Leo III
Pope who was attacked in Rome in 799, fled to Charlemagne, cleared himself by oath before the king, and on Christmas Day 800 crowned him emperor in St Peter’s.
The Liber Pontificalis describes Leo as a Roman brought up from childhood in the papal household, elected on St Stephen’s day, 26 December (Liber Pontificalis Leo III (ed. Duchesne, vol. 2, p. 1)). The Frankish annals record that on succeeding Hadrian he at once sent Charlemagne the keys of St Peter’s tomb and the banner of Rome (Royal Frankish Annals, year 796).
In April 799 he was attacked during a procession by a party led by officials of his own court, who tried to blind and silence him. He escaped to the king at Paderborn and was sent back with a Frankish escort (Liber Pontificalis Leo III (ed. Duchesne, vol. 2, pp. 4–6)) (Royal Frankish Annals, year 799). In December 800 the bishops assembled in St Peter’s declined to sit in judgment on the apostolic see. Leo swore his innocence on the Gospels, and at the Christmas mass he crowned Charles emperor (Liber Pontificalis Leo III (ed. Duchesne, vol. 2, p. 7)). The Frankish annals enter his death under 816, in the twenty-first year of his pontificate (Royal Frankish Annals, year 816). See Charlemagne Is Crowned Emperor.
In the timeline
- 25 December AD 800, firm dateCharlemagne Is Crowned Emperor
On Christmas Day 800, in St Peter’s at Rome, Pope Leo III sets a crown on the head of the Frankish king Charles and the Romans acclaim him emperor. The sources of the time disagree about who planned it and whether the king wished it.