The birth of the Holy Roman Empire—and the unlikely king who ruled it

The fall of the Roman Empire in 476 left a giant rift in Western Europe. Without any central authority, fractured kingdoms waged intense warfare. Citizens struggled to survive, the arts and education all but disappeared. Europe entered the Dark Ages, a chaotic period of the early Middle Ages. In the midst of these trying times, a boy named Carolus Magnus—Charles the Great—was born in 742. More commonly known as Charlemagne, the heir to the Carolingian dynasty, he went on to become one of Europe’s greatest leaders, making strides toward establishing a more enlightened, higher civilization.

Before Charlemagne

In the time before Charlemagne, Muslim forces moved north into Europe. Backed by the powerful caliph of Damascus, Berber Muslims—native peoples of North Africa, also known as Moors—occupied Spain in 711 and remained there for more than 700 years. Muslims now had nearly complete economic and political control of the Mediterranean.

The Muslims crossed the Pyrenees mountains and marched into the Frankish Kingdom, gaining yet another name: Saracens. Though able to delay them at Toulouse in 721, Odo of Aquitaine, a Frankish duke, failed to halt the Muslim advance and sent out for the assistance of another Frank, Charles Martel—Charlemagne’s grandfather.

Rise of the Carolingians

The illegitimate son of a Frankish noble, Charles Martel had become ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. Charles joined his forces with Duke Odo’s to face the Saracens, and, thanks to his military brilliance, the Franks turned back the Moors at the Battle of Tours in 732. There would be other Muslim incursions over the next several years, but the Franks, united under Charles, proved they could be stopped.

Charles Martel’s legacy gave birth to a new dynasty, the Carolingians—from the Latin Carolus, or Charles. Pepin the Short, Charles Martel’s son, was able to gain a papal blessing to become the first Carolingian king. He signed a pact with church leaders promising that, in exchange for backing from the church, he would always protect the papacy in Rome and Christianity everywhere. Pepin was Charlemagne’s father.

Birth of a ruler

Charlemagne’s exact birthplace is unknown. Historians generally agree it’s Liège in present-day Belgium or Aachen in present-day Germany. Likewise, little is known about his childhood. He likely was educated in politics, languages, and military lessons, though he was illiterate.

What is known is that Pepin died in 768, and Charlemagne’s rule began (it wasn’t quite that clean—he had a brother, Carloman, who co-ruled with him in a strained relationship, but then his brother died in 771). He inherited lands that spanned from modern-day France to the Netherlands and part of western Germany.

Aiming to unite all Germanic peoples into one kingdom and convert his subjects to Christianity, Charlemagne embarked on a series of military campaigns—more than 50 battles, most of which he led. Soon after becoming king, he conquered the bulk of mainland Europe, including the powerful Lombards (in present-day northern Italy), the Avars (a group of wealthy Asiatic nomads in modern-day Austria and Hungary), and the Bavarians.

It took three decades, however, to triumph against the Saxons, a Germanic tribe of pagans. The culmination occurred at the Massacre of Verden in 782, in which Charlemagne supposedly ordered the deaths of some 4,500 Saxons who refused to convert to Christianity.

A new emperor

Charlemagne’s devotion to Christianity—and his protection of the popes—was recognized on Christmas Day 800, when Pope Leo III crowned him Emperor of the Romans at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. He was the first emperor to rule Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire. Though Charlemagne gained no substantial territory, the coronation created a confederation that would last for a thousand years—the Holy Roman Empire. Many historians credit Charlemagne with spreading Christianity across these formerly pagan regions, bringing a common culture and homogeneity to disparate tribes.

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So formidable was he, the rulers of the Byzantine Empire—the continuum of the Roman Empire in the eastern provinces—formally recognized him as the true emperor of Western Roman, the inheritor of classical Rome, and the defender of the Christian faith.

Carolingian Renaissance

As Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne instituted cultural, economic, and religious reforms that ignited the Carolingian Renaissance. He valued scholarship, the arts, and literature, and improved the cultural literacy of his people, extending and promoting the learning that had for so long emanated from Rome. He encouraged schooling throughout the kingdom in his native Latin tongue. He was a strong supporter of the Carolingian minuscule, a standardized form of writing that became the basis for modern European printed alphabets.

Charlemagne made sweeping economic reforms, including putting all of Europe on the same silver currency, facilitating trade across borders. Once disparate regions of Europe were now linked by peaceful trade networks, and they could communicate with one another. The continent flourished.

Hometown boy 

Charlemagne ruled from a number of cities throughout his empire, but his homebase was Aachen, in present-day Germany. Though small in comparison to many of the important cities across Europe, and in the spotlight for a comparatively short time—only about 50 years—Aachen blossomed into a new center of civilization. He ordered a palace and cathedral built there. No expense was spared in the design and construction. His palace included a school that recruited the best teachers in the land.

Few of these buildings remain today, but the Palatine Chapel, part of the Aachen Cathedral, remains as an example of the Carolingian style.

End of a dynasty

During the final year of his reign, Charlemagne crowned his son, Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine, as co-emperor. When he died in 814, Louis became the sole emperor, ending a reign of more than four decades. Charlemagne’s kingdom, however, did not have the infrastructure to survive. Louis held power until 840, but he lacked skill as a statesman and soldier, and the empire fell to pieces. But all was not lost. Though short-lived, the Carolingians under Charlemagne sparked Europe’s cultural rebirth.