Son of Pepin the Short, king of the Franks from 768. Conqueror, administrator and legislator, he acted as master and defender of the Church, which was the instrument of his policy of cultural renewal. On the death of his brother Carloman (771), he inherited the Frankish state. In 774, he began his conquests by defeating Didier, king of the Lombards. Followed, to the east and north, those of Bavaria (781), Saxony and Friesland (799)... In Spain, from 778 to 811, the countries north of the Ebro were taken from the Muslims (March of Spain). The shining sign of the authority acquired by Charles was his coronation as Emperor of the West (in 800) by the Roman Pontiff. But this enormous empire could not survive the disappearance of its creator; however, the title of emperor was held for ten centuries by the Germanic sovereigns.
Pépin the Short Louis I the Pious or the Debonair
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