Emperor Goblinus Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 I've read in certain places that Charlemagne was completely unaware that he was going to be made Emperor of the West, and didn't exactly like it because he did not want to be "beholden" to the Roman people, only to the Franks. In other places, I've read that he and the pope knew about it ahead of time, and he only feigned unwillingness. He didn't gain any new territory from his coronation, he succeeded in pissing off the Byzantines, and he merely continued with basically the same agenda that he had in place when he was just King of the Franks. So did Charlemagne really not want to be emperor initially, or was it all just for show? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziriel Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 I've read in certain places that Charlemagne was completely unaware that he was going to be made Emperor of the West, and didn't exactly like it because he did not want to be "beholden" to the Roman people, only to the Franks. In other places, I've read that he and the pope knew about it ahead of time, and he only feigned unwillingness. He didn't gain any new territory from his coronation, he succeeded in pissing off the Byzantines, and he merely continued with basically the same agenda that he had in place when he was just King of the Franks. So did Charlemagne really not want to be emperor initially, or was it all just for show? Einhard, his biographer, said Charlemagne didn't want to be crowned was ignorant of Pope Leo III's intent. he 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. - Einhard However, according to Wikipedia, Charlemagne later styled himself Imperator Romanum gubernans Imperium (emperor ruling the Roman Empire) to evade a conflict with the Byzantine Empire in the east, and not Imperator Romanorum (emperor of the Romans), as the Pope crowned him as. It seemed like the Pope crowned Charlemagne because of religious conflicts with the Byzantines' Empress Irene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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