Historical Time Line of Charlemagne's Life


  • 742 AD - Pepin the Short's son Carolus Magnus or Charles the Great is born in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) on April 2.

  • 751 - Pepin the Short dethrones the last Merovingian king and takes the throne for himself.

  • 754 - Pope Stephen crowns Pepin the Short.

  • 756 - Pepin the Short rushes to protect the Pope from the Lombards.

  • 760+ - Charlemagne accompanies his father during his military efforts to conquer the lands south the Loire River, or Aquitaine as they are more commonly known.

  • 768 - Pepin the Short dies and his kingdom is divided up between Charles and his brother Carloman.

  • 770 - Charlemagne marries Desiderata, daughter of the Lombard King Desiderius. The Lombards virtually surrounded Papal states, and this marriage worried the Pope and Charlemagne's brother.

  • 771 - Carloman dies, and Charlemagne unites the Frankish Empire quickly. There is some speculation as to the cause of Carloman's death, but there is no evidence to indicate Charlemagne had any knowledge of wrong- doing.

  • 774 - Reacting to the Pope's plea for help, Charlemagne conquered the lands of his brief father-in-law after a lengthy siege of Pavia. Charlemagne spent the following Easter in Rome and reaffirmed his vow to protect Papal lands.

  • 775 - Charlemagne begins new attacks against the Saxons and their leader Widukind.

  • 778 - The events surrounding the Song of Roland take place as Charlemagne's rear guard leaves Spain in Gascon territory. Though somewhat romanticized in the 4000 line epic, the defeat of Roland is the most important epic literature to come from the Middle Ages.

  • 782 - In response to Widukind's attacks, Charlemagne orders the execution of 4500 Saxon prisoners in one day.

  • 783 - On April 30, Hildegarde dies in childbirth, and Charlemagne's mother Bertrada dies three months later. Charles also begins the final three year campaign to conquer Saxony. The Saxons are finally crushed, and Charlemagne imposes strict new rules to govern all areas of their lives, laws that only the Christian Church in Saxony could remove.

  • 788 - Charles over-powers the Bavarians.

  • 791 - 796 - Charlemagne conquers the empire of the Avars (modern Hungary and Austria.)

  • 795 - On Christmas day, Pope Hadrian dies and Leo the Third is named the new Pope (on the same day!)

  • 799 - Leo III is brutally attacked while on a religious procession in Rome. After returning to health with Charlemagne, the Pope is sent back to Rome under heavy guard, and Charles hopes time will soften the people's impression of Leo III.

  • 800 - Charles decides that the Papal situation in Rome needs his personal attention, so he and his massive entourage (including his children) went to Rome. After arriving, Charlemagne immediately called to order a trial for the Pope. There was a mass conspiracy in Rome against the Pope, and the trial could neither condemn the Pope or find him innocent. Then however, Pope Leo took an oath of innocence near the holy tomb of Saint Peter. After this bold move, the Pope achieved enormous popularity and was universally accepted as innocent.

  • Christmas Day, 800 - Charlemagne, after greatly helping Pope Leo III, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. With much splendor and drama in Saint Peter's Basilica, Leo presented Charles with a gold crown, and for the only time in Papal history, bowed before an earthly king.

  • 813 - Charlemagne delegates power to his only surviving son Louis.

  • 814 - Charlemagne dies on January 28.

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