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Charlemagne

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Monarch

The Resume

    (April 2, 742-January 28, 814)
    Birth name Karel de Grote
    Inherited the kingdom of the Franks (771)
    Launched a 30-year campaign to strengthen his realm and bring order to Europe (772)
    Became the undisputed ruler of Western Europe (800)

Why he might be annoying:

    Despite his efforts, he couldn't learn how to write.
    Napoleon Bonaparte studied his tactics.
    He believed strongly in the Roman Catholic faith, and spread it throughout Western Europe by force if needed.
    He was polygamous.
    He forced kings and nobles from other regimes to kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household. (can you say 'whipped?')
    On Christmas Day in 800, while he knelt in prayer at St. Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III placed a golden crown on his bowed head. He was said to have been humbly surprised by his coronation, proclaiming he wouldn't have gone to church, had he known the Pope's scheme, even though the Pope probably wouldn't have dared to act without Charlemagne's consent.
    His name sounds like champagne.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He restored order to the anarchy Western Europe had developed, to become after the collapse of the Old Roman Empire.
    He paved the way for the development of modern Europe.
    He believed that government should be for the benefit of the governed.
    His realm covered what is now France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, half of Italy and Germany, part of Austria and the Spanish March.
    He accomplished his dream of establishing a central government over Western Europe.
    He's considered to be one of the greatest rulers of the ancient world.
    He was left handed.
    Captain Howdy

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 39 Votes: 25.64% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 40 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 206 Votes: 65.05% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 514 Votes: 49.42% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 42 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 166 Votes: 51.20% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 69 Votes: 50.72% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 25 Votes: 52.00% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 85 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 20 Votes: 55.00% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 107 Votes: 48.60% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 37 Votes: 51.35% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 68 Votes: 41.18% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 154 Votes: 44.81% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 364 Votes: 40.66% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 221 Votes: 44.34% Annoying
    In 2004, Out of 263 Votes: 43.73% Annoying
    In 2003, Out of 733 Votes: 43.66% Annoying
    In 2002, Out of 333 Votes: 46.55% Annoying