Abstract
On the old road to Rome, between Parma and Pisa, on the Chia Pass, lies the small town of Berceto. There, in the church of St.
Moderama, are interred the remains of the first Bishop of Würzburg, St. Burchard.
During his coronation journey to Rome in 1355 Charles IV had the remains disinterred and replaced in a new lead coffin with an inscription. Part of the relics were separated and sent to Prague, where they were placed in St.
Vitus' Cathedral. This demonstrative veneration of the memory of the saint was very symbolic, for it took place on the border area between Charles' coronation in Milan and his longed-for coronation as Emperor in Rome.
In 752 St. Burchard had participated in the overthrow of the last Merovingian ruler Childeric III and the establishment of Pepin as king.
Burchard had been present at Pepin's coronation at the end of 751 or the beginning of 752, together with other Frankish bishops. It was the first coronation in the history of the Frankish empire at which the new ruler was anointed with holy oil after the biblical model; in Pepin's case the anointing was carried out by the Metropolitan of the Frankish empire, Archbishop Boniface.
Until then the practice of anointing a new ruler had been followed only by the Anglo-Saxons and the Visigoths. However, its use among the Franks became necessary, because Pepin assumed role of a king who acquired divine legitimacy through being anointed.
Instead of the original Merovingian "rex crinitus", deriving his origin from the pagan gods, Pepin now assumed the role of "rex dei gratia". The spiritual father of this process was Archbishop Boniface, and Burchard was one of his associates.
Emphasising this concept of monarchical power was therefore a clear signal to Rome of how Charles regarded his future rule. The presence of the saint's relics in Prague was thus intended to demonstrate Charles' links to Charlemagne, whose dynasty essentially established its rule with Pepin's enthronement as King of the Franks.