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The Rest Is History

523. Charlemagne: Return of the Kings (Part 1)

Thu, 19 Dec 2024

Description

The Frankish king, Charlemagne the Great, is one of the titanic figures of European history, simultaneously renowned and shadowy. His rise to supreme power is a staggering story of warring religious empires, betrayal, battle, blindings and brutal conquest. How, then, did this one time Frankish interloper become the father of Europe, progenitor of a Holy Roman Empire whose descendants would rule right up until the time of Napoleon, and Emperor of the West? It begins in 741 AD when, following the death of the Frankish leader Charles Martel - ‘The Hammer’ - his two sons, Carloman and the pious by ruthless Pepin were forced to look to the Pope in Rome, then a subsidiary to the Byzantine empire, to buttress their authority. The Pope too was increasingly embattled at that time, struggling against invasions by the ferocious Germanic Lombards from the north of Italy. Desperate, he called upon Pepin for aid. So it was that, after his brother’s abdication, Pepin was officially anointed by the Pope as the sole King of the Franks, before crossing the Alps and smashing Lombardy. After his death, he would leave his kingdom the foremost power in Western Europe, and in the hands of to his own two sons: Carloman and Charles, later known as Charlemagne. A terrible power struggle would ensue… Join Tom and Dominic for this next instalment of their mighty series on the Franks and the rise of Charlemagne. How would Charles’ and Carloman’s battle for power play out? _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Editor: Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Transcription

Full Episode

0.129 - 22.478 Dominic Sandbrook

Thank you for listening to The Rest Is History. For weekly bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to series, and membership of our much-loved chat community, go to therestishistory.com and join the club. That is therestishistory.com. This episode is brought to you by Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

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37.671 - 46.913 Dominic Sandbrook

Sinister forces are scouring the globe for the secret to an ancient power, and only one person can stop them. Indiana Jones. Adventure Calls.

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47.293 - 48.974 Tom Holland

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

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49.194 - 74.687 Dominic Sandbrook

Out now on Xbox Series X and S, Game Pass and PC. Rated T for Teen. Copyright and trademark 2024. Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. This episode is brought to you by Google Gemini. For anyone new to Gemini, it's an AI assistant that you can have real conversations with. I'll give you an example. If you have a job interview coming up, you can ask Gemini to help you prep.

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74.887 - 94.057 Dominic Sandbrook

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94.617 - 114.829 Advertisement Speaker

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115.07 - 124.067 Advertisement Speaker

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134.824 - 151.111 Dominic Sandbrook

The Merovingian dynasty, from which the Franks were accustomed to choose their kings, is thought to have lasted down to King Chilperic III, who was deposed on the order of Stephen II, the Pope of Rome. His hair was cut short and he was shut up in a monastery.

151.651 - 177.309 Dominic Sandbrook

Though this dynasty may seem to have come to an end only with Chilperic III, it had really lost all power years before and it no longer possessed anything at all of importance beyond the empty title of king. The wealth and the power of the kingdom were held tight in the hands of certain leading officials of the court who were called the mayors of the palace and on them supreme authority devolved.

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