There is no greater hero of the middle ages than Charlemagne, king of the Franks. He was great in war and great in peace—a conqueror, law-maker, scholar, organizer, and civilizer. He subdued savage nations, introduced learning, extended religion, encouraged the arts and sciences, and established one of the mightiest empires of the olden times. Show All     Download:     PDF       EPUB

CHARLEMAGNE AND DESIDERATA.

Translator's Preface

Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, might well have been entitled Charles the Greatest. He was great in war and great in peace—a great conqueror, great law-maker, great scholar, great organizer, great civilizer. He subdued savage nations, introduced learning, extended religion, encouraged the arts and sciences, and established one of the mightiest empires of the olden times. All the races of Germany, of Italy, and of France were welded by him into one great monarchy. He maintained and extended the influence of Christian culture. A large part of his life was spent in the field, and yet he found time for the political establishment and development of a great empire, for the reorganization of the Church, for the promotion of education, for the conservation of classic culture, and for an astonishing display of many-sided activity. Gibbon, the historian, says of him:

"The dignity of his person, the length of his reign, the prosperity of his arms, the vigor of his government, and the reverence of distant nations, distinguish him from the royal crowd: and Europe dates a new era from his restoration of the Western Empire."

He was a monarch whose life was characterized by extraordinary activity and energy, by nobility of purpose and wisdom in administration, and by a constructive genius and innate capacity for wise and generous ruling, which have rarely been found in "the royal crowd." As one of the most conspicuous figures in history, the events of his life as narrated in this volume deserve careful study at the hands of youth.

G. P. U.

CHICAGO, July, 1910.

Appendix

The following is a chronological statement of the most important events in the life of Charlemagne:

742	Birth of Charlemagne.
768	Accession to the throne conjointly with Carloman.
771	Death of Carloman.
772	Saxon War.
773	War with the Lombards.
777	Mayfield at Paderborn.
778	War with Arabs in Spain
785	Submission of Wittekind
788	Bavaria Subdued
800	Crowned Emperor at Rome.
808-810	Defeated the Danes.
814	Death of Charlemagne.
814	Accession of Ludwig.