Charles the Fat
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Charles III, also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was the last Carolingian emperor of legitimate birth and the last to rule a united kingdom of the Franks.
A seal of Charles the Fat with the inscription KAROLVS MAGS ("Carolus Magnus")
Charter of Charles III, 2 December 882.
Charles in a 14th-century sandstone relief, flanked by a squire and a knight.
Charles the Fat receives the offer of kingship from two West Francian ambassadors (from the Grandes Chroniques de France, illustration from c. 1375–1379).
Carolingian Empire
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The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lombards in Italy from 774. In 800, the Frankish king Charlemagne was crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III in an effort to transfer the Roman Empire from the Byzantine Empire to Western Europe. The Carolingian Empire is sometimes considered the first phase in the history of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Dorestad Brooch, Carolingian-style cloisonné jewelry from c. 800. Found in the Netherlands, 1969.
Copy of the Ludwigslied, an epic poem celebrating the victory of Louis III of West Francia over the Vikings
Interior of the Palatine Chapel in Aachen, Germany
A denarius minted by Prince Adelchis of Benevento in the name of Emperor Louis II and Empress Engelberga, showing the expansion of Carolingian authority in southern Italy which Louis achieved