Charlemagne

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Charlemagne, otherwise known as Charles the Great, was the King of the Franks and Lombards, later to become the first medieval emperor in western Europe. His father, Pepin III the Short, was the first King of the Franks. When Pepin died in 768 Charlemagne and his brother both ruled the Franks. Three years later when Charlemagne's brother died, Charlemagne became the official ruler of the Franks. During his rule he expanded his kingdom to the Lombardies, Saxonies, Bavarians and northern Spainards. At the end of January 814, Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Roman Empire.

The biggest reason why Charlemagne is still remembered today is because he changed the view on education. He was one of the first emperors to be able to read and write. Most people do not no this but Charlemagne was also an optimist and he was determined and NEVER gave up. That is how Charlemagne expanded his empire to a large size. Along with being a warrior emperor he was also a Christian and like other Christians he used his power the spread Christianity to his people. Charlemagne was an overall good emperor/king. He expanded the Roman empire, he earned the title of emperor, and he spread Christianity throughout all of Rome.

Works Cited
 * “Charlemagne.” Historic World Leaders. N.p.: Gale Research, 1994. N. pag. Biography Resource Center. Web. 12 Mar. 2010.
 * “Charlemagne.” The Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. William Chester Jordan. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 170-171. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Mar. 2010.
 * Reiner, Jacques. “File: Charlemagne-liege-1.” Creative Commons. Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Aug. 2009. Web. 6 Apr. 2010. .