Charlemagne

Historians have always been fascinated by the life of Charlemagne and, in particular, deeply concerned to explain the enormous expansion of his dominions. In 768 he became joint ruler of the Frankish lands, but the death of his brother Carloman in 771 left him as sole ruler of the whole realm of his father Pepin III (b. 741–d. 768). By 774 he had made inroads into Saxony, conquered the old kingdom of the Lombards, and dominated the Italian Peninsula. Campaigns in Spain later led to the establishment of a frontier zone against the Islamic power there, while a long and bitter conflict enabled him to annex the lands of the hostile Saxons and to enforce their conversion to Christianity. He even launched campaigns deep into Central Europe, destroying the Avar power in what we now call Hungary though without being able to conquer the area. However, the sources for his reign, and most especially for its military aspects, are very limited and often difficult to use (see Source Studies). These difficulties are enormously increased by the general tenor of writing on Charlemagne and certain specific controversies that bear upon his reign. Almost all studies of Charlemagne are admiring: the only real exception is that of The Carolingian Empire: The Age of Charlemagne (Fichtenau 1957, cited under the Reign of Charlemagne). Indeed, the legend of Charlemagne, born from such admiration, enormously complicates our perception, and it remains powerful to this day. In addition, a whole new way of looking at the transition from the ancient to the medieval world has been inspired by The World of Late Antiquity: From Marcus Aurelius to Muhammad (Brown 1971, cited under the Context of Charlemagne’s Reign), which posited a gradual and perhaps essentially peaceful transition from Roman to medieval. This matters for military history because an optimistic view of the survival of Roman institutions affects what one may think of the ability of Charlemagne to raise and sustain armies, and it also suggests a continuity of discipline of the standing armies of Rome. In short, how the history of early medieval Europe is understood profoundly influences the understanding of Charlemagne’s inheritance from the past and, most particularly, his military institutions and resources.