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Who was Clovis?
Clovis became king of the Franks in 481, when he was 15. He led them for 30 years. With his people, he came to conquer most of modern France and Germany (the Franks originally only lived in a small part of contemporary France). Later, Clovis was baptized as a Christian and brought Christianity to all of the Franks
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Who was Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer)?
Charles Martel was a Mayor of the Palace; an official of the king. He was also called Charles the Hammer. In 732, he defeated the Muslim invaders from Spain at Tours, France and became a hero.
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Who was Charlemagne?
- Charlemagne was king of the Franks from 768 to 216, 48 long years. He fought the Lombards in Italy, the Saxons to the north, the Avars and Slavs to the east, and many others. In total, he led 60 campaigns. All of his defeated opponents were forced to accept the Roman church and swear fealty to Charlemagne.
- Charlemagne went to Italy to help Pope Leo III put down a rebellion in 800. In return, the pope crowned Charlemagne emperor on Christmas Day. Charlemagne died in 814, at age 72.
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Who was Rabbi Shlomo ben Isaac, a.k.a. Rashi?
Rabbi Shlomo ben Isaac was an important Jewish scholar. Rabbi Shlomo, also known as Rashi, was unable to attend religious discussions, because he had to support his family. Instead, he wrote commentaries about the Torah and Talmud. They are still of great importance to Jewish and Christian scholars.
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Who was Alcuin?
Alcuin was a monk from England, and Charlemagne's greatest scholar. He helped copy the few manuscripts that were left in Charlemagne's libraries, so that people of the future could read them.
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Who was Louis the Pious and his sons: Charles the Bald, Lothair, and Louis the German?
Louis the Pious was Charlemagne's less-succesful son. When he died in 840, his 3 sons, Lothair, Charles, and Louis were already fighting over control of the empire. For a while, the empire was divided among them, but then their kingdoms fell apart as landowner became more independent.
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