Church State Relationship & Rise of the Carolingians
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Charlemagne was the first Holy Roman Emperor. This title symbolized the cooperation between church and state that ensured the Roman popes' authority over the Western Church, and the Frankish emperors' authority over much of Christianized Western Europe. Under Charlemagne, King of the Franks, the influence of the Catholic Church had been strongly reinforced. A new relationship between the Frankish kings and the popes was started by Pepin, Charlemagne's father, and Boniface, the popes' legate. Their early program of church reform was greatly expanded by Charlemagne. Pepin had also given his protection to the popes when Rome was threatened by invaders, and Charlemagne continued the tradition. This situation resulted in a new interdependence between church and state. Charlemagne exerted great influence on the clergy and on church practice, and offered security to the papacy. At the same time, the popes' blessing legitimized the Carolingians' right to replace the Merovingian kings, and their authority to govern a large empire. The relationship culminated in Pope Leo III's coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in 800 A.D. In their conception of the Holy Roman Empire, church and state interests were combined in a way that was meant to provide mutual support. This was one of the great political and ecclesiastical innovations of the early Middle Ages. Since the time of Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome, the Church had the protection of the Roman
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y" from the Eastern emperors. Fortunately, the next Carolingian, Charlemagne, turned out to be an exceptional ruler, capable of continuing what his father began, and, eventually, assuming the title of Holy Roman Emperor.
When Pepin died in 768, Charlemagne shared the kingdom with a brother, who soon died. As sole ruler, Charlemagne pursued a course that would make him an invaluable ally of the popes. He did this in two ways. First, Charlemagne "proved his military genius" by the skill with which he expanded the kingdom, often following the pattern laid out by Pepin. Second, he promoted and expanded the reforms that Carloman and Boniface had started. By means of his military conquests Charlemagne made his own kingdom and the Papal States more secure. Then, by means of his promotion of learning and clerical reform, Charlemagne reinforced the Church's hold over the clergy and the laity in the rapidly-expanding Frankish kingdom.
Charlemagne's first military goal was to deal with the Lombards who were, once again, threatening to overrun Rome and the Papal States. The pope called on Charlemagne who, in a single campaign, deposed the Lombard king and assumed the crown of the kingdom for himself. After the conquest of the L
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Roman Empire, Carloman Boniface, Roman Emperor, Charlemagne Pepin, Franks Catholics, Emperor Pepin, Charlemagne Saxony, Merovingians Charlemagne, Byzantium Eastern, Roman Church, holy roman, roman emperor, holy roman emperor, western europe, frankish kingdom, frankish kings, holy roman empire, frankish church, roman empire, charlemagne holy, roman emperors, charlemagne holy roman, title holy roman, program church reform, rome ravenna,
Approximate Word count = 2079
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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