Charles
a name prominent in history. Two of the name have sat on the throne of England. Sweden has had fifteen kings called Charles. Seven German emperors, ten kings of France, four kings of Spain, as well as kings of Portugal, Sardinia, and Naples, dukes and archdukes innumerable have borne the name. Possible confusion may be avoided by remembering that a half a dozen countries have had a Charles I. Then, too, the same Charles may have occupied more than one position. Charles I of Spain was, for instance, the fifth German emperor of that name, and is mentioned in history usually as Charles V. The French distinguished their first six kings of this name by nicknaming them the Bald, the Fat, the Simple, the Fair, the Wise, and the Silly respectively. Several of the more noted men of the name are given a paragraph each in chronological order.
CHARLES V OF FRANCE lived from 1337-1380. He appears to have steered his way amid turbulent, not to say treasonable, nobles with skill. He beat off the English and strengthened the central government of France. His surname of the Wise was given in return for his encouragement of learning. He founded the Royal Library, the greatest in France, and built the Bastille.
CHARLES VII OF FRANCE, grandson of the former, lived from 1403-1461. His reign is noted for the final expulsion of the English from France, save the one port of Calais. His reputation is stained by his betrayal of Joan of Arc, and other selfish, not to say detestable, deeds.
CHARLES THE BOLD was a duke of Burgundy, on the borderline between France and Germany. He lived 1433-1477. A good view of his court and an estimate of his character may be had in Scott's Quentin Durward. He was an ambitious man. His country had no natural boundary--no natural independence. He tried to extend his dukedom into a kingdom. He acquired territory for a time, but he was defeated signally by the Swiss in the battles of Granson and Morat. In 1477 he was slain in battle. In Scott's Anne of Geierstein we have a vivid picture of rending lances and the route of Charles' army.
CHARLES V, EMPEROR OF GERMANY. He lived 1500-1558, and is still one of the great figures in the pages of history. From Ferdinand and Isabella, his grandparents on his mother's side, he inherited Spain and the New World discovered by Columbus. From his father he inherited the rich provinces of the Netherlands. From his father's father, Maximilian, he inherited Austria. By election in competition with Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France he was made emperor, the head of the Holy Roman Empire. The idea of a universal empire--the restoration of the empire of Charlemagne--was now revived, but the Reformation broke out. With north Germany pulling one way under the influence of Luther, and England led in another direction by the authority of Henry VIII, the energies of one of the greatest men of the age were frittered away in keeping what he had, in retarding progress, in trying to reconcile irreconcilable Protestant and Catholic elements. A reign which gave promise of a single state and a single church in all Christendom was signalized by the worst splitting up into acutely hostile camps the world has ever witnessed. After a stormy, disappointing life Charles abdicated. He laid down his crowns in 1556, and went into retirement for the few remaining years of his life.
CHARLES IX OF FRANCE lived 1550-1574. He was the weak son of a strong woman, Catharine de Medici. His reign is notable for the fearful massacre of St. Bartholomew, instigated by his crafty mother.
CHARLES I OF ENGLAND lived 1600-1649. He was the third son of James VI of Scotland who became king of England. During his reign the principal American colonies were founded. For an account of the terrible struggle between Charles and his people and his execution, see article on CROMWELL.