Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/289

Rh Pope Leo III and his enemies. To celebrate the satisfactory settlement of the difficulty the Pope held a solemn service on Christmas Day in St. Peter's. As Charlemagne was kneeling before the altar during this service the Pope approached him and set a crown upon his head, saluting him, amid the acclamations of those present, as "Emperor of the Romans." For inasmuch as Charlemagne held Rome itself in addition to his other possessions in Italy, Gaul, and Germany, it seemed appropriate to all that he should assume this august title.

330. Continuity of the Roman Empire. The empire thus reestablished in the West was considered to be a continuation of the Roman Empire founded by Augustus. Yet it is hardly necessary to say that the position of the new emperor had little jn common with that of Augustus or Constantine. In the first place, the Eastern emperors continued to reign in Constantinople for centuries, quite regardless of Charlemagne and his successors. In the second place, the German kings who wore the imperial crown after Charlemagne were generally too weak really to rule over Germany and northern Italy, to say nothing of the rest of western Europe.

331. Division of Charlemagne's Empire. The task of governing his vast dominions taxed even the highly gifted and untiring Charlemagne and was quite beyond the power of his successors. After his death (814) many attempts were made to divide the Empire peaceably among his descendants, but for generations they continued to fight over how much each should have. Finally it was agreed in 870, by the Treaty of Mersen, that there should be three states, a West Prankish kingdom, an East Frankish kingdom, and a kingdom of Italy. The West Frankish realm corresponded roughly with the present boundaries of France and Belgium, and its people talked dialects derived from the spoken Latin; the East Frankish kingdom included the rest of Charlemagne's empire outside of Italy and was German in language.