Rose Scott, age 15, of Las Cruces, N.M., for her question:
HOW WILL CHARLEMAGNE BE REMEMBERED?
Charlemagne was king of the Franks in Europe from A.D. 768 until 814 and emperor of the Romans from 800 to 814. His name in Latin means Charles the Great. He will be remembered as the key figure in the development of western Europe's medieval civilization.
By almost constant military campaigns, Charlemagne created a vast empire in the West which included much of the western part of the old Roman Empire. Culturally and politically, he left his mark on the newly rising civilization of the West.
Historians agree that probably no ruler in the early Middle Eages better deserved the title of "The Great" than Charlemagne.
Charlemagne was the first Germanic ruler to assume the title of emperor, and the empire he revived lasted in one form or another for a thousand years.
When Charlemagne became sole ruler after the death of his brother and father, his first step was to repress his hostile neighbors. Then he waged more than 50 campaigns against neighboring Germanic peoples on all sides and against the Avars, Slavs, Byzantines and Moors.
Most important of Charlemagne's military ventures was the long Saxon war. The Saxons, who held the whole northwestern part of Germany, were pagans. The defeat of the Saxons after 30 years of war prepared the way for the religious conversion and civilization of Germany.
As Charlemagne's vast empire grew, he defended the Roman Catholic Church and constantly extended its power. He was far more powerful than the imperial successors of Constantine, the first Christian emperor in the West, and he ruled a much more extensive area.
Charlemagne's greatest contribution was his work as a patron of culture and extender of civilization. The Palace School, set up at his capital in Aachen, under the leadership of the English scholar Alcuin, stimulated interest in education, philosophy and literature.
With his power and eminence, Charlemagne gave western Europe a unified culture.
Einhard, Charlemagne's secretary and friend, described the emperor as large and strong of body, fond of active exercise, genial but dignified, and sensible and moderate in his way of life.
Charlemagne clearly recognized his duties and responsibilities and was a tireless worker. He could not reverse the long trend toward decentralized government. But he could and did control the power of the nobles and maintain a considerable degree of law and order in an extremely troubled age.
Charlemagne's administrative methods definitely helped raise the standard of living among the people who lived under his rule.
Charlemagne was born in 742, the son of Pepin the Short and the grandson of Charles Martel. For the first three years of his rule, he shared Pepin's kingdom with his brother, Carloman.
The ruler died in his capital at Aachen in 814.