On the Day April 25 799AD

Attempt on Pope Leo III's Life

Khen Lim




Leo III crowns Charlemagne (Image source: twitter.com)

On the very day that Pope Adrian I was buried in 795AD, Leo was elected his successor, which would have irked some. The haste in the appointment was possibly politically motivated in part by the Romans as a buffer against Frankish interference but then it was Leo himself who considered Charlemagne, the King of the Franks the protector of the Holy See.

Because of the closeness of the relationship between the new pope and Charlemagne, there was intense jealousy, hatred and revenge from the relatives of his predecessor, Adrian, and hence, a plot was hatched by Paschal the primicerius, the late pope’s nephew, to maim him enough to render him unfit to continue his papal duties. 

On the day of the procession of the Greater Litanies, April 25 799AD, Leo was ambushed and attacked by a body of armed men. Once trapped, they stabbed at his eyes and tried to cut off his tongue. Leo stumbled and fell in his pool of blood as the procession was driven astray. They then hauled him over to St Sylvester’s Church and once more, they attacked his eyes before they finally left him for dead in the monastery of Erasmus.

Only God could explain how Leo not only survived but his eyesight was restored and he could use his tongue. Two of the King’s envoys who were responsible for the initial rescue, sent him to Winichis, Duke of Spoleto who gave him shelter before transferring him to the king’s camp at Paderborn where Charlemagne received him with full honours.

Meanwhile Paschal men made wild accusations against Leo, charging him with adultery and perjury after which Charlemagne ordered them to Paderborn to settle the matter. However no decisions were made with the bishops in Rome refusing to try the pope. The king then organised safe return to Rome for Leo whose return home was cheered. 

A year later, Charlemagne convened a council in Rome with parties from both sides. There, Leo took an oath of purgation concerning the accusations and summarily, the king called for the pope’s enemies to be executed. However, in remembering Christ’s command to forgive one’s enemies, he pleaded for their lives to be spared. In the end, they were exiled.

Two days later, Leo conferred upon Charlemagne the crown of the Holy Roman Empire at the St Peter’s Basilica thus sealing an already closely-working relationship between the Franks and the papacy. At the Christmas Mass on which the king knelt for Leo to place the jewelled crown, the crowd chorused, “To Charles, the most pious Augustus, crowned by God, to our great and peace-loving emperor, life and victory!”

By that act alone, Leo had established the imprimatur that royal monarchs receive their authority to rule from the Church, a precedent that would be challenged over the next many centuries. In this case, Charlemagne worked together with Leo to maintain peace in Italy and stretching to much of the Mediterranean world. 

The king gave Leo treasures from his conquests which the pope, as a just steward, used to beautify Rome and help the poor. In fact, under Leo, over 160 churches were either built or restored and the decay of Rome was held in check.

After Charlemagne died in 814AD, troubles renewed for Leo, beginning with Rome. A conspiracy was hatched but this time, Leo had advanced warning and had them arrested before they could do much damage. The leniency of the past remained in the past. This time, Leo executed all of them. 

Two years later, in 816AD, he died.