Editing Aachen (section)

=== Middle Ages ===
[[Pepin the Short]] had a castle residence built in the town,{{when|date=September 2024}} due to the proximity of the hot springs and also for strategic reasons as it is located between the [[Rhineland]] and northern France.<ref name="McClendon 1996a">{{harvnb|McClendon|1996a|p=1}}.</ref> [[Einhard]] mentions that in 765–766 Pepin spent both Christmas and Easter at ''Aquis villa'' ''({{lang|la|Et celebravit natalem Domini in Aquis villa et pascha similiter}})''<ref>{{harvnb|Eginhard|2012|p=10}}.</ref> ("and [he] celebrated the birth of the Lord [Christmas] in the town Aquis, and similarly Easter"), which must have been sufficiently equipped to support the royal household for several months. In the year of his coronation as king of the [[Francia|Franks]], 768, [[Charlemagne]] came to spend Christmas at Aachen for the first time.{{efn|This is in dispute, as some history books state that Charlemagne was in fact born in Aachen in 742.<ref name="Merkl 2007" />}} He remained there in a mansion which he may have extended, although there is no source attesting to any significant building activity at Aachen in his time, apart from the building of the [[Palatine Chapel in Aachen|Palatine Chapel]] (since 1930, cathedral) and the [[Palace of Aachen|Palace]]. 

Charlemagne spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the political centre of his empire. During the [[Carolingian]] empire, a Jewish community lived near the royal palace. In Jewish texts, the city of Aachen was called ''Aish'' or ''Ash'' (אש). In 797, Isaac, a Jewish merchant, accompanied two ambassadors of [[Charlemagne]] to the court of [[Harun al-Rashid]]. He returned to Aachen in July 802, bearing an elephant called [[Abul-Abbas]] as a gift for the emperor.<ref>{{cite news |date=21 July 2003 |title=Baghdad, Jerusalem, Aachen – On the Trail of the White Elephant |url=https://www.dw.com/en/baghdad-jerusalem-aachen-on-the-trail-of-the-white-elephant/a-923561 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218174200/https://www.dw.com/en/baghdad-jerusalem-aachen-on-the-trail-of-the-white-elephant/a-923561 |archive-date=18 February 2020 |access-date=18 February 2020 |work=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref> After Charlemagne's death, he was buried in the church which he had built;<ref name="McClendon 1996a-4">{{harvnb|McClendon|1996a|p=4}}.</ref> his original tomb has been lost, while his alleged remains are preserved in the ''[[Karlsschrein]]'', the shrine where he was reburied after being declared a saint; his saintliness, however, was never officially acknowledged by the Roman Curia as such. 
[[File:Construction d Aix-la-Chapelle.jpg|thumb|right|Construction of Aix-la-Chapelle, by [[Jean Fouquet]]]]
[[File:Aachener Heiligtumszeigung Oelgemaelde 17Jh.jpg|thumb|150px|Presentation of the four "Great Relics" during the Aachen [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]], after a 17th-century painting]]
In 936, [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]] was crowned king of [[East Francia]] in the collegiate church built by Charlemagne. During the reign of [[Otto II]], the nobles revolted and the [[West Francia|West Frank]]s under [[Lothair of France|Lothair]]<ref name="dupuy">{{harvnb|Dupuy|Dupuy|1986|p=258}}.</ref> [[Franco-German war of 978–980|raided Aachen]] in 978.<ref>{{harvnb|Kitchen|1996|p=35}}.</ref> Aachen was attacked again by [[Odo II, Count of Blois|Odo of Champagne]], who attacked the [[Palace of Aachen|imperial palace]] while [[Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor|Conrad II]] was absent. Odo relinquished it and was killed afterwards.<ref>{{harvnb|Kitchen|1996|p=40}}.</ref> The palace and town of Aachen had fortifying walls built by order of Emperor [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick Barbarossa]] between 1172 and 1176.<ref name="McClendon 1996" /> Over the next 500 years, most kings of [[Kingdom of Germany|Germany]] who ruled the [[Holy Roman Empire]] were crowned in Aachen. The original audience hall built by Charlemagne was torn down and replaced by the current [[Aachen Rathaus|city hall]] in 1330.{{efn|Sources differ on the age of the [[Aachen Rathaus|city hall]], as the dates used for the construction were 1334–1349.<ref name="McClendon 1996" />}}<ref name="McClendon 1996" /> During the 13th century, many Jews converted to Christianity, as shown in the records of the [[Aachen Cathedral|Aachen Minster]] (today's Cathedral). In 1486, the Jews of Aachen offered gifts to [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]] during his coronation ceremony. The last king to be crowned here was [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] in 1531.{{sfn|Bridgwater|Aldrich|1968}}<ref name="Ranson 1998" /> 

During the [[Middle Ages]], Aachen remained a city of regional importance, due to its proximity to [[Flanders]]; it achieved a modest position in the trade in [[wool]]len cloths, favoured by imperial privilege. The city remained a [[free imperial city]], subject to the emperor only, but was politically far too weak to influence the policies of any of its neighbours. The only dominion it had was over [[Burtscheid]], a neighbouring territory ruled by a [[Benedictine]] [[abbess]], which was forced to accept that all of its traffic must pass through the "Aachener Reich". 

As an imperial city, Aachen held certain political privileges that allowed it to remain independent{{clarify|date=December 2016}} of the troubles of Europe for many years. It remained a direct vassal of the Holy Roman Empire throughout most of the Middle Ages. It was also the site of many important church councils, including the [[Council of 837]]<ref>{{harvnb|De Jong|1996|p=279}}</ref> and the [[Council of 1166]], a council convened by the [[antipope]] [[Paschal III]].{{sfn|Bayer|2000|p=?}}

==== Manuscript production ====
Aachen was an important site for the production of historical manuscripts. Under Charlemagne's purview, both the [[Aachen Gospels (Ada School)|Ada Gospels]] and the [[Coronation Gospel]]s may have been produced in Aachen.<ref name="McKitterick 1996">{{harvnb|McKitterick|1996|p=1}}.</ref> In addition, quantities of the other texts in the court library were also produced locally. During the reign of [[Louis the Pious]] (814–840), substantial quantities of ancient texts were produced at Aachen, including legal manuscripts such as the leges scriptorium group, [[patristic]] texts including the five manuscripts of the [[Bamberg Pliny Group]].<ref name="McKitterick 1996" /> Finally, under [[Lothair I]] (840–855), texts of outstanding quality were still being produced. This however marked the end of the period of manuscript production at Aachen.<ref name="McKitterick 1996" />