n written telling of
the wonderful adventures they were said to have had and of their
wonderful deeds in war.

The work of Charlemagne in Spain was quickly undone; for Abd-er-Rahman,
the leader of the Mohammedans who had come from Damascus, soon
conquered almost all the territory south of the Pyrenees.

[Illustration: ROLAND IN THE BATTLE OF RONCESVALLES]

For more than forty years Charlemagne was king of the Franks; but
a still greater dignity was to come to him. In the year 800 some
of the people in Rome rebelled against the Pope, and Charlemagne
went with an army to put down the rebellion. He entered the city
with great pomp and soon conquered the rebels. On Christmas day
he went to the church of St. Peter, and as he knelt before the
altar the Pope placed a crown upon his head, saying:

"Long live Charles Augustus, Emperor of the Romans."

The people assembled in the church shouted the same words; and so
Charlemagne was now emperor of the Western Roman Empire, as well
as king of the Franks.[*]

[Footnote: The emperors of Constantinople still called themselves
Roman Emperors, and still claimed Italy, Germany and France as
parts of their empire, though really their authority had not been
respected in these countries for more than 300 years.]

Charlemagne built a splendid palace at Aix-la-Chapelle
(_aks-la-shap-el'_), a town in Germany, where perhaps he was born.

Charlemagne was a tall man, with long, flowing beard, and of noble
appearance. He dressed in very simple style; but when he went into
battle he wore armor, as was the custom for kings and nobles, and
often for ordinary soldiers in his day.

[Illustration: THE POPE CROWNING CHARLEMAGNE]

Armor was made of leather or iron, or both together. There was a
helmet of iron for the head, and a breastplate to cover the breast,
or a coat of mail to cover the body. The coat of mail was made of
small iron or steel rings linked together, or fastened on to a
leather shirt. Coverings for the legs and feet were often attached
to the coat.

II

Charlemagne was a great king in may other ways besides the fighting
of battles. He did much for the good of his people. He made many
excellent laws and appointed judges to see that the laws were carried
out. He established schools and placed good teachers in charge of
them. He had a school in his palace for his own children, and he
employed as their teacher a very learned Englishman named Alcuin
(_al'kwin_).

In those