Commentary Par VI 94-96

Charlemagne gets short shrift as the sixth (Justinian does not, of course, refer to himself as a member of this elite group, but commentators have done so for him) and last of these 'world-historical' emperors.  See Tozer (DDP Tozer.Par.VI.94-96): '[W]hen Desiderius, king of the Lombards, persecuted the Church, Pope Adrian I called in Charles the Great to its defense.  [V]incendo: by his victory over Desiderius.  The date of this was 774, and Charles was not crowned emperor of the West until 800, so that at the time when it took place he was not under the protection of the Roman eagle (sotto le sue ali).  Dante's error here is of a part with his more serious mistake in Mon. [Mon.III.xi.1] where he says that Charles was crowned emperor by Adrian I while the emperor Michael was on the throne of Constantinople -- whereas in reality he was crowned by Leo III during the reign of Irene.'  The process of translatio imperii has now been insisted on, as the Eagle has flown out of Italy and into France.  This tercet thus accomplishes a great deal, introducing and defending the concept of the Holy Roman Empire in the space of three lines.