Charlemagne

~742–814 CE · Frankish (Aachen, modern-day Germany/France/Belgium) · Early Medieval Europe, Carolingian Empire

Known for: Father of Europe—united Western Europe for the first time since Rome and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor

Charlemagne (Charles the Great) united most of Western Europe under a single ruler for the first time since the fall of Rome. Through 50+ military campaigns, he conquered the Saxons, Lombards, and Bavarians, creating an empire stretching from Spain to the Danube.

On Christmas Day 800 CE, Pope Leo III crowned him Emperor of the Romans—reviving the concept of a Western Roman Empire. He promoted education (the Carolingian Renaissance), standardized weights and currency, reformed the Church, and established schools across his realm.

He was illiterate for most of his life but kept writing tablets under his pillow and practiced letters at night. He fathered at least 18 children by multiple wives and concubines. He's the ancestor of virtually every European royal family.

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