The Process for the Coronation of Charlemagne: the Motive of Acquiring the Crown - Literature review Example

 Charlemagne, also known as Carolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great, is regarded by many historians as the founding Father of Europe. He was the King of the Franks (western part of the Roman Empire) from the year 768 and importantly the Roman Emperor from 800, till his death in 814. He was given the tag of Father of Europe because he expanded his Frankish kingdom, occupying majority of the territories in Western and Central Europe. Through this expansion, he gave tentative territorial identity to many present day countries, and so he is also known as the founding father of monarchies in France and Germany. In addition, he played a crucial in the Carolingian Renaissance and revived the art and culture, thereby also contributing to the formation of European cultural identity. During his reign, the crowning of him as the Roman Emperor or Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in 800 was one of the key events. This event in course of time impacted various other historical events as well as actions of other kingdoms and its rulers. One of the main kingdoms, which were impacted by this coronation of Charlemagne, was the Byzantine. The Byzantine Empire or Byzantium, was the eastern part of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, with predominantly Greek speaking population. Rulers of Byzantine were also the claimants for the title of Roman Emperor. So, Irene and Nikephoros I, who ruled Byzantine during and in the aftermath of the Charlemagne’s coronation, strongly reacted to it, and this paper will assess and analyze their reactions. Coronation of Charlemagne The process for the coronation of Charlemagne was initiated by Pope Leo III. That is, in 799, Pope Leo III was badly treated by the Romans, as they tried to gouge his eyes and also wanted to cut his tongue. So, facing persecution, Leo escaped and reached Paderborn in Franks, asking Charlemagne to help and restore him to Rome. Charlemagne, on the advice Alcuin of York, gave the consent to visit Rome, and Leo for his part swore an oath of innocence to Charlemagne. So, on Christmas Day, A.D. 800, Charlemagne was in Saint Peter's at Rome, to investigate the rebellion against the Pope and restore him. He entered the shrine without his insignia and when he knelt down at the altar to pray at the Lord, Leo III suddenly placed the crown on Charlemagne’s head, thereby hailing him as the Imperator Romanorum or Emperor of the Romans. “Bareheaded and without insignia, as was normal for a royal pilgrim, he prayed at the shrine of Saint Peter. When he arose, Leo - apparently unexpectedly - placed a crown on his head; the Roman congregation acclaimed him as an "Augustus," (Brown 435). Apart from placing the crown, Pope Leo III fell at Charles’ feet as a form of respect. This is in total contravention to the earlier followed practice of honoring only the rulers of Byzantine as the Emperor of Romans. As pointed out by Brown (435), Leo "adored" him by throwing himself at Charles' feet, as he would have done to his former lords, the East Roman emperor. By doing so, Pope Leo III wanted to transfer the office of Roman Emperor from Constantinople (Byzantine’s capital) to Aachen (Franks’ capital). He also wanted to repay for the help rendered by Charlemagne in saving his life and restoring to his seat. However, when viewed from Charlemagne’s perspective, some historians’ state that he was not really interested in acquiring the throne and in fact, did not had any idea about the Pope’ inclination when he entered the shrine. He did not want to acquire any titles, but Pope Leo III as mentioned above had different personal motives. “It was a one-sided attempt, on the part of the pope, to have a say in recognizing, on his own terms, the formidable "imperial" power that had developed, far from his control, at Aachen.”(Brown 435). However, certain other sections of the historians state that Charlemagne surely did know about the coronation that is being planned. They state, he could not have missed the bejeweled crown, which was placed near the altar, when he went there to pray. In addition, he might have helped the Pope, when he came to him. with the main motive of acquiring the crown. The other key argument is, he did not reject the crown placed by the Pope and instead he used it to portray himself as the restorer or renewer of the Roman Empire, thus indirectly implying that Byzantines only let the Empire fall into a state of degradation. Thus, with the coronation of Charlemagne and his acceptance, Byzantium was effectively sidelined, leading it to exhibit various reactions. Reasons for rejecting Byzantine’s claim and its reactions Apart from personal motives, the Pope rejected Byzantine or favored Franks particularly Charlemagne for other political and religious reasons as well. Actually, the papacies from earlier centuries till the early part of the 8th century only supported the Byzantine rulers to the throne of Roman Emperor. Also, with many of the Popes like Agatho I, John V and VI, and Zacharias I having Greek background, they naturally looked towards the predominantly Greek Byzantine rulers for protection. However, it all changed with the adoption of iconoclasm ideology of the Byzantine rulers, with Popes shifting allegiance to Franks and having conflicts with Byzantine. That is, since 727, the papacy well before Pope Leo III reign has been in confrontation with the Byzantine rulers mainly due to their adherence and practice of the doctrine of iconoclasm. Iconoclasm, which protested against the use of statues, icons and images to pray and for other religious practices, was favored by the Byzantines. They as part of their anti-iconodules stance wanted destruction of all Christian images. Although, the most notable act of Irene, ruler of Byzantine during the coronation, was the restoration of the Iconodules and thereby orthodox worship of icons, it did not convinced the Pope to support her for the coronation. Irene for her part did not take the opposite route and took an anti-icondules stance like her predecessors; instead she tried to pressurize Charlemagne in other ways. The other reason, why Byzantine and in particular Irene was not considered for the throne of Roman Emperor is because she was a woman. Although, she has committed gruesome crimes like blinding and murdering her own son, the main reason why she was not considered is because of her gender. So, taking into account that Byzantine is not ruled by any male King, Irene’s position as the ruler was treated as only vacant, thereby pushing Pope Leo III to coronate Charlemagne. This strengthened Irene’s mental fortitude and she functioned and portrayed herself as a strong ruler, even proclaiming herself as basileus or 'emperor', rather than as basilissa or 'empress'. So, instead of thinking inferiorly, Irene exhibited strong characteristics and reactions in the immediate aftermath of the coronation. Other reactions, but how those reactions cannot translate into stronger actions Charlemagne's coronation was angrily contested by both the rulers of Byzantine as well as by the common people, as they understood that their Kingdom was sidelined and subdued by this act. Firstly, they rejected the news that Byzantine coronation rituals were only carried out by the Pope Leo III in order give more legitimacy to the coronation process. That is, with mainly Byzantine rulers occupying the throne of Roman Emperor, Popes have mainly followed Byzantine rituals. In this case, by following those rituals, Pope wanted to show to the Byzantines that the coronation is legitimate, as only their rituals were used. However, Byzantine rulers and people furiously contested these news or occurrence, by strongly stating that Byzantine rituals were not at all used, and Pope and Franks were releasing false news to indirectly get the approval of the Byzantines. “Even in this case, it can be sure that the particular arrangements made for mass on 25 December 800 had nothing to do with an official Byzantine coronation ritual”. (Herrin 536). The main thing that upset the Byzantines and made them to react strongly is the new claimants to the throne of Roman Emperor, which has been traditionally theirs. That is, Byzantine rulers and its people believed that the previous tradition of one Christian society ruled by one emperor, with that emperor coming from Byzantine, has to be followed. However, with the coronation of Charlemagne, the status quo was broken and so they viewed this as a direct challenge to their authority and kingdom. The coronation was a constitutive in the sense that it was part of the process which as a whole legitimized Charlemagne’s as the emperor for whole of Roman Empire. (Nelson 267). They started branding Charlemagne and the Franks kingdom as the usurpers. However, they cannot translate these strong reactions to aggressive actions against Charlemagne and the kingdom because of their weakened military force. That is, in the years following the coronation, Byzantium faced a lot of aggressive maneuvers by other kingdoms making them commit a sizable amount of their military resources. In their conflict with the Arabs, Byzantine military suffered heavy human losses. Due to faulty and strategic-less policies of Irene, Arabs led by caliph Harun-ar-Raschid wrecked Byzantine’s military resources, leaving it in a weekend state. This made Irene skeptical and apprehensive about mounting any aggressive actions against Charlemagne. Although, they did not approve of the coronation, they could not take any military steps to undo that process. Charlemagne’s overtures and the attenuation of Byzantine’s reactions With no aggressive actions from the Byzantine, Charlemagne also had a change of mind and realized the negative impacts of his coronation. That is, he understood that his claim to imperial power cannot actualize completely, and will be meaningless, unless the Byzantines give him some form of acknowledgment. Actually, he felt that Pope’s act of placing the throne on him has created an awkward situation for him, because any efforts of his to make peace with Byzantine will not work, as they are viewing him as the usurper. “Charlemagne resigned himself to accept the imperial dignity and later on struggled to have it recognised by Byzantium it was to affirm that” (Ganshof 44). So, he took some steps from his side to convince and win over Byzantine, thereby get acknowledgment from them for his throne. Firstly, he did not develop Rome as his new capital, continuing Aachen as his seat of power. That is, he did not build any palace or a central office in Rome, and did not give the impression that he is the Roman Emperor ruling from Rome. In addition, he did not pass on his imperial title to his heirs, thus suggesting particularly to Byzantine that no real empire existed. With these overtures to the Byzantines, he wanted to convey that he is not in favor of any identity of Roman Emperor, which traditionally belonged to them. Also, he avoided taking any actions that would hurt and conflict with Byzantine’s beliefs in veneration of holy images, all to win the acknowledgment of Byzantium. All these steps, attenuated Byzantine reactions towards Charlemagne and they also particularly Irene started to focus on coordination. The final step, Charlemagne took, and which further lessened the severity of Byzantine’s reactions, is the plan to marry Irene. That is, Charlemagne wanting acknowledgement from Byzantine and to have good relationship with them sent envoys to Constantinople to pass on his wish of marrying Irene. Irene for her part also responded favorably and this set the stage for complete attenuation of reactions. But, that did not actualize due to the actions of new Byzantine ruler, Nicephorus I, causing further strong and distressed reactions from Byzantium. Reactions of Nicephorus and Michael I Rhangabe Irene’s favorable response did not led to marriage and alliance between Franks and Byzantine, as patricians in aid with Aetios rebelled against Irene placing Finance Minister Nikephoros in the throne. Fearing subjugation by Charlemagne after marriage, Byzantine rulers rebelled against Irene, thereby accentuating the reactions towards Charlemagne. Irene was placed in exile in Lesbos, and her successor, Nikephoros, refused to recognize Charlemagne's title. “The refusal was almost certainly not on grounds of principle hut a display of the new regime's toughness in contrast with Irene's 'feminine weakness', and was intended for internal consumption.” (Whittow 305). However, in 803, as a slight form of lessening of reactions, Nikephoros signed a treaty with Charlemagne called the Pax Nicephori to settle disputes regarding imperial boundaries. At the same time, he still held on to the stance of not recognizing Charlemagne’s imperial power and dignity. Then, in a heightened reaction, Byzantine and Franks fought a long war over the territory of Venice, from 806 to 810. With Venetians shifting loyalties towards Franks, the conflict shifted to the Adriatic Sea. Although, a truce was implemented in 807–808, Charlemagne’s son Pippin’s invasion of Dalmatia led to more tension and aggressive reactions from both sides. The death of Nikephoros during Bulgar’s invasion led Michael I Rangabe becoming the new Byzantine ruler, and he only signed a treaty with Charlemagne to end the war. “By 812 Frankish pressure on what remained of Byzantine territory in Italy, and Nikephoros' disastrous death at the hands of the Bulgars in the previous year, had persuaded Michael I (811-13) to come to terms.” (Whittow 305). After all these reactions, it came to an end, when Byzantine accepted Charlemagne as the Emperor. However, they did not go to the fullest extent of accepting him as the Roman Emperor. That is, after the ratification of the treaty, Byzantine ambassadors went to Franks’ capital of Aachen and acclaimed Charlemagne as basileos or Emperor. However, he was not conceded the title of 'emperor of the Romans' which was henceforth reserved in Byzantine protocol for the emperor in Constantinople. (Whittow 305). This being one view, another view is Byzantine has indeed given recognition to Charlemagne’s imperial title by issuing Coins. “The Class 4 coins issue has been dated 812 and linked with the delayed Byzantine 'recognition' of Charlemagne's imperial title recorded in the Annates regni francorum.” (McKitterick 116) Conclusion From the above analysis of Byzantine’s reactions to the coronation of Charlemagne, it is clear they exhibited varied reactions ranging from aggressive to silent reactions. Although, Collins (147) points out that “That the motivation behind the acceptance of the imperial title was a romantic and antiquarian interest in reviving the Roman empire is highly unlikely”, other reasons played a part in pushing both the kingdoms to involve themselves in strong actions as well as various reactions. Although, coronation of Charlemagne was not viewed as a usurpation by the Franks or Italians, it was viewed so by the Byzantines. Byzantine rulers, Irene, Nicephorus I and Michael I Rangabe reacted variedly, protesting as well as coordinating with Charlemagne, leading to varied results. Works Cited Brown, Peter Robert Lamont. The Rise of Western Christendom. London: Wiley- Blackwell, 1996. Collins, Roger. Charlemagne. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 1998. Ganshof, François Louis. The Imperial Coronation of Charlemagne, theories and facts. Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press, 1971. Herrin, Judith. The Formation of Christendom. London: Fontana, 1989. McKitterick, Rosamond. Charlemagne. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Nelson, Janet L. Politics and Ritual in Early Medieval Europe. London: Hambledon, 1986. Whittow, Mark. The Making of Orthodox Byzantium. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1996. Read More