Leo III, Pope, who brought about the elevation of the Prankish king to the position of emperor of the AVest, and thus relieved the Peman pontificate of fur- ther sidijection to the Greek emperors, was a native of the Eternal City, and was elected after the death of Adrian I, Dec. 25, 795, Immediately after his election lie communicated the intelligence to Charlemagne, and, like his predecessor, acknowledged allegiance. Charle- magne replied by a letter of congratulation, which he intrusted to the abbot Angilbertus, whom lie commis- sioned to confer with the new pontiff respecting the re- lations between the see of Pome and the "Patrician of the Pomans," for this was the title which Charlemagne had assumed. In 796 Leo sent to Charlemagne the keys of St. Peter and the standard of the city of Pome, requesting the king to send some of his nobles to admin- ister the oath of allegiance to the people of Pome, and thus the dominion of Cliarlemagne was extended over the city and duchy of Rome. In the year 799, an atro- cious assault, the motive of which is not clearly ascer- tained, was committed on the person of the pope. While Leo was riding on liorseback, followed by the clergy, and chanting the liturgy, a canon by the name of Paschal and a sacristan called Campulus, accompanied by many armed rufnans, fell u[)on him, threw him from his horse, and dragged him into the convent of St. Sylvester, wlien they stabbed him in many ]ilaces, endeavoring to put out Ins eyes and cut out his tongue. Leo, how- ever, was delivered by his friends from tlie hands <if tlie assassins, and taken to Spoleti under the protection of the duke of Spoleti, where he soon after recovered ; thence lie travelled as far asPaderborn in Germany, where Charle- magne then was, by whom the pope was received with the greatest honors. Charlemagne sent him back to Pome with a numerous escort of bishops and counts, and also of armed men. The pope was met outside of the city gates by the clergy, senate, and people, and ac-
companied in triumph to the Lateran palace. A court composed of the bishops and counts proceeded to the trial of the conspirators who had attempted the life of the pope, and the two chiefs. Paschal and Campulus, were exiled to France. From this very lenient sentence and other concomitant circumstances, it appears that Charlemagne had greatly at heart the conciliation of the Romans in general, in order to deter them from betaking themselves again to the protection of the (ircek emper- ors. In 800 Charlemagne himself visited Italy, and w£6 met at Nomentum, outside of Pome, by the pope, and the next day he repaired to the Basilica of the Vatican, escorted by the soldiers and the people. After a few days Charlemagne convoked a numerous assembly of prelates, abbots, and other persons of distinction, Franks as well as Romans, to examine certain charges brought against the pope by the partisans of Paschal and Cam- pulus, but no proofs were elicited, and Leo himself, tak- ing the book of gospels in his hand, eieclarcd himself in- nocent. On Christmas-day of that year the pontiff of- ficiated in the Basilica of the Vatican, in presence of Charlemagne and his numerous retinue. As Charle- magne was preparing to leave the church, tlie pontiff stopped him, and placed a rich crown upon his head, while the clergy and the people, at the same moment, cried out " Carolo piissimo," "Augusto magno impera- tori," with other expressions and acclamations wLieh were wont to be use el in proclaiming Roman emperors. Three times the acelamatie>ns were repeated, after which the pope was the first to pay homage to the new emper- or. From that time CLarlcmagne left off the titles of king and patrician, and styled himself Augustus and emperor of the Remans, and he addressed the emperor of Constantinople bj- the name of brother. Thus was the Western empire revived 325 years after Odoacer had deposed Romulus Augustulus, the last nominal successor of the Casars on the throne of the West, Frem that time all claim of the Eastern emperors to the supreme dominion over the duchj' of Rome was at an eid, anil the popes from the same date assumeel the temporal an- thority over the city and eluchy, in subordination, hew- ever, to Charlemagne and his successors; they began, also, to coin money, with the pontiff's name on one siele and that of the emperor on the other. In 804 the pope, during Christmas, visited Charlemagne at his court at Aquifgrana (Aix-la-Chapelle). In the division which Cliarlemagne made by will of his dominions among his sons, the city of Rome was declared to belong to him who should bear the title of emperor. Louis le Dtbon- naire was afterwards invested with that title by Charle- magne himself, and we find him accordingly, after the death of his father, assuming the supreme jurisdiction over that city on the occasion of a fresh conspiracy which broke out against Leo, the heads of which were convicted by the ordinary courts of Pome, and put to death. Louis founel fault with the rigor of the sentence and the haste of its execution, and he ordered his neph- ew, Bernard, king of Italy, to proceed to Rome and in- vestigate the wliole affair. Leo, who stems to have been alarmeel at this proceeding, sent messengers to the court of Louis to justify himself. Meanwhile he feU seriously ill, anel the people of Rome broke out into in- surrection, and pulleel down some buildings he had begun to construct on the confiscated property of the conspira- tors. The duke of Speileti was sent for with a liody of troops to supyiress the tumult, when Leo suddenly dietl in 816, and Stephen IV was elected in his place. Leo is praised by Anastasius, a biographer of the same cen- tury, fe)r the many structures, especially chure lies, which he raised or repaired, and the valuable gifts wiili which he enriched them. In his temporal poliiy lie rppeara to have been mt)re moderate and prudent than his pre- elecessor, Adrian I, wlio was perpetually soliciting Char- lemagne in his letters for fresh grants of territory to his see. Thirteen letters of Leo are published in Labbe's Concilia, vii, 1111-1127. He is also considered the au- thor of the Ejnstoloi tid Carolum Magnum imp., ex edi-