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his secular protector. Their relationship set the pattern between popes and emperors

from now till the end of the Middle Ages. Historian Peter Wilson explains:
“Christendom had two leaders. Both Pope and emperor were considered essential to
proper order. Neither could ignore the other without negating his own position. Both
remained locked in a dance that each struggled to lead, yet neither was prepared to
release his partner to go solo.” He says that the spiritual-secular divide was normally
not a problem: “its impact on daily life was limited. Clergy and laity generally worked
together, while spiritual and secular authority generally proved mutually reinforcing
rather than conflictual.”

But he adds, “Nonetheless the issues remained clear enough.” The spiritual-secular
divide was the great unresolved contradiction at the heart of Christendom. It could
be compared to colliding tectonic plates, often quiescent but occasionally causing
eruptions on the surface. In the later Middle Ages the eruptions became more
frequent. Emperors and Popes denounced and even deposed one other. The Popes
used excommunication. To Augustine the spiritual-secular divide had been a matter

of theology, but after Charlemagne it became increasingly the dominant political
issue of the age. Everyone in Christendom agreed that the spiritual realm was
superior and that secular rulers had a duty to protect it, but on whose terms? Could
Popes tell emperors, kings or princes what to do, and depose them if they
disobeyed? Could emperors nominate and remove Popes? Could kings and princes
appoint senior churchmen in their realms? In short, who gives orders to whom?
These issues fueled centuries of struggle from Charlemagne onwards. This spiritual-
secular divide was unique to western Europe and the conflict that resulted, as we

shall see, had some unique outcomes.

To sum up, Charlemagne, like the Holy Roman Empire he founded, is hard to pigeon-
hole. His coronation was a watershed in European history due to its huge symbolic
importance. His revival of the western emperors also contributed to the epic
spiritual-secular conflict which would shape both medieval and modern Europe.

Charlemagne was in all senses larger-than-life. He made himself the greatest of
Europe’s barbarian kings. His coronation made him something more. Precisely what
remains debatable.