Italy Travel And Hotel Guide

During the chaotic sixth century, the Lombards , a Germanic tribe, were driven southwest into Italy. Rome was successfully defended against them, but by the eighth century the Lombards were extending their power throughout the peninsula. In the middle of that century the Franks arrived from Gaul. They were orthodox Christians, and therefore acceptable to Gallo-Roman nobility, integrating quickly and taking over much of the rustic administration. The Franks were ruled by the Merovingian royal family, but the mayors of the palace - the Carolingians - began to take power in real terms. Led by Pepin the Short , they saw an advantage in supporting the papacy, giving Rome large endowments and forcibly converting pagans in areas they conquered. When Pepin wanted to oust the Merovingians, and become King of the Franks, he appealed to the pope in Rome for his blessing, who was happy to agree, anointing the new Frankish king with holy oil.This alliance was useful to both parties. In 755 the pope called on the Frankish army to confront the Lombards. The Franks forced them to hand over treasure and 22 cities and castles, which then became the northern part of the Papal States . Pepin died in 768, with the Church indebted to him. According to custom, he divided the kingdom between his two sons, one of whom died within three years. The other was Charles the Great, or Charlemagne .

An intelligent and innovative leader, Charlemagne was proclaimed King of the Franks and of the Lombards, and patrician of the Romans, after a decisive war against the Lombards in 774. On Christmas Day of the year 800, Pope Leo III expressed his gratitude for Charlemagne’s political support by crowning him Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire , an investiture that forged an enduring link between the fortunes of Italy and those of northern Europe. By the time Charlemagne died, all of Italy from south of Rome to Lombardy, including Sardinia, was part of the huge Carolingian Empire . The parts which didn’t come under his domain were Sicily and the southern coast, which were gradually being reconquered by Arabs from Tunisia; and Puglia and Calabria, colonized by Byzantines and Greeks.

The task of holding these gains was beyond Charlemagne’s successors, and by the beginning of the tenth century the family was extinct and the rival Italian states had become prizes for which the western (French) and orient (German) Frankish kingdoms competed. Power switched in 936 to Otto , king of the orient Franks. Political disunity in Italy invited him to intervene, and in 962 he was crowned emperor; Otto’s son and grandson (Ottos II and III) set the seal on the renewal of the Holy Roman Empire.

Tags: carolingian empire, carolingians, charlemagne, christmas day, eighth century, frankish army, frankish king, germanic tribe, holy oil, holy roman empire, investiture, italy rome, lombards, mayors of the palace, merovingians, orthodox christians, papal states, pope leo iii, provincial administration, roman nobility