This is the extract on Charlemagne from The Descents From Antiquity Project:
=== Charlemagne ===
Millions of people in the world today are descendants of the Frankish emperor Charlemagne, and they can prove it. Charlemagne’s family were upstarts, however. There are no proven links between Charlemagne and his predecessors in the Merovingian dynasty. In fact, Charlemagne has only 10 proven ancestors. Using Ahnentafel numbering, his ancestry looks like this:
# [Charlemagne Charlemagne]
# [Pépin III, King of the Franks Pepin the Short], father
# [Bertha Broadfoot of Laon, Queen of the Franks Bertrade of Laon], mother
# [Charles Martel Charles Martel], father’s father
# [Rotrude Rotrude], father’s mother
# [Charibert, count of Laon Caribert of Laon], mother’s father
# ---
# [Pépin ll "the Fat" d'Héristal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia Pepin of Herstal], father’s father’s father
# [Alpais Alpaida], father’s father’s mother
# ---
# ---
# ---
# [Bertrade de Prüm Bertrada of Prüm], mother’s father’s mother
# ---
# ---
# [Ansegisel de Metz Ansegisel], father’s father’s father’s father
# [Saint Beggue of Austrasia Begga], father’s father’s father’s mother
In Charlemagne’s time, genealogists working under the patronage of the royal family claimed that Charlemagne had several connections to the Merovingian dynasty. These claims enhanced the royal family’s prestige and made it look like Charlemagne’s family had a genuine claim to the throne. Modern scholars doubt these connections. Even though the evidence is reasonably contemporary, the political motivations make it suspect.
Some modern scholars, working with original documents, believe they have found evidence to show that Charlemagne’s ancestry can be traced, probably, to an old Roman senatorial family. The reconstruction is plausible, because the Franks who Charlemagne ruled had conquered the old Roman province of Gaul in 486, and the Franks are known to have intermarried with the surviving Gallo-Roman aristocracy.
# [Flavius Afranius Syagrius, Consul 382 Flavius Afranius Syagrius], of Lyons; a Gallo-Roman senator
# [[clarissima Femina] (Syagria)], his unknown daughter; married [Tonantius Ferreolus Ferreolus]
# [Tonantius Ferreolus, II Tonantius Ferreolus], a Gallo-Roman senator; married [Papianilla Papianilla], clarissima femina, a relative of the [Papianilla Papianilla] who was a daughter of the emperor [Avitus, Western Roman Emperor Avitus], and who married [Saint Sidonius Apollinarius, Bishop of Clermont Sidonius Apollinaris]
# [Tonantius Ferreolus Tonantius Ferreolus], a Gallo-Roman senator; married [Industria de Narbonne Industria]
# [Duke Ferreolus de Rodez Ferreolus], a Gallo-Roman senator; married [Saint Deuteria (Doda), abbess of Saint Pierre de Reims Dode], abbess of St.-Pierre de Rheims
# [Ansbert of Moselle Ansbert], a senator; married [Blithildis Bilichilde]
# [Arnoaldus de Metz Arnoald], Bishop of Metz
# [Saint Dode of Metz Dode], probably his daughter; married [Saint Arnoul, Bishop of Metz St. Arnulf], Bishop of Metz
# [Ansegisel de Metz Ansegisel], probably their son; married [Saint Beggue of Austrasia St. Begga]; daughter of [Pepin of Landen Pepin I], Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia
# [Pépin ll "the Fat" d'Héristal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia Pepin of Herstal], Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia; married [Alpais Alpais / Alpaida]
# [Charles Martel Charles Martel], Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia; married [Rotrude Rotrude]
# [Pépin III, King of the Franks Pepin the Short], Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia; married [Bertha Broadfoot of Laon, Queen of the Franks Bertrada of Laon]
# [Charlemagne Charlemagne]
(Based on the work of David H. Kelley and Christian Settipani. See, for example, Don Stone, [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GEN-MEDIEVAL/1998-03/... soc.genealogy.medieval], March 11, 1998)
Using this reconstruction as a starting point, many other scholars have attempted to extend Charlemagne’s ancestry further, with varying degrees of success.