Charlemagne was of German descent. Not much is written about him in his boyhood, however. What is known is that he was the eldest son of Pippin the Short, ruler of the Franks.

In 768, Pippin the Short died, which left the Frankish throne open for Charlemagne and his brother, Carloman I. Neither of the two got along very well, but three years after they inherited the throne, Carloman I died and Charlemagne took over the entire responsibility of ruling the Franks.

Charlemagne greatly reformed the economy by discarding the gold standard and replacing it with a system based on a pound of silver. This change coordinated all the territories under his rule and allowed easier trade.

Charlemagne’s control brought about an era known as the Carolingian Renaissance. During this time there was a newfound desire for learning, the arts, and architecture. Although he could not write himself, he took a serious attraction towards scholarly matters.

Charlemagne died having a built an incredibly large empire. Knowing that having such a gigantic empire would lead to many problems; he divided it up between his three sons into 806 parts. He mastered his role of being the emperor and appointed his son Louis to the position before he died in 814.

Submitted By: Steve Kessel