King Of The Dark Ages: The Complete History Of Charlemagne | Charlemagne | Chronicle

this channel is part of the history hit Network [Music] [Music] did search with Polish foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] was crowned to Emperor on the 25th of December 800 he was at the peak of his power he ruled a realm that encompassed almost the whole of Europe Charlemagne was the most powerful ruler of his time even the Pope in Rome was intimidated by him [Music] only one person can tell the story of Charlemagne's life first hand namely his former comrade in arms the court scholar einhardt thank you into the bed I don't understand it's happening foreign foreign years after Charlemagne's death his court scholar einhardt wrote the most famous medieval biography of a ruler it depicts Charlemagne as superhuman as a being of light but was he really like that what's myth and what's reality story starts in turbulent times Pepin Charlemagne's father wanted to be king of the Franks but without having inherited the crown oh this is the ambitious Pepin was hoping for a son in order to be able to found a dynasty when the longed for Sun and air was born in April 748 four years had passed since his marriage to betrada foreign she became very anxious after her marriage that she didn't conceive a child and her whole position of course not to mention her husband's position depended on having a child and having a boy child she apparently she prayed rather desperately to become fertile to become pregnant and she did then have shown me and I think the relief that she must have felt at that moment was extraordinary yeah [Music] history hitters like Netflix just for history fans with exclusive history documentaries covering some of the most famous people and events in history just for you with familiar faces such as Dan Jones and Dr Eleanor yanega we've got hundreds of documentaries covering the greatest figures and events of medieval history we're committed to Bringing history fans award-winning documentaries and podcasts that you cannot find anywhere else sign up now for a free trial and Chronicle fans get 50 off their first three months just be sure to use the code Chronicle at foreign of the Franks which consisted of many small principalities had been governed by the merovingians for Generations but Charlemagne's father Pepin had good arguments with which he persuaded the princes to venture a revolution under his leadership [Music] wanted to rule a huge realm under the Merovingian Dynasty the territory of the Franks had steadily expanded in addition to the original settlement areas on the Rhine and the Moselle large parts of modern-day France had also been Incorporated over the course of three centuries the Frankish Empire had become a major power in Central Europe [Music] I was thinking foreign the pope wants to tip the scales in pepin's favor Pepin wanted the revolution to take place with his Blessing forward [Music] this is I was a highly scared the absurers in Rome the Pope in Rome had become a highly visible Authority in the Frankish Empire seems to have had the need to get a legitimation beyond that of the Frankish nobility and the Frankish Bishops in order to strengthen his political Ambitions and so he didn't have much of an option turning to the pope was the obvious choice the word eyes of this remission popsters Carl's father Pippin it's the front home lessness is foreign foreign Salvo the new carolingian Dynasty now had two heirs to the throne Charlemagne and his brother kalaman even as adolescents they saw themselves more as Rivals Than Brothers [Music] come on [Music] the younger and cunning Carla man often had the upper hand in contests that must have been humiliating for Charlemagne [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] to call Northern foreign [Music] at first glance the division of the Empire seems balanced nevertheless Charlemagne must have felt at a disadvantage his sections stretched around that of his brother in a semicircle and that meant significantly longer distances the division of the Empire that Pepin devised for his sons is strange because it's not geographically coherent Charlemagne's territories surrounded calamans in a semi-circle and both of them got a portion of Aquitaine which had been a very sought-after area since the time of the merovingians one reason for this strange division was definitely that Pepin wanted to force his sons to get along but that's exactly what they were unwilling and unable to do they had a clear rivalry about being the more dominant ruler in the Empire the tombs of the Frankish kings are in the famous Basilica of sandini Charlemagne's father Pepin was also buried here next to his wife bertrada [Music] when he divided the empire between his sons he couldn't have suspected what consequences this would have [Music] a name Stadium full and I know themselves Unturned they're free that's enough fireless curtain what is foreign [Music] foreign [Music] so I need to find Tony Carl and Lasting exact time is [Music] [Music] it yeah relations between royal princes were always likely to be tense and difficult but in this case the evidence is very clear that that was so and I wonder if it went back to this uh special feeling that she had for her eldest boy she certainly tried to make peace between her two sons when they when it became clear after their father's death that they weren't getting on very well but I think the one that she preferred was was Charles thank you foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign there was a rebellion on the Empire's borders in such an event the plan was for the two brothers to combine their military efforts Aquitaine which had been conquered by King Pepin was rebelling against the Frankish occupiers under its former ruler hornad 500 kilometers from the heart of the crisis Charlemagne was expecting his brother in Mong Contour to go to battle with him against Aquitaine but karlaman didn't show up at the agreed meeting place [Music] foreign [Music] foreign what am I fine here let's play it remains unclear why karlaman refused to help did he want to put his brother into a difficult position did he have an alliance with acritaine maybe there were old hostilities between him and his brother the sources don't really make it clear but it's certain that after the quarrel between the two Charlemagne was on his own [Music] Charlemagne was in the Trap his brother had laid for him calling off the military campaign would have been a display of weakness risking it on his own would have been a huge gamble because Charlemagne couldn't afford a defeat a king only remains King when the lack of battle and therefore God is on his side [Music] maybe Charlemagne threw himself into such an adventure with confidence because he possessed the latest weapons and Technology of war that at least is suggested by a valuable document in the monastic library of sangalan it's one of the oldest and largest libraries in the world foreign [Music] manuscript from the time of the Carol engines is kept here the golden Salter written in gold ink it depicts the Franks attacking with bows and arrows and also armed with swords and shields the soldiers are wearing chainmail and scale armor for protection highly sophisticated equipment for the time [Music] this Army that Charlemagne feels is well equipped and more importantly the part of the army which the enemy sees first is an iron Army it is terrifying an experiment will reveal the speed and penetrative power of an arrow the arrow is filmed with a high-speed camera for this purpose [Music] a soap torso with a density comparable to that of the human body will serve as a dummy the distance between the Archer and the dummy is exactly 10 meters at 3 000 frames per second the camera records the bow shots foreign so what do we have for the speed of the arrow now uh well we calculated the 45 meters per second for the error and this translates to 160 two kilometers per hour that's fast [Music] foreign did the chainmail and scale armor afford were they the real secret weapon of the Frankish Army [Music] the male armor which is the most important form of armor that they used at this time made of interlocking Rings was primarily designed as a protection against swords Spears cutting weapons it was not very effective against arrows as we see in our tests but it will stop some arrows the chainmail alone rarely Wards off arrows but it reduces the impact so much that the deadly Arrowhead can be stopped safely by the doublet below even arrows are thwarted by the Frankish scale armor however in staggered columns the Frankish Army penetrated deep into the aquitaining territory defeating the enemy Warriors usually through fatal attacks on the flanks [Music] foreign factor that causes the military successes of Charlemagne is in fact quite simply money he rules over a state with an expanding economy this economy has industry Small industry but important because it enables them to manufacture large quantities of weaponry and armor [Music] thank you yeah yeah [Music] this exercise [Applause] after this Victory Charlemagne declared the whole of Aquitaine his thereby annexing the area his brother Carla Mann had originally possessed [Music] Charlemagne legitimized his Reign through his successful military campaign he showed his Entourage that he was a soldier King who could be Victorious and that's always good for him as king his brother might not have thought about what would happen if his older brother won he is the younger brother would be at a disadvantage we could speculate as it would maybe have been better for karleman to have helped his brother pacify equitate foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] you won't find this kite and I forgot transporters a talk s on him Charlemagne's mother bethrada secretly made her way across the Alps to Italy her destination was the Palace of the Lombard King desiderius in Pavia bertrada wanted to forge an alliance with the former enemy of the Franks thereby securing Charlemagne's Kingdom [Music] the sources give us very little information about the role of women at the time but in vetrada's case she developed an unusual dominance and held the strings of politics in her hands foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] this princess was to marry Charlemagne thereby making the Lombard's allies and putting pressure on his brother's realm controlling him from the north south and west that was the plan the only problem was that the pope was distrustful of the allegiance between Rome's Arch Enemy the Lombards and its protector the Franks Pope Stephen III believed the hand of the devil was at work in batrada's plan he wrote directly to the king of the Franks this is foreign ER asserted herself Charlemagne divorced his wife himmel trood and banished her to a life in a Convent as was customary for such cases at the time [Music] unfortunately we know very little about him we don't even know the family she came from but it's likely that this family wasn't very powerful because we know nothing about a protest against him who towards banishment which took place even though she had given Charlemagne a son by the name of Pepin the later pep in the Hunchback and the sources also contain no information about what happened to himutud after her banishment is foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign that marriage to the Lombard princess seemed very useful the Lombard King had married off his daughters to other prestigious people and uh Charlemagne was sort of buying into an already existing constellation of power it was Carla man's move foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign cancerous economy [Music] ever before they enjoy the Anderson Drive [Music] before War could break out fate intervened [Music] [Music] at the young age of 20 karlaman died under mysterious circumstances [Music] thank you [Music] for Charlemagne the death of his unloved brother opened up unforeseen opportunities [Music] in it [Music] [Music] Charlemagne would soon declare himself Soul ruler 's parliament's Unexpected death was a gift for Charlemagne I'm not entirely sure it was all about board but speculation is one facet of historical work the other is the certain statements of our Witnesses and they don't permit any suggestion of any intervention by Charlemagne with regard to his brother's death karleman's Widow gaberga formulated a daring plan to prevent Charlemagne from getting his hands on her sons as she fled across the Alps her destination was of all places the court of the Lombard King desiderius fled to Italy presumably because she hoped that protected by the Lombards she would be able to get away from her ever more powerful brother-in-law she was seriously wrong it took Charlemagne two years to march to Italy but then all hope was lost for all of Coleman's heirs the days at court were also numbered for Charlemagne's Lombard wife [Music] [Music] Society foreign 's opinion about it actually was up until 771. he was able to act differently because things changed so fundamentally as a result of karlaman's death [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] something's become [Music] [Music] his relationships with Italy were changing he wanted an alliance with the papacy and he wanted to break with the Lombards but he also needed to marry uh a woman of the aristocracy which was much more normal than a foreign marriage um he wanted uh to marry into a powerful family who would provide military and political support for him [Music] and so Charlemagne married Hildegard the daughter of a count from an aristocratic alemanic family he'd long since sent his Lombard wife back to her father during the following 11 years of marriage Hildegard gave birth to nine children [Music] thank you some iron and I had to hit a card for Venture Hildegard had relatives in karlaman's realm which meant that her father was a great support for Charlemagne with regard to carlman's territory in addition Hildegard who was 14 at the time must have had a very special chance because she managed to reconcile the enemies of this marriage Accord and to become a very popular queen as far as we can tell the Lombard King desiderius humiliated by Charlemagne went to Rome to play his last Trump foreign foreign foreign [Music] if the sons of his deceased brother had been given a legitimation by the pope he couldn't put up with that after his brother's death he claimed to be the sole ruler of the Frankish Empire that the pope might possibly give others a legitimation to the Frankish Throne was definitely a reason for him to intervene foreign [Music] in May 772 war with the Lombards seemed inevitable but Charlemagne's Behavior towards his brother's sons had angered many princes in the Empire [Music] the situation was tense when Charlemagne asked them to attend the military review as he did every year [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] sent his Lombard wife back home he knew that it would mean war with the Lombards he also knew that there would be resistance to a war with the Lombards in his own ranks from his mother for example he had to get rid of that resistance so the Franks could fight the Lombards being the soldier King that he was he used the interim period for a campaign against the Saxons because a king of that time always had to be at war that was his main job Charlemagne's father Pepin had also fought against the Germanic Saxons now the sun was taking over foreign for years the Saxons had been invading the north of the Frankish Empire but unlike his father Charlemagne went a step further when he decided in 772 to advance with great brutality into Saxon territory all the way to the upper Visa River foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] against the Saxons who in contrast to the Franks weren't Christians meaning they weren't baptized must have had a religious undercurrent right from the start religion was part of the political ethnic identity that had to be broken if necessary if such a people were to be subjected for example military submission and the assertion of Christianity and Saxony were inseparable for Charlemagne they were two sides of the same coin for him who were these Saxons and where did they live it is said the imposing x-stand stones in the Edgar Hills were a cult sight of the Saxons who as Germanic pagans worshiped their gods with animal sacrifices physicist Clemens water is trying to find out whether these man-made caves really were used by the Saxons in Charlemagne's day [Music] Stella yeah good afternoon traces of a fire were found here years ago the question now is when was there fire here Clemens vorder is hoping to get an answer by using thermoluminescence dating he's taking a sample to the laboratory who does there aren't many records about the saxon's religious rituals but fire was considered sacred in all Heathen Cults as was the blood of the sacrificial animals with which the priests tried to placate the angry gods [Music] shoes [Music] clayman's voter is dating the sample with the optically stimulated luminescence that allows him to determine when the quartz grains in the stone were heated for the last time it takes many days to prepare the sample and perform the measurements [Music] thank you [Music] the results reveal that the fire in the caves of the x-town stones must have banned between the 8th and the 16th centuries thus including the period of the Saxon Frankish Wars [Music] whether they really were ritual fires can't be determined anymore since there are no further archaeological Clues [Music] but there are further Clues around the extant Stones which suggest that this place had a special significance many believe that the legendary ear minsor could have stood here during the time of Charlemagne the ear Menzel was the most important object of Saxon worship it is said to have been a massive tree that supported the heavens a Christian relief was carved into the exterior wall of the main cave in the 16th century it depicts a deposition from the cross the relief contains a striking unusual detail it's a forked branch that resembles the descriptions of the urban Zone does the relief contain a clue about whether the most sacred Saxon religious object once stood here that would explain why Charlemagne fought such a bitter War for this territory the person who had control of the Sacred Saxon site Charlemagne hoped would also be in control of the Saxons had no idea that this fight would go on for decades a bitter fight for the succession to the throne of the Frankish Kingdom broke out between Charlemagne and his younger brother karleman in the 8th century [Music] after carleman's death Charlemagne proclaimed himself sole ruler that the Widow of his deceased brother fled with her sons across the Alps to the Lombard Court their King descendirius turned to the Pope is [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] Charlemagne broke with his mother bertrada and prepared for war with the Lombards but he knew that he needed the support of the Frankish princes in the military Camp he made a decision that surprised everyone the war against the Saxons was intended to earn the Frank's easy plunder the king at this time always had to be at War Waging War as his main business Charlemagne's fearsome Riders attacked the Saxon settlements plundering and murdering they scoured the country the wall was waged with the utmost severity the Franks showed no mercy [Music] but the Saxon resistance grew contrary to his hopes Charlemagne wasn't able to secure a quick Victory he searched for a solution and altered his strategy [Music] foreign foreign campaign Charlemagne reached the saxon's most sacred site the legendary erminson a potent tree which according to their beliefs bore the weight of the entire universe [Music] foreign [Music] object of worship helped a great deal with the legitimation strategy Charlemagne's concept right from the start was to weaken paganism to exterminate paganism and introduce Christian altars Christian churches and Christian religious organizations into the country this quick Victory and the quick conquest of irmintul helped him with that of course foreign [Music] [Music] right from the start Charlemagne's campaign against the Saxons was also motivated by acquiring booty to boost the mood of his Warriors and princes he found a secret sacrificial cave in the Saxon forests [Music] a [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] of the Saxons where you would get a large amount of gold and silver Charlemagne needed a quick injection of loot of plunder in 772 because he was trying to build up uh his own power with a view to getting his nephews back from Lombardi everywhere everywhere was always connected these different theaters of War were always connected at the same time far away from Saxony Pope Adrian made a far-reaching decision you come to miamis I said enough foreign foreign [Music] Leicester last step nice time yeah yeah um not even be honest Sean Carl's father Pippin but of course this is crunch [Music] y feltzuch the decision to pursue the Lombards was by no means unanimous Charlemagne's sister-in-law colorman's Widow was in Lombard Kingdom with her children and they must have had a certain following among important Franks I would say the war against the Lombards would have required more groundwork among the Franks Than a Summer campaign against the Saxons which could be started relatively risk-free [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] completely foreign foreign [Music] please God foreign [Music] foreign by the summer of 773 the military campaign against the Lombards was agreed Charlemagne crossed the Alps in two separate formations he sent one down the aoster valley while leading the other personally across mount zenis the two armies were to join to the west of Turin in the Souza Valley that was the plan [Music] the Army numbered more than 3 000 men the regular soldiers were joined by around a thousand courtiers [Music] early medieval Vehicles had no suspension they were just simple cars and they were just for women and children that meant a significant exertion for Queen Hildegard it was important to Charlemagne that she accompanied him and she followed him on his Italian campaign highly pregnant and in freezing temperatures across the Alps Hildegard couldn't have had an easy life at Charlemagne's side because he always wanted her to accompany him so that she was with him on most of the campaigns even though she was usually pregnant first she was there on the Lombard campaign to Pavia she followed Charlemagne across the Alps in Winter together with her eldest son and her stepsons [Music] crossing the Alps was a life-threatening Adventure in the Early Middle Ages especially when snow and ice blocked the way in the wintertime according to Legend only a miracle saved the Franks from certain death after bad weather took them by surprise a further legend recounts that Charlemagne had a church built out of gratitude for his miraculous survival in the dangerous gorges the small church of Saint Benedict in maal venoster is one of the few surviving monuments from the carolingian era its donor had himself immortalized in a fresco that's the only way we know what Frankish nobleman wore he's holding a richly adorned sword in front of his body much speculation has gone into his identity the suggestions range from a nobleman in the king's Entourage all the way to Charlemagne son Pepin the march across the Alps took weeks as expected desiderius rejected an offer of peace Charlemagne's plan seemed to be working and his Warriors had a strategy during the Lombard campaign the first problem was circumventing the famous chasms there are sources claiming that one Frankish regiment went around the chasms to attack the Lombards from behind Charlemagne's quick invasion of Northern Italy can only be explained by assuming he got some of desert darius's followers onto his side he could have bribed them or it was all to do with his strategic skills in foreign the Lombards wanted to attack the Franks in The Gorge from above they had no idea that a second Frankish contingent would attack them from behind over the mountain ridges taken by surprise desiderius had to flee with his army behind the high walls of his Capital Pavia [Music] in awe a chronicler later reported the arrival of the Frankish Army at Pavia finally the iron Charlemagne himself appeared the iron filled the entire plane and threw back the shine of the Sun [Music] but the Lombards didn't surrender and finally Charlemagne decided to besiege pavio a daring undertaking so close to Winter with an uncertain outcome he must have planned such a Siege right from the start because otherwise it wouldn't have been possible Siege takes a long time three quarters of a year over winter it started in September and ended in June that means he had to make logistical and Technical preparations to keep his nobility in good spirits Charlemagne frequently put on parties in the wintry encampment [Music] [Laughter] yeah come here I don't know [Music] [Music] where should I started [Music] it gets good [Applause] again has this man Fleet under certain minutes [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign so I can't speak forever foreign there's an English proverb there's no smoke without fire I think in this case that contemporaries were um surprised at uh Charlemagne's the number of mistresses that he had and you don't have to wait for even 10 years after his death before there are rumors that Charlemagne is in Hell having a bad time uh specifically having his genitals gnawed up by a by Beast to punish him for well it's fairly obvious what he's being punished for [Music] the siege of pavya went on without progress then Charlemagne surprisingly went to Rome to have an audience with the Pope it was the first time he'd seen the holy city foreign [Music] Charlemagne will have been excited to see what this city looked like because we know from the Early Middle Ages that the people from the north were really interested and excited to travel to Rome because of the large Stone buildings they'd heard of and that they didn't have back home Pope Adrian the first must have been surprised by Charlemagne's visit according to the sources and even more surprised by how humbly and deeply moved the king of the Franks behaved foreign [Music] and he appears in Rome and Charlemagne slowly ascending kissing the steps as he goes up and then embracing the pope and leading him his left hand the Pope's right hand leading him into Saint Peter's I think this that this must have been an extraordinarily powerful experience and that then going into the shrine of Saint Peter feeling the spiritual power the heat of the shrine if you like was something that he would never have forgotten Charlemagne wanted the Papal Blessing for his Lombard campaign and he delved deep into his pockets to get it [Music] following the tradition started by his father he presented himself as the patron of the church and renewed a generous promise of a donation [Music] and recently a major reason for his visit to Rome was that Charlemagne wanted to request the support of Saint Peter and his successor for his military action against the Lombards that's the only explanation for why he was willing to give this at least temporary promise of a donation to give the conquered territories that had belonged to the Lombards until then to Saint Peter when Charlemagne returned plagues and famine had forced Pavia to capitulate [Music] universe I think for Charles this encounter with the saint was the miracle and it enabled him to go back and finish the war in real life what really enabled him to finish the war was that a terrible plague broke out in pavir and the Lombards were decimated by illness but in his mind he had formed this protective relationship he protected Saint Peter and his lands but Saint Peter was his protector from now on and every subsequent Triumph in his Reign I think was a Vindication of that belief is [Music] from Italians Italian [Music] foreign [Music] s the rightful successors to karlaman fell into Charlemagne's hands as a result of the Lombard defeat Frankish soldiers LED them off into exile [Music] stop it [Music] [Music] historians can ponder what happened to these two boys Charlemagne's nephews since we have no record of what happened it's likely that Charlemagne wanted and accelerated their deaths we don't have proof of this the carolingians unlike the merovingians tended not to kill their enemies anymore but it can't fully be ruled out Charlemagne had been successful from that point on he was allowed to style himself Rex francorum at Lango bardorum King of the Franks and the Lombards as a result he controlled the whole of Western Europe but he was still a far cry from peace foreign Charlemagne turned his attention to Saxony again he acted in a new way he was so brutal that the Anglo-Saxons believed he had lost his mind this shows that maybe Charlemagne couldn't cope as well with setbacks as one might believe from einhardt's account Charlemagne's counter-attack was relentless and cruel [Music] [Music] the Warriors and the Saxon leader vedel Kint didn't stand at chance against the superior Frankish forces oh my God [Music] [Music] looking nice Charles certainly wanted to convert the Saxons to Christianity he was serious about that and part of that package was that they would swear Oaths of loyalty to him and once they'd sworn those Oaths if they then rebelled they were regarded as perjurers and traitors and so any kind of retaliation was justified and some pretty horrible things happened but I I think in Charles's mind and in the mind of contemporaries that breaking your oath to the to the King was something you that you just couldn't do [Music] [Music] foreign Charlemagne's bitterest enemy was the Saxon leader of vidukant [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] Charlemagne's great enemy for a few years was a westphalian nobleman by origin who became the driving force of the resistance to the Franks from 778 onwards vedukent went a little bit against his aristocratic peers who came to arrangements with Charlemagne quite easily so he became the leader of the middle and lower classes among the Saxons if he had been successful then he could have founded a Saxon Kingdom foreign again yeah yeah [Music] confident of certain Victory against the Saxons Charlemagne went to the winter campaign foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign foreign [Music] 1700 kilometers separates Saragosa from paderborn adding up the distances covered on the way to his military campaigns and Royal palaces Charlemagne will have ridden around the globe more than once in his lifetime medieval rulers were always on the move because the communications at the time meant that the ruler had to show himself in the different regions of his kingdom in order to be taken note of that was the case during the first half of Charlemagne's Reign he also had military considerations and in such a kingdom you had to expect that a peaceful Journey would turn into a punitive Expedition against someone who had to be brought to reason uh [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] thank you when Charlemagne finally reached Saragosa the situation there had changed completely the governor who'd asked him for help against the Emir of Cordoba had been deposed the city Gates remained closed to the Franks Charlemagne refused to give up he besieged Sarah gossa for months but to no avail it was the first defeat of his military career foreign so it's over first ly different Mia on his return from Spain Charlemagne gave an order with major consequences he attacked Christian Pamplona and allowed it to be plundered [Music] [Music] with his brutal assault on the basks Charlemagne triggered a retaliatory attack Basque Warriors attacked the Frankish rear guard in the Pyrenees and killed them all foreign [Music] the death of margrave warland marked The Bitter End of his Spain Adventure the attack on the Basques was an attack on Christians they presumably avenge themselves because Charlemagne after having failed in Saragosa plundered Pamplona on his return that was a terrible thing to do he plundered a Christian City and the Basques sought Revenge a contemporary said that that this was a terrible defeat that it cast a a terrible Cloud over his soul which from which he could never recover um why was that so I think he lost uh the plunder which had been captured in these cities and uh that was in a sense the economic point of the of the campaign but even more important some of his uh closest uh Companions of whom one was Roland um had been killed and I think that for Charles that was a terrible uh loss of face loss of Honor that his closest men the ones he trusted the ones they died for him [Music] let's prep donations Angeles foreign [Music] will have intended to report Charlemagne's life accurately I don't know any issue where Scholars today could say that's not true that's a lie but like everyone who writes about history he selected the material the way he wanted to present it is understandably tended to portray Charlemagne in as good a light as possible he venerated Charlemagne and that guided him but there are no bridges of Truth foreign Charlemagne's defeat in the Spanish campaign wasn't just kept quiet or reinterpreted by einhardt others even turned the ignominy he suffered in the Pyrenees into a hero's epic one example of that is the song of Roland [Music] the 13th century Stricker manuscript now kept in zank Garland in Switzerland illustrates the story precious Miniatures depict the events like in a picture book [Music] margrave Roland's horn Oliphant with which he desperately wanted to get Charlemagne's help became legendary but all help came too late and the King was only able to mourn the death of his friend [Music] the oldest and most important written version of the song of warland is in the 12th century Oxford manuscript it's the original text of the famous Epic [Music] Dr Walsh steinsick has translated it from old French and interpreted it [Music] Charlemagne isn't a shining hero in the song of Roland the text says he's a 200 year old ruler surrounded by Young Dynamic princes it says he kept getting into difficult situations where he got frustrated and cried and was in despair then he turned to God the song of Roland ends how laborious my life is so he's no shining hero the entire text is a heroic song the victory of Christianity over the unbelievers and the Victory of the loyal over the traitor [Music] foreign [Music] Charlemagne was still on his return from Spain a new Rebellion erupted in Saxony this time the Guerrilla Fighters under the Saxon Prince vedokind defeated the Frankish occupiers [Music] videocane increasingly became Charlemagne's nightmare Creek is five floors when these by the toilets Johannes Burg is actually okay [Music] this is [Music] foreign [Music] foreign foreign [Music] s in 782 Charlemagne was confronted with a big problem many francs had fallen and he now faced pressure to legitimize what he was doing when he did achieve a victory he took the very Draconian measure allegedly of having 4 500 Saxons put to death [Music] Charlemagne made an example of hitherto unparalleled ruthlessness he forced the surrender of Saxon leaders then had them beheaded and thrown into the river Allah in the town of verden Ed foreign states that it was 4 500. but that's doubtful because it's really a very large number and we've seen medieval sources exaggerate the figures in military events it can't be denied that such a bloodbath took place and that the number of victims must have been significant foreign foreign [Music] [Applause] kept Waging War successfully against the Franks but whenever Charlemagne himself showed up withdrew from further confrontations this Behavior will have impacted on Charlemagne personally he felt challenged and insulted Charlemagne still hadn't found a way of breaking the tough resistance of the Saxons [Music] foreign Charlemagne seized power over the entire Frankish Kingdom he went to Northern Italy conquered Pavia and had himself crowned King of the Lombards there [Music] the only thing Charlemagne had to worry about were the sons of his deceased brother who could have made a claim for the throne Charlemagne had them abducted from their mother's hands foreign at the same time to the east of the Kingdom the Saxons were fighting the Franks at first Charlemagne managed to win important battles but then the rebel leader vedokind grew into an enemy who resisted bitterly describe he's been us all [Music] against all advice Charlemagne rushed to help the governor of Saragosa he was hoping to expand his kingdom all the way to Spain [Music] but the plan went wrong the city Gates remained closed and Charlemagne had to retreat at the same time the Saxons exploited the absence of the Frankish Army and rebelled once again under their leader virukind [Music] now Charlemagne was prepared to do whatever it took he ruthlessly forced the Saxons into submission and had thousands of rebels beheaded but their leader Voodoo Kint kept escaping capture Richard became Charlemagne's nightmare everything depended on whether he succeeded in capturing the rebel leader thereby breaking the Saxon resistance for good thank you [Music] thank you [Music] blessed and go Society guys are closer than further is [Music] [Music] to infuse the white so we had understood again [Music] want to meet him [Music] Charlemagne's mother betrada and his wife Hildegard died in the same year [Music] Charlemagne ruled out his son from his first marriage papine the hunchbackers heir to the throne in favor of hildegard's sons [Music] thank you Charlemagne was definitely someone who we can't relate to that's because of his personal attitude to life and the juxtaposition of the very brutal actions he performed as a ruler and the great personal charm and Charisma which he undoubtedly must have possessed foreign [Music] Alexander [Music] einhardt's statements are the only contemporary descriptions of Charlemagne's appearance the only other information about the real stature of the Frankish King comes from his mortal remains in his Shrine in aachen Cathedral the shrine was opened in 1988 for research and restoration purposes [Music] was the Anthropologist charged with making an assessment at the time the conclusions were merely drawn from the Bone's appearance the strong bone structure and a large diameter of the pelvis Were Striking two long bones suggested a height of more than one meter 80. various ossifications indicated an age at death of 60 to 70 years [Music] it surprised me given what we know about Charlemagne's age that his skeleton was in a condition that I describe as top fit for his Advanced age he had very few degenerative changes in his knee joint and heel bone there were no indications of breaks or injuries his skeleton wasn't surprisingly good shape for his age he was an athletic man of above average height his bones were quite robust foreign [Music] Cranium is also in arkhan's Cathedral Treasury and can be examined [Music] the sutures confirm Charlemagne's ripe old age of 66. that means he exceeded the average life expectancy of a Frank in the Early Middle Ages by 37 years [Music] by performing a medical analysis on his shin bone in the treasury the scientists have completed the initial findings about Charlemagne size and health [Music] the chemist Bernhard blumish and the medical expert Frank Worley performed bone density measurements and magnetic resonance imaging [Music] the examinations of Charlemagne's Shin bones yielded various results and that allows us to get a better picture of him reconstruct his height and we believe he was around 1 meter 84 which is tall for that time but not abnormally at all not very robust [Music] the computer tomography reveals a relatively healthy bone without major pathologies [Music] 1200 years after his death modern medicine has confirmed that Charlemagne was in rude health yeah [Music] just a few months after hildegard's death Charlemagne married an East Frankish noblewoman named fastrada she was described as clever and self-confident and made quite a few enemies in the male-dominated society at the same time in Saxony there was fighting yet again the thought exactly inside this is Supreme the immersion encounters too the message [Music] Charlemagne was firmly expecting the last judgment and like most of his contemporaries he was probably scared of it he knew that every person would stand alone in front of his judge and he knew that a king would also be punished for the sins of his subjects that's scary I think Charlemagne will have been scared about death and there's a lot of the energy to reform his realm came from this fears oh in 785 Charlemagne had a meeting with his greatest opponent the Saxon leader vidukind it was the first time the two had come face to face [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] foreign was always too subordinate the competitor foreign [Music] thank you man Koenig e [Music] and father egg Global and got a Mexican father [Music] had himself baptized and Charlemagne was his Godfather foreign was an act of friendship of friendliness and recognition it's paying tribute to the defeated [Music] foreign [Music] was a successful one the Saxons who who had never been very different from the Franks except in terms of religion and not having kings that was important but their material culture was very similar to that of the Franks and they understood each other literally understood each other so but they integrated and and einhardt says that the Franks and the Saxons became one people foreign price for peace was high and despite the empty State coffers Vito King's conversion to Christianity was worth several precious items to Charlemagne the Museum of decorative arts in Berlin has one of them the Bursa it's said to be one of the baptismal gifts given to the Saxon Prince by Charlemagne Charlemagne waged the war against the Saxons Under The Motto baptism or death chose baptism that means he foreswore all further resistance and subordinated himself to Charlemagne that he got something from Charlemagne in return is also true in some sense he was a Victor because he got his Saxon Estates back and was able to return home after he'd spent a long time away Charlemagne and video Kent forged a peace treaty with which the Saxon nobility grew more influential in the Frankish Realm the leader of the rebels was later glorified as a mythical being as an advocate of Christianity vedokind is said to have founded anger Abbey in Westphalia it's believed that this is also where he found his final resting place the chiseled Tombstone depicts him in the regalia of a priest king [Music] [Music] the Saxon Wars exhausted the Frankish Realm there were frequent rebellions that Charlemagne put down brutally it took a long time to realize that it would take more than tough action and oppression to obtain the Loyalty of his new subjects foreign the Frankish Empire achieved hither two unknown Dimensions during Charlemagne's Reign it became the superpower in Europe even the powerful duchy of Bavaria was annexed along with parts of the avar kingdom in the east furthermore most of the bordering regions were politically dependent on the Franks [Music] these days we see Charlemagne as the father of Europe or one of the fathers of Europe but politically you can't transfer the term Europe to the time of the Cairo lingians even though poets sang hymns of Praise about Charlemagne at the time and called him the beacon of Europe This was always a purely geographical term Charlemagne got his name because he ruled over the largest part of the Christian Weston [Music] in order to rule over his huge realm Charlemagne was always on the go with his Entourage [Music] unlike Hildegard Queen fustrade usually remained at court to support Charlemagne from there the two were in constant contact via the Royal military Postal Service foreign [Music] was in charge of business it's a responsibility Charlemagne wouldn't have given his previous wives [Music] is the only wife of whom a letter from Charlemagne to her survives and again it's a letter that's couched in um in terms which are affectionate but which also imply how politically important she was Charlemagne's third wife fastrada who presumably wasn't as young as Hildegard when she married Charlemagne seems to have been more important to him politically he included her more than he did Hildegard we know that she's mentioned in the capitulare de villes and she was to be kept informed about the proceeds of the Royal Estates just like the Kings einhardt who evidently didn't like her blames her for the rebellion of Charlemagne's eldest son Pepin the hunchback thank you often wrecks its laws on Amazon observation please [Music] Johannes foreign [Music] had become the main Royal residence when the young einhardt came to court [Music] Charlemagne surrounded himself with European scholars in arkhan einhardt was the only Frank among them foreign [Music] took advantage of different political opportunities to attract Scholars from other countries to his court or to impose on them and stay at his court I'm thinking of Paul the Deacon but he also had a definite policy of attracting Scholars for example who became one of the most outstanding Scholars of the Frankish world [Music] foreign duh device having an item folks this is Charlemagne wanted to use the scholars to advance the culturally backward Frankish Empire by implementing an educational reform Charlemagne important people realized that the formal education Mastery of the Latin language the ability to read and write Latin texts had suffered greatly in the Frankish realm the Anglo-Saxon missionaries in the mid 8th century were the first to realize this the first efforts to remedy the situation occurred under his father Pepin but Charlemagne really focused on it and I think it's one of his most significant achievements that he felt he could fix this decline in education not by relying on the Franks alone but by getting the support of educated foreigners [Music] it is a upshift in killing with Russian priest again this is in the early days of Charlemagne's Reign the various scripts within the Frankish Kingdom were quite different interesting that's why Charlemagne who wanted to send out his decrees in writing all over the realm was interested in having a uniform simple easily legible alphabetes and this was then implemented [Music] one of the most important achievements of the educational reform came from Charlemagne's highest court scholar the alkaline Bible written in carolingian minuscule the new script of small letters this made a joined up simple way of writing possible for the first time it's the precursor of our current writing [Music] the oldest surviving book in the German language also mentions Charlemagne's campaign for better education in the Frankish Kingdom the Codex abrogans was a first dictionary of terms used in church Latin priests and lay people were to really understand what Christian texts talked about [Music] realization one of the greatest achievements we can attribute to Charlemagne and his court Scholars because you always have to see him together with his entourage is his educational reform which is also known as the carolingian Renaissance it expresses Charlemagne's desire to improve knowledge of writing and the Latin language and so the carolingian Renaissance was a firm part of Charlemagne's government program and his social reforms associated [Music] in September 796 Charlemagne's son Pepin returned Victorious from his campaign against the avars in what is now Hungary [Music] but foreign [Music] the Supreme command in the other campaigns that was definitely a test passed this test with flying colors the victory against the avas was a huge success the booty was plentiful and it greatly increased Charlemagne's standing follow God is the other treasure gave Charming the means to implement his Visions he founded bishoprics all over his Empire and made them centers of his educational reform he also planned the construction of a magnificent residence in Arkansas religion meets their Carlson Avenue hmm if it is in power leads the corner and soil news was an episode the pub states that together the motor coaches [Music] the palace was by far the most elaborate building of the carolingin era a royal Hall as the seat of government a Garrison and courtrooms and the still extant octagon a magnificent Palace Chapel based on the Roman Byzantine model [Music] even 200 years after its construction the church done was to be the highest north of the Alps [Music] the symbolism of the central building speaks for itself an octagon as a representation of heavenly Jerusalem that was how Charlemagne expressed his entitlement to rule the whole world [Music] placing the throne on the gallery put the king in the most elevated position into a special sphere by the 15th century it had been the coronation Throne of 31 German rulers [Music] the palace Chapel the Octagon which still exists as aachen cathedral was influenced by a model in Ravenna that's evident but it's not at all clear how much he copied Roman buildings in general there are certain documents but there by no means clear performance isn't our kindness weeks during the reign of Charlemagne aachen fulfilled a part of what Rome once meant to the Roman emperors [Music] wasn't some kind of replica of Rome in Charlemagne's day the stormy days of Charlemagne's youth were behind him now he focused more on seeking insights and gathered the leading Scholars of Europe in arkhan to create philosophical circles the participants called themselves after ancient and biblical role models foreign I slide the description is [Music] the Scottish winner is foreign Charlemagne's plans have to have come together a while before the year 800. the first signs of them can be found in the Royal annals if you just look at who Charlemagne was communicating with at the time suddenly from 797 all the great rulers are suddenly gathered around not just the emperor and by Santiam the Khalif in Baghdad the Emir in Cordoba but also the Lesser rulers even from North Africa and Italy suddenly everyone's represented within the next five years they're all listed in the Royal annals that's a rule acting like a world ruler in April 799 an incident occurred in Rome that Charlemagne used to his political advantage the pope was physically attacked men from his closest Circle were involved they accused Leo III of fornication adultery and perjury in addition he wasn't from Roman aristocratic circles [Music] open wanted to make him unfit to hold office by blinding and mutilating him but things didn't turn out that way foreign [Music] servant helped the pope escape to the care of Royal Frankish Messengers who led him across the Alps to the only conceivable place of Refuge to Charlemagne the patron of the Roman Church the trip across the Alps took eight weeks then the pope accompanied by Charlemagne's Messengers reached the Royal Palace in paderborn e meeting took place in paderborn Far in the north and Charlemagne definitely didn't hold it there at random he wanted to demonstrate to the pope what he had done for Christianity for the spread of Christianity that's why the meeting took place in newly conquered Saxony when Leo III arrived Charlemagne let him feel his power all right foreign [Music] foreign foreign s who suspect that this whole story was staged by Charlemagne so that he could present himself as emperor in Rome I personally don't believe that Charlemagne had had far too many successes already the most recent success against the Abbas in 795 made him the indisputable ruler of the West he controlled all the old Imperial residences in the west including Rome and I can't believe that such a man didn't have the idea all on his own I want to be emperor nobody in Rome suspected what Charlemagne really wanted to achieve as Supreme judge namely to acquit the Pope in a proper trial to do that he cleverly used a legal Dodge schweiked with the success Peter foreign [Music] [Music] moment where therefore I got that is [Music] Leo III reinstated as the pope was to show his gratitude to Charlemagne the next day no Cornish calls foreign [Music] foreign reported on Charlemagne's coronation as emperor in a very strange way he doesn't say when it happened he doesn't say where it happened he just said that Charlemagne had said later that if he had known of the Pope's intentions he wouldn't have gone to church that day even though it was an important holiday the common uh he probably didn't entirely like the pivotal role of the Pope because the Franks generally felt far superior to the Romans the interpretation that emerged for Charlemagne's Court was that he only got the Imperial title the Norman Emperor Taurus for something he had already achieved under his own steam that's probably the context of that story foreign [Music] on Christmas Day 800 Charlemagne became Augustus imperata Romano the noble emperor of the Romans [Music] this Act was to change the history of the world from this point on the pope would Crown Emperors for centuries [Applause] the events of Christmas day had far-reaching consequences that's when the medieval Empire was founded which was to continue in the form of the Holy Roman Empire up until the year 1806. at the same time this Empire was closely tied to the papacy even though Charlemagne might have intended this Charlemagne never returned to Rome started focusing on domestic politics to secure the future of his huge Empire he implemented reforms he put uniform laws in place the silver Denarius was introduced as the empire-wide currency cultivation of grains and fruits was to be improved Charlemagne issued economic regulations that he put into effect on all his Royal Estates [Music] as part of his comprehensive educational program Charlemagne made schools accessible to lay people his Maxim was first comes knowledge then action [Music] Charlemagne considered it his duty to guide his people to Salvation he had a Catholic and also a completely pragmatic understanding of his rule his capitularies addressed moral aspects since it was his god-given responsibility to make sure his entire people achieved blessedness [Music] there's no doubt about it in the admonitio generalis it was his job to lead his people to Salvation [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] thank you foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] I don't Charlemagne died of pneumonia when he was 66. [Music] after a reign of 46 years he left his son Louis a huge Empire as Emperor Louis the pious he would continue his father's reform policies but he wouldn't be able to maintain the unity of the Frankish Empire [Music] just 30 years later the empire fell into three parts West Francia East Francia from which a German Empire emerged and middle Francia which would later split further [Music] but what's great about Charles there have always been conquerors but it has to be said that despite the Empire's domestic difficulties after Charlemagne's death especially during the reign of his son Louis the pious during which there was in a conflict the Empire stuck together he understood how to organize his Empire so that it stood as a whole a certain feeling of unity of us developed felt part of this us as did the Lombards is [Music] I personally consider the renewal of intellectual culture as outstanding he called it to renew to repair to restore he stored the intellectual culture Latin The Sciences to understand Faith properly and this restoration of science continued to have an effect it was a restoration of logic of reason of rational thinking and that was incorporated into European Society for the next 300 years until it was so deep-seated that it changed the world does this device [Music] Charlemagne was buried in arkhan some say he was cruel and power hungry others praise him as being wise and agreeable to God one thing that's certain is that as the first emperor of the medieval West Charlemagne shaped an entire era he ruthlessly forged an enormous Empire with his sword but he also made it flourished culturally laughs [Music] even his content

Channel: Chronicle - Medieval History Documentaries

Views: 305,066

Keywords: history documentary, medieval history documentary, middle ages, medieval history, the middle ages, documentary history, medieval history lecture, charlemagne documentary, frankish empire, charles the great, chronicle

Id: BMSe1AZiIco

Length: 152min 4sec (9124 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 21 2022