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What was the importance of Charlemagne’s coronation?

Charlemagne claimed his imperial crowning came as a surprise, and that he would
never had gone to Mass had he known the Pope’s intention. Historians are skeptical.
But what did the coronation mean? The Byzantines were infuriated. In 800 there was
no Byzantine emperor. He had been deposed and blinded by his mother who then
claimed the succession. But it was disputed whether it was permissible for a woman
to claim the throne (the rest was no obstacle). They suspected Charlemagne of
bidding for the eastern empire. He later denied this and was keen to placate the
Byzantines. Was it then a revival of the Roman empire in the west? In practical terms,

here too the answer is no. Reviving the title of emperor did not create a new Rome.
The territories didn’t coincide and Charlemagne’s was much smaller (in square miles,
429,000 to Rome’s 5 million). The impact of Charlemagne’s coronation was much
more symbolic than practical. Western Europe had a Christian emperor again,
fulfilling one of Christendom’s deepest longings. It was a turning point for Europe.
The title would survive until 1806.

What was the Carolingian Empire?
Charlemagne was hailed as “the new Constantine”. But his “Carolingian empire” was
not a new Rome, more a barbarian kingdom greatly enlarged by a remarkable
warlord. It had no bureaucracy or standing army. Charlemagne ruled as a feudal king,
through his relationships with his vassal lords. As such it was still formidable,
described by one historian as “the third ‘superpower’ beside the Byzantine Empire
and the Arab Caliphate”. His capital was Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), now in Germany,
on the border with France. His stone throne here was revered throughout the Middle

Ages. Einhard’s “Life of Charlemagne” gives a uniquely detailed and intimate account
of a restless, larger-than-life, pot-bellied, 7 foot giant. He recruited the greatest
scholar of the age, Alcuin of York, to oversee a revival of learning, the “Carolingian
Renaissance”. Charlemagne himself could speak Latin and understood Greek, but
never mastered writing.

What happened after Charlemagne?
The main trouble was it all depended on Charlemagne. Whatever its symbolic
importance his empire didn’t last. He passed on to his son Louis both his kingdom
and the title of emperor. But Louis’ three sons squabbled over the succession. After a
civil war they reverted to ancient Frankish custom and divided it, taking a third each,
the French-speaking west, the German-speaking east (the origins of the modern
nations of France and Germany) and a middle third, Lothariangia, named after King
Lothar (later absorbed, but the source of much future Franco-German conflict). The
Franks’ reputation declined and in 924 the title of emperor lapsed. Revival began

when Henry “The Fowler”, Duke of Saxony was chosen as king of the East Franks (his