Charles often declared that his principal aim was the "restoration of the ancient good conditions" of the kingdom.

On his coat-of-arms, he united the "Árpád stripes" with the motifs of the coat-of-arms of his paternal family, which emphasized his kinship with the first royal house of Hungary.
During his reign, Charles reunited Hungary and introduced administrative and fiscal reforms.
He bequeathed to his son, Louis the Great, a "bulging exchequer and an effective system of taxation", according to scholar Bryan Cartledge.
Nevertheless, Louis the Great's achievements overshadowed Charles's reputation.

The only contemporaneous record of Charles's deeds were made by a Franciscan friar who was hostile towards the monarch.
Instead of emphasizing Charles's achievements in the reunification of the country, the friar described in detail the negative episodes of Charles's reign.
In particular, the unusual cruelty that the king showed after Felician Záh's assassination attempt on the royal family contributed to the negative picture of Charles's personality.
The Franciscan friar attributed Charles's defeat by Basarab of Wallachia as a punishment from God for the king's revenge.
Charles often declared that his principal aim was the "restoration of the ancient good conditions" of the kingdom.
On his coat-of-arms, he united the "Árpád stripes" with the motifs of the coat-of-arms of his paternal family, which emphasized his kinship with the first royal house of Hungary. During his reign, Charles reunited Hungary and introduced administrative and fiscal reforms. He bequeathed to his son, Louis the Great, a "bulging exchequer and an effective system of taxation", according to scholar Bryan Cartledge. Nevertheless, Louis the Great's achievements overshadowed Charles's reputation.
The only contemporaneous record of Charles's deeds were made by a Franciscan friar who was hostile towards the monarch. Instead of emphasizing Charles's achievements in the reunification of the country, the friar described in detail the negative episodes of Charles's reign. In particular, the unusual cruelty that the king showed after Felician Záh's assassination attempt on the royal family contributed to the negative picture of Charles's personality. The Franciscan friar attributed Charles's defeat by Basarab of Wallachia as a punishment from God for the king's revenge.
Charles I of Hungary