CHARLEMAGNE
CHARLEMAGNE names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
CHARLEMAGNE THE MAN. Charles was large and robust
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
THE MAN. Charles was large and robust, of commanding stature and excellent proportions, for it appears that he measured in height seven times the length of his own foot. The top of his head was round, his eyes large and animated, his nose somewhat long. He had a fine head of gray hair, and his face was bright and pleasant; so that, whether standing or sitting, he showed great presence and dignity. Although his neck was thick and rather short, and his belly too prominent, still the good proportions of his limbs concealed these defects. His walk was firm, and the whole carriage of his body was manly. His voice was clear, but not so strong as his frame would have led one to expect. He took constant exercise in riding and hunting, which was natural for a Frank, since scarcely any nation can be found to equal them in these pursuits. He also delighted in the natural warm baths, frequently exercising himself by swimming, in which he was very skillful, no one being able to outstrip him. It was on account of the warm baths at Aix-la-Chapelle that he built his palace there and lived there constantly during the last years of his life and until his death. . . . He wore the dress of his native country, that is, the Frankish; next his body a linen shirt and linen drawers; then a tunic with a silken border, and stockings. He bound his legs with garters and wore shoes on his feet. In the winter he protected his shoulders and chest with a vest made of the skins of otters and sable. He wore a blue cloak, and was always girt with his sword, the hilt and belt being of gold and silver. Sometimes he wore a jeweled sword, but he did so only on great festivals or when receiving foreign ambassadors. He thoroughly disliked the dress of foreigners, however fine; and he never put it on except at Rome--once at the request of Pope Adrian, and again, a second time, to please Adrian's successor, Pope Leo. He then wore a long tunic, chlamys, and shoes made after the Roman fashion. On festivals he used to walk in processions clad in a garment woven with gold, and shoes studded with jewels, his cloak fastened with a golden clasp, and wearing a crown of gold set with precious stones. At other times his dress differed little from that of a private person. In his eating and drinking he was temperate; more particularly so in his drinking, for he had the greatest abhorrence of drunkenness in anybody, but more especially in himself and his companions. He was unable to abstain from food for any length of time, and often complained that fasting was injurious to him. On the other hand, he very rarely feasted, only on great festive occasions, when there were very large gatherings. The daily service of his table consisted of only four dishes in addition to the roast meat, which the hunters used to bring in on spits, and of which he partook more freely than of any other food.--From Einhard's Life of Charles. CHARLEMAGNE'S INCOME FROM HIS FARMS. We desire that each steward shall make an annual statement of all our income, giving an account of our lands cultivated by the oxen which our own plowmen drive and of our lands which the tenants of farms ought to plow; of the pigs, of the rents, of the obligations and fines; of the game taken in our forests without our permission; of the various compositions; of the mills, of the forest, of the fields, of the bridges and ships; of the free men and the districts under obligations to our treasury; of markets, vineyards, and those who owe wine to us; of the hay, firewood, torches, planks, and other kinds of lumber; of the waste lands; of the vegetables, millet, panic; of the wool, flax, and hemp; of the fruits of the trees; of the nut trees, larger and smaller; of the grafted trees of all kinds; of the gardens; of the turnips; of the fish ponds; of the hides, skins, and horns; of the honey and wax; of the fat, tallow, and soap; of the mulberry wine, cooked wine, mead, vinegar, beer, and wine, new and old; of the new grain and the old; of the hens and eggs; of the geese; of the number of fishermen, workers in metal, sword makers, and shoemakers; of the bins and boxes; of the turners and saddlers; of the forges and mines,--that is, of iron, lead, or other substances; of the colts and fillies. They shall make all these known to us, set forth separately and in order, at Christmas, so that we may know what and how much of each thing we have. The greatest care must be taken that whatever is prepared or made with the hands,--that is, bacon, smoked meat, sausage, partially salted meat, wine, vinegar, mulberry wine, cooked wine, garum, mustard, cheese, butter, malt, beer, mead, honey, wax, flour,--all should be prepared and made with the greatest cleanliness. Each steward on each of our domains shall always have, for the sake of ornament, peacocks, pheasants, ducks, pigeons, partridges, and turtledoves. In each of our estates the chambers shall be provided with counterpanes, cushions, pillows, bedclothes, coverings for the tables and benches; vessels of brass, lead, iron, and wood; andirons, chains, pothooks, adzes, axes, augers, cutlasses, and all other kinds of tools, so that it shall never be necessary to go elsewhere for them, or to borrow them. And the weapons which are carried against the enemy shall be well cared for, so as to keep them in good condition; and when they are brought back they shall be placed in the chamber. For our women's work they are to give at the proper time, as has been ordered, the materials,--that is, the linen, wool, woad, vermilion, madder, wool combs, teasels, soap, grease, vessels, and the other objects which are necessary. Of the kind of food not forbidden on fast days, two-thirds shall be sent each year for our own use,--that is, of the vegetables, fish, cheese, butter, honey, mustard, vinegar, millet, panic, dried and green herbs, radishes, and, in addition, of the wax, soap, and other small products; and let it be reported to us, by a statement, how much is left, as we have said above; and this statement must not be omitted as in the past, because after those two-thirds we wish to know how much remains. Each steward shall have in his district good workmen, namely, blacksmiths, a goldsmith, a silversmith, shoemakers, turners, carpenters, sword makers, fishermen, foilers, soap makers, men who know how to make beer, cider, perry, or other kind of liquor good to drink, bakers to make pastry for our table, net makers who know how to make nets for hunting, fishing, and fowling, other sorts of workmen too numerous to be designated.--Extract from the Capitulary de Villis, issued in the year 800 or earlier. THE CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE. "And because the name of emperor had now ceased among the Greeks, and their empire was possessed by a woman, it seemed both to Leo the pope himself, and to all the holy fathers who were present in the self-same council, as well as to the rest of the Christian people, that they ought to take to be emperor Charles, king of the Franks, who held Rome herself, where the Caesars had always been wont to sit, and all the other regions which he ruled through Italy and Gaul and Germany; and inasmuch as God had given all these lands into his hand, it seemed right that with the help of God, and at the prayer of the whole Christian people, he should have the name of emperor also. Whose petition King Charles willed not to refuse, but submitting himself with all humility to God, and at the prayer of the priests, and of the whole Christian people, on the day of the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, he took on himself the name of emperor, being consecrated by the pope Leo." . . . "For this also was done by the will of God . . . that the heathen might not mock the Christians if the name of emperor should have ceased among the Christians."--From contemporary monkish chronicles.
CHARLEMAGNE shar'le-man (742-814)
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
shar'le-man (742-814), or Charles the Great, king of the Franks. He was born at Aix-la-Chapelle. He died and was buried there, yet he was a great traveler. He is the foremost historical figure, the greatest doer of things, in several centuries. He inherited the kingdom of the Franks from his grandfather, Charles Martel, famous for hammering the Saracens at Tours in 732. He extended the bounds of his territory until it included the greater part of western Europe. The seat of the Roman Empire had been at Constantinople for centuries, and the West had fallen away. He revived the notion of a western empire which should be independent of the Greek government at Constantinople. Pope Leo favored the idea and placed the imperial diadem on his head in St. Peter's basilica at Rome, crying aloud, "To Charles Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, life and victory." This coronation took place in 800. It gave the West the idea of a great empire corresponding to a great church. Wherever the banners of the empire floated the church should find protection. Wherever the doctrines of the Roman Church were accepted the authority of the empire should be recognized. Pope and emperor; emperor and pope; the holy Catholic church; the holy Roman Empire ; state and church hand in hand. This was the beginning of modern European history. The notion of the empire was at times the controlling political idea in Europe. It persisted until abolished by Napoleon with whose ambitions it conflicted. During his reign of forty-six years Charlemagne made fifty-two military campaigns. He routed the Saracens in northeastern Spain; won the iron crown of the Lombards; converted the Saxons with the combined arguments of war and Christianity as far as the Elbe and the Baltic, and subjugated the Huns in the valley of the Danube. The sword of Charlemagne and the cross of the monk were inseparable. Wherever the banner of the empire was planted monasteries were built and the voices of monks rose in morning prayers. Nor were schools neglected. Charlemagne's capital and favorite place of residence was Aix-la-Chapelle. Here he built a magnificent palace and a noble marble cathedral or "chapelle" which gave its name to the city. Schools were established throughout the empire for the training of priests, and at his own home he established what was known as the palace school for the young people, the sons of nobility who flocked to his court. Charlemagne was a large man in every way. He fought like a lion, but it was to establish peace. He sought power, but it was to use it justly. He extended and strengthened his government, but it was for the benefit of the people. He favored education, not ignorance; art, not idle luxury; comfort and plain living, not extravagance. Scholars were encouraged to live at court. Pacific, courageous, kindly, determined, industrious, quiet, scholarly, largehearted, and merciful, in many ways like King Alfred, it is safe to say that had his successors been more like him the step of Europe might have been hastened a couple of centuries. At his death part of his work went backward. When he died in 814, he was embalmed, seated in coronation robes on a golden throne in a marble tomb in the gallery of the cathedral. A crown was placed on his head; a sword was placed in his hand, and an open volume of the Scriptures was laid on his lap, signifying the great ruler, conqueror, lawgiver, patron of learning and the son of the church. In the year 1000 Otho III opened the tomb. In 1165 Frederick Barbarossa opened it a second time, and transferred the remains to a marble sarcophagus. In 1215 the remains were inclosed in a gold and silver chest or reliquary, where they rest, with other precious treasures, in the sacred precincts of the cathedral. Charlemagne's crown, sword, scepter, coronation robes, and gloves are preserved in the imperial treasury at Vienna. See Aix-La-Chapelle
CHARLEMAGNE Charles the Great
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
Charles the Great, King of the Franks, and subsequently Emperor of the West, was born in 742, probably at Aix-la- Chapelle. His father was Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, son of Charles Martel. On the decease of his father, in 768, he was crowned king, and divided the kingdom of the Franks with his brother Carloman, at whose death in 771, Charlemagne made himself master of the whole empire, which embraced, be sides France, a large part of Germany. His first great enterprise was the con quest of the Saxons, a heathen nation living between the Weser and the Elbe, which he undertook in 772; but it was not till 803 that they were finally subdued and brought to embrace Christianity. While he was combating the Saxons, Pope Adrian implored his assistance against Desiderius, king of immediately marched with his army to Italy, the Lombards. Charlemagne Italy, took Pavia, overthrew Desiderius, and was crowned King of Lombardy with the iron crown. In 778 he he repaired to Spain to assist a Moorish prince, and while returning his troops were surprised in the valley of Roncesvalles by the Biscayans, and the rear-guard defeated; Roland, one of the most famous warriors of those times, fell in the battle. As his power increased, he meditated more seriously the accomplishment of the plan of his ancestor, Charles Martel, to restore the Western Empire. Having gone to Italy to assist the Pope, on Christmas day 800 he was crowned and proclaimed Cæsar and Augustus by Leo III. His son Pepin, who had been made King of Italy, died in 810, and his death was followed the next year by that of Charles, his Thus of his legitimate sons eldest son. one only remained, Louis, King of Aquitania, whom Charlemagne ado adopted as his col his 814, in the 47th year of his reign, and colleague in 813. He died Jan. 28, was buried at Aix-la-Chapelle, his favorite and usual place of residence. Charlemagne was a friend of learning, and deserves the name of restorer of the sciences and teacher of his people. He attracted by his liberality the most distinguished scholars to his court (among others, Alcuin, from England), and established an academy in his palace at Aix-la-Chapelle, the sittings of which he attended with all the scientific and literary men of his court. He invited teachers of language and mathematics from Italy to the principal cities of the empire, and founded schools of theology and the liberal sciences in the monasteries. He strove to cultivate his mind by intercourse with scholars; and, to the time of his death, this intercourse remained his favorite recreation. CHARLEMAGNE His mother-tongue was a form of German, but he spoke several languages readily, especially the Latin, and was naturally eloquent. He sought to improve the liturgy and church music, and attempted unsuccessfully to introduce uniformity of measures and weights. He built a light-house at Boulogne, constructed several ports, encouraged agriculture, and enacted wise laws. He convened councils and parliaments, published capitularies, wrote many letters (some of which are still extant), a grammar, and several Latin poems. His empire comprehended France, most of Catalonia, Navarre, and Aragon; the Netherlands, Germany as far as the Elbe, Saale, and Eider, Upper and Middle Italy, Istria, and a part of Slavonia. In private life Charlemagne was exceedingly amiable; a good father and generous friend. In dress and habits he was plain and economical. In person he was strong and of great stature. He was succeeded by his son Louis (le Débonnaire).
What Has Changed in the Last Century
What Aiton's printed in 1910 was not a modern summary at all but Einhard's ninth-century Life of Charles, and that text is still the foundation of every biography written since. The most concrete addition came in 1988, when the bones kept in the Aachen shrine were examined and the reconstructed height of roughly 1.84 metres matched Einhard's claim that Charles stood "seven times the length of his own foot" — unusually tall for the period. Scholars now read Einhard more warily, noting that he shaped his portrait on Suetonius's life of Augustus, and they still argue over whether Charles was born in 742 or 747-48. The estate survey quoted here, the Capitulare de villis, is likewise debated: it may belong to his son Louis the Pious rather than to Charlemagne himself. What has changed most is his political afterlife — since 1950 Aachen has awarded a Charlemagne Prize casting him as the founding figure of a united Europe, and his palace chapel became one of the first World Heritage sites in 1978.
Written for this edition, 2026.