Charlemagne This fifteenth-century manuscript painting depicts Charlemagne, king of the Franks, who was crowned emperor by the pope in 800 C.E. His reign illustrates the close and sometimes-conflicted relationship of political and religious authorities in an emerging European civilization. It also represents the futile desire of many in Western Europe to revive the old Roman Empire, even as a substantially new civilization was taking shape in the aftermath of the Roman collapse several centuries earlier. From the Psalter of Charles the Bold, 15th century/Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK/Bridgeman Images