Manno Charlemagne

Manno (Emmanuel) Charlemagne, born 1948, is a Haitian political folk singer, songwriter and acoustic guitarist, lifelong political activist and former politician. He recorded his political chansons in both French and in Creole. He lived abroad in exile twice, both during the 1980s and again during the years 1991-1994, when the country was ruled by a military junta led by Raoul Cédras. In 1995, Charlemagne was elected mayor of Port-au-Prince after running as an independent candidate, while Oganizadyon Politik Lavalas (OPL), J.B. Aristide's political party at the time, did not present a mayoral candidate for Port-au-Prince, many considered this decision by OPL as a sign that Aristide had supported Manno's candidacy. He was mayor until 1999.

Life

Born in 1948, Charlemagne grew up in the sprawling new suburb of Carrefour, to the south of the capital, where he was influenced as much by the songs of the peasants who moved into the area in search of a livelihood, as by his Catholic school choir. In the 1970s, he was part of the kilti libete or freedom culture movement that promoted popular culture, including acoustic, folk music. Charlemagne's writing drew on the twoubadou tradition, a guitar-based music that can trace its roots back both to the rural songs of the Haitian peasantry and to the Cuban influences brought back to Haiti by returning migrant sugar cane cutters in the early decades of the twentieth century.

Charlemagne

Charlemagne (/ˈʃɑːrlᵻmeɪn/; 2 April 742/747/748 – 28 January 814), also known as Charles the Great (Latin: Carolus or Karolus Magnus) or Charles I, was King of the Franks. He united most of Western Europe during the early Middle Ages and laid the foundations for modern France and Germany. He took the Frankish throne in 768 and became King of Italy from 774. From 800 he became the first Holy Roman Emperor — the first recognized emperor in Western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. While Charlemagne already ruled his kingdom without the help of the Pope, recognition from the pontiff granted him divine legitimacy in the eyes of his contemporaries.

The expanded Frankish state Charlemagne founded was called the Carolingian Empire.

The oldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, Charlemagne became king in 768 following the death of his father. He was initially co-ruler with his brother Carloman I. Carloman's sudden death in 771 under unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the undisputed ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. Charlemagne continued his father's policy towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy, and leading an incursion into Muslim Spain. He also campaigned against the Saxons to his east, Christianizing them upon penalty of death, leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden. Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at Old St. Peter's Basilica.

Charlemagne (disambiguation)

Charlemagne (742/747–814) was King of the Franks from 768–814 and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 800–814.

Charlemagne may also refer to:

People

Arts and entertainment

Charlemagne (songwriting team)

Charlemagne was a successful songwriting team made up of James Carmichael, Ronald Miller and Kathy Wakefield that worked for Motown in the 1970s. One of the many hits that were written by this team was “Glasshouse,” the last Top 40 Pop single by The Temptations.

See also

References