Detail from portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer, painted in 1513.

Potrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer, painted in 1513.

This 10th-century work is actually a copy of a lost 9th-century original. It depicts Charlemagne meeting with his illegitimate son, Pepin the Hunchback, whom a conspiracy had sought to place on the throne. The original was made in Fulda between 829 and 836 for Eberhard von Friaul.

Monogram of Charlemagne, from the subscription of a royal diploma:
"Signum (monogram: KAROLVS) Caroli gloriosissimi regis" which translates from the latin as “Signed (monogram) Charles most glorious king”, a standard signature line for a king. It is believed that Charlemagne only drew the straight lines connecting the letters in the monogram cross.

Einhard wrote of Charlemagne that he "tried to write, and used to keep tablets and blanks in bed under his pillow, that at leisure hours he might accustom his hand to form the letters; however, as he did not begin his efforts in due season, but late in life, they met with ill success."

When Charlemagne visited the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine elites were amused by his rough "barbarian" dress and the stencil he used to sign his name.

Charlemagne depicted with Popes Gelasius I and Gregory I

This work is from the sacramentary of Charles the Bald, Charlemagne's grandson, and was probably made c. 870.

Charlemagne (Charles the Great)