Charlemagne, King of Italy (774-81)

King Pepin’s son, Charlemagne became the undisputed King of Francia when his brother Carloman died in 771.   This left him free to respond to the pleas for help from the papacy.  King Desiderius tried to forestall this threat while he still had time by invading the old territory of the Exarch and then marching on Rome. 

However, he had miscalculated.  Charlemagne responded quickly when Pope Hadrian I (772-95) appealed for help and duly laid siege to Pavia.  The city fell to him in 774 and he was crowned with the iron  crown of the Lombards.  His title soon mutated to King of Italy, although it still applied only to the territory of the old Lombard Kingdom.

Charlemagne travelled to Rome after his coronation.  Hadrian I pressed him to honour the terms of the “Donation of Pepin” that his father had made  in 754.  Charlemagne did indeed draw up and sign a similar document: however, it soon became clear that this was a recognition of papal claims rather than a transfer of sovereignty.  

Iconoclasm

Despite these territorial issues, Hadrian I and Charlemagne maintained a good relationship.  They also managed to overcome their difference on the issue of iconoclasm: 

1. ✴Charlemagne had serious reservations about the doctrinal issues involved, as well as suspicions about the consequent easing of tension between Rome and Byzantium.
   

2. ✴However, in 787, Hadrian I gave his strong support to the Second Council of Nicea in 787, which brought the iconoclast controversy to an end. 
   

It is interesting (in the context of the Legend of the Twelve Syrians) to note the importance of the icon of St Anastasius the Persian in these events:

1. ✴This icon and the reliquary containing the head of St Anastasius  had been brought to the monastery at Aquae Salviae (the oldest Greek monastery in Rome), probably by monks fleeing from Jerusalem after it fell to the Muslims in 638.  
   

2. ✴It had symbolised the resistance of Byzantine Italy to the imposition of iconoclasm by the Emperor Leo III in 726 and (probably for political reasons) the Lombard King Liutprand had professed his devotion to the cult. 
   

3. ✴Representatives of Hadrian I brandished the icon of St Anastasius during the Second Council of Nicea in 787.  He rushed to Sancti Anastasii ad Aquas Salvias when it burned down in 789 to make sure that the relic had survived, and he subsequently rebuilt the monastery.
   

Duke Hildeprand of Spoleto (774 - 89)

The Spoletans took advantage of Charlemagne’s victory over the Lombard kingdom to reassert their independence.  Hadrian I, who seems to have expected that Charlemagne would soon transfer the Duchy of Spoleto to him, ratified the appointment of a new duke of Spoleto, Hildeprand.  However, Hadrian’s hopes were disappointed, and  and Hildeprand disappointed him further by submitting formally to Charlemagne in 775.  The Duchy of Spoleto thus became part of the Frankish Kingdom, although it retained its administrative identity. 

Charlemagne transferred this title of King of Italy to his son Pepin in 781.   He went some way towards placating Hadrian I at this time by transferring the Sabina to him at the expense of the Duchy of Spoleto. 

Duke Grimoald of Benevento also initially submitted to Charlemagne: thus, in 788, both Grimoald and Hildeprand fought for him against  Byzantine forces in Calabria. 

Hildeprand died later in 788.

Abbazia di Farfa

Charlemagne granted the abbey’s  first Imperial privilege immediately after the submission to him of Duke Hildeprand in 775: it thus became the first monastery in Italy to be declared independent of the local civic and episcopal authorities.  It was thus now on a par with the great monasteries of the Frankish kingdom.  In 781, Charlemagne formally transferred the Sabina (the geographical location of Farfa) from the Duchy of Spoleto to Hadrian I.   However, he did not withdraw the abbey’s privileges; indeed, he confirmed them in 803. 

From this point, the abbots of Farfa were usually Franks, and most of them enjoyed close relations with the Imperial court at Aachen.  The abbey also remained close to the Carolingian Dukes of Spoleto: indeed Duke Hildeprand was among the most generous of the donors who enriched it at that time.  

Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor (800-14)

When Pope Leo III  (795-816) was elected, he immediately announced the fact to Charlemagne and acknowledged his temporal suzerainty.  In return, he was able to rely of Charlemagne for protection from the factions of Rome. 

In 799, unrest in Rome culminated in a violent attempt to depose Leo III.  He took refuge in St Peter’s until Duke Winigis and a Spoletan army was able to rescue him and take him to Spoleto.  From there, he travelled to Charlemagne’s court in Francia and then returned to Romeunder Frankish protection. 

Charlemagne travelled to meet Leo III in Rome in 800.  In order to underline Charlemagne’s role as papal protector, Leo III crowned him as Holy Roman Emperor during the Mass on Christmas day.  In 812 when the Byzantine Emperor Michael I recognised Charlemagne’s new position: he was now the effective emperor in the west. 

In ca. 812, Charlemagne decided to accept the de facto independence of the Duchy of Benevento, so that the Duchy of Spoleto became the southern march of his Kingdom of Italy.  King Pepin died at about this time and Charlemagne appointed Pepin’s son Bernard as King of Italy. 

Duke Winigis of Spoleto (789-822)

The Frankish  Duke Winigis became involved in periods of confrontation with the rebellious Duchy of Benevento that were particularly intense in 791-2.  Many of his Lombard subjects fled south rather than engage in the fight, so that the Frankish hold on the Duchy of Spoleto was strengthened by default.

This painting (ca. 1636) of Pope Leo III arriving at Spoleto is now in the Pinacoteca.

Leo III returned under Frankish protection and Charlemagne followed him to Rome in 800.  In order to underline Charlemagne’s role as papal protector, Leo crowned him as Holy Roman Emperor during the Mass on Christmas day.  The newly crowned Emperor stayed in Spoleto in 801 on his way home from Rome. 

Duke Grimoald of Benevento rebelled again in 801 and King Pepin led forces against him.  Duke Winigis was again involved on the Carolingian side: Duke Grimoald actually captured him in 802 and held him captive for 18 months.

Charlemagne decided to accept the de facto independence of the Duchy of Benevento in ca. 812, so that the Duchy of Spoleto became the southern march of the Kingdom of Italy.  King Pepin died at about this time and Charlemagne appointed Pepin’s son Bernard as King of Italy. 

After Charlemagne's death in 814, his only surviving son, Louis the Pious (813-40) succeeded him as Emperor and, at least initially, left Bernard in place.  Thus when Leo III again faced by a revolt of the Roman nobility in 815, Louis sent Bernard to Rome to protect him.  Bernard once more called on Duke Winigis for a Spoletan force to restore order.

[The rest of the period of Winigis’ rule is treated on the following page.]