The+Coronation+of+Charlemagne


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WHAT HAPPENED ON CHRISTMAS DAY 800 CE? Did Charlemagne know that Leo was going to crown him Emperor?

__Charlemagne (Charles the Great)__: born c 742; King of the Franks from 768; Emperor of the Romans from 800; died 814. __Pope Leo III__: born 750; Pope from 795; died 816. __Einhard__: born 775; worked for Charlemagne and his son; wrote Life of Charlemagne between 817-30; died 840.
 * CHARACTERS**


 * VARIOUS WRITTEN ACCOUNTS FROM THE TIME:**



Did Charlemagne know that Leo was going to crown him? What can you work out about the interests (motives) of the historians who recorded this event?

What are the difficulties in knowing what happened in the past? What evidence can we use? How can we decide what's important?


 * THE FRANKISH EMPIRE IN 768 CE**