Gisela was born sometime between 770 and 781.  No birth date was ever recorded for   
                                                           
her.  She was the second or third daughter of King Charles of the Franks                          
                                                           
(Charlemagne) and his wife, Hildegard of Savoy. Gisela's mother was Charlemagne's      
                                                           f
irst wife. Hildegard and Charlemagne had 6 children before Hildegard died.  

                                                          Gisela was educated at Aachen, the site of Charles' castle.  This town is located in         
                                                           
Germany near the city of Bonn and close to the Rhine River.  Her father was a very        
                                                           
religious man and his chapel still stands today.  Charlemagne believed in education    
                                                           
and thought it important that his children be able to read and write.

                                                          Some girls were sent to monasteries to study, but Charlemagne had his daughters         
                                                           
educated at home. Gisela would have more than likely been educated by Alcuin, an     
                                                           
Anglo-Saxon scholar brought to the castle by her father. In her lessons, Gisela would    
                                                           
have studied Latin. Most books were written in Latin. She would have written on wax   
                                              
tablets with a stylus.

                                                               Click here to see pictures!
Daughter of Charlemagne
isela