The Ottonian rulers are also regarded as the first dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire , as successors of the Carolingian dynasty and Charlemagne , who is commonly viewed as the original founder of a new ( Frankish ) Roman Empire . The Ottonian rulers are also regarded as the first dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire , as successors of the Frankish Carolingian dynasty and Charlemagne , who is commonly viewed as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire .