First he was sent out into the freezing winter at the head of a diplomatic escort to accompany Pope Stephen on the last one hundred miles of his journey to the royal palace in early January. Then, a little over six months later, on July 28, 754, he joined his father as the pope capped his visit with yet another anointing and coronation at Saint-Denis. A third ceremony might have felt a little like overkill, except that this time it was not only Pippin who was anointed and blessed by the pope, but also Charlemagne, his brother Carloman,* and their mother Bertrada. This was more than the
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