The Franks were one of the many barbarian groups that had invaded the western Roman Empire, settling in what would become France and Germany. Pippin of Herstal unified the Franks into a major power from 687 to 714. His son, Charles Martel, stopped the advance of the Arabs from Spain at the battle of Poitiers in 732. Although the factual ruler of the Franks, Charles, like his father, had only the official title of Mayor of the Palace, under the puppet kings of the Merovingian dynasty.When Charles died in 741, his office of Mayor was divided among his sons Carloman and Pippin, who had been educated at monasteries. Carloman abdicated unexpectedly in 747, and he retired to the monastery at Mount Soracte, leaving Pippin as the sole ruler of the Franks, although still only as Mayor.
Pippin now felt strong enough to attempt to displace the figurehead Merovingian king. He consulted the Pope on this subject and with his approval, he deposed the king in 755. He then had himself elected king by the leading Frankish noblemen. Pippin felt that he needed explicit Papal support in order to legitimate his rule. The Pope, on the other hand, was seeking the military power of the Franks as protection against the Lombards, who controlled most of Italy. In a visit to Gaul in 754 Pope Stephen II (752-757) anointed Pippin. Charles Martel had already been compared to the kings of Israel in saving the people of God from its infidel enemies, and with the papal anointing, Pippin attempted to emphasize his “divine election”.
The Lombards considered the
Papal political control of Rome to be an obstacle to their domination of Italy,
and they threatened Rome several times. Now Pippin was indebted to the Pope,
and the next time that the Lombard king threatened Rome, Pope Stephen asked
Pippin for help. After some diplomatic attempts, Pippin invaded Italy, defeated
the Lombards, and captured Pavia, the Lombard capital. The eventual settlement
of this campaign resulted in the creation of a territory taken from Lombard and
Byzantine lands. This territory was
granted to the Popes under the guardianship of the Franks, and it was the
foundation of the Papal States [1].
On Pippin’s death in 768 his kingdom was divided among his sons, following the Frankish custom. Carloman II died after three years, leaving Charles as the king of all the Franks in 772. In 773 the Lombards again attacked the Papal territories, and Pope Adrian I (772-795) invoked the promise of help from the Franks according to their guardianship. Charlemagne, however, had strong ambitions of his own, and when he captured Pavia in 774, he declared himself king of Lombardy, annexing the Lombard territories, and pledging once again to respect and protect the integrity of the Papal territories. Charlemagne’s other military campaigns also significantly extended his frontiers. On the West a “Spanish March” was created from Moslem territories in Catalonia. On the East the Avars and the Saxons were defeated. Chares was hailed as “the Great” (Charlemagne).
It is of course impossible to ascertain the development of Charlemagne’s self-consciousness about his role, but his public image was clearly building up. The identification with Biblical Kings had already begun with his father and grandfather, as discussed above. Alcuin, his friend and advisor addressed him as “King David” in his letters. Pope Adrian had called him the “patrician of the Romans” in 773 in order to entice his help. Pope Leo III (795-816) cultivated the image of Charlemagne as a “new Constantine” in 796. This Pope, who was fighting to establish himself after accusations of improprieties, culminated this process by crowning Charlemagne as emperor of the Romans in 800 [2]. This office was seen as a reincarnation of the Christianized Roman emperors such as Constantine, who had used his power it to defend the faith as the secular leader of Christianity.
The Carolingian dynasty
reigned in parts of Charlemagne’s empire until 987, with uneven results. Only
his grandson Charles the Bald showed any significant stature and culture, but
the legacy of this dynasty was nevertheless fundamental. The divisions of the
Carolingian empire would ultimately give raise to the nations of France,
Germany and Italy, and a solid Christian and cultured heritage was provided for
these nations.
Note: For a more detailed version of this material
see: Alfredo Romagosa, “The Carolingian Renaissance and Christian Humanism,”
Logos, Fall 2003, pp. 136-149.