Tall Man's Talisman: The Talisman of Charlemagne

The Talisman of Charlemagne is a relic said to have belonged to Charlemagne through battle and burial. Though it is believed to have been on Charlemagne’s body when buried, there is no way to prove the talisman was in his grave with him. In the year 1000, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III exhumed the tomb and, according to Thietmar of Merseburg who chronicled the break in, “took for himself the golden cross that hung around the corpse’s neck and a part of his not yet putrefied clothes; after which he put everything back in place with the utmost respect.” The tomb was excavated again in 1166 by yet another Holy Roman Emperor (this time Frederick Barbarossa). The relic continued moving around for many years, landing in the hands of several great leaders, including Empress Josephine and Napoleon III, though it received a few changes in appearance throughout the years, like the addition of the front glass. It was not until 1914 when Empress Eugenie, who gained possession of the piece from Napoleon III, donated it to the Archbishop of Reims. 

Today, the Talisman of Charlemagne has been researched numerous times to see just how true to its original form it is. The talisman is an intricate work of gold, sapphires, pearls, and emeralds, and it iis said to have supposedly been created with both a piece of the Virgin Mary’s hair and a remaining piece of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. At some point in its interesting history, the relic’s front was altered with the replacement of sapphires with glass. However, in the research done, it has been found that the way the gemstones were cut is consistent with the time the talisman should have been made, so it seems to be that Charlemagne really could

Sources:
"The Talisman of Charlemagne: New Historical and Gemological Discoveries." Gemological Institute of America,
spring-2019-talisman-charlemagne-new-historical-and-gemological-discoveries
"Charlemagne's Talisman at the Palais du Tau, Reims." The French Jewelry Post,
https://www.thefrenchjewelrypost.com/en/it-joailliers/talisman-de-charlemagne-palais-tau/