Owner Comments:
Charlemagne (747 – 814 AD) or Charles the Great, son of Frankish King Pepin the Short, figures rather prominently in the medieval period that succeeded the final fall of the Western Roman Empire. Named after his grandfather Charles Martel, he earned his cognomen of greatness due to his military achievements that re-united western and central Europe under his rule. More than military conquest, he championed various monetary, governmental, cultural, and ecclesiastical reforms. So profound was Charlemagne’s influence that he is widely considered “the Father of Europe”.
Upon Pipin’s death in 768 AD, Charles inherited the Frankish throne along with his brother Carloman I. The latter died three years later, allowing Charles to assume rule over all Francia. Having consolidated his power, Charles turned his attention to expanding his realm in earnest. To this end, for the next four and half decades until his own death, Charles waged nearly constant war across all corners of Europe.
To the south, Charles expanded into Italy, quickly conquering the Lombards by 774 AD. He also placed the papal states under his protection, earning the title of
patrician as bestowed by Pope Adrian I.
To the north, Charles’ forces waged war over three decades and no fewer than eighteen battles collectively known as the Saxon Wars. Charles converted Saxony to Christianity, and he even reportedly assisted in several mass baptisms. While he might have had a divine rationale, Charles’ methods were brutal – he massacred thousands of Saxons who resisted Frankish rule and refused to give up their pagan way of life.
To the east, Charles conquered Bavaria, and subjugated the Avars and the Slavs. Similar to his imperial Roman forebears, Charles strove to create buffer zones at his realm’s fringes. Charles’ eastern buffer zones of Marches and tributaries included Dalmatia, Pannonia, Bohemia, and Thuringia.
To the west, Charles pushed his armies past Aquitania into the Iberian Peninsula. He subdued Toulouse, and along with neighboring vassal lands along the southern Pyrenees he created a western buffer zone known as the Spanish March. These gains were not all too easy. Notably, it was in the Pyrenees that Charles suffered his only military defeat - the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD.
As eighth century AD drew to a close, Charles was well on the way to re-uniting the majority of western and central Europe. But there was yet another leadership opportunity for the dual King of the Franks and King of the Lombards. On Christmas day 800 AD, as Charles knelt to pray at the altar in Rome's Saint Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo III bestowed him yet another crown, proclaiming him
Imperator Romanorum, the Emperor of the Romans. While the Pope owed Charles for protection against his enemies, Leo may have had in mind repudiation of ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire, namely Empress Irene of Constantinople. As for Charlemagne, historians debate his foreknowledge and aspiration to take on his new imperial role. In any case, Charlemagne became the first recognized emperor to rule in the west after the final fall of the Western Roman Empire. Eventually (by 12th century AD), this new realm would be referred to as the Holy Roman Empire.
The prosperity of Charlemagne’s new empire necessitated economic reforms, particularly regarding coinage. The old coinage system of the ancient Roman Empire was based on the copper coin, and multiples thereof struck in silver and gold. While various ancient Roman Emperors modified this coinage system, consistency remained across the vast ancient Roman Empire. However, in the wake of the Rome’s demise in the west there were numerous other introductions of new coins and changes in their value. To avoid growing confusion, Charlemagne re-established a Europe-wide standard by introduced a new Carolingian coinage system. Charlemagne’s new system was based on silver and had three denominations in the ratio of 240:12:1, corresponding to the libra (pound), solidus (shilling) and denarius (penny), respectively. Charlemagne’s new coinage system would dominate Europe, including Britain, for many centuries to come.
As an example, consider this well preserved Carolingian denarius (or denier in French) struck in Bourges, France sometime between 793 and 812 AD. The obverse depicts a cross within a beaded circle, encircled in turn by the inscription +CARLVS REX FR, denoting Charles, King of the Franks. The reverse features Charlemagne’s monogram within a beaded circle, encircled in turn by the inscription +BITVRICAS, indicating the Bourges mint. Remarkably, the coin is still in an almost uncirculated state; at the time of posting these Owner’s comments, it is the highest NGC Modern graded coin of it kind (“Top Pop”).
Besides warfare and coinage, Charlemagne also promoted arts and sciences. Although it is not clear he ever learned to read, he reportedly studied under several teachers such diverse topics as rhetoric, logic, and astronomy. Inspired by the previous Roman Empire in the west, the so-called Carolingian Renaissance was the first of three medieval renaissances. Prominent secular and ecclesiastical leaders during this period applied rational ideas to social issues for the first time in centuries, promoting standardization of communications across Europe.
Charlesmagne was also prolific in other ways. He sired eighteen children with ten known wives and concubines, and he is a direct ancestor of many of Europe’s royal houses, including the House of Habsburg, the House of Luxembourg, and the Ottonian dynasty. It is even posited that everyone with European ancestry today is descended from the Carolingian line (although this situation is not as unusual as it may seem since Charlemagne lived before the European genetic isopoint). To secure his own succession, Charlemagne declared his only surviving legitimate son, Louis the Pious, as co-Emperor in 813 AD. This action was rather timely since Charlemagne died the follow year of natural causes.
Like many other Augusti of old, Charlemagne left behind a complex legacy that comprised conquest, cultural impact, and, on occasion, cruelty. Indisputably, Charlemagne’s keen determination to re-unite Europe spawned a new Holy Roman Empire that profoundly influenced Europe’s history through medieval and even modern times.
Additional reading: S. Hershburger, “Humans Are All More Closely Related Than We Commonly Think,”
Scientific American , October 5, 2020.
Coin Details: CAROLINGIANS, Charlemagne (Charles the Great), As Charles I, King of the Franks, 768-814 AD, AR Denier (21.5mm, 1.66 g, 3h), Bituricas (Bourges), NGC Grade: AU 55, Obverse: Cross pattée, + CARLVS REX FR, Reverse: Karolus monogram, + BITVRICΛ(horizontal S), References: Coupland, Charlemagne –; Depeyrot 174; M&G 173; MEC 1, 739. Nouchy# 85 (p. 71); Gariel Car# XXII/38, Numista Rarity Index = 100.
Image: NGC Photo Vision Plus.