Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/239

 THE FRANKISH STATE AND CHARLEMAGNE 199
 * han about the personality and reign of any other barbarian

uler since the Roman Empire. Yearly tables were kept in inany abbeys to determine the date of Easter and in their inargins the monks sometimes noted down important Invents. These " Easter Annals" began at the end of the i;eventh century, but by the time of Charlemagne had be- come fuller in their entries. The same is true of the official mnals kept at the Frankish court. Then Charlemagne's secretary, Einhard, has left us a brief biography and char- acter sketch of his master, and many of Charlemagne's Capitularies, or lists of laws, are extant. We also have some documentary and monumental evidence of the literary and jirtistic activity of his reign. ! Charles the Great had a long reign from 768 to 814. His /ounger brother Carloman at first ruled a part of their ather's possessions, but died in 771. Charles Personality olly face. Nevertheless he could be stern enough >n occasion and was not lacking in dignity at any time. He
 * vas a giant both in height and girth and had a of Charle-
 * 00k plenty of exercise and was especially fond of swimming

md hunting. He was a large eater, temperate in drinking, put not in his relations with women, and the morals of his
 * ourt were correspondingly loose. The family life of his

ather Pepin had been much purer. Charles's inexhaustible physical vigor is seen in his personally directing a military
 * ampaign almost every year of his reign. He was ambitious

md autocratic and sometimes even brutal. Yet most of his policies of conquest were inherited from his predecessors, md he was a zealous promoter of Christianity and learning. Hie knew something of the classical languages himself, al- though he could barely sign his name. Fighting, however, absorbed much of Charlemagne's
 * ime and energy, as was the case with all the kings of that

ige. He fought against the Lombards, Bava- Overthrow "ians, and Saxons, against Arabs, Avars, Slavs, Lombard md Danes. At the beginning of his reign kingdom Charles's mother arranged a marriage for him with the laughter of the Lombard king, Desiderius, But Charles