order for him to create a bond between Francia and the Kingdom of the Lombards and attempt to isolate his brother Carloman I who ruled over the central territories of Francia. The marriage lasted just one year and there are no known children from the marriage. [9]
  Age at Marriage	He : ~ 22 years and 8 months - She : ??.
  Annulled	771  [3]
  Family ID	F18	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	21 Jun 2021

  
  

  Spouse / Partner 3	Hildegarde, Countess in Linzgau,   b. 758   d. 30 Apr 783 (Age 25 years)  [1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8]
  Marriage	771	Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany   [1, 3, 4, 7, 8]
  Age at Marriage	He : ~ 23 years and 8 months - She : ~ 13 years.
  Children	4 sons and 5 daughters
  1. Charles the Younger, Duke of Ingelheim ,   b. 772   d. 811 (Age 39 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth] + 2. Pépin, King of Italy and Lombardy,   b. Apr 773, Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany d. 8 Jul 810, Milan, Lombardy, Italy (Age 37 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]   3. Adelaide,   b. 773  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]   4. Rotrud,   b. 775  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth] + 5. Bertha of France,   b. 776   d. 826 (Age 50 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]   6. Lothar,   b. 778  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth] + 7. Louis I "the Pious", Holy Roman Emperor,   b. Aug 778, Haute-Garonne, France d. 20 Jun 841, near Mainz (Age 62 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]   8. Hildegarde  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]   9. Gisela  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]
  Family ID	F16	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	26 Jun 2020

  
  

  Spouse / Partner 4	Fastrada  [3]
  Marriage	783  [3]
  Age at Marriage	He : ~ 35 years and 8 months - She : ??.
  Children	2 daughters
  1. Theodrada, Abbess of Argenteuil  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]   2. Hiltrude  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]
  Family ID	F19	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	16 Sep 2019

  
  

  Spouse / Partner 5	Luitgard  [3]
  Marriage	794  [3]
  Age at Marriage	He : ~ 46 years and 8 months - She : ??.
  Family ID	F20	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	16 Sep 2019

  
  

  Spouse / Partner 6	unknown partner
  Children	> 1. Rotrude  [Father: Birth]
  Family ID	F21	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	14 Nov 2015

  
  

• Notes

  Death: Weis (1982) gives his death place as Aix la Chapelle. [1]

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 2 Apr 747 - Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Marriage - 771 - Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Death - 28 Jan 814 - Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Burial - - Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show

  
  

• Sources

  [S59] Weis, Frederick Lewis. Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who Came to New England Between 1623 and 1650 Fifth Editionif, (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1982). [S1851] Wolf, Armin. "Who was Agatha, the Ancestress of Scottish and English Kings?", (Vowchurch, UK: Foundations: Journal of the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, 2011). [S65] Sewell, Robert James. Sewell: A History of the Sewell Family from the Earliest Times, (unknown: manuscript, March 2008). [S60] Stuart, Roderick W. Royalty for Commoners, The Complete Known Lineage of John of Gaunt, Son of Edward III, King of England, and Queen Philippa Fourth Edition, (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2002). [S61] Moriarty, G. Andrews. The Origin of the Carolingians, (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Registervolume XCVIII, October 1944 ). [S62] Kelley, David H. Genealogical Research in England: A New Consideration of the Carolingians, (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register volume CI, April 1947). [S63] von Redlisch, Marcellus Donald Alexander R. Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants volume 1 , (Cottonport, Louisiana: Order of the Crown of Charlemagne, 1941). [S64] Langston, Aileen Lewers and J. Orton Buck Jr. Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants volume II, (Cottonport, Louisiana:Order of the Crown of Charlemagne , 1974 ). [S304] Wikipedia, Desiderata of the Lombards.