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Secrets of History

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Blessed Charlemagne!

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It's a pleasure to come to you

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from Bad Aachen, in Germany,

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beside this amazing
Palatine Chapel,

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the remains of
Emperor Charlemagne's palace.

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I'd like to tell you about
its extraordinary story.

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In the obscure 8th century,

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the man later called
Charles the Great,

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Charlemagne,

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belonged to a new dynasty,
the Carolingian Franks.

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The flamboyant king of the Franks
had a dream:

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to rebuild the Christian Roman Empire
of 3 centuries earlier.

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Over a few years,
this religious man of iron

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managed to unite lands
2 times bigger than France.

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To do this,

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he had the formidable efficiency

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of the Frankish cavalry,

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and also a secret arm
of his own invention: school.

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Only after several battles

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did he obtain the supreme honour:

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an imperial crown
never since rivalled,

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making him over time

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the most fascinating
of European sovereigns.

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He was very charismatic.

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A force of nature.

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He had great physical energy

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making him matchless.

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Charlemagne the king
lived life to the full.

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He had more than 20 women.

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Well, to our knowledge.

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There was great sexual freedom.

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This bon vivant
was a champion of Christianity

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from Germania
to the Spanish frontier.

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For the Franks, the king had to

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draw his sword

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and be on the battlefield.

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With the pope's blessing,
he fought to unite his kingdom,

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to the deep forests
sheltering Europe's

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last pagans.

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They were

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enemies of Christ for Charlemagne.

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They had no right to live.

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Several legends
surround this ancient hero,

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the emperor with the white beard.

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In the Roncevaux pass,

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the rear-guard was attacked

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not by Saracens,

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but by Basques.

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These treasures
make Charlemagne one of

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the most sumptuous kings ever,

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from the spectacular
to the personal.

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Here is an extraordinary object.

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It's his talisman.

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Chapels and palaces were
sanctuaries to this reformer

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set on reinventing western culture.

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A book cost an awful lot.

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A Bible took 400 sheep to make.

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The circumstances
of his coronation

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by Pope Leo III in Rome
are confused.

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This extraordinary event

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gave rise to a lot of controversy.

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The pope came up behind
the praying Charlemagne

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and crowned him himself.

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As master of Europe,

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Charlemagne became
a model in centuries to come.

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No one doubts that
he was one of the greatest

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Christian kings in the West.

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I am in the atrium courtyard
in Bad Aachen,

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once one of the main entrances
to Charlemagne's palace.

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At the end of the 8th century,
it was very different

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from how it is today.

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There was a basilica,

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from the Ancient Greek basileús,
meaning "imperial residence",

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linked to the Palatine Chapel
by a gallery where

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the emperor dispensed justice.

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Can you see the lion's head?

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When you put a finger in it,
you can feel a callus.

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It's the devil's thumb.

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Legend says
the devil got his thumb stuck

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in this magnificent bronze door.

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It was cast in the time
of Charlemagne, and shows

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the sumptuous elegance
of Carolingian artisans

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and their ability
to imitate Antiquity.

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Now I'll show you one of the few

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remaining examples
of architecture of the time,

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the Palatine Chapel.

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This Palatine Chapel

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has 2 floors and is octagonal,

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symbolising the resurrection
and rebirth through baptism.

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Over my head,

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the spectacular chandelier

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was a 12th century gift

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from Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

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It is over 4 m wide,
and evokes Heavenly Jerusalem,

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a vision of Heaven on Earth,

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a bit like Charlemagne's
political programme.

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This 11th century alter front piece

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is entirely made of gold

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and is a real picture book.

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In the centre are

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Christ, his mother Mary,
and St Michael,

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surrounded by scenes
from Christ's last days.

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This masterpiece told the story

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of the salvation
to the largely illiterate faithful.

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Apart from what his biographer
and friend Eginhard says,

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we know little of
the real Charlemagne.

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You will see
that what we do know

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allows us to perceive
a surprising, colourful personality.

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On December 25, 800,

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Charlemagne was crowned emperor
by the pope,

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giving him a title that
had not been used

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for over 300 years in the West.

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He did not quite fit

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with the idea you may have
of a Roman emperor,

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but he was also different

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to the popular image
we have of him today.

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Charlemagne did not have
a white beard,

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contrary to his image
from the Middle Ages,

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but typical Frankish big moustache.

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He was a very tall man

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for the time.

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About 1.9 m tall,
"around 7 feet tall", they say.

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A tall, strong man.

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He had a bit of a belly,
quite a thick neck,

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and, surprisingly,
a falsetto voice.

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The sight of him was impressive.

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It's even said

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Charlemagne could
strike down with a look

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anyone who behaved badly.

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For the 30 years before
his imperial coronation,

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Charlemagne was
king of the Franks,

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a warrior people from the East

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with simple, coarse traditions.

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He dressed in
the usual Frankish way:

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a shirt, braccae,

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thongs around his legs.

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Luxurious clothes and silks
were not his thing.

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He only wore them
when asked to by the pope.

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In winter, he liked to wear
an otter skin

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or rat skins.

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When coats falling
just below the backside

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came into fashion,
he made fun of them.

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"What is this bib for?

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"When I empty my bowels,
I get a cold bottom."

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Always on the move,

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Charlemagne had
no fixed palace.

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His court moved

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between villas and abbeys
in Austrasia,

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the heart of Frankish land,
from the Rhine to the Seine,

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and also within
the start of a vast empire,

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from Germany to the Pyrenees.

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If we were to measure

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the distance Charlemagne travelled
during his reign,

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we'd end up with
1000s of kilometres.

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Charlemagne travelled with 100,

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perhaps 200 people.

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He even took his treasure with him,
that's very important,

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all the royal jewels, books,

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objects showing his royal power.

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One of few pieces of his treasure
to have survived

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is at the French National Library.

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It shows Charlemagne's
taste for Roman culture,

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and also his amazing practical side.

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It's a country throne.
You can take off the back,

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the arms, fold the seat,
and take it anywhere.

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It's a copy of chairs from Antiquity,

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5th century consular diptychs
often show

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this type of crossed chair

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with panther heads.

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Charlemagne had
all the trappings of power,

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but he was not

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an absolute sovereign,
unlike Roman emperors.

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He was surrounded by
the main nobles,

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who were involved in decisions.

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- Your turn, loyal Roland.
- Me?

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Show us what you can do.

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You are my best knight
and my lucky charm.

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He was very charismatic.
He was both someone

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with authority,
and he was quite friendly.

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He was a leader,
as we'd say today,

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a real born leader,

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and he was also someone able to

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take people with him,
make them agree with his programme.

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Imagine life at court
as a real community.

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Charlemagne was above all
a clan man.

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Anyone could meet the emperor.

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So Charlemagne was appreciated,

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he knew his guards,
his relatives, his friends.

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The prince was accessible,

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because he was first among equals,

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in a way.

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At the palace at Aachen,

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to see the king,
you had only

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go to the swimming pool.

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Every day he practiced
his favourite sport, swimming.

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Imagine this pool

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as a more or less
modernised Roman bathhouse,

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mainly a place to socialise.

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In winter, it was cold,

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but the palace had hot water.

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Everyone would bathe
to heat up for a few hours.

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When you needed a favour,

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help from Charlemagne,
you could come and talk to him.

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For this northern man,

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the most important activity was,
of course, hunting.

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From autumn, late September,

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the king was busy
because he was hunting.

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Almost all the court
would go hunting.

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Beware anyone who declined
to go with him.

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He liked the forests of the Meuse,
and the Rhine.

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Imagine that

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we're hunting bear in Rhineland.

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He'd always be in front.

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He'd sometimes dismount

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and be a pikeman.

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He'd kill the boar himself.

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As a people,
they appreciated

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strength.

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There was a very barbaric side
to their customs.

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More than just

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a prince's privilege,
hunting supplied

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the court's colourful banquets.

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Charlemagne's

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favourite dish was roast meat.

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He liked roasted meat.

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According to Eginhard,
he seemed unhappy during fasts,

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but he respected them.

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Charlemagne had quite free manners.

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When a bishop served himself first
without offering

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anything to the king and courtiers,

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Charlemagne said, "Go on.

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"Don't worry, take it all."

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He liked eating and drinking,

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but he didn't like drunkenness.

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Given his build,
he would have held his drink well.

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As concerns women, this bon vivant

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multiplied marriages
throughout his life.

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He had more than 20 women.

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He had a total of
more than 20 women,

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well, as far as we know,
of course.

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We might not know all of them.

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It's a society where
monogamous, indissoluble

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marriage

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had not yet been imposed
by the Church,

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even if the Church was trying
to get it accepted.

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There was sexual freedom,

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which is a predatory freedom.
For men, of course, not women.

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My dear king...

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Do you not think that an heir
should be appointed?

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From adolescence to his death,

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Charlemagne had 5 main wives:

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Himiltrude, his first love,

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Desiderata the Lombard,

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Hildegarde,
who bore him 9 children,

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and also Fastrada and Luitgard.

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The ideal build

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for Carolingians was:

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long braided hair, brooches,

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jewels...

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Otherwise, quite marked hips

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and chest.

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We know he had affection

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for Fastrada.

265
00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:01,960
He perhaps did for

266
00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:03,400
Hildegarde, but she was

267
00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,960
more the mother of his children.

268
00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:09,360
When Charlemagne

269
00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,960
wanted a wife,
he looked for a brother-in-law.

270
00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:16,520
By multiplying marriages
one after the other,

271
00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:20,280
he was trying to
multiply his alliances within

272
00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:21,800
Frankish aristocracy.

273
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,720
He chose his 5 wives
from the 5 regions

274
00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:26,280
of his empire.

275
00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:31,400
Charlemagne didn't marry girls

276
00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:33,080
who he'd never leave,

277
00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:35,960
which intrigued
his contemporaries.

278
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:37,800
Charlemagne

279
00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:41,960
adored his girls and he wanted
to show they were beautiful.

280
00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,520
It seems Charlemagne
loved excessively,

281
00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:49,080
or possessed excessively.

282
00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:51,800
Incest has been brought up.
Certainly not.

283
00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:54,800
Why didn't Charlemagne
find them husbands?

284
00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,400
He didn't want any sons-in-law.

285
00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:00,560
Giving his daughters in marriage
to aristocrats

286
00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,560
would risk them claiming

287
00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:05,680
a share of royal power

288
00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,280
in the name of Carolingian blood.

289
00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:12,720
Nevertheless, these young girls
would have met

290
00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:14,960
young aristocrats,

291
00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,440
and what was going to happen
happened:

292
00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:21,000
they had relationships with men,

293
00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:23,960
and he had to hide

294
00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:25,600
his humiliation.

295
00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:28,680
Eginhard says he didn't show

296
00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:31,880
how aggrieved he was
by what happened.

297
00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:39,320
To console himself, the king,

298
00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:43,160
who spoke Frankish,
which is close to Old German,

299
00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,040
took refuge in the spiritual.

300
00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,440
He wasn't an intellectual,
but he took an interest

301
00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:54,400
in everything,
his environment, science...

302
00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,560
Charlemagne liked clarity,

303
00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:00,000
rationality.

304
00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:02,520
He liked things to be
clear, distinct.

305
00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,520
Charlemagne never learned
how to write.

306
00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:08,800
Until late in life, he'd try

307
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:10,680
to write at night.

308
00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:12,960
He'd hide

309
00:17:13,120 --> 00:17:16,560
the disappointing results
under his pillows.

310
00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:17,880
At the time,

311
00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:22,400
you only learnt how to write
when you could read.

312
00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:25,840
You can read
without being able to write.

313
00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:33,680
To compensate his shortcomings,
the king of the Franks gathered

314
00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:36,400
some of the best minds of his time

315
00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,120
in the Palatine Academy.

316
00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,400
There were about 20 aristocrats

317
00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:44,520
who lived in the palace,
20 or so well-read people

318
00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:47,320
who enjoyed poetic jousting.

319
00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:53,520
Flaccus, the faithful priest
of eternal bliss in Jesus...

320
00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:55,120
Each chose a name.

321
00:17:55,360 --> 00:17:58,840
Charlemagne was David,
referencing biblical right.

322
00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:03,680
For example, Alcuin was Horace,
Theodulf was Pindar...

323
00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:07,720
Alcuin, what do you say about
the position of temporal

324
00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:09,280
and spiritual powers?

325
00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:11,400
It should rather be imagined as

326
00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:13,600
a reconstruction

327
00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:16,240
of the entourages
of Roman emperors.

328
00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:18,520
A very knowledgeable circle

329
00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,880
in which culture is displayed
for the sake of it.

330
00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:28,720
Charlemagne's court
was the origin

331
00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:30,840
of a big political project.

332
00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:34,240
In the late 8th century,

333
00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,120
the West was broken into
a mosaic of peoples

334
00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:38,960
descended from
barbarian invasions.

335
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:45,480
Charlemagne dreamed of uniting
these diverse groups

336
00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:48,160
like in the time
of the Roman Empire.

337
00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:54,160
The idea of an empire,
as understood in Carolingian times,

338
00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,600
is the idea of
the 4th century empire,

339
00:18:57,760 --> 00:18:59,880
a Christian empire.

340
00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:04,880
Model emperors were
Constantine and Theodosius,

341
00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:07,160
the Christian emperors.

342
00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:12,960
There was a successor
to the Roman emperors,

343
00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:15,240
but he was in the East,
in Byzantium,

344
00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:17,880
very far from the Frankish kingdom.

345
00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:22,040
When Charlemagne
and his entourage

346
00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:24,400
thought of a western empire,

347
00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:26,680
they wanted to break
from Byzantium,

348
00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:30,960
to try to reconstruct a world
that had never existed

349
00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:33,680
But which could be called
"western Christianity".

350
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,800
Charlemagne's goal was to establish

351
00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:39,760
a Christian society

352
00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,680
as widely as he could.

353
00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:48,480
The thought
he'd been chosen by God

354
00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,520
not only him,
but the Frankish people,

355
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:56,160
to create the city of God of Earth.

356
00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:58,400
Christianisation was

357
00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:00,840
central to Charlemagne's campaign.

358
00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:02,760
His Christianisation

359
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,320
wasn't simply preaching,

360
00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:08,960
sending missionaries.

361
00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,680
He did not use good apostles.

362
00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:12,680
Charlemagne

363
00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,440
implemented the project,
the idea, with fire

364
00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:17,840
and steel.

365
00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:38,600
The Palatine Chapel in Aachen

366
00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:40,720
dates from the end of his reign.

367
00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,840
It is like Charlemagne's
political self-portrait,

368
00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:46,400
Frankish king and Christian king.

369
00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:52,680
Around the year 800,

370
00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:56,440
was the biggest dome
north of the Alps.

371
00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:59,520
To outdo the Byzantine emperor,
his rival,

372
00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,400
Charles brought antique marble

373
00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:04,280
and porphyry columns

374
00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:07,120
from Rome and Ravenna in Italy
by ox-cart.

375
00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:15,560
Originally, this mosaic vault

376
00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:19,320
showed a majestic Christ

377
00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:21,320
at the Last Judgment.

378
00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:25,400
It was replaced in the 19th century
by this decoration

379
00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:27,400
in Neo-Byzantine style.

380
00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:31,760
I am going to show you

381
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,840
the place the sovereign went
each day

382
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:36,480
for mass.

383
00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,920
Sitting on this throne
on the 1st floor,

384
00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:42,120
Charlemagne perfectly took the role

385
00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:44,880
of intermediary between God and men

386
00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:46,520
he believed was his.

387
00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:50,880
From up there,

388
00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:53,400
he had an ideal observation point

389
00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,560
for overseeing the liturgy.

390
00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:01,920
King of the Franks, emperor,

391
00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:04,560
He was God's only lieutenant
on Earth.

392
00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:08,240
At his birth around 742,

393
00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,520
Charles' destiny was
far from being mapped out.

394
00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,440
The imperial crown
was barely a dream.

395
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,120
In a Frankish monarchy,

396
00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:19,040
where legitimacy
has a fragile basis,

397
00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:21,840
he had to impose himself
from the very start.

398
00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:26,720
At the end of his childhood,

399
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,120
young Charles received his "spatha",
a Frankish warrior's sword

400
00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:32,240
during a solemn ceremony.

401
00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:34,520
This was

402
00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:37,880
a fundamental step
on the path to royal power.

403
00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,840
May my enemies fear this sword!

404
00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:46,160
It's possible

405
00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:49,640
Charles proved himself promising
from a young age.

406
00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:54,720
It was a society where
you did important things young,

407
00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:57,760
because life was short.

408
00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:00,920
The exact circumstances

409
00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:03,720
of Charlemagne's birth
are uncertain.

410
00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:09,240
The year was 742 or 748.

411
00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:11,720
As for the place,

412
00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,640
it might have been Quierzy,
a village in the Oise valley.

413
00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:22,000
In the 8th century,

414
00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:24,680
there was
a Carolingian palace here.

415
00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:26,360
Charlemagne was perhaps

416
00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:28,960
born there during a court visit.

417
00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:38,120
Legend has it that Charlemagne
was born here on Easter Monday.

418
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,520
It's nice to think
he chose to be born at Easter

419
00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:43,880
and to have

420
00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:45,400
the career he then had.

421
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:50,880
According to the estate's owner,
the Carolingian villa was

422
00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:53,160
where this little manor is.

423
00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:58,560
We think the building was big,

424
00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:02,040
surrounded by gardens,
vegetable patches,

425
00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:06,160
to provide food for royal visits.

426
00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:11,640
These villas were
rich farmers' estates,

427
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:13,880
princely stud farms.

428
00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:16,920
They were big one-storey houses,

429
00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:18,960
thatched rooves, shingle rooves.

430
00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:21,560
Sometimes stone foundations.

431
00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:23,800
They were very rustic.

432
00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:31,360
Charles' parents were
Pepin the Short and

433
00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:34,280
Bertrada of Laon,
"Bertha Broadfoot".

434
00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:37,560
He grew up at court

435
00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,440
and followed his father on outings.

436
00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:44,400
At court, you'd learn to hunt,

437
00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,560
to fight, to receive ambassadors,

438
00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:49,240
to play the part,

439
00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,800
to say the right things
at the right time.

440
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,320
It was a more political education
than at a monastery.

441
00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:59,280
Charles had to be well prepared

442
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,760
since the dynasty was fragile.

443
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:05,240
His father had just
taken royal power.

444
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:11,880
Charlemagne was
a son of amateurs.

445
00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:14,800
When he was born,
his father wasn't king.

446
00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:16,960
All his life, Charlemagne

447
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:19,800
had a major problem:

448
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,720
his family was not a royal family.

449
00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:27,800
Young Charles belonged
to an Austrasian line,

450
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,960
the Pippinides,
going back to the 7th century.

451
00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:34,600
These aristocrats were
mayors of the palace,

452
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:36,680
the equivalent of prime ministers.

453
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,960
The most famous of them
was Charlemagne's grandfather,

454
00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:44,040
Charles Martel.

455
00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:49,240
The mayor of the palace
managed the king's house.

456
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:51,560
He controlled all resources.

457
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:54,800
He could command the army
in place of the king,

458
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,960
he could dispense justice
in place of the king.

459
00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:00,040
He could stand in for

460
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,000
the king.

461
00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:07,640
Charles Martel got his name
from the arm he used, a type of

462
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:12,200
hammer with which
he crushed his enemies.

463
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:16,400
In the 730s,

464
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,400
his grandfather faced
a new kind of threat:

465
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:22,960
Arab troops from Spain.

466
00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:25,440
They were Muslim, and they made

467
00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:28,200
forays far within
the Frankish kingdom.

468
00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:33,360
Charles Martel feared

469
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,240
dechristianisation of the south

470
00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:38,320
of the Frankish kingdom.

471
00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:40,640
He said,
"If we let them settle,

472
00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:43,680
"the Frankish kingdom
won't be Christian."

473
00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:45,920
He really feared that.

474
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:51,520
In Poitiers, in 732,

475
00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:54,360
there was a legendary battle

476
00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:57,320
which put Charles Martel
down in history.

477
00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,680
It is uncertain
whether Charles Martel

478
00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:09,400
stopped an invasion.

479
00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:15,560
It's clear that
the Arab army at Poitiers

480
00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:17,320
wasn't there to conquer.

481
00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:19,720
It wasn't big enough for that.

482
00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,240
It was looking for spoils.

483
00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:27,760
We don't know if it was
a real battle or a skirmish.

484
00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:28,720
What is sure

485
00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:32,280
is that Charles Martel
made the most of the event

486
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,480
by informing nearby powers,
notably the papacy,

487
00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:37,680
of a great victory
over the Arabs.

488
00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:40,800
The victory at Poitiers legitimised

489
00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:42,640
the quest for the throne.

490
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:49,040
Charles Martel
never reached the throne.

491
00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:52,680
His son Pepin,
a mayor of the palace,

492
00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:57,080
dethroned Childeric III,
the last Merovingian,

493
00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:58,760
in 751,

494
00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,440
using an unusual strategy.

495
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:04,200
To give

496
00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:08,240
the deposition
a somewhat legitimate air,

497
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:11,080
Pepin the Short
called upon the pope.

498
00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:14,400
He sent an ambassador
to pope Zachary

499
00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:15,480
to ask

500
00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:16,960
to be called king.

501
00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:21,280
He wouldn't have sent to Rome
if he didn't know the answer.

502
00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:25,760
Best that the kingdom belong to
he who holds the power,

503
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,000
than he who
no longer has any authority.

504
00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,320
Pepin didn't have to speak twice.

505
00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:34,120
The next year, 751,

506
00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:36,400
he was crowned
king of the Franks

507
00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:39,080
and side-lined
the last Merovingian.

508
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:42,000
This started

509
00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:43,640
a long-lasting alliance

510
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:45,880
between the papacy
and the Carolingian dynasty.

511
00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:50,440
In the mid-8th century, Rome,
hemmed in by the Lombard kingdom,

512
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:52,960
wanted to assert its statehood.

513
00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:55,440
In exchange
for spiritual legitimacy,

514
00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:58,000
the pope asked
the king of the Franks

515
00:28:58,200 --> 00:28:59,400
to be his military arm.

516
00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:01,560
The papacy could only regain

517
00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:05,680
its position with the help
of a political and military power.

518
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:08,840
The popes did not get this
from the Lombards.

519
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,880
They looked to Byzantium,
but it was too far.

520
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:16,960
So they took the closest,
worthiest and strongest.

521
00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:19,560
This man was
the king of the Franks.

522
00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:26,440
In 754,
the alliance became stronger.

523
00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:30,120
The pope crossed the Alps
to flee the Lombards,

524
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:31,960
and joined Pepin's court.

525
00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:36,560
It was the first trip by a pope
out of Italy and let Charles

526
00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,360
play a political role
for the first time.

527
00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:42,920
It was an important event.

528
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,400
Pope Stephen II
arrived in Ponthion

529
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:49,840
after being greeted in Champagne
by little Charles,

530
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:50,920
later Charlemagne,

531
00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,760
who had been sent ahead.

532
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,560
In the name of my father,
King Pepin,

533
00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:58,960
you are welcome
to the Kingdom of the Franks.

534
00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,760
Going to welcome the pope,
whom he'd be told

535
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:04,280
was perhaps

536
00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:07,680
the most holy person
in the Christian world,

537
00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,600
is undoubtedly

538
00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:12,720
one of the things

539
00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:17,840
that marked him
most deeply as a child.

540
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:21,680
The pope's visit

541
00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:24,960
included a major event
for the Frankish monarchy:

542
00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,120
anointing of Pepin the Short.

543
00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:29,280
It took place

544
00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:31,360
at Saint-Dennis abbey.

545
00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:37,720
It was in some ways
the centre of power.

546
00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:40,280
Parcels of land all over Europe

547
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,680
belonged to Saint Dennis abbeys.

548
00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:43,840
It had very important

549
00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:47,120
temporal and symbolic power.

550
00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,480
Saint Dennis was the patron saint

551
00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:52,560
of the Merovingian dynasty

552
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,280
and became more important

553
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:56,840
during the Carolingian period.

554
00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,400
All Frankish aristocracy was there,

555
00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:03,280
the anointment
used a new ceremony

556
00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:09,720
inspired by Visigoth rituals
and the ordination of bishops.

557
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:14,040
Holy Oil was put on certain

558
00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:17,400
parts of the bodies of
Pepin the Short,

559
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:21,040
on Charlemagne,
his 12-year-old son,

560
00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,080
and on Carloman,
his 3-year-old son.

561
00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:25,560
It was a way to say

562
00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:29,080
that these kings are like
Old Testament kings.

563
00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,280
They are in a way
God's chosen ones on Earth.

564
00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:33,360
It was the 1st

565
00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:35,720
anointing of a Frankish king.

566
00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:38,040
So it was a big event.

567
00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:41,600
It wasn't Pepin the person
who became holy,

568
00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:43,360
but all the dynasty.

569
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,560
The pope's support,
the 1st anointment,

570
00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:47,920
so now,

571
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:51,280
the Carolingian claim
could not be questioned.

572
00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:55,320
At his death in 768,

573
00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:58,800
Pepin left
a privileged alliance with the pope

574
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,440
and half a kingdom
to each of his sons:

575
00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:06,840
the arc from the south-west
to the north to Charlemagne,

576
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,080
and the inner zone to Carloman.

577
00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:13,680
It's said that Pepin had planned

578
00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:18,520
the brothers' capitals
to be Noyon and Soissons,

579
00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,760
towns which are close together,

580
00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:22,960
so that they could

581
00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:24,360
collaborate.

582
00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:26,920
There was no project to collaborate,

583
00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:29,360
even during the 1st year.

584
00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:34,800
There had always been a rivalry

585
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,440
between the two brothers.

586
00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:38,640
One person prevented fighting,

587
00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:40,840
their mother, Bertrada.

588
00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:43,800
Bertha seems to have wanted

589
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:45,880
to practice a sort of regency

590
00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,440
when Pepin the Short died in 768.

591
00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:54,560
She did everything to keep the peace
between her children.

592
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:56,520
Bertrada was probably

593
00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:59,480
the reason
that war did not break out.

594
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,280
While you are with me, mother,
I need not fear my brother.

595
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:06,720
I will always support you,
my dear son.

596
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:09,920
Charlemagne loved
his mother dearly.

597
00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:14,680
There was only one disagreement
between Charlemagne

598
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:15,680
and his mother,

599
00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:17,840
when she wanted him

600
00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:20,720
to marry
the Lombard king's daughter.

601
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:24,240
Bertrada wanted peace with Italy.

602
00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:27,840
She got Charlemagne
to marry one of King Didier's

603
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:29,400
daughters.

604
00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:33,160
Please let me introduce
my daughter, Desiderata.

605
00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:39,560
At first, Charlemagne
obeyed his mother

606
00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:43,120
and abandoned
his first love Himiltrude.

607
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:46,200
His Lombard marriage was short.

608
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:48,920
Pushed by Frankish aristocrats,

609
00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:51,000
the king changed tactics.

610
00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:55,400
She was soon abandoned

611
00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:59,120
because Charlemagne had decided
to fight the Lombards.

612
00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:02,720
The alliance with the Lombards
led to failure

613
00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:06,200
and Charlemagne's
wish to take charge

614
00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:08,360
and distance from his mother.

615
00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:12,640
He broke relations with Bertrada.

616
00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:15,680
I, Charles,
king of all the Franks,

617
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:18,880
will now make
all important decisions alone.

618
00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:22,400
Charles removed his mother
from court,

619
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:26,200
and there was nothing
to prevent conflict with his brother.

620
00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:36,080
Tensions climaxed
during a revolt in Aquitaine,

621
00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:37,760
in Charles' kingdom.

622
00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:48,840
Charlemagne raised an army

623
00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:53,400
to fight the Aquitaines
and subdue them,

624
00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:55,040
and he expected

625
00:34:55,240 --> 00:34:56,600
his brothers' help

626
00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:57,760
which never came.

627
00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:00,080
It was a serious political shot.

628
00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:04,360
It must be said,
it seemed like treason.

629
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:11,240
The brotherly war was only prevented
by an unexpected event:

630
00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:12,480
Carloman's death.

631
00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:15,840
Aged only 20,

632
00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:19,400
he left a widow, two sons

633
00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:21,240
and many questions.

634
00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:24,200
Carloman

635
00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:27,080
had bled a lot from his nose.

636
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:31,560
The origin of this could have been
a violent poison

637
00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:34,560
administered by someone
in his entourage,

638
00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:37,520
perhaps on Charlemagne's orders,

639
00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:42,320
without this ever being proved
in writing.

640
00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:45,720
Whatever it was, he died

641
00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:49,560
at a good time,
enabling Charlemagne to immediately

642
00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:51,120
invade his territories,

643
00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:54,480
to be hailed as king
in his brother's capital

644
00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:59,240
and to completely ignore the rights
his nephews, Carloman's sons,

645
00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:02,080
had to his territory.

646
00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:08,120
In 771, aged 29,
Charlemagne was the only person

647
00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:11,320
leading the reunified
Frankish kingdom.

648
00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:36,360
I am now in Reims,

649
00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:37,960
the coronation town,

650
00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:41,480
in the former archbishops' palace
adjoining the cathedral,

651
00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:42,760
the Palace of Tau.

652
00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:44,840
The building was here

653
00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:48,200
in Charlemagne's time,
and finished under Louis XIV.

654
00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:54,080
We're entering
the coronation of the Virgin room.

655
00:36:54,240 --> 00:36:56,440
Emperor Charlemagne is probably

656
00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:00,200
amongst these gigantic kings.

657
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:06,720
The Palace of Tau
also has a treasure:

658
00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:10,400
several objects
given by kings of France

659
00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:12,040
when they were crowned.

660
00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:16,360
They are usually displayed
behind glass,

661
00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:19,120
but today
we have the rare privilege

662
00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:21,880
of seeing them up close.

663
00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:25,560
This sumptuous reliquary
of the Resurrection

664
00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,400
was given by Henry II in 1547.

665
00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:31,280
You can see Jesus leaving his tomb

666
00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:34,000
surrounded by
sleeping Roman soldiers.

667
00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:40,320
Here is Saint Ursula's ship,

668
00:37:40,520 --> 00:37:44,120
given by King Henry III
to the Archbishop of Reims.

669
00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:50,440
Here is
an extraordinary unique object.

670
00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:53,000
It supposedly belonged
to Charlemagne.

671
00:37:53,240 --> 00:37:55,880
It is his talisman,
a piece of jewellery

672
00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:57,960
with gold, pearls,

673
00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:01,400
emeralds and sapphires,
that he wore around his neck.

674
00:38:01,640 --> 00:38:04,800
This masterpiece
of Carolingian goldsmithery

675
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:06,560
has a reliquary inset

676
00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:08,840
the sovereign always
kept with him.

677
00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:12,640
According to legend,
it holds a piece

678
00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:13,960
of the True Cross.

679
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:15,960
In 1166,

680
00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:19,720
the emperor of Germany found it
on Charlemagne's corpse.

681
00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:23,520
It was a gift from Caliph
Haroun al-Rachid of Bagdad,

682
00:38:23,720 --> 00:38:27,240
with whom Charlemagne had
a friendly relationship,

683
00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:29,240
despite the distance.

684
00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:33,720
We will now discover
another side to Charlemagne,

685
00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:35,040
the war leader.

686
00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:38,160
During most of his reign,

687
00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:42,160
he was constantly making war
to consolidate, enlarge

688
00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:44,080
and unify his territory.

689
00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:51,920
For the Franks,

690
00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:54,760
the king should hold his sword,
even if he didn't fight,

691
00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:56,800
but he had to be
on the battlefield.

692
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:00,640
He could not have been king

693
00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:02,800
if he'd stayed in his palace.

694
00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:04,280
If he wasn't there,

695
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:07,200
his legitimacy would be damaged,

696
00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:08,920
perhaps even wiped out.

697
00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:14,400
Contrary to what you might think,
Charlemagne

698
00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:17,000
was not really a conqueror.

699
00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:19,240
I'd say he didn't deliberately

700
00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:21,240
try to seize

701
00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:23,120
territories just to enlarge

702
00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:25,280
the Frankish kingdom.

703
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:27,200
His aim was to consolidate

704
00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:30,720
his kingdom or his empire.

705
00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:33,520
In his quest for unity,

706
00:39:33,720 --> 00:39:37,160
Charlemagne first had to eliminate
his main rival,

707
00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:39,920
the Lombard king Didier,

708
00:39:40,120 --> 00:39:42,920
who dreamed
of commanding the pope.

709
00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:47,000
Charles crossed the Alps
and invaded Lombardy.

710
00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:51,720
The Carolingian army was organised.

711
00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:56,440
It was quite big
and had a powerful

712
00:39:56,640 --> 00:39:57,920
heavy cavalry unit.

713
00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:02,440
The Carolingians rapidly occupied

714
00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:04,160
all northern Italy,

715
00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:05,600
because no one could fight

716
00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:07,720
the Carolingian cavalry.

717
00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:13,040
The Franks made King Didier
take refuge in his capital,

718
00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:14,080
Pavia.

719
00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:20,360
The cavalry battle gave way
to a drawn-out siege.

720
00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:23,240
This gave the king a chance

721
00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:26,320
to go on his 1st pilgrimage
to Rome, the heart

722
00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:28,280
of the Christian world.

723
00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:32,240
The ancient city
of Roman emperors

724
00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:34,320
amazed him.

725
00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:35,800
The city was

726
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:37,520
partly abandoned,

727
00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:40,720
with monuments that were
partly maintained.

728
00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:46,400
The material power it had lost,
it conserved

729
00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:48,080
in spiritual influence.

730
00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:51,800
The city of the papacy remained

731
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:54,240
the city of Saint Peter
and Saint Paul.

732
00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:57,040
All the great churches
and Roman basilicas

733
00:40:57,200 --> 00:40:58,320
were still there.

734
00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:04,000
He would have
climbed to St Peter's

735
00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:05,720
kissing every step.

736
00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:08,440
So he practically climbed
on his knees.

737
00:41:09,240 --> 00:41:10,760
His meeting with Adrian I

738
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:13,280
was an extraordinary moment
for Charlemagne,

739
00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:15,640
who met the pope,

740
00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:19,480
the reputed heir
to all imperial history.

741
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:22,040
Adrian I, like any pope

742
00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:23,200
at the time,

743
00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:26,280
came from very high
aristocratic nobility.

744
00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:30,400
There was an air of spiritual
and intellectual authority

745
00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:32,080
to this young man.

746
00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:34,280
After paying
his respects to the pope,

747
00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:36,440
Charles performed his devotion

748
00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:38,280
to Saint Peter of Rome.

749
00:41:39,120 --> 00:41:42,800
Saint Peter's tomb
has a magical power

750
00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:44,920
that gives off energy

751
00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:47,080
unknown elsewhere.

752
00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:51,120
Adrian I intended
to use Charles

753
00:41:51,280 --> 00:41:53,440
to be freed of the Lombards,

754
00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:56,840
and the king of the Franks
realised for the 1st time

755
00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:59,600
what the title of emperor meant.

756
00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:02,080
What he would have noticed

757
00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:04,040
during his pilgrimage to Rome

758
00:42:04,240 --> 00:42:08,920
is Rome as the source
and head of Christianity.

759
00:42:09,080 --> 00:42:10,200
That would have been

760
00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:12,040
very striking.

761
00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:13,680
It's obvious

762
00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:18,040
that seeing Rome
gave Charlemagne

763
00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:19,200
the imperial idea

764
00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:23,600
that took hold in his mind

765
00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:24,840
in the 790s.

766
00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:31,280
Things were ending in Lombardy.

767
00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:35,000
A few weeks later,
Pavia fell into Frankish hands.

768
00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:39,040
He captured the Lombard King,

769
00:42:39,280 --> 00:42:41,400
and put him away in a monastery.

770
00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:45,440
He also seized his nephews,
who had taken refuge there.

771
00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:48,680
They soon disappear
from the records.

772
00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:50,000
It seems

773
00:42:50,240 --> 00:42:53,240
that they were put to death
by Charlemagne.

774
00:42:54,760 --> 00:42:55,560
Charlemagne,

775
00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:59,760
obviously, could be a little worried
about would become

776
00:42:59,960 --> 00:43:01,480
of his nephews

777
00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:05,160
since they could claim
half the kingdom, by Frankish law,

778
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:06,680
but there is no reason

779
00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:11,840
to think he got rid of them
using violence,

780
00:43:12,080 --> 00:43:15,320
although all trace of them
does disappear.

781
00:43:16,920 --> 00:43:19,280
One western monarchy
with a claim to

782
00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:23,040
some of the Frankish kingdom
remained: the Lombards,

783
00:43:23,240 --> 00:43:24,720
an old, eminent people.

784
00:43:24,920 --> 00:43:26,920
By becoming
king of the Lombards,

785
00:43:27,080 --> 00:43:28,840
taking the crown by force,

786
00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:32,800
in 774, he became
the Byzantine emperor's only rival.

787
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:39,480
Another major undertaking,

788
00:43:40,080 --> 00:43:42,960
was Spain,
then under Arab domination.

789
00:43:44,600 --> 00:43:48,760
In 777, the emir of Zaragoza,
in conflict with his sovereign,

790
00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:51,480
went to Charlemagne
to ask for his support

791
00:43:51,720 --> 00:43:54,600
and give him the keys to his city.

792
00:43:56,800 --> 00:43:58,480
He seems to have made

793
00:43:58,680 --> 00:44:00,000
this trip

794
00:44:00,200 --> 00:44:04,200
to consolidate the borders

795
00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:07,080
of his kingdom in the Pyrenees.

796
00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:08,720
Charlemagne

797
00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:11,960
had not planned
a conquest of Spain,

798
00:44:12,120 --> 00:44:16,320
but the possibility
had been handed to him on a plate.

799
00:44:16,480 --> 00:44:18,240
As usual,

800
00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:21,080
even though he had no plan,
he agreed.

801
00:44:21,640 --> 00:44:22,880
Only, at Zaragoza,

802
00:44:23,080 --> 00:44:25,040
the emir had been replaced

803
00:44:25,200 --> 00:44:27,040
and the doors were closed.

804
00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:32,240
Charlemagne had with him

805
00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:36,240
great lords, aristocrats

806
00:44:36,440 --> 00:44:39,080
who had taken part
in the expedition

807
00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:42,960
to take something home.

808
00:44:43,200 --> 00:44:45,880
Since they couldn't
take Zaragoza,

809
00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:47,720
to not return empty-handed,

810
00:44:47,920 --> 00:44:51,320
they went to Pamplona.

811
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:55,920
The Franks pillaged the city,

812
00:44:56,400 --> 00:44:58,800
albeit Christian,
and razed its walls.

813
00:45:04,560 --> 00:45:06,640
Then they returned to Austrasia.

814
00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:11,160
An unplanned event
that is integral

815
00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:13,800
to the legend of Charlemagne
occurred.

816
00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:17,360
Charlemagne's army was slow.

817
00:45:18,160 --> 00:45:19,360
It was

818
00:45:19,560 --> 00:45:22,640
accompanied by
hundreds of ox-carts

819
00:45:22,800 --> 00:45:24,640
carrying equipment.

820
00:45:24,840 --> 00:45:28,080
So it fragmented along the roads.

821
00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:31,680
Crossing back over the Pyrenees,
at Roncevaux pass,

822
00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:34,320
the army's rear-guard

823
00:45:34,520 --> 00:45:36,160
was attacked,

824
00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:37,760
not by Saracens,

825
00:45:37,960 --> 00:45:39,680
but by Basques

826
00:45:39,920 --> 00:45:42,960
who protected the region,
and the Basques

827
00:45:43,160 --> 00:45:45,000
annihilated the rear-guard.

828
00:45:47,560 --> 00:45:50,520
A dozen aristocrats
were killed in the skirmish,

829
00:45:50,760 --> 00:45:53,880
including Roland,
count of the Breton border,

830
00:45:54,040 --> 00:45:56,480
immortalised 200 years later

831
00:45:56,680 --> 00:45:58,800
in the well-known Song of Roland,

832
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:01,120
written during the 1st crusade.

833
00:46:02,240 --> 00:46:03,440
The Song of Roland,

834
00:46:03,680 --> 00:46:06,160
in the 10th and 11th centuries,
made the attack

835
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:11,080
into an heroic combat

836
00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:14,920
almost Homer-esque,
opposing Franks and Muslims,

837
00:46:15,080 --> 00:46:17,080
not Franks and Basques.

838
00:46:17,960 --> 00:46:21,120
It was
a completely different context,

839
00:46:21,240 --> 00:46:23,000
involving opposition

840
00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:25,120
between Muslims and Christians,

841
00:46:25,240 --> 00:46:27,120
and so,

842
00:46:27,320 --> 00:46:29,480
this episode could show

843
00:46:29,720 --> 00:46:33,720
Charlemagne to be
the first crusader,

844
00:46:33,880 --> 00:46:35,360
in a certain way,

845
00:46:36,640 --> 00:46:39,960
although religion
had nothing to do with it.

846
00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:44,960
The failure in Spain
had an unexpected result:

847
00:46:45,200 --> 00:46:47,800
the Christian Charlemagne
became close to

848
00:46:47,960 --> 00:46:49,520
the Caliph of Bagdad,

849
00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:51,800
a rival of the Muslims of Spain.

850
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:56,440
Caliphe Haroun al-Rachid
sent precious objects

851
00:46:56,680 --> 00:46:59,960
to Charlemagne,
to seal their good

852
00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:01,200
relationship.

853
00:47:01,720 --> 00:47:03,960
He sent an armillary sphere.

854
00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:09,960
Haroun al-Rachid sent
a truly splendid

855
00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:12,960
hydraulic clock, with knights

856
00:47:13,160 --> 00:47:15,600
which came out
to mark the hour.

857
00:47:16,600 --> 00:47:19,720
He also sent an elephant.

858
00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:22,120
It was called

859
00:47:22,720 --> 00:47:23,520
Abul-Abbas.

860
00:47:23,720 --> 00:47:27,120
Charlemagne never thought of
changing its name.

861
00:47:27,520 --> 00:47:30,600
He received a gift
from the caliph of Bagdad,

862
00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:32,240
so he was very proud of it.

863
00:47:34,520 --> 00:47:38,160
There is a striking imbalance
between Charlemagne's gifts

864
00:47:38,320 --> 00:47:40,760
and Haroun al-Rachid's.

865
00:47:40,960 --> 00:47:43,800
Against the elephant
and the hydraulic clock,

866
00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:46,800
Charlemagne sent horses, dogs,

867
00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:48,400
some chainmail coats,

868
00:47:48,560 --> 00:47:51,440
but nothing elaborate.

869
00:47:56,240 --> 00:47:59,120
Charlemagne's politics
of territorial unification

870
00:47:59,240 --> 00:48:00,800
included regaining

871
00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:03,600
areas formerly
under Frankish control,

872
00:48:04,560 --> 00:48:07,960
particularly Saxony,
a land of swamps and forests,

873
00:48:08,120 --> 00:48:09,800
the last pagan stronghold

874
00:48:10,040 --> 00:48:11,320
in western Europe.

875
00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:15,400
A large part of the Saxon population
worshipped

876
00:48:15,600 --> 00:48:16,680
natural elements,

877
00:48:16,880 --> 00:48:19,360
meaning trees, rocks, the sky.

878
00:48:20,840 --> 00:48:24,520
In the heart of Saxony,
the Saxons venerated

879
00:48:25,080 --> 00:48:26,760
what they called Irminsul.

880
00:48:27,240 --> 00:48:29,640
This was a gigantic tree

881
00:48:29,800 --> 00:48:31,960
which was supposedly

882
00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:34,520
the base of the sky on Earth.

883
00:48:35,880 --> 00:48:38,160
The tree was important to Germanic

884
00:48:38,360 --> 00:48:39,240
beliefs.

885
00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:40,480
It was a divinity.

886
00:48:40,640 --> 00:48:42,920
The biggest tree in the forest.

887
00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:44,120
For Charlemagne,

888
00:48:44,320 --> 00:48:45,760
they were Christ's enemies,

889
00:48:45,920 --> 00:48:47,920
who had no right to live.

890
00:48:48,160 --> 00:48:51,480
When they didn't convert,
he was worse than anything.

891
00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:54,120
The first thing Charlemagne did

892
00:48:54,320 --> 00:48:56,080
was to cut down the Irminsul,

893
00:48:56,640 --> 00:48:57,960
to show the Saxons

894
00:48:58,640 --> 00:49:01,240
the emptiness of their faith

895
00:49:01,400 --> 00:49:02,760
compared with Christianity.

896
00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:09,640
With the Irminsul down,

897
00:49:09,840 --> 00:49:12,680
Christianisation could begin.

898
00:49:12,960 --> 00:49:15,800
The only effective tool
was the Church,

899
00:49:16,040 --> 00:49:18,360
because it was in every parish.

900
00:49:18,520 --> 00:49:20,040
Charlemagne ordered

901
00:49:20,280 --> 00:49:23,400
a massive unification
of the population by forced baptism.

902
00:49:23,880 --> 00:49:25,680
Charlemagne imposed baptism

903
00:49:26,080 --> 00:49:28,400
on pain of death,

904
00:49:29,280 --> 00:49:31,640
much to the concern of the Church,

905
00:49:31,840 --> 00:49:34,760
who thought forced baptism
an aberration.

906
00:49:37,080 --> 00:49:39,360
This policy created
fierce resistance

907
00:49:39,520 --> 00:49:41,120
among the Saxons,

908
00:49:41,280 --> 00:49:44,640
personified in a charismatic chief,
Widukind.

909
00:49:45,080 --> 00:49:46,480
Widukind's strategy

910
00:49:46,720 --> 00:49:49,920
was to let Charlemagne
penetrate into Saxony

911
00:49:50,080 --> 00:49:51,240
during warm days.

912
00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:53,360
Eventually,

913
00:49:53,560 --> 00:49:55,960
they submitted,
but only as a ruse,

914
00:49:56,120 --> 00:49:58,040
and when winter came,

915
00:49:58,240 --> 00:50:00,520
they killed

916
00:50:00,760 --> 00:50:03,360
the few remaining Franks.

917
00:50:04,120 --> 00:50:06,080
Meaning that the next spring,

918
00:50:06,280 --> 00:50:09,240
Charlemagne had to do it all again.

919
00:50:10,160 --> 00:50:12,800
Faced with these tactics
on difficult ground,

920
00:50:13,000 --> 00:50:16,760
Charlemagne adapted
by taking a hard line.

921
00:50:16,920 --> 00:50:18,200
Charlemagne

922
00:50:18,400 --> 00:50:20,960
divided his army into squads,

923
00:50:21,560 --> 00:50:25,520
and small mobile companies
which went everywhere,

924
00:50:25,760 --> 00:50:26,840
into every home.

925
00:50:27,040 --> 00:50:29,320
When they entered a home

926
00:50:29,560 --> 00:50:33,920
and thought the man of the house
would revolt,

927
00:50:34,160 --> 00:50:36,920
they simply set fire to the house.

928
00:50:38,760 --> 00:50:40,680
By revolting, they had

929
00:50:40,880 --> 00:50:44,240
broken their vow of loyalty
to Charlemagne,

930
00:50:44,400 --> 00:50:45,760
and, much more seriously,

931
00:50:45,960 --> 00:50:47,640
broke their baptismal vows,

932
00:50:47,800 --> 00:50:50,040
so they broke their word to God.

933
00:50:50,240 --> 00:50:52,600
From then on, anything goes.

934
00:50:53,160 --> 00:50:56,520
Charlemagne used many measures,
from deportation,

935
00:50:56,720 --> 00:50:59,040
to pillage and slavery.

936
00:51:00,080 --> 00:51:02,640
At Verden, in 782,

937
00:51:02,840 --> 00:51:05,320
the war seemed
to culminate in horror.

938
00:51:05,800 --> 00:51:07,560
He collected

939
00:51:07,800 --> 00:51:10,400
about 4,500 hostages,

940
00:51:10,560 --> 00:51:12,840
boys and men

941
00:51:13,120 --> 00:51:16,320
taken from villages
in southern Saxony,

942
00:51:16,560 --> 00:51:19,840
and throughout the day,
he had them all decapitated

943
00:51:20,080 --> 00:51:22,760
one by one.
4,500 people decapitated

944
00:51:23,520 --> 00:51:25,400
because of the Saxon revolt.

945
00:51:25,560 --> 00:51:26,960
It's said that

946
00:51:27,160 --> 00:51:31,240
that the water of the river
on whose banks the killing

947
00:51:31,440 --> 00:51:34,400
was carried out
turned completely red

948
00:51:34,560 --> 00:51:36,120
with blood.

949
00:51:38,960 --> 00:51:40,400
To subdue Saxony,

950
00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:43,760
Charlemagne set up
an exceptional legal code:

951
00:51:43,920 --> 00:51:45,760
the Saxon ordinances.

952
00:51:46,720 --> 00:51:49,840
"Anyone who kills a man
for sacrifice to pagan idols

953
00:51:50,040 --> 00:51:53,240
"will be condemned to death..."

954
00:51:55,720 --> 00:52:00,520
The slightest breech of Charlemagne's
orders or the Christian faith

955
00:52:00,680 --> 00:52:02,080
was punished with death.

956
00:52:02,280 --> 00:52:05,040
For example,
if you ate meat during Lent,

957
00:52:05,200 --> 00:52:06,200
you'd be executed.

958
00:52:06,440 --> 00:52:09,800
Religious crime became
political crime and vice versa,

959
00:52:09,960 --> 00:52:11,640
justifying

960
00:52:12,040 --> 00:52:13,520
even fiercer repression.

961
00:52:14,560 --> 00:52:19,520
Any attempt to recreate a nation

962
00:52:19,720 --> 00:52:22,520
was stopped with violence,
to the point that

963
00:52:22,720 --> 00:52:26,640
Charlemagne's entourage,
in particular Abbot Alcuin,

964
00:52:26,800 --> 00:52:29,480
told him he was too heavy-handed.

965
00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:32,520
It took 3 years

966
00:52:32,680 --> 00:52:35,280
for Widukind to decide, in 785,

967
00:52:35,480 --> 00:52:37,960
to give up the fight.

968
00:52:38,120 --> 00:52:38,920
He thought

969
00:52:39,160 --> 00:52:41,960
that if it kept on going
for too long,

970
00:52:42,160 --> 00:52:45,920
the last resistance
would be the last Saxons,

971
00:52:46,160 --> 00:52:49,040
and the Saxon people
would be done for.

972
00:52:52,120 --> 00:52:54,560
Widukind went
to meet Charlemagne,

973
00:52:54,800 --> 00:52:56,800
he dismounted,

974
00:52:56,960 --> 00:52:58,680
bent his knee,

975
00:52:58,920 --> 00:53:01,120
and Charlemagne kissed him.

976
00:53:01,960 --> 00:53:04,280
It ended like that.
It's symbolic.

977
00:53:04,560 --> 00:53:07,240
The period lent great importance
to symbols.

978
00:53:10,280 --> 00:53:14,680
Widukind agreed to embrace
the Christian faith,

979
00:53:14,880 --> 00:53:17,080
and his godfather
was none other

980
00:53:17,240 --> 00:53:19,480
than his victor, Charlemagne.

981
00:53:19,960 --> 00:53:22,120
Charlemagne's faith in him

982
00:53:22,320 --> 00:53:27,240
forced Widukind to keep his promise,
in a way.

983
00:53:27,520 --> 00:53:31,640
Once again,
things were slowly moving

984
00:53:31,800 --> 00:53:33,760
towards the start of feudalism.

985
00:53:38,880 --> 00:53:42,240
10 years later,
there was a 2nd Saxon ordinance,

986
00:53:42,440 --> 00:53:45,120
in which things
punished by death,

987
00:53:45,280 --> 00:53:47,480
breaking Lent, for example,

988
00:53:47,680 --> 00:53:49,400
or refusing to go to Mass,

989
00:53:49,560 --> 00:53:51,000
now led to fines.

990
00:53:51,200 --> 00:53:52,800
This undoubtedly shows

991
00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:55,680
that the Saxons
were progressively

992
00:53:55,880 --> 00:53:58,200
adopting the rules
of Christianity

993
00:53:58,400 --> 00:54:00,560
that they had been
forced to accept.

994
00:54:02,880 --> 00:54:05,400
By defeating Saxony
after 30 years of war,

995
00:54:05,560 --> 00:54:07,400
Charlemagne had managed to do

996
00:54:07,600 --> 00:54:10,120
something the Romans had not.

997
00:54:12,160 --> 00:54:14,400
This undivided victory made him

998
00:54:14,680 --> 00:54:18,400
the main defender
of Christianity.

999
00:54:50,560 --> 00:54:53,960
This tribune
in Aachen's current cathedral

1000
00:54:54,240 --> 00:54:57,680
called the "ambon",
was used to announce the Good News,

1001
00:54:57,880 --> 00:55:00,200
to read holy texts.

1002
00:55:00,400 --> 00:55:02,000
It dates from the 11th century

1003
00:55:02,240 --> 00:55:05,560
and is decorated to glorify
the 4 evangelists.

1004
00:55:08,840 --> 00:55:10,280
Set into the gilt copper

1005
00:55:10,480 --> 00:55:13,720
are several objects
made of hard stone,

1006
00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:17,000
including antique cameos,
crystal glasses,

1007
00:55:17,240 --> 00:55:19,240
and even chess pieces.

1008
00:55:23,680 --> 00:55:28,200
The gothic choir where I am now
dates from the early 15th century,

1009
00:55:28,400 --> 00:55:31,560
but Emperor Frederick II
of Hohenstaufen,

1010
00:55:31,720 --> 00:55:35,560
had Charlemagne's body put
in this silver gilt reliquary

1011
00:55:35,720 --> 00:55:37,520
2 centuries earlier.

1012
00:55:45,680 --> 00:55:49,080
It is decorated with effigies
of his descendants.

1013
00:55:49,240 --> 00:55:51,400
Holy Roman emperors

1014
00:55:51,640 --> 00:55:54,240
and Charlemagne sit at one end,

1015
00:55:54,440 --> 00:55:56,720
surrounded by the pope
and the archbishop of Reims.

1016
00:56:07,040 --> 00:56:09,560
Opposite is
another silver gilt shrine,

1017
00:56:09,760 --> 00:56:11,960
richly decorated
with precious stones,

1018
00:56:12,160 --> 00:56:14,560
holding relics
gathered by Charlemagne.

1019
00:56:14,720 --> 00:56:16,800
Tradition has it that they are

1020
00:56:17,000 --> 00:56:19,280
Mary's cloak,
Jesus' swaddling clothes,

1021
00:56:19,480 --> 00:56:21,400
John the Baptist's

1022
00:56:21,680 --> 00:56:24,640
beheading cloth,
and perizoma, the loincloth

1023
00:56:24,840 --> 00:56:27,160
Christ wore on the Cross.

1024
00:56:29,120 --> 00:56:31,960
Every 7 years,
there is a solemn ceremony

1025
00:56:32,720 --> 00:56:36,280
showing these symbols of
Christ's life to the faithful.

1026
00:56:40,720 --> 00:56:44,640
Charlemagne's reign tied in with
a real explosion in art,

1027
00:56:44,840 --> 00:56:46,400
to the point that

1028
00:56:46,600 --> 00:56:49,720
a "Carolingian Renaissance"
can be talked of.

1029
00:56:49,920 --> 00:56:52,560
Moving on from territorial conquest,

1030
00:56:52,760 --> 00:56:54,960
this was a chance
for Charlemagne

1031
00:56:55,160 --> 00:56:57,840
to take his unification of Europe
further.

1032
00:57:05,600 --> 00:57:10,000
There is a well-known song
learnt by a whole generation:

1033
00:57:10,200 --> 00:57:12,680
"Who was the fool
Who invented school?"

1034
00:57:12,880 --> 00:57:15,640
It was that Blessed Charlemagne

1035
00:57:16,400 --> 00:57:18,800
Blessed Charlemagne

1036
00:57:19,240 --> 00:57:20,680
He didn't invent school,

1037
00:57:20,880 --> 00:57:22,120
but the Romans did.

1038
00:57:22,320 --> 00:57:24,680
However
- and this is the important part -

1039
00:57:24,840 --> 00:57:26,560
Charlemagne was the first

1040
00:57:26,800 --> 00:57:30,000
for a long time to take steps

1041
00:57:30,160 --> 00:57:32,280
for education.

1042
00:57:35,360 --> 00:57:37,400
In a well-known law

1043
00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:40,680
called Admonitio generalis,

1044
00:57:40,840 --> 00:57:42,160
Charlemagne said,

1045
00:57:42,720 --> 00:57:47,080
"Let there be schools in
every monastery and every diocese."

1046
00:57:47,240 --> 00:57:50,120
Schools for boys with the calling

1047
00:57:50,360 --> 00:57:52,400
to become priests or monks,

1048
00:57:52,920 --> 00:57:54,960
those who pray
for common people

1049
00:57:55,160 --> 00:57:58,240
and those who lead
common people's religious life.

1050
00:58:00,240 --> 00:58:01,360
Gradually,

1051
00:58:02,000 --> 00:58:06,280
he asked for schools
in the big abbeys

1052
00:58:06,440 --> 00:58:07,280
to be open

1053
00:58:07,440 --> 00:58:09,680
to some noble children.

1054
00:58:12,520 --> 00:58:13,800
For Charlemagne,

1055
00:58:14,000 --> 00:58:17,520
developing school was part of
his overarching project

1056
00:58:17,720 --> 00:58:20,880
to lead the people
of his empire to salvation.

1057
00:58:22,000 --> 00:58:22,880
It involved

1058
00:58:23,160 --> 00:58:27,280
giving Christians
access to knowledge

1059
00:58:27,480 --> 00:58:30,280
and, obviously,
access to the ultimate text,

1060
00:58:30,440 --> 00:58:31,960
the Bible.

1061
00:58:32,160 --> 00:58:35,160
All of the "Carolingian Renaissance"

1062
00:58:35,440 --> 00:58:38,880
concerns knowledge
about the Bible

1063
00:58:39,080 --> 00:58:40,320
and about God.

1064
00:58:42,000 --> 00:58:45,800
To better understand God, rhetoric,

1065
00:58:46,000 --> 00:58:50,680
arithmetic, music and especially
Latin and its grammar are taught.

1066
00:58:50,880 --> 00:58:55,560
The basic book
for learning, reading,

1067
00:58:55,760 --> 00:58:59,280
writing, is the Biblical book
of 150 psalms,

1068
00:58:59,480 --> 00:59:02,240
150 prayers in poetic form.

1069
00:59:02,440 --> 00:59:06,560
You'd start by learning
the book of psalms by heart,

1070
00:59:06,720 --> 00:59:08,400
by learning it by heart,

1071
00:59:08,600 --> 00:59:11,400
singing it, then reading it,
then writing it.

1072
00:59:11,560 --> 00:59:13,800
The teacher used a stick.

1073
00:59:13,960 --> 00:59:15,080
One wrong answer,

1074
00:59:15,280 --> 00:59:17,680
and you'd be hit
on your head or fingers.

1075
00:59:19,200 --> 00:59:21,840
By training clerks,
Charlemagne

1076
00:59:22,040 --> 00:59:24,320
was trying to renew the liturgy,

1077
00:59:24,560 --> 00:59:26,880
the rituals
of religious celebrations.

1078
00:59:27,520 --> 00:59:29,560
Liturgy was at the heart of

1079
00:59:29,800 --> 00:59:31,960
his cultural unification policy.

1080
00:59:32,760 --> 00:59:35,600
In Gaul, there were
various traditions.

1081
00:59:35,880 --> 00:59:38,520
Mass in Aquitaine
was not the same

1082
00:59:38,680 --> 00:59:40,400
as that said in the north.

1083
00:59:40,560 --> 00:59:41,880
There were variants.

1084
00:59:42,600 --> 00:59:45,800
These variants were
a sign of dispersion.

1085
00:59:45,960 --> 00:59:46,960
It was Babylon.

1086
00:59:48,280 --> 00:59:49,160
If you pray

1087
00:59:49,440 --> 00:59:53,240
to God in different ways,
which is right?

1088
00:59:54,720 --> 00:59:59,040
If you celebrate Mass
following the rules

1089
00:59:59,280 --> 01:00:00,800
of quality

1090
01:00:00,960 --> 01:00:01,840
and devotion,

1091
01:00:02,040 --> 01:00:04,680
then God will give you
His blessing,

1092
01:00:04,840 --> 01:00:06,680
and the Franks will triumph.

1093
01:00:07,840 --> 01:00:11,840
Charlemagne collected manuscripts
that seemed important to him,

1094
01:00:12,000 --> 01:00:14,440
in particular
about the words of Mass,

1095
01:00:14,640 --> 01:00:17,120
he even asked
the pope about it.

1096
01:00:21,800 --> 01:00:24,560
Charlemagne tried to
unify the liturgy

1097
01:00:25,160 --> 01:00:27,240
surrounding Gregorian chant,

1098
01:00:27,440 --> 01:00:30,560
in theory dating back
to pope Gregory I.

1099
01:00:30,680 --> 01:00:31,520
In reality,

1100
01:00:31,720 --> 01:00:34,560
it was quite new
and knowledgeable.

1101
01:00:34,760 --> 01:00:36,280
It could no longer

1102
01:00:36,480 --> 01:00:38,840
be sung by ordinary people.

1103
01:00:41,800 --> 01:00:44,680
The first essays
on musicology emerged,

1104
01:00:44,840 --> 01:00:46,280
with musical notation

1105
01:00:46,440 --> 01:00:48,440
starting to look like ours.

1106
01:00:53,200 --> 01:00:56,280
In practice,
the unification of liturgy led to

1107
01:00:56,440 --> 01:00:59,320
an extraordinary
renewal of sacred arts,

1108
01:00:59,520 --> 01:01:01,400
notably goldsmithery.

1109
01:01:02,560 --> 01:01:03,840
Goudji,

1110
01:01:04,040 --> 01:01:07,880
a modern goldsmith of Georgian
origin, takes inspiration from

1111
01:01:08,040 --> 01:01:10,400
8th century craftsmen.

1112
01:01:10,600 --> 01:01:13,160
I had the privilege
of being asked

1113
01:01:13,800 --> 01:01:17,320
to create these 3 objects:
the baptismal basin,

1114
01:01:17,560 --> 01:01:19,840
the paschal candlestick
and an ewer.

1115
01:01:20,000 --> 01:01:23,720
They are used
for the baptism ceremony.

1116
01:01:26,920 --> 01:01:30,120
For example,
Jean-Paul II baptised several adults

1117
01:01:30,320 --> 01:01:32,840
in this baptismal basin.

1118
01:01:37,280 --> 01:01:40,840
These 3 objects are made from
copper repoussé,

1119
01:01:41,000 --> 01:01:43,120
so tin-plate copper.

1120
01:01:43,360 --> 01:01:45,960
See the applied stones.

1121
01:01:46,120 --> 01:01:49,440
Each stone is symbolic.

1122
01:01:49,640 --> 01:01:53,600
Obviously, red is
the colour of sacrifice.

1123
01:01:54,320 --> 01:01:56,840
For example, this fish

1124
01:01:57,000 --> 01:01:59,560
is a fossil of a real fish.

1125
01:01:59,720 --> 01:02:02,600
It's the symbol
of the first Christians.

1126
01:02:09,760 --> 01:02:11,680
A master of stone and metal,

1127
01:02:11,880 --> 01:02:15,320
Goudji has a very secret workshop
in Montmartre,

1128
01:02:15,520 --> 01:02:18,160
where he uses techniques
from the past.

1129
01:02:20,360 --> 01:02:23,400
Here, he does work
for important sanctuaries,

1130
01:02:23,560 --> 01:02:25,280
such as Chartres Cathedral.

1131
01:02:27,120 --> 01:02:29,440
Among the 25 objects made for it

1132
01:02:29,600 --> 01:02:30,680
is a Gospel Book

1133
01:02:30,880 --> 01:02:33,560
like those of Charlemagne's time.

1134
01:02:36,440 --> 01:02:38,760
After the fall
of the Roman Empire,

1135
01:02:40,160 --> 01:02:42,680
there was a void,
not much happened,

1136
01:02:42,840 --> 01:02:44,720
then, there was an explosion.

1137
01:02:48,320 --> 01:02:51,160
Each object had a precise use.

1138
01:02:53,160 --> 01:02:55,120
They're either reliquaries,

1139
01:02:55,280 --> 01:02:58,160
or ostensoirs, or ciboriums,

1140
01:02:58,400 --> 01:03:01,760
the chalice, pyx, aquamaniles...

1141
01:03:02,400 --> 01:03:05,880
So everything was covered

1142
01:03:06,160 --> 01:03:10,760
by the formidable development
of Christianity at the time.

1143
01:03:20,600 --> 01:03:23,600
To lead the cultural unification
of Europe,

1144
01:03:23,800 --> 01:03:26,400
Charlemagne had a team of scholars

1145
01:03:26,600 --> 01:03:29,560
from all corners
of the Christian west, such as

1146
01:03:29,760 --> 01:03:31,440
the Visigoth poet Theodulf

1147
01:03:31,640 --> 01:03:34,320
and the English theologist Alcuin.

1148
01:03:34,560 --> 01:03:35,560
There, look.

1149
01:03:35,760 --> 01:03:39,480
It's the great Alcuin of York.
He will be your new master.

1150
01:03:42,000 --> 01:03:43,680
Alcuin was an author,

1151
01:03:43,840 --> 01:03:45,000
a theologist.

1152
01:03:45,200 --> 01:03:47,760
He wouldn't be very humorous,
but he was

1153
01:03:48,040 --> 01:03:50,600
a fount of science,
and, Eginhard said,

1154
01:03:50,840 --> 01:03:53,280
the most knowledgeable of his time.

1155
01:03:53,480 --> 01:03:56,640
Alcuin became
his minister of culture,

1156
01:03:56,840 --> 01:03:58,560
to compare it to today,

1157
01:03:58,680 --> 01:04:00,200
his most heeded adviser

1158
01:04:00,400 --> 01:04:03,200
and the major thinker of the time.

1159
01:04:05,080 --> 01:04:07,720
Charlemagne made his advisers
bishops,

1160
01:04:07,880 --> 01:04:09,040
and abbots,

1161
01:04:09,240 --> 01:04:12,120
and appointed them to abbeys
in his kingdom.

1162
01:04:12,560 --> 01:04:15,040
Charlemagne wanted
to make monasteries

1163
01:04:15,280 --> 01:04:18,400
a sort of spiritual spinal cord

1164
01:04:18,560 --> 01:04:19,560
thanks to which

1165
01:04:19,800 --> 01:04:22,440
Christianity could move
around his kingdom.

1166
01:04:22,960 --> 01:04:26,880
A monk's main mission was
to pray for the emperor's salvation

1167
01:04:27,160 --> 01:04:30,560
his government's,
and success for his armies.

1168
01:04:30,800 --> 01:04:32,840
In newly conquered regions,

1169
01:04:33,000 --> 01:04:35,000
one of the first things they did

1170
01:04:35,160 --> 01:04:36,880
was to create abbeys.

1171
01:04:37,680 --> 01:04:39,320
That was where

1172
01:04:39,600 --> 01:04:43,040
they carried out
most intellectual work involving

1173
01:04:43,280 --> 01:04:45,040
writing, copying manuscripts,

1174
01:04:45,240 --> 01:04:47,000
and spreading antique culture.

1175
01:04:50,840 --> 01:04:52,320
The Benedictine abbey

1176
01:04:52,520 --> 01:04:54,880
of Saint Gall, in Switzerland,

1177
01:04:55,080 --> 01:04:58,200
was one of the biggest
of Carolingian times.

1178
01:05:03,880 --> 01:05:06,120
It was rebuilt
in the baroque period

1179
01:05:06,320 --> 01:05:09,640
and has a church
dedicated to Saint Gall.

1180
01:05:12,360 --> 01:05:15,920
It also has one of the oldest
libraries in the world.

1181
01:05:17,000 --> 01:05:18,120
This is

1182
01:05:18,720 --> 01:05:20,760
the entrance to the library.

1183
01:05:20,960 --> 01:05:23,160
There is an interesting inscription

1184
01:05:23,640 --> 01:05:26,600
in Greek which says it is

1185
01:05:26,760 --> 01:05:29,920
"a sanctuary of the soul".

1186
01:05:30,160 --> 01:05:34,560
This is the idea that you can take
a book from the shelves

1187
01:05:34,760 --> 01:05:38,400
like you'd get medicine
from a pharmacy.

1188
01:05:40,200 --> 01:05:42,640
With its stucco
and woodwork setting,

1189
01:05:42,880 --> 01:05:45,720
the library is
a late baroque masterpiece

1190
01:05:45,920 --> 01:05:48,280
which holds very rare treasures.

1191
01:05:49,880 --> 01:05:54,360
The theme for the paintings here
is orthodoxy, faith.

1192
01:05:55,320 --> 01:05:59,000
There are 4 representations
of the ecumenical council

1193
01:05:59,160 --> 01:06:00,600
on the ceiling.

1194
01:06:04,400 --> 01:06:08,000
In monasteries, the most
important place after the church

1195
01:06:08,200 --> 01:06:11,920
was the scriptorium,
where manuscripts were copied.

1196
01:06:12,120 --> 01:06:15,320
Charlemagne apparently wanted to

1197
01:06:15,600 --> 01:06:18,480
collect intellectual
and religious material

1198
01:06:18,640 --> 01:06:21,160
for his political project.

1199
01:06:22,600 --> 01:06:24,880
That means these manuscripts,

1200
01:06:25,120 --> 01:06:27,720
since they support
a political project,

1201
01:06:27,960 --> 01:06:30,360
must be faultless, perfect,

1202
01:06:31,400 --> 01:06:34,880
hence his investment
in these monasteries

1203
01:06:35,040 --> 01:06:36,640
to make high-quality

1204
01:06:36,880 --> 01:06:39,120
copies of the manuscripts.

1205
01:06:39,680 --> 01:06:41,720
In 560-570,
a very readable

1206
01:06:41,880 --> 01:06:45,280
and beautiful script
called the "Caroline miniscule"

1207
01:06:45,440 --> 01:06:47,320
was developed.

1208
01:06:47,600 --> 01:06:50,640
Since it was easier
to read and write,

1209
01:06:50,840 --> 01:06:53,600
it enabled works
to be diffused more widely,

1210
01:06:53,760 --> 01:06:55,560
it spread everywhere.

1211
01:07:01,240 --> 01:07:03,480
Saint Gall has still today

1212
01:07:03,760 --> 01:07:06,000
some of
the most beautiful examples

1213
01:07:06,160 --> 01:07:08,640
of this meticulous work
on parchment.

1214
01:07:11,280 --> 01:07:13,080
This is one of Saint Gall's

1215
01:07:13,320 --> 01:07:15,840
most important books from France.

1216
01:07:16,040 --> 01:07:20,280
It is Alcuin's Bible in one volume.

1217
01:07:25,200 --> 01:07:29,720
This Bible was circulated
throughout Europe.

1218
01:07:30,800 --> 01:07:35,440
Charlemagne's goal was to have
a uniform text of the Bible

1219
01:07:35,600 --> 01:07:37,360
in his kingdom.

1220
01:07:37,600 --> 01:07:41,200
Each monastery with
a text like this

1221
01:07:41,440 --> 01:07:43,360
also had a model for writing.

1222
01:07:44,040 --> 01:07:48,840
"In principio creavit
Dominus caelum et terra":

1223
01:07:49,040 --> 01:07:53,600
"In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth."

1224
01:08:02,680 --> 01:08:06,000
It took 300 to 400 sheep
to make a Bible,

1225
01:08:06,200 --> 01:08:08,640
so independently
of the work writing

1226
01:08:08,880 --> 01:08:12,560
and painting, that already
required considerable capital.

1227
01:08:12,760 --> 01:08:15,560
At that time,
books were luxury items.

1228
01:08:15,800 --> 01:08:18,600
When you add the illuminations,

1229
01:08:18,800 --> 01:08:21,480
it becomes a collector's item,
a very great luxury.

1230
01:08:22,760 --> 01:08:26,200
Illuminated manuscripts,
in Carolingian times, were

1231
01:08:26,400 --> 01:08:29,000
the equivalent
of an art collection

1232
01:08:29,160 --> 01:08:31,000
in the contemporary world.

1233
01:08:34,240 --> 01:08:37,760
Only a few great princes,
some very grand monasteries

1234
01:08:38,040 --> 01:08:40,600
could afford
illuminated manuscripts.

1235
01:08:41,520 --> 01:08:45,080
One of the most beautiful
of them is in Paris,

1236
01:08:45,240 --> 01:08:46,760
at the National Library.

1237
01:08:48,520 --> 01:08:51,200
It was the first
illustrated manuscript

1238
01:08:51,360 --> 01:08:53,120
in Charlemagne's collection,

1239
01:08:53,840 --> 01:08:56,200
the Godescalc Gospels.

1240
01:09:01,960 --> 01:09:04,520
Apart from liturgical purpose,
copying

1241
01:09:04,760 --> 01:09:07,400
manuscripts had
an unexpected result

1242
01:09:07,600 --> 01:09:10,360
from which we still benefit today.

1243
01:09:11,680 --> 01:09:13,760
Latin was used by the ancient,

1244
01:09:13,960 --> 01:09:16,120
pagan creators
of the Roman empire,

1245
01:09:16,360 --> 01:09:19,600
so the literate, clerks

1246
01:09:19,760 --> 01:09:21,000
discovered

1247
01:09:21,200 --> 01:09:23,800
pagan texts from Antiquity.

1248
01:09:24,600 --> 01:09:27,040
Through these
Carolingian manuscripts,

1249
01:09:27,240 --> 01:09:28,800
texts from Antiquity,

1250
01:09:29,000 --> 01:09:31,880
from Cicero, Livy, Sallust, etc.,

1251
01:09:32,040 --> 01:09:33,600
have been handed down to us.

1252
01:09:35,040 --> 01:09:38,800
It is thought that there were
700 antique Latin works.

1253
01:09:38,960 --> 01:09:40,560
We know 150 of them.

1254
01:09:40,800 --> 01:09:42,960
Our classical culture is 150 texts.

1255
01:09:43,120 --> 01:09:44,040
We know these

1256
01:09:44,280 --> 01:09:46,800
150 texts
from Carolingian manuscripts.

1257
01:09:47,000 --> 01:09:49,240
Those the Carolingians didn't select

1258
01:09:49,440 --> 01:09:51,720
are not in our classical culture.

1259
01:10:03,400 --> 01:10:05,600
We will now see
one of the most

1260
01:10:05,800 --> 01:10:09,680
beautiful ensembles
of holy art in the west,

1261
01:10:09,880 --> 01:10:12,600
the treasure of Aachen Cathedral.

1262
01:10:15,240 --> 01:10:19,000
Behind this strong room's
thick, reinforced doors lie

1263
01:10:19,200 --> 01:10:22,560
some precious souvenirs
of Charlemagne. Follow me.

1264
01:10:31,680 --> 01:10:34,840
Here is the antique sarcophagus
which was

1265
01:10:35,040 --> 01:10:36,080
his first tomb.

1266
01:10:36,280 --> 01:10:39,040
He had it brought from Rome
in his lifetime.

1267
01:10:39,280 --> 01:10:43,840
It shows the kidnapping of Proserpina
by Pluto, god of the underworld.

1268
01:10:55,560 --> 01:10:58,240
This arm reliquary indicates

1269
01:10:58,440 --> 01:10:59,960
by its shape

1270
01:11:00,160 --> 01:11:02,680
the part
of Charlemagne's body within.

1271
01:11:02,880 --> 01:11:05,960
It was given
to the cathedral in 1480

1272
01:11:06,120 --> 01:11:07,840
by King Louis XI of France,

1273
01:11:08,040 --> 01:11:10,400
whose shield can be seen.

1274
01:11:18,720 --> 01:11:23,680
This reliquary holds
the top of Charlemagne's skull.

1275
01:11:23,880 --> 01:11:27,320
It has the form
of an idealised emperor's bust.

1276
01:11:29,160 --> 01:11:31,240
It was a gift from the German

1277
01:11:31,480 --> 01:11:35,200
emperor Charles IV in 1349
at his coronation.

1278
01:11:55,040 --> 01:11:56,320
As you can see,

1279
01:11:56,520 --> 01:11:59,640
the French and German
royal dynasties

1280
01:11:59,880 --> 01:12:02,400
both claim Charlemagne.

1281
01:12:02,880 --> 01:12:04,640
This fascination originates

1282
01:12:04,840 --> 01:12:08,080
with an event
which would forever mark

1283
01:12:08,240 --> 01:12:09,520
European history:

1284
01:12:09,720 --> 01:12:12,040
Charlemagne's imperial coronation

1285
01:12:12,200 --> 01:12:14,600
on December 25, 800.

1286
01:12:14,840 --> 01:12:17,120
It must be said
the context was ideal.

1287
01:12:17,320 --> 01:12:21,440
Following a coup d'état,
there was no emperor in Byzantium.

1288
01:12:21,600 --> 01:12:24,960
In the last days of 799,

1289
01:12:25,160 --> 01:12:27,640
there was an unexpected event
in Rome

1290
01:12:27,840 --> 01:12:30,960
that led to this outcome
for Charlemagne.

1291
01:12:37,280 --> 01:12:38,360
In 799,

1292
01:12:38,600 --> 01:12:41,960
recently elected pope Leo III
had difficulties

1293
01:12:42,600 --> 01:12:44,400
with the Roman aristocracy.

1294
01:12:45,720 --> 01:12:47,600
During a procession,

1295
01:12:48,240 --> 01:12:51,360
the pope was ambushed.
It was quite violent,

1296
01:12:51,560 --> 01:12:52,760
it seems.

1297
01:12:52,960 --> 01:12:56,680
He was severely beaten,
and they tried to put out his eyes.

1298
01:13:01,280 --> 01:13:03,920
Leo III was a bureaucrat
and found it hard

1299
01:13:04,560 --> 01:13:06,680
to make himself a great pontiff.

1300
01:13:07,440 --> 01:13:10,480
He was a nobody
from who knows where.

1301
01:13:10,640 --> 01:13:11,840
What is more,

1302
01:13:12,080 --> 01:13:14,920
he was too interested
in the other sex.

1303
01:13:15,560 --> 01:13:18,120
Why didn't they like him?
Perhaps

1304
01:13:18,760 --> 01:13:20,280
his policies

1305
01:13:20,520 --> 01:13:23,840
were too authoritarian
for Rome's aristocratic families.

1306
01:13:25,640 --> 01:13:27,840
In any event, he had to flee.

1307
01:13:29,480 --> 01:13:30,840
To save his skin,

1308
01:13:31,040 --> 01:13:34,840
the pope took refuge with Charles,
in Paderborn, Saxony,

1309
01:13:35,080 --> 01:13:37,960
and asked for help
to take back his throne.

1310
01:13:38,560 --> 01:13:40,160
Your Highness,

1311
01:13:40,360 --> 01:13:41,560
God has chosen you

1312
01:13:41,760 --> 01:13:44,680
as the protector of the Church.

1313
01:13:44,880 --> 01:13:47,680
Please rise, Holy Father.

1314
01:13:48,840 --> 01:13:51,640
Wary of his bad reputation,

1315
01:13:51,800 --> 01:13:54,080
Charlemagne was hesitant to act,

1316
01:13:54,280 --> 01:13:57,480
but his advisers saw
a chance not to be missed.

1317
01:13:57,680 --> 01:13:58,440
As his power

1318
01:13:58,680 --> 01:14:01,640
and success grew,
Charlemagne,

1319
01:14:01,880 --> 01:14:05,240
and more so his entourage,
made it clear

1320
01:14:05,440 --> 01:14:08,120
that the West
was Christian under him.

1321
01:14:10,040 --> 01:14:13,840
Alcuin had probably
been preparing

1322
01:14:14,080 --> 01:14:18,880
the revival of the imperial title
in western Europe for a while.

1323
01:14:19,040 --> 01:14:20,560
Now there was

1324
01:14:20,760 --> 01:14:22,880
a really exceptional situation.

1325
01:14:24,320 --> 01:14:28,720
If it's God's will,
dear master Alcuin, with your help,

1326
01:14:28,880 --> 01:14:31,600
I will willingly take the path

1327
01:14:31,840 --> 01:14:34,400
to the highest honour
of temporal power.

1328
01:14:37,160 --> 01:14:39,480
Charlemagne went to Rome

1329
01:14:39,680 --> 01:14:42,320
to attempt to reinstate Leo III.

1330
01:14:42,480 --> 01:14:43,880
And while he was

1331
01:14:44,120 --> 01:14:46,480
there,
to try to conquer the empire.

1332
01:14:47,080 --> 01:14:48,520
To reinstate Leo III,

1333
01:14:48,720 --> 01:14:50,800
he had to be cleared of suspicion.

1334
01:14:51,000 --> 01:14:54,480
Charlemagne decided to use
an exceptional procedure,

1335
01:14:54,680 --> 01:14:56,800
the ordeal, God's judgement.

1336
01:14:58,120 --> 01:15:01,840
It could, for example, involve
walking over hot coals.

1337
01:15:03,320 --> 01:15:05,920
If you do it unscathed,
it's God's will.

1338
01:15:06,160 --> 01:15:09,880
Your hand is burnt,
and your innocence of guilt depends

1339
01:15:10,480 --> 01:15:12,120
on the state of your hand.

1340
01:15:12,320 --> 01:15:14,920
Your head is held under water,
if you survive,

1341
01:15:15,080 --> 01:15:16,320
it's by God's will.

1342
01:15:17,640 --> 01:15:19,600
With consideration
for the pope's dignity,

1343
01:15:19,760 --> 01:15:21,840
and to avoid future insult,

1344
01:15:22,040 --> 01:15:24,880
Charlemagne chose
a less painful method.

1345
01:15:25,040 --> 01:15:26,520
He asked Leo III

1346
01:15:26,720 --> 01:15:28,360
to say a purgatory oath

1347
01:15:28,560 --> 01:15:30,920
in which he swore
his innocence.

1348
01:15:32,040 --> 01:15:35,120
With this oath, I, Leo,

1349
01:15:35,280 --> 01:15:37,760
pope of the Holy Roman Church...

1350
01:15:38,000 --> 01:15:40,160
Pope Leo III was asked to take

1351
01:15:40,400 --> 01:15:45,320
a purgatory oath denying accusations
on Saint Peter's confessio,

1352
01:15:45,560 --> 01:15:47,440
and on relics and the Gospels,

1353
01:15:47,600 --> 01:15:49,640
the world's most holy objects.

1354
01:15:49,840 --> 01:15:51,920
I explain myself before God

1355
01:15:52,560 --> 01:15:54,880
and proclaim that I did not

1356
01:15:55,080 --> 01:15:57,440
carry out these criminal acts

1357
01:15:57,640 --> 01:16:00,320
nor allow anyone else
to carry them out.

1358
01:16:00,480 --> 01:16:01,880
Things returned to normal.

1359
01:16:02,080 --> 01:16:03,000
He was "reconciled",

1360
01:16:03,160 --> 01:16:05,240
to use Christian terms.

1361
01:16:05,480 --> 01:16:09,440
Leo III was reinstated
in his duties,

1362
01:16:09,640 --> 01:16:10,560
but was fragile.

1363
01:16:10,800 --> 01:16:13,560
The big winner was Charlemagne.

1364
01:16:15,320 --> 01:16:19,160
For Charles, it was time
for the supreme consecration.

1365
01:16:19,320 --> 01:16:21,600
Using his advantage
over the pope,

1366
01:16:21,840 --> 01:16:24,600
he planned to be crowned emperor
2 days later,

1367
01:16:24,800 --> 01:16:26,880
at Christmas.

1368
01:16:27,520 --> 01:16:28,720
The ritual used

1369
01:16:28,920 --> 01:16:31,720
for the imperial coronation
seems improvised.

1370
01:16:32,440 --> 01:16:34,440
He arrived at St Peter's in Rome

1371
01:16:34,600 --> 01:16:36,440
in his usual ceremonial gown.

1372
01:16:40,080 --> 01:16:42,320
There are usually 3 stages

1373
01:16:43,080 --> 01:16:45,840
to crowning an emperor.

1374
01:16:46,000 --> 01:16:48,360
The emperor is firstly acclaimed.

1375
01:16:49,800 --> 01:16:53,000
Proclaimed emperor by the people.

1376
01:16:54,040 --> 01:16:57,160
Then, the pope
crowns the emperor,

1377
01:16:57,920 --> 01:16:59,440
but he crowns someone

1378
01:16:59,600 --> 01:17:01,280
who is already emperor.

1379
01:17:02,120 --> 01:17:05,960
Finally, the pope bows down
in front of the emperor.

1380
01:17:06,160 --> 01:17:08,720
It's quite formal.

1381
01:17:08,920 --> 01:17:11,880
Acclamations, coronation,
prostration.

1382
01:17:12,480 --> 01:17:15,800
That's how it usually went.

1383
01:17:16,880 --> 01:17:18,800
At the start of the ceremony,

1384
01:17:19,000 --> 01:17:22,640
when Charlemagne is praying
before St Peter's tomb,

1385
01:17:22,840 --> 01:17:25,480
things do not really go
as planned.

1386
01:17:25,640 --> 01:17:26,440
The pope has

1387
01:17:26,680 --> 01:17:28,680
taken a crown
from the treasure.

1388
01:17:28,920 --> 01:17:33,280
Everyone gave crowns,
so he had a crown to give.

1389
01:17:33,480 --> 01:17:35,000
It was precious.

1390
01:17:35,880 --> 01:17:39,760
The pope came up
behind the praying Charlemagne...

1391
01:17:42,440 --> 01:17:45,160
and placed the crown

1392
01:17:45,360 --> 01:17:49,600
on Charlemagne's head,
and then, everyone acclaimed him.

1393
01:17:51,000 --> 01:17:52,760
Charlemagne was emperor,

1394
01:17:52,960 --> 01:17:55,480
but not quite
as he would have liked.

1395
01:17:56,720 --> 01:18:00,480
Charlemagne was fooled
because it was the pope

1396
01:18:00,680 --> 01:18:02,720
who made him emperor.

1397
01:18:02,920 --> 01:18:04,880
The pope wanted to show

1398
01:18:05,080 --> 01:18:08,160
that Charlemagne had
material and military strength,

1399
01:18:08,320 --> 01:18:10,280
but he had
spiritual strength.

1400
01:18:11,560 --> 01:18:14,520
He was angry.
His biographer said if he'd

1401
01:18:14,720 --> 01:18:16,240
known what would happen,

1402
01:18:16,440 --> 01:18:18,760
he wouldn't have gone in.

1403
01:18:19,720 --> 01:18:23,000
The pope's actions
had considerable impact.

1404
01:18:23,160 --> 01:18:24,400
From then on,

1405
01:18:24,640 --> 01:18:27,240
emperors were
crowned differently.

1406
01:18:27,440 --> 01:18:31,480
From then on, for the pope
to give the imperial crown,

1407
01:18:31,720 --> 01:18:36,080
emperors had to come to Rome
or not involve the pope

1408
01:18:36,280 --> 01:18:38,480
to claim the imperial title.

1409
01:18:41,760 --> 01:18:45,160
However the crowning
did not change much

1410
01:18:45,360 --> 01:18:48,080
in the 58-year-old
emperor's life.

1411
01:18:50,320 --> 01:18:53,320
Charlemagne put hope
in the imperial title,

1412
01:18:53,560 --> 01:18:57,360
then he realised his real power
was something else.

1413
01:18:58,480 --> 01:19:00,440
The imperial title was

1414
01:19:00,680 --> 01:19:02,960
a trinket to add
to the traditional,

1415
01:19:03,200 --> 01:19:06,440
territorial king's
long list of titles.

1416
01:19:06,600 --> 01:19:09,160
So perhaps Charlemagne

1417
01:19:09,360 --> 01:19:11,480
was becoming bitter,

1418
01:19:11,640 --> 01:19:13,240
with a need to settle, too.

1419
01:19:13,440 --> 01:19:16,080
He was reaching a certain age.

1420
01:19:16,960 --> 01:19:19,280
Charlemagne lent
a growing importance

1421
01:19:19,440 --> 01:19:21,560
to his reforms

1422
01:19:21,760 --> 01:19:25,040
and increased capitularies
and laws

1423
01:19:25,240 --> 01:19:27,880
giving free reign
to his practical mind.

1424
01:19:28,640 --> 01:19:29,960
He made laws for

1425
01:19:30,200 --> 01:19:32,960
everything:
the economy, politics, justice,

1426
01:19:33,200 --> 01:19:37,000
even the direction the wind blows,
since he changed their names

1427
01:19:37,200 --> 01:19:39,560
in an attempt
to normalise things.

1428
01:19:40,760 --> 01:19:44,640
Charlemagne created
a single European currency:

1429
01:19:44,800 --> 01:19:45,800
the denarius.

1430
01:19:47,600 --> 01:19:50,480
The medals offices
of the National Library

1431
01:19:50,640 --> 01:19:53,120
has a rare example,

1432
01:19:53,320 --> 01:19:56,240
which is a tool
for communication.

1433
01:19:57,080 --> 01:20:01,360
This denarius was forged
by Charlemagne when he was emperor.

1434
01:20:03,920 --> 01:20:06,880
It has a bust with laurel wreath,

1435
01:20:07,760 --> 01:20:10,160
with a little realistic touch

1436
01:20:10,360 --> 01:20:13,160
showing his own identity,
his moustache.

1437
01:20:13,360 --> 01:20:17,120
It's one of few realistic
representations of Charlemagne.

1438
01:20:17,760 --> 01:20:21,360
On the other side
is a little temple

1439
01:20:21,560 --> 01:20:24,000
and the legend
"Christiana religio".

1440
01:20:24,200 --> 01:20:26,280
It's the weight of Church support

1441
01:20:26,440 --> 01:20:28,320
and being a Christian king.

1442
01:20:28,600 --> 01:20:29,760
For people then,

1443
01:20:29,960 --> 01:20:34,360
this type of coin would be
one of the main sources

1444
01:20:34,920 --> 01:20:38,440
of information about
the empire's revival

1445
01:20:38,640 --> 01:20:40,120
and one of the main ways

1446
01:20:40,320 --> 01:20:43,160
Charlemagne had to tell
this powerful news.

1447
01:20:46,160 --> 01:20:48,880
The empire was gigantic,
for the time,

1448
01:20:49,040 --> 01:20:50,080
so it organised

1449
01:20:50,320 --> 01:20:53,360
a uniform administrative system.

1450
01:20:54,920 --> 01:20:57,800
He used his sons
to create sub-kingdoms,

1451
01:20:58,000 --> 01:21:01,680
with regional command
entrusted to each of them.

1452
01:21:02,320 --> 01:21:05,160
A major innovation
of Carolingian times

1453
01:21:05,320 --> 01:21:08,320
was the organisation of a network

1454
01:21:08,560 --> 01:21:11,120
of regional counts

1455
01:21:11,280 --> 01:21:13,080
and controllers for the counts

1456
01:21:13,320 --> 01:21:17,520
called missi dominici,
"the master's envoys".

1457
01:21:17,760 --> 01:21:20,760
They were investigators,
who travelled

1458
01:21:21,280 --> 01:21:23,920
the land in the sovereign's name,
to see

1459
01:21:24,120 --> 01:21:25,400
the bishop was honest,

1460
01:21:25,600 --> 01:21:28,240
the count hadn't cheated
in a lawsuit, etc.

1461
01:21:30,040 --> 01:21:32,120
One of the most notable

1462
01:21:32,320 --> 01:21:35,720
missi domoinici
was the poet Theodulf,

1463
01:21:35,880 --> 01:21:37,640
bishop of Orleans, and abbot

1464
01:21:37,840 --> 01:21:38,840
of Fleury.

1465
01:21:40,400 --> 01:21:43,360
In the Loiret,
Germigny-des-Prés oratory

1466
01:21:43,600 --> 01:21:47,160
still bears witness today
of his influence

1467
01:21:47,360 --> 01:21:49,120
over Charlemagne.

1468
01:21:51,920 --> 01:21:54,160
This church, reputed to be

1469
01:21:54,360 --> 01:21:57,360
the oldest in France,

1470
01:21:57,600 --> 01:21:59,960
is an oratory,
a private church.

1471
01:22:00,160 --> 01:22:01,920
It is not a parish church.

1472
01:22:02,120 --> 01:22:04,680
It belonged to Theodulf's villa,

1473
01:22:04,920 --> 01:22:07,120
which was his holiday residence.

1474
01:22:09,280 --> 01:22:13,080
Theodulf played a major role
in the iconoclasm crisis.

1475
01:22:14,360 --> 01:22:18,000
This opposed Charlemagne
and the Byzantines

1476
01:22:18,160 --> 01:22:20,480
over the veneration of images.

1477
01:22:23,400 --> 01:22:28,080
This theological quarrel inspired
the decoration of the country church.

1478
01:22:28,320 --> 01:22:30,320
It's unique in Europe,
and the last

1479
01:22:30,520 --> 01:22:33,440
remaining example
of Carolingian mosaics.

1480
01:22:34,480 --> 01:22:35,760
Theodulf's idea

1481
01:22:35,960 --> 01:22:38,960
was to show God

1482
01:22:39,560 --> 01:22:40,360
in the church,

1483
01:22:40,560 --> 01:22:43,960
but without using
the features of men.

1484
01:22:44,160 --> 01:22:48,040
So he used an object:
the Ark of the Covenant.

1485
01:22:48,240 --> 01:22:50,760
In the Old Testament,
this is a chest

1486
01:22:50,960 --> 01:22:54,280
where the Hebrews kept
their most precious object,

1487
01:22:54,440 --> 01:22:56,560
the Tablets of the Law.

1488
01:22:57,040 --> 01:22:58,440
So Theodulf thought,

1489
01:22:58,640 --> 01:23:01,840
"By showing something
that holds God's word,

1490
01:23:02,080 --> 01:23:04,880
"I'd show God is there
without showing Him."

1491
01:23:08,560 --> 01:23:09,600
As emperor,

1492
01:23:09,800 --> 01:23:13,480
Charlemagne was passionate
about religious questions

1493
01:23:13,640 --> 01:23:16,040
so much so he changed the Creed,

1494
01:23:16,200 --> 01:23:18,080
the Christian profession of faith.

1495
01:23:18,920 --> 01:23:22,560
This theological change
had unmeasurable consequences,

1496
01:23:22,720 --> 01:23:24,320
further separating

1497
01:23:24,480 --> 01:23:27,400
eastern and western Christianity.

1498
01:23:28,000 --> 01:23:28,800
By intervening

1499
01:23:29,040 --> 01:23:31,400
and saying what people
should believe,

1500
01:23:31,600 --> 01:23:34,000
and what God is,

1501
01:23:34,240 --> 01:23:37,880
he was really being
God's lieutenant on Earth.

1502
01:23:38,040 --> 01:23:40,000
He was the head of the Church.

1503
01:23:40,160 --> 01:23:42,680
The emperor had both

1504
01:23:42,840 --> 01:23:45,640
ecclesiastical authority,

1505
01:23:45,840 --> 01:23:47,960
and the power of king,

1506
01:23:48,160 --> 01:23:51,640
following antique tradition
of 4th century emperors

1507
01:23:51,800 --> 01:23:53,320
Constantine and Theodosius.

1508
01:23:54,920 --> 01:23:57,080
Charlemagne was always

1509
01:23:57,280 --> 01:24:00,240
in good health,
but had a sad end.

1510
01:24:00,440 --> 01:24:02,720
Deaths were mounting around him.

1511
01:24:02,880 --> 01:24:04,760
There you are, my son!

1512
01:24:07,560 --> 01:24:10,200
Charles, the oldest,
the most brilliant

1513
01:24:10,440 --> 01:24:13,960
of his sons, died early,
soon followed by Pepin of Italy.

1514
01:24:14,880 --> 01:24:17,360
He only had one son left,
Louis the Pious,

1515
01:24:17,560 --> 01:24:20,600
who would be his successor.

1516
01:24:23,920 --> 01:24:25,560
He became more sedentary.

1517
01:24:25,720 --> 01:24:27,640
He was almost always

1518
01:24:27,840 --> 01:24:29,760
in Aachen.

1519
01:24:29,920 --> 01:24:32,560
We know he had

1520
01:24:32,760 --> 01:24:36,160
extremely painful gout,

1521
01:24:36,320 --> 01:24:39,720
so he was a bit weakened.

1522
01:24:40,960 --> 01:24:44,160
But it was
his well-consolidated empire

1523
01:24:44,360 --> 01:24:47,320
that really started
to show signs of weakness.

1524
01:24:47,520 --> 01:24:50,160
Charlemagne saw
the 1st Norman Viking ships

1525
01:24:50,400 --> 01:24:54,480
invade Normandy,
what would later become Normandy.

1526
01:24:55,400 --> 01:24:58,480
From a cliff,
Charlemagne saw Danish ships

1527
01:24:58,640 --> 01:25:01,320
not far off and shed

1528
01:25:01,520 --> 01:25:03,200
a few tears,

1529
01:25:03,400 --> 01:25:06,760
"What will happen after I die,
when I'm dead,

1530
01:25:06,960 --> 01:25:08,520
"what will happen?"

1531
01:25:10,080 --> 01:25:11,560
I think he had foreseen

1532
01:25:11,760 --> 01:25:14,120
his empire end with him.

1533
01:25:15,520 --> 01:25:18,160
Without a doubt, yes,
he saw the end.

1534
01:25:19,680 --> 01:25:23,160
Eginharf even says
it was foreseen

1535
01:25:23,320 --> 01:25:25,800
in meteorological signs.

1536
01:25:26,000 --> 01:25:29,720
Comets, of course, eclipses...

1537
01:25:29,920 --> 01:25:33,160
They weren't very good signs.

1538
01:25:41,080 --> 01:25:42,600
In December 813,

1539
01:25:42,800 --> 01:25:44,520
he was hunting in the Ardennes

1540
01:25:44,680 --> 01:25:47,760
when he suddenly became cold.

1541
01:25:49,280 --> 01:25:51,520
He apparently had a pleurisy,

1542
01:25:51,720 --> 01:25:55,480
a pneumonia which had got bad
and got to him

1543
01:25:55,720 --> 01:25:58,640
in the last days of 813.

1544
01:26:00,280 --> 01:26:04,520
His doctors prescribed
specially prepared dishes,

1545
01:26:04,680 --> 01:26:07,000
but he decided to fast

1546
01:26:07,200 --> 01:26:08,320
completely

1547
01:26:08,480 --> 01:26:10,280
and he weakened.

1548
01:26:12,160 --> 01:26:16,200
He died on January 28, 814,

1549
01:26:16,360 --> 01:26:19,240
aged around 71 or 72.

1550
01:26:21,760 --> 01:26:24,320
For the Middle Ages,
it was a good death.

1551
01:26:24,480 --> 01:26:26,920
Sudden death was frightening.

1552
01:26:27,160 --> 01:26:29,800
You needed time
to repent your sins,

1553
01:26:29,960 --> 01:26:31,640
to go to Heaven,

1554
01:26:31,880 --> 01:26:34,480
and also to sort out
your worldly affairs.

1555
01:26:35,480 --> 01:26:39,560
In his last moments,
he saw his daughters

1556
01:26:39,720 --> 01:26:41,680
who were in Aachen.

1557
01:26:43,440 --> 01:26:46,240
He was always a clan man,

1558
01:26:46,400 --> 01:26:47,880
a tribal man,

1559
01:26:48,040 --> 01:26:50,320
and he surely died like that.

1560
01:27:19,320 --> 01:27:23,200
Aachen's town hall
adjoins this market place,

1561
01:27:23,360 --> 01:27:26,640
dominated by Charlemagne's statue

1562
01:27:26,800 --> 01:27:29,360
with his crown, sword and orb.

1563
01:27:29,600 --> 01:27:33,280
It is a 14th century building,
but it was constructed

1564
01:27:33,480 --> 01:27:35,520
on the very site of the aula,

1565
01:27:35,680 --> 01:27:37,600
the emperor's former residence.

1566
01:27:44,680 --> 01:27:46,440
From 936 to 1541,

1567
01:27:46,640 --> 01:27:49,200
30 emperors
of the Holy Roman Empire

1568
01:27:49,360 --> 01:27:50,680
were crowned here

1569
01:27:50,920 --> 01:27:53,760
faithful to Charlemagne's memory.

1570
01:27:56,240 --> 01:27:57,480
I'm now entering

1571
01:27:57,720 --> 01:28:00,320
what is called
the "coronation" room.

1572
01:28:00,560 --> 01:28:03,800
The new emperor would enter
in ceremonial clothes

1573
01:28:03,960 --> 01:28:06,560
and attend a great banquet here.

1574
01:28:06,800 --> 01:28:10,120
In the mid-19th century,
it was decorated

1575
01:28:10,320 --> 01:28:13,640
by the Aachen painter Alfred Rethel.

1576
01:28:13,800 --> 01:28:15,600
His frescos show

1577
01:28:15,840 --> 01:28:18,200
major moments
of Charlemagne's life:

1578
01:28:19,080 --> 01:28:21,440
the fall of the Irminsul,

1579
01:28:21,640 --> 01:28:23,760
taking Pavia in Lombardy,

1580
01:28:23,920 --> 01:28:26,800
and the campaign against

1581
01:28:26,960 --> 01:28:28,640
Arab-dominated Spain.

1582
01:28:33,920 --> 01:28:35,160
Charlemagne was dead,

1583
01:28:35,400 --> 01:28:38,680
but his symbolic adventures
had only just begun.

1584
01:28:38,880 --> 01:28:42,680
His coronation in 800,
and the spread of his power

1585
01:28:42,880 --> 01:28:46,720
made him an unsurpassable model
for European sovereigns,

1586
01:28:46,920 --> 01:28:50,360
so much so that he was considered
a saint in the Middle Ages.

1587
01:28:59,760 --> 01:29:00,840
In Aachen,

1588
01:29:01,040 --> 01:29:03,520
January 28 is a special day.

1589
01:29:06,520 --> 01:29:09,920
The anniversary
of Charlemagne's death is celebrated.

1590
01:29:13,600 --> 01:29:16,520
A solemn Mass is held
in his honour,

1591
01:29:16,720 --> 01:29:19,920
in the church he built
1,200 years ago.

1592
01:29:28,680 --> 01:29:30,880
On this day more than any other,

1593
01:29:31,120 --> 01:29:34,520
the illustrious emperor's ghost
haunts the cathedral.

1594
01:29:38,880 --> 01:29:41,800
Aachen is very proud
of Charlemagne.

1595
01:29:43,040 --> 01:29:47,480
People here celebrate their
spectacular past with this Mass.

1596
01:29:48,640 --> 01:29:51,280
It's like they live for 2 hours

1597
01:29:51,480 --> 01:29:53,720
like Charlemagne were still here.

1598
01:29:58,120 --> 01:30:01,080
The legend of Charlemagne
who united Europe

1599
01:30:01,280 --> 01:30:04,640
has been told
for over 1000 years.

1600
01:30:05,920 --> 01:30:08,880
The legend has progressively
erased his shady side

1601
01:30:09,080 --> 01:30:13,200
making him one of the most
consensual figures of history.

1602
01:30:15,320 --> 01:30:17,920
He does not conjure up fear,

1603
01:30:18,120 --> 01:30:21,080
although he terrorised

1604
01:30:21,320 --> 01:30:23,560
a lot of the European population.

1605
01:30:23,720 --> 01:30:25,960
That's a bit paradoxical.

1606
01:30:26,560 --> 01:30:29,320
He had physical energy,

1607
01:30:29,880 --> 01:30:33,640
mental soundness
which made him matchless.

1608
01:30:34,440 --> 01:30:35,960
He was a war criminal,

1609
01:30:36,600 --> 01:30:38,960
being also a religious fanatic

1610
01:30:39,120 --> 01:30:41,000
behind forced conversions.

1611
01:30:44,960 --> 01:30:47,720
Charlemagne's legend begins

1612
01:30:47,880 --> 01:30:50,120
with an unusual event.

1613
01:30:50,280 --> 01:30:51,840
It happened in 1000,

1614
01:30:52,040 --> 01:30:54,560
in Aachen cathedral:

1615
01:30:56,000 --> 01:31:00,880
the opening of Charles's tomb
by Holy Roman emperor Otto III.

1616
01:31:03,880 --> 01:31:07,120
This event gave rise
to extraordinary tales.

1617
01:31:08,920 --> 01:31:12,600
It's said he found Charles buried,

1618
01:31:12,720 --> 01:31:14,360
sitting on a throne,

1619
01:31:15,200 --> 01:31:18,200
with the symbols of his power
in his hands:

1620
01:31:18,360 --> 01:31:20,880
the sceptre, crown, etc.

1621
01:31:21,920 --> 01:31:23,080
What Otto did,

1622
01:31:23,280 --> 01:31:24,440
of this, we're sure,

1623
01:31:24,640 --> 01:31:28,800
he took from Charlemagne's tomb

1624
01:31:28,960 --> 01:31:30,720
not the symbols of his power,

1625
01:31:30,920 --> 01:31:34,680
but the relics
Charlemagne was buried with.

1626
01:31:34,880 --> 01:31:37,640
We know he cut his nails,

1627
01:31:37,840 --> 01:31:41,960
since nail trimmings
could be relics.

1628
01:31:43,000 --> 01:31:45,200
From the moment
his tomb was opened,

1629
01:31:45,440 --> 01:31:47,960
Charlemagne became
the symbolic founder

1630
01:31:48,160 --> 01:31:52,080
of imperial power in the West,
without really becoming a saint.

1631
01:31:56,720 --> 01:31:59,960
Charlemagne was made a saint
150 years later,

1632
01:32:00,160 --> 01:32:02,320
through emperor
Frederick Barbarossa.

1633
01:32:03,120 --> 01:32:05,440
His canonisation is controversial,

1634
01:32:05,640 --> 01:32:07,800
because it was done
by an antipope.

1635
01:32:11,120 --> 01:32:13,800
Barberousse did not recognise
pope Alexander III.

1636
01:32:13,960 --> 01:32:16,720
He recognised another pope,
Paschal,

1637
01:32:16,920 --> 01:32:20,040
and it was that pope who agreed

1638
01:32:20,760 --> 01:32:24,160
to the canonisation
of Charlemagne.

1639
01:32:24,400 --> 01:32:28,520
In this strange context,
his canonisation is debatable.

1640
01:32:28,680 --> 01:32:30,160
Charlemagne's sainthood

1641
01:32:30,400 --> 01:32:33,000
has never been confirmed by
the Holy See.

1642
01:32:33,160 --> 01:32:34,960
Nor denied.

1643
01:32:35,120 --> 01:32:36,000
Which means

1644
01:32:36,200 --> 01:32:40,440
that Charlemagne is in
an intermediary state,

1645
01:32:40,640 --> 01:32:43,840
let's say a figure
with a saintly reputation.

1646
01:32:44,920 --> 01:32:49,000
Frederick Barbarousse's aim
was purely political.

1647
01:32:49,640 --> 01:32:52,040
He was descended
from Charlemagne,

1648
01:32:52,160 --> 01:32:54,000
and having a saint

1649
01:32:54,160 --> 01:32:55,080
as an ancestor

1650
01:32:55,600 --> 01:32:58,040
was a way to improve himself,

1651
01:32:58,200 --> 01:33:01,560
especially faced with
the papacy, of course.

1652
01:33:03,480 --> 01:33:06,160
Charlemagne had always
legitimised himself

1653
01:33:06,400 --> 01:33:09,640
and was now claimed
by the Germanic sovereigns,

1654
01:33:09,800 --> 01:33:11,840
and also by the kings of France.

1655
01:33:15,640 --> 01:33:18,880
Epic poems from the Middle Ages
celebrate

1656
01:33:19,080 --> 01:33:21,440
this prestigious ancestor's skills.

1657
01:33:24,680 --> 01:33:27,560
In The Song of Roland,
Charlemagne's character

1658
01:33:27,760 --> 01:33:30,440
is not scary.
He's the good king who

1659
01:33:30,720 --> 01:33:33,800
dispenses justice fairly,
taking good advice.

1660
01:33:34,600 --> 01:33:35,960
A venerable Charlemagne,

1661
01:33:37,200 --> 01:33:40,160
not a warrior,
but a peacemaker,

1662
01:33:40,360 --> 01:33:43,880
now more acceptable
to public opinion.

1663
01:33:46,720 --> 01:33:50,280
When the Capetian monarchy
was low on legitimacy,

1664
01:33:50,480 --> 01:33:52,600
they called on Charlemagne to help.

1665
01:33:55,320 --> 01:33:57,800
The Capetian monarchy
valued the holy.

1666
01:33:57,960 --> 01:33:59,760
They tended to try

1667
01:33:59,920 --> 01:34:02,960
to get closer
to the Carolingian monarchy

1668
01:34:03,160 --> 01:34:06,160
to have a claim
on Charlemagne's legacy.

1669
01:34:07,040 --> 01:34:10,240
Through this, they developed
a series of symbols

1670
01:34:10,640 --> 01:34:14,160
linked to the Carolingians,
to sovereign power.

1671
01:34:17,640 --> 01:34:20,440
Amongst these objects
which were given to the king,

1672
01:34:20,640 --> 01:34:22,560
is a sword said to
have been Charlemagne's,

1673
01:34:22,760 --> 01:34:25,440
named "Joyeuse"
in The Song of Roland.

1674
01:34:29,880 --> 01:34:33,160
And also the sceptre
and a statuette of the emperor.

1675
01:34:38,640 --> 01:34:40,680
These precious symbols
of the monarchy

1676
01:34:40,920 --> 01:34:44,440
have since been in
about 30 kings' hands.

1677
01:34:44,640 --> 01:34:47,960
However, none of them
ever belonged to Charlemagne.

1678
01:34:50,120 --> 01:34:51,840
I think that the worth

1679
01:34:52,080 --> 01:34:56,320
of a link to Charlemagne
is his solidity,

1680
01:34:56,600 --> 01:35:00,520
meaning he's a king
no one doubts

1681
01:35:00,720 --> 01:35:04,160
was one of the greatest
Christian kings of the West.

1682
01:35:05,920 --> 01:35:09,520
However, this idea was weakened
during the Enlightenment.

1683
01:35:12,000 --> 01:35:13,880
At that time, the Frankish king

1684
01:35:14,080 --> 01:35:16,400
was seen as a bloody warrior.

1685
01:35:20,360 --> 01:35:23,000
He was a Frank,
a barbarian, a savage

1686
01:35:23,200 --> 01:35:26,760
to many Enlightenment philosophers
who didn't like him.

1687
01:35:27,000 --> 01:35:31,400
Voltaire, referring to Charlemagne,
used the expression,

1688
01:35:31,640 --> 01:35:35,280
"the tyrant Charles, called 'Magne'",
So to Voltaire,

1689
01:35:35,440 --> 01:35:37,160
Charlemagne was a terrible

1690
01:35:37,440 --> 01:35:40,600
missionary who used
violence on the Saxons.

1691
01:35:40,800 --> 01:35:43,440
To Voltaire, he was appalling.

1692
01:35:46,640 --> 01:35:49,800
However, Charlemagne
was not forgotten.

1693
01:35:51,720 --> 01:35:52,880
After the French Revolution,

1694
01:35:53,080 --> 01:35:57,160
another conqueror
came into the foreground.

1695
01:35:59,120 --> 01:36:00,800
Although 1000 years apart,

1696
01:36:01,000 --> 01:36:04,760
Napoleon and Charlemagne
share some features.

1697
01:36:05,560 --> 01:36:07,320
When Bonaparte took power

1698
01:36:07,600 --> 01:36:10,560
and tried to make
an empire in France,

1699
01:36:10,720 --> 01:36:12,160
he needed references.

1700
01:36:12,360 --> 01:36:16,760
He couldn't look
to the French monarchy.

1701
01:36:16,920 --> 01:36:19,880
The Old Regime
had a bad reputation.

1702
01:36:20,480 --> 01:36:24,880
Since he wanted to start a dynasty,
the Carolingian dynasty seemed

1703
01:36:25,040 --> 01:36:27,040
quite a...

1704
01:36:27,320 --> 01:36:30,960
It was a long time ago,
so he didn't need to be precise.

1705
01:36:31,120 --> 01:36:32,120
It was glorious,

1706
01:36:32,320 --> 01:36:35,760
because Charlemagne conquered
most of Europe,

1707
01:36:35,960 --> 01:36:37,720
so everything fit.

1708
01:36:39,320 --> 01:36:41,280
To soak up the figure,

1709
01:36:41,480 --> 01:36:45,040
Napoleon went
on a pilgrimage to Aachen.

1710
01:36:47,720 --> 01:36:49,400
The story is,

1711
01:36:49,640 --> 01:36:52,880
Josephine sat
on Charlemagne's throne,

1712
01:36:53,080 --> 01:36:55,320
which Napoleon hadn't dared to do

1713
01:36:55,440 --> 01:36:57,240
- it could bring bad luck -

1714
01:36:57,440 --> 01:37:00,320
and the pilgrimage legitimised

1715
01:37:00,560 --> 01:37:03,760
the ceremony of December 2 1804
in Paris.

1716
01:37:05,600 --> 01:37:07,120
A coronation ceremony

1717
01:37:07,280 --> 01:37:09,880
openly inspired by Charlemagne.

1718
01:37:13,000 --> 01:37:15,680
The Louvre still has the crown

1719
01:37:15,880 --> 01:37:17,400
used on that day.

1720
01:37:18,920 --> 01:37:21,840
A crown made for the occasion.

1721
01:37:25,080 --> 01:37:28,680
This is the famous crown,

1722
01:37:28,840 --> 01:37:30,760
said to be "Charlemagne's".

1723
01:37:31,480 --> 01:37:33,480
It never belonged to him,

1724
01:37:33,680 --> 01:37:35,720
but it is meant to represent

1725
01:37:36,360 --> 01:37:40,240
the crown used by Charlemagne.

1726
01:37:42,320 --> 01:37:45,600
It has a crown,
in the form of fleur-de-lis,

1727
01:37:45,960 --> 01:37:50,040
enhanced with cameos all around it,

1728
01:37:50,320 --> 01:37:53,480
and it has arches,
because it's an imperial crown.

1729
01:37:54,200 --> 01:37:57,480
At the top is an orb,
the symbol of the Earth,

1730
01:37:57,680 --> 01:37:59,760
obviously topped by a cross.

1731
01:38:02,080 --> 01:38:05,040
The goldsmith
Martin-Guillaume Biennais

1732
01:38:05,280 --> 01:38:08,160
made it from representations
of Charlemagne.

1733
01:38:10,640 --> 01:38:13,120
It was inspired by engravings

1734
01:38:13,360 --> 01:38:18,320
showing the crown
on a reliquary in Aachen,

1735
01:38:18,520 --> 01:38:21,160
or others said
to have been Charlemagne's.

1736
01:38:21,440 --> 01:38:25,400
By arranging them together,
he created this crown.

1737
01:38:31,360 --> 01:38:34,840
The ceremony took place
in the pope's presence,

1738
01:38:35,000 --> 01:38:36,440
like in the year 800.

1739
01:38:38,640 --> 01:38:42,160
The new emperor had learnt
a lesson from history.

1740
01:38:47,760 --> 01:38:51,320
Napoleon took care
to crown himself.

1741
01:38:51,480 --> 01:38:53,320
The pope was there,

1742
01:38:53,520 --> 01:38:55,720
but did nothing
during the ceremony.

1743
01:38:55,920 --> 01:39:00,480
So, Napoleon learnt
from Charlemagne's misfortune.

1744
01:39:03,200 --> 01:39:06,880
Charlemagne was irritated
that Leo III had crowned him,

1745
01:39:07,160 --> 01:39:10,000
seemingly showing
Charlemagne's imperial power

1746
01:39:10,160 --> 01:39:11,680
came from the papacy.

1747
01:39:14,640 --> 01:39:18,000
Napoleon's ambition was
to show that the emperor

1748
01:39:18,160 --> 01:39:19,040
was in charge

1749
01:39:19,200 --> 01:39:21,280
of the French, not the contrary.

1750
01:39:21,920 --> 01:39:24,280
He did it better than Charlemagne.

1751
01:39:31,880 --> 01:39:33,160
In the 19th century,

1752
01:39:33,360 --> 01:39:36,560
the romantics exalted
the figure of Charlemagne

1753
01:39:36,720 --> 01:39:38,680
as a hero of epic poems.

1754
01:39:42,200 --> 01:39:44,280
At the start of the Republic,

1755
01:39:44,480 --> 01:39:46,480
another side of him

1756
01:39:46,640 --> 01:39:49,320
attracted the admiration
of secular France:

1757
01:39:49,480 --> 01:39:51,880
his support for instruction.

1758
01:39:54,280 --> 01:39:55,320
He became

1759
01:39:55,600 --> 01:39:57,840
a precursor
for Jules Ferry's school

1760
01:39:58,000 --> 01:40:00,400
who was not a Catholic saint,

1761
01:40:00,560 --> 01:40:02,040
in line with anti-clerical

1762
01:40:02,280 --> 01:40:03,040
sentiment.

1763
01:40:03,240 --> 01:40:06,880
He became a "secular"
emperor figure, a protector

1764
01:40:07,080 --> 01:40:09,600
of school in the 3rd Republic.

1765
01:40:12,080 --> 01:40:14,880
The Carolingian emperor
had found a place

1766
01:40:15,080 --> 01:40:17,040
in primary school books.

1767
01:40:18,440 --> 01:40:21,600
Here are some books
from the early 3rd Republic.

1768
01:40:21,840 --> 01:40:24,480
They are little Lavisse books.

1769
01:40:24,680 --> 01:40:29,200
This one has an image
of Charlemagne inspecting schools.

1770
01:40:29,440 --> 01:40:32,400
It is composed around
a central figure,

1771
01:40:32,600 --> 01:40:35,920
Charlemagne the emperor,
who dominates the others,

1772
01:40:36,200 --> 01:40:39,600
and is passing judgement
right and left.

1773
01:40:39,760 --> 01:40:40,640
On one side

1774
01:40:40,920 --> 01:40:44,160
are rich children
who aren't working well,

1775
01:40:44,320 --> 01:40:47,920
to his right, he's rewarding poor,

1776
01:40:48,160 --> 01:40:51,600
badly dressed children,
working hard.

1777
01:40:51,800 --> 01:40:54,200
It's saying to the 3rd Republic,

1778
01:40:54,400 --> 01:40:56,920
"School uses meritocracy.

1779
01:40:57,120 --> 01:40:58,320
"Work hard,

1780
01:40:58,520 --> 01:41:01,480
"and be rewarded
whatever your social status."

1781
01:41:02,880 --> 01:41:04,880
The 3rd Republic developed

1782
01:41:05,080 --> 01:41:08,160
what is now called
"the national novel"

1783
01:41:08,360 --> 01:41:11,360
using monarchs,

1784
01:41:11,600 --> 01:41:14,440
some good, some bad.

1785
01:41:14,640 --> 01:41:18,280
In this gallery, it's clear
Charlemagne was a good figure.

1786
01:41:19,200 --> 01:41:21,200
He became Charlemagne
with the white beard,

1787
01:41:21,480 --> 01:41:25,200
a nice grandfather,
a bit like God the Father,

1788
01:41:25,400 --> 01:41:28,760
with his beard,
he doesn't scare anyone.

1789
01:41:34,560 --> 01:41:35,840
This likeable figure

1790
01:41:36,040 --> 01:41:38,320
was however used
by one of the most

1791
01:41:38,520 --> 01:41:41,280
terrifying regimes ever:
the Third Reich.

1792
01:41:47,080 --> 01:41:50,880
The mayor of Nuremberg
gave the chancellor a copy of

1793
01:41:51,080 --> 01:41:54,200
Charlemagne's sword
in front of 20,000 members of

1794
01:41:54,360 --> 01:41:56,280
the national-socialist party.

1795
01:42:00,000 --> 01:42:00,760
When

1796
01:42:01,040 --> 01:42:03,360
the Nazis were looking
for historical references,

1797
01:42:03,560 --> 01:42:05,280
there was a debate,

1798
01:42:05,520 --> 01:42:09,160
Himmler was fascinated
by figures like Widukind,

1799
01:42:09,360 --> 01:42:12,560
who were little-known
but could easily be adapted,

1800
01:42:12,760 --> 01:42:17,280
and Hitler, who wanted
more solid historical

1801
01:42:17,480 --> 01:42:18,320
links.

1802
01:42:20,960 --> 01:42:23,480
Charlemagne was
a useful reference

1803
01:42:23,600 --> 01:42:25,840
to justify extending the Reich.

1804
01:42:26,720 --> 01:42:27,760
He was evidence:

1805
01:42:27,920 --> 01:42:32,440
Charlemagne's empire matched
the Nazis' empire.

1806
01:42:34,200 --> 01:42:35,600
For Hitler,

1807
01:42:35,800 --> 01:42:39,160
Europe should find a base
in a merger with France,

1808
01:42:39,320 --> 01:42:40,200
hence Charlemagne

1809
01:42:40,360 --> 01:42:43,320
became a symbol of
a link between the two peoples.

1810
01:42:44,640 --> 01:42:48,600
A French unit of the Waffen-SS
even bore his name.

1811
01:42:51,080 --> 01:42:53,920
The Germans made Charlemagne

1812
01:42:54,160 --> 01:42:55,640
a central figure

1813
01:42:55,840 --> 01:42:57,880
in French-German collaboration.

1814
01:42:58,040 --> 01:42:59,880
Fortunately,

1815
01:43:00,080 --> 01:43:02,080
later European construction enabled

1816
01:43:02,320 --> 01:43:06,040
Charlemagne's image to be wiped
of these gruesome memories.

1817
01:43:09,080 --> 01:43:13,600
In 1950, Aachen created
the annual Charlemagne prize

1818
01:43:13,760 --> 01:43:16,600
rewarding those involved

1819
01:43:16,800 --> 01:43:18,600
in European unification.

1820
01:43:23,600 --> 01:43:24,360
Looking at

1821
01:43:24,640 --> 01:43:28,080
European figures, few linked
to the foundation of Europe

1822
01:43:28,280 --> 01:43:29,280
have a consensus.

1823
01:43:29,480 --> 01:43:32,440
The only one
who appears consensual,

1824
01:43:32,600 --> 01:43:33,760
since he seems to be

1825
01:43:33,960 --> 01:43:36,640
a real European,
is Charlemagne.

1826
01:43:36,840 --> 01:43:40,600
He's very far off in history,

1827
01:43:40,760 --> 01:43:42,280
which lets him evolve

1828
01:43:42,520 --> 01:43:46,920
into something
a bit above the rest.

1829
01:43:48,640 --> 01:43:51,600
He is now considered
a grandfather of Europe,

1830
01:43:51,760 --> 01:43:54,600
and has survived all adoptions

1831
01:43:55,280 --> 01:43:58,760
with exceptional longevity.

1832
01:44:21,360 --> 01:44:23,440
In 843, at Verdun,

1833
01:44:23,960 --> 01:44:28,200
Charlemagne's 3 grandsons
divided the Carolingian empire,

1834
01:44:28,400 --> 01:44:30,760
ending their grandfather's dream.

1835
01:44:31,040 --> 01:44:35,000
Despite this, the memory
of emperor Charlemagne

1836
01:44:35,160 --> 01:44:36,360
endures today.

1837
01:44:36,520 --> 01:44:38,480
Even if he is far from being

1838
01:44:38,640 --> 01:44:40,880
the father of democracy,

1839
01:44:41,120 --> 01:44:43,320
his incredible energy
and charisma

1840
01:44:43,480 --> 01:44:45,760
still fascinate us.

1841
01:44:45,960 --> 01:44:50,360
As an upholder of Antiquity
and founder of Christianity,

1842
01:44:50,520 --> 01:44:52,760
Charlemagne is inseparable

1843
01:44:52,920 --> 01:44:55,760
with the foundations
of European culture.

1844
01:44:56,000 --> 01:44:57,760
Thank you for watching

1845
01:44:57,960 --> 01:45:00,440
and I will see you very soon

1846
01:45:00,600 --> 01:45:03,000
for a new Secrets of History.

1847
01:46:37,200 --> 01:46:40,800
Subtitles: Eclair Media