I
Caveat Imperator: What if Charlemagne was never Holy Roman Emperor?
I: The Siege of Pavia
Our story begins with the death of King Charles I of the Franks, otherwise known in OTL as Charlemagne. But in order to become Charles the Great, he had to conquer most of western Europe and be crowned the Roman Emperor.
I: The Siege of Pavia
From the "Annales Europaeus" by historian Savinus, chronicler to the King of Italy
In May of 774 AD, Charles and his Uncle Bernard were amidst a siege against the capital of Lombardy: Pavia. The Pope, Hadrian I, had expelled all Lombard officials from the Papal State and in response, the Lombard King Desiderius had invaded. Charles, who saw himself as the protector of the Pope, was asked to invade Lombardy. Charles was a strong general, and along side his uncle saw no reason not to defend the lands of the faithful (and conquer Italy for himself). During this siege, epidemic typhoid struck the Frankish camp and the city... and it claimed the life of the King. Bernard, being a shrewd tactician, called off the siege. The sickly army returned to France, knowing that the Lombards had suffered too much of a defeat to continue harassing the Pope. Pope Hadrian, still fearing that the Lombards will regain strength, sought to Crown Bernard as King, since Charles' three sons were much too young to succeed him and the risk of Frankish political turmoil was too high. The Bishop of Reims agreed, and Bernard was crowned king of the Franks.
Desiderius had suffered so much loss at the hands of the invading army. They torched his fields, slaughtered his people, and declaimed him to the faithful. Lombards were not allowed in the court of the Pope, and so Desiderius denounced the pope as illegitimate. Six years prior he had attempted to raise an anti-pope, but his efforts were fruitless. The Pope, however, had another rival: Emperor Constantine V of Byzantium. in September of 774, Desiderius sought an alliance with Constantine, to which he agreed on partial terms: He would come to Desiderius' aid should his realm be invaded again, and that the Holy See would be placed under Byzantine control should Hadrian be dethroned. Whilst the agreement was being formalized, Constantine died of his wounds returning from a war against the Bulgars. His son Leo IV had another demand: Formally sever ties with the Church.
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