Origins of the Holy Roman Empire. Part II.

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Charlemagne, Charles the Bald, Charles the Great, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Empire, King of the Lombards, Kingdom of East Francia, Kingdom of Lotharingia, Kingdom of West Francia, Lothair, Louis the Pious, Treaty of Verdun

Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolutionary process to the institutions and principles eventualy forming and constituting the empire, describing it as a gradual assumption of the imperial title and role of the emperor and the empire itself over the lands under its authority.

Let us delve deeper into the creation of the empire. First some background information leading to the rule of Charlemagne.

From the time of Roman Emperor Constantine I (r. 306–337), the Roman emperors had, with very few exceptions, taken on a role as promoters and defenders of Christianity. The reign of Constantine established a precedent for the position of the Christian emperor in the Church.

Roman Emperors considered themselves responsible to the gods for the spiritual health of their subjects, and after Constantine and his conversation to Christianity, the Emperors believed they had a duty to help the Church define and maintain orthodoxy. The emperor’s role was to enforce doctrine, root out heresy, and uphold ecclesiastical unity.

Both the title and connection between Emperor and Church continued in the Eastern Roman Empire throughout the medieval period (in exile during 1204–1261). The ecumenical councils of the 5th to 8th centuries were convoked by the Eastern Roman Emperors.

In Western Europe, the title of Emperor in the West lapsed after the death of Julius Nepos in 480, although the rulers of the barbarian kingdoms continued to recognize the authority of the Eastern Emperor, at least nominally, well into the 6th century.

While the reconquest of Justinian I had reestablished Byzantine presence in Italy, religious frictions existed with the Papacy who sought dominance over the Constantinople Church.

Toward the end of the 8th century the Papacy still recognised the ruler at Constantinople as the Roman Emperor, though Byzantine military support in Italy had increasingly waned, leading to the Papacy to look to the Franks and thier King for protection.

Charlemagne was the eldest son of Pepin I the Short, King of the Franks, and Bertrada of Laon, born before their canonical marriage. Charlemagne became king of the Franks in 768 following his father’s death, initially as co-ruler with his brother Carloman I, until the latter’s death in 771. As sole ruler, he continued his father’s policy towards the papacy and became its protector. He became King of the Lombards in 774, removing them from power in northern Italy and leading an incursion into Muslim Spain. He campaigned against the Saxons to his east, Christianising them upon penalty of death, leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden.

The Massacre of Verden was an event during the Saxon Wars where Charlemagne ordered the death of 4,500 Saxons in October 782. Charlemagne claimed suzerainty over Saxony and in 772 destroyed the Irminsul, an important object in Saxon paganism, during his intermittent thirty-year campaign to Christianize the Saxons. The massacre occurred in Verden in what is now Lower Saxony, Germany. The event is attested in contemporary Frankish sources, including the Royal Frankish Annals.

In 799, Pope Leo III had been assaulted by some of the Romans, who tried to put out his eyes and tear out his tongue. His enemies had accused Leo III of adultery and perjury. Leo escaped and fled to Charlemagne at Paderborn. Charlemagne ordered the Pope’s accusers to Paderborn, but no decision could be made. Charlemagne then had Leo escorted back to Rome. In November 800, Charlemagne, advised by scholar Alcuin, travelled to Rome, and on December 1 held a council there with representatives of both sides of the dispute. Leo III, on December 23, took an oath of purgation concerning the charges brought against him, and his opponents were exiled.

At Mass, on Christmas Day (December 25), when Charlemagne knelt at the altar to pray, the Pope crowned him Imperator Romanorum (“Emperor of the Romans”) in Saint Peter’s Basilica. In so doing, the Pope rejected the legitimacy of Roman Empress Irene of Constantinople.

By this time, the Eastern Emperor Constantine VI has been deposed in 797 and replaced as monarch by his mother, Irene. Under the pretext that a women cannot rule the empire, Pope Leo III declared the throne vacant and was used to justify crowning Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans (Imperator Romanorum), the successor of Constantine VI as Roman emperor under the concept of translatio imperii.

On his coins, the name and title used by Charlemagne is Karolus Imperator Augustus and in his documents, he used Imperator Augustus Romanum gubernans Imperium (“August Emperor, governing the Roman Empire”) and serenissimus Augustus a Deo coronatus, magnus pacificus Imperator Romanorum gubernans Imperium (“most serene Augustus crowned by God, great peaceful emperor governing the empire of the Romans”).

The Eastern Empire eventually relented to recognizing Charlemagne and his successors as emperors, but as “Frankish” and “German emperors”, and at no point did the Eastern or Byzantine Emperors referred to thier Western counterparts as Roman Emperors, a label they reserved for themselves.

Incidentally, the name, Byzantine Empire is a more a creation of modern historiography because the Eastern Emperor’s and it’s citizens and subject, simply refered to the Emperor as the Roman Emperor and themselves as citizens and subjects of the Roman Empire.

Charlemagne has been called the “Father of Europe” (Pater Europae), as he united most of Western Europe for the first time since the classical era of the Roman Empire and united parts of Europe that had never been under Frankish or Roman rule. His rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of energetic cultural and intellectual activity within the Western Church.

The Empire that began with Charlemagne was inherited in tact by his son, known as Louis I Pious. After a civil war (840–843) following the death of Emperor Louis the Pious, his sons divided the Empire after the signing of the Treaty of Verdun. The Empire was divided into three autonomous kingdoms:

Lothair I received Middle Francia, the central portion of the empire, this region was eventually called the first state of Lotharingia. In the settlement, Lothair (who had been named co-emperor in 817) retained his title as emperor, but it conferred only nominal overlordship of his brothers’ lands. Later his domain became the Low Countries, Lorraine, Alsace, Burgundy, Provence, and the Kingdom of Italy (which covered the northern half of the Italian Peninsula). He also received the two imperial cities, Aachen and Rome.

Louis II, called the German, received the East Francia portion of the empire. He was guaranteed the kingship of all lands to the east of the Rhine (although not the Netherlands to the north of the Rhine) and to the north and east of Italy, plus the Rhineland west of the Rhine. All this land compiled the Kingdom of East Francia. It eventually became the High Medieval Kingdom of Germany, the largest component of the Holy Roman Empire.

Charles the Bald received the portion of the empire, all lands west of the Rhône, called West Francia. The Kingdom of West Francia later evolved to become the Kingdom of France.

The fourth son of Louis the Pious, Pepin II, was granted the Kingdom of Aquitaine, but only under the authority of his brother Charles the Bald.

With one king still recognised as emperor, Lothair I, but with little authority outside his own kingdom, the position and title of Emperor became considerably weakened. However, the unity of the empire and the hereditary right of the Carolingians continued to be acknowledged.

In 884, Charles II the Fat reunited all the Carolingian kingdoms for the last time, but he died in 888 and the empire immediately split up. With the only remaining legitimate male of the dynasty a child, Louis the Child, the nobility elected regional kings from outside the dynasty or, in the case of the eastern kingdom, an illegitimate Carolingian. The illegitimate line continued to rule in the east until 911. As mentioned previously, the Carolingian Empire came to its end with the death of the last Italian claimant, Berengar I, in 924.

Origins of the Holy Roman Empire. Part I.

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Charlemagne, Charles the Great, Confederation of the Rhine, Emperor of the French, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Empire, Napoleon, Origins of the Holy Roman Empire, Otto the Great

From the Emperor’s Desk: I have deleted my original blog entry for the origins of the Holy Roman Empire and will expand on it as a series.

Shortly after the Battle of Austerlitz where the French Army of Emperor Napoleon defeated Austria and Russia, 16 German states joined together in a confederation on July 26, 1806, with the signing the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine. The founding members of the confederation were German princes of the Holy Roman Empire. They were later joined by 19 others states, altogether ruling a total of over 15 million subjects.

This Confederation granted a significant strategic advantage to the French Empire on its eastern frontier by providing a separation between France and the two largest German states, Prussia and Austria (which also controlled substantial amounts of non-German lands).

The “Protector of the Confederation” was a hereditary office held by Napoleon, the Emperor of the French. On August 1, the members of the confederation formally seceded from the Holy Roman Empire, and on August 6, following an ultimatum by Napoleon, Holy Roman Emperor Franz II declared the Holy Roman Empire dissolved and he abdicated his Imperial title and released all imperial states and officials from their oaths and obligations to the empire.

Franz II, who had proclaimed himself Emperor of Austria in 1804 by consolidating the hereditary lands of the Habsburg dynasty, continued as Emperor of Austria. The Confederation of the Rhine lasted from 1806 to 1813.

Thus ended this noble Empire. But it leads me to a question.

I have written about the ending of the Holy Roman Empire before, and instead of rehashing this topic I would like to touch upon another interesting and related topic, and it is one that is debated by historians, namely, when did the Holy Roman Empire actually begin?

Generally two events in history are where historians pinpoint the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire.

The first event occrred on December 25, 800, when Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne (Charles I the Great) as Roman Emperor, reviving the Imperial title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the ancient Western Roman Empire in 476.

The Imperial title continued in the Carolingian family until 888 and from 896 to 899, after which it was contested by the rulers of Italy in a series of civil wars until the death of the last Italian claimant, Berengar I, in 924.The Carolingian Empire is considered the first phase in the history of the Holy Roman Empire.

The second event that historians mark as the possible starting point for the Holy Roman Empire is when the Imperial title was revived yet again when Otto I, the Great, Duke of Saxony and King of East Francia was crowned Roman Emperor on February 2, 962 by Pope John XII in Rome. Otto considered himself as the successor of Charlemagne and beginning a continuous existence of the empire for over eight centuries.

Which event created the Holy Roman Empire, the coronation of Charlemagne or Otto? That is the topic of this blog series.

On this date in history… January 28.

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Charlemagne, Charles the Great, Edward VI of England, Emperor of the Romans, Henry VII of England, Henry VIII, Holy Roman Emperors, Holy Roman Empire, King Henry VIII of England

814 – The death of Charlemagne, retroactively considered the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of his son Louis the Pious as ruler of the Frankish Empire.

1547 – Edward VI, the nine-year-old son of Henry VIII, becomes King of England on his father’s death. Henry VIII died at the age of 55, ironically, on the same date of the birth anniversary of his father, Henry VII, king of England (d. 1509), who was born on this date in 1457.

Today I will highlight the death of Emperor Charlemagne.

Charlemagne (Charles the Great (April 2, 748 – January 28, 814), numbered Charles I, was the King of the Franks from 768, the King of the Lombards from 774, and the Emperor of the Romans from 800. During the Early Middle Ages, he united the majority of western and central Europe. He was the first recognised emperor to rule from western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire around three centuries earlier. The expanded Frankish state that Charlemagne founded is called the Carolingian Empire. He was later canonised by Antipope Paschal III.

In 813, Charlemagne called Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine, his only surviving legitimate son, to his court. There Charlemagne crowned his son as co-emperor and sent him back to Aquitaine. He then spent the autumn hunting before returning to Aachen on 1 November. In January, he fell ill with pleurisy, inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity. In deep depression (mostly because many of his plans were not yet realised), he took to his bed on 21 January and as Einhard tells it:

He died January twenty-eighth, the seventh day from the time that he took to his bed, at nine o’clock in the morning, after partaking of the Holy Communion, in the seventy-second year of his age and the forty-seventh of his reign.

He was buried that same day, in Aachen Cathedral, although the cold weather and the nature of his illness made such a hurried burial unnecessary. The earliest surviving planctus, the Planctus de obitu Karoli, was composed by a monk of Bobbio, which he had patronised. A later story, told by Otho of Lomello, Count of the Palace at Aachen in the time of Emperor Otto III, would claim that he and Otto had discovered Charlemagne’s tomb:

Charlemagne, they claimed, was seated upon a throne, wearing a crown and holding a sceptre, his flesh almost entirely incorrupt. In 1165, Emperor Frederick I re-opened the tomb again and placed the emperor in a sarcophagus beneath the floor of the cathedral. In 1215 Emperor Frederick II re-interred him in a casket made of gold and silver known as the Karlsschrein.

Charlemagne’s death emotionally affected many of his subjects, particularly those of the literary clique who had surrounded him at Aachen.

Favorite Crown #7: Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. Part I.

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Achen, Charlemagne, Charles II The Bald, Charles the Great, Crown of Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Empire, Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, Imperial State Crown., King of the Franks, King of the Romans

The Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor was a ceremony in which the ruler of Western Europe’s then-largest political entity received the Imperial Regalia at the hands of the Pope, symbolizing both the pope’s right to crown Christian sovereigns and also the emperor’s role as protector of the Roman Catholic Church. The Holy Roman Empresses were crowned as well.

Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire

The papal coronation was required to acquire the Imperial title until 1508, when Pope Julius II recognized the right of Germanic monarchs elected by the prince-electors to use the Imperial title. Emperor Charles V became the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by a pope, by Clement VII at Bologna, in 1530. Thereafter, until the abolition of the empire in 1806, no further crownings by the Pope were held. Later rulers simply proclaimed themselves Imperator Electus Romanorum or “Elected Emperor of the Romans” after their election and coronation as German king, without the ultimate formality of an imperial coronation by the Pope in Rome.

In crowning the Emperor two separate coronation rituals developed: German and Roman Ritual.

German Ritual

The German coronation ceremony first required the electors to meet at Frankfurt, under the presidency of the Elector-Archbishop of Mainz, who formally summoned the electors and who always had the right of the last vote. Once a candidate was selected, the new emperor was led to the high altar of the cathedral and seated. He was then conducted to a gallery over the entrance to the choir, where he seated himself with the electors while proclamation was made of his election. The coronation itself took place on a subsequent day.

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

If the coronation was performed (as it usually was before 1562) at the Palatine Chapel at Aachen, (now the Aachen Cathedral), then the Archbishop of Cologne, as diocesan, was the chief officiant, and was assisted by the two other clerical electors, the Archbishop of Mainz and the Archbishop of Trier.

Roman ritual

The Roman imperial coronation evolved over the thousand years of the empire’s existence from an originally very simple ritual (but which by its very simplicity paralleled and most clearly demonstrated its origins in its Byzantine counterpart) to one of increasing complexity. The oldest manuscript of the Roman imperial coronation ritual is found in the 9th century Gemunden Codex and while it is uncertain for whom (if anyone) the ritual described in it was intended to be used in it we come the closest to seeing the very types of forms which would have been used for Charlemagne himself.

It is unclear as to which crown was used for either the German royal coronation or the Roman imperial coronation. Lord Twining (author wrote the authoritative book History of the Crown Jewels of Europe) suggests that when the German royal coronation still took place at Aachen, the silver-gilt crown on the reliquary bust of Charlemagne was used, since the Imperial Crown or Reichskrone is made of gold. This is reinforced by medieval sources that refer to the Iron Crown of Italy, the silver crown of Germany and the gold crown of the Roman Empire.

Twining indicates that it is also unclear as to what crown was used for the imperial coronation in Rome, and indicates that the Imperial Crown might have been worn by the emperor-elect for his formal entry into the city of Rome, with another gold crown, perhaps provided by the pope, being used in the actual imperial coronation ritual itself. One of these latter crowns, specifically that used for the imperial coronation of Friedrich II, may be the Byzantine style closed crown found in the tomb of his mother, Constance of Sicily, in the Cathedral of Palermo.

Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire

The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire was the Crown of the Holy Roman Emperor from the 11th century to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire or Reichskrone, probably made for the coronation of Otto the Great in 962 at the workshops of the imperial monastery of Reichenau, was also later mistakenly identified as the Crown of Charlemagne and as such appeared on the escutcheon of the Arch-Treasurer of the Holy Roman Empire and at the top of the coat of arms of the Habsburg emperors at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.

Charlemagne (Charles the Great) Emperor of the West

The crown was used in the coronation of the King of the Romans, the title assumed by the Emperor-elect immediately after his election. It was made in the late 10th or early 11th century. Unlike many other crowns, it has an octagonal rather than a circular shape, and is constructed from eight hinged plates. The plate in the front of the crown is surmounted by a cross, with a single arch linking it to a plate at the rear of the crown. The crown is kept in the Imperial Treasury at the Hofburg in Vienna, Austria.

History

The crown was made probably somewhere in Western Germany, either under Otto I (with additions by Conrad II), under Conrad I, or under Conrad III during the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The first preserved mention of it is from the 12th century—assuming it is the same crown, which seems very probable.

Most of the Kings of the Romans of the Holy Roman Empire were crowned with it. Along with the Imperial Cross, the Imperial Sword, and the Holy Lance, the crown was the most important part of the Imperial Regalia. During the coronation, it was given to the new king along with the scepter and the Imperial Orb. The Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire, especially the Imperial Crown, were kept from 1349–1421 in Bohemia (now in the Czech Republic), where the Carlstein Castle was built to protect them. Between 1424–1796 they were all kept in Nuremberg, Franconia—and could only leave the city for the coronation.

Currently, the crown and the rest of the Imperial Regalia are exhibited at the Hofburg in Vienna.

An identical copy is in Aachen in Germany in the Krönungssaal of Charlemagne’s former palace, now the town hall. There are also copies of the crown and regalia in the historic museum of Frankfurt, as most of the later Emperors were crowned in the cathedral of the city, as well in the fortress of Trifels in the Electorate of the Palatinate, where the Imperial Crown was stored in medieval times. The newest authorised copy is kept in the Czech castle of Karlštejn along with a copy of the Crown of Saint Wenceslas.

The Crown of Charlemagne

The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire is often mistakenly referred to as the Crown of Charlemagne. However the Crown of Charlemagne was used to crown the Kings of the Franks and later Kings of France.

Charlemagne’s was probably created as a simple circlet of four curved rectangular jewelled plates for Charles II the Bald, the grandson of Charlemagne, but later, four large jewelled fleur-de-lis were added to these four original plates, probably by Philippe II Augustus around 1180 and surmounted by a cap decorated with precious stones. At this time a similar but open crown, the one of the queen, existed too. One of them was melted down in 1590 by the Catholic League during the siege of Paris. The remaining crown was used up to the reign of King Louis XVI, who was crowned in 1775 in the Cathedral in Reims. The crown of Jeanne d’Évreux was then used for the coronation of the queens.

Christmas Coronations

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1066, 800, Archbishop of Canterbury, Charlemagne, Charles the Great, Christmas Day, coronation, King of the English, King of the Franks, Pope Leo III, William I of England, William the Conqueror

Merry Christmas from the European Royal History Blog!!

Today I will briefly mention two coronations that took place on Christmas Day.

Charlemagne. King of the Franks crowned Emperor 800.
William I The Conquer, King of the English, Duke of Normandy 1066

Charlemagne

In 799, Pope Leo III did not have a good relationship with the citizens of Rome and suffered sever abuse when the Romans tried to put out his eyes and tear out his tongue. Leo III, naturally fearing for his life, escaped and fled to the court of King Charlemagne at Paderborn. Charlemagne, under the advisement of scholar Alcuin, sojourned to Rome and in November of 800 and on the first of December held a council on 1 December. On December 23rd Pope Leo III swore an oath of innocence. And two days later during a Mass, on Christmas Day (25 December), Charlemagne knelt at the altar to pray, the Pope crowned him Imperator Romanorum (“Emperor of the Romans”) in Saint Peter’s Basilica. By doing this doing, the Pope effectively nullified the legitimacy of Empress Irene of Constantinople.

It was seen by scholars of the day that when Odoacer forced the abdication of Roman Emperor Romulus Augustulus in 476CE this did not effectively abolish the Western Roman Empire as a separate power Europe. Theoretically the powers of the Western Roman Emperor were said to have been reunited with or grafted into the Eastern Roman Empire. Therefore from that time contemporary scholars believed that there was a singular undivided Roman Empire. Pope Leo III and King Charlemagne, as well as their predecessors, also held to this political ideal of there being a singular Roman Empire that was one and indivisible.

However, the imperial coronation of Charlemagne was not believed to have caused a severance of the Roman Empire back into East and West factions. In the eyes Leo III and Charlemagne, along with contemporary political theorists, they were not revolting against a reigning sovereign, Empress Irene, but legitimately filling up the void of legitimate successors caused by the deposition Emperor Constatine VI in 797 and Charlemagne was held to be the legitimate successor, not of the Emperor Romulus Augustulus, but that of Emperor Constantine VI.

Despite the good intentions of Charlemagne’s coronation as Emperor, it intended to represent the continuation of the unbroken line of Emperors from Augustus to Constantine VI. The reality was that his imperial coronation had the effect of setting up two separate, and often opposing, Empires along with two separate claims to imperial authority.

One of the issues that has been debated by scholars is whether of not Charlemagne saw this prestigious gift bestowed on him on that Christmas Day? According to the twenty-eight chapter of Einhard’s Vita Karoli Magni which says that Charlemagne was ignorant of the Pope’s intent and did not want any such coronation:

“He (Charlemagne) at first had such an aversion to being granted the imperial title that he declared that he would not have set foot in the Church the day that theses imperial titles were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, if he could have foreseen the design of the Pope.”

A number of modern scholars, however, logically suggest that Charlemagne was indeed aware of the coronation. It has been said he certainly cannot have missed the bejewelled crown waiting on the altar when he came to pray; something even contemporary sources support.

Charlemagne is counted as Charles I, Holy Roman Emperor, but many scholars believe the state that evolved into the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation began with the coronation of Otto I, Duke of Saxony in 962. Otto I was crowned Emperor by Pope John XII at Olds St. Peter’s Basilica. The Pope also anointed Otto’s wife Adelaide of Italy, who had accompanied Otto on his Italian campaign, as empress. With Otto’s coronation as emperor, the Kingdom of Germany and the Kingdom of Italy were unified into a common realm, later called the Holy Roman Empire.

William I

Exactly when did William I The Conqueror become King of the English? Although he certainly became the De Facto King of the English when he defeated King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in October of 1066, it was not until his coronation on Christmas Day of that year did will accede to the throne.

William may have hoped the English would surrender to his rule immediately after his his victory over Harold II but that just was not the case. A swiftly convened meeting of the Wittan, comprising the English clergy and magnates, elected Edgar the Ætheling King of the English. Edgar the Ætheling was of the House of Wessex and a nephew of King Edward the Confessor. The support for Edgar by the Wittan was very lukewarm.

Undeterred, William continued his conquest of England. He and his armies secured Dover, parts of Kent, and Canterbury, and also captured Winchester, where the royal treasury was located. These captures solidified his holdings in that region and also his line of retreat to Normandy, if that was needed. It was unnecessary.

William then marched northward to Southwark and into London in late November. Next he led his forces around the south and west of London, burning buildings of those in resistance along the way. He crossed the Thames at Wallingford in early December where Archbishop Stigand submitted to William. He moved on to Berkhamsted soon afterwards where Edgar the Ætheling, Morcar, Edwin, and Archbishop Ealdred also submitted. This solidified his power in London where William began the construction of the Tower of London And with his troops garrisoned in London William was crowned King of the English at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066.

History of Germany. Part VIII: The Imperial Title and the Holy Roman Empire.

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Charlemagne, Charles the Great, Conrad I of Germany, Golden Bull, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Empire, House of Habsburg, Imperial Title, Otto the Great, Pope John XII, Pope Leo III, Voltaire

In this final post on the history of the development of the Holy Roman Empire, I will summarize what I’ve previously written along with an examination of the imperial title itself. Very often Royal titles give an indication and history of the country at certain points in History.

The Kingdom of Germany started out as the eastern section of the Frankish kingdom, which was split by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The rulers of the eastern area thus called themselves rex Francorum, king of the Franks, and later just rex. A reference to the “Germans”, indicating the emergence of a German nation of some sort, did not appear until the eleventh century, when the pope referred to his enemy Henry IV as rex teutonicorum, king of the Germans, in order to brand him as a foreigner. The kings reacted by consistently using the title rex Romanorum, King of the Romans, to emphasize their universal rule even before becoming emperor. This title remained until the end of the Empire in 1806, though after 1508 Emperors-elect added “king in Germany” to their titles. ote: in this and related entries, the kings are called kings of Germany, for clarity’s sake)

Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire

On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne (Charles I the Great) as Emperor, reviving the Imperial title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the earlier ancient Western Roman Empire in 476. The title continued in the Carolingian family until 888 and from 896 to 899, after which it was contested by the rulers of Italy in a series of civil wars until the death of the last Italian claimant, Berengar I, in 924.

The title was revived again in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne and beginning a continuous existence of the empire for over eight centuries. Some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while other historians, myself included, prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, describing a gradual assumption of the imperial title and role.

The exact term “Holy Roman Empire” was not used until the 13th century, but the concept of translatio imperii, the notion that the sovereign ruler held supreme power inherited from the ancient emperors of Rome, was fundamental to the prestige of the title of emperor. The office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. The mostly German prince-electors, the highest-ranking noblemen of the empire, usually elected one of their peers as “King of the Romans”, and he would later be crowned emperor by the Pope; the tradition of papal coronations was discontinued in the 16th century.

Imperial Title

Coronation Chair of Charlemagne at Achen.

It is important to distinguish between the universalist and localist conceptions of the empire, which remain controversial among historians. According to the former, the empire was a universal monarchy, a “commonwealth of the whole world, whose sublime unity transcended every minor distinction”; and the emperor “was entitled to the obedience of Christendom”. According to the latter, the emperor had no ambition for universal dominion; his realm was limited in the same way as that of every other ruler, and when he made more far-reaching claims his object was normally to ward off the attacks either of the Pope or of the Byzantine emperor. According to this view, also, the origin of the empire is to be explained by specific local circumstances rather than by overarching theories.

According to Ohnsorge, for a long time, it had been the custom of Byzantium to designate the German princes as spiritual “sons” of the Romans. What might have been acceptable in the fifth century had become provoking and insulting to the Franks in the eighth century. Charles came to believe that the Roman emperor, who claimed to head the world hierarchy of states, was, in reality, no greater than Charles himself, a king as other kings, since beginning in 629 he had entitled himself “Basileus” (translated literally as “king”).

Historian Onhsorge finds it significant that the chief wax seal of Charles, which bore only the inscription: “Christe, protege Carolum regem Francorum [Christ, protect Charles, king of the Franks], was used from 772 to 813, even during the imperial period and was not replaced by a special imperial seal; indicating that Charles himself felt to be just the king of the Franks. Finally, Ohnsorge points out that in the spring of 813 at Aachen Charles crowned his only surviving son, Louis, as the emperor without recourse to Rome with only the acclamation of his Franks. The form in which this acclamation was offered was Frankish-Christian rather than Roman. This implies both independence from Rome and a Frankish (non-Roman) understanding of empire.

After the coronation of Charlemagne, his Successors in the Carolingian family retained the title of Emperor for years to come, but divisions of territory and in-fighting over supremacy of the Frankish state weakened its importance. This why, after the death of Berengar I of Italy (Lombards) in 924, the last Carolingian to hold the Imperial title; who ruled over a small territor, the Imperial title fell by the wayside during a comparatively brief interregnum between 924 and the coronation of Otto the Great in 962.

The papacy itself never forgot the title nor abandoned the right to bestow it. With the resurgence of the Imperial title with the coronation of Otto the Great in 962 is taken as marking the transition from the Frankish Empire to the Holy Roman Empire. Under the Ottonians, much of the former Carolingian kingdom of Eastern Francia fell within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire.

Imperial Crown of Emperor Rudolf II.

The standard designation of the Holy Roman Emperor was “August Emperor of the Romans” (Romanorum Imperator Augustus). When Charlemagne was crowned in 800, he was styled as “most serene Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, governing the Roman Empire,” thus constituting the elements of “Holy” and “Roman” in the imperial title. The word Holy had never been used as part of that title in official documents.

The word Roman was a reflection of the principle of translatio imperii (or in this case restauratio imperii) that regarded the (Germanic) Holy Roman Emperors as the inheritors of the title of Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, despite the continued existence of the Eastern Roman Empire. In German-language historiography, the term Römisch-deutscher Kaiser (“Roman-German emperor”) is used to distinguish the title from that of Roman Emperor on one hand, and that of German Emperor (Deutscher Kaiser) on the other. The English term “Holy Roman Emperor” is a modern shorthand for “emperor of the Holy Roman Empire” not corresponding to the historical style or title. 

The term sacrum (i.e., “holy”) in connection with the German Roman Empire was first used in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa. The standard designation of the Holy Roman Emperor was “August Emperor of the Romans” (Romanorum Imperator Augustus). When Charlemagne was crowned in 800, he was styled as “most serene Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, governing the Roman Empire,” thus constituting the elements of “Holy” and “Roman” in the imperial title.

King of the Romans

The title originally referred to any elected king who had not yet been granted the Imperial Regalia and title of “Emperor” at the hands of the Pope. Later it came to be used solely for the heir apparent to the Imperial throne between his election (during the lifetime of a sitting Emperor) and his succession upon the death of the Emperor.

The territory of East Francia was not referred to as the Kingdom of Germany or Regnum Teutonicum (Latinised from Old High German diutisc) by contemporary sources until the 11th century. During this time, the king’s claim to coronation was increasingly contested by the papacy culminating in the fierce Investiture Controversy. After the Salian heir apparent Henry IV, a six-year-old minor, had been elected to rule the Empire in 1056 he adopted Romanorum Rex as a title to emphasize his sacred entitlement to be crowned Emperor by the Pope. Pope Gregory VII insisted on using the derogatory term Teutonicorum Rex (“King of the Germans”) in order to imply that Henry’s authority was merely local and did not extend over the whole Empire. Henry continued to regularly use the title Romanorum Rex until he finally was crowned Emperor by Antipope Clement III in 1084. Henry’s successors imitated this practice, and were also called Romanorum Rex before and Romanorum Imperator after their Roman coronations.

Medieval practice

Candidates for the kingship were at first the heads of the Germanic stem duchies. As these units broke up, rulers of smaller principalities and even non-Germanic rulers were considered for the position. The only requirements generally observed were that the candidate be an adult male, a Catholic Christian, and not in holy orders. The kings were elected by several Imperial Estates (secular princes as well as Prince-Bishops), often in the imperial city of Frankfurt after 1147, a custom recorded in the Schwabenspiegel code in about 1275.

Originally all noblemen present could vote by unanimous acclamation, but later a franchise was granted to only the most eminent bishops and noblemen, and according to the Golden Bull of 1356 issued by Emperor Charles IV only the seven Prince-electors had the right to participate in a majority voting as determined by the 1338 Declaration of Rhense. They were the Prince-Archbishops of Mainz, Trier and Cologne as well as the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Saxon duke, and the Margrave of Brandenburg. After the Investiture Controversy, Charles intended to strengthen the legal status of the Rex Romanorum beyond Papal approbation. Consequently, among his successors only Sigismund and Frederick III were still crowned Emperors in Rome and in 1530 Charles V was the last king to receive the Imperial Crown at the hands of the Pope (in Bologna). Gradually the election became the privilege of a group of princes called electors, and the Golden Bull of 1356 formally defined election proceedings. The Golden Bull remained effective as constitutional law until the Empire’s dissolution in 1806.

After his election, the new king would be crowned as King of the Romans (Romanorum Rex), usually at Charlemagne’s throne in Aachen Cathedral by the Archbishop of Cologne. Though the ceremony was no more than a symbolic validation of the election result, it was solemnly celebrated. The details of Otto’s coronation in 936 are described by the medieval chronicler Widukind of Corvey in his Res gestae saxonicae. The kings received the Imperial Crown from at least 1024, at the coronation of Conrad II. In 1198 the Hohenstaufen candidate Philip of Swabia was crowned Rex Romanorum at Mainz Cathedral (as was King Rupert centuries later), but he had another coronation in Aachen after he had prevailed against his Welf rival Otto IV.

Not all Kings of the Romans made this step, sometimes because of hostile relations with the Pope, or because either the pressure of business at home or warfare in Germany or Italy made it impossible for the King to make the journey. In such cases, the king might retain the title “King of the Romans” for his entire reign.

Later developments

The title Romanorum Rex became functionally obsolete after 1508, when the Pope permitted King Maximilian I to use the title of Electus Romanorum Imperator (“elected Emperor of the Romans”) after he failed in a good-faith attempt to journey to Rome. At this time Maximilian also took the new title “King of the Germans” or “King in Germany” (Germaniae rex, König in Germanien), but the latter was never used as a primary title.

The rulers of the Empire thereafter called themselves “Emperors” without going to Rome or soliciting Papal approval, taking the title as soon as they were crowned in Germany or upon the death of a sitting Emperor if they were elected as heir to the throne.

It is interesting to note that not all monarchs listed as Holy Roman Emperors held the imperial title, holding only the title King of Germany. Several rulers were crowned King of the Romans (King of Germany) but not emperor, although they styled themselves thus, among whom were: Conrad I of Germany and Henry I the Fowler in the 10th century, and Conrad IV, Rudolf I, Adolf and Albert I (all from the house of Habsburg) during the interregnum of the late 13th century.

Also, depending on the source one uses that lists the the emperors, there is disagreement to who was or was not a Holy Roman Emperor. For example, both Conrad I and Henry I the Fowler are included on some lists despite never holding the Imperial title, while other lists do not include them. Some lists do not include Berengar I of Italy, the last to hold the Imperial title.

Sorry to belabor the point but, Traditional historiography assumes a continuity between the Carolingian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, while a modern convention takes the coronation of Otto I in 962 as the starting point of the Holy Roman Empire.

In conclusion The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in Western and Central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. The largest territory of the empire after 962 was the Kingdom of Germany, though it also included the neighboring Kingdom of Bohemia and Kingdom of Italy, plus numerous other territories, and soon after the Kingdom of Burgundy was added. Its size gradually diminished over time, particularly from 1648 onward, and by the time of its dissolution, it largely contained only German-speaking territories plus the Kingdom of Bohemia which was bordered by the German lands on three sides.

In a famous assessment of the Empire, the political philosopher Voltaire (1694–1778) remarked sardonically: “This body which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.”

German History Part IV: Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire.

Tags

Byzantine Empire, Charlemagne, Charles the Great, Constantinople, Empress Irene, France, Germany, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of France, Pope Leo III

My Note: in discussing how the Kingdom of the Franks evolved into both the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire, it’s not the scope of this entry to thoroughly review the life of Charlemagne. My aim is to give a cursory understanding of how Charlemagne gained the imperial title and divided his empire.

Under the Carolingians, the Frankish kingdom spread to encompass an area including most of Western Europe; the east-west division of the kingdom formed the basis for modern France and Germany.

Charlemagne was the eldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, born before their canonical marriage. He became King of the Franks in 768 following his father’s death, initially as co-ruler with his brother Carloman I. Carloman’s sudden death in December 771 under unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. He continued his father’s policy towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy and leading an incursion into Muslim Spain. He campaigned against the Saxons to his east, Christianizing them upon penalty of death and leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden.

Charlemagne, King of the Franks, Emperor of the Romans

Charlemagne’s reign was one of near-constant warfare, personally leading many of his campaigns. He seized the Lombard Kingdom in 774, led a failed campaign into Spain in 778, extended his domain into Bavaria in 788, ordered his son Pepin to campaign against the Avars in 795, and conquered Saxon territories in wars and rebellions fought from 772 to 804.

In 799, Pope Leo III had been assaulted by some of the Romans, who tried to put out his eyes and tear out his tongue. His enemies had accused Leo III of adultery and perjury. Leo escaped and fled to Charlemagne at Paderborn. Charlemagne ordered the Pope’s accusers to Paderborn, but no decision could be made. Charlemagne then had Leo escorted back to Rome. In November 800, Charlemagne, advised by scholar Alcuin, travelled to Rome, and on December 1 held a council there with representatives of both sides of the dispute. Leo III, on December 23, took an oath of purgation concerning the charges brought against him, and his opponents were exiled.

At Mass, on Christmas Day (25 December), when Charlemagne knelt at the altar to pray, the Pope crowned him Imperator Romanorum (“Emperor of the Romans”) in Saint Peter’s Basilica. In so doing, the Pope rejected the legitimacy of Roman Empress Irene of Constantinople.

Charlemagne’s coronation as Emperor, though intended to represent the continuation of the unbroken line of Emperors from Augustus to Constantine VI, had the effect of setting up two separate (and often opposing) Empires and two separate claims to imperial authority. For centuries to come, the Emperors of both West and East would make competing claims of sovereignty over the whole.

Einhard says that Charlemagne was ignorant of the Pope’s intent and did not want any such coronation:

[H]e at first had such an aversion that he declared that he would not have set foot in the Church the day that they [the imperial titles] were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, if he could have foreseen the design of the Pope.

A number of modern scholars, however, suggest that Charlemagne was indeed aware of the coronation; certainly, he cannot have missed the bejewelled crown waiting on the altar when he came to pray; something even contemporary sources support.

The Carolingian Empire during the reign of Charlemagne covered most of Western Europe, as the Roman Empire once had. Unlike the Romans, who ventured to Germania beyond the Rhine only for vengeance after the disaster at Teutoburg Forest(9 AD), Charlemagne decisively crushed all Germanic resistance and extended his realm to the Elbe, influencing events almost to the Russian Steppes.

Prior to the death of Charlemagne, the Empire was divided among various members of the Carolingian dynasty. These included King Charles the Younger, son of Charlemagne, who received Neustria; King Louis the Pious, who received Aquitaine; and King Pepin, who received Italy. Pepin died with an illegitimate son, Bernard, in 810, and Charles died without heirs in 811. Although Bernard succeeded Pepin as King of Italy, Louis I the Pious was made co-Emperor in 813, and the entire Empire passed to him with Charlemagne’s death in the winter of 814.

Charlemagne has been called the “Father of Europe” (Pater Europae),as he united most of Western Europe for the first time since the classical era of the Roman Empireand united parts of Europe that had never been under Frankish or Roman rule. His rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of energetic cultural and intellectual activity within the Western Church.

End note: The last entry in the series will discuss in depth the history of the imperial title itself.

Coronation of Charles III, Holy Roman Emperor & King of the Franks

Tags

Carolingian Empire, Charlemagne, Charles III, Charles The Fat, Charles the Great, Guy II of Spoleto, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Empire, King of France, King of Italy, King of the Franks, Pope John VII

On this day in history: February 12, 881. Charles III “The Fat” was Crowned Emperor by Pope John VIII.

Charles III (June 13, 839 – January 13, 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the Carolingian Emperor from 881 to 888. King of East Francia, 882-887. King of West Francia 884-887, Holy Roman Emperor, 881-887.

The youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, Charles was a great-grandson of Charlemagne (Charles the Great) He was the second-last emperor of the Carolingian dynasty and the last to rule, briefly, over a re-united Frankish empire.

Over his lifetime, Charles became ruler of the various kingdoms of Charlemagne’s former Empire. Granted lordship over Alamannia in 876, following the division of East Francia, he succeeded to the Italian throne upon the abdication of his older brother Carloman of Bavaria who had been incapacitated by a stroke. Crowned Emperor in 881 by Pope John VIII, his succession to the territories of his brother Louis the Younger (Saxony and Bavaria) the following year reunited the kingdom of East Francia. Upon the death of his cousin Carloman II in 884, he inherited all of West Francia, thus reuniting the entire Carolingian Empire.

Nickname and number

The nickname “Charles the Fat” (Latin Carolus Crassus) is not contemporary. It was first used by the Annalista Saxo (the anonymous “Saxon Annalist”) in the twelfth century. There is no contemporary reference to Charles’s physical size, but the nickname has stuck and is the common name in most modern European languages (French Charles le Gros, German Karl der Dicke, Italian Carlo il Grosso).

His numeral is roughly contemporary. Regino of Prüm, a contemporary of Charles’s recording his death, calls him “Emperor Charles, third of that name and dignity” (Latin Carolus imperator, tertius huius nominis et dignitatis).

On July 18, 880, Pope John VIII sent a letter to Guy II of Spoleto seeking peace, but the duke ignored him and invaded the Papal States. John responded by begging the aid of Charles in his capacity as King of Italy and crowned Charles Emperor on February 12, 881. This was accompanied by hopes of a general revival in western Europe, but Charles proved to be unequal to the task. Charles did little to help against Guy II. Papal letters as late as November were still petitioning Charles for action.

In some lists of the kings of France both Charles the Fat and Charles the Simple are listed as Charles III. I have also seen some lists where Charles the Bald is listed as Charles I of France and Charlemagne is listed as Charlemagne instead of Charles the Great without an ordinal. The lists where Charles the Bald is listed as Charles I, Charles the Fat is listed as Charles II. There are some lists that omit Charles the Fat entirely.

Christmas Cornorations

Tags

Charlemagne, Charles the Great, Emperor Constantine VI, Empress Irene, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Empire, King of England, King of France, King of the English, Roman Empire, Romulus Augustus, William the Conqueror

Merry Christmas from the European Royal History Blog!!

Today I will briefly mention two coronations that took place on Christmas Day.

Charlemagne. King of the Franks crowned Emperor 800CE.
William I The Conquer, King of the English, Duke of Normandy 1066

Charlemagne

In 799, Pope Leo III did not have a good relationship with the citizens of Rome and suffered sever abuse when the Romans tried to put out his eyes and tear out his tongue. Leo III, naturally fearing for his life, escaped and fled to the court of King Charlemagne at Paderborn. Charlemagne, under the advisement of scholar Alcuin, sojourned to Rome and in November of 800 and on the first of December held a council on 1 December. On December 23rd Pope Leo III swore an oath of innocence. And two days later during a Mass, on Christmas Day (25 December), Charlemagne knelt at the altar to pray, the Pope crowned him Imperator Romanorum (“Emperor of the Romans”) in Saint Peter’s Basilica. By doing this doing, the Pope effectively nullified the legitimacy of Empress Irene of Constantinople.

It was seen by scholars of the day that when Odoacer forced the abdication of Roman Emperor Romulus Augustulus in 476CE this did not effectively abolish the Western Roman Empire as a separate power Europe. Theoretically the powers of the Western Roman Emperor were said to have been reunited with or grafted into the Eastern Roman Empire. Therefore from that time contemporary scholars believed that there was a singular undivided Roman Empire. Pope Leo III and King Charlemagne, as well as their predecessors, also held to this political ideal of there being a singular Roman Empire that was one and indivisible.

However, the imperial coronation of Charlemagne was not believed to have caused a severance of the Roman Empire back into East and West factions. In the eyes Leo III and Charlemagne, along with contemporary political theorists, they were not revolting against a reigning sovereign, Empress Irene, but legitimately filling up the void of legitimate successors caused by the deposition Emperor Constatine VI in 797 and Charlemagne was held to be the legitimate successor, not of the Emperor Romulus Augustulus, but that of Emperor Constantine VI.

Despite the good intentions of Charlemagne’s coronation as Emperor, it intended to represent the continuation of the unbroken line of Emperors from Augustus to Constantine VI. The reality was that his imperial coronation had the effect of setting up two separate, and often opposing, Empires along with two separate claims to imperial authority.

One of the issues that has been debated by scholars is whether of not Charlemagne saw this prestigious gift bestowed on him on that Christmas Day? According to the twenty-eight chapter of Einhard’s Vita Karoli Magni which says that Charlemagne was ignorant of the Pope’s intent and did not want any such coronation:

“He (Charlemagne) at first had such an aversion to being granted the imperial title that he declared that he would not have set foot in the Church the day that theses imperial titles were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, if he could have foreseen the design of the Pope.”

A number of modern scholars, however, logically suggest that Charlemagne was indeed aware of the coronation. It has been said he certainly cannot have missed the bejewelled crown waiting on the altar when he came to pray; something even contemporary sources support.

Charlemagne is counted as Charles I, Holy Roman Emperor, but many scholars believe the state that evolved into the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation began with the coronation of Otto I, Duke of Saxony in 962. Otto I was crowned Emperor by Pope John XII at Olds St. Peter’s Basilica. The Pope also anointed Otto’s wife Adelaide of Italy, who had accompanied Otto on his Italian campaign, as empress. With Otto’s coronation as emperor, the Kingdom of Germany and the Kingdom of Italy were unified into a common realm, later called the Holy Roman Empire.

William I

Exactly when did William I The Conqueror become King of the English? Although he certainly became the De Facto King of the English when he defeated King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in October of 1066, it was not until his coronation on Christmas Day of that year did will accede to the throne.

William may have hoped the English would surrender to his rule immediately after his his victory over Harold II but that just was not the case. A swiftly convened meeting of the Wittan, comprising the English clergy and magnates, elected Edgar the Ætheling King of the English. Edgar the Ætheling was of the House of Wessex and a nephew of King Edward the Confessor. The support for Edgar by the Wittan was very lukewarm.

Undeterred, William continued his conquest of England. He and his armies secured Dover, parts of Kent, and Canterbury, and also captured Winchester, where the royal treasury was located. These captures solidified his holdings in that region and also his line of retreat to Normandy, if that was needed. It was unnecessary.

William then marched northward to Southwark and into London in late November. Next he led his forces around the south and west of London, burning buildings of those in resistance along the way. He crossed the Thames at Wallingford in early December where Archbishop Stigand submitted to William. He moved on to Berkhamsted soon afterwards where Edgar the Ætheling, Morcar, Edwin, and Archbishop Ealdred also submitted. This solidified his power in London where William began the construction of the Tower of London And with his troops garrisoned in London William was crowned King of the English at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066.

Who was the last King of the Franks? Who was the first King of France?

Tags

Austrasia, Charlemagne, Charles the Bald, Charles the Great, Clovis, Clovis I, Holy Roman Empire, Lothair I, Lothair II, Louis the german, Mayor of the Palace, Pippin the Younger, Pope Leo III, Roman Empire, Treaty of Verdun

I have touched on this before so I may be repeating some of myself here. The subject of France and the Kingdom of France/Kingdom of the Franks is complex and doesn’t fit into a tidy box of starts and stops as one may want it to. Just like we have a specific date for the founding of the Kingdom of Wessex in England, we have a specific date for the founding of the Kingdom of the Franks. And just like the transformation from the Kingdom of Wessex in to the Kingdom of England is open to interpretation, so is the transformation from the Kingdom of the Franks into the Kingdom of France. So who was the last King of the franks? Who was the first King of France?

Here is a little background information.

The Kingdom of the Franks or Frankish Kingdom (Latin: Regnum Francorum), Frankish Empire, Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, Francia or Frankia was a territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks, who were a coalition of Germanic tribes. The kingdom was founded by Clovis I, crowned first King of the Franks in 496. Clovis’ title in Latin was Francorum Rex. My intent is not to do a complete history of the Frankish Kingdom for this topic but I will summarize some important aspects.

At first the kingdom was small, the kingdom originally consisted of the area called Austrasia which was centered on the Middle Rhine and included the basins the Moselle, Main and Meuse rivers. It bordered on Frisia and Saxony to the north, Thuringia to the east, Swabia and Burgundy to the south and to Neustria and Flanders to the west. Under Charlemagne the territory of of the Frankish kingdom, or empire at this time, included all of modern France, the Low Countries, Germany and Northern Italy.

However, prior to Charlemagne unity of the Frankish Kingdom was not its trademark. The dynasty Clovis belonged to, the Merovingians, had the habit of dividing the kingdom among all the sons of the king. This mean Francia was often divided into sub-kingdoms such as the kingdom of Austrasia and Neustria for example. There were times when the kingdom was united but it was rare.

Eventually the Merovingians became weak monarchs and were supplanted by the Mayors of the Palace (often chief advisory to the king). In 751 Pippin the Younger, Mayor of the Palace, supplanted the Merovingians and became King of the Franks. This dynasty would become known as the Carolingians named after Pipin’s most famous son, Charles the Great, known to history as Charlemagne. Under Charlemagne the Kingdom of the Franks reached its zenith in both power and geographical extent. With Charlemagne’s support of the papacy in times of war and invasion, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor on Christmas Day, 800, with the notion he had restored the old Roman Empire in the West (topic of another blog post).

Charlemagne expressed his desire to separate and divide his kingdom among his three sons but with the death of all of them except Louis, the point was moot. Louis inherited the entire Frankish empire including the titles Francorum Rex and Imperator Romanorum “Emperor of the Romans.” It was Louis I called the Pious, who divided his empire in 840. However, civil war broke out among the three sons and it was with the Treaty of Verdun in 843 that settled the division.

These are the three divisions of the empire decided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843: East and West Francia and Middle Francia.

Middle Francia was the territory ruled by Lothair I, eldest son of Louis I, and the kingdom was wedged between East and West Francia. Lothair I took the Imperial title but only the ruled the Middle Frankish Kingdom. His three sons in turn divided this kingdom between them into Lotharingia (centered on Lorraine), Burgundy, and (Northern) Italy, known as Lombardy. These areas had different cultures, ethnicity, language and traditions which did not allow unity to take hold. This kingdom was would later vanish as separate kingdoms, (although Charles the Fat would briefly re-unite the entire Carolingian Empire in 888). Middle Francia would eventually become Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Lorraine, Switzerland, Lombardy and the various.

East Francia was the land of Louis II the German. It was divided into four duchies: Swabia (Alamannia), Franconia, Saxony and Bavaria; to which after the death of Lothair II were added the eastern parts of Lotharingia. This kingdom eventually evolved into the Holy Roman Empire which is slated for a future blog in this topic.

In wanting to keep these blogs readable, I don’t like to read through a lot of text online, and many also feel that way, I will conclude the section on France, next Friday. However, look for other blog posts during the week!