Part 6/8:
The most significant betrayal occurred concerning his pledges to Otto I, the Holy Roman Emperor, who had provided military support to John XII against his political adversaries. After publicly crowning Otto as emperor, John swiftly returned to his indulgent lifestyle, earning the ire of the very man who had aided him. Otto, once hopeful that John XII would mature and live up to his role, became disillusioned by John’s blatant disregard for authority and excommunicated him following an extensive list of offenses, including charges of serious moral misconduct.