Very little can be learned regarding the early life of Charlemagne. One of the old writers, named Eginhard, who afterwards became the secretary of Charlemagne, records that neither he himself, nor any one then living, knew anything about the birth of this prince, nor about his infancy, nor even youth. His father, King Pepin, had his two sons associated with himself, when he received the title of king from the Bishop of Rome; but neither of them received any separate government during their father’s life. They were taught, with the other young nobles, by Peter of Pisa, whom Pepin retained at his court for this purpose. It is supposed that King Pepin took the young princes with him in his Italian expeditions, and that Charlemagne accompanied his father in the Aquitanian war. When King Pepin died, his eldest son was twenty-six years and a half old, while the younger was barely nineteen. Both were already married to wives of the Frank race. Charles, or Charlemagne, to Himiltrude, and Carloman to Gerberge. The first battle in which Charlemagne engaged was soon after his father’s death, with the Aquitanians, who were the people living in the south-west part of France. The brother-kings raised troops to meet them, but Carloman through jealousy withdrew his forces, leaving Charlemagne to carry on the war alone. He was victorious, and the Aquitanians submitted. The queen-mother Bertrada now used her influence to secure a permanent alliance between the Lombards and the Franks, and persuaded Charlemagne to divorce his wife and marry Desiderata, the daughter of Didier the Lombard king. This Charlemagne consented to do, even against the advice of the Pope, and he suffered for his folly, or wickedness; for so it was, even though his mother did sanction it, for he was so unhappy with Desiderata, that in about a year he put her away and married Hildegarde. In those days kings married and divorced their wives as often as they pleased, and Charlemagne, with all his greatness and his aid to Christianity, was in this particular very culpable, and his domestic life was not at all in keeping with the majesty, and goodness, and uprightness of his public life. After the death of Hildegarde, he married two other wives. One Fastrada, an Austrasian, was a very wicked woman, and caused him much trouble. The last one, whom he loved the most, was named Luitgarda. She was kind and gentle, and her influence over Charlemagne was very beneficial after the wicked Fastrada had led him into so much trouble. The French have an old legend, which relates that the evil influence which Fastrada exercised over the strong mind of the great king, leading him to acts of injustice and tyranny, which alienated the affections of his nobles, was due to the magic spell of a ring which she wore. On her death, the ring came into possession of a bishop, for whom Charlemagne immediately showed such admiration, that the bishop found it unpleasant, and cast the ring into a neighboring lake.