Charles the Fat
Charlemagne, crowned Roman Emperor in 800 AD, is sometimes considered as a forerunner of the Holy Roman Empire. Most historians today reject this view, arguing that the Holy Roman Empire had different antecedents and a different constitution, and the Holy Roman Emperor had a different status and role than Charlemagne and his successors. After the collapse of Charlemagne's empire, the Imperial crown was initially disputed among the Carolingian rulers of Western Francia (France) and Eastern Francia (Germany), with first the western king (Charles the Bald) and then the eastern (Charles the Fat) attaining the prize. However, after the death of Charles the Fat in 888, the empire broke asunder, never to be restored. According to Regino of Prüm, each part of the realm elected a "kinglet" from its own "bowels". After the death of Charles the Fat, those who were crowned Emperors by the Pope controlled only territories in Italy. The last of such Emperors was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924.