So here we have fast-forwarded to the year 814, which would be right around here on our timeline, and you can see a major event has occurred, either on the map or on this timeline. You have Charlemagne, king of the Franks, crowned Holy Roman Emperor. On the map, you can see Charlemagne's empire right over here. He has conquered Northern Italy, much of what we consider modern-day France, much of what we consider modern-day Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Charlemagne is really one of the defining figures of the Middle Ages, and especially the early Middle Ages. As you can see, he's able to unify much of Western Europe. A lot of our ideas about kings and castles and knights begin to emerge around the time of Charlemagne.