
In
the history of the
Papacy
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
, the Frankish Papacy (756–857) was a period marked by a shifting of influence from the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
(i.e. the
Byzantine Papacy) to that of the
kings of the Franks.
Pepin the Short
the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian to become king.
Pepin was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude of H ...
(ruled 751–768),
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
(r. 768–814) (co-ruler with his brother
Carloman I until 771), and
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...
(r. 814–840) had considerable influence in the selection and administration of popes. The "
Donation of Pepin" (756) ratified a new period of papal rule in central Italy, which became known as the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
.
This shift was initiated by the
Lombards
The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...
conquering the
Exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna (; ), also known as the Exarchate of Italy, was an administrative district of the Byzantine Empire comprising, between the 6th and 8th centuries, the territories under the jurisdiction of the exarch of Italy (''exarchus ...
from the Byzantines, strengthened by the Frankish triumph over the Lombards, and ended by the fragmentation of the Frankish Kingdom into
West Francia
In medieval historiography, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () constitutes the initial stage of the Kingdom of France and extends from the year 843, from the Treaty of Verdun, to 987, the beginning of the Capet ...
,
Middle Francia
Middle Francia () was a short-lived Frankish kingdom which was created in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun after an intermittent civil war between the grandsons of Charlemagne resulted in division of the united empire. Middle Francia was allocated ...
, and
East Francia
East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...
.
Lothair I
Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...
continued to rule Middle Francia which included much of the Italian peninsula, from 843 to 855.
This period was "a critical time in Rome's transformation from ancient capital to powerful bishopric to new state capital." The period was characterized by "battles between
Franks
file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
,
Lombards
The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...
and Romans for control of the Italian peninsula and of supreme authority within Christendom."
History
Pepin the Short
Following the death of
Zachary, the last culturally Eastern Roman pope,
Stephen II (752–757) became the first pope to cross the
Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
...
, in 752, when he appealed in person for the aid of
Pepin the Short
the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian to become king.
Pepin was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude of H ...
upon his election, following the
Lombard takeover of Ravenna in 751. The Lombards had extinguished the
exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna (; ), also known as the Exarchate of Italy, was an administrative district of the Byzantine Empire comprising, between the 6th and 8th centuries, the territories under the jurisdiction of the exarch of Italy (''exarchus ...
and turned their attention to the formerly Byzantine
Duchy of Rome
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition.
There once existed an important difference between "sovereign ...
.
Stephen II had asked Constantinople for help, but the Eastern Romans had their own problems, so he traveled all the way to the ''palatium'' at
Quierzy, where the reluctant Frankish nobles finally gave their consent to a campaign in Lombardy. For his part, then and there, Pepin executed in writing a promise to convey to the Papacy certain territories that were going to be wrested from the Lombards. No actual document has been preserved, but later 8th century sources quote from it. Fulfilling his part, in Paris Stephen anointed him as
King of the Franks
The Franks, Germanic peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dux, dukes and monarch, reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Franks, Salian Mero ...
in a lavish ceremony at the
Basilica of St Denis
The Basilica of Saint-Denis (, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and archite ...
, bestowing upon him the additional title of ''
patricius Romanorum'' (Patrician of the Romans).
The "
Donation of Pepin" strengthened the claim of the popes to the ''de facto'' core of the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
, and thus the incentives for secular interference in papal selection.
Stephen II's brother and successor was
Pope Paul I (757–767). According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:
:While Paul was with his dying brother at the Lateran, a party of the Romans gathered in the
house of Archdeacon Theophylact in order to secure the latter's succession to the papal see. However, immediately after the burial of Stephen (died 26 April, 757), Paul was elected by a large majority, and received episcopal consecration on the twenty-ninth of May. Paul continued his predecessor's policy towards the Frankish king, Pepin, and thereby continued the papal supremacy over Rome and the districts of central Italy in opposition to the efforts of the Lombards and the Eastern Empire.
The death of Paul I was followed by a bloody schism characterized by
Toto, the ''dux'' of Nepi, and
Pope Stephen III (768–772). Toto supported the claim of his layman brother,
Antipope Constantine; a small group of Lombards also supported the rival claim of a monk named Philip.
Toto invaded Rome. According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', "through the support of the brothers Charlemagne and Carloman, Kings of the Franks, Stephen was able to recover some territories from the Lombards."
However, the Lombard King
Desiderius married his daughter to Charlemagne, and "in some mysterious manner effected the fall of the pope's chief ministers, Christopher and Sergius."
After Toto had his eyes gouged out and was imprisoned, Stephen III decreed that the entire Roman clergy had the right to elect the pope but restricted eligibility for election to the cardinal-priests and cardinal-deacons (incidentally, the first use of the term "cardinals" to refer to the priests of the titular churches or the seven deacons); the cardinal-bishops, supporters of Toto, were excluded. The Roman laity quickly regained its role after Stephen III's decree, and maintained its participation until 1059. The "papal elections of the following decade were a series of battles between secular and ecclesiastical groups, entangled obliquely in larger Italian and Frankish politics."
Charlemagne
Pope Adrian I (772–795) and
Pope Leo III (795–816) were elected under the rules of Stephen III, but the latter was forced from Rome and sought the aid of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
. Under the rule of Adrian I, Charlemagne conquered
Pavia
Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086.
The city was a major polit ...
, ending the Lombard kingdom "and the Papacy was forever delivered from its persistent and hereditary foe."
Adrian I played a pivotal role in the
fall of Pavia, and scholars have long assumed that he consistently supported the Frankish efforts to destroy Lombard power; however, the actual situation might be more complicated. Charlemagne confirmed the election of Leo III, sending
Angilbert, Abbot of St. Regnier, to Rome to carry to the new Pope admonitions about the proper filling of his office. Leo III was consecrated the day after his election, an unusual move perhaps intended to preempt any Frankish interference.
Louis the Pious
Pope Stephen IV
Pope Stephen IV (; died 24 January 817) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from June 816 to his death on 24 January 817. (816–817) required the Romans to take an oath to Charlemagne's son,
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...
, as their
suzerain, and he sent notice of his election to him before traveling to France to crown Louis.
Pope Paschal I (817–824) sent "several ambassadors in rapid succession" to Louis before receiving from him the ''
Pactum Ludovicianum'', confirming the Donation of Pepin.

After two unanimous elections, Louis the Pious intervened in a bitterly disputed election in favor of
Pope Eugene II
Pope Eugene II (; died 27 August 827) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 6 June 824 to his death on 27 August 827. A native of Rome, he was Papal selection before 1059, chosen by nobles to succeed Paschal I as pope despite ...
(824–827). According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', "the election of Eugene II was a triumph for the Franks" and Louis "accordingly sent his son
Lothair to Rome to strengthen the Frankish influence."
The pope and emperor signed a concordat or constitution in 824.
The papal subjects were made to swear fealty to Louis and Lothair and were not to "suffer the pope-elect to be consecrated save in the presence of the emperor's envoys."
This was approximately the status quo circa 769, reincorporating the lay Roman nobles (who continued to dominate the process for 200 years) and requiring the pope to swear loyalty to the Frankish ruler.
The consecration of
Pope Gregory IV (827–844) was delayed for six months to attain the assent of Louis. Gregory IV was the candidate of the "secular nobility of Rome who were then securing a preponderating influence in papal elections" and thus "the representatives in Rome of the Emperor Louis the Pious" required this delay.
Because of this delay, Gregory IV could not begin to govern the church until March 828.
The clergy and the nobles elected different candidates in 844. Because
Pope Sergius II (844–847) was, "after a disputed election, consecrated without any reference to the
Emperor Lothaire, the latter was indignant, and sent
his son Louis with an army to examine into the validity of the election."
Only when "Sergius succeeded in pacifying Louis, whom he crowned king", did
Lothair I
Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...
side with Sergius II, the noble candidate.
Aftermath

Three years later
Pope Leo IV
Pope Leo IV (died 17 July 855) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 10 April 847 to his death in 855. He is remembered for repairing Roman churches that had been damaged during the Arab raid against Rome, and for building the ...
(847–855) was consecrated, again without imperial approval, which would have been difficult in any case as the Carolingian Empire was in the process of breaking up.
Lothair II of Lotharingia indeed failed to impose his own candidate,
Pope Benedict III (855–858), in 855 until the Roman-elected candidate refused the office (the first recorded historical refusal). According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'':
Lothair II was present for the election of
Pope Nicholas I
Pope Nicholas I (; c. 800 – 13 November 867), called Nicholas the Great, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 858 until his death on 13 November 867. He is the last of the three popes listed in the Annuario Pontif ...
(858–867), who prohibited anyone outside of the Roman community from interfering in papal elections, and as a result
Pope Adrian II
Pope Adrian II (; also Hadrian II; 79214 December 872) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 867 to his death on 14 December 872. He continued the policy of his predecessor, Nicholas I. Despite seeking good relations with ...
(867–872) was consecrated without even informing the Franks. Lothair II's choice of Nicholas I was contrary to the wishes of the clergy, but "was confirmed without much ado" and Nicholas I was crowned in the emperor's presence.

According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', Adrian II "strove to maintain peace among the greedy and incompetent descendants of Charlemagne."
Pope Marinus I (882–884) was consecrated "without waiting for the consent of the incompetent emperor,
Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...
."
Pope Stephen V
Pope Stephen V (; died 14 September 891) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from September 885 to his death on 14 September 891. In his dealings with Photius I of Constantinople, as in his relations with the young Slavic Ortho ...
(885–891) was similarly consecrated, and Charles the Fat may have intervened had Stephen V not been elected unanimously.
The coins of
Pope Romanus (879) continued to bear the name of Emperor Lambert as well as his own monogram. A synod in Rome decided that
Pope John IX (898–900) should not be consecrated except in the presence of "imperial envoys."
Legacy

It was during the time of Charlemagne that it became customary for the pope to approve the creation of a new
archdiocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...
and to determine its geographic extent. These changes "made the archbishop seem more like the pope's deputy with a delegated share of the universal primacy." Of course, powerful rulers continued to establish their own archdiocese—for example,
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...
, created
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...
in 963, and
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II (; ; ; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024 AD), also known as Saint Henry, Order of Saint Benedict, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler of the Ottonian dy ...
, created
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...
in 1020—and to strongly influence decisions nominally made by the pope.
Pope Gregory IV (822-844) was unsuccessful in 830 when he attempted to side with
Lothair I
Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...
and his bishops against
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...
. Disputes such as these lead to the
Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals, a forgery of the ilk of the "
Donation of Constantine".
The coronations of Pepin, Charlemagne, and Louis by popes planted the idea among generations of European rulers that the pope could confer legitimacy to the title of "emperor."
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
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{{Periods of papal history
History of the papacy
8th century in Francia
8th-century Christianity
9th-century Christianity
Carolingian Empire