Pope Adrian & King Charlemagne

The Catholic Church had incredible power and influence over the daily life of everyone in the Middle Ages, including the peasants, nobles, and kings. The Church wanted to run things. So did the kings. So did the nobles. This created constant power struggles and prevented unity of purpose. 

Charlemagne, king of the Franks, and Pope Adrian, head of the Catholic Church, were very good friends. They liked each other. They respected each other. They both understood the importance of teamwork to get a job done. There is no record that reports these two incredibly powerful men ever sat down together and said something like, "Hey, you know what? If we work together, we can make sure that things run the way we want them to run."  

However it came about, for about 25 years, when Charlemagne was king and Adrian was pope, these two men worked together to rule much of medieval Europe. 

• Wherever Adrian was pope, he acted as if everyone had to obey Charlemagne as the secular leader of the people, and so it came to pass. 

• Wherever Charlemagne was king, he acted as if everyone had to obey Adrian as the spiritual leader of the people, and so it came to pass. 

By 800 CE, pretty much all of the people in Western Europe had converted to Christianity, and pretty much all of the land in Western Europe had become part of the Frankish Empire. Their friendship resulted in a unified Europe with one common culture.

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