The vacancy of the Imperial title was an important reason as to why Charlemagne was crowned emperor in 800. According to Richbod, Abbot of Lorsch, the fathers of the synod in Rome, with the reinstated Pope met to ‘nominate’ Charles as emperor because, since a woman ruled in Constantinople… the imperial throne was vacant. As Irene in the Byzantium Empire had ripped out her own son’s eyes in 797 in order to incapacitate him so that he would not be able to rule when he came of age, and the fact that she was a woman meant that the title of …show more content…
However, it was his need to protect the papacy that remains the most successful reason as to why he was crowned emperor. This is due to the fact that without Pope Leo’s position being threatened by Paschalis and Campulus, the Pope may not have asked for Charlemagne’s help or pointed out the vacancy of the Imperial title. Without this prompt, Charles may never have thought of becoming emperor something, which would have stunted the growth in his already large