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In the Eastern Empire the patriarchs of the great cities competed against each other for influence and imperial favour,
在东罗马帝国，各大城市的主教们相互竞争，争夺影响力和皇帝的青睐。
thereby weakening their individual status.
因此削弱了各自的地位。
In the West though the Bishop alone determined the correct belief, then and now.
在西罗马帝国，主教单独决定什么是所谓正确的信仰。
The Popes ability to control kings and nobles would have been unthinkable in the East,
而且有权控制各个国王和贵族，这在东罗马帝国是不可想象的。
where Emperors knew how to keep their patriarchs in line, and each different approach only deepened the division between the Western Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches.
在东方是皇帝掌控各个主教，而这种差异又进一步加剧了西方天主教和东方东正教的分歧和差别。
The Lombard rulers of Italy had understandably little affection for the ambitious Bishops of Rome but the Popes could count on strong defenders in the Frankish kings of North-Western France.
自然，意大利伦巴第统治者对雄心勃勃的罗马主教毫不在乎，但是教皇可以依靠法国西北部强大的法兰克国王来维护自己的力量。
The greatest of Frankish kings Charlemagne, 768 to 814 AD, was himself a devout Catholic believer always willing to help the Pope when needed.
法兰克最伟大的国王查理曼大帝，(768-814)自己就是虔诚的天主教徒随时愿意帮助教皇。
Once Charlemagne had conquered enough territory to call himself emperor, Pope Leo the third crowned him as emperor on Christmas day 800.
当查理曼大帝征服了足够的领土可以自封为皇帝时，教皇利奥三世在公元800年的圣诞节为他加冕。
Whether the ceremony was Charlemagne's own idea is open to question, like his predecessors Pope Leo the third wanted to boost the Western church's influence,
加冕仪式是不是查理曼大帝自己的主意这还不得而知，但是利奥三世和他的众多前任一样，一直想提高西罗马教会的影响力。
so it suited him to have a Western Emperor to balance the Eastern Emperor
因此，在西罗马有个皇帝来抗衡东罗马帝国皇帝，这和他的目的相契合。
and if the Western Emperor received his crown from the Pope personally so much the better.
如果西罗马皇帝能够接受他的封冕那就再好不过了。
Whether the ceremony was Charlemagne's idea or whether it was Pope Leo the thirds
因此无论加冕仪式是查理曼大帝的想法，还是罗马教皇利奥三世的主意，
the so-called Holy Roman Empire had begun.
所谓的神圣罗马帝国开始了。
As Emperor of the West Charlemagne declared himself successor of Romulus Augustus
查理曼大帝作为西罗马帝国的皇帝宣称自己是奥古斯都路斯的继任者，
and claimed equality with Empress Irene of Byzantium.
并声称和拜占庭皇后艾琳平起平坐。
The Holy Roman Empire would change many times over the century as some wags have put it,
神圣罗马帝国在数百年里改变了很多次，有人戏虐地称它
it was neither holy nor roman nor an empire, yet in the heart's of its rulers it always remained a Christianized continuation of the state founded by Romulus and Remus on the morning of April 23rd 753 BC.
既不神圣，也不罗马，更不帝国，但是在其统治者心里，它一直是罗穆卢斯和瑞摩斯在公元前753年4月23日上午所建立的的国家的基督教化延续。
