HERALDRY

Once upon a time, there was the Roman Empire. One can never go wrong by starting with Rome. Well, that empire, as we know, began to divide at the end of the 3rd century AD under Diocletian (adopting the system of government called the “Tetrarchy”) before being reunited by Constantine. Seventy years later, before dying in 395, Theodosius entrusted the two halves of the empire to his two sons: Honorius and Arcadius. They would lead the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, respectively.

In 476, Odoacer, king of the Heruli—a Germanic people, or “barbarian,” as we can calmly say—who would later be defeated and replaced by Theodoric’s Ostrogoths, deposed the weak emperor Flavius Romulus Augustus, known as Augustulus. He then handed over the Western imperial insignia to the Eastern Roman Emperor, Zeno. The Western Roman Empire had come to an end; the Middle Ages had begun.

Constantinople would continue to be the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire for another 1,000 years, until it fell, nearly in the Renaissance era, during the Ottoman Turkish siege of 1453.

In the West, this Eastern Empire is called “Byzantine,” but in truth, its real name suffices: “Roman Empire.”

This account already provides us with important insights: throughout the Middle Ages, at least one empire and one Germanic king existed. Let us immediately correct our first mistaken intuitions by continuing our summary.

The Romano-Barbarian Kingdoms

With the fall of the Western part of the empire—or, in fact, even earlier, as allies (socii), federates (foederati), or federated cities (foederatae civitates)—some Germanic peoples decided to establish their own kingdoms: the Romano-Barbarian Kingdoms. One of these peoples, the Franks, would change the name of Roman Gaul, calling it “France.”

Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Emperor

A Frankish king, Charlemagne, grandson of the Mayor of the Palace Charles Martel, who was the architect of the end of the first Frankish dynasty, the Merovingians, was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on Christmas morning in the year 800: the Carolingian Empire was born. Emperor Charles continued to be the king of the Franks. The two titles were not confused.