Charlemagne - 1200 Years Ago Today

Hello, Justin Swanstrom:

This is Ethel Stanton. I find this topic totally worthwhile and fascinating.
However, I know very little about the vast regions that contributed to the
changes in economics and artisan production.

Perhaps as more people respond, there will be more information to guide
future ideas.

I agree that in some ways archaeology reveals more than the histories.
Sometimes new discoveries verify and extend the chronicles. Sometimes
the connections are still mysterious.

Thanks for the discussion thread. It opens the door to more awareness of geography and the multitude of civilizations that have existed for many milleniums.

Ethel, this is one of the things I love about Geni. We're not just gathering data but we also have a chance to talk about it, so we all learn more.

1200 years. Charlemagne is the ancestor to everyone who is of any European descent. Given I am Spanish/Mexican, Norwegian, Italian, and French, that would make me a descendant for sure. He's my 32nd great grandfather in the shortest line, and I believe my 42nd great grandfather in the longest line.

It is amazing to find several lines of ancestors leading to Charlemagne and other kings and queens along the way.

I see the value of Geni in this unique road to long ago people in the enormous
family tree. Of course, it becomes more urgent that every link be verified as much as possible....some information being lost forever.

yes, I have heard. some dskussion around adele of flandern, his descendant

Don't know if anyone has seen this article: http://www.thelocal.de/20140131/charlemagne-bones-proven-genuine-12...

Thanks, David! Interesting article. I wonder if they'll try to extract DNA. A DNA profile for Charlemagne would be fantastic.

Thanks David! Interesting article indeed ;)

Following the above links i stumbled across this lecture series:

http://www.vlib.us/medieval/lectures/

Not particularly in-depth but fascinating reading none the less, especially if your formal historical education ended while you were still in high school.

I'm going to bookmark that one, Alex. As you say, it's not very deep but it's right at the level most people want. A good orientation without all the boring stuff.

Thanks Alex Moes

Here's another, interesting but not very deep:

"Charlemagne was not one of the Good Guys ... Charlemagne was a failure, who could not establish an ideological and bureaucratic framework to see his empire last more than a couple of generations ... The great emperor may have made a lot of sense as a symbol of unity to German and French intellectuals and politicians in the 1960s, but Europe has changed.

http://merovingianworld.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/charlemagnes-death...

I love the candor. It gets tiring to sanitize every famous ancestor into "A Great Man" or "A Great Woman". What we choose to see tells us more about ourselves than about the other person.