Stephen IV (or V)
(born, Rome?died Jan. 24, 817, Rome) was the
pope
from June 816 to January 817.
Of noble birth, he succeeded Pope St.
Leo III
in June 816. Immediately after his consecration he ordered the Romans to swear
fidelity
to the Carolingian emperor
Louis I
the Pious, whom he informed of his election and asked to meet in Gaul.
Britannica Quiz
Pop Quiz: 19 Things to Know About Christianity
Louis had been crowned by his father Charlemagne in 813. In Reims Stephen anointed Louis as
Holy Roman emperor
, an act that solidified the alliance between the papacy and the Franks and created effects crucial to European history; the papacy became the agency that created emperors, symbolized by the coronation and anointing, and this became one of the papacy’s most treasured
prerogatives
. Stephen died soon after returning to
Rome
.