the papal-frankish alliance

7/28/2019 The Papal-Frankish Alliance

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THE PAPAL-FRANKISH ALLIANCE

Benjamin Crenshaw

Ms. HoskinsMedieval Europe 370

15 May 2009


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Over two hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe was fragmented and

weakened after centuries of decline, ruralization, civil wars, and foreign invaders. In the east, the

Byzantine Empire continued to survive in a weakened state despite encroachments by the

Umayyad Muslims. In the west, the papacy in Rome represented one of the last vestiges of the

Roman Empire that had not yet fused with Germanic civilization. To the north of Rome, the

Germanic tribe of the Lombards occupied a strip south of the Alps Mountains and created a

buffer state between the papacy and the Frankish kingdom in Gaul.

As the seventh century came to a close, the dawning of the eighth century witnessed a

transfer of power in Gaul, as the Merovingian dynasty yielded to Carolingian rule over the

Frankish provinces of Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy. The Merovingian kings, who had

ruled since Clovis I (481-511 AD),1

had become mere figureheads, and much of their

administrative and governmental power was inherited by the Mayor of the Palace.2

Between

715-741, Charles Martel of the Carolingian family held this position and was instrumental in

conquering and uniting the Frankish provinces. It was his son, Pippin III, who in 751 would

dispose the last Merovingian king, Childeric III, and officially rule as the first king of the

Carolingian dynasty3

(see Appendix for chronology).

Three years after Pippin IIIs crowning, an astonishing event changed the entire political

and religious landscape of the western world. At the urgent request of Pope Stephen II, Pippin

mustered his forces, crossed the Alps, and conquered the Lombards who were threatening papal

land. This began what is known as the Papal-Frankish alliance, which brought greater stability

and prosperity to Western Europe, strengthened the papacy and the Franks, and effectively broke

western ties with Byzantium. The development and evolution of this alliance was the result of

five interdependent and interacting variables: foreign and internal Christian missionaries to Gaul


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Map 1: Europe around 750 AD.

(Source: Barbara H. Rosenwein,A Short History of the

Middle Ages, 2nd ed. (Canada: Broadview Press, 2004), 74.)

and Germany who were supported and encouraged by the papacy, religious and political

monastic policies pursued by the Carolingian kings, Byzantiums deteriorating relationship with

the West, aggressive Lombard expansion in Italy, and internal strife and discord within Rome.

The alliances culmination in 800 AD saw the coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor of the

Romans, the first such title given to a

western king since the fall of the

Roman Empire in 476 AD. The

consequences of this alliance would

touch every part of Europe and be felt

throughout the remaining centuries of

medieval history.

The foundation of the Papal-

Frankish alliance centered around

missionary activity and ecclesiastical

reform in Francia during the first half of

the eighth century. Reform was badly

needed in the Frankish church at this

point due to the corrupting influence of

nobles and aristocrats. Local families had taken control of bishoprics, monasteries, and

churches, and many bishops hailed from the nobility, seeing the church only as a means of

wealth.4

Many pagan beliefs and practices persisted in Gaul and especially in heathen areas

like Saxony and Bavaria (see Map 1) and it did not help that many of the clergy were ignorant

and poor.5

As a whole, the church was very disorganized, which led to irregular practices and


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St. Boniface.

(Source:

http://www.sai

ntbonifacesf.or

g/tour_lower_

windows.htm)

negligence of the Christian faith. To combat these problems, a number of missionaries within

Francia and from neighboring territories sought to unify the Frankish church and evangelize

unreached areas.

These missionaries had significant contact with the popes in Rome since the papacy was

concerned to reform and reorganize the Frankish church and bring it under its jurisdiction and

spiritual authority. To this end, the popes often commissioned, ordained, supported, and

encouraged the missionaries in their work. Pirmin was a missionary from southern Aquitaine

who ministered in Alamannia and founded many monasteries that became

important cultural and religious centers.

6

Corbinian, consecrated as a bishop

by Pope Gregory II in 722, worked in Bavaria, a province just east of

Alamannia.7

The most important and influential missionary of the eighth

century was Boniface, an Anglo-Saxon who served in Frisia, Saxony, and

Bavaria. His efforts were key to bringing reform to the Frankish church as he

worked with the existing church, the papacy, and the Carolingian kings

Charles Martel and Pippin III. In 718 Boniface undertook a pilgrimage to

Rome and was commissioned by Pope Gregory II to engage in missionary

work east of the Rhine;8 and later, in 722, the pope consecrated him as a

missionary bishop along with Corbinian.9

By 732, Pope Gregory III had

appointed him as organizer of the entire Frankish church and metropolitan10

of

Germany,11

a position he held until his martyrdom in 754. Boniface was replaced by the

Frankish bishop Chrodegang who carried on the Englishmans work at a larger scale and sought

to more completely align the Frankish church to Rome.12


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While the papacy sought to impose spiritual authority and jurisdiction over the church in

Francia, it was incapable of providing adequate protection for the missionaries. This task fell to

the Carolingian kings who discovered that it was within their favor to work with and protect

these reformers. When Pippin III inherited the Frankish kingdom from his father, Charles

Martel, in 741,13 he was faced with the daunting tasks of defeating his political enemies,

conquering rebellious provinces, consolidating his power, and forming a loyal administration to

support him. To be successful against these challenges, Pippin pursued a monastic policy that

used the existing church structure and network in Francia as a foundation for building his

political and military power. This policy was successful in bringing internal reform and

organization to the church, as well as discipline and religious observance. In this way monastic

policies not only served the kings best interests, but also greatly benefited the Frankish church.14

The first thing Pippin III set out to do was remove the aristocratic priests and prelates

who were a threat to his power since they were from strong noble families that opposed a central

monarchy. His anti-Episcopal campaign (which was not an anti-church campaign) sought to win

the loyalty of the clergy, and replaced certain bishops and archbishops with non-ecclesiastical

officials who were loyal to him. Pippin would seize church property and redistribute it,

effectively reduced the bishops wealth and limiting their authority to strictly spiritual

responsibilities, considerably weakening their power.15

Over time the king gained very loyal and

trusting secular and ecclesiastical servants who constituted the basis of his power. Pippin III also

worked with missionaries and church reformers to strengthen the existing church and evangelize

new territories, which opened them up for conquest and incorporation into Francia. St. Boniface

worked closely with Pippin to reorganize the Frankish church,16 and Pippin provided protection


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for him, Pirmin, Corbinian, and others as they founded monasteries and witnessed in non-

Christian areas.17

By sending missionaries into unconquered lands to build monasteries and gain Christian

converts, Pippin was able to gain a spiritual foothold and loyalty from some of the Saxons,

Bavarians, and other heathens. This made it much easier to both conquer these territories

(monasteries had a colonizing effect in the areas they were located) and organize and administer

them afterwards.18 For example, Bonifaces work in Bavaria helped set the foundation for

Charlemagne (Pippins son) to incorporate the region into the Frankish kingdom.19

Also, if

monasteries or churches in a new area were threatened, the Carolingian kings used this as a

reason to invade and conquer. It is difficult to accurately judge the motives of Pippin III and

Charlemagne as they both implemented this monastic policy. Was there only pious religious

intent to reform and grow the church, or were there possibly political motives as well? It seems

that both are legitimate factors, although Pippin probably had more political motives since he

was working hard to bring Gaul and Germany under his control. Charlemagne, who extended

the Frankish empire to its territorial height, ruled during a more stable and peaceful time; he was

also a more devout Christian than Pippin20

as he promoted the rule of St. Benedict and was

concerned to Christianize the pagans for their own well-being. Charlemagne used similar

monastic policies as his father, which were especially effective in aiding in his conquest of

Saxony.21

The monastic policies of the Carolingian kings and the close working relationships they

had with missionaries and reformers brought the Frankish royal administration into contact with

the papacy well before the alliance in the mid eighth century. This was especially true as

Carloman (Pippins older brother), organized and held the first of many reforming church synods


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in 742 that involved all parties concerned and sought to address and fix some of the most

pressing issues.22

The spiritual jurisdiction of the papacy and the political jurisdiction of the king

overlapped, forcing the two sides into contact and cooperation; this familiarity eventually

blossomed into a mutually beneficial relationship. Certainly, each side had different goals and

purposes for reforming the church and ensuring the success of the missionaries, although at times

they did share some common pursuits. Rosamond McKitterick, in his bookThe Frankish

Kingdom Under the Carolingians: 751-987, states that an association between the Papacy and

the Franks had, however, been formed in the ecclesiastical sphere, largely due to the work of the

Englishman Boniface and Frankish reform councils of the 740s.

23

This association led Pope

Zacharias to sanction Pippin IIIs anointing by St. Boniface in 751 as the last Merovingian king

was removed and Pippin became the first king of the Franks in the Carolingian line.24

The

foundation for an open alliance had been laid, and all that was needed was a reason to establish a

close bond.

By the middle of the eighth century, the papacy in Rome found itself in a precarious

situation. The papacy, along with the Exarchate of Ravenna,25 had eventually come under the

influence and protection of the Byzantine Empire after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in

476 AD. However, a series of events in the late seventh and eighth centuries polarized the allies.

In 692 the eastern emperor Justinian II decreed a series of laws that the church was expected to

follow; yet the pope of Rome, Sergius I, rejected some of the laws because they compromised

Roman church law (clerical marriage and fasting during Lent). Justinian, livid at being defied,

sent officials to arrest the pope, but they failed when local Italian armies rose up and defended

the papacy.26 Later, after the turn of the eighth century, the Byzantine emperor Leo III the

Isaurian increased papal taxes in an attempt to raise revenue for wars against the Arabs; a tax


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Map 2: the Byzantine Empire and Italy in the eighth century.

(Source: Barbara H. Rosenwein,A Short History of the Middle

Ages, 2nd ed. (Canada: Broadview Press, 2004), 109.)

revolt ensued that was led by the

pope.27

These events showed that

Byzantiums imperial power was

waning over Italy as the pope gained

greater ability to rule the Italian states.

Another very important

incident which led to deteriorating

relations between Constantinople and

Rome occurred over conflicting

theological beliefs of the veneration of church icons. The Iconoclastic Controversy flared up

between 726-729 when Leo III (of Byzantium), issued a number of decrees outlawing the

veneration of religious icons and images.28

When Pope Gregory II opposed these measures, a

firestorm of controversy began between the Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholic churches.

Each successive pope had to deal with iconoclasm in one form or another and this effectively

ruptured their relationship with Byzantium and distanced the two states from each other.29 In

more practical terms, Byzantium was incapable of protecting the papacy from increasing threats

from the Lombards who occupied northern Italy. The Eastern Empire was being threatened itself

as it fended off attacks by the Umayyad Muslims in Anatolia. The relationship breach left the

papacy vulnerable, without a supporter or a protector.

The Lombards were a Germanic tribe that had settled in Italy after the fall of Rome and

ruled the northern territories from 568-774.30

They were originally Arian Christians31

and so the

popes opposed them; however, over time they were gradually converted to Catholic belief.32

Early in the eighth century, the Lombards began aggressive attempts to conquer the Duchy of


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Map 3: Italy in the eighth century.

(Source: Italy. InEncyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed. Vol. 22.

(Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2005), 190.)

Spoleto and Benevento, territories to the east and south of Rome (see Map 3, page 7). Had they

been successful in these attempts, the papacy would have been surrounded. Finding that it was

being increasingly pressured and threatened by Lombard expansion, and realizing that

Byzantium was too weak to offer any assistance, the papacy began to call upon the aid of the

Franks. In the late 730s, Pope Gregory III wrote a number of letters to the Carolingian Mayor of

the Palace, Charles Martel, asking him in the name of St. Peter to obey our commands to defend

the church of God and his chosen people.33 However, Charles Martel chose not to respond to

the popes requests since the Lombards had earlier allied with the Franks to defeat Arab

incursions. Gregory IIIs successor, Pope Zacharias, spent much of his pontificate in diplomatic

relations between the Lombards, Byzantium, and the Franks. Zacharias was able to successfully

persuade the Lombard kings Liutprand

and Rachis34

from taking the Exarchate

of Ravenna and Rome itself.35

Four months after Pope

Zacharias died and Stephen II was

elected to replace him, the Lombard king

Aistulf attacked Rome, intent upon

ruling the entire Italian peninsula.36

When Aistulf ignored Stephens

attempts to convince him to break off the

attack, Stephen traveled across the Alps

in early 754 and met Pippin III at the

village of Quierzy-sur-Oise in northern


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Gaul.37

There, Pippin promised to restore to the papacy any lands they had lost at the hands of

the Lombards. This promise, known as the Donation of Pippin (which was later written down),

marked the beginning of the Papal-Frankish alliance.38

While Stephen stayed in France during

the winter of 754, he re-anointed Pippin at the Abby of St. Denis in Paris as Patrician of the

Romans, validating his claim to the Frankish throne he had taken in 751.39 Through this act, the

papacy reaffirmed its support of the Carolingians, submitted to the protection of the Franks, and

set the precedent of kingship anointing that would lead to Charlemagnes coronation in 800.40

To make good on his promise, in the summer of 754 Pippin mustered his forces, crossed the Alps

into northern Italy, and defeated the Lombards in a fierce battle. He forced Aistulf to return

papal cities and lands that had been taken, pay tribute, and make an oath never to attack Rome

again.41

Aistulf did not keep his word, however, and two years later in 756 he once again attacked

the papacy and besieged Rome for three months, laying waste to the surrounding countryside.

Once again, Pope Stephen II sent a message to Pippin informing him of the events, and once

again Pippin came down to Italy with his army and defeated the Lombards. 42 The Lombards had

taken the Exarchate of Ravenna, which still belonged to Byzantium, but after defeating the

Lombards it passed into Frankish hands. While he was besieging the Lombard capital of Pavia,

Pippin received an envoy from Constantinople asking that Ravenna and the Exarchate be return

to the Eastern Empire. In a telling move, Pippin ignored their request and instead awarded the

territory to the pope, creating the Papal States, and further fulfilling his promise from 754

(Donation of Pippin).43

Byzantium protested, but was unable to do anything about it. To justify

this act, Pippin used a document known as the Donation of Constantine to assert that he was

simply restoring land that rightfully belonged to Rome.44

Later, in 1439, Lorenzo Valla exposed


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Charlemagne, King of the

Franks, 768-814.

(Source: http://www.american-

pictures.com/genealogy/descent/Charlemagne.htm).

this document to be a forgery. The most probably theory is that it was written by the Roman

Curia45

in 756 with the popes approval in order to acquire the Exarchate of Ravenna from

Byzantium.46

The result of the 756 campaign was that the Franks created strong political ties with the

papacy, and Rome found the supporter and protector it desperately needed.47 The relationship

between the Carolingians and Byzantium understandably deteriorated as the Franks had usurped

Byzantiums role in Italy. Aistulf never again threatened the papacy as he died later in 756 and

was replaced by Desiderius, the duke of Tuscany.48

Pope Stephen II died the following year and

Pope Paul I was elected in his place. Although Pippin III ruled until his death in 768, he never

again campaigned in Italy.49 McKitterick sums up the situation

after 756, saying that while the Papacy became increasingly

independent of the Eastern Empire, it became ever more familiar

with the reality and effectiveness of Frankish power in Italy and

the protection afforded the Pope himself by the Franks.50

The

favorable relationship between the Franks and the papacy would

continue under Pippins son Charlemagne, while Frankish-

Byzantine relations worsened.

Pippin III died in 768 and was buried at the Abby of St.

Denis in Paris. His kingdom was divided between his two sons,

Charles and Carloman. The division was not very clear since

there was some overlap between the territories given to them

and confusion as to who would control what provinces of Gaul

and Germany.51

Specifically, the province of Aquitaine was


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disputed, and to add to their difficulties, rebellious dukes and counts made trouble for the

Carolingian kings. When Carloman refused to aid Charles in his conquest of Aquitaine in 769,

the relationship between the brothers soured considerably.52

It has been speculated that

Desiderius, king of the Lombards, took advantage of this rift between the co-Frankish kings to

ally with Carloman against Charlemagne and the pope.53 What makes this theory very plausible

is that when Carloman died in 771, his wife Gerberga and her sons fled to Lombardy to seek

protection from Desiderius because they feared Charlemagne.54 To add to Charlemagnes

worries, Pope Stephen III had accepted an alliance with the Lombards in 771.55

Desiderius took

advantage of the situation and tried to use Carlomans sons to undermine Charlemagne by

pressuring the new pope, Hadrian I (Stephen III had died in 772), to appoint one of Carlomans

sons as king of the Franks over the territory Carloman had ruled. When Hadrian refused,

Desiderius attacked Rome in 773. Hadrian called upon Charlemagne for help, and so in early

774 Charlemagne gathered his forces and marched to Italy, just as his father had done eighteen

years earlier.56

Charlemagne had multiple reasons for his Italian campaign in 774. First, the papacy was

threatened and the Frankish king wished to continue supporting Rome as his father had done.57

Second, when Carloman died, Charlemagne had become sole ruler of all Frankish territories;

therefore, Desiderius efforts to crown a new Frankish king in place of Carloman threatened

Charlemagnes position as supreme Carolingian king. Charlemagne laid siege to the Lombard

capital of Pavia, and Desiderius surrendered quickly. Afterwards, Charlemagne made Lombardy

a separate kingdom and claimed himself to be King of the Franks and the Lombards.58

He also

returned captured lands (such as Ravenna) back to the papacy. This action was important as it

strengthened Charlemagnes ties with the papacy and involved the Franks even more in Romes


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administration and function. Charlemagne actually paid a personal visit to Pope Hadrian I at

Rome during the siege of Pavia. On Easter day, 774, the king and pope celebrated the holiday

together at St. Peters Basilica, and later Charlemagne visited the holy sites. It was while he was

in Rome that Charlemagne affirmed Pippin IIIs promise of protecting the Papal States, and just

as his father had done, Charlemagne justified his actions using the Donation of Constantine.59

Charlemagnes campaign in 774 brought the Lombard kingdom (and threat) to an end,

but it also more effectively severed Italys relationship with Byzantium as Charlemagne now

claimed to be king of the peninsula. Not only were papal-Byzantine and Frankish-Byzantine

relationships strained, but Charlemagne increasingly played a role in influencing and directing

papal relations with Byzantium and other powers in the second half of the eighth century.60 Two

examples of Charlemagnes influence in Italy happened in 781 and again in 787. In 781

Charlemagne was again in Italy and had Pope Hadrian I anoint his sons as sub-kings: Louis was

to reign over Aquitaine and Carloman over Lombardy (Charlemagne subsequently changed

Carlomans name to Pippin).61

This continued the precedent of papal kingship anointing set by

Stephen II and it signaled Charlemagnes intent to rule Italy, which displeased Byzantium. Then

in 787, a more serious incident occurred that shut the door once for all on Byzantiums claims in

Italy.

Arichis, the duke of Benevento (refer to Map 3 on page 7), in an attempt to maintain his

independence from the papacy, sought an alliance with Constantinople. Arichis was afraid of

Frankish intervention so he sent an embassy to Charlemagne swearing his loyalty but asking him

to stay out of Benevento.62

Charlemagne ignored the dukes request, campaigned in Italy, and

upon Arichis death in 787, made his son Grimoald duke of Benevento. Byzantium had sent an

army to protect Constantinoples claims on Sicily and the provinces of Venetia and Dalmatia (in


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present day Croatia) against Charlemagne. A combined Lombard and Frankish army led by

Grimoald defeated the Greeks and dashed their territorial ambitions. Most interestingly,

Charlemagne did not give the duchy of Benevento to the papacy, but allowed the province to

retain its own autonomy. Although Pope Hadrian I was not happy about this,63

Charlemagne

was clearly looking after his own interests and had the power and influence to do what he

desired.64

Charlemagne showed that he was just as committed to Rome as Pippin had been as he

continued his fathers policy of supporting and protecting the papacy during the late eighth

century. His oversight and influence of papal relations with Byzantium continued to distance

Italy from the Eastern Empire. In a sense, Charlemagne was setting the stage for a bigger event,

although he did not know it was coming. McKitterick sums up Charlemagnes involvement in

Italy by saying, his conquest of Lombardy in 774 in particular set the seal on Pippin IIIs

campaigns in Italy. It established the close Frankish involvement in Italian and papal affairs

which was to lead to the symbolic triumph of Charlemagnes coronation as Emperor, and remain

an intermittent but vital factor in Frankish policies for the next century.65

The culminating event of the Papal-Frankish alliance occurred in Rome on Christmas

day, 800 AD. Five years earlier Pope Leo III had been elected to replace Hadrian I, and he, like

his predecessor, was opposed by strong Roman aristocrats. Internal discord and tension in the

city came to a head in the spring of 799 when Leo was attacked by a mob who attempted to blind

him and cut his tongue out in order to disqualify him from being pontiff.66

Leo was able to

escape with his life and he fled to Saxony, meeting Charlemagne at Paderborn; the Frankish king

was getting ready to launch a campaign in the region so he sent an envoy to escort Leo back to

Rome.67

Later, Charlemagne himself traveled south, reaching Rome by late November, 800.


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The coronation of Charlemagne, 800.

(Source: http://pirate.shu.edu/~wisterro/cdi/0800a_

coronation_of_charlemagne.htm).

Leos trial began on December 1, and ended after he had taken an oath that acquitted him of the

perjury and adultery charges. The pope was restored to his pontificate and his political enemies

were arrested and deported.68

On December 25, Leo, Charlemagne,

his son Louis, and a large crowd attended a

ceremony at St. Peters Basilica to consecrate

Louis as heir to the Frankish throne. There,

before the anticipatory throng, Leo

surprisingly crowned Charlemagne as Emperor

of the Romans and gave him the title of

Augustus.69

This marked the restoration of

an emperor in the West, the first in three

hundred and twenty four years since the

removal of Romulus Augustulus in 476 AD.

In one bold move the papacy bound itself even

more closely to the Franks and sought to assert its authority to bestow imperial power.70

Although it was an honorary and glorious gesture with significant implications,

practically, the coronation did not immediately change the political situation in Italy or Francia.

It did not affect Charlemagnes rights, ability as king, or his power; it simply added a prestigious

title to his position as king.71

It did, however, further polarize the papal-Byzantine split as there

was once again a western emperor to oppose the eastern emperor. It is also questionable as to

how much the individuals involved in the coronation understood the relevance of imperial

dignity and responsibility since the memory and importance of a western emperor had faded.


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Even though Charlemagne still held the edge in might and influence in his relationship with the

papacy, it is important to note that the coronation would not have been possible without the

popes participation.

There has been much debate throughout history as to Charlemagnes awareness of his

impending coronation. Einhard, a servant of Charlemagne who wrote his biography, claimed

that the move took the king by surprise: It was then that he received the titles of Emperor and

Augustus, to which he at first had such an aversion that he declared that he would not have set

foot in the Church the day that they were conferred, although it was a great feast day, if he could

have foreseen the design of the Pope.

72

However, historians have doubted this explanation of

the event and postulate that Charlemagne and Leo discussed and decided the matter when they

met at Paderborn in late 799.73

Charlemagne carried the title of emperor for fourteen years

before his death in 814. Although the imperial title made its way onto a number of

Charlemagnes coins and his seal, the task of discovering the further implications and power of

the title was left to his son, Louis the Pious.74

The full significance of Charlemagnes coronation

would only be seen after modern history had run its course and proven that the position of

emperor and the power of an empire could rule the world.75

The Papal-Frankish alliance succeeded in completely altering the political and military

status of the western medieval world in less than half a century. The alliance had developed

early in the eighth century when the respective jurisdictions of the Franks and papacy overlapped

as they worked together with missionaries and reformers to strengthen the church and

consolidate political control. Each side needed the support and legitimizing power the other had

to offer, and even though their purposes and goals were often different, they cooperated to form a

strong bond. The alliance shifted European focus from the east to the west as the Byzantine


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Empire weakened and diminished and the Franks stepped in to take their place. Constantinople

lost its claims on Italian and Adriatic coastal territories and it no longer had political, religious,

or military influence over the papacy. The Lombard kingdom was brought to an end after two

centuries of Italian existence. Rome itself was stabilized as a pro-Frankish party developed in

the city and aristocratic opposition was broken by Charlemagne.

The Franks under the Carolingians had evolved from disorganized and divisive provinces

into a unified, powerful, and conquering empire under the emperor Charlemagne. The papacy

was transformed from a weakened and vulnerable protectorate of the Eastern Empire into a

secure and ever-growing authority in the Italian peninsula and the western Catholic Church.

With the emergence of a new western emperor in 800, the alliance paved the way for the

development of European states and monarchies. However, the close relationship between the

king and pope did not last indefinitely as they clashed over the right to anoint bishops during the

Investiture Conflict of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and fought over political and religious

jurisdiction in the European heartland during the late medieval ages. The Papal-Frankish

alliance had bound the popes and the kings of Europe in a fateful relationship that would direct

the course of history for centuries to come.


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Appendix

Chronology of Kings and Popes of the Eighth Century


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Sources Cited

I. Primary SourcesClark, Gillian, Margaret Gibson, and Christa Mee, eds. The Lives of the Eighth-Century Popes

(Liber Pontificalis): The Ancient Biographies of Nine Popes from AD 715 to AD 817. Translated by Raymond Davis. Vol. 13. Trowbridge, England: Liverpool University Press,1992.

Einhard. The Life of Charlemagne. United States: The University of Michigan Press, 1964.

Fordham University. Medieval Sourcebook, Carolingians: The Rise of the Carolingian Dynastyand Papal Support, Charles Martel. Pope Gregory III: Letter to Charles Martel, 739.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/g2-martellet.html (accessed April 18, 2009).

Fordham University. Medieval Sourcebook, Carolingians: The Rise of the Carolingian Dynasty

and Papal Support, Pepin. Annals of Lorsch: The Pope makes Pepin king.http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/lorsch1.html (accessed April 18, 2009).

Fordham University. Medieval Sourcebook, Carolingians: The Rise of the Carolingian Dynastyand Papal Support, Pepin. The Donation of Constantine, full text.http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/donatconst.html (accessed April 18, 2009).

II. Secondary SourcesA. Books

McKitterick, Rosamond. The Frankish Kingdom Under the Carolingians: 751-987. London:Longman Group Limited, 1983.

Rosenwein, Barbara H.A Short History of the Middle Ages. 2nd ed. Canada: Broadview Press,2004.

B. Encyclopedia ArticlesAdrian I. InEncyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed. Vol. 1. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.,

2005.

Boniface. InEncyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed. Vol. 2. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica,Inc., 2005.

Carloman. InEncyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed. Vol. 2. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica,

Inc., 2005.


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Charlemagne. InEncyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed. Vol. 15. Chicago: EncyclopediaBritannica, Inc., 2005.

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The Coronation of Charlemagne. (Text adapted from Brian Tierney, The Crisis of the Churchand State 1050-1300, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1964). http://www.american-

pictures.com/genealogy/descent/Charlemagne.htm (accessed May 13, 2009).


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Endnotes

1. Barbara H. Rosenwein,A Short History of the Middle Ages 2nd ed. (Canada: Broadview Press, 2004), 79.

(from here on referred to as Rosenwein, page.)

2. Einhard, The Life of Charlemagne (United States: The University of Michigan Press, 1964), 24. (from here

on referred to as Einhard, page.) Einhard was a courtier and servant of Charlemagne who ended up writing the

kings biography.

3. Einhard, 8.

4. Rosamond McKitterick, The Frankish Kingdom Under the Carolingians: 751-987(London: Longman Group

Limited, 1983), 41-42. (from here on referred to as McKitterick, page.)

5. McKitterick, 55.

6. McKitterick, 42.

7.Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Gregory II, Saint.

8.Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Boniface.


10. In the Eastern Church, a metropolitan was the position between bishop and patriarch who often served as the

head of an ecclesiastical province. It was equivalent to an archbishop in the Roman Catholic Church (WordWeb and

Dictionary.com).

11.Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Gregory III, Saint.

12. McKitterick, 57.

13. At his death in 741, Charles Martel actually divided his kingdom in two, giving half to each of his two sons,

Pippin and Carloman. Carloman ruled over Austrasia, Alamannia, and Thuringia, but only from 741-747, after

which he entered monastic life. Pippin III then ruled the entire Frankish kingdom from 747-768. (Encyclopedia

Britannica, s.v. Carloman.).



16. Einhard, 8.



19.Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Boniface.

20. Einhard notes that the Christian religion and its principles had been impressed on Charlemagne from him

birth and he took his faith seriously, worshipping every morning and evening at the Basilica Aix-la-Chapelle

(Einhard, 54-55).

21. McKitterick, 61-63. It also seems that Charlemagne in part promoted the Christian faith because he felt that

was his duty as a Christian king and ruler. The monastic policies of Pippin and Charlemagne actually weakened the

political power of the king, the strength of the Frankish church, and diminished the quality of the clergy

(McKitterick, 53, 60).


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22.Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Carloman. This was the first reform council in France in over 50 years.


24. Annals of Lorsch: The Pope makes Pepin king.

25. In 540 AD Ravenna was taken by the Byzantine king Belissrius and made into an imperial exarchate, a

ruling administrative center that represented Byzantium in the West. (Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Ravenna.).

26. Rosenwein, 91.

27. Rosenwein, 92.


29. The Iconoclastic Controversy was not resolved until the Second Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 787. A

compromise was reached between Pope Hadrian I (sometimes referred to as Adrian) and the patriarch in

Constantinople that allowed the veneration of icons, yet distinguished it from worshipping God. (Encyclopedia

Britannica, s.v. Adrian I.).

30.Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Lombard.

31. Arian Christianity originated from the Alexandrian priest Arius (250-336) who believed that Christ was

neither completely human nor completely divine. He was fiercely opposed by Saint Athanasius (295-373) and the

First Council of Nicaea (325) (Rosenwein, 26-27).

32. Rosenwein, 90.

33. Pope Gregory III: Letter to Charles Martel, 739. Gregory III also mentions that St. Peters church was

being despoiled and desolated by the Lombards, and that if Martel would help them he would be recognize for his

faith and love and would attain lasting fame on earth and eternal life in heaven. Evidently, the papacy was under

severe pressure and was using every coercive means available to convince the Franks to intervene.

34. Liutprand ruled the Lombards from 712-744; Rachis succeeded him and ruled from 744-749.(Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Lombard.).

35.Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Zacharias.; McKitterick, 47.

36. Clark, Gillian, Margaret Gibson, and Christa Mee, eds., The Lives of the Eighth-Century Popes (Liber

Pontificalis): The Ancient Biographies of Nine Popes from AD 715 to AD 817, trans. Raymond Davis, vol. 13

(Trowbridge, England: Liverpool University Press, 1992), 55;Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Stephen II (or III).;

McKitterick, 47.

37. McKitterick, 47. Interestingly, Pippin III was returning from conquests in Saxony when he was informed

that Stephen needed his help, so he quickly went to meet him. (McKitterick, 46).

38. McKitterick, 47;Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Pepin, Donation of.39. McKitterick, 48;Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Stephen II (or III).;Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Pepin

III. Not only did Stephen II anoint Pippin III as the rightful Frankish king, he also anointed his two sons, Charles

and Carloman, as heirs to the Carolingian throne.



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41. McKitterick, 49; Einhard, 28-29. Pippin actually received internal opposition from his own party about

invading Italy (Einhard, 28-29). Both Pippin and Charlemagne had to conduct campaigns in rebellious Aquitainewhere strong dukes and counts opposed central Frankish authority (McKitterick, 50).



44. The Donation of Constantine, full text.

45. The Curia was the Roman church administrative organization.

46. McKitterick, 47-48. We actually do not know who wrote the Donation of Constantine, or when and where

it was written. It is possible that a first draft was written shortly after 754 to help Pope Stephen II and Pippin III

recover lost territories, and was later finalized during Charlemagnes reign.


48. McKitterick, 49. King Desiderius of the Lombards ruled from 756-774; he was disposed by Charlemagne in

774.





53. McKitterick, 65, 68.

54. Einhard, 26-27; McKitterick, 65.

55.Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Stephen III (or IV). This alliance lead to the execution of many who were

part of the Frankish party in Rome. Interestingly, after Stephen III died in 772, the Frankish party played a central

role in electing Hadrian I as pope. This evidently shows that rival factions were active in Rome, either supportingthe Franks or the Lombards. These factions would be instrumental in the coming years of increasing the close ties

between Charlemagne and Pope Leo III.

56. Einhard, 28-29.

57. Charlemagne had been anointed as heir to the Frankish throne in 754 when Pope Stephen II had anointed his

father, so he had good reason to be favorable inclined toward the papacy.

58. Einhard, 29-30; McKitterick, 68.

59.Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Charlemagne.; McKitterick, 69.


61. Einhard, 47; McKitterick, 53, 65.62. Einhard, 35; McKitterick, 69.

63. Even though Pope Hadrian I was supportive of the Franks, one source described his and Charlemagnes

relationship as amicable rivalry. (Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Adrian I.).

64. McKitterick, 69. Einhard also mentions that after this incident Charlemagne stayed in Rome for a number

of days and visited the holy sites, which evidenced his devotion (Einhard, 35).



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66. Einhard, 56-67; McKitterick, 70;Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Leo III.

67. McKitterick, 70;Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Leo III.



70. McKitterick, 70-71.


72. Einhard, 56-67.

73. McKitterick, 70-71.

74. McKitterick, 71. Einhard reports that at his death, Charlemagne crowed Louis as king of the Franks and

passed on his imperial titles of Emperor and Augustus (Einhard, 58-59).


the papal-frankish alliance

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