Charlemagne's Coronation

Charlemagne's Coronation

Among historians, there has been much speculation as to whether or not Charlemagne knew that on Christmas day in the year 800 AD, Pope Leo III would crown him as the Holy Roman Emperor. In this paper I will show that not only did Charlemagne know he was going to be crowned the Holy Roman Emperor, but also, that he did in fact, want to be the Emperor.

I believe that Charlemagne knew and had planned to become emperor. There were many benefits for Charlemagne to want to be the emperor. Being emperor would grant Charlemagne more authority in Rome. Up until this point Charlemagne was called the "patricius of the Romans", under this title Charlemagne had little power over Rome, it was mostly an honorary title. Over time, Charlemagne slowly began usurping power over the Romans that were typically the Roman Emperor's powers. Well before the Christmas of 800, Charlemagne had appropriated most of the powers that had belonged to the emperor. Even though he had all these powers, without the imperial title, Charlemagne was still under submission to the pope and the emperor in the East. The western throne was then held by a woman, Irene, but no one recognized her as the emperor, and she did not possess the imperial powers, therefore the imperial throne was considered vacant. It was quite clear to Pope Leo III and several bishops that the perfect person to fulfill the title of Holy Roman Emperor was Charlemagne. (Halphen, 1959, pg. 32-33) Charlemagne probably knew that he was being considered for the imperial title, in fact, it is quite plausible that Charlemagne and Pope Leo III discussed the coronation when Leo III visited Charlemagne at Paderborn in the summer of 799. (Mayre-Harting, 1996, pg. 1117) During the year 800, Charlemagne began setting and completing important goals. He met with Alcuin, the Abbot of St. Martins and Charlemagne's tutor , he held a conference with his sons, and he traveled to Rome. On November 23, 800 Charlemagne was received twelve miles outside of Rome by the Pope. This is significant because, up to this point, when going to Rome as the patricius, Charlemagne was greeted one mile out of the city, and never by the pope himself. When an emperor would go to Rome, the pope would greet him six miles outside of the city, but Pope Leo III hailed Charlemagne twelve miles outside of the city, which must have meant that Charlemagne was a very important visitor to Rome in 800. The next day, November 24, Charlemagne rode into Rome and was greeted in a magnificent fashion. Citizens and foreigners greeted Charlemagne with songs of praise, the clergy and bishops stood on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica to greet Charlemagne. (Becher, 2003, pg. 13) I am sure that everyone, especially Charlemagne, recognized the change in the way he was received in Rome, and I am sure that Charlemagne had his suspicions about why he was welcomed in such a grand manner. One historian says that Charlemagne liked being emperor and appreciated his new position. (Ganshof, 1949. pg. 525)

However, Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, reputes all claims that Charlemagne knew he was going to be crowned Emperor. Einhard argues that the coronation of Charlemagne came as a surprise to Charles. He declares that Charlemagne had an aversion to the titles Emperor and Augustus and furthermore, that Charlemagne declared " that he would not have set foot in in the church the day they were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, could he have foreseen the design of the pope." (Wells, 1901, pg. 212) When Einhard wrote about Charlemagne's reaction to being crowned Emperor, he could have been trying to portray Charlemagne's humility and modesty. It is also probable that Charlemagne's supposed negative reaction to being crowned could have been because, through putting the crown on Charlemagne's head, it made the papal authority seem to be the ruler over the imperial authority, and this made it appear that Pope Leo III himself, even with all of the embarrassment surrounding his name, led to the restoration of the of the empire. (Barbero, 2000, pg. 92-93) Many historians also argue that Charlemagne was an emperor against his will and that Charlemagne simply did not wish for the title of the Roman Empire. (Mayre- Harting, 1996, pg. 1118)

There is yet another view that is somewhere in the middle of this argument. Some people believe that the coronation of Charlemagne was planned long before hand, but that Pope Leo III decided to crown Charlemagne right then, on Christmas 800, because it was an emergency situation. In 799 there were accusations of fornication and perjury against Pope Leo III. Leo III was then attacked and kidnapped by people that wanted to remove him from office. Leo III managed to escape and went to King Charles to help clear his name. Charlemagne looked into the accusations and found them lacking evidence, so he decided to absolve Leo III of all guilt and reinstate to him all his former powers. On December 1, 799 Charles called a council to vindicate Leo III of all the charges against him. While at the council the pope, bishops, and some lay magnates officially decided to present