Digital Continent Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul 2016 | Page 12

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heir Charlemagne was a model for future royal oversight of the Church in the West as he
defended Christianity against its enemies, established monasteries and made them great
educational centers, called councils to address abuses, and expanded efforts toward reform. In
the year 800 on Christmas day, Charlemagne was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III and
welcomed as the new defender of the Church in the West. Witnessed by many, an important
precedent was established that associated the pope with the making of an emperor.6 However, it
also opened the door to the possibility that the opposite scenario was plausible; emperors
creating popes. Centuries later, when Conrad II was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in the
year 1027, the ceremony held great significance. Assisted by kings Canute of England and
Rudolf of Burgundy, the impressive service of prayer and symbolism emphasized the importance
of the institution and was witnessed by many. The relationship in the West between pope and
ruler appeared to greatly contrast its eastern counterpart.7 This is not to say, however, that it was
perfect or that Charlemagne or future rulers did not attempt to exert excessive influence on
various Church matters.
Enemies of the Church

123-24.

6

Miller, 10.

7

Walter Ullman, A Short History of the Papacy in the Middle Ages, 2nd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2003),