Charlemagne (Charles the Great) was the grandson of Charles Martel, major domo to the Merovingian king, who defeated the Saracens at the Battle of Tours, stopping the spread of Islam in western Europe.

Charlemagne's father, Pepin, put an end to the feckless Merovingians and declared himself king of the Franks. When Pepin died, he left his kingdom to his two sons, Charles and Carloman. When Carloman died rather young, Charles became the sole king and began his conquest of western Europe. Author Richard Winston details Charles many battles with the Lombards, the Saxons, and the Saracens. He also shows us Charlemagne many chess matches with Pope Hadrian and the popes who succeeded him. Charlemagne was know as “the defender of the faith, but when the Pope asked him to return Vatican land stolen by the Lombards, Charlemagne did what was best for the Franks.

Charlemagne's reputation has come down through the ages as an almost saintly ruler who fought for the poor as well as the more high born. He built a system of schools, that became the model for modern education and the abbots were to provide a free education for the poor as well as aristocratic youths. But Charlemagne could be ruthless as well. He had 4,500 Saxons put to death when they rebelled once too often.

He had other character flaws as well. His eldest son was a hunchback. Charlemagne blamed his first wife and divorced her. When his younger brothers were given kingdoms to prepare them for rule and Pepin the Hunchback was left with nothing, he rose up against his father. Charlemagne didn't have the heart to kill his son; he had him tonsured instead, spending the rest of his life in a monastery.

The saintly image above came to fruition when he was declared a saint after his death by Frederick Barbarossa, the holy Roman emperor most like Charlemagne, with the blessing of the schismatic pope.

Charlemagne had two children with is first wife and nine with his second, a young girl only in her twenties when she died in childbirth. He also had many mistresses with whom he had more sons. In order to prevent the hostility he went through with his own brother, he had his sons Pepin, Louis the Pius, and Charles crowned during his lifetime, dividing the empire. By then he had been crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope. A protective father, Charles never let his daughters marry, although one was promised to the Byzantium emperor's son.