Western Civilization

WHAT WAS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHARLEMAGNE? The

significance of this imperial coronation has been much

debated by historians. We are not even sure whether

Charlemagne or the pope initiated the idea when they

met in German lands in the summer of 799 or whether

Charlemagne was pleased or displeased. His biographer

Einhard claimed that Charlemagne “at first had such an

aversion that he declared that he would not have set

foot in the Church the day that it was conferred,

although it was a great feast-day, if he could have fore-

seen the design of the Pope.”^2 But Charlemagne also

perceived the usefulness of the imperial title; after all,

he was now on a level of equality with the Byzantine

emperor. Moreover, the papacy now had a defender of

great stature.

In any case, Charlemagne’s coronation as Roman

emperor demonstrated the strength, even after three

hundred years, of the concept of an enduring Roman

Atlantic

Ocean

North

Sea

Mediterranean

Sea

NORTHUMBRIA

EAST

ANGLIA

ESSEX

KENT

SUSSEX

WESSEX

WEST

WALES

WALES

DANISH

MARCH

SAXONY

BAVARIA

VENETIA

PAPAL

STATES

BURGUNDY

ALEMANNI

AUSTRASIA

NEUSTRIA

BRITTANY

SPANISH

MARCH

AQUITAINE

FRISIA

TRIBUTARY

SLAVIC

PEOPLES

IRELAND

DUCHY

OF BENEVENTO

BYZANTINE

EMPIRE

UMAYYAD

KINGDOM

OF SPAIN

Toledo

Córdoba

Barcelona

Bordeaux Lyons

Paris

Aachen

Mainz

Milan

Rome

York

Verdun

Corsica

Sardinia

(^)
Seine
Loire R.^ R.
MERCIA
Ba
ltic
S
ea
Sicily
(^) Pyr
ene
es
(^) Elb
e
R.^ Od
er
(^) R
.
Rhine
(^) Dan
ube
R.
(^)
Ad
ria
tic
(^) S
ea
Alps
R.
0 200 400 Miles
0 200 400 600 Kilometers
Frankish kingdom, 768
Territories gained
by Charlemagne
MAP 8.1The Carolingian Empire.Charlemagne inherited the Frankish kingdom from his father,
Pepin. He expanded his territories in several directions, creating an empire that would not be
rivaled in size until the conquests of Napoleon in the early nineteenth century.
Q How might Charlemagne’s holdings in northern Italy have influenced his relationship
with the pope?
The World of the Carolingians 177
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