Charlemagne

Well firstly I was born in 742........King of the Franks initially.........conquered and ruled the largest Empire in Western Europe since the fall of Rome......crowned Emperor by the Pope on Christmas Day 800....generally spread christianity and killed pagans(those fucking Saxons were a pain in the arse though!).....many historians have emphasised how great I was and, quite frankly (no pun intended!) I am inclined to agree with them.For an excellent account of my life, read my old buddy Einhard's biography of me ('The Life of Charlemagne') here:http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/einhard.htmlheres an extract:He was very forward in succoring the poor, and in that gratuitous generosity which the Greeks call alms, so much so that he not only made a point of giving in his own country and his own kingdom, but when he discovered that there were Christians living in poverty in Syria, Egypt, and Africa, at Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Carthage, he had compassion on their wants, and used to send money over the seas to them. The reason that he zealously strove to make friends with the kings beyond seas was that he might get help and relief to the Christians living under their rule.He cherished the Church of St. Peter the Apostle at Rome above all other holy and sacred places, and heaped its treasury with a vast wealth of gold, silver, and precious stones. He sent great and countless gifts to the popes; and throughout his whole reign the wish that he had nearest at heart was to re-establish the ancient authority of the city of Rome under his care and by his influence, and to defend and protect the Church of St. Peter, and to beautify and enrich it out of his own store above all other churches. Although he held it in such veneration, he only repaired to Rome to pay his vows and make his supplications four times during the whole forty-seven years that he reigned.