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Wellsprings
Mind-Benders of Christian History

The pope who placed the crown on Charlemagne

Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne “Emperor of the Romans” in St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Day, 25 December 800 — an act Western tradition marks as the rebirth of a Roman imperial title in the West.

How we know

Pope Leo III (papacy 795–816) crowned Charlemagne emperor at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on 25 December 800.

One of many fact-checked wonders across eight traditions at The Spring of Wisdom.