Pope Leo III
Bishop of Rome (Pope)
"To Charles, most pious Augustus, crowned by God, great and peace-giving Emperor — life and victory!"
Biography
The Pope who crowned Charlemagne emperor and helped remake the political order of Europe. Leo III faced fierce opposition in Rome, and in 799 he was physically attacked by a faction of the Roman nobility who tried to blind him and cut out his tongue. He escaped and fled north to Charlemagne, who restored him to his throne. In gratitude — and in a calculated act of statecraft that bound the papacy to Frankish power — Leo placed the imperial crown on Charlemagne's head in St Peter's on Christmas Day 800, proclaiming him Emperor of the Romans. Whether the coronation was Leo's initiative or Charlemagne's, it asserted the papacy's role as the maker of emperors and the independence of the Latin Church from Byzantium, a claim of vast and lasting consequence for the relationship between popes and rulers throughout the Middle Ages.
Did you know?
The act of a pope crowning a secular ruler as emperor set a precedent that would fuel centuries of struggle between popes and emperors over who truly held supreme authority in Christendom.
Key Battles
The Imperial Coronation
The Frankish Empire victoryDecember 25, 800 · 0 total casualties
The coronation of 800 was one of the most consequential events in European history. It created the medieval Western Empire, cemented the alliance of throne and altar, asserted the independence of the Latin West from Byzantium, and laid the ideological foundation of the Holy Roman Empire that would endure for a thousand years.
Life Journey
Timeline
c. 750
🌅 Birth
Born in Rome
December 25, 800
📍 Posting
Crowns Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans
June 12, 816
✝️ Death
Dies in Rome