1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:07,880 Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey Listener discretion advised. 3 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: If you are a regular Noble Blood listener, or even 4 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: a casual student of European history, you've likely come across 5 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: the phrase Holy Roman Empire. Ah. You might have thought, 6 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:35,559 Speaker 1: upon seeing those words Rome, Italy, holy, the Vatican. But 7 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: then you look deeper and you find out what was 8 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: known as the Holy Roman Empire seem to have mainly 9 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:46,520 Speaker 1: occupied the land that we know today as Germany. Well, 10 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: surely it should have been known as the Holy German 11 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: Empire then, and what makes it so holy? Anyways? If 12 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: you found yourself asking those questions, know that you are 13 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: not alone. The famous French writer Voltaire once famously wrote, quote, 14 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: this body which was called, and which still calls itself, 15 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:12,319 Speaker 1: the Holy Roman Empire, was in no way holy, nor Roman, 16 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: nor an empire. Like many things medieval and monarchical, the 17 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: term Holy Roman Empire seems to defy modern logic, but 18 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: we do know at least the origins of the term. 19 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: To understand why much of Central Europe was for centuries 20 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: referred to as the Holy Roman Empire will have to 21 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: go back to the eighth century, when an ambitious Frankish king, 22 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: a bold Byzantine empress, a vulnerable pope, and a shocking 23 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: coronation changed the shape of Europe forever. I'm Dani Schwartz, 24 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: and this is noble blood. The winding road that led 25 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: to the creation of the Holy Roman Empire began fittingly 26 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: in Rome. It was April twenty five, seven hundred and 27 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: ninety nine, the day of the Procession of the Greater Litanies, 28 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: and Christian Romans were marching in the streets, singing praises 29 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: of God and praying for the favor of Heaven. At 30 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: the head of the group was Pope Leo the Third. 31 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: Relatively new to the office, Leo's reign had not always 32 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: been smooth sailing. He had been elected Pope on December 33 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: seven hundred and nine, the same day that his predecessor, 34 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 1: Pope Adrian the First, had been buried. It was a 35 00:02:54,360 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: hasty election, too hasty, some thought, perhaps designed to exclude 36 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:06,839 Speaker 1: Leo's opponents from the process. The exact objections of these opponents, 37 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: many of whom had been close to Pope Adrian, have 38 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: been partially lost to history, but we do have vague 39 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 1: outlines of their concerns. Some disliked Leo because of his 40 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: relatively humble background. Unlike many popes before and after, Leo 41 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 1: did not come from the aristocracy. Others were concerned that 42 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: Leo was unable to maintain the political balance between the 43 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: two greatest Catholic powers, the Franks and the Byzantines. Over 44 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: the first four years of Leo's rule as pope, these 45 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: opponents had gradually ramped up their attacks on him, but 46 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: no one foresaw just how far those men would go 47 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: to bring the new pope down. As the procession neared 48 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: the Flaminian gate, arm assailants suddenly lunged at Pope Leo. 49 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: Holding the pope down, they cut off his clothes, stabbed 50 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: at his eyes, and wrenched open his mouth, trying to 51 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: cut out his tongue. They didn't want to kill him, 52 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:21,039 Speaker 1: only remove his speech and sight, figuring that would prevent 53 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: him from fulfilling his papal duties. The flailing pope and 54 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: the panicked crowd made it too difficult for the attackers 55 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: to complete their work, though, so they dragged the pope 56 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 1: into a nearby chapel, where they cut at his tongue 57 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: and eyes and beat him bloody. Then they took the 58 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:45,160 Speaker 1: gravely injured pope to the monastery of Saint Erasmus, where 59 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: he was locked in a cell. But inside the cell, 60 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 1: something strange happened. Pope Leo began to heal. His eyes 61 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,839 Speaker 1: could make out shapes, his tongue could form sound. We 62 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: don't know exactly how injured Leo had been to begin with, 63 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: but many medieval observers called his recovery miraculous. Once he 64 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: was well enough, Leo escaped from the monastery and made 65 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 1: his way to Saint Peter's Basilica, where loyal attendants met 66 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: him and escorted him to safety, first in Spiletto and 67 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: then on to Potterborn, where Pope Leo went to seek 68 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: the protection of Charlemagne, King of the Franks, born plain 69 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 1: Old Charles sometime in the seven hundred forties. Charlemagne is 70 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: a contraction of the French Charlemon or Charles the Great. 71 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: He inherited the Kingdom of Francia, located in northwestern Europe, 72 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 1: upon the death of his father, Pepin the Short in 73 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: seven hundred and sixty eight. Peppin and his father Charles 74 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: Martel before him had greatly expanded France. His holdings, and 75 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:05,160 Speaker 1: over the course of Charlemagne's forties six year reign, he 76 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:09,760 Speaker 1: took the legacy of his conquering forebears even further, taking 77 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: on and defeating nearly all neighboring kingdoms, including the Saxons 78 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: to the north, the Lombards and the Moors to the south, 79 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: and the Slavs of Ours and Bavarians to the east. 80 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 1: His quest to dominate was both politically and religiously motivated. 81 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 1: People conquered by the Franks were required to convert to 82 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 1: Christianity on pain of death. By seven hundred and ninety nine, 83 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: Charlemagne's lands included nearly all of mainland western Europe. Charlemagne 84 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: had a close relationship with the Church's leaders. He and 85 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: his father Peppin had fought off the Lombards in northern Italy, 86 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: regaining control of the areas around Rome on behalf of 87 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:01,599 Speaker 1: the papacy. Upon Leo's appointment pope in seven hundred and 88 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:06,480 Speaker 1: ninety five, Charlemagne had sent him an enormous treasure captured 89 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: from the Avars, which Leo used to strengthen Church institutions 90 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: and secure his own tenuous position. And of course, there 91 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 1: was Charlemagne's forcible and often violent conversion of pagan tribes, 92 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 1: which brought thousands more into the Catholic Church's ranks. After 93 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 1: escaping from the monastery, Leo hoped to get Charlemagne's support, 94 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: and he was not disappointed. Charlemagne received him in Paderborne, 95 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: a city in present day north central Germany, with ceremony 96 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: and honor. Unrest in the church leadership meant instability for 97 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: Charlemagne's own realm, and he wanted the problem resolved quickly, 98 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 1: and as we'll see later, he might have seen a 99 00:07:55,600 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 1: way to gain more than he gave. After two weeks 100 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: in Paderborne, Leo returned to Rome alongside a delegation of 101 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 1: Frank's assigned to his enemies that he had at least 102 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:14,239 Speaker 1: some degree of the powerful Charlemagne's protection. However, the Pope's 103 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:18,559 Speaker 1: opponents did not fully relent. They claimed that the Pope 104 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: had committed adultery and perjury, and they demanded he stand 105 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 1: trial for his crimes. After nearly a year of political 106 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 1: maneuvering over Leo's fate, Charlemagne himself came to Rome, arriving 107 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: at the steps of St. Peter's Basilica on November twenty 108 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:39,440 Speaker 1: four in the year eight hundred, resplendent in his power, 109 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: laden with hundreds of pounds of gold and silver gifts 110 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:48,680 Speaker 1: for the church, and surrounded by an enormous retinue. Final 111 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: discussions began in haste. Leo's opponents demanded a trial in 112 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: which Leo's accusers would testify against him. Leo's supporters, aided 113 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: by charle Lemagne's religious advisers, argued that church law did 114 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,559 Speaker 1: not allow the pope to be tried, and they suggested 115 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 1: instead that Leo performed a public oath of purgation, in 116 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: which he could both declare his innocence and also pray 117 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 1: for forgiveness for any alleged sins. Eventually, that plan one out. 118 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: On December twenty three hundred, Pope Leo stood in front 119 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: of the congregation assembled at St. Peter's and performed the 120 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:35,600 Speaker 1: oath of purgation. His position as pope was now secure, 121 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,440 Speaker 1: and now that he was back on top, Leo had 122 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 1: one more pressing piece of business. Two days later, on 123 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:50,040 Speaker 1: December twenty, Charlemagne celebrated Christmas in Rome. Like most of 124 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 1: Rome's elite, he attended services in St. Peter's at the 125 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: masses end Charlemagne approached the altar of the Basilica and 126 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: knelt to pray. As he rose, Pope Leo came to 127 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: his side, and, as the Royal Frankish Annals describes it, quote, 128 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:12,440 Speaker 1: placed a crown on his head, and he was acclaimed 129 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: by the whole people of the Romans to Charles Augustus, 130 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 1: the god crowned great and Pacific, Emperor of the Romans, 131 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: life and victory. And after the acclamations, he was saluted 132 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:30,679 Speaker 1: by the Pope in the customary manner of ancient emperors, 133 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:36,719 Speaker 1: and he was called Emperor and Augustus end quote. Charlemagne 134 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 1: had entered the church as King of the Franks, he 135 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: left it as Emperor of the Romans, quite the Christmas present. 136 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 1: There was only one slight problem with this ascension, though 137 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: there was technically already a Roman emperor. Her name was Irene. 138 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:05,199 Speaker 1: The Franks weren't the only ones to control massive swaths 139 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,720 Speaker 1: of territory in the eighth century, wrapping around the eastern 140 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: edge of the Mediterranean, from the southern tip of Italy 141 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 1: to the eastern reaches of present day Turkey, was another 142 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:22,000 Speaker 1: powerful empire, the Byzantines. For more on this history, which 143 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 1: lasted more than a millennium, so for just a little 144 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 1: bit more you can listen to the episode called the 145 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: Secret History of Emperor Justinian. But for now, all you 146 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:34,760 Speaker 1: need to know is that Byzantium was born from the 147 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 1: ruins of the Eastern Roman Empire, and they saw themselves 148 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:43,000 Speaker 1: as being successors to that legacy, the legacy of the Romans. 149 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: For this reason, they were known to themselves and to 150 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 1: the rest of the world as the Romans or Eastern Romans. 151 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: The term Byzantine is a more modern appellation, and will 152 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,080 Speaker 1: use it here to keep the distinction between the Byzantines 153 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:03,240 Speaker 1: and the occupants of Rome clear. By eight hundred, Byzantium 154 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:06,560 Speaker 1: was more than four hundred years old and had seen 155 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:10,160 Speaker 1: its share of ups and downs, but it had never 156 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: seen a crisis like the one it was now facing. 157 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:19,559 Speaker 1: Three years earlier, the dowager Empress Irene had had her son, 158 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: Emperor Constantine the six, kidnapped, blinded, and possibly killed. Irene 159 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:32,439 Speaker 1: then took power for herself. Ruling was not new for Irene. 160 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:36,200 Speaker 1: After the death of her husband, Emperor Leo the Fourth, 161 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,080 Speaker 1: not to be confused with Pope Leo the Third, Irene 162 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:43,560 Speaker 1: had served as regent for their son, Constantine, who was 163 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:47,480 Speaker 1: only nine. Her control lasted for more than a decade, 164 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:51,840 Speaker 1: but as Constantine grew older and more rebellious, her hold 165 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:56,680 Speaker 1: on power became more tenuous. Tensions between mother and son 166 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 1: escalated until afraid for his life, Constantine fled from the 167 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 1: palace in Constantinople, but he wasn't fast enough, and Irene's 168 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: allies seized him, returning him to the palace to be blinded. 169 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 1: Irene was now the sole Empress of the Byzantines, or, 170 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 1: as she would have called herself, Empress of the Romans. 171 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 1: So how could Charlemagne be the Emperor of the Romans? 172 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:32,360 Speaker 1: It's simple, says historian Janet Nelson. Quote. Charlemagne's contemporaries in 173 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 1: West and East were willing to agree feminine rule was 174 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: a contradiction. Nelson cites the lords Annals, a ninth century source, 175 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,680 Speaker 1: which stated, quote, because the name of the Emperor was 176 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 1: at that time in cessation in the land of the Greeks, 177 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: and they had a woman's rule among them, it seemed 178 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 1: to the Pope, and to the Christian fathers and to 179 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 1: the rest of the Christian people, that they ought to 180 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 1: give the name of emperor to Charles end quote. In 181 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 1: other words, a woman in power was so illogical in 182 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: the eyes of contemporary men that it rendered the very 183 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:13,760 Speaker 1: idea of empire invalid. This isn't too girl bossify Irene, 184 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:17,760 Speaker 1: because remember, she did, after all, have her own son blinded. 185 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,800 Speaker 1: But this is what happened. That logic that a woman 186 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:26,840 Speaker 1: couldn't rule then secured Charlemagne's title, but not for long. 187 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 1: Irene was deposed in eight hundred and two, the first 188 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:37,040 Speaker 1: and last sole Empress of the Byzantines. Her male successors 189 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 1: all used the title Emperor of the Romans. The argument 190 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: presented by the Franks then had to look to history. Charlemagne, 191 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: the Lord Channels, explained quote, held Rome, where the Caesars 192 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 1: had always been accustomed to sit, as well as many 193 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:58,200 Speaker 1: of the former Roman provinces like Italy and Gault end quote. 194 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:03,520 Speaker 1: Because he ruled those physical territories, then Charlemagne was thus 195 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 1: the true inheritor of the Roman tradition and the rightful 196 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:13,840 Speaker 1: Emperor of Rome. This argument was not entirely convincing to 197 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: the Byzantines, and the conflict was never entirely solved, creating 198 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 1: what historians have called the problem of two emperors. Constantine 199 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:29,880 Speaker 1: himself seemed to have recognized the diplomatic delicacy of the situation, 200 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,880 Speaker 1: and he preferred to refer to his role as Romans 201 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:39,000 Speaker 1: Gouberman's Imperium, or governing the Roman Empire, instead of as 202 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: Emperor of the Romans. But Charlemagne wasn't ambiguous about his 203 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:50,240 Speaker 1: new title, though. Einhardt, one of Charlemagne's contemporaries, writes that 204 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,200 Speaker 1: the Emperor had no idea what the pope had planned 205 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: and was initially reluctant to accept. Other contemporaries and most 206 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 1: modern scholars disagree. Charlemagne and Pope Leo had likely planned 207 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:09,080 Speaker 1: this Christmas ceremony together, perhaps when Leo was at Paderborne, 208 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 1: perhaps the year after. It was an arrangement that suited both. 209 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: It allowed Charlemagne to add an additional seal of legitimacy 210 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,600 Speaker 1: to his ambitions, painting them as sanctioned by both the 211 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 1: Church and the ancient Caesar's and it allowed Pope Leo, 212 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:30,040 Speaker 1: so newly returned to the papal throne, to tie himself 213 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: publicly to the most powerful man on the continent. After 214 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: all this fuss, though, did the title of emperor actually 215 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:44,880 Speaker 1: change anything? For Charlemagne, ultimately not really. It cemented his 216 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:49,480 Speaker 1: relationship with the Church, solidified his identity as a defender 217 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 1: of the faith, and gilded his family's name, but his 218 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:58,440 Speaker 1: power had already been enormous. The title, in many ways, 219 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: was just the cherry on top of forty years of relentless, 220 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: merciless empire building. The greatest legacy of that Christmas Day 221 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:13,800 Speaker 1: in eight hundred was the idea of the Holy Roman Empire, 222 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 1: though that exact term wouldn't be used until several centuries later. 223 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:25,119 Speaker 1: By the year nine hundred, Charlemagne's hard One Empire had crumbled, 224 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 1: having been subdivided into warring duchies controlled by various descendants. Otto, 225 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,360 Speaker 1: the first ruler of an eastern section of the former 226 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:40,720 Speaker 1: empire located in Germany, reunited the territories and revived the 227 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:44,359 Speaker 1: title of Emperor, being crowned by the pope in nine 228 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:48,600 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty two. Some historians argue that it is 229 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:53,280 Speaker 1: Otto's coronation, not Charlemagne's, that marks the real beginning of 230 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,959 Speaker 1: the Holy Roman Empire, but the origins of the concept. 231 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 1: Historian Joachim Whaley notes quote lay in the translation of 232 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:07,240 Speaker 1: the Inheritance of the Roman Empire northwards by Charlemagne end quote. 233 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:11,680 Speaker 1: Emperor Frederick the First Barbosa was the first to official 234 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:15,600 Speaker 1: attack wholly onto the title as part of his quest 235 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:20,280 Speaker 1: to reconquer Italy in the mid twelfth century. His quest 236 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:24,320 Speaker 1: would ultimately fail, and over time the bounds of the 237 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: Holy Roman Empire drew in centered around Germany, Austria and Bohemia. 238 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: In fifteen twelve, at the Imperial Deity of Cologne, the 239 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:38,640 Speaker 1: name Holy Roman Empire of the German nation was made official. 240 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:44,360 Speaker 1: Throughout the centuries, the role of the Holy Roman Emperor himself, 241 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 1: both who he was and what functions he served, changed dramatically. 242 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,880 Speaker 1: From nine hundred and eleven onward, the emperor was chosen 243 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:58,280 Speaker 1: by electors, the heads of noble families, who voted for 244 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:02,240 Speaker 1: the emperor at meetings of the Imperial Deit. The system 245 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:06,960 Speaker 1: occasionally caused chaos. In thirteen fourteen, two men were elected 246 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:11,840 Speaker 1: by rival factions of electors, leading to war. To regulate 247 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,880 Speaker 1: the process, the Golden Bull of thirteen fifty six set 248 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:19,159 Speaker 1: a number of rules into place, the most important of 249 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:23,159 Speaker 1: which codified who the electors were, how the role of 250 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:26,600 Speaker 1: elector would be passed down, and how the elections would 251 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:31,359 Speaker 1: take place. Over time, power in the Empire shifted from 252 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:35,879 Speaker 1: the emperor to these electors, each of whom controlled vast 253 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:41,200 Speaker 1: lands and treasuries. The role of emperor became more symbolic, 254 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:45,440 Speaker 1: and who was elected to the role mattered less than 255 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 1: who had the power to elect him. Princely families in 256 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:53,960 Speaker 1: the Empire worked not to become emperor, but to enter 257 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 1: the electorate, as you may remember the Hanover family doing 258 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:01,720 Speaker 1: in our episode the prince says imprisoned in her cell. 259 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:09,840 Speaker 1: Power became increasingly decentralized, with these various kingdoms, principalities, cities, 260 00:20:10,119 --> 00:20:14,679 Speaker 1: and territories of the Empire largely ruling themselves. By the 261 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,719 Speaker 1: time the Empire ended in eighteen o six, it looked 262 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:23,239 Speaker 1: much more like its successor, the Associated States of the 263 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:28,680 Speaker 1: German Confederation, than it did the medieval multi regional empire 264 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:33,800 Speaker 1: of Charlemagne or Otto. Those men would likely have identified 265 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,439 Speaker 1: less with the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis the Second, 266 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,640 Speaker 1: than they would have identified with the man who defeated 267 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 1: him at the Battle of Austerlitz, the man who ended 268 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:48,240 Speaker 1: the Holy Roman Empire at once and for all, Napoleon Bonaparte. 269 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:53,800 Speaker 1: So what of Voltaire's famous quote, was the Holy Roman 270 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:58,920 Speaker 1: Empire really neither holy nor Roman nor an empire? Well, 271 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:03,359 Speaker 1: yes and no. It was an empire, surely, although for 272 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 1: many years it operated as an electorate. It was occasionally Roman, 273 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:13,640 Speaker 1: both literally via control over Rome and metaphorically via its 274 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:18,040 Speaker 1: mythological ties to ancient Rome. As for the last criterion, 275 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: can any empire born of battle and bloodshed ever really 276 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,679 Speaker 1: be holy? Whether or not it was blessed by a pope? 277 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: I'll leave that one, dear listener, up to you. That's 278 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:44,920 Speaker 1: the story of the Holy Roman Empire. But keep listening 279 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,800 Speaker 1: after a brief sponsor break to hear a little bit 280 00:21:47,840 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 1: more about Charlemagne's legacy. The term Holy Roman pier isn't 281 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:04,720 Speaker 1: Charlemagne's only linguistic legacy. If you look at the term 282 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:08,800 Speaker 1: for king in a number of Slavic and Baltic languages, 283 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:14,080 Speaker 1: among others, you'll notice their similarity. The Polish kroll sounds 284 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,679 Speaker 1: like the check krawl, and both are close cousins of 285 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:23,160 Speaker 1: the Latvian girls and the Hungarian kley. The predominant theory 286 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:27,000 Speaker 1: among linguists is that all of these words can be 287 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:31,119 Speaker 1: traced back to the Old High German word karl, which 288 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 1: you may have guessed, is the Germanic spelling of Charles, 289 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:40,359 Speaker 1: and is what many of Charlemagne's Slavic contemporaries would have 290 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:45,440 Speaker 1: known him as. That's right. Charlemagne was so influential that 291 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:51,000 Speaker 1: in many countries the very word for king comes from 292 00:22:51,040 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 1: his first name. Ye. Noble Blood is a production of 293 00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:12,400 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey. 294 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,960 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is hosted by me Danishwartz. Additional writing and 295 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:21,640 Speaker 1: researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Mirra Hayward, Courtney 296 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:25,320 Speaker 1: Sunder and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by rema 297 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:30,640 Speaker 1: Il Kayali, with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers 298 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:35,040 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts 299 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 1: from I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 300 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,439 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.