The Rise of Charlemagne: A Frankish Empire

• Charlemagne was crowned Emperor on December 25, 800, and ruled a vast realm that encompassed almost the whole of Europe, making him the most powerful ruler of his time.

• Einhard, Charlemagne's court scholar, wrote a biography of Charlemagne 30 years after his death, depicting him as superhuman, but the line between myth and reality is unclear.

• Pepin, Charlemagne's father, wanted to be king of the Franks but didn't inherit the crown, so he hoped for a son to found a dynasty; his wife, Bertrada, prayed desperately to conceive and eventually gave birth to Charlemagne in April 748.

• The Frankish Empire, which consisted of many small principalities, had been governed by the Merovingians for generations, but Pepin led a revolution to become the ruler of a huge realm under the Merovingian Dynasty.

• The Frankish Empire had expanded over three centuries, incorporating large parts of modern-day France, and became a major power in Central Europe.

• Pepin wanted to rule with the Pope's blessing, so he turned to the Pope for legitimation beyond that of the Frankish nobility and bishops.

• The new Carolingian Dynasty had two heirs to the throne: Charlemagne and his brother Carloman, who saw themselves as rivals rather than brothers.

• The division of the Empire between Charlemagne and Carloman seems balanced at first glance, but Charlemagne's territories surrounded his brother's in a semi-circle, making his section significantly larger and more difficult to manage.

• Pepin's intention was to force his sons to get along, but they were unwilling and unable to do so, and their rivalry led to tension and conflict.

• Relations between royal princes were always tense, and in this case, it's clear that Charlemagne's mother, Bertrada, preferred him over his brother Carloman.

• A rebellion on the Empire's borders led to a plan for the two brothers to combine their military efforts, but Carloman refused to help, leaving Charlemagne on his own.

• Charlemagne's decision to continue the military campaign without his brother's help was a huge gamble, as he couldn't afford a defeat, and his brother's refusal to help was likely a deliberate attempt to put him in a difficult position.

• Charlemagne's army was well-equipped with the latest weapons and technology, including bows, arrows, swords, shields, chainmail, and scale armor, which gave him a significant advantage in battle.

• The chainmail and scale armor were primarily designed to protect against swords and cutting weapons, but they were not very effective against arrows; however, they did reduce the impact of arrows.

• The main factor behind Charlemagne's military success was his ability to manufacture large quantities of weaponry and armor due to his expanding economy.

• After his victory, Charlemagne declared the whole of Aquitaine his, thereby annexing the area his brother Carloman had originally possessed.

• Charlemagne legitimized his reign through his successful military campaign, showing his entourage that he was a soldier king who could be victorious.

• Charlemagne's mother, Bertrada, secretly made her way to Italy to forge an alliance with the Lombard King Desiderius, thereby securing Charlemagne's kingdom and putting pressure on his brother's realm.

• The plan was to marry Charlemagne to the Lombard princess, making the Lombards allies and controlling Carloman's realm from the north, south, and west.

• However, Pope Stephen III was distrustful of the allegiance between the Lombards and the Franks and wrote directly to Charlemagne, leading Bertrada to assert herself and Charlemagne to divorce his wife and banish her to a life in a convent.

• The death of Carloman at the age of 20 under mysterious circumstances opened up unforeseen opportunities for Charlemagne, who would soon declare himself sole ruler.

• Charlemagne's plan to prevent his brother's sons from getting their hands on the throne led to a daring plan, including fleeing across the Alps to the court of the Lombard King Desiderius.

• Charlemagne eventually marched to Italy, taking two years to do so, and all hope was lost for Carloman's heirs; his Lombard wife also lost her position at court.

• Charlemagne turned away from his mother's politics, although his opinion about it is unclear.

• Charlemagne's behavior changed after Karlaman's death, leading to a shift in his relationships with Italy, a desire for an alliance with the papacy, and a break with the Lombards.

• Charlemagne married Hildegard, the daughter of a count from an aristocratic Alemanic family, to secure military and political support, and she gave birth to nine children during their 11-year marriage.

• Hildegard's father was a great support for Charlemagne in regards to Karlaman's territory, and she managed to reconcile the enemies of their marriage and become a popular queen.

• The Lombard King Desiderius, humiliated by Charlemagne, went to Rome to seek help, as he feared the pope might legitimize the sons of Charlemagne's deceased brother as rulers of the Frankish Empire.

• In 772, war with the Lombards seemed inevitable, but Charlemagne's behavior towards his brother's sons had angered many princes in the Empire, leading to a tense situation.

• Charlemagne sent his Lombard wife back to her father, knowing it would lead to war with the Lombards, and he used the interim period to campaign against the Saxons.

• Charlemagne's father, Pepin, had also fought against the Germanic Saxons, but Charlemagne went further, advancing into Saxon territory with great brutality, seeking to break their political and ethnic identity.

• For Charlemagne, military submission and the assertion of Christianity in Saxony were inseparable, and he believed that the Saxons' pagan religious practices had to be broken.

• The Saxons were Germanic pagans who worshiped their gods with animal sacrifices, and fire was considered sacred in their Heathen Cults.

• Archaeologist Clemens Vorder is studying the Exton Stones, a possible cult site of the Saxons, to determine whether they were used during Charlemagne's day, using thermoluminescence dating to analyze the quartz grains in the stone.

• The results of the dating reveal that the fire in the caves of the Exton Stones must have burned between the 8th and 16th centuries, including the period of the Saxon-Frankish Wars.

• The Exton Stones may have been a significant site for the Saxons, possibly even the location of the legendary Irminsul, a massive tree that supported the heavens and was the most important object of Saxon worship.