A Comprehensive Look at Charlemagne’s 20 Descendants

Charlemagne, the Frankish ruler often referred to as Carolus Magnus or Charles I, earned the title 'father of Europe' for his profound influence. With around 20 offspring, his descendants founded many of Europe’s royal families, and it’s estimated that nearly every European today can trace their ancestry back to him [PDF].

Born in 742 CE to Pepin III, also known as Pepin the Short, the founder of the Carolingian dynasty, Charlemagne became king of the Franks in 768 and was crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day in 800. Renowned for pulling Europe out of the 'Dark Ages,' he promoted art and culture, converted tribes like the Saxons and Lombards to Christianity, and became the first ruler since the fall of Rome to govern Western and Central Europe. He passed away in 814.

Charlemagne had approximately 20 children with 10 wives and concubines. He demanded that all his children receive an education worthy of their noble standing, and many became influential royals, religious figures, and scholars. Their stories are meticulously documented in works like Charlemagne by Derek Wilson, King and Emperor: A New Life of Charlemagne by Janet L. Nelson, and Life of Charlemagne by the 7th-century historian Einhard [PDF].

Pepin the Hunchback (769-811)

Himiltrude, a noblewoman of Frankish descent, was Charlemagne’s first known companion. She bore him his eldest son, Pepin, named in honor of earlier Frankish monarchs, with the hope that he might one day succeed his father. (In Charlemagne’s era, the throne was not automatically passed to the firstborn.) However, as Charlemagne fathered more children and hinted at favoring a younger son as his successor, Pepin became involved in a plot to dethrone his father in 792. While other conspirators faced execution, Pepin the Hunchback was exiled to a remote monastery, where he spent his remaining days.

Charles the Younger (772 or 773-811)

In 771, Charlemagne wed Hildegard, the daughter of a Germanic nobleman. She gave birth to approximately nine children, starting with Charles the Younger. While Charles was raised in Charlemagne’s household, his brothers, Carloman and Louis (more details below), were sent to govern different regions of the empire. On the day Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800 CE, Charles the Younger was also named King of the Franks. Charlemagne intended for his three sons to inherit equal portions of his kingdom, though this plan ultimately failed. Charles the Younger, who was married but childless, passed away in 811.

Adalhaid (773-774)

Charlemagne and Hildegard’s first daughter, who may have been Charles the Younger’s twin according to Wilson, died at just 11 months old during a military campaign in Italy.

Rotrude (775-810)

Charlemagne’s deep affection for his daughters led him to prohibit them from marrying, likely to prevent ambitious sons-in-law from threatening his kingdom. Rotrude (or Rotruda), his second daughter and the first to survive infancy, was educated at his court by Alcuin of York, whom Einhard described as “the most learned man of his time.” Though betrothed to Byzantine emperor Constantine VI, the marriage never occurred. Wilson notes that Rotrude secretly had a relationship with Rorgon, count of Maine, and gave birth to a son named Louis around 800. Louis later became the abbot of Saint-Denis near Paris and died in 867.

Carloman, also known as Pepin of Italy (777-810)

While Charles the Younger was raised in Charlemagne’s court, his younger brother Carloman was dispatched to Italy as a symbolic ruler, representing his father’s authority—despite being only a young child. Carloman was baptized in 781, and during the ceremony, Charlemagne surprised everyone by renaming him Pepin. According to Wilson, this act signaled that Pepin the Hunchback, Charlemagne’s eldest son, was no longer considered a potential heir.

As one of Charlemagne’s designated successors, Pepin of Italy was set to inherit a third of the kingdom alongside Charles the Younger and Louis the Pious. Sadly, Pepin of Italy passed away in 810, four years before his father.

Louis the Pious (778-840)

In 781, Charlemagne named Louis, his third son with Hildegarde, as the ruler of Aquitaine. Alongside Charles the Younger and Pepin of Italy, Louis was tasked with safeguarding his father’s interests in French territories. Unlike his brothers, who were more inclined toward governance and military endeavors, Louis was deeply devoted to religion, earning him the moniker Louis the Pious. By 813, after the deaths of his brothers left Louis as the sole heir, Charlemagne named him co-emperor. Upon Charlemagne’s death in 814, Louis ascended as the sole emperor of much of Europe, introducing reforms rooted in Christian principles—such as sending his sisters to nunneries—and enacting new laws. Before his death in 840, he divided his empire among his three sons.

Lothair (778-779)

Lothair, who may have shared a birth year with Louis the Pious, passed away as an infant.

Bertha (779-824)

Bertha (occasionally spelled Berta or Bertrada) was named in honor of Charlemagne’s mother, Bertrada of Laon. Like her older sister Rotrude, she was well-educated and spirited, though her betrothal to Offa, the king of Mercia, never materialized. As a teenager, Bertha became romantically involved with Angilbert, Charlemagne’s trusted advisor, who was over three decades her senior. Though they never married, they had two sons, Nithard and Hartuid, before 800. Nithard followed in his father’s footsteps, excelling as a poet, military strategist, diplomat, and historian, and chronicling the Carolingian empire during the reigns of his cousins, the sons of Louis the Pious.

Gisela (781-?)

Gisela (or Gisla), the third of Charlemagne and Hildegard’s daughters to survive infancy, received her education in Aachen, the Frankish capital. She later became the abbess of Notre-Dame de Soissons, as noted in Rosamond McKitterick’s The Frankish Kingdoms Under the Carolingians, 751-987.

Hildegard (783-783)

The ninth and final child of Charlemagne and Hildegard, she passed away as an infant. Her mother died the same year.

Chrotais (784-after 800)

Following the death of his wife Hildegard, Charlemagne had relationships with several women, resulting in more children. His daughter Chrotais (also known as Hruodhaid), whose mother’s identity is unknown, bears the same name as the mistress of Charles Martel, Charlemagne’s grandfather and a prominent Frankish ruler.

Theodrada (784-after 844)

Theodrada, the older of two daughters born to Charlemagne and his third wife, Fastrada, a Frankish noblewoman, rose to become the abbess of Notre-Dame d’Argenteuil, a monastery located northwest of Paris, by the time of her father’s death.

Hildrud (787-after 800)

Hildrud, born in 787, was the younger daughter of Charlemagne and Fastrada.

Ruodaid (790-852)

Ruodaid (also known as Ruothild), the sole child of Charlemagne and a woman named Madelgard, assumed the role of abbess at the Faremoutiers monastery in 840.

Adaltrud (after 800-?)

Adaltrud (or Adolthrud), the daughter of Charlemagne and a Saxon woman named Gersuinda, is mentioned in Einhard’s Life of Charlemagne.

Drogo (801-855)

After ascending as the sole emperor following Charlemagne’s death, Louis the Pious took measures to secure his rule, including eliminating his nephew Bernard, the son of Charles the Younger. Louis also had his younger half-brothers, Drogo and Hugh (also known as Hugo), sons of Charlemagne and his concubine Regina, forcibly tonsured and sent to monasteries—a common tactic to remove relatives from succession. Drogo was initially sent to Luxeuil Abbey but was later appointed bishop of Metz in 823 after Louis reconsidered. Drogo eventually became archbishop of Metz in 827 and was named “papal vicar for the entire Frankish kingdom” in 844, as noted by scholar Johannes Fried in The New Cambridge Medieval History.

Hugh (802-844)

Louis the Pious exiled his half-brother Hugh (or Hugo) to Saint-Quentin monastery alongside Drogo. Hugh later became abbot of Saint-Quentin and two other monasteries. In 834, Louis appointed him archchancellor, a high-ranking administrative role in the Frankish empire.

Richbod (800 or 805–844)

Richbod, the son of Charlemagne and an unnamed partner, was appointed abbot of Saint-Riquier near present-day Abbeville, France, in 840. He passed away four years later.

Bernard (?-?)

Bernard, the son of Charlemagne and an unidentified woman, was appointed abbot of Moutier-Saint-Jean in Burgundy in 843. However, the exact dates of his birth and death remain unknown.

Theuderic (807-after 818)

Theuderic (or Theodoric), Charlemagne’s youngest child, was born from his relationship with a woman named Abalind.