Charlemagne becomes the King of the Franks as the sole ruler on December 25 771 after the death of his brother Carloman I.
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What Happened in December?
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Pope Leo III was elected on December 26, 795 and he was consecrated the following day. His predecessor was Pope Adrian I, who died on December 25, 795.
This rapid succession was likely a move by the Romans to quickly select a new leader and prevent potential interference in the papal election from Frankish King, Charlemagne.
Charlemagne is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day, December 25, 800 CE in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome
Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne "Emperor of the Romans" on Christmas Day, December 25, 800 CE. The coronation took place during a mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
This event established Charlemagne as the first emperor of a unified Western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire and solidified the strong relationship between the Frankish kingdom and the Papacy, creating a powerful link between secular and spiritual authority, The coronation took place after Charlemagne came to Rome to restore Pope Leo III's authority, who had faced a rebellion
The Danelaw, a region of England under Viking control, sees a series of treaties between the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons.
Arnulf of Carinthia, the Carolingian King of East Francia, Holy Roman Emperor and disputed King of Italy, dies at Ratisbon, Bavaria on December 8, 899 leading to a period of instability in the Carolingian Empire. His son, Louis the Child, succeeded him as King of East Francia.
Pope Leo VIII was installed as Pope on December 4, 963, by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, after the Emperor removed John XII for conspiring against him. Leo Initially a layman (a papal notary) was hurriedly ordained and made a Bishop in a single day to fill the seat, making his legitimacy disputed during the turbulent period of 963–965.
When Otto I left Rome in 964, John XII returned, deposed Leo, and forced him to flee. John II died suddenly and the Romans elected Benedict V as the new Pope. Otto I returned, forced the deposition of Benedict V, and reinstated Leo VIII, who reigned from June 23, 964, until his death on March 1, 965.Because John XII was still alive and contested his removal, Leo is considered an antipope for the first part of his reign. Leo VIII is known for granting the emperor strong privileges over the Papal States. However, his second term is recognized in the official Vatican chronology, despite the chaotic circumstances.
Pope John XIII crowns Otto I's son 12-year-old Otto II as co-emperor on Christmas Day, 967. The action was taken to provide a peaceful succession and strengthen the link of the imperial title to the German monarchy. In 972, Otto II married the Byzantine princess Theophanu, further cementing the empire's legitimacy in Southern Italy.
A total Solar eclipse over Constantinople, on December 22, 968, CE at the Winter Solstice, is described by the Byzantine chronicler and historian, Leo the Deacon. His account is considered the earliest known description of the Sun's corona during a total solar eclipse, even mentioning the terrified reactions of the people, highlighting the unfamiliar nature of the event.
His account of the event, in his book "The History of Leo the Deacon." reads in part, "Everyone could see the disk of the Sun without brightness, deprived of light and a certain dull and feeble glow, like a narrow headband, shining round the extreme parts of the edge of the disk". Noting that darkness fell upon the Earth and "all the brighter stars revealed themselves".
Byzantine Emperor Nikephorus II Phokas is murdered by his wife Theophano and her co-conspirator John I Tzimiskes, on December 11, 969, leading to Tzimiskes' ascent to the throne on December 19, 969.
The coronation of Stephen I as the first Christian king of Hungary, marking the establishment of the Kingdom of Hungary and Hungary's conversion to Christianity.
King Æthelred the Unready orders the St. Brice's Day massacre, leading to the killing of many Danish settlers in England.
The supernova SN 1006, one of the brightest stellar events recorded, appears in the southern skies after appearing earlier in the year in the north. Now we know that is a remnant of a so-called Type Ia supernova. This class of supernova is caused when a white dwarf pulls too much mass from a companion star and explodes, or when two white dwarfs merge and explode. In this case, the star whose death brightened the early medieval sky was 7200 light years away. That means the supernova really happened about 8.200 years ago, but it took until 1006 for the light of the cosmic explosion to reach Earth. More
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Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark is proclaimed King of England after the English nobility submits to him. Sweyn had built a strong an imposing Danish North Sea empire, establishing control in Norway in 1000 and conquering England in 1013. He died there on February 3, 1014, having ruled England for only five weeks. Sweyn's cause of death is unknown.
The Byzantine Emperor Basil II dies on December 15, 1025, at the peak of the Byzantine power, marking the end of the Macedonian Dynasty and the beginning of a long decline.
Internal struggles and challenges from emerging powers, resulting in instability. Basil II died without children, leaving the throne to his less capable brother, Constantine VIII. The fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 brought the empire to an end.
Pope Gregory VI resigns as Pope on December 20, 1046, during the Council of Sutri, amid the scandal of simony (selling or buying of church offices). The Council had been called by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry.
He was accused of having paid a large sum of money in 1045 when he was a priest, to the scandalous Pope Benedict IX,(his godson) to persuade him to resign. Reportedly his motive was to remove a corrupt church leader, however the act of paying for the office was itself considered simoniacal and he was convinced by the bishops at the council to resign to preserve the reputation of the papacy. Gregory VI was succeeded by Pope Clement II and went into exile in Germany, accompanied by his chaplain Hildebrand (the future Pope Gregory VII).
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Westminster Abbey, located in London, is consecrated by Edward the Confessor on December 28, 1065, although he was too ill to attend and died just days later, being buried there. The Abbey became the site of coronations and other ceremonies of national significance in England.
William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, following the Norman conquest.
The compilation of the Domesday Book, a survey of England initiated by William the Conqueror, begins.
Bishop Anselm. Abbot of the Bec Abbey, reluctantly becomes Archbishop of Canterbury on December 4, 1093. He was consecrated in Canterbury after King William II agreed to restore the lands of the archbishopric that had been seized by the crown.
His tenure was marked by conflict with William II and his successor, King Henry I, over the issue of royal control over Church appointments (lay investiture). He is recognized as a Christian philosopher and theologian of the eleventh century. More