What the Dominions of Charlemagne Comprised
The kingdom of the Franks, to which Charlemagne fell heir on the death of his father, formed an extensive dominion comprising portions of the two countries we now call France and Germany,—for it must be remembered that the specific countries, France and Germany, did not yet exist at all.
At this time—the latter half of the eighth century—Italy was divided between the Lombards and the Eastern emperors, England had come into existence, but only as a number of feeble and warring states, Spain was under the rule of the Moslems. In the meantime the land of the Franks was lifting itself from out the surrounding barbarism of the new races, and was the center of that Germanic civilization which was struggling into existence.
It is important to bear in mind the actual condition of the European world at the time Charlemagne came on the stage, for it will help us to understand the work he did, how far he succeeded and how far he failed.