Q 01/05

Who was Charlemagne's father?

A) Charles Martel

B) Pepin the Short

C) Clovis I

D) Pepin of Herstal

Answer · why

B) Pepin the Short

Pepin the Short. Already the real ruler of the Franks, he had the last Merovingian king deposed in 751 and became the first Frankish king to be anoint...

Q 02/05

Which grandfather of Charlemagne won the Battle of Tours in 732?

A) Pepin of Herstal

B) Arnulf of Metz

C) Childeric II

D) Charles Martel

Answer · why

D) Charles Martel

Charles Martel. He was never king, yet he ruled the whole Frankish realm while its kings reigned in name only, and his byname Martel means 'the hammer...

Q 03/05

What does the name Charlemagne mean, from the French?

A) Charles the Hammer

B) Charles the Great

C) Charles the Wise

D) Charles the Pious

Answer · why

B) Charles the Great

Charles the Great. The name is the French form of the Latin Carolus Magnus, and Charles itself goes back to a Germanic word, Karl, that meant simply '...

Q 04/05

Charlemagne's name became the word for 'king' in which language family?

A) Slavic

B) Celtic

C) Germanic

D) Semitic

Answer · why

A) Slavic

Slavic. Russian korol', Polish król and Slovak kráľ all go back to Karl, just as Caesar's name gave German its Kaiser and Russian its tsar.

Q 05/05

Before taking the crown, Charlemagne's father ruled as what?

A) Count palatine

B) Mayor of the palace

C) Lord protector

D) Lord high steward

Answer · why

B) Mayor of the palace

Mayor of the palace. The office had eclipsed the figurehead Merovingian kings, and in 751 Charlemagne's father dropped the pretence, had the last of t...