Leo III (pope)
750 – 816 Roman Pope (795-816)
Pope who crowned Charlemagne emperor on Christmas Day in the year 800.
- Religion
- Catholic; Bishop of Rome
- Affiliations
- The papacy
On Christmas Day in the year 800, Leo III placed a crown on Charlemagne's head in St. Peter's and hailed him as emperor of the Romans. The act revived the idea of a Western empire and bound the papacy to Frankish rulers. It also planted a lasting question about whether emperors owed their crown to the pope. Leo had fled to Charlemagne a year earlier after Roman enemies attacked him in the street.
Connections
- associate of Charlemagne — Crowned him Holy Roman Emperor in 800.
In the timeline
- 726 The Iconoclasm controversy erupts mentioned
- 800 Coronation of Charlemagne crowned him
- 800 Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne emperor central figure
- 800 The pope crowns Charlemagne: the Church makes emperors mentioned
- 800 Charlemagne crowned Emperor by the Pope mentioned