| Title | Charlemagne was very tall, but not robust |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2010 |
| Authors | Rühli, FJ, Blümich, B, Henneberg, M |
| Journal | Economics & Human Biology |
| Volume | 8 |
| Pagination | 289–290 |
| Date Published | jul |
| ISSN | 1570677X |
| Keywords | 2010-09-23, body size, forensics, history, medieval, stature |
| Abstract | The left tibia of Charlemagne, the Medieval ” Father of Europe” has been X-rayed and CT scanned to determine his still highly debated stature. We found the healthy bone to be long (430 mm) but rather not robust (total mid-shaft cross-sectional area 473 mm2, cortical area 352 mm2). Reconstructed stature of 1.84 m falls at about 99% of Medieval heights, which would be ca. 1.95 m in present-day Europe. Thus, tall stature indeed could have contributed to the success of ” Charles the Great” as a king emperor and soldier. |
| URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2009.12.005 |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.ehb.2009.12.005 |
| Citation Key | Ruhli:Charlemagne:2010 |
Charlemagne was very tall, but not robust
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