Ĭharlemagne (742–814) was Charles Martel's grandson. The only other compound name with the Carl- prefix is Carlofred ( Carlefred), attested in the 7th century as a suffix, it occurs in the rare names Altcarl and Gundecarl (9th and 11th centuries, respectively). This would place the name Carloman in the 6th century, and open the possibility that the Frankish name Carl may originate as a short form of Carloman. The Chronicle of Fredegar names an earlier Carloman as the father of Pepin of Landen, and thus the great-great-grandfather of the Charles Martel. 710–754), a rare example of the element carl- occurring in a compound name. Charles' eldest son was named Carloman (c. After his victory at the Battle of Soissons (718), Charles Martel styled himself Duke of the Franks. Compare the name of king Mul of Kent (7th century) which simply translates to 'mule'.Ĭharles Martel (686–741) was an illegitimate son of Pepin of Herstal, and therefore indeed a 'free man', but not of noble rank. It is a peculiarity of the Anglo-Saxon royal names that many of the rulers of the earliest period (6th to 7th centuries) have monothematic (simplex) names, while the standard dithematic (compounded) names become almost universial from the 8th century. 620), the first Mercian king mentioned by Bede in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum. As such it would not seem a likely candidate for the name of a Germanic king, but it is attested as such with Cearl of Mercia (fl. This meaning of ceorl contrasts with eorl (Old Norse jarl) 'nobleman' on one hand and with þeow (Old Norse þræll) 'bondsman, slave' on the other. The name is atypical for Germanic names as it is not composed of two elements, but simply a noun meaning '(free) man'. 4 List of notable people called Charles.1.2 Later Middle Ages and Early Modern history.In the form Charles, the initial spelling ch- corresponds to the palatalization of the Latin group ca- in Central French and the final -s to the former subject case of masculine words in Old French (< Latin -us).

The name's etymology is a Common Germanic noun *karlaz meaning 'free man', which survives in English as churl (< Old English ċeorl), which developed its deprecating sense in the Middle English period. The name was notably borne by Charlemagne (Charles the Great), and was at the time latinized as Karolus (as in Vita Karoli Magni), later also as Carolus. The corresponding Old Norse form is Carl, the German form is Karl. Look up Charles in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.Ĭharles is a masculine given name, the English and French form of a Germanic name first recorded in the Anglo-Saxon period as Cearl or Ceorl, as the name of king Cearl of Mercia. For other uses, see Charles (disambiguation). For the family name, see Charles (surname).

Pivot animator alien figure