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Glite Dictionary
Charles the Bald

Charles the Bald

1 8.9
A king of the Franks who became Holy Roman Emperor in the 800s
  • proper noun
: Carlos el Calvo
  • Charles the Bald ruled as king of France from 843 until his death in 877.

Examples

  • Charles the Bald was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 875.

  • The reign of Charles the Bald saw significant political and cultural changes in Western Europe.

  • Historians often debate the effectiveness of Charles the Bald's rule over the Frankish kingdom.

  • Did Charles the Bald become emperor?

  • Don't forget Charles the Bald!

  • Many artifacts from the era of Charles the Bald highlight the cultural advancements of the time.

  • The events during the life of Charles the Bald were pivotal in shaping medieval European politics.

Synonyms

Charles I
vsCharles the Bald
1 8.4

King of France in the 9th century who was called Charles the Bald and became Holy Roman Emperor

is the same ruler but numbered differently depending on the title

Surface Forms

Charles the Bald main

Morphology

Charles + the + bald

The phrase is compositionally readable as 'a person named Charles who is bald', so a B1 learner who knows the words would grasp the literal descriptive sense. However, the expression functions as a fixed historical epithet referring to a specific Frankish king/emperor, which requires world knowledge beyond the constituents, so the referential meaning is not fully predictable.

Etymology

Charles the Bald comes from a nickname used long ago. People used the short title the Bald to describe his thin hair or sometimes as an ironic label, and that short name helps us tell this king apart from other rulers today.