GOLDEN KING A 14th-century bust of Charlemagne – the divine ruler of medieval Europe – in Aachen Cathedral
ART ARCHIVE X1, ALAMY X1
CHARLEMAGNE BRINGING LIGHT TO THE DARK AGES
Christmas Day in AD 800, and the powerful King of the Franks and Lombards, Charlemagne, is celebrating mass in Rome. Kneeling at the altar in the majestic setting of St Peter’s Basilica, he is about to rise from his prayers when, seemingly unexpectedly, Pope Leo III approaches the monarch, places a crown on his head and proclaims him Imperator Romanorum – ‘Emperor of the Romans’.