These three letters were composed by the short-lived 8th century Anti-Pope, Constantine II. His plight was complicated by the tense political situation between the Franks and the Lombards in central Italy. Based upon the content of the letters, Constantine pleaded for assistant from Charlemagne prior to his coronation as King of Franks. His failure to secure the papacy, along with that of the Antipope Philip, would set forth events in Italy that would force Frankish intervention, and indirectly legitimize the claim of a re-established Western Roman Empire.