Charlemagne - Conqueror and Cajoler

Charlemagne (747-814) conquered a vast empire that stretched from the north bit of Spain, the top half of Italy, all the way through Central Europe, Germany, and of course France, the homeland of the Franks. He ruled more territory in Europe than anyone had ruled since the days of the Roman emperors, and he styled his reign as a renewal of the Roman Empire. 

Before he was Charlemagne, he was merely Prince Charles, son of King Peppin III, AKA Peppin the Short, who the pope had anointed along with his sons back in 754. When Peppin died in 768, he divided the Frankish kingdom between his two sons. Carloman died of natural causes in 771 at the age of 20, leaving his older brother Charlemagne as sole king of the Franks. 

Charlemagne knew what he wanted to do next, and that was conquer stuff. First up was Italy, where he besieged the Lombard capital of Pavia. Nine months later in 774, he added the “king of the Lombards” to his list of titles. Needing some scenic backgrounds for his battles, in 788 he annexed Bavaria. He fought the Avars in Hungary 791-796, concluding those wars in victory. 

He didn’t always win. Charlemagne fought in Spain in 778. It didn’t go so well on that battlefield, but later it would be the basis of the legendary Song of Roland. Down but not out, Charlemagne would come back later and capture Barcelona in 801. The Byzantine Empire controlled southern Italy, and Charlemagne fought them off and on, sometimes pursuing marriage alliances with them in peacetime, but ultimately ending in stalemate.

His greatest military foes were the Saxons, a collection of pagan Germanic tribes. He fought them 772-804 for over 30 years in wars that were considered brutal even for the time. Charlemagne forced the Saxons to convert to Christianity. Pretty much, if you were Charlemagne’s neighbor, he would fight you, then keep fighting you, and then eventually you would lose. 

In 799, the opponents of Pope Leo III attacked him, stripped him of his papal garments, mutilated his face, and declared him deposed. Just like popes had done for decades before, he looked to the king of the Franks for protection. Unlike other popes, he fled Rome, crossed the Alps, and headed straight to Charlemagne’s court. Charlemagne escorted the pope back to Rome and reinstalled him on the papal throne. 

On Christmas Day in 800, in Rome at St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as “Emperor of the Romans.” He was the first person to be crowned emperor in the west since the late Roman Empire. Over in Constantinople, Empress Irene said “Oh no you didn’t!” but she lacked an army in Rome and Charlemagne had one there, so the new imperial crown stayed on his head. This was not the classic Western Roman Empire that was centered on the Mediterranean; the focus had shifted north and was becoming more and more detached from the east. 

In addition to all the conquering and coronation, Charlemagne had a pretty interesting life. He loved to bathe and hunt. He had five wives (one at a time) and many concubines (don’t even ask.) The Abbasid Caliph sent him an elephant as a present. His sister, Gisela, was a famous nun and his lifelong advisor and confidant. To reduce the number of potential claimants to his throne, both before and after he died, he forbade his daughters to marry. 

Charlemagne was the greatest ruler of his era. He grew the kingdom of the Franks into the Carolingian Empire (the term historians later applied to his empire) and sponsored the period of learning and scholarship known as the Carolingian Renaissance (which historians also named after him.) Charlemagne had many sons, and a couple even plotted against him unsuccessfully, but when he died, only one legitimate son remained, Louis the Pious, so he would inherit the whole empire. 

Charlemagne has been called “Father of Europe” and claimed by many different peoples as their ancestor, depending on the politics of the time. He was Charles the Great, Karolus magnus in Latin, Karl der Grosse in German, Charles-le-magne in French, but if you like keeping your head on your neck, you can just call him Charlemagne. 

Charlemagne was almost always fighting. He first accompanied his father on campaign at age 13, sporting a dodgy peach fuzz mustache. He was a great warrior, and no one questioned his bravery, but little is written about his prowess on the battlefield. His main strength was the ability to attract and mobilize larger armies that his opponents could muster. 

You might think that as king he could just order people to fight, and technically he could, but in practice, soldiers showed up because he persuaded them that it was in their best interest. If you’re the boss, you know that’s how it works. Technically, your people have to do what you say. In reality, it’s always about selling them on the plan, getting them on board. 

Charlemagne had many victories early on in his career, which gave him credibility when recruiting later. Mix that with his force of personality and the promise of plunder his troops might gain, and you’ve got a potent combination for medieval motivation. Charlemagne was the greatest ruler of the Dark Ages, not because he had the strongest sword arm, but because he could motivate his people to join him on campaign.

All these years later, in the conference room rather than on the battlefield, all of those things apply to you too. You must build credibility in your space with small successes. If you aspire to be a great leader, figure out what matters to those you hope to inspire, then show them how doing what you want gets them what they want, then head out to battle.