Charles I the Great, King of the Franks ^{1 2 3}

   Another name for Charles was Charlemagne.

  General Notes:

Charlemagne, also called CHARLES I, CHARLES THE GREAT, French CHARLES LE GRAND, Latin CAROLUS MAGNUS, German KARL DER GROSSE, king of the Franks (768-814), king of the Lombards (774-814), and emperor (800-814).

As king of the Franks, Charlemagne conquered the Lombard kingdom in Italy, subdued the Saxons, annexed Bavaria to his kingdom, fought campaigns in Spain and Hungary, and, with the exception of the Kingdom of Asturias in Spain, southern Italy, and the British Isles, united in one superstate practically all the Christian lands of western Europe. In 800 he assumed the title of emperor. (He is reckoned as Charles I of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as Charles I of France.) Besides expanding its political power, he also brought about a cultural renaissance in his empire. Although this imperium survived its founder by only one generation, the medieval kingdoms of France and Germany derived all their constitutional traditions from Charles's monarchy. Throughout medieval Europe, the person of Charles was considered the prototype of a Christian king and emperor.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Acceded: King of the Franks, 768.

• Acceded: King of the Lombards, 774.

• Acceded: Emperor, 800.

Charles married Himiltrude.

Charles next married Desiderata, daughter of Desidarius of Lombardy and Unknown, in 770.

  Marriage Notes:

From his father Charles had inherited the title "Patricius Romanus" which carried with it a special obligation to protect the temporal rights of the Holy See. The nearest and most menacing neighbour of St. Peter's Patrimony was Desidarius (Didier), King of the Lombards, and it was with this potentate that the dowager Bertha had arranged a matrimonial alliance for her elder son. The pope had solid temporal reasons for objecting to this arrangement. Moreover, Charles was already, in foro conscientiae, if not in Frankish law, wedded to Himiltrude. In defiance of the pope's protest (PL 98:250), Charles married Desiderata, daughter of Desiderius (770), three years later he repudiated her and married Hildegarde, the beautiful Swabian. Naturally, Desiderius was furious at this insult, and the dominions of the Holy See bore the first brunt of his wrath.
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Charles next married Hildegarde of Vinzgau, daughter of Gerald I of Savoy and Imma of Swabia, in 771 in Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen). (Hildegarde of Vinzgau was born in 758 and died on 30 Apr 783 in Dudenhofen.)

  Marriage Notes:

"Later he married a daughter of of Desiderius, King of the Lombards, at the instance of his mother; but he repudiated her at the end of a year for some reason unknown, and married Hildegard, a woman of high birth, of Suabian origin. He had three sons by her - Charles, Pepin and Louis -and as many daughters - Hruodrud, Bertha, and and Gisela. ³

Charles next married Fastrada in 784. (Fastrada died in 794.)

Charles next married Luitgard in 794. (Luitgard died on 4 Jun 800.)

  Marriage Notes:

At the death of Fastrada [794], he married Liutgard, an Alemannic woman, who bore him no children. After her death [June 4, 800] he had three concubines - Gersuinda, a Saxon by whom he had Adaltrud; Regina, who was the mother of Drogo and Hugh; and Ethelind, by whom he had Theodoric. ³