9 unusual and little-known facts about Charlemagne

Who was Charlemagne? The emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the king of the Franks was a great and fair ruler. You will hardly find letters or documents confirming that he ordered the execution or murder. But in books he is often described as a kind person and ruler. Charlemagne took care of the enlightenment of his subjects and the spread of Christianity throughout his land. They say that Europe flourished under his leadership.

We know a lot about how Karl ruled, but his personal history is little known. There is no detailed biography of Charlemagne revealing all his secrets. We do not know where he was born, how many wives and children he had. What we really know is that he created a jury, improved trading, getting rid of gold as a currency, and was fair to everyone, regardless of the social position that a person occupied.

Invites you to get acquainted with the most interesting facts about Charlemagne and maybe something will surprise you.

He loved his daughters so much that he didn’t let them get married

Of his approximately 20 children, 18 were daughters. He loved them so much that he even forbade them to marry while he was still alive. Despite the large number of wives and mistresses, he was a good father and carefully monitored the fate of each of his children. Gave them a better education.

His place of birth is unknown

Charlemagne was born in 742, but the exact place of his birth is unknown. Some historians believe that he could have been born in the territory of modern Germany or Belgium, but this cannot be confirmed.

He introduced the judicial debate

Before Charlemagne became ruler, the courts used a system called “trial by court.” This meant that if you were a peasant and accused of committing a crime, then you were ordered to grab a hot metal rod and hold it. If your burns healed within three days, you were innocent, and if not, you were found guilty. That sounds pretty weird.

Karl did not want to rely on the will of chance in the decision of human destinies and introduced a trial that remotely resembles a jury trial. A group of men listened to testimony and examined evidence before pleading guilty or innocent to the defendant.

Charlemagne spoke fluent Latin

He loved to study and spoke fluent Latin. Karl highly appreciated the Latin language and sought to preserve the Latin culture that suffered during the barbarian invasion. Soon, he realized that knowledge and the ability to speak Latin would allow representatives of different remote corners of the empire to understand.

Charlemagne left most of his wealth to the church, not to his heirs

Charlemagne fulfilled his last will and gave most of the riches of the church, and not to the heirs. He died on January 28, 814.

The word "king" in many languages came from his name

Charlemagne was a very popular ruler, and in some Slavic languages the word king came from the name of Charles. For example, king in czech králin Polish król.

He put an end to the gold standard

He stopped using gold as a form of currency, deciding to introduce silver coins, and also established a common monetary system throughout Europe. This simple and effective solution facilitated trade and led to prosperity.

Charlemagne created one of the safest European states after Rome

When he did not fight, he tried to visit as many territories of his empire as possible. To effectively manage a huge empire, he sent his representatives to watch how things were going. During his tenure in power, he adopted many new laws and ordered the judges to go out and consider cases. Held annual meetings at which he listened to clergy and gave instructions. This led to the creation of a very strong Western European state, one of the safest since Rome.