Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio
Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey Listener discretion advised.
Speaker 1: If you are a regular Noble Blood listener, or even
Speaker 1: a casual student of European history, you've likely come across
Speaker 1: the phrase Holy Roman Empire. Ah. You might have thought,
Speaker 1: upon seeing those words Rome, Italy, holy, the Vatican. But
Speaker 1: then you look deeper and you find out what was
Speaker 1: known as the Holy Roman Empire seem to have mainly
Speaker 1: occupied the land that we know today as Germany. Well,
Speaker 1: surely it should have been known as the Holy German
Speaker 1: Empire then, and what makes it so holy? Anyways? If
Speaker 1: you found yourself asking those questions, know that you are
Speaker 1: not alone. The famous French writer Voltaire once famously wrote, quote,
Speaker 1: this body which was called, and which still calls itself,
Speaker 1: the Holy Roman Empire, was in no way holy, nor Roman,
Speaker 1: nor an empire. Like many things medieval and monarchical, the
Speaker 1: term Holy Roman Empire seems to defy modern logic, but
Speaker 1: we do know at least the origins of the term.
Speaker 1: To understand why much of Central Europe was for centuries
Speaker 1: referred to as the Holy Roman Empire will have to
Speaker 1: go back to the eighth century, when an ambitious Frankish king,
Speaker 1: a bold Byzantine empress, a vulnerable pope, and a shocking
Speaker 1: coronation changed the shape of Europe forever. I'm Dani Schwartz,
Speaker 1: and this is noble blood. The winding road that led
Speaker 1: to the creation of the Holy Roman Empire began fittingly
Speaker 1: in Rome. It was April twenty five, seven hundred and
Speaker 1: ninety nine, the day of the Procession of the Greater Litanies,
Speaker 1: and Christian Romans were marching in the streets, singing praises
Speaker 1: of God and praying for the favor of Heaven. At
Speaker 1: the head of the group was Pope Leo the Third.
Speaker 1: Relatively new to the office, Leo's reign had not always
Speaker 1: been smooth sailing. He had been elected Pope on December
Speaker 1: seven hundred and nine, the same day that his predecessor,
Speaker 1: Pope Adrian the First, had been buried. It was a
Speaker 1: hasty election, too hasty, some thought, perhaps designed to exclude
Speaker 1: Leo's opponents from the process. The exact objections of these opponents,
Speaker 1: many of whom had been close to Pope Adrian, have
Speaker 1: been partially lost to history, but we do have vague
Speaker 1: outlines of their concerns. Some disliked Leo because of his
Speaker 1: relatively humble background. Unlike many popes before and after, Leo
Speaker 1: did not come from the aristocracy. Others were concerned that
Speaker 1: Leo was unable to maintain the political balance between the
Speaker 1: two greatest Catholic powers, the Franks and the Byzantines. Over
Speaker 1: the first four years of Leo's rule as pope, these
Speaker 1: opponents had gradually ramped up their attacks on him, but
Speaker 1: no one foresaw just how far those men would go
Speaker 1: to bring the new pope down. As the procession neared
Speaker 1: the Flaminian gate, arm assailants suddenly lunged at Pope Leo.
Speaker 1: Holding the pope down, they cut off his clothes, stabbed
Speaker 1: at his eyes, and wrenched open his mouth, trying to
Speaker 1: cut out his tongue. They didn't want to kill him,
Speaker 1: only remove his speech and sight, figuring that would prevent
Speaker 1: him from fulfilling his papal duties. The flailing pope and
Speaker 1: the panicked crowd made it too difficult for the attackers
Speaker 1: to complete their work, though, so they dragged the pope
Speaker 1: into a nearby chapel, where they cut at his tongue
Speaker 1: and eyes and beat him bloody. Then they took the
Speaker 1: gravely injured pope to the monastery of Saint Erasmus, where
Speaker 1: he was locked in a cell. But inside the cell,
Speaker 1: something strange happened. Pope Leo began to heal. His eyes
Speaker 1: could make out shapes, his tongue could form sound. We
Speaker 1: don't know exactly how injured Leo had been to begin with,
Speaker 1: but many medieval observers called his recovery miraculous. Once he
Speaker 1: was well enough, Leo escaped from the monastery and made
Speaker 1: his way to Saint Peter's Basilica, where loyal attendants met
Speaker 1: him and escorted him to safety, first in Spiletto and
Speaker 1: then on to Potterborn, where Pope Leo went to seek
Speaker 1: the protection of Charlemagne, King of the Franks, born plain
Speaker 1: Old Charles sometime in the seven hundred forties. Charlemagne is
Speaker 1: a contraction of the French Charlemon or Charles the Great.
Speaker 1: He inherited the Kingdom of Francia, located in northwestern Europe,
Speaker 1: upon the death of his father, Pepin the Short in
Speaker 1: seven hundred and sixty eight. Peppin and his father Charles
Speaker 1: Martel before him had greatly expanded France. His holdings, and
Speaker 1: over the course of Charlemagne's forties six year reign, he
Speaker 1: took the legacy of his conquering forebears even further, taking
Speaker 1: on and defeating nearly all neighboring kingdoms, including the Saxons
Speaker 1: to the north, the Lombards and the Moors to the south,
Speaker 1: and the Slavs of Ours and Bavarians to the east.
Speaker 1: His quest to dominate was both politically and religiously motivated.
Speaker 1: People conquered by the Franks were required to convert to
Speaker 1: Christianity on pain of death. By seven hundred and ninety nine,
Speaker 1: Charlemagne's lands included nearly all of mainland western Europe. Charlemagne
Speaker 1: had a close relationship with the Church's leaders. He and
Speaker 1: his father Peppin had fought off the Lombards in northern Italy,
Speaker 1: regaining control of the areas around Rome on behalf of
Speaker 1: the papacy. Upon Leo's appointment pope in seven hundred and
Speaker 1: ninety five, Charlemagne had sent him an enormous treasure captured
Speaker 1: from the Avars, which Leo used to strengthen Church institutions
Speaker 1: and secure his own tenuous position. And of course, there
Speaker 1: was Charlemagne's forcible and often violent conversion of pagan tribes,
Speaker 1: which brought thousands more into the Catholic Church's ranks. After
Speaker 1: escaping from the monastery, Leo hoped to get Charlemagne's support,
Speaker 1: and he was not disappointed. Charlemagne received him in Paderborne,
Speaker 1: a city in present day north central Germany, with ceremony
Speaker 1: and honor. Unrest in the church leadership meant instability for
Speaker 1: Charlemagne's own realm, and he wanted the problem resolved quickly,
Speaker 1: and as we'll see later, he might have seen a
Speaker 1: way to gain more than he gave. After two weeks
Speaker 1: in Paderborne, Leo returned to Rome alongside a delegation of
Speaker 1: Frank's assigned to his enemies that he had at least
Speaker 1: some degree of the powerful Charlemagne's protection. However, the Pope's
Speaker 1: opponents did not fully relent. They claimed that the Pope
Speaker 1: had committed adultery and perjury, and they demanded he stand
Speaker 1: trial for his crimes. After nearly a year of political
Speaker 1: maneuvering over Leo's fate, Charlemagne himself came to Rome, arriving
Speaker 1: at the steps of St. Peter's Basilica on November twenty
Speaker 1: four in the year eight hundred, resplendent in his power,
Speaker 1: laden with hundreds of pounds of gold and silver gifts
Speaker 1: for the church, and surrounded by an enormous retinue. Final
Speaker 1: discussions began in haste. Leo's opponents demanded a trial in
Speaker 1: which Leo's accusers would testify against him. Leo's supporters, aided
Speaker 1: by charle Lemagne's religious advisers, argued that church law did
Speaker 1: not allow the pope to be tried, and they suggested
Speaker 1: instead that Leo performed a public oath of purgation, in
Speaker 1: which he could both declare his innocence and also pray
Speaker 1: for forgiveness for any alleged sins. Eventually, that plan one out.
Speaker 1: On December twenty three hundred, Pope Leo stood in front
Speaker 1: of the congregation assembled at St. Peter's and performed the
Speaker 1: oath of purgation. His position as pope was now secure,
Speaker 1: and now that he was back on top, Leo had
Speaker 1: one more pressing piece of business. Two days later, on
Speaker 1: December twenty, Charlemagne celebrated Christmas in Rome. Like most of
Speaker 1: Rome's elite, he attended services in St. Peter's at the
Speaker 1: masses end Charlemagne approached the altar of the Basilica and
Speaker 1: knelt to pray. As he rose, Pope Leo came to
Speaker 1: his side, and, as the Royal Frankish Annals describes it, quote,
Speaker 1: placed a crown on his head, and he was acclaimed
Speaker 1: by the whole people of the Romans to Charles Augustus,
Speaker 1: the god crowned great and Pacific, Emperor of the Romans,
Speaker 1: life and victory. And after the acclamations, he was saluted
Speaker 1: by the Pope in the customary manner of ancient emperors,
Speaker 1: and he was called Emperor and Augustus end quote. Charlemagne
Speaker 1: had entered the church as King of the Franks, he
Speaker 1: left it as Emperor of the Romans, quite the Christmas present.
Speaker 1: There was only one slight problem with this ascension, though
Speaker 1: there was technically already a Roman emperor. Her name was Irene.
Speaker 1: The Franks weren't the only ones to control massive swaths
Speaker 1: of territory in the eighth century, wrapping around the eastern
Speaker 1: edge of the Mediterranean, from the southern tip of Italy
Speaker 1: to the eastern reaches of present day Turkey, was another
Speaker 1: powerful empire, the Byzantines. For more on this history, which
Speaker 1: lasted more than a millennium, so for just a little
Speaker 1: bit more you can listen to the episode called the
Speaker 1: Secret History of Emperor Justinian. But for now, all you
Speaker 1: need to know is that Byzantium was born from the
Speaker 1: ruins of the Eastern Roman Empire, and they saw themselves
Speaker 1: as being successors to that legacy, the legacy of the Romans.
Speaker 1: For this reason, they were known to themselves and to
Speaker 1: the rest of the world as the Romans or Eastern Romans.
Speaker 1: The term Byzantine is a more modern appellation, and will
Speaker 1: use it here to keep the distinction between the Byzantines
Speaker 1: and the occupants of Rome clear. By eight hundred, Byzantium
Speaker 1: was more than four hundred years old and had seen
Speaker 1: its share of ups and downs, but it had never
Speaker 1: seen a crisis like the one it was now facing.
Speaker 1: Three years earlier, the dowager Empress Irene had had her son,
Speaker 1: Emperor Constantine the six, kidnapped, blinded, and possibly killed. Irene
Speaker 1: then took power for herself. Ruling was not new for Irene.
Speaker 1: After the death of her husband, Emperor Leo the Fourth,
Speaker 1: not to be confused with Pope Leo the Third, Irene
Speaker 1: had served as regent for their son, Constantine, who was
Speaker 1: only nine. Her control lasted for more than a decade,
Speaker 1: but as Constantine grew older and more rebellious, her hold
Speaker 1: on power became more tenuous. Tensions between mother and son
Speaker 1: escalated until afraid for his life, Constantine fled from the
Speaker 1: palace in Constantinople, but he wasn't fast enough, and Irene's
Speaker 1: allies seized him, returning him to the palace to be blinded.
Speaker 1: Irene was now the sole Empress of the Byzantines, or,
Speaker 1: as she would have called herself, Empress of the Romans.
Speaker 1: So how could Charlemagne be the Emperor of the Romans?
Speaker 1: It's simple, says historian Janet Nelson. Quote. Charlemagne's contemporaries in
Speaker 1: West and East were willing to agree feminine rule was
Speaker 1: a contradiction. Nelson cites the lords Annals, a ninth century source,
Speaker 1: which stated, quote, because the name of the Emperor was
Speaker 1: at that time in cessation in the land of the Greeks,
Speaker 1: and they had a woman's rule among them, it seemed
Speaker 1: to the Pope, and to the Christian fathers and to
Speaker 1: the rest of the Christian people, that they ought to
Speaker 1: give the name of emperor to Charles end quote. In
Speaker 1: other words, a woman in power was so illogical in
Speaker 1: the eyes of contemporary men that it rendered the very
Speaker 1: idea of empire invalid. This isn't too girl bossify Irene,
Speaker 1: because remember, she did, after all, have her own son blinded.
Speaker 1: But this is what happened. That logic that a woman
Speaker 1: couldn't rule then secured Charlemagne's title, but not for long.
Speaker 1: Irene was deposed in eight hundred and two, the first
Speaker 1: and last sole Empress of the Byzantines. Her male successors
Speaker 1: all used the title Emperor of the Romans. The argument
Speaker 1: presented by the Franks then had to look to history. Charlemagne,
Speaker 1: the Lord Channels, explained quote, held Rome, where the Caesars
Speaker 1: had always been accustomed to sit, as well as many
Speaker 1: of the former Roman provinces like Italy and Gault end quote.
Speaker 1: Because he ruled those physical territories, then Charlemagne was thus
Speaker 1: the true inheritor of the Roman tradition and the rightful
Speaker 1: Emperor of Rome. This argument was not entirely convincing to
Speaker 1: the Byzantines, and the conflict was never entirely solved, creating
Speaker 1: what historians have called the problem of two emperors. Constantine
Speaker 1: himself seemed to have recognized the diplomatic delicacy of the situation,
Speaker 1: and he preferred to refer to his role as Romans
Speaker 1: Gouberman's Imperium, or governing the Roman Empire, instead of as
Speaker 1: Emperor of the Romans. But Charlemagne wasn't ambiguous about his
Speaker 1: new title, though. Einhardt, one of Charlemagne's contemporaries, writes that
Speaker 1: the Emperor had no idea what the pope had planned
Speaker 1: and was initially reluctant to accept. Other contemporaries and most
Speaker 1: modern scholars disagree. Charlemagne and Pope Leo had likely planned
Speaker 1: this Christmas ceremony together, perhaps when Leo was at Paderborne,
Speaker 1: perhaps the year after. It was an arrangement that suited both.
Speaker 1: It allowed Charlemagne to add an additional seal of legitimacy
Speaker 1: to his ambitions, painting them as sanctioned by both the
Speaker 1: Church and the ancient Caesar's and it allowed Pope Leo,
Speaker 1: so newly returned to the papal throne, to tie himself
Speaker 1: publicly to the most powerful man on the continent. After
Speaker 1: all this fuss, though, did the title of emperor actually
Speaker 1: change anything? For Charlemagne, ultimately not really. It cemented his
Speaker 1: relationship with the Church, solidified his identity as a defender
Speaker 1: of the faith, and gilded his family's name, but his
Speaker 1: power had already been enormous. The title, in many ways,
Speaker 1: was just the cherry on top of forty years of relentless,
Speaker 1: merciless empire building. The greatest legacy of that Christmas Day
Speaker 1: in eight hundred was the idea of the Holy Roman Empire,
Speaker 1: though that exact term wouldn't be used until several centuries later.
Speaker 1: By the year nine hundred, Charlemagne's hard One Empire had crumbled,
Speaker 1: having been subdivided into warring duchies controlled by various descendants. Otto,
Speaker 1: the first ruler of an eastern section of the former
Speaker 1: empire located in Germany, reunited the territories and revived the
Speaker 1: title of Emperor, being crowned by the pope in nine
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty two. Some historians argue that it is
Speaker 1: Otto's coronation, not Charlemagne's, that marks the real beginning of
Speaker 1: the Holy Roman Empire, but the origins of the concept.
Speaker 1: Historian Joachim Whaley notes quote lay in the translation of
Speaker 1: the Inheritance of the Roman Empire northwards by Charlemagne end quote.
Speaker 1: Emperor Frederick the First Barbosa was the first to official
Speaker 1: attack wholly onto the title as part of his quest
Speaker 1: to reconquer Italy in the mid twelfth century. His quest
Speaker 1: would ultimately fail, and over time the bounds of the
Speaker 1: Holy Roman Empire drew in centered around Germany, Austria and Bohemia.
Speaker 1: In fifteen twelve, at the Imperial Deity of Cologne, the
Speaker 1: name Holy Roman Empire of the German nation was made official.
Speaker 1: Throughout the centuries, the role of the Holy Roman Emperor himself,
Speaker 1: both who he was and what functions he served, changed dramatically.
Speaker 1: From nine hundred and eleven onward, the emperor was chosen
Speaker 1: by electors, the heads of noble families, who voted for
Speaker 1: the emperor at meetings of the Imperial Deit. The system
Speaker 1: occasionally caused chaos. In thirteen fourteen, two men were elected
Speaker 1: by rival factions of electors, leading to war. To regulate
Speaker 1: the process, the Golden Bull of thirteen fifty six set
Speaker 1: a number of rules into place, the most important of
Speaker 1: which codified who the electors were, how the role of
Speaker 1: elector would be passed down, and how the elections would
Speaker 1: take place. Over time, power in the Empire shifted from
Speaker 1: the emperor to these electors, each of whom controlled vast
Speaker 1: lands and treasuries. The role of emperor became more symbolic,
Speaker 1: and who was elected to the role mattered less than
Speaker 1: who had the power to elect him. Princely families in
Speaker 1: the Empire worked not to become emperor, but to enter
Speaker 1: the electorate, as you may remember the Hanover family doing
Speaker 1: in our episode the prince says imprisoned in her cell.
Speaker 1: Power became increasingly decentralized, with these various kingdoms, principalities, cities,
Speaker 1: and territories of the Empire largely ruling themselves. By the
Speaker 1: time the Empire ended in eighteen o six, it looked
Speaker 1: much more like its successor, the Associated States of the
Speaker 1: German Confederation, than it did the medieval multi regional empire
Speaker 1: of Charlemagne or Otto. Those men would likely have identified
Speaker 1: less with the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis the Second,
Speaker 1: than they would have identified with the man who defeated
Speaker 1: him at the Battle of Austerlitz, the man who ended
Speaker 1: the Holy Roman Empire at once and for all, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Speaker 1: So what of Voltaire's famous quote, was the Holy Roman
Speaker 1: Empire really neither holy nor Roman nor an empire? Well,
Speaker 1: yes and no. It was an empire, surely, although for
Speaker 1: many years it operated as an electorate. It was occasionally Roman,
Speaker 1: both literally via control over Rome and metaphorically via its
Speaker 1: mythological ties to ancient Rome. As for the last criterion,
Speaker 1: can any empire born of battle and bloodshed ever really
Speaker 1: be holy? Whether or not it was blessed by a pope?
Speaker 1: I'll leave that one, dear listener, up to you. That's
Speaker 1: the story of the Holy Roman Empire. But keep listening
Speaker 1: after a brief sponsor break to hear a little bit
Speaker 1: more about Charlemagne's legacy. The term Holy Roman pier isn't
Speaker 1: Charlemagne's only linguistic legacy. If you look at the term
Speaker 1: for king in a number of Slavic and Baltic languages,
Speaker 1: among others, you'll notice their similarity. The Polish kroll sounds
Speaker 1: like the check krawl, and both are close cousins of
Speaker 1: the Latvian girls and the Hungarian kley. The predominant theory
Speaker 1: among linguists is that all of these words can be
Speaker 1: traced back to the Old High German word karl, which
Speaker 1: you may have guessed, is the Germanic spelling of Charles,
Speaker 1: and is what many of Charlemagne's Slavic contemporaries would have
Speaker 1: known him as. That's right. Charlemagne was so influential that
Speaker 1: in many countries the very word for king comes from
Speaker 1: his first name. Ye. Noble Blood is a production of
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey.
Speaker 1: Noble Blood is hosted by me Danishwartz. Additional writing and
Speaker 1: researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Mirra Hayward, Courtney
Speaker 1: Sunder and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by rema
Speaker 1: Il Kayali, with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers
Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: from I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.