Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian Empire from 800, holding these titles until his death in 814. He united most of Western and Central Europe, and was the first recognised emperor to rule from the west after the fall of the Western Roman Empire approximately three centuries earlier. Charlemagne's reign was marked by political and social changes that had lasting influence on Europe throughout the Middle Ages.
The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lombards in Italy from 774. In 800, the Frankish king Charlemagne was crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III in an effort to transfer the status of Roman Empire from the Byzantine Empire to Western Europe. The Carolingian Empire is sometimes considered the first phase in the history of the Holy Roman Empire.
Carloman I, German Karlmann, Karlomann, was king of the Franks from 768 until his death in 771. He was the second surviving son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon and was a younger brother of Charlemagne. His death allowed Charlemagne to take all of Francia.
Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius, was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. Desiderius is remembered for this connection to Charlemagne and for being the last Lombard ruler to exercise regional kingship.
Aistulf was the Duke of Friuli from 744, King of the Lombards from 749, and Duke of Spoleto from 751. His reign was characterized by ruthless and ambitious efforts to conquer Roman territory to the extent that in the Liber Pontificalis, he is described as a "shameless" Lombard given to "pernicious savagery" and cruelty.
Ermengardeof Hesbaye, probably a member of the Robertian dynasty, was Carolingian empress from 813 and Queen of the Franks from 814 until her death as the wife of the Carolingian emperor Louis the Pious.
The Battle of Tertry was an important engagement in Merovingian Gaul between the forces of Austrasia under Pepin II on one side and those of Neustria and Burgundy on the other. It took place in 687 at Tertry, Somme, and the battle is presented as an heroic account in the Annales mettenses priores. After achieving victory on the battlefield at Tertry, the Austrasians dictated the political future of the Neustrians.
Walter Ullmann was an Austrian-Jewish scholar who left Austria in the 1930s and settled in the United Kingdom, where he became a naturalised citizen. He was a recognised authority on medieval political thought, and in particular legal theory, an area in which he published prolifically.
Adélaïde of Paris (Aélis) was a Frankish queen. She was the second wife of Louis the Stammerer, King of West Francia and mother of Charles the Simple.
Dame Janet Laughland Nelson, also known as Jinty Nelson, was a British historian and professor of Medieval History at King's College London.
Gerberga was the wife of Carloman I, King of the Franks, and sister-in-law of Charlemagne. Her flight to the Lombard kingdom of Desiderius following Carloman's death precipitated the last Franco-Lombard war, and the end of the independent kingdom of the Lombards in 774.
The Annals of Metz are a set of Latin Carolingian annals covering the period of Frankish history from the victory of Pepin II in the Battle of Tertry (687) to the time of writing. Sections covering events after 806 are not original writings but were borrowed from other texts and appended to the original annals in the 9th and 12th centuries.
Kathleen Winifred Hughes was an English historian, her specialisation was Irish ecclesiastical history, particularly the early Christian Church in Ireland.
The Admonitio generalis is a collection of legislation known as a capitulary issued by Charlemagne in 789, which covers educational and ecclesiastical reform within the Frankish kingdom. Capitularies were used in the Frankish kingdom during the Carolingian dynasty by government and administration bodies and covered a variety of topics, sorted into chapters. Admonitio generalis is actually just one of many Charlemagne's capitularies that outlined his desire for a well-governed, disciplined Christian Frankish kingdom. The reforms issued in these capitularies by Charlemagne during the late 8th century reflect the cultural revival known as the Carolingian Renaissance.
Matthew Innes is a British academic and university administrator who is Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of London.
Julia Mary Howard Smith, is an American medievalist who is the Chichele Professor of Medieval History at All Souls College, Oxford. She was formerly Edwards Professor of Medieval History at the University of Glasgow.
David John McKitterick, is an English librarian and academic, who was Librarian and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Mayke de Jong is a Dutch historian and Professor Emerita of Medieval History at Utrecht University. Her research focuses on the political and religious history of the early Middle Ages.
Leidrad was the bishop of Lyon from 797 and its first archbishop from 804 until 814. He was a courtier of Charlemagne before he was a bishop. As bishop, he helped resolve the adoptionist controversy. He also began a programme of building and renovation in his diocese, turning Lyon into a centre of learning. Of his writings, two letters and a treatise on baptism survive.
The Annales Tiliani are an anonymous set of Latin annals from the Frankish kingdom, covering the years 708–807. They are considered minor annals.
