The Rise and Fall of The Roman Empire: The Clashes of Kings and Emperors Claiming The Crown by Klein Michael

Author:Klein, Michael [Klein, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2016-08-24T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5 Beginning the Holy Roman Empire until East-West Schism

As Charlemagne accepted the divine kingship reviving a Constantinian constitution without the Byzantine, he was now universal and in the likeness of god, he claimed the same authority that Constantine had. A settlement in 812 with the new Byzantine emperor Michael I after an armed conflict over control of Venetia and Dalmatia was reached. Charlemagne built Aachen as the Second Rome, sometimes called the new Jerusalem. He spent lavishly in forming the new city and history recollects that between 791 and 796, the treasures he seized from the enemies in the Danube River valley, Avars, would finance the construction efforts easily. Even as he groomed his sons, who ended up tearing the empire apart, to the throne, he laid the foundations for the Holy Roman Empire, formally founded by the German King Otto I in 962 when the Carolingian Franks' territory broke apart.

In understanding whether the pope acted as if under divine providence or had the authority to construct a holy empire, many people have questioned whether the Pope had the legal or religious authority to place Charlemagne at the head of the empire. There was no precedent within Roman law. The pope did not want to send Christendom into a civil war by notably declaring a new holy empire, choosing to bide the papacy's time. Pope Leo III needed Charlemagne's protections himself since he had been elected as a pope after the previous much-beloved Pope Adrian I had groomed his nephew for the ascension.

After many factions made it clear that they did not agree with the election of Leo III, it appears he started on the wrong foot. He was viciously assaulted during a procession and was imprisoned by his enemies in a monastery. He escaped confinement with the help of the Duke of Spoleto. Charlemagne, before his coronation, had summoned Leo III to his court in Westphalia. He secured the Pope's return to Rome with a Frankish military escort. Since the Pope had been accused of many crimes and felonies that had no basis in reality but had been trumped up to mar his standing in the eyes of all whose respect he needed to succeed, prior to being named emperor, Charlemagne in November 800 brokered a deal. He gathered an assembly of Romans and Franks. The Pontiff provided a solemn oath denying any wrongdoings and the accusers officially dropped all indictments. Soon he would coronate Charlemagne, loosely following the rituals used by the Byzantium. The Patriarch of Jerusalem sent emissaries to present the king with the keys of the Holy Sepulchre and the standard of the holy city.

As justification for coronating Charlemagne, the papacy relied on what would later appear to be a forgery. The "Donation of Constantine" appeared to give the popes great political clout, including the claim that the fourth-century Constantine had given the papacy supreme control over clergy along with imperial power over the Western portions of the empire. The forged document was reportedly used

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