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Charlemagne crowned emperor by the pope
Christmas Day, 800· Person· People
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
On Christmas Day 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne 'Emperor of the Romans' in St Peter's, Rome.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
Charlemagne (c. 747–814), king of the Franks from 768, conquered much of western Europe, including Lombard Italy (774) and pagan Saxony, where he imposed baptism on pain of death. In 799 rioters attacked Pope Leo III, who fled to him; Charlemagne restored him, and at Christmas Mass in 800 Leo crowned him emperor. Byzantium saw it as usurpation. His scholar Alcuin of York led a revival of learning; its clear script is the ancestor of our lowercase letters.
Why it matters
It revived a Western empire, the root of the Holy Roman Empire (to 1806), and tied pope and emperor in a long rivalry over who outranked whom.
Life, legacy and sources
Einhard's biography (c. 820s), the Royal Frankish Annals and his surviving laws (capitularies). His chapel at Aachen still stands, with his throne.
Questions and debates
Einhard says Charlemagne would not have entered the church had he known the pope's plan; historians debate whether he was surprised or disliked the pope's role.
Connections (2)
▸The papacy: the popes and medieval Christendom revived the Western empire through Charlemagne crowned emperor by the popeHistorical record
The connection
Threatened by the Lombards and estranged from Constantinople, popes turned to the Franks. Pope Stephen II anointed Charlemagne's father Pepin in 754; Charlemagne crushed the Lombards in 774. When rioters attacked Leo III in 799, Charlemagne restored him, and at Christmas 800 Leo crowned him emperor, implying that popes make emperors.
When and where
St Peter's Basilica, Rome, December 25, 800; Leo had fled to Charlemagne at Paderborn in 799.
Historical evidence
The Royal Frankish Annals, the papal Liber Pontificalis (life of Leo III) and Einhard's biography all describe the coronation.
Questions and debates
Whether the forged 'Donation of Constantine', probably written in the 700s, shaped these papal–Frankish deals is debated, as is how much Leo, facing charges from Roman rivals, needed the coronation himself.
▸Charlemagne crowned emperor by the pope promoted across his empire Benedict and Western monasticismHistorical record
The connection
Charlemagne used monasteries and cathedrals as schools and centers of government. His decree of 789 ordered schools to teach psalms, chant and grammar. He obtained a copy of Benedict's Rule from Monte Cassino to standardize practice. After his death, his son Louis the Pious, with Benedict of Aniane, made the Rule compulsory across the empire (816–817).
When and where
Aachen, Tours, Corbie, Fulda and Reichenau, 780s–817; Alcuin of York became abbot at Tours in 796.
Historical evidence
His decrees (capitularies) survive; a St Gall copy of the Rule (c. 820) descends from the Monte Cassino copy he obtained.
Questions and debates
How far the reforms reached beyond elite centers, and how much credit belongs to Charlemagne rather than Alcuin and Louis the Pious, are debated.