Charlemagne's Remains Proven--Kind Of

You know Charlemagne---aka Charles the Great, Karl der Grosse, Carolus Magnus, to name a few.  He was born in 747 or 748, although popular tradition states 742.  He died on January 28, 814 in Aachen (in modern Germany) and was entombed in the Aachen Cathedral.

Gilded sarcophagus of Charlemagne in Aachen Cathedral.  Photo:  DPA

He became King of the Franks in conjunction with his brother, but when his brother died in 771, Charles pre-empted his brother's heirs and became sole king.  Through military campaigns he annexed northern Italy in 773-774, assuming the Lombard crown as well.  He suffered a major defeat in Spain, but then annexed Bavaria in 787-788.

Charlemagne was able to expand his empire and maintain it through the interweaving of military ability, diplomatic skill, determined bureaucratic regulation, and a knack for maintaining a good relationship with the papacy. His focus on strengthening the role of ecclesiastics, who were mostly learned men, in his kingdom also led to a revival of culture within the kingdom.

His relationship with the papacy grew even stronger when, in 799, Pope Leo III was physically attacked by a group of Romans that included some high-ranking members of the church, who accused him of misconduct and tyranny.  Pope Leo fled to Charlemagne for protection, who then negotiated with Pope Leo's attackers so that, in lieu of being judged, he publicly swore an oath purging himself of the charges that had been laid against him.  Two days later, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne "Emperor of the Romans."

Charlemagne's sarcophagus was opened in secret by German researchers back in 1988.  After nearly 26 years, these researchers confirmed 1200 years to the day since the emperor's death, that the bones interred are in fact--most likely--those of Charlemagne.  Most of the bones were recovered from the sarcophagus, although some skull fragments were taken from a bust of the emperor.  Some bones are missing, and the researchers speculate they were given away in the years after the emperor's death as relics.

The determination that the remains are "probably" those of Charlemagne is based on the fact that the bones are consistent with the descriptions of Charlemagne--an older, thin, unusually tall man for the times (6 feet) that showed indications of a possible injury to the kneecap and heel bones that would be consistent with descriptions indicating that Charlemagne walked with a limp.

Source:  "The Local: Germany's News in English", Germany edition, January 31, 2014, http://www.thelocal.de/20140131/charlemagne-bones-proven-genuine-1200-years-later