Who was crowned Emperor of the Romans in 800 CE, inaugurating a revived Western Empire?

• A. Otto I
• B. Julius Caesar
• C. Charlemagne
• D. William the Conqueror

Answer: (C)

The revival of Western imperial authority is shown by Charlemagne being crowned Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day in the year 800. He was the king of the Franks who had expanded his realm across much of Western Europe and, with the blessing of the Pope, received the imperial crown in Rome. This act linked a powerful Christian rulers’ domain with the legacy of ancient Rome, presenting Charlemagne’s rule as the continuation of the Roman imperial tradition in the West. It also underscored the alliance between the Papacy and a Christian monarch, a hallmark of medieval political culture: the emperor derived legitimacy from the pope, and the pope validated a ruler who could defend Christendom and unite diverse Christian peoples under a single authority.

This moment stands in contrast to other leaders who held different roles in history. Julius Caesar lived in the late Republic and was never crowned emperor; Otto I would later be crowned emperor in 962, inaugurating a later phase of this Roman-Western continuity; William the Conqueror became king of England in 1066 and did not assume the imperial title. The 800 coronation is the event that truly marks the West’s revival of a Roman-style imperial authority through Charlemagne.