Editing Pope Stephen III (section)

===Frankish-Lombard alliance===
Throughout his pontificate, Stephen was apprehensive about the expansionist plans of the Lombards.<ref>Mann, pgs. 376–377</ref> Placing his hope in the Franks, he attempted to mediate in the quarrels between [[Charlemagne]] and [[Carloman I]], Pepin's sons and successors, which were only helping the Lombards' cause in Italy.<ref>Mann, pgs. 377–378</ref> In 769, he helped them reconcile, and pressured them to support the still infant Papal States, by reminding them of the support that their father had given the [[papacy]] in the past. He also begged them to intercede on his behalf by entering into discussions with the Lombards.<ref name="m378">Mann, pg. 378</ref>

Consequently, an embassy was sent to the Lombard king, Desiderius, in 770, which included Charlemagne's mother, [[Bertrada of Laon]]. Their intervention achieved a result favourable to the papacy by restoring to the pope the parts of [[Benevento]] that the popes claimed.<ref name="m378"/> To Stephen's consternation, however, Desiderius and Bertrada entered into discussions about a possible marriage between Desiderius' daughter, [[Desiderata of the Lombards|Desiderata]], and one of Bertrada's sons.<ref>Mann, pgs. 378–379</ref> It is also possible that discussions took place around the marriage of Charlemagne's sister, [[Gisela, Abbess of Chelles|Gisela]] to Desiderius' son, [[Adalgis]].<ref>Mann, pg. 379</ref>

Stephen therefore wrote to both Charlemagne and Carloman, protesting about the proposed alliance.<ref>McKitterick, Rosamond, ''Charlemagne: The Formation of a European Identity'' (2008), pg. 84</ref> Apart from noting that both men were already married, he reminded them of their promises to previous popes, that they would consider the pope's enemies as their enemies, and that they had promised to [[Saint Peter]] to resist the Lombards and restore the rights of the Church.<ref>Mann, pg. 381</ref> He wrote:
<blockquote>"You who are already, by the will of God and the commands of your father, lawfully married to noble wives of your own nation, whom you are bound to cherish. And certainly it is not lawful for you to put away the wives you have and marry others, or ally yourselves in marriage with a foreign people, a thing never done by any of your ancestors.... It is wicked of you even to entertain the thought of marrying again when you are already married. You ought not to act thus, who profess to follow the law of God, and punish others to prevent men acting in this unlawful manner. Such things do the heathen. But they ought not to be done by you who are Christians, a holy people and a kingly priesthood."<ref>Mann, pg. 380</ref></blockquote>

Stephen's pleas fell on deaf ears, and Charlemagne married Desiderata in 770, temporarily cementing a familial alliance with the Lombards.<ref>Mann, pg. 382</ref>