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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 mm(2), cortical area 352 mm(2)). 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.
2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Publication types
- Biography
- Historical Article
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
- Anthropology, Physical
- Body Height*
- Bone and Bones
- Famous Persons*
- Health Status
- History, Medieval
- Humans
- Male
- Politics*
- Tibia
Personal name as subject
- None CharlemagneActions
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