Crowned by the Pope as Emperor of the West
The year A.D. 800 forms the climax of Charlemagne’s reign. The sovereign had gone in splendid state to visit Italy. On Christmas day Charlemagne and his court were attending divine service in the church of St. Peter’s, at Rome. Suddenly, while the monarch was kneeling on the steps of the altar in prayer, the Pope, Leo III., placed a crown upon his head and solemnly saluted him as “Emperor of the West,” with the title of Charles I., Cæsar Augustus.