The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolings, or Karlings) was a Frankish

Franks

The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

 noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin

Medieval Latin

Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...

 karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German

Old High German

The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...

 *karling, kerling (meaning "descendant of Charles", cf. MHG

Middle High German

Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...

 kerlinc), derives from the Latinised name of Charles Martel

Charles Martel

Charles Martel , also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks. In 739 he was offered the...

: Carolus. The family consolidated its power in the late 7th century, eventually making the offices of mayor of the palace

Mayor of the Palace

Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....

 and dux et princeps Francorum hereditary and becoming the de facto rulers of the Franks as the real powers behind the throne. By 751, the Merovingian dynasty

Merovingian dynasty

The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region largely corresponding to ancient Gaul from the middle of the 5th century. Their politics involved frequent civil warfare among branches of the family...

 which until then had ruled the Franks by right was deprived of this right with the consent of the Papacy and the aristocracy and a Carolingian, Pepin the Short, was crowned King of the Franks.

History

Traditional historiography has seen the Carolingian assumption of kingship as the product of a long rise to power, punctuated even by a premature attempt to seize the throne through Childebert the Adopted

Childebert the Adopted

Childebert III the Adopted was a Frankish King. When King Sigebert III died in 656, Grimoald the Elder had Sigebert's son Dagobert II shorn of hair and sent to an Irish monastery and then proclaimed his own son king of Austrasia....

. This picture, however, is not commonly accepted today. Rather, the coronation of 751 is seen typically as a product of the aspirations of one man, Pepin, and of the Church, which was always looking for powerful secular protectors and for the extension of its spiritual and temporal influence.

The greatest Carolingian monarch was Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

, who was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III

Pope Leo III

Pope Saint Leo III was Pope from 795 to his death in 816. Protected by Charlemagne from his enemies in Rome, he subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position by crowning him as Roman Emperor....

 at Rome in 800. His empire, ostensibly a continuation of the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

, is referred to historiographically as the Carolingian Empire

Carolingian Empire

Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the...

. The traditional Frankish (and Merovingian) practice of dividing inheritances among heirs was not given up by the Carolingian emperors, though the concept of the indivisibility of the Empire was also accepted. The Carolingians had the practice of making their sons (sub-)kings in the various regions (regna) of the Empire, which they would inherit on the death of their father. Following the death of Louis the Pious

Louis the Pious

Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...

, the surviving adult Carolingians fought a three-year civil war ending only in the Treaty of Verdun

Treaty of Verdun

The Treaty of Verdun was a treaty between the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious, the son and successor of Charlemagne, which divided the Carolingian Empire into three kingdoms...

, which divided the empire into three regna while according imperial status and a nominal lordship to Lothair I

Lothair I

Lothair I or Lothar I was the Emperor of the Romans , co-ruling with his father until 840, and the King of Bavaria , Italy and Middle Francia...

. The Carolingians differed markedly from the Merovingians in that they disallowed inheritance to illegitimate offspring, possibly in an effort to prevent infighting among heirs and assure a limit to the division of the realm. In the late ninth century, however, the lack of suitable adults among the Carolingians necessitated the rise of Arnulf of Carinthia

Arnulf of Carinthia

Arnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887, the disputed King of Italy from 894 and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor from February 22, 896 until his death.-Birth and Illegitimacy:...

, a bastard child of a legitimate Carolingian king.

The Carolingians were displaced in most of the regna of the Empire in 888. They ruled on in East Francia until 911 and they held the throne of West Francia intermittently until 987. Though they asserted their prerogative to rule, their hereditary, God-given right, and their usual alliance with the Church, they were unable to stem the principle of electoral monarchy and their propagandism failed them in the long run. Carolingian cadet branches continued to rule in Vermandois

Vermandois

Vermandois was a French county, that appears in the Merovingian period. In the tenth century, it was organised around two castellan domains: St Quentin and Péronne . Pepin I of Vermandois, the earliest of its hereditary counts, was descended in direct male line from the emperor Charlemagne...

 and Lower Lorraine

Lower Lorraine

The Duchy of Lower Lorraine or Lower Lotharingia , established in 959 was a stem duchy of the medieval German kingdom, which encompassed part of modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands, the northern part of the German Rhineland and a part of northern France east of the Schelde river.It was created out...

 after the last king died in 987, but they never sought thrones of principalities and made peace with the new ruling families. It is with the coronation of Robert II of France

Robert II of France

Robert II , called the Pious or the Wise , was King of France from 996 until his death. The second reigning member of the House of Capet, he was born in Orléans to Hugh Capet and Adelaide of Aquitaine....

 as junior co-ruler with his father, Hugh Capet, the first of the Capetian dynasty

Capetian dynasty

The Capetian dynasty , also known as the House of France, is the largest and oldest European royal house, consisting of the descendants of King Hugh Capet of France in the male line. Hugh Capet himself was a cognatic descendant of the Carolingians and the Merovingians, earlier rulers of France...

, that one chronicler of Sens

Sens

Sens is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.Sens is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is crossed by the Yonne and the Vanne, which empties into the Yonne here.-History:...

 dates the end of Carolingian rule.

The dynasty became extinct in the male line with the death of Odo, Count of Vermandois. His sister Adelaide

Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois

Adelaide of Vermandois was suo jure Countess of Vermandois and Valois and the last member of the Carolingian dynasty.Adelaide was the daughter of Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois, and Adele of Valois and of the Vexin. Her younger brother Otto became Count of Vermandois upon their father's death in...

, the last Carolingian, died in 1122.

List of Carolingians

This is an incomplete listing of those of the male-line descent from Charles Martel:

Charles Martel

Charles Martel

Charles Martel , also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks. In 739 he was offered the...

 (676–741) had five sons;

1. Carloman, Mayor of the Palace (711–754) had two sons;

A. Drogo, Mayor of the Palace

Drogo, Mayor of the Palace

Drogo was the eldest son of Carloman, mayor of the palace of Austrasia. He was born before Carloman came to power in 741. In 747 Carloman went on a pilgrimage to Rome, leaving his sons under the guardianship of his uncle Pepin the Short and the king, Childeric III...

 (b. 735)

2. Pepin the Short (714–768) had two sons;

A. Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

 (747–814) had eight sons;

I. Pepin the Hunchback

Pepin the Hunchback

Pepin , the Hunchback was the eldest son of Charlemagne by Himiltrude. He is known in French as Pépin le Bossu.Accounts describe Pepin as normally proportioned with attractive features...

 (769–811) died without issue

II. Charles the Younger (772–811) died without issue

III. Pepin of Italy (773–810) had one son (illegitimate);

a. Bernard of Italy

Bernard of Italy

Bernard was the King of the Lombards from 810 to 818. He plotted against his uncle, Emperor Louis the Pious, when the latter's Ordinatio Imperii made Bernard a vassal of his cousin Lothair...

 (797–818) had one son;

i. Pepin, Count of Vermandois

Pepin, Count of Vermandois

Pepin was the first count of Vermandois, lord of Senlis, Péronne, and Saint Quentin. He was the son of King Bernard of Italy and Cunigunda.Pepin first appears in 834 as a count to the north of the Seine and then appears as same again in 840...

 (b. 815) had three sons;

1. Bernard, Count of Laon (844–893) had one son;

A. Roger I of Laon (d. 927) had one son;

I. Roger II of Laon (d. 942) died without male issue

2. Pepin, Count of Senlis and Valois (846–893) had one son;

A. Pepin II, Count of Senlis, (876–922) had one son;

I. Bernard of Senlis (919–947) had one son;

a. Robert I of Senlis (d. 1004) had one son;

i. Robert II of Senlis and Peroone (d. 1028) died without male issue

3. Herbert I, Count of Vermandois

Herbert I, Count of Vermandois

Herbert I of Vermandois , Count of Vermandois, lord of Senlis, of Péronne and of Saint Quentin, was the son of Pepin of Vermandois.-Marriage and issue:...

 (848–907) had two sons;

A. Herbert II, Count of Vermandois

Herbert II, Count of Vermandois

Herbert II , Count of Vermandois and Count of Troyes, was the son of Herbert I of Vermandois.-Life:He inherited the domain of his father and in 907, added to it the Saint de Soissons abbey. His marriage with Hildebrand of France brought him the County of Meaux. In 918, he was also named Count of...

 (884–943) had five sons;

I. Odo of Vermandois (910–946) died without issue

II. Herbert, Count of Meaux and of Troyes (b. 911–993)

III. Robert of Vermandois

Robert of Vermandois

Robert of Vermandois was Count of Meaux after his father, Heribert II, Comte de Vermandois and his wife, Adele of France....

 (d. 968) had one son;

a. Herbert III, Count of Meaux

Herbert III, Count of Meaux

Herbert the Younger was the Count of Troyes and Meaux from 966 and Omois from 984. He belonged to the House of Vermandois and was a son of Robert and Adelaide Werra....

 (950–995) had one son;

i. Stephen I, Count of Troyes (d. 1020) died without issue

IV. Adalbert I, Count of Vermandois

Adalbert I, Count of Vermandois

Adalbert I of Vermandois , Count of Vermandois, was the son of Herbert II of Vermandois and Hildebrante of France.-Family:...

 (916–988) had four sons;

a. Herbert III, Count of Vermandois

Herbert III, Count of Vermandois

Herbert III of Vermandois , Count of Vermandois, was the son of Adalbert I of Vermandois and Gerberge of Lorraine.-Family:He married Ermengard of Bar .*Adalbert II of Vermandois *Landulf, Bishop of Noyon...

 (953–1015) had three sons;

i. Adalbert II of Vermandois (c.980–1015)

ii. Landulf, Bishop of Noyon

iii. Otto, Count of Vermandois

Otto, Count of Vermandois

Otto of Vermandois , Count of Vermandois, was the son of Herbert III, Count of Vermandois and Ermengarde of Bar-sur-Seine. He succeeded in 1021 as count of Vermandois. Otto donated property to Notre-Dame de Homblières by charter.-Family and children:He married Pavia...

 (979–1045) had three sons;

1. Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois

Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois

Herbert IV of Vermandois , Count of Vermandois, was the son of Otto of Vermandois and Pavia .-Family and children:He married Adele of Valois, daughter of Raoul III of Valois and Adele de Bar-sur-Aube, and had:...

 (1028–1080) had one son;

A. Odo the Insane, Count of Vermandois (d. after 1085)

B. Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois

Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois

Adelaide of Vermandois was suo jure Countess of Vermandois and Valois and the last member of the Carolingian dynasty.Adelaide was the daughter of Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois, and Adele of Valois and of the Vexin. Her younger brother Otto became Count of Vermandois upon their father's death in...

 (d. 1122)

2.Eudes I, Count of Ham, (b. 1034)

3.Peter, Count of Vermandois

b. Odo of Vermandois (c. 956-983)

c. Liudolfe of Noyon (c. 957-986)

d. Guy of Vermandois, Count of Soissons

V. Hugh of Vermandois, Archbishop of Rheims

Hugh of Vermandois, Archbishop of Rheims

Hugh of Vermandois was the Archbishop of Reims from 925 to 931, when he was removed from office by the actions of Hugh the Great and others, his father Herbert II, Count of Vermandois who had been the power behind his episcopate was driven out of Reims and the bishopric was then assumed by...

 (920-962) died without issue

IV. Louis the Pious

Louis the Pious

Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...

 (778–840) had 4 sons;

a. Lothair I

Lothair I

Lothair I or Lothar I was the Emperor of the Romans , co-ruling with his father until 840, and the King of Bavaria , Italy and Middle Francia...

 (795–855) had 4 sons;

i. Louis II of Italy (825–875) died without male issue

ii. Lothair II of Lotharingia

Lothair II of Lotharingia

Lothair II was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga, daughter of Boso the Elder. He is the namesake of the Lothair Crystal, which he probably commissioned, and of the Cross of Lothair, which was made over a century after his death but...

 (835–869) had 1 son (illegitimate);

1. Hugh, Duke of Alsace

Hugh, Duke of Alsace

Hugh was the only son of Lothair II, an illegitimate child by his relationship with Waldrada. He did not inherit his father's kingdom, but he did receive a lot of lands and benefices in the Duchy of Alsace from Louis the German....

 (855–895) died without issue

iii. Charles of Provence

Charles of Provence

Charles of Provence was the Carolingian King of Provence from 855 until his early death in 863.Charles was the youngest son of Holy Roman Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours....

 (845–863) died without issue

iv. Carloman (b. 853) died in infancy

b. Pepin I of Aquitaine

Pepin I of Aquitaine

Pepin I was King of Aquitaine.-Biography:He was the second son of Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye....

 (797–838) had 2 sons;

i. Pepin II of Aquitaine

Pepin II of Aquitaine

Pepin II, called the Younger , was King of Aquitaine from 838 as the successor upon the death of his father, Pepin I. Pepin II was eldest son of Pepin I and Ingeltrude, daughter of Theodobert, count of Madrie...

 (823–864) died without issue

ii. Charles, Archbishop of Mainz (828–863) died without issue

c. Louis the German

Louis the German

Louis the German , also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian, was a grandson of Charlemagne and the third son of the succeeding Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye.He received the appellation 'Germanicus' shortly after his death in recognition of the fact...

 (806–876) had 3 sons;

i. Carloman of Bavaria

Carloman of Bavaria

Carloman was the eldest son of Louis the German, king of East Francia , and Hemma, daughter of the count Welf...

 (830–880) had 1 son (illegitimate);

1. Arnulf of Carinthia

Arnulf of Carinthia

Arnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887, the disputed King of Italy from 894 and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor from February 22, 896 until his death.-Birth and Illegitimacy:...

 (850–899) had 3 sons;

A. Louis the Child

Louis the Child

Louis the Child , sometimes called Louis IV or Louis III, was the last Carolingian ruler of East Francia....

 (893–911) died without issue

B. Zwentibold

Zwentibold

Zwentibold was the illegitimate son of the Carolingian Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia. In 895 his father, then king of East Francia, granted him the Kingdom of Lotharingia, which he ruled until his death.After his death he was declared a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church.- Life :Zwentibold...

 (870–900) died without issue

C. Ratold of Italy

Ratold of Italy

Ratold was a King of Italy who ruled for a month or so in 896.He was younger illegitimate son of Arnulf of Carinthia by a concubine. His mother may have been the same mother as Zwentibold, but may on the other hand have been a Lombard, thus gaining the child standing among the people of Italy, or...

 (889–929) died without issue

ii. Louis the Younger

Louis the Younger

Louis the Younger , sometimes Louis III, was the second eldest of the three sons of Louis the German and Emma. He succeeded his father as the King of Saxony on 28 August 876 and his elder brother Carloman as King of Bavaria from 880...

 (835–882) had 1 son;

1. Louis (877 - 879) died in infancy

iii. Charles the Fat

Charles the Fat

Charles the Fat was the King of Alemannia from 876, King of Italy from 879, western Emperor from 881, King of East Francia from 882, and King of West Francia from 884. In 887, he was deposed in East Francia, Lotharingia, and possibly Italy, where the records are not clear...

 (839–888) had 1 son (illegitimate);

1. Bernard (son of Charles the Fat) (d. 892 young)

d. Charles the Bald

Charles the Bald

Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...

 (823–877) had 4 sons;

i. Louis the Stammerer

Louis the Stammerer

Louis the Stammerer was the King of Aquitaine and later King of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans. He succeeded his younger brother in Aquitaine in 866 and his father in West Francia in 877, though he was never crowned Emperor...

 (846–879) had 3 sons;

1. Louis III of France

Louis III of France

Louis III was the King of France, still then called West Francia, from 879 until his death. The second son of Louis the Stammerer and his first wife, Ansgarde, he succeeded his father to reign jointly with his younger brother Carloman II, who became sole ruler on Louis's death...

 (863–882) died without issue

2. Carloman II of France (866–884) died without issue

3. Charles the Simple

Charles the Simple

Charles III , called the Simple or the Straightforward , was the undisputed King of France from 898 until 922 and the King of Lotharingia from 911 until 919/23...

 (879–929) had one son;

A. Louis IV of France

Louis IV of France

Louis IV , called d'Outremer or Transmarinus , reigned as King of Western Francia from 936 to 954...

 (920–954) had five sons;

I. Lothair of France

Lothair of France

Lothair , sometimes called Lothair IV, was the Carolingian king of West Francia , son of Louis IV and Gerberga of Saxony.-Regency:...

 (941–986) had two sons;

a. Louis V of France

Louis V of France

Louis V , called the Indolent or the Sluggard , was the King of Western Francia from 986 until his early death...

 (967–987) died without issue

b. Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims

Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims

Arnulf was archbishop of Reims and the illegitimate son of King Lothair of France.Archbishop Adalberon wanted Gerbert of Aurillac to succeed him, but King Hugh Capet accepted the elected Arnulf, a Carolingian, in March 989. In September of that year, Arnulf supported an attempt to place his uncle...

 (d. 1021) died without issue

II. Carloman (b. 945) died in infancy

III. Louis (b. 948) died in infancy

IV. Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine

Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine

Charles of Lorraine was the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony and younger brother of King Lothair. He was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne...

 (953–993) had 3 sons;

a. Otto, Duke of Lower Lorraine

Otto, Duke of Lower Lorraine

Otto was the duke of Lower Lorraine from 993 until his death. He was the son of Charles, son of King Louis IV, and his first wife, a daughter of Robert de Vermandois, count of Meaux and Troyes....

 (970–1012) died without issue

b. Louis of Lower Lorraine

Louis of Lower Lorraine

Louis was the second of Charles of Lorraine's three sons and the eldest by his second marriage to Adelaide, the daughter of a low-ranking vassal of Hugh Capet....

 (980–1015) died without issue, the last legitimate Carolingian

c. Charles (b. 989) died young

V. Henry (b. 953) died in infancy

ii. Charles the Child

Charles the Child

Charles the Child was the King of Aquitaine from October 855 until his death in 866...

 (847–866) died without issue

iii. Lothar (848–865) died without issue

iv. Carloman, son of Charles the Bald

Carloman, son of Charles the Bald

Carloman was the youngest son of Charles the Bald. Destined from childhood to life in a monastery, Carloman revolted against his father and was subsequently imprisoned in Senlis. Under orders from Pope Adrian II, Charles freed his sons, obliging them to follow him in his expedition against Girart...

 (849–874) died without issue

V. Lothair (778–780) died in infancy

VI. Drogo of Metz

Drogo of Metz

Drogo , also known as Dreux or Drogon, was an illegitimate son of Frankish emperor Charlemagne by the concubine Regina....

 (801–855) died without issue

VII. Hugh, son of Charlemagne

Hugh, son of Charlemagne

Hugh was the illegitimate son of Charlemagne and his concubine Regina, with whom he had one other son: Bishop Drogo of Metz .Hugh was the abbot of several abbacies: Saint-Quentin , Lobbes , and Saint-Bertin...

 (802–844) died without male issue

VIII. Dietrich (Theodricum) (807-818) died without male issue

B. Carloman I (751–771) died without issue

3. Grifo

Grifo

Grifo was the son of the Frankish major domo Charles Martel and his second wife Swanahild.After the death of Charles Martel power may well have been intended to be divided among Grifo and his half-brothers Pepin the Younger and Carloman...

 (726–753) died without issue

4. Bernard, son of Charles Martel

Bernard, son of Charles Martel

Bernard or Bernhard was a son of Charles Martel by his mistress Ruodhaid. He is an obscure figure, rising out of the mists only to lead half of the Frankish army in his nephew Charlemagne's Lombard campaign. While Charlemagne led his contingent through the pass of Moncenisio, Bernard led his...

 (730–787) had two sons;

A. Adalard of Corbie (751–827) died without issue

B. Wala of Corbie

Wala of Corbie

Wala of Corbie was the son of Bernard, son of Charles Martel, and one of the principal advisers of his cousin Charlemagne, Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious, and his son Lothair I...

 (755–836) died without issue

5. Remigius of Rouen

Remigius of Rouen

Remigius was the illegitimate son of Charles Martel and probably Ruodhaid. He was also the third archbishop of Rouen from 755 to 762. Along with his brothers, he was denied any claim to the legacy of his father. He became archbishop during the reign of his half brother Pippin the Younger.Remigius...

 (d. 771) died without issue

See also

• Carolingian architecture
  Carolingian architecture
  Carolingian architecture is the style of north European Pre-Romanesque architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, when the Carolingian family dominated west European politics...
  
  
• Carolingian art
  Carolingian art
  Carolingian art comes from the Frankish Empire in the period of roughly 120 years from about AD 780 to 900 — during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs — popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The art was produced by and for the court circle and a group of...
  
  
• Carolingian minuscule
  Carolingian minuscule
  Carolingian or Caroline minuscule is a script developed as a writing standard in Europe so that the Roman alphabet could be easily recognized by the literate class from one region to another. It was used in Charlemagne's empire between approximately 800 and 1200...
  
  
• Carolingian Renaissance
  Carolingian Renaissance
  In the history of ideas the Carolingian Renaissance stands out as a period of intellectual and cultural revival in Europe occurring from the late eighth century, in the generation of Alcuin, to the 9th century, and the generation of Heiric of Auxerre, with the peak of the activities coordinated...
  
  

• Kings of Germany family tree
• Kings of France family tree

• List of Frankish Kings
• List of Holy Roman Emperors
• List of French monarchs
• List of German monarchs
• List of counts of Vermandois
• King of Italy
  King of Italy
  King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
  
  

Sources

• Hollister, Clive, and Bennett, Judith. Medieval Europe: A Short History.
• Reuter, Timothy. Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056. New York: Longman, 1991.
• MacLean, Simon. Kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century: Charles the Fat and the end of the Carolingian Empire. Cambridge University Press: 2003.
• Lewis, Andrew W. (1981). Royal Succession in Capetian France: Studies on Familial Order and the State. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-77985-1.
• Leyser, Karl. Communications and Power in Medieval Europe: The Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries. London: 1994.
• Oman, Charles
  Charles Oman
  Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman was a British military historian of the early 20th century. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering...
  
  . The Dark Ages, 476-918. 6th ed. London: Rivingtons, 1914.
• Painter, Sidney
  Sidney Painter
  Sidney Painter was a twentieth-century American medievalist at Johns Hopkins University.Painter was born in New York City; after the Taft School he attended Yale University . He wrote many influential books...
  
  . A History of the Middle Ages, 284-1500. New York: Knopf, 1953.
• "Astronomus", Vita Hludovici imperatoris, ed. G. Pertz, ch. 2, in Mon. Gen. Hist. Scriptores, II, 608.
• Reuter, Timothy (trans.) The Annals of Fulda. (Manchester Medieval series, Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II.) Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992.
• Einhard
  Einhard
  Einhard was a Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the Vita Karoli Magni, "one of the most precious literary bequests of the early Middle Ages."-Public life:Einhard was from the eastern...
  
  . Vita Karoli Magni. Translated by Samuel Epes Turner. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1880.