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THE CORONATION
of Charlemagne by the Pope, from a painting by F. Kaulbach.
phorus deposes Irene and banishes
her to the lsle of Lesbos. Charles
then opens negotiations with Nice–
phorus, hoping for recognition as
co-emperor in the West. Recogni–
tion fina11y comes in 812 during the
reign of Emperor Michael
1.
The
empire of Charlemagne is now offi–
cially recognized in Byzantium.
Charles is now addressed by Byzan–
tine ambassadors as "Emperor" and
"Augustus," though clearly not a
Roman
emperor.
However the ceremony might be
interpreted and whatever Charles'
approach to his new title, he holds
the política! and military position of
Western emperor. His direct domain
and sphere of influence is equal in
alrnost every way to those held by
the old emperors in the West - and
the provinces are much better pro–
tected!
It
was said to Pepin, "He who
held and wielded power in the king–
dom should be called king, and be
28
king, rather than he who falsely
bore that title." From the point of
view of Western European power
politics, Charlemagne is emperor in
fact, and the eastern emperor bears
the title falsely over the West.
Year 843: Disintegration Becomes
Official. Charles the Great dies in
814. Although his dynasty
will
en–
dure another one hundred seventy–
five years, disintegration of the em–
pire begins almost immediately. In
fact, the empire Charles creates al–
most literally goes to the grave with
him.
Although sorne further expansion
takes place under Charles' son
Louis, disintegration becomes for–
malized in the next generation. The
Treaty of Verdun in 843 marks the
official termination of a unity in
grave trouble for a number ofyears.
The Verdun treaty divides the
empire into more or less equal parts
for each of the three grandsons of
Charlemagne. Lothar keeps the title
and dignity of emperor. He also has
a more important share than his two
brothers. Lotharingia, the middle
kingdom, includes Aix-la-Chapelle,
capital of the empire, and Rome,
capital of Christianity. Louis re–
ceives
Francia Orientalis
(the Ger–
man realm); Charles ,
Francia
Occidentalis
(the French realrn).
A language barrier is already evi–
dent. In the 842 Oath of Strasbourg,
the kings of the eastern and western
parts of the Carolingian empire sub–
scribe to what are recognizable
French and German dialects. The
middle kingdom collapses almost
immediately, leaving a hodgepodge
of petty principalities from Flanders
to Lombardy.
Years 843-911: Disintegration
Continues. At the Treaty of Meers–
sen in 870, the remnant of the king–
dom is divided in a four-way split.
By 887, the Carolingian line has Iost
imperial title west of the Rhine. But
PlAIN TRUTH November 1973