Louis the Pious: In 813 CE, Charlemagne
was over seventy years old. It was Frankish custom for the king to
divide his empire equally between his sons. Charlemagne had three
sons, but two had died. He decided his son Louis might as well
be crowned Emperor. But he wanted Louis to be crowned by his own
hand. He wanted to make sure that everyone clearly understood that
Frankish kings were more powerful than Catholic popes.
Charlemagne put together a big celebration. Pope
Leo was still the pope, but Charlemagne did not invite him to the
coronation. Pope Leo did not dare to object. Leo was not popular.
Charlemagne was loved. With his father pushing him to do so, Louis
crowned himself emperor. For the next year, father and son - Charlemagne
and Louis - ruled the Frankish Empire together.
Louis was a good father, a good husband, and good
son. He was also deeply religious. The year after his father died, Pope
Leo died. A new pope took charge. If possible, the people hated the new
pope even more than they had hated Pope Leo. If he wished to remain
pope, the new pope knew he needed the backing of Frankish Empire. He
called for help.
Louis was thrilled that the new pope had asked for
his help. Charlemagne would have recognized that the pope was weak, and
would have asked for concessions. But Louis, who was already emperor,
fell to his knees before the new pope. Seeing an opportunity he had not
expected, the new pope quickly crowned Louis emperor - a title he
already had. Louis was thrilled. For the first time, Louis felt like a
monarch. In that one act, he threw away everything his father had worked
so hard to gain for him. Once again, the church had positioned itself as
more powerful than any secular leader simply by bestowing a crown.
From that time on, all the nobles in the Frankish
Empire called Louis by a nickname - Louis the Pious. Louis found the
name flattering. He seemed to have no idea that his actions had cost him
the respect of the Frankish military and secular leaders, the respect of
the Roman nobles, and the respect of his father's friends in the Muslim
kingdoms. Louis allowed his local counts to rule for him. Louis
spent his time with his family and in prayer. Because they could, the
counts began to rule their individual regions as if they
were kings.
Charlemagne's
Grandsons: In the Frankish way, Louis divided his kingdom
into pieces, giving each of his sons a section. Louis spent a great deal
of time trying to divide the kingdom up fairly. He could have saved
himself the effort. After his death, his sons fought constantly amongst
themselves. They each wanted more. They paid little attention to the
needs of their respective kingdoms. This left the counts - the local
administrators - even more freedom to gain power regionally. This time,
they took it. They did not act like kings. The counts began to call
themselves kings.
The counts had gained so much power over the years,
running their individual regions, that it was easy for them to take
over. They were the leaders people knew. Once again, Europe fell into
warring pieces. That left them vulnerable to attack from each other, as
well as from other barbarians tribes.
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