Annals of Lorsch (Annales Laureshamenses)
Frankish annals ending in 803, distinct from the Royal Frankish Annals. Their entry for 801 gives a reason why Charlemagne was made emperor: the imperial name was vacant among the Greeks, who were ruled by a woman.
These annals take their name from the monastery of Lorsch and are a different work from the court annals now called the Royal Frankish Annals. They end with the year 803. Their entries for the years around 800 are full and are worded differently from those of the court annals; that they stop so soon afterwards suggests a writer close to the events.
Their importance for the coronation of 800 is that they give a reason and a procedure. The decision, they say, was taken by the pope, the bishops assembled in council and the rest of the Christian people, on the grounds that there was no emperor among the Greeks and that Charles already held Rome and the other old imperial seats; and Charles accepted because he would not refuse their request.
Cited in
- 25 December AD 800, firm date