Carolingian period
| Carolingian dynasty Carlovingians |
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|---|---|
| Royal dynasty | |
The "Carolingian cross"
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| Country |
Holy Roman Empire Francia Kingdom of All Italy Duchy of Bavaria Duchy of Bohemia |
| Estates | Palace of Aachen (seat) |
| Titles | |
| Style(s) | "Imperial Majesty" "Majesty" "Grace" |
| Founded | 714 |
| Founder | Charles Martel |
| Final ruler | Adelaide of Vermandois |
| Dissolution | 1124 |
| Deposition | 877 (Charles the Bald's death) |
| Ethnicity | Franks/Lombards |
| Cadet branches |
Non-agnatic lines: |
Non-agnatic lines:
The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian" (Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German word *karling, kerling, meaning "descendant of Charles", cf. MHG kerlinc) derives from the Latinised name of Charles Martel: Carolus. The dynasty consolidated its power in the mid 8th century, eventually making the offices of mayor of the palace and dux et princeps Francorum hereditary, and becoming the de facto rulers of the Franks as the real powers behind the Merovingian throne. In 751 the Merovingian dynasty, which had ruled the Germanic Franks was overthrown with the consent of the Papacy and the aristocracy, and a Carolingian Pepin the Short was crowned King of the Franks. The Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of Romans in over three centuries. His death in 814 began an extended period of fragmentation of the Carolingian empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.
Traditional historiography has seen the Carolingian assumption of the Frank kingship as the product of a long rise to power, punctuated even by a premature attempt to seize the throne through Childebert the Adopted. This picture, however, is not commonly accepted today. Rather, the coronation of 751 is seen typically as a product of the aspirations of one man, Pepin, and of the Church, which was always looking for powerful secular protectors and for the extension of its spiritual and temporal influence.
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