diff options
Diffstat (limited to '15345.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 15345.txt | 16153 |
1 files changed, 16153 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/15345.txt b/15345.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..86066de --- /dev/null +++ b/15345.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16153 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume +4, by Various, Edited by Rossiter Johnson + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 4 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 12, 2005 [eBook #15345] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT EVENTS BY FAMOUS +HISTORIANS, VOLUME 4*** + + +E-text prepared by David Kline, Martin Pettit, and the Project Gutenberg +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + + + + +THE GREAT EVENTS BY FAMOUS HISTORIANS + +VOLUME IV + +A COMPREHENSIVE AND READABLE ACCOUNT OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY, EMPHASIZING +THE MORE IMPORTANT EVENTS, AND PRESENTING THESE AS COMPLETE NARRATIVES +IN THE MASTER-WORDS OF THE MOST EMINENT HISTORIANS + +NON-SECTARIAN NON-PARTISAN NON-SECTIONAL + +ON THE PLAN EVOLVED FROM A CONSENSUS OF OPINIONS GATHERED FROM THE MOST +DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS OF AMERICA AND EUROPE, INCLUDING BRIEF +INTRODUCTIONS BY SPECIALISTS TO CONNECT AND EXPLAIN THE CELEBRATED +NARRATIVES. ARRANGED CHRONOLOGICALLY. WITH THOROUGH INDICES, +BIBLIOGRAPHIES, CHRONOLOGIES, AND COURSES OF READING + +EDITOR-IN-CHIEF + +ROSSITER JOHNSON, LL.D. + +ASSOCIATE EDITORS + +CHARLES F. HORNE, Ph.D. +JOHN RUDD, LL.D. + +With a staff of specialists + +VOLUME IV + +The National Alumni + +1905 + + + + + + + +CONTENTS + +VOLUME IV + + +An Outline Narrative of the Great Events, + CHARLES F. HORNE + +Visigoths Pillage Rome (A.D. 410), + EDWARD GIBBON + +Huns Invade the Eastern Roman Empire +Attila Dictates a Treaty of Peace (A.D. 441), + EDWARD GIBBON + +The English Conquest of Britain (A.D. 449-579), + JOHN R. GREEN + CHARLES KNIGHT + +Attila Invades Western Europe +Battle of Chalons (A.D. 451), + SIR EDWARD S. CREASY + EDWARD GIBBON + +Foundation of Venice (A.D. 452), + THOMAS HODGKIN + JOHN RUSKIN + +Clovis Founds the Kingdom of the Franks +It Becomes Christian (A.D. 486-511), + FRANCOIS P.G. GUIZOT + +Publication of the Justinian Code (A.D. 529-534), + EDWARD GIBBON + +Augustine's Missionary Work in England (A.D. 597), + THE VENERABLE BEDE + JOHN R. GREEN + +The Hegira: Career of Mahomet +The Koran: and Mahometan Creed (A.D. 622), + WASHINGTON IRVING + SIMON OCKLEY + +The Saracen Conquest of Syria (A.D. 636), + SIMON OCKLEY + +Saracens Conquer Egypt +Destruction of the Library at Alexandria (A.D. 640), + WASHINGTON IRVING + +Evolution of the Dogeship in Venice (A.D. 697), + WILLIAM C. HAZLITT + +Saracens in Spain +Battle of the Guadalete (A.D. 711), + AHMED IBN MAHOMET AL-MAKKARI + +Battle of Tours (A.D. 732), + SIR EDWARD S. CREASY + +Founding of the Carlovingian Dynasty +Pepin the Short Usurps the Frankish Crown (A.D. 751), + FRANCOIS P.G. GUIZOT + +Career of Charlemagne (A.D. 772-814), + FRANCOIS P.G. GUIZOT + +Egbert Becomes King of the Anglo-Saxon +Heptarchy (A.D. 827), + DAVID HUME + +Universal Chronology (A.D. 410-842), + JOHN RUDD + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +VOLUME IV + + +A captive's wife pleads with the barbarian chief for +the life of her husband, Frontispiece + Painting by R. Peacock. + +Mahomet, preaching the unity of God, enters Mecca +at the head of his victorious followers, + Painting by A. Mueller. + + + + +[Illustration: A captive's wife pleads with the barbarian chief for the +life of her husband + +Painting by R. Peacock.] + + + + + +AN OUTLINE NARRATIVE + +TRACING BRIEFLY THE CAUSES, CONNECTIONS, AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE GREAT +EVENTS + +(FROM THE FALL OF ROME TO THE EMPIRE OF CHARLEMAGNE) + +CHARLES F. HORNE + + +Our modern civilization is built up on three great corner-stones, three +inestimably valuable heritages from the past. The Graeco-Roman +civilization gave us our arts and our philosophies, the bases of +intellectual power. The Hebrews bequeathed to us the religious idea, +which has saved man from despair, has been the potent stimulus to two +thousand years of endurance and hope. The Teutons gave us a healthy, +sturdy, uncontaminated physique, honest bodies and clean minds, the lack +of which had made further progress impossible to the ancient world. + +This last is what made necessary the barbarian overthrow of Rome, if the +world was still to advance. The slowly progressing knowledge of the arts +and handicrafts which we have seen passed down from Egypt to Babylonia, +to Persia, Greece, and Rome, had not been acquired without heavy loss. +The system of slavery which allowed the few to think, while the many +were constrained to toil as beasts, had eaten like a canker into the +heart of society. The Roman world was repeating the oft-told tale of the +past, and sinking into the lifeless formalism of which Egypt was the +type. Man had become wise, but worthless. + +As though on purpose to prove to future generations how utterly +worthless, the Roman civilization was allowed to continue uninterrupted +in one unneeded corner of its former domains. For over a thousand years +the successors of Theodosius and of Constantine held unbroken sway in +the capital which the latter had founded. They only succeeded in +emphasizing how futile their culture had become. + +The entire ten centuries that followed the overthrow of Rome have long +been spoken of as the "Dark Ages," but, considering how infinitely +darker those same ages must have become without the intervention of the +Teutons, present criticism begins to protest against the term. All that +was lost with the ancient world was something of intellectual keenness, +something of artistic culture, quickly regained when man was once more +ripe for them. What the Teutons had to offer of infinitely greater +worth, what they had developed in their cold, northern forests, was +their sense of liberty and equality, their love of honesty, their +respect for womankind. It is not too much to say that, without these, +any higher progress was, and always will be, impossible. + +In short, the Roman and Grecian races had become impotent and decrepit. +The high destiny of man lay not with them, but with the younger race, +for whom all earlier civilizations had but prepared the way. + +Who were these Teutons? Rome knew them only vaguely as wild tribes +dwelling in the gloom of the great forest wilderness. In reality they +were but the vanguard of vast races of human beings who through ages had +been slowly populating all Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. Beyond the +Teutons were other Aryans, the Slavs. Beyond these were vague non-Aryan +races like the Huns, content to direct their careers of slaughter +against one another, and only occasionally and for a moment flaring with +red-fire beacons of ruin along the edge of the Aryan world. + +Some at least of the Teutonic tribes had grown partly civilized. The +Germans along the Rhine, and the Goths along the Danube, had been from +the time of Augustus in more or less close contact with Rome. Germanicus +had once subdued almost the whole of Germany; later emperors had held +temporarily the broad province of Dacia, beyond the Danube. The +barbarians were eagerly enlisted in the Roman army. During the closing +centuries of decadence they became its main support; they rose to high +commands; there were even barbarian emperors at last. The intermingling +of the two worlds thus became extensive, and the Teutons learned much of +Rome. The Goths whom Theodosius permitted to settle within its dominions +were already partly Christian. + + +THE PERIOD OF INVASION + +It was these same Goths who became the immediate cause of Rome's +downfall. Theodosius had kept them in restraint; his feeble sons scarce +even attempted it. The intruders found a famous leader in Alaric, and, +after plundering most of the Grecian peninsula, they ravaged Italy, +ending in 410 with the sack of Rome itself.[1] + +This seems to us, perhaps, a greater event than it did to its own +generation. The "Emperor of the West," the degenerate son of Theodosius, +was not within the city when it fell; and the story is told that, on +hearing the news, he expressed relief, because he had at first +understood that the evil tidings referred to the death of a favorite hen +named Rome. The tale emphasizes the disgrace of the famous capital; it +had sunk to be but one city among many. Alaric's Goths had been +nominally an army belonging to the Emperor of the East; their invasion +was regarded as only one more civil war. + +Besides, the Roman world might yet have proved itself big enough to +assimilate and engulf the entire mass of this already half-civilized +people. Its name was still a spell on them. Ataulf, the successor of +Alaric, was proud to accept a Roman title and become a defender of the +Empire. He marched his followers into Gaul under a commission to +chastise the "barbarians" who were desolating it. + +These later comers were the instruments of that more overwhelming +destruction for which the Goths had but prepared the way. To resist +Alaric, the Roman legions had been withdrawn from all the western +frontiers, and thus more distant and far more savage tribes of the +Teutons beheld the glittering empire unprotected, its pathways most +alluringly left open. They began streaming across the undefended Rhine +and Danube. Their bands were often small and feeble, such as earlier +emperors would have turned back with ease; but now all this fascinating +world of wealth, so dimly known and doubtless fiercely coveted, lay +helpless, open to their plundering. The Vandals ravaged Gaul and Spain, +and, being defeated by the Goths, passed on into Africa. The Saxons and +Angles penetrated England[2] and fought there for centuries against the +desperate Britons, whom the Roman legions had perforce abandoned to +their fate. The Franks and Burgundians plundered Gaul. + +Fortunately the invading tribes were on the whole a kindly race. When +they joyously whirled their huge battle-axes against iron helmets, +smashing down through bone and brain beneath, their delight was not in +the scream of the unlucky wretch within, but in their own vigorous sweep +of muscle, in the conscious power of the blow. Fierce they were, but not +coldly cruel like the ancients. The condition of the lower classes +certainly became no worse for their invasion; it probably improved. Much +the new-comers undoubtedly destroyed in pure wantonness. But there was +much more that they admired, half understood, and sought to save. + +Behind them, however, came a conqueror of far more terrible mood. We +have seen that when the Goths first entered Roman territory they were +driven on by a vast migration of the Asiatic Huns. These wild and +hideous tribes then spent half a century roaming through central Europe, +ere they were gathered into one huge body by their great chief, Attila, +and in their turn approached the shattered regions of the +Mediterranean.[3] Their invasion, if we are to trust the tales of their +enemies, from whom alone we know of them, was incalculably more +destructive than all those of the Teutons combined. The Huns delighted +in suffering; they slew for the sake of slaughter. Where they passed +they left naught but an empty desert, burned and blackened and devoid of +life. + +Crossing the Danube, they ravaged the Roman Empire of the East almost +without opposition. Only the impregnable walls of Constantinople +resisted the destruction. A few years later the savage horde appeared +upon the Rhine, and in enormous numbers penetrated Gaul. No people had +yet understood them, none had even checked their career. The white races +seemed helpless against this "yellow peril," this "Scourge of God," as +Attila was called. + +Goths and Romans and all the varied tribes which were ranging in +perturbed whirl through unhappy Gaul laid aside their lesser enmities +and met in common cause against this terrible invader. The battle of +Chalons, 451,[4] was the most tremendous struggle in which Turanian was +ever matched against Aryan, the one huge bid of the stagnant, +unprogressive races, for earth's mastery. + +Old chronicles rise into poetry at thought of that immeasurable battle. +They figure the slain by hundred thousands; they describe the souls of +the dead as rising above the bodies and continuing their furious +struggle in the air. Attila was checked and drew back. Defeated we can +scarce call him, for only a year or so later we find him ravaging Italy. +Fugitives fleeing before him to the marshes lay the first stones of +Venice.[5] Leo, the great Pope, pleads with him for Rome. His forces, +however, are obviously weaker than they were. He retreats; and after his +death his irresponsible followers disappear forever in the wilderness. + + +THE PERIOD OF SETTLEMENT + +Toward the close of this tumultuous fifth century, the various Teutonic +tribes show distinct tendencies toward settling down and forming +kingdoms amid the various lands they have overrun. The Vandals build a +state in Africa, and from the old site of Carthage send their ships to +the second sack of Rome. The Visigoths form a Spanish kingdom, which +lasts over two hundred years. The Ostrogoths construct an empire in +Italy (493-554), and, under the wise rule of their chieftain Theodoric, +men joyfully proclaim that peace and happiness and prosperity have +returned to earth. Most important of all in its bearing upon later +history, the Franks under Clovis begin the building of France.[6] + +Encouraged by these milder days, the Roman emperors of Constantinople +attempt to reclaim their old domain. The reign of Justinian begins +(527-565), and his great general Belisarius temporarily wins back for +him both Africa and Italy. This was a comparatively unimportant detail, +a mere momentary reversal of the historic tide. Justinian did for the +future a far more noted service. + +If there was one subject which Roman officials had learned thoroughly +through their many generations of rule, it was the set of principles by +which judges must be guided in their endeavor to do justice. Long +practical experience of administration made the Romans the great +law-givers of antiquity. And now Justinian set his lawyers to work to +gather into a single code, or "digest," all the scattered and elaborate +rules and decisions which had place in their gigantic system.[7] + +It is this Code of Justinian which, handed down through the ages, stands +as the basis of much of our law to-day. It shapes our social world, it +governs the fundamental relations between man and man. There are not +wanting those who believe its principles are wrong, who aver that man's +true attitude toward his fellows should be wholly different from its +present artificial pose. But whether for better or for worse we live +to-day by Roman law. + +This law the Teutons were slowly absorbing. They accepted the general +structure of the world into which they had thrust themselves; they +continued its style of building and many of its rougher arts; they even +adopted its language, though in such confused and awkward fashion that +Italy, France, and Spain grew each to have a dialect of its own. And +most important of all, they accepted the religion, the Christian +religion of Rome. Missionaries venture forth again. Augustine preaches +in England.[8] Boniface penetrates the German wilds. + +It must not be supposed that the moment a Teuton accepted baptism he +became filled with a pure Christian spirit of meekness and of love. On +the contrary, he probably remained much the same drunken, roistering +heathen as before. But he was brought in contact with noble examples in +the lives of some of the Christian bishops around him; great truths +began to touch his mobile nature; he was impressed, softened; he began +to think and feel. + +Given a couple of centuries of this, we really begin to see some very +encouraging results. We realize that for once we are being allowed to +study a civilization in its earlier stages, to be present almost at its +birth, to watch the methods of the Master-builder in the making of a +race. Gazing at similar developments in the days of Egypt and Babylon, +we guessed vaguely that they must have been of slowest growth. Here at +last one takes place under our eyes, and it does not need so many ages +after all. There is no study more fascinating than to trace the slow +changes stamping themselves ineradicably upon the Teutonic mind and soul +during these misty far-off centuries of turmoil. + +On the whole, of course, the sixth, seventh, and even the eighth +centuries form a period of strife. The Teutons had spent too many ages +warring against one another in petty strife to abandon the pleasure in a +single generation. Men fought because they liked fighting, much as they +play football to-day. Then, too, there came another great outburst of +Semite religious enthusiasm. Mahomet[9] started the Arabs on their +remarkable career of conquest. + + +THE MAHOMETAN OUTBURST + +Mahomet himself died (632) before he had fully established his influence +even over Arabia: his successors had practically to reconquer it. Yet +within five years of his death the Arabs had mastered Syria.[10] They +spread like some sudden, unexpected, immeasurable whirlwind. Ancient +Persia went down before them. By 640 they had trampled Egypt under foot, +and destroyed the celebrated Alexandrian library.[11] They swept over +all Africa, completely obliterating every trace of Vandal or of Roman. +Their dominion reached farther east than that of Alexander. They wrested +most of its Asiatic possessions from the pretentious Empire at +Constantinople, and reduced that exhausted State to a condition of +weakness from which it never arose. Then, passing on through their +African possessions, they entered Spain and overthrew the kingdom of +the Visigoths.[12] It was a storm whose end no man could measure, whose +coming none could have foreseen. And then, just a century after +Mahomet's death, the Arabs, pressing on through Spain, encountered the +Franks on the plains of France. + +A thousand years had passed since Semitic Carthage had fallen before +Aryan Rome. Now once again the Semites, far more dangerous because in +the full tide of the religious frenzy of their race, threatened to +engulf the Aryan world. They were repulsed by the still sturdy Franks +under their great leader, Charles Martel, at Tours. The battle of +Tours[13] was only less momentous to the human race than that of +Chalons. What the Arab domination of Europe would have meant we can +partly guess by looking at the lax and lawless states of Northern Africa +to-day. These fair lands, under both Roman and Vandal, had long been +sharing the lot of Aryan Europe; they seemed destined to follow in its +growth and fortune. But the Arab conquest restored them to Semitism, +made Asia the seat from which they were to have their training, attached +them to the chariot of sloth instead of that of effort. What they are +to-day, all Europe might have been. + +Yet with the picture of these fifth and sixth and seventh centuries of +battle full before us, we are not tempted to glory overmuch even in such +victories as Tours and Chalons. We see war for what it has ever +been--the curse of man, the hugest hinderance to our civilization. While +men fight they have small time for thought or art or any soft or kindly +sentiment. The survivors may with good luck develop into a stronger +breed; they are inevitably more brutal. + +We thus begin to recognize just how necessary for human progress was the +work Rome had been engaged in. By holding the world at peace, she had +given humankind at least the opportunity to grow. The moment her +restraining hand was shaken off, war sprang up everywhere. Not only do +we find the inheritors of her territory fighting among themselves, they +are exposed to the savagery of Attila, the fury of the Arabs. New bands +of more distant Teutons come, ever pushing in amid their half-settled +brethren, overthrowing them in turn. The Lombards capture Northern +Italy, only Venice remaining safe amid her marshes.[14] The +East-Franks--that is, the semi-barbarians still remaining in the +wilderness--master the more cultured West-Franks, who hold Gaul. No +sooner does civilization start up than it is trodden on. + + +THE EMPIRE OF CHARLEMAGNE + +At length there arose among the Franks a series of stalwart rulers, +keen-eyed, penetrating somewhat at least into the meaning of their +world, determined to have peace if they must fight for it. Charles +Martel was one of these. Then came his son Pepin,[15] who held out his +hand to the bishops of Rome, acknowledged their vast civilizing +influence, saved them from the Lombards, and joined church and state +once more in harmony. After Pepin came his son, Charlemagne, whose reign +marks an epoch of the world. The peace his fathers had striven for, he +won at last, though only, as they had done, by constant fighting. He +attacked the Arabs and reduced them to permanent feebleness in Spain. He +turned backward the Teutonic movement, marching his Franks into the +German forests, and in campaign after campaign defeating the wild tribes +that still remained there. The strongest of them, the Saxons, accepted +an enforced Christianity. Even the vague races beyond the German borders +were so harried, so weakened, that they ceased to be a serious menace. + +Charlemagne[16] had thus in very truth created a new empire. He had +established at least one central spot, so hedged round by border +dependencies that no later wave of barbarians ever quite succeeded in +submerging it. The bones of the great Emperor, in their cathedral +sepulchre at Aix, have never been disturbed by an unfriendly hand, Paris +submitted to no new conquest until over a thousand years later, when the +nineteenth century had stolen the barbarity from war. It was then no +more than a just acknowledgment of Charlemagne's work when, on Christmas +Day of the year 800, as he rose from kneeling at the cathedral altar in +Rome, he was crowned by the Pope whom he had defended, and hailed by an +enthusiastic people as lord of a re-created "Holy Roman Empire." + +In England, also, the centuries of warfare among the Britons and the +various antagonistic Teutonic tribes seemed drawing to an end. Egbert +established the "heptarchy";[17] that is, became overlord of all the +lesser kings. Truly for a moment civilization seemed reestablished. The +arts returned to prominence. England could send so noteworthy a scholar +as Alcuin to the aid of the great Emperor. Charlemagne encouraged +learning; Alcuin established schools. Once more men sowed and reaped in +security. The "Roman peace" seemed come again. + + +[FOR THE NEXT SECTION OF THIS GENERAL SURVEY SEE VOLUME V.] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] See _Visigoths Pillage Rome_, page 1. + +[2] See _The English Conquest of Britain_, page 55. + +[3] See _Huns Invade the Eastern Roman Empire_, page 28. + +[4] See _Attila Invades Western Europe_, page 72. + +[5] See _Foundation of Venice_, page 95. + +[6] See _Clovis Founds the Kingdom of the Franks_, page 113. + +[7] See _Publication of the Justinian Code_, page 138. + +[8] See _Augustine's Missionary Work in England_, page 182. + +[9] See _The Hegira_, page 198. + +[10] See _The Saracen Conquest of Syria_, page 247. + +[11] See _Saracens Conquer Egypt_, page 278. + +[12] See _Saracens in Spain_, page 301. + +[13] See _Battle of Tours_, page 313. + +[14] See _Evolution of the Dogeship in Venice_, page 292. + +[15] See _Founding of the Carlovingian Dynasty_, page 324. + +[16] See _Career of Charlemagne_, page 334. + +[17] See _Egbert Becomes King of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy_, page 372. + + + + +VISIGOTHS PILLAGE ROME + +A.D. 410 + +EDWARD GIBBON + + Of the two great historical divisions of the Gothic race the + Visigoths or West Goths were admitted into the Roman Empire in A.D. + 376, when they sought protection from the pursuing Huns, and were + transported across the Danube to the Moesian shore. The story of + their gradual progress in civilization and growth in military + power, which at last enabled them to descend with overwhelming + force upon Rome itself, forms one of the romances of history. + + From their first reception into Lower Moesia the Visigoths were + subjected to the most contemptuous and oppressive treatment by the + Romans who had admitted them into their domains. At last the + outraged colonists were provoked to revolt, and a stubborn war + ensued, which was ended at Adrianople, August 9, A.D. 378, by the + defeat of the emperor Valens and the destruction of his army, + two-thirds of his soldiers perishing with Valens himself, whose + body was never found. + + In 382 a treaty was made which restored peace to the Eastern + Empire, the Visigoths nominally owning the sovereignty of Rome, but + living in virtual independence. They continued to increase in + numbers and in power, and in A.D. 395, under Alaric, their King, + they invaded Greece, but were compelled by Stilicho, in 397, to + retire into Epirus. Stilicho was the commander-in-chief of the + Roman army, and the guardian of the young emperor Honorius. Alaric + soon afterward became commander-in-chief of the Roman forces in + Eastern Illyricum and held that office for four years. During that + time he remained quiet, arming and drilling his followers, and + waiting for the opportunity to make a bold stroke for a wider and + more secure dominion. + + In the autumn of A.D. 400, while Stilicho was campaigning in Gaul, + Alaric made his first invasion of Italy, and for more than a year + he ranged at will over the northern part of the peninsula. Rome was + made ready for defence, and Honorius, the weak Emperor of the + Western Empire, prepared for flight into Gaul; but on March 19th of + the year 402, Stilicho surprised the camp of Alaric, near + Pollentia, while most of his followers were at worship, and after a + desperate battle they were beaten. Alaric made a safe retreat, and + soon afterward crossed the Po, intending to march against Rome, but + desertions from his ranks caused him to abandon that purpose. In + 403 he was overtaken and again defeated by Stilicho at Verona, + Alaric himself barely escaping capture. Stilicho, however, + permitted him--some historians say, bribed him--to withdraw to + Illyricum, and he was made prefect of Western Illyricum by + Honorius. Such is the prelude, followed in history by the amazing + exploits of Alaric's second invasion of Italy. + + His troops having revolted at Pavia, Stilicho fled to Ravenna, + where the ungrateful Emperor had him put to death August 23, 408. + In October of that year Alaric crossed the Alps, advancing without + resistance until he reached Ravenna; after threatening Ravenna he + marched upon Rome and began the preparations that ended in the sack + of the city. + +The incapacity of a weak and distracted government may often assume the +appearance, and produce the effects, of a treasonable correspondence +with the public enemy. If Alaric himself had been introduced into the +council of Ravenna, he would probably have advised the same measures +which were actually pursued by the ministers of Honorius. The King of +the Goths would have conspired, perhaps with some reluctance, to destroy +the formidable adversary, by whose arms, in Italy as well as in Greece, +he had been twice overthrown. Their active and interested hatred +laboriously accomplished the disgrace and ruin of the great Stilicho. +The valor of Sarus, his fame in arms, and his personal, or hereditary, +influence over the confederate Barbarians, could recommend him only to +the friends of their country, who despised, or detested, the worthless +characters of Turpilio, Varanes, and Vigilantius. By the pressing +instances of the new favorites, these generals, unworthy as they had +shown themselves of the names of soldiers, were promoted to the command +of the cavalry, of the infantry, and of the domestic troops. The Gothic +prince would have subscribed with pleasure the edict which the +fanaticism of Olympius dictated to the simple and devout Emperor. + +Honorius excluded all persons who were adverse to the Catholic Church +from holding any office in the State; obstinately rejected the service +of all those who dissented from his religion; and rashly disqualified +many of his bravest and most skilful officers who adhered to the pagan +worship or who had imbibed the opinions of Arianism. These measures, so +advantageous to an enemy, Alaric would have approved, and might perhaps +have suggested; but it may seem doubtful whether the Barbarian would +have promoted his interest at the expense of the inhuman and absurd +cruelty which was perpetrated by the direction, or at least with the +connivance, of the imperial ministers. The foreign auxiliaries who had +been attached to the person of Stilicho lamented his death; but the +desire of revenge was checked by a natural apprehension for the safety +of their wives and children, who were detained as hostages in the strong +cities of Italy, where they had likewise deposited their most valuable +effects. + +At the same hour, and as if by a common signal, the cities of Italy were +polluted by the same horrid scenes of universal massacre and pillage +which involved in promiscuous destruction the families and fortunes of +the Barbarians. Exasperated by such an injury, which might have awakened +the tamest and most servile spirit, they cast a look of indignation and +hope toward the camp of Alaric, and unanimously swore to pursue, with +just and implacable war, the perfidious nation that had so basely +violated the laws of hospitality. By the imprudent conduct of the +ministers of Honorius the republic lost the assistance, and deserved the +enmity, of thirty thousand of her bravest soldiers; and the weight of +that formidable army, which alone might have determined the event of the +war, was transferred from the scale of the Romans into that of the +Goths. + +In the arts of negotiation, as well as in those of war, the Gothic King +maintained his superior ascendant over an enemy, whose seeming changes +proceeded from the total want of counsel and design. From his camp, on +the confines of Italy, Alaric attentively observed the revolutions of +the palace, watched the progress of faction and discontent, disguised +the hostile aspect of a Barbarian invader, and assumed the more popular +appearance of the friend and ally of the great Stilicho; to whose +virtues, when they were no longer formidable, he could pay a just +tribute of sincere praise and regret. + +The pressing invitation of the malcontents, who urged the King of the +Goths to invade Italy, was enforced by a lively sense of his personal +injuries; and he might speciously complain that the Imperial ministers +still delayed and eluded the payment of the four thousand pounds of gold +which had been granted by the Roman senate, either to reward his +services or to appease his fury. His decent firmness was supported by an +artful moderation, which contributed to the success of his designs. He +required a fair and reasonable satisfaction; but he gave the strongest +assurances that, as soon as he had obtained it, he would immediately +retire. He refused to trust the faith of the Romans, unless Aetius and +Jason, the sons of two great officers of state, were sent as hostages to +his camp; but he offered to deliver, in exchange, several of the noblest +youths of the Gothic nation. The modesty of Alaric was interpreted, by +the ministers of Ravenna, as a sure evidence of his weakness and fear. +They disdained either to negotiate a treaty or to assemble an army; and +with a rash confidence, derived only from their ignorance of the extreme +danger, irretrievably wasted the decisive moments of peace and war. +While they expected, in sullen silence, that the Barbarians should +evacuate the confines of Italy, Alaric, with bold and rapid marches, +passed the Alps and the Po; hastily pillaged the cities of Aquileia, +Altinum, Concordia, and Cremona, which yielded to his arms; increased +his forces by the accession of thirty thousand auxiliaries; and, without +meeting a single enemy in the field, advanced as far as the edge of the +morass which protected the impregnable residence of the Emperor of the +West. + +Instead of attempting the hopeless siege of Ravenna, the prudent leader +of the Goths proceeded to Rimini, stretched his ravages along the +sea-coast of the Adriatic, and meditated the conquest of the ancient +mistress of the world. An Italian hermit, whose zeal and sanctity were +respected by the Barbarians themselves, encountered the victorious +monarch, and boldly denounced the indignation of heaven against the +oppressors of the earth; but the saint himself was confounded by the +solemn asseveration of Alaric, that he felt a secret and preternatural +impulse, which directed, and even compelled, his march to the gates of +Rome. He felt that his genius and his fortune were equal to the most +arduous enterprises; and the enthusiasm which he communicated to the +Goths insensibly removed the popular, and almost superstitious, +reverence of the nations for the majesty of the Roman name. His troops, +animated by the hopes of spoil, followed the course of the Flaminian +way, occupied the unguarded passes of the Apennine, descended into the +rich plains of Umbria; and, as they lay encamped on the banks of the +Clitumnus, might wantonly slaughter and devour the milk-white oxen, +which had been so long reserved for the use of Roman triumphs. A lofty +situation, and a seasonable tempest of thunder and lightning, preserved +the little city of Narni; but the King of the Goths, despising the +ignoble prey, still advanced with unabated vigor; and after he had +passed through the stately arches, adorned with the spoils of Barbaric +victories, he pitched his camp under the walls of Rome. + +By a skilful disposition of his numerous forces, who impatiently watched +the moment of an assault, Alaric encompassed the walls, commanded the +twelve principal gates, intercepted all communication with the adjacent +country, and vigilantly guarded the navigation of the Tiber, from which +the Romans derived the surest and most plentiful supply of provisions. +The first emotions of the nobles and of the people were those of +surprise and indignation that a vile Barbarian should dare to insult the +capital of the world; but their arrogance was soon humbled by +misfortune; and their unmanly rage, instead of being directed against an +enemy in arms, was meanly exercised on a defenceless and innocent +victim. Perhaps in the person of Serena, the Romans might have respected +the niece of Theodosius, the aunt, nay, even the adoptive mother, of the +reigning Emperor; but they abhorred the widow of Stilicho; and they +listened with credulous passion to the tale of calumny, which accused +her of maintaining a secret and criminal correspondence with the Gothic +invader. Actuated or overawed by the same popular frenzy, the senate, +without requiring any evidence of her guilt, pronounced the sentence of +her death. Serena was ignominiously strangled; and the infatuated +multitude were astonished to find that this cruel act of injustice did +not immediately produce the retreat of the Barbarians and the +deliverance of the city. + +That unfortunate city gradually experienced the distress of scarcity, +and at length the horrid calamities of famine. The daily allowance of +three pounds of bread was reduced to one-half, to one-third, to nothing; +and the price of corn still continued to rise in a rapid and extravagant +proportion. The poorer citizens, who were unable to purchase the +necessaries of life, solicited the precarious charity of the rich; and +for a while the public misery was alleviated by the humanity of Laeta, +the widow of the emperor Gratian, who had fixed her residence at Rome, +and consecrated to the use of the indigent the princely revenue which +she annually received from the grateful successors of her husband. But +these private and temporary donatives were insufficient to appease the +hunger of a numerous people; and the progress of famine invaded the +marble palaces of the senators themselves. The persons of both sexes, +who had been educated in the enjoyment of ease and luxury, discovered +how little is requisite to supply the demands of nature, and lavished +their unavailing treasures of gold and silver to obtain the coarse and +scanty sustenance which they would formerly have rejected with disdain. +The food the most repugnant to sense or imagination, the aliments the +most unwholesome and pernicious to the constitution, were eagerly +devoured, and fiercely disputed, by the rage of hunger. A dark suspicion +was entertained that some desperate wretches fed on the bodies of their +fellow-creature, whom they had secretly murdered; and even mothers--such +was the horrid conflict of the two most powerful instincts implanted by +nature in the human breast--even mothers are said to have tasted the +flesh of their slaughtered infants! + +Many thousands of the inhabitants of Rome expired in their houses or in +the streets for want of sustenance; and as the public sepulchres without +the walls were in the power of the enemy, the stench which arose from so +many putrid and unburied carcasses infected the air; and the miseries of +famine were succeeded and aggravated by the contagion of a pestilential +disease. The assurances of speedy and effectual relief, which were +repeatedly transmitted from the court of Ravenna, supported for some +time the fainting resolution of the Romans, till at length the despair +of any human aid tempted them to accept the offers of a preternatural +deliverance. Pompeianus, prefect of the city, had been persuaded, by the +art or fanaticism of some Tuscan diviners, that, by the mysterious force +of spells and sacrifices, they could extract the lightning from the +clouds, and point those celestial fires against the camp of the +Barbarians. The important secret was communicated to Innocent, the +Bishop of Rome; and the successor of St. Peter is accused, perhaps with +foundation, of preferring the safety of the republic to the rigid +severity of the Christian worship. But when the question was agitated in +the senate; when it was proposed, as an essential condition, that those +sacrifices should be performed in the Capitol, by the authority, and in +the presence, of the magistrates, the majority of that respectable +assembly, apprehensive either of the divine or of the Imperial +displeasure, refused to join in an act which appeared almost equivalent +to the public restoration of paganism. + +The last resource of the Romans was in the clemency, or at least in the +moderation, of the King of the Goths. The senate, who in this emergency +assumed the supreme powers of government, appointed two ambassadors to +negotiate with the enemy. This important trust was delegated to +Basilius, a senator of Spanish extraction, and already conspicuous in +the administration of provinces; and to John, the first tribune of the +notaries, who was peculiarly qualified by his dexterity in business, as +well as by his former intimacy with the Gothic prince. When they were +introduced into his presence, they declared, perhaps in a more lofty +style than became their abject condition, that the Romans were resolved +to maintain their dignity, either in peace or war; and that, if Alaric +refused them a fair and honorable capitulation, he might sound his +trumpets, and prepare to give battle to an innumerable people, exercised +in arms, and animated by despair. "The thicker the hay, the easier it is +mowed," was the concise reply of the Barbarian; and this rustic metaphor +was accompanied by a loud and insulting laugh, expressive of his +contempt for the menaces of an unwarlike populace, enervated by luxury +before they were emaciated by famine. He then condescended to fix the +ransom which he would accept as the price of his retreat from the walls +of Rome: _all_ the gold and silver in the city, whether it were the +property of the State or of individuals; _all_ the rich and precious +movables; and _all_ the slaves who could prove their title to the name +of _Barbarians_. The ministers of the senate presumed to ask, in a +modest and suppliant tone, "If such, O king, are your demands, what do +you intend to leave us?" + +"_Your lives_!" replied the haughty conqueror. + +They trembled and retired. Yet, before they retired, a short suspension +of arms was granted, which allowed some time for a more temperate +negotiation. The stern features of Alaric were insensibly relaxed; he +abated much of the rigor of his terms; and at length consented to raise +the siege on the immediate payment of five thousand pounds of gold, of +thirty thousand pounds of silver, of four thousand robes of silk, of +three thousand pieces of fine scarlet cloth, and of three thousand +pounds weight of pepper. But the public treasury was exhausted; the +annual rents of the great estates in Italy and the provinces were +intercepted by the calamities of war; the gold and gems had been +exchanged, during the famine, for the vilest sustenance; the hoards of +secret wealth were still concealed by the obstinacy of avarice; and some +remains of consecrated spoils afforded the only resource that could +avert the impending ruin of the city. + +As soon as the Romans had satisfied the rapacious demands of Alaric, +they were restored, in some measure, to the enjoyment of peace and +plenty. Several of the gates were cautiously opened; the importation of +provisions from the river and the adjacent country was no longer +obstructed by the Goths; the citizens resorted in crowds to the free +market, which was held during three days in the suburbs; and while the +merchants who undertook this gainful trade made a considerable profit, +the future subsistence of the city was secured by the ample magazines +which were deposited in the public and private granaries. + +A more regular discipline than could have been expected was maintained +in the camp of Alaric; and the wise Barbarian justified his regard for +the faith of treaties by the just severity with which he chastised a +party of licentious Goths who had insulted some Roman citizens on the +road to Ostia. His army, enriched by the contributions of the capital, +slowly advanced into the fair and fruitful province of Tuscany, where he +proposed to establish his winter quarters; and the Gothic standard +became the refuge of forty thousand Barbarian slaves, who had broken +their chains, and aspired, under the command of their great deliverer, +to revenge the injuries and the disgrace of their cruel servitude. About +the same time he received a more honorable reinforcement of Goths and +Huns, whom Adolphus, the brother of his wife, had conducted, at his +pressing invitation, from the banks of the Danube to those of the +Tiber; and who had cut their way, with some difficulty and loss, through +the superior numbers of the Imperial troops. A victorious leader, who +united the daring spirit of a Barbarian with the art and discipline of a +Roman general, was at the head of a hundred thousand fighting men; and +Italy pronounced, with terror and respect, the formidable name of +Alaric. + +At the distance of fourteen centuries, we may be satisfied with relating +the military exploits of the conquerors of Rome, without presuming to +investigate the motives of their political conduct. + +In the midst of his apparent prosperity, Alaric was conscious, perhaps, +of some secret weakness, some internal defect; or perhaps the moderation +which he displayed was intended only to deceive and disarm the easy +credulity of the ministers of Honorius. The King of the Goths repeatedly +declared that it was his desire to be considered as the friend of peace +and of the Romans. Three senators, at his earnest request, were sent +ambassadors to the court of Ravenna, to solicit the exchange of hostages +and the conclusion of the treaty; and the proposals, which he more +clearly expressed during the course of the negotiations, could only +inspire a doubt of his sincerity as they might seem inadequate to the +state of his fortune. The Barbarian still aspired to the rank of +master-general of the armies of the West; he stipulated an annual +subsidy of corn and money; and he chose the provinces of Dalmatia, +Noricum, and Venetia for the seat of his new kingdom, which would have +commanded the important communication between Italy and the Danube. If +these modest terms should be rejected, Alaric showed a disposition to +relinquish his pecuniary demands, and even to content himself with the +possession of Noricum; an exhausted and impoverished country perpetually +exposed to the inroads of the Barbarians of Germany. + +But the hopes of peace were disappointed by the weak obstinacy, or +interested views, of the minister Olympius. Without listening to the +salutary remonstrances of the senate, he dismissed their ambassadors +under the conduct of a military escort, too numerous for a retinue of +honor and too feeble for an army of defence. Six thousand Dalmatians, +the flower of the Imperial legions, were ordered to march from Ravenna +to Rome, through an open country which was occupied by the formidable +myriads of the Barbarians. These brave legionaries, encompassed and +betrayed, fell a sacrifice to ministerial folly; their general, Valens, +with a hundred soldiers, escaped from the field of battle; and one of +the ambassadors, who could no longer claim the protection of the law of +nations, was obliged to purchase his freedom with a ransom of thirty +thousand pieces of gold. Yet Alarie, instead of resenting this act of +impotent hostility, immediately renewed his proposals of peace; and the +second embassy of the Roman senate, which derived weight and dignity +from the presence of Innocent, bishop of the city, was guarded from the +dangers of the road by a detachment of Gothic soldiers. + +Olympius might have continued to insult the just resentment of a people +who loudly accused him as the author of the public calamities; but his +power was undermined by the secret intrigues of the palace. The favorite +eunuchs transferred the government of Honorius, and the Empire, to +Jovius, the praetorian prefect; an unworthy servant, who did not atone, +by the merit of personal attachment, for the errors and misfortunes of +his administration. The exile, or escape, of the guilty Olympius, +reserved him for more vicissitudes of fortune: he experienced the +adventure of an obscure and wandering life; he again rose to power; he +fell a second time into disgrace; his ears were cut off; he expired +under the lash; and his ignominious death afforded a grateful spectacle +to the friends of Stilicho. + +After the removal of Olympius, whose character was deeply tainted with +religious fanaticism, the pagans and heretics were delivered from the +impolitic proscription which excluded them from the dignities of the +State. The brave Gennerid, a soldier of Barbarian origin, who still +adhered to the worship of his ancestors, had been obliged to lay aside +the military belt; and though he was repeatedly assured by the Emperor +himself that laws were not made for persons of his rank or merit, he +refused to accept any partial dispensation, and persevered in honorable +disgrace till he had extorted a general act of justice from the distress +of the Roman Government. The conduct of Gennerid, in the important +station to which he was promoted or restored, of master-general of +Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Rhaetia, seemed to revive the discipline +and spirit of the republic. From a life of idleness and want, his troops +were soon habituated to severe exercise and plentiful subsistence; and +his private generosity often supplied the rewards which were denied by +the avarice, or poverty, of the court of Ravenna. + +The valor of Gennerid, formidable to the adjacent Barbarians, was the +firmest bulwark of the Illyrian frontier; and his vigilant care assisted +the Empire with a reinforcement of ten thousand Huns, who arrived on the +confines of Italy, attended by such a convoy of provisions, and such a +numerous train of sheep and oxen, as might have been sufficient, not +only for the march of an army, but for the settlement of a colony. + +But the court and councils of Honorius still remained a scene of +weakness and distraction, of corruption and anarchy. Instigated by the +prefect Jovius, the guards rose in furious mutiny, and demanded the +heads of two generals and of the two principal eunuchs. The generals, +under a perfidious promise of safety, were sent on shipboard and +privately executed; while the favor of the eunuchs procured them a mild +and secure exile at Milan and Constantinople. Eusebius the eunuch, and +the Barbarian Allobich, succeeded to the command of the bed-chamber and +of the guards; and the mutual jealousy of these subordinate ministers +was the cause of their mutual destruction. By the insolent order of the +count of the domestics, the great chamberlain was shamefully beaten to +death with sticks, before the eyes of the astonished Emperor; and the +subsequent assassination of Allobich, in the midst of a public +procession, is the only circumstance of his life in which Honorius +discovered the faintest symptom of courage or resentment. + +Yet before they fell, Eusebius and Allobich had contributed their part +to the ruin of the Empire, by opposing the conclusion of a treaty which +Jovius, from a selfish, and perhaps a criminal, motive, had negotiated +with Alaric, in a personal interview under the walls of Rimini. During +the absence of Jovius, the Emperor was persuaded to assume a lofty tone +of inflexible dignity, such as neither his situation nor his character +could enable him to support; and a letter, signed with the name of +Honorius, was immediately despatched to the praetorian prefect, granting +him a free permission to dispose of the public money, but sternly +refusing to prostitute the military honors of Rome to the proud demands +of a Barbarian. This letter was imprudently communicated to Alaric +himself; and the Goth, who in the whole transaction had behaved with +temper and decency, expressed, in the most outrageous language, his +lively sense of the insult so wantonly offered to his person and to his +nation. + +The conference of Rimini was hastily interrupted; and the prefect +Jovius, on his return to Ravenna, was compelled to adopt, and even to +encourage, the fashionable opinions of the court. By his advice and +example, the principal officers of the State and army were obliged to +swear that, without listening, in any circumstances, to any conditions +of peace, they would still persevere in perpetual and implacable war +against the enemy of the republic. This rash engagement opposed an +insuperable bar to all future negotiation. The ministers of Honorius +were heard to declare that if they had only invoked the name of the +Deity they would consult the public safety, and trust their souls to the +mercy of heaven; but they had sworn by the sacred head of the Emperor +himself; they had touched, in solemn ceremony, that august seat of +majesty and wisdom; and the violation of their oath would expose them, +to the temporal penalties of sacrilege and rebellion. + +While the Emperor and his court enjoyed, with sullen pride, the security +of the marshes and fortifications of Ravenna, they abandoned Rome, +almost without defence, to the resentment of Alaric. Yet such was the +moderation which he still preserved, or affected, that, as he moved with +his army along the Flaminian way, he successively despatched the bishops +of the towns of Italy to reiterate his offers of peace and to conjure +the Emperor that he would save the city and its inhabitants from hostile +fire and the sword of the Barbarians. These impending calamities were, +however, averted, not indeed by the wisdom of Honorius, but by the +prudence or humanity of the Gothic King; who employed a milder, though +not less effectual, method of conquest. Instead of assaulting the +capital, he successfully directed his efforts against the port of Ostia, +one of the boldest and most stupendous works of Roman magnificence. + +The accidents to which the precarious subsistence of the city was +continually exposed in a winter navigation and an open road, had +suggested to the genius of the first Caesar the useful design which was +executed under the reign of Claudius. The artificial moles, which formed +the narrow entrance, advanced far into the sea, and firmly repelled the +fury of the waves, while the largest vessels securely rode at anchor +within three deep and capacious basins, which received the northern +branch of the Tiber, about two miles from the ancient colony of Ostia. +The Roman port insensibly swelled to the size of an episcopal city, +where the corn of Africa was deposited in spacious granaries for the use +of the capital. As soon as Alaric was in possession of that important +place, he summoned the city to surrender at discretion; and his demands +were enforced by the positive declaration that a refusal, or even a +delay, should be instantly followed by the destruction of the magazines, +on which the life of the Roman people depended. The clamors of that +people, and the terror of famine, subdued the pride of the senate; they +listened, without reluctance, to the proposal of placing a new emperor +on the throne of the unworthy Honorius; and the suffrage of the Gothic +conqueror bestowed the purple on Attalus, prefect of the city. The +grateful monarch immediately acknowledged his protector as +master-general of the armies of the West; Adolphus, with the rank of +count of the domestics, obtained the custody of the person of Attalus; +and the two hostile nations seemed to be united in the closest bands of +friendship and alliance. + +The gates of the city were thrown open, and the new Emperor of the +Romans, encompassed on every side by the Gothic arms, was conducted, in +tumultuous procession, to the palace of Augustus and Trajan. After he +had distributed the civil and military dignities among his favorites and +followers, Attalus convened an assembly of the senate; before whom, in a +formal and florid speech, he asserted his resolution of restoring the +majesty of the republic, and of uniting to the Empire the provinces of +Egypt and the East which had once acknowledged the sovereignty of Rome. +Such extravagant promises inspired every reasonable citizen with a just +contempt for the character of an unwarlike usurper, whose elevation was +the deepest and most ignominious wound which the republic had yet +sustained from the insolence of the Barbarians. But the populace, with +their usual levity, applauded the change of masters. The public +discontent was favorable to the rival of Honorius; and the sectaries, +oppressed by his persecuting edicts, expected some degree of +countenance, or at least of toleration, from a prince who, in his native +country of Ionia, had been educated in the pagan superstition, and who +had since received the sacrament of baptism from the hands of an Arian +bishop. + +The first days of the reign of Attains were fair and prosperous. An +officer of confidence was sent with an inconsiderable body of troops to +secure the obedience of Africa; the greatest part of Italy submitted to +the terror of the Gothic powers; and though the city of Bologna made a +vigorous and effectual resistance, the people of Milan, dissatisfied +perhaps with the absence of Honorius, accepted, with loud acclamations, +the choice of the Roman senate. At the head of a formidable army, Alaric +conducted his royal captive almost to the gates of Ravenna; and a solemn +embassy of the principal ministers, of Jovius, the praetorian prefect, of +Valens, master of the cavalry and infantry, of the quaestor Potamius, and +of Julian, the first of the notaries, was introduced, with martial pomp, +into the Gothic camp. In the name of their sovereign, they consented to +acknowledge the lawful election of his competitor, and to divide the +provinces of Italy and the West between the two emperors. Their +proposals were rejected with disdain; and the refusal was aggravated by +the insulting clemency of Attalus, who condescended to promise that, if +Honorius would instantly resign the purple, he should be permitted to +pass the remainder of his life in the peaceful exile of some remote +island. So desperate indeed did the situation of the son of Theodosius +appear, to those who were the best acquainted with his strength and +resources, that Jovius and Valens, his minister and his general, +betrayed their trust, infamously deserted the sinking cause of their +benefactor, and devoted their treacherous allegiance to the service of +his more fortunate rival. + +Astonished by such examples of domestic treason, Honorius trembled at +the approach of every servant, at the arrival of every messenger. He +dreaded the secret enemies who might lurk in his capital, his palace, +his bed-chamber; and some ships lay ready in the harbor of Ravenna to +transport the abdicated monarch to the dominions of his infant nephew, +the Emperor of the East. + +But there is a Providence--such at least was the opinion of the +historian Procopius--that watches over innocence and folly; and the +pretensions of Honorius to its peculiar care cannot reasonably be +disputed. At the moment when his despair, incapable of any wise or manly +resolution, meditated a shameful flight, a seasonable reinforcement of +four thousand veterans unexpectedly landed in the port of Ravenna. To +these valiant strangers, whose fidelity had not been corrupted by the +factions of the court, he committed the walls and gates of the city; and +the slumbers of the Emperor were no longer disturbed by the apprehension +of imminent and internal danger. The favorable intelligence which was +received from Africa suddenly changed the opinions of men and the state +of public affairs. The troops and officers whom Attalus had sent into +that province were defeated and slain; and the active zeal of Heraclian +maintained his own allegiance and that of his people. The faithful Count +of Africa transmitted a large sum of money, which fixed the attachment +of the Imperial guards; and his vigilance in preventing the exportation +of corn and oil introduced famine, tumult, and discontent into the walls +of Rome. + +The failure of the African expedition was the source of mutual complaint +and recrimination in the party of Attalus; and the mind of his protector +was insensibly alienated from the interest of a prince who wanted spirit +to command, or docility to obey. The most imprudent measures were +adopted, without the knowledge, or against the advice, of Alaric; and +the obstinate refusal of the senate to allow, in the embarkation, the +mixture even of five hundred Goths, betrayed a suspicious and +distrustful temper, which, in their situation, was neither generous nor +prudent. The resentment of the Gothic King was exasperated by the +malicious arts of Jovius, who had been raised to the rank of patrician, +and who afterward excused his double perfidy, by declaring, without a +blush, that he had only _seemed_ to abandon the service of Honorius, +more effectually to ruin the cause of the usurper. In a large plain near +Rimini, and in the presence of an innumerable multitude of Romans and +Barbarians, the wretched Attalus was publicly despoiled of the diadem +and purple; and those ensigns of royalty were sent by Alaric, as the +pledge of peace and friendship, to the son of Theodosius. + +The officers who returned to their duty were reinstated in their +employments, and even the merit of a tardy repentance was graciously +allowed; but the degraded Emperor of the Romans, desirous of life and +insensible of disgrace, implored the permission of following the Gothic +camp, in the train of a haughty and capricious Barbarian. + +The degradation of Attalus removed the only real obstacle to the +conclusion of the peace; and Alaric advanced within three miles of +Ravenna, to press the irresolution of the Imperial ministers, whose +insolence soon returned with the return of fortune. His indignation was +kindled by the report that a rival chieftain, that Sarus, the personal +enemy of Adolphus, and the hereditary foe of the house of Balti, had +been received into the palace. At the head of three hundred followers, +that fearless Barbarian immediately sallied from the gates of Ravenna; +surprised, and cut in pieces, a considerable body of Goths; reentered +the city in triumph; and was permitted to insult his adversary by the +voice of a herald, who publicly declared that the guilt of Alaric had +forever excluded him from the friendship and alliance of the Emperor. + +The crime and folly of the court of Ravenna were expiated a third time +by the calamities of Rome. The King of the Goths, who no longer +dissembled his appetite for plunder and revenge, appeared in arms under +the walls of the capital; and the trembling senate, without any hopes of +relief, prepared, by a desperate resistance, to delay the ruin of their +country. But they were unable to guard against the secret conspiracy of +their slaves and domestics; who, either from birth or interest, were +attached to the cause of the enemy. At the hour of midnight the Salarian +gate was silently opened, and the inhabitants were awakened by the +tremendous sound of the Gothic trumpet. Eleven hundred and sixty-three +years after the foundation of Rome, the Imperial city, which had subdued +and civilized so considerable a part of mankind, was delivered to the +licentious fury of the tribes of Germany and Scythia. + +The proclamation of Alaric, when he forced his entrance into a +vanquished city, discovered, however, some regard for the laws of +humanity and religion. He encouraged his troops boldly to seize the +rewards of valor, and to enrich themselves with the spoils of a wealthy +and effeminate people; but he exhorted them, at the same time, to spare +the lives of the unresisting citizens, and to respect the churches of +the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul as holy and inviolable sanctuaries. +Amid the horrors of a nocturnal tumult, several of the Christian Goths +displayed the fervor of a recent conversion; and some instances of their +uncommon piety and moderation are related, and perhaps adorned, by the +zeal of ecclesiastical writers. + +While the Barbarians roamed through the city in quest of prey, the +humble dwelling of an aged virgin, who had devoted her life to the +service of the altar, was forced open by one of the powerful Goths. He +immediately demanded, though in civil language, all the gold and silver +in her possession; and was astonished at the readiness with which she +conducted him to a splendid hoard of massy plate, of the richest +materials and the most curious workmanship. The Barbarian viewed with +wonder and delight this valuable acquisition, till he was interrupted by +a serious admonition, addressed to him in the following words: "These," +said she, "are the consecrated vessels belonging to St. Peter; if you +presume to touch them, the sacrilegious deed will remain on your +conscience. For my part, I dare not keep what I am unable to defend." +The Gothic captain, struck with reverential awe, despatched a messenger +to inform the King of the treasure which he had discovered; and received +a peremptory order from Alaric, that all the consecrated plate and +ornaments should be transported, without damage or delay, to the church +of the apostle. + +From the extremity, perhaps, of the Quirinal hill, to the distant +quarter of the Vatican, a numerous detachment of Goths, marching in +order of battle through the principal streets, protected, with +glittering arms, the long train of their devout companions, who bore +aloft on their heads the sacred vessels of gold and silver; and the +martial shouts of the Barbarians were mingled with the sound of +religious psalmody. From all the adjacent houses a crowd of Christians +hastened to join this edifying procession; and a multitude of +fugitives, without distinction of age, or rank, or even of sect, had the +good fortune to escape to the secure and hospitable sanctuary of the +Vatican. The learned work, concerning the _City of God_, was professedly +composed by St. Augustine, to justify the ways of Providence in the +destruction of the Roman greatness. He celebrates, with peculiar +satisfaction, this memorable triumph of Christ; and insults his +adversaries by challenging them to produce some similar example of a +town taken by storm, in which the fabulous gods of antiquity had been +able to protect either themselves or their deluded votaries. + +In the sack of Rome, some rare and extraordinary examples of Barbarian +virtue have been deservedly applauded. But the holy precincts of the +Vatican, and the apostolic churches, could receive a very small +proportion of the Roman people; many thousand warriors, more especially +of the Huns, who served under the standard of Alaric, were strangers to +the name, or at least to the faith, of Christ; and we may suspect, +without any breach of charity or candor, that in the hour of savage +license, when every passion was inflamed, and every restraint was +removed, the precepts of the Gospel seldom influenced the behavior of +the Gothic Christians. The writers the best disposed to exaggerate their +clemency have freely confessed that a cruel slaughter was made of the +Romans; and that the streets of the city were filled with dead bodies, +which remained without burial during the general consternation. The +despair of the citizens was sometimes converted into fury; and whenever +the Barbarians were provoked by opposition, they extended the +promiscuous massacre to the feeble, the innocent, and the helpless. The +private revenge of forty thousand slaves was exercised without pity or +remorse; and the ignominious lashes which they had formerly received +were washed away in the blood of the guilty or obnoxious families. The +matrons and virgins of Rome were exposed to injuries more dreadful, in +the apprehension of chastity, than death itself; and the ecclesiastical +historian has selected an example of female virtue for the admiration of +future ages. + +A Roman lady, of singular beauty and orthodox faith, had excited the +impatient desires of a young Goth, who, according to the sagacious +remark of Sozomen, was attached to the Arian heresy. Exasperated by her +obstinate resistance, he drew his sword, and, with the anger of a lover, +slightly wounded her neck. The bleeding heroine still continued to brave +his resentment and to repel his love, till the ravisher desisted from +his unavailing efforts, respectfully conducted her to the sanctuary of +the Vatican, and gave six pieces of gold to the guards of the church, on +condition that they should restore her inviolate to the arms of her +husband. Such instances of courage and generosity were not extremely +common. + +Avarice is an insatiate and universal passion; since the enjoyment of +almost every object that can afford pleasure to the different tastes and +tempers of mankind may be procured by the possession of wealth. In the +pillage of Rome a just preference was given to gold and jewels, which +contain the greatest value in the smallest compass and weight; but after +these portable riches had been removed by the more diligent robbers, the +palaces of Rome were rudely stripped of their splendid and costly +furniture. The sideboards of massy plate, and the variegated wardrobes +of silk and purple, were irregularly piled in the wagons, that always +followed the march of a Gothic army. The most exquisite works of art +were roughly handled or wantonly destroyed; many a statue was melted for +the sake of the precious materials; and many a vase, in the division of +the spoil, was shivered into fragments by the stroke of a battle-axe. +The acquisition of riches served only to stimulate the avarice of the +rapacious Barbarians, who proceeded, by threats, by blows, and by +tortures, to force from their prisoners the confession of hidden +treasure. Visible splendor and expense were alleged as the proof of a +plentiful fortune; the appearance of poverty was imputed to a +parsimonious disposition; and the obstinacy of some misers, who endured +the most cruel torments before they would discover the secret object of +their affection, was fatal to many unhappy wretches, who expired under +the lash for refusing to reveal their imaginary treasures. + +The edifices of Rome--though the damage has been much +exaggerated--received some injury from the violence of the Goths. At +their entrance through the Salarian gate they fired the adjacent houses +to guide their march, and to distract the attention of the citizens; +the flames, which encountered no obstacle in the disorder of the night, +consumed many private and public buildings; and the ruins of the palace +of Sallust remained, in the age of Justinian, a stately monument of the +Gothic conflagration. Yet a contemporary historian has observed that +fire could scarcely consume the enormous beams of solid brass, and that +the strength of man was insufficient to subvert the foundations of +ancient structures. Some truth may possibly be concealed in his devout +assertion that the wrath of heaven supplied the imperfections of hostile +rage; and that the proud Forum of Rome, decorated with the statues of so +many gods and heroes, was levelled in the dust by the stroke of +lightning. + +Whatever might be the number of equestrian or plebeian rank who perished +in the massacre of Rome, it is confidently affirmed that only one +senator lost his life by the sword of the enemy. But it was not easy to +compute the multitudes who, from an honorable station and a prosperous +fortune, were suddenly reduced to the miserable condition of captives +and exiles. As the Barbarians had more occasion for money than for +slaves, they fixed a moderate price for the redemption of their indigent +prisoners; and the ransom was often paid by the benevolence of their +friends or the charity of strangers. + +The captives, who were regularly sold either in open market or by +private contract, would have legally regained their native freedom, +which it was impossible for a citizen to lose or to alienate. But as it +was soon discovered that the vindication of their liberty would endanger +their lives; and that the Goths, unless they were tempted to sell, might +be provoked to murder their useless prisoners; the civil jurisprudence +had been already qualified by a wise regulation that they should be +obliged to serve the moderate term of five years, till they had +discharged by their labor the price of their redemption. + +The nations who invaded the Roman Empire had driven before them, into +Italy, whole troops of hungry and affrighted provincials, less +apprehensive of servitude than of famine. The calamities of Rome and +Italy dispersed the inhabitants to the most lonely, the most secure, the +most distant places of refuge. While the Gothic cavalry spread terror +and desolation along the sea-coast of Campania and Tuscany, the little +island of Igilium, separated by a narrow channel from the Argentarian +promontory, repulsed, or eluded, their hostile attempts; and at so small +a distance from Rome, great numbers of citizens were securely concealed +in the thick woods of that sequestered spot. The ample patrimonies, +which many senatorian families possessed in Africa, invited them, if +they had time, and prudence, to escape from the ruin of their country, +to embrace the shelter of that hospitable province. The most illustrious +of these fugitives was the noble and pious Proba, the widow of the +prefect Petronius. After the death of her husband, the most powerful +subject of Rome, she had remained at the head of the Anician family, and +successively supplied, from her private fortune, the expense of the +consulships of her three sons. When the city was besieged and taken by +the Goths, Proba supported, with Christian resignation, the loss of +immense riches; embarked in a small vessel, from whence she beheld, at +sea, the flames of her burning palace, and fled with her daughter Laeta, +and her granddaughter, the celebrated virgin Demetrias, to the coast of +Africa. The benevolent profusion with which the matron distributed the +fruits, or the price, of her estates, contributed to alleviate the +misfortunes of exile and captivity. But even the family of Proba herself +was not exempt from the rapacious oppression of Count Heraclian, who +basely sold, in matrimonial prostitution, the noblest maidens of Rome to +the lust or avarice of the Syrian merchants. + +The Italian fugitives were dispersed through the provinces, along the +coast of Egypt and Asia, as far as Constantinople and Jerusalem; and the +village of Bethlehem, the solitary residence of St. Jerome and his +female converts, was crowded with illustrious beggars of either sex, and +every age, who excited the public compassion by the remembrance of their +past fortune. This awful catastrophe of Rome filled the astonished +Empire with grief and terror. So interesting a contrast of greatness and +ruin disposed the fond credulity of the people to deplore, and even to +exaggerate, the afflictions of the queen of cities. The clergy, who +applied to recent events the lofty metaphors of oriental prophecy, were +sometimes tempted to confound the destruction of the capital and the +dissolution of the globe. + +There exists in human nature a strong propensity to depreciate the +advantages, and to magnify the evils, of the present times. Yet, when +the first emotions had subsided, and a fair estimate was made of the +real damage, the more learned and judicious contemporaries were forced +to confess that infant Rome had formerly received more essential injury +from the Gauls than she had now sustained from the Goths in her +declining age. The experience of eleven centuries has enabled posterity +to produce a much more singular parallel, and to affirm with confidence +that the ravages of the Barbarians, whom Alaric had led from the banks +of the Danube, were less destructive than the hostilities exercised by +the troops of Charles V, a Catholic prince, who styled himself Emperor +of the Romans. + +The Goths evacuated the city at the end of six days, but Rome remained +above nine months in the possession of the Imperialists, and every hour +was stained by some atrocious act of cruelty, lust, and rapine. The +authority of Alaric preserved some order and moderation among the +ferocious multitude which acknowledged him for their leader and king; +but the constable of Bourbon had gloriously fallen in the attack of the +walls; and the death of the general removed every restraint of +discipline from an army which consisted of three independent nations, +the Italians, the Spaniards, and the Germans. + +The retreat of the victorious Goths, who evacuated Rome on the sixth +day, might be the result of prudence; but it was not surely the effect +of fear. At the head of an army encumbered with rich and weighty spoils, +their intrepid leader advanced along the Appian way into the southern +provinces of Italy, destroying whatever dared to oppose his passage, and +contenting himself with the plunder of the unresisting country. + +Above four years elapsed from the successful invasion of Italy by the +arms of Alaric to the voluntary retreat of the Goths under the conduct +of his successor Adolphus; and during the whole time they reigned +without control over a country which, in the opinion of the ancients, +had united all the various excellences of nature and art. The +prosperity, indeed, which Italy had attained in the auspicious age of +the Antonines had gradually declined with the decline of the Empire. The +fruits of a long peace perished under the rude grasp of the Barbarians; +and they themselves were incapable of tasting the more elegant +refinements of luxury which had been prepared for the use of the soft +and polished Italians. Each soldier, however, claimed an ample portion +of the substantial plenty, the corn and cattle, oil and wine that was +daily collected and consumed in the Gothic camp; and the principal +warriors insulted the villas and gardens, once inhabited by Lucullus and +Cicero, along the beauteous coast of Campania. Their trembling captives, +the sons and daughters of Roman senators, presented, in goblets of gold +and gems, large draughts of Falernian wine to the haughty victors, who +stretched their huge limbs under the shade of plane trees, artificially +disposed to exclude the scorching rays and to admit the genial warmth of +the sun. These delights were enhanced by the memory of past hardships; +the comparison of their native soil, the bleak and barren hills of +Scythia, and the frozen banks of the Elbe and Danube added new charms to +the felicity of the Italian climate.[18] + +Whether fame or conquest or riches were the object of Alaric, he pursued +that object with an indefatigable ardor which could neither be quelled +by adversity nor satiated by success. No sooner had he reached the +extreme land of Italy than he was attracted by the neighboring prospect +of a fertile and peaceful island. Yet even the possession of Sicily he +considered only as an intermediate step to the important expedition +which he already meditated against the continent of Africa. + +The whole design was defeated by the premature death of Alaric, which +fixed, after a short illness, the fatal term of his conquests. The +ferocious character of the Barbarians was displayed in the funeral of a +hero whose valor and fortune they celebrated with mournful applause. By +the labor of a captive multitude, they forcibly diverted the course of +the Busentinus, a small river that washes the walls of Consentia. The +royal sepulchre, adorned with the splendid spoils and trophies of Rome, +was constructed in the vacant bed; the waters were then restored to +their natural channel, and the secret spot where the remains of Alaric +had been deposited was forever concealed by the inhuman massacre of the +prisoners who had been employed to execute the work. + +The personal animosities and hereditary feuds of the Barbarians were +suspended by the strong necessity of their affairs, and the brave +Adolphus, the brother-in-law of the deceased monarch, was unanimously +elected to succeed to his throne. The character and political system of +the new King of the Goths may be best understood from his own +conversation with an illustrious citizen of Narbonne; who afterward, in +a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, related it to St. Jerome, in the presence +of the historian Orosius. "In the full confidence of valor and victory, +I once aspired (said. Adolphus) to change the face of the universe; to +obliterate the name of Rome; to erect on its ruins the dominion of the +Goths; and to acquire, like Augustus, the immortal fame of the founder +of a new empire. By repeated experiments I was gradually convinced that +laws are essentially necessary to maintain and regulate a +well-constituted state; and that the fierce, untractable humor of the +Goths was incapable of bearing the salutary yoke of laws and civil +government. From that moment I proposed to myself a different object of +glory and ambition; and it is now my sincere wish that the gratitude of +future ages should acknowledge the merit of a stranger who employed the +sword of the Goths, not to subvert, but to restore and maintain, the +prosperity of the Roman Empire." With these pacific views, the successor +of Alaric suspended the operations of war, and seriously negotiated with +the Imperial court a treaty of friendship and alliance. It was the +interest of the ministers of Honorius, who were now released from, the +obligation of their extravagant oath, to deliver Italy from the +intolerable weight of the Gothic powers; and they readily accepted their +service against the tyrants and Barbarians who infested the provinces +beyond the Alps. Adolphus, assuming the character of a Roman general, +directed his march from the extremity of Campania to the southern +provinces of Gaul. His troops, either by force or agreement, +immediately occupied the cities of Narbonne, Toulouse, and Bordeaux; and +though they were repulsed by Count Boniface from the walls of +Marseilles, they soon extended their quarters from the Mediterranean to +the ocean. The oppressed provincials might exclaim that the miserable +remnant which the enemy had spared was cruelly ravished by their +pretended allies; yet some specious colors were not wanting to palliate, +or justify, the violence of the Goths. The cities of Gaul, which they +attacked, might perhaps be considered as in a state of rebellion against +the government of Honorius; the articles of the treaty or the secret +instructions of the court might sometimes be alleged in favor of the +seeming usurpations of Adolphus; and the guilt of any irregular, +unsuccessful act of hostility might always be imputed, with an +appearance of truth, to the ungovernable spirit of a Barbarian host, +impatient of peace or discipline. The luxury of Italy had been less +effectual to soften the temper than to relax the courage of the Goths; +and they had imbibed the vices, without imitating the arts and +institutions, of civilized society. + +The professions of Adolphus were probably sincere, and his attachment to +the cause of the republic was secured by the ascendant which a Roman +princess had acquired over the heart and understanding of the Barbarian +king. Placidia, the daughter of the great Theodosius, and of Galla, his +second wife, had received a royal education in the palace of +Constantinople; but the eventful story of her life is connected with the +revolutions which agitated the Western Empire under the reign of her +brother Honorius. When Rome was first invested by the arms of Alaric, +Placidia, who was then about twenty years of age, resided in the city; +and her ready consent to the death of her cousin Serena has a cruel and +ungrateful appearance, which, according to the circumstances of the +action, may be aggravated, or excused, by the consideration of her +tender age. The victorious Barbarians detained, either as a hostage or a +captive, the sister of Honorius; but, while she was exposed to the +disgrace of following round Italy the motions of a Gothic camp, she +experienced, however, a decent and respectful treatment. The authority +of Jornandes, who praises the beauty of Placidia, may perhaps be +counterbalanced by the silence, the expressive silence, of her +flatterers; yet the splendor of her birth, the bloom of youth, the +elegance of manners, and the dexterous insinuation which she +condescended to employ, made a deep impression on the mind of Adolphus, +and the Gothic King aspired to call himself the brother of the Emperor. +The ministers of Honorius rejected with disdain the proposal of an +alliance so injurious to every sentiment of Roman pride, and repeatedly +urged the restitution of Placidia as an indispensable condition of the +treaty of peace. But the daughter of Theodosius submitted, without +reluctance, to the desires of the conqueror, a young and valiant prince, +who yielded to Alaric in loftiness of stature, but who excelled in the +more attractive qualities of grace and beauty. The marriage of Adolphus +and Placidia was consummated before the Goths retired from Italy; and +the solemn, perhaps the anniversary, day of their nuptials was afterward +celebrated in the house of Ingenuus, one of the most illustrious +citizens of Narbonne in Gaul. The bride, attired and adorned like a +Roman empress, was placed on a throne of state; and the King of the +Goths, who assumed, on this occasion, the Roman habit, contented himself +with a less honorable seat by her side. The nuptial gift which, +according to the custom of his nation, was offered to Placidia, +consisted of the rare and magnificent spoils of her country. Fifty +beautiful youths, in silken robes, carried a basin in each hand; and one +of these basins was filled with pieces of gold, the other with precious +stones of an inestimable value. Attalus, so long the sport of fortune +and of the Goths, was appointed to lead the chorus of the hymeneal song; +and the degraded Emperor might aspire to the praise of a skilful +musician. The Barbarians enjoyed the insolence of their triumph; and the +provincials rejoiced in this alliance, which tempered, by the mild +influence of love and reason, the fierce spirit of their Gothic lord. + +After the deliverance of Italy from the oppression of the Goths, some +secret counsellor was permitted, amid the factions of the palace, to +heal the wounds of that afflicted country. By a wise and humane +regulation the eight provinces which had been the most deeply injured, +Campania, Tuscany, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Calabria, Bruttium, and +Lucania, obtained an indulgence of five years; the ordinary tribute was +reduced to one-fifth, and even that fifth was destined to restore and +support the useful institution of the public posts. By another law, the +lands which had been left without inhabitants or cultivation were +granted, with some diminution of taxes, to the neighbors who should +occupy or the strangers who should solicit them; and the new possessors +were secured against the future claims of the fugitive proprietors. +About the same time a general amnesty was published in the name of +Honorius, to abolish the guilt and memory of all the _involuntary_ +offences which had been committed by his unhappy subjects during the +term of the public disorder and calamity. A decent and respectful +attention was paid to the restoration of the capital; the citizens were +encouraged to rebuild the edifices which had been destroyed or damaged +by hostile fire; and extraordinary supplies of corn were imported from +the coast of Africa. The crowds that so lately fled before the sword of +the Barbarians were soon recalled by the hopes of plenty and pleasure; +and Albinus, prefect of Rome, informed the Court, with some anxiety and +surprise, that in a single day he had taken an account of the arrival of +fourteen thousand strangers. In less than seven years the vestiges of +the Gothic invasion were almost obliterated, and the city appeared to +resume its former splendor and tranquillity. The venerable matron +replaced her crown of laurel, which had been ruffled by the storms of +war; and was still amused, in the last moment of her decay, with the +prophecies of revenge, of victory, and of eternal dominion. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[18] + + "The prostrate South to the destroyer yields + Her boasted titles and her golden fields; + With grim delight the brood of winter view + A brighter day and skies of azure hue; + Scent the new fragrance of the opening rose, + And quaff the pendent vintage as it grows." + +See Gray's _Poems_, published by Mr. Mason, p. 197. + + + + +HUNS INVADE THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE + +ATTILA DICTATES A TREATY OF PEACE + +A.D. 441 + +EDWARD GIBBON + + + Beyond the Great Wall of China, erected to secure the empire from + their encroachments, were numerous tribes of troublesome Hiongnou + who, becoming united under one head, were successful in an invasion + of that country. These confederated tribes became known as the + Huns. Until the advent of M. Deguignes all was dark concerning + them. That learned and laborious scholar conceived the idea that + the Huns might be thus identified, and has written the history from + Chinese sources, of those who since that time have poured down upon + the civilized countries of Asia and Europe and wasted them. Boulger + also identifies these tribes with the Huns of Attila. After driving + the Alani across the Danube and compelling them to seek an asylum + within the borders of the Roman Empire, the terrible Huns had + halted in their march westward for something more than a + generation. They were hovering, meantime, on the eastern frontiers + of the empire, "taking part like other barbarians in its + disturbances and alliances." Emperors paid them tribute, and Roman + generals kept up a politic or a questionable correspondence with + them. Stilicho had detachments of Huns in the armies which fought + against Alaric, King of the Goths, the greatest Roman soldier after + Stilicho--and, like Stilicho, of barbarian parentage--Aetius, who + was to be their most formidable antagonist, had been a hostage and + messmate in their camps. All historians agree that the influx of + these barbaric peoples hastened, more than any other cause, the + rapid decline of the great empire which the Romans had built up. + + About A.D. 433 Attila, equally famous in history and legend, became + the King of the Huns. The attraction of his daring character, and + of his genius for the war which nomadic tribes delight in, gave him + absolute ascendency over his nation, and over the Teutonic and + Slavonic tribes near him. Like other conquerors of his race he + imagined and attempted an empire of ravage and desolation, a vast + hunting ground and preserve, in which men and their works should + supply the objects and zest of the chase. + + The gradual encroachments of the Huns on the northern frontiers of + the Roman domain led to a terrific war in 441. Attila was king. His + first assault upon the Roman power was directed against the + Eastern Empire. The court at Constantinople had been duly + obsequious to him, but he found a pretext for war. The dreadful + ravages of his hordes and the shameful treaty which he forced upon + the empire form a thrilling yet terrible chapter in the history of + the world. + + +The western world was oppressed by the Goths and Vandals, who fled +before the Huns; but the achievements of the Huns themselves were not +adequate to their power and prosperity. Their victorious hordes had +spread from the Volga to the Danube; but the public force was exhausted +by the discord of independent chieftains; their valor was idly consumed +in obscure and predatory excursions; and they often degraded their +national dignity by condescending, for the hopes of spoil, to enlist +under the banners of their fugitive enemies. In the reign of Attila the +Huns again became the terror of the world; and I shall now describe the +character and actions of that formidable Barbarian; who alternately +insulted and invaded the East and the West, and urged the rapid downfall +of the Roman Empire. + +In the tide of emigration which impetuously rolled from the confines of +China to those of Germany, the most powerful and populous tribes may +commonly be found on the verge of the Roman provinces. The accumulated +weight was sustained for a while by artificial barriers; and the easy +condescension of the emperors invited, without satisfying, the insolent +demands of the Barbarians, who had acquired an eager appetite for the +luxuries of civilized life. The Hungarians, who ambitiously insert the +name of Attila among their native kings, may affirm with truth that the +hordes, which were subject to his uncle Roas, or Rugilas, had formed +their encampments within the limits of modern Hungary,[19] in a fertile +country, which liberally supplied the wants of a nation of hunters and +shepherds. In this advantageous situation, Rugilas and his valiant +brothers, who continually added to their power and reputation, +commanded the alternative of peace or war with the two empires. His +alliance with the Romans of the West was cemented by his personal +friendship for the great Aetius, who was always secure of finding, in +the Barbarian camp, a hospitable reception and a powerful support. At +his solicitation, and in the name of John the Usurper, sixty thousand +Huns advanced to the confines of Italy; their march and their retreat +were alike expensive to the State; and the grateful policy of Aetius +abandoned the possession of Pannonia to his faithful confederates. + +The Romans of the East were not less apprehensive of the arms of +Rugilas, which threatened the provinces, or even the capital. Some +ecclesiastical historians have destroyed the Barbarians with lightning +and pestilence; but Theodosius was reduced to the more humble expedient +of stipulating an annual payment of three hundred and fifty pounds of +gold, and of disguising this dishonorable tribute by the title of +general, which the King of the Huns condescended to accept. The public +tranquillity was frequently interrupted by the fierce impatience of the +Barbarians and the perfidious intrigues of the Byzantine court. Four +dependent nations, among whom we may distinguish the Bavarians, +disclaimed the sovereignty of the Huns; and their revolt was encouraged +and protected by a Roman alliance, till the just claims and formidable +power of Rugilas were effectually urged by the voice of Eslaw his +ambassador. Peace was the unanimous wish of the senate: their decree was +ratified by the Emperor; and two ambassadors were named, Plinthas, a +general of Scythian extraction, but of consular rank; and the quaestor +Epigenes, a wise and experienced statesman, who was recommended to that +office by his ambitious colleague. + +The death of Rugilas suspended the progress of the treaty. His two +nephews, Attila and Bleda, who succeeded to the throne of their uncle, +consented to a personal interview with the ambassadors of +Constantinople; but as they proudly refused to dismount, the business +was transacted on horseback, in a spacious plain near the city of +Margus, in the Upper Maesia. The kings of the Huns assumed the solid +benefits, as well as the vain honors, of the negotiation. They dictated +the conditions of peace, and each condition was an insult on the majesty +of the empire. Besides the freedom of a safe and plentiful market on +the banks of the Danube, they required that the annual contribution +should be augmented from three hundred and fifty to seven hundred pounds +of gold; that a fine or ransom of eight pieces of gold should be paid +for every Roman captive who had escaped from his Barbarian master; that +the Emperor should renounce all treaties and engagements with the +enemies of the Huns; and that all the fugitives who had taken refuge in +the court or provinces of Theodosius should be delivered to the justice +of their offended sovereign. This justice was rigorously inflicted on +some unfortunate youths of a royal race. They were crucified on the +territories of the empire, by the command of Attila: and as soon as the +King of the Huns had impressed the Romans with the terror of his name, +he indulged them in a short and arbitrary respite, while he subdued the +rebellious or independent nations of Scythia and Germany. + +Attila, the son of Mundzuk, deduced his noble, perhaps his regal, +descent from the ancient Huns, who had formerly contended with the +monarchs of China. His features, according to the observation of a +Gothic historian, bore the stamp of his national origin; and the +portrait of Attila exhibits the genuine deformity of a modern Calmuk; a +large head, a swarthy complexion, small, deep-seated eyes, a flat nose, +a few hairs in the place of a beard, broad shoulders, and a short square +body, of nervous strength, though of a disproportioned form. The haughty +step and demeanor of the King of the Huns expressed the consciousness of +his superiority above the rest of mankind; and he had a custom of +fiercely rolling his eyes, as if he wished to enjoy the terror which he +inspired. Yet this savage hero was not inaccessible to pity; his +suppliant enemies might confide in the assurance of peace or pardon; and +Attila was considered by his subjects as a just and indulgent master. + +He delighted in war; but, after he had ascended the throne in a mature +age, his head, rather than his hand, achieved the conquest of the North; +and the fame of an adventurous soldier was usefully exchanged for that +of a prudent and successful general. The effects of personal valor are +so inconsiderable, except in poetry or romance, that victory, even among +Barbarians, must depend on the degree of skill with which the passions +of the multitude are combined and guided for the service of a single +man. The Scythian conquerors, Attila and Zingis, surpassed their rude +countrymen in art rather than in courage; and it may be observed that +the monarchies, both of the Huns and of the Moguls, were erected by +their founders on the basis of popular superstition. The miraculous +conception, which fraud and credulity ascribed to the virgin-mother of +Zingis, raised him above the level of human nature; and the naked +prophet, who in the name of the Deity invested him with the empire of +the earth, pointed the valor of the Moguls with irresistible enthusiasm. + +The religious arts of Attila were not less skilfully adapted to the +character of his age and country. It was natural enough that the +Scythians should adore, with peculiar devotion, the god of war; but as +they were incapable of forming either an abstract idea or a corporeal +representation, they worshipped their tutelar deity under the symbol of +an iron cimeter. One of the shepherds of the Huns perceived, that a +heifer, who was grazing, had wounded herself in the foot, and curiously +followed the track of the blood, till he discovered, among the long +grass, the point of an ancient sword, which he dug out of the ground and +presented to Attila. That magnanimous, or rather that artful, prince +accepted, with pious gratitude, this celestial favor, and, as the +rightful possessor of the _sword of Mars,_ asserted his divine and +indefeasible claim to the dominion of the earth. If the rites of Scythia +were practised on this solemn occasion, a lofty altar, or rather pile of +fagots, three hundred yards in length and in breadth, was raised in a +spacious plain; and the sword of Mars was placed erect on the summit of +this rustic altar, which was annually consecrated by the blood of sheep, +horses, and of the hundredth captive. + +Whether human sacrifices formed any part of the worship of Attila, or +whether he propitiated the god of war with the victims which he +continually offered in the field of battle, the favorite of Mars soon +acquired a sacred character, which rendered his conquests more easy and +more permanent; and the Barbarian princes confessed, in the language of +devotion or flattery, that they could not presume to gaze, with a steady +eye, on the divine majesty of the King of the Huns. His brother Bleda, +who reigned over a considerable part of the nation, was compelled to +resign his sceptre and his life. Yet even this cruel act was attributed +to a supernatural impulse; and the vigor with which Attila wielded the +sword of Mars convinced the world that it had been reserved alone for +his invincible arm. But the extent of his empire affords the only +remaining evidence of the number and importance of his victories; and +the Scythian monarch, however ignorant of the value of science and +philosophy, might perhaps lament that his illiterate subjects were +destitute of the art which could perpetuate the memory of his exploits. + +If a line of separation were drawn between the civilized and the savage +climates of the globe; between the inhabitants of cities, who cultivated +the earth, and the hunters and shepherds, who dwelt in tents, Attila +might aspire to the title of supreme and sole monarch of the Barbarians. +He alone, among the conquerors of ancient and modern times, united the +two mighty kingdoms of Germany and Scythia; and those vague +appellations, when they are applied to his reign, may be understood with +an ample latitude. Thuringia, which stretched beyond its actual limits +as far as the Danube, was in the number of his provinces; he interposed, +with the weight of a powerful neighbor, in the domestic affairs of the +Franks; and one of his lieutenants chastised, and almost exterminated, +the Burgundians of the Rhine. He subdued the islands of the ocean, the +kingdoms of Scandinavia, encompassed and divided by the waters of the +Baltic; and the Huns might derive a tribute of furs from that northern +region, which has been protected from all other conquerors by the +severity of the climate and the courage of the natives. + +Toward the east, it is difficult to circumscribe the dominion of Attila +over the Scythian deserts: yet we may be assured that he reigned on the +banks of the Volga; that the King of the Huns was dreaded, not only as a +warrior, but as a magician; that he insulted and vanquished the khan of +the formidable Geougen; and that he sent ambassadors to negotiate an +equal alliance with the empire of China. In the proud review of the +nations who acknowledged the sovereignty of Attila, and who never +entertained, during his lifetime, the thought of a revolt, the Gepidae +and the Ostrogoths were distinguished by their numbers, their bravery, +and the personal merit of their chiefs. The renowned Ardaric, King of +the Gepidae, was the faithful and sagacious counsellor of the monarch, +who esteemed his intrepid genius, while he loved the mild and discreet +virtues of the noble Walamir, King of the Ostrogoths. The crowd of +vulgar kings, the leaders of so many martial tribes, who served under +the standard of Attila, were ranged in the submissive order of guards +and domestics round the person of their master. They watched his nod; +they trembled at his frown; and at the first signal of his will they +executed, without murmur or hesitation, his stern and absolute commands. +In time of peace the dependent princes, with their national troops, +attended the royal camp in regular succession; but when Attila collected +his military force he was able to bring into the field an army of five +or, according to another account, of seven hundred thousand Barbarians. + +The ambassadors of the Huns might awaken the attention of Theodosius, by +reminding him that they were his neighbors both in Europe and Asia; +since they touched the Danube on one hand, and reached, with the other, +as far as the Tanais. In the reign of his father Arcadius, a band of +adventurous Huns had ravaged the provinces of the East, from whence they +brought away rich spoils and innumerable captives. They advanced, by a +secret path, along the shores of the Caspian Sea; traversed the snowy +mountains of Armenia; passed the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the Halys; +recruited their weary cavalry with the generous breed of Cappadocian +horses: occupied the hilly country of Cilicia, and disturbed the festal +songs and dances of the citizens of Antioch. + +Egypt trembled at their approach; and the monks and pilgrims of the Holy +Land prepared to escape their fury by a speedy embarkation. The memory +of this invasion was still recent in the minds of the orientals. The +subjects of Attila might execute, with superior forces, the design which +these adventurers had so boldly attempted; and it soon became the +subject of anxious conjecture whether the tempest would fall on the +dominions of Rome or of Persia. Some of the great vassals of the King of +the Huns, who were themselves in the rank of powerful princes, had been +sent to ratify an alliance and society of arms with the Emperor, or +rather with the general, of the West. They related, during their +residence at Rome, the circumstances of an expedition which they had +lately made into the East. + +After passing a desert and a morass, supposed by the Romans to be the +lake Maeotis, they penetrated through the mountains, and arrived, at the +end of fifteen days' march, on the confines of Media; where they +advanced as far as the unknown cities of Basic and Cursic. They +encountered the Persian army in the plains of Media; and the air, +according to their own expression, was darkened by a cloud of arrows. +But the Huns were obliged to retire before the numbers of the enemy. +Their laborious retreat was effected by a different road; they lost the +greater part of their booty; and at length returned to the royal camp, +with some knowledge of the country, and an impatient desire of revenge. +In the free conversation of the imperial ambassadors, who discussed, at +the court of Attila, the character and designs of their formidable +enemy, the ministers of Constantinople expressed their hope that his +strength might be diverted and employed in a long and doubtful contest +with the princes of the house of Sassan. + +The more sagacious Italians admonished their eastern brethren of the +folly and danger of such a hope; and convinced them, that the Medes and +Persians were incapable of resisting the arms of the Huns; and that the +easy and important acquisition would exalt the pride, as well as power, +of the conqueror. Instead of contenting himself with a moderate +contribution and a military title, which equalled him only to the +generals of Theodosius, Attila would proceed to impose a disgraceful and +intolerable yoke on the necks of the prostrate and captive Romans, who +would then be encompassed, on all sides, by the empire of the Huns. + +While the powers of Europe and Asia were solicitous to avert the +impending danger, the alliance of Attila maintained the Vandals in the +possession of Africa. An enterprise had been concerted between the +courts of Ravenna and Constantinople for the recovery of that valuable +province; and the ports of Sicily were already filled with the military +and naval forces of Theodosius. But the subtle Genseric, who spread his +negotiations round the world, prevented their designs, by exciting the +King of the Huns to invade the Eastern Empire; and a trifling incident +soon became the motive, or pretence, of a destructive war. Under the +faith of the treaty of Margus, a free market was held on the northern +side of the Danube, which was protected by a Roman fortress surnamed +Constantia. A troop of Barbarians violated the commercial security, +killed or dispersed the unsuspecting traders, and levelled the fortress +with the ground. The Huns justified this outrage as an act of reprisal, +alleged that the Bishop of Margus had entered their territories to +discover and steal a secret treasure of their kings, and sternly +demanded the guilty prelate, the sacrilegious spoil, and the fugitive +subjects who had escaped from the justice of Attila. + +The refusal of the Byzantine court was the signal of war; and the +Maesians at first applauded the generous firmness of their sovereign. But +they were soon intimidated by the destruction of Viminiacum and the +adjacent towns; and the people were persuaded to adopt the convenient +maxim that a private citizen, however innocent or respectable, may be +justly sacrificed to the safety of his country. The Bishop of Margus, +who did not possess the spirit of a martyr, resolved to prevent the +designs which he suspected. He boldly treated with the princes of the +Huns; secured, by solemn oaths, his pardon and reward; posted a numerous +detachment of Barbarians, in silent ambush, on the banks of the Danube; +and, at the appointed hour, opened, with his own hand, the gates of his +episcopal city. This advantage, which had been obtained by treachery, +served as a prelude to more honorable and decisive victories. + +The Illyrian frontier was covered by a line of castles and fortresses; +and though the greatest part of them consisted only of a single tower, +with a small garrison, they were commonly sufficient to repel or to +intercept the inroads of an enemy who was ignorant of the art and +impatient of the delay of a regular siege. But these slight obstacles +were instantly swept away by the inundation of the Huns. They destroyed, +with fire and sword, the populous cities of Sirmium and Singidunum, of +Ratiaria and Marcianopolis, of Naissus and Sardica; where every +circumstance of the discipline of the people and the construction of the +buildings had been gradually adapted to the sole purpose of defence. The +whole breadth of Europe, as it extends above five hundred miles from the +Euxine to the Hadriatic, was at once invaded and occupied and desolated +by the myriads of Barbarians whom Attila led into the field. The public +danger and distress could not, however, provoke Theodosius to interrupt +his amusements and devotion or to appear in person at the head of the +Roman legions. + +But the troops which had been sent against Genseric were hastily +recalled from Sicily; the garrisons on the side of Persia were +exhausted; and a military force was collected in Europe, formidable by +their arms and numbers, if the generals had understood the science of +command and their soldiers the duty of obedience. The armies of the +Eastern Empire were vanquished in three successive engagements; and the +progress of Attila may be traced by the fields of battle. The two +former, on the banks of the Utus and under the walls of Marcianapolis, +were fought in the extensive plains between the Danube and Mount Haemus. +As the Romans were pressed by a victorious enemy, they gradually and +unskilfully retired toward the Chersonesus of Thrace; and that narrow +peninsula, the last extremity of the land, was marked by their third, +and irreparable, defeat. + +By the destruction of this army Attila acquired the indisputable +possession of the field. From the Hellespont to Thermopylae, and the +suburbs of Constantinople, he ravaged, without resistance and without +mercy, the provinces of Thrace and Macedonia. Heraclea and Hadrianople +might, perhaps, escape this dreadful irruption of the Huns; but the +words, the most expressive of total extirpation and erasure, are applied +to the calamities which they inflicted on seventy cities of the Eastern +Empire. Theodosius, his court, and the unwarlike people were protected +by the walls of Constantinople; but those waits had been shaken by a +recent earthquake, and the fall of fifty-eight towers had opened a large +and tremendous breach. The damage indeed was speedily repaired; but this +accident was aggravated by a superstitious fear, that heaven itself had +delivered the imperial city to the shepherds of Scythia, who were +strangers to the laws, the language, and the religion of the Romans. + +In all their invasions of the civilized empires of the South, the +Scythian shepherds have been uniformly actuated by a savage and +destructive spirit. The laws of war, that restrain the exercise of +national rapine and murder, are founded on two principles of substantial +interest: the knowledge of the permanent benefits which may be obtained +by a moderate use of conquest; and a just apprehension, lest the +desolation which we inflict on the enemy's country may be retaliated on +our own. But these considerations of hope and fear are almost unknown in +the pastoral state of nations. The Huns of Attila may, without +injustice, be compared to the Moguls and Tartars, before their primitive +manners were changed by religion and luxury. + +After the Moguls had subdued the northern provinces of China, it was +seriously proposed, not in the hour of victory and passion, but in calm +deliberate council, to exterminate all the inhabitants of that populous +country, that the vacant land might be converted to the pasture of +cattle. The firmness of a Chinese mandarin, who insinuated some +principles of rational policy into the mind of Genghis, diverted him +from the execution of this horrid design. But in the cities of Asia, +which yielded to the Moguls, the inhuman abuse of the rights of war was +exercised with a regular form of discipline, which may, with equal +reason, though not with equal authority, be imputed to the victorious +Huns. The inhabitants, who had submitted to their discretion, were +ordered to evacuate their houses, and to assemble in some plain adjacent +to the city; where a division was made of the vanquished into three +parts. The first class consisted of the soldiers of the garrison, and of +the young men capable of bearing arms; and their fate was instantly +decided; they were either enlisted among the Moguls, or they were +massacred on the spot by the troops, who, with pointed spears and bended +bows, had formed a circle round-the captive multitude. The second class, +composed of the young and beautiful women, of the artificers of every +rank and profession, and of the more wealthy or honorable citizens, from +whom a private ransom might be expected, was distributed in equal or +proportionable lots. The remainder, whose life or death was alike +useless to the conquerors, were permitted to return to the city; which, +in the mean while, had been stripped of its valuable furniture; and a +tax was imposed on those wretched inhabitants for the indulgence of +breathing their native air. + +Such was the behavior of the Moguls, when they were not conscious of any +extraordinary rigor. But the most casual provocation, the slightest +motive of caprice or convenience, often provoked them to involve a whole +people in an indiscriminate massacre; and the ruin of some flourishing +cities was executed with such unrelenting perseverance that, according +to their own expression, horses might run, without stumbling, over the +ground where they had once stood. The three great capitals of Khorassan, +and Maru, Neisabour, and Herat, were destroyed by the armies of Genghis, +and the exact account which was taken of the slain amounted to four +million three hundred and forty-seven thousand persons. Timur, or +Tamerlane, was educated in a less barbarous age, and in the profession +of the Mahometan religion; yet, if Attila equalled the hostile ravages +of Tamerlane,[20] either the Tartar or the Hun might deserve the epithet +of the "Scourge of God." + +It may be affirmed, with bolder assurance, that the Huns depopulated the +provinces of the Empire, by the murder of Roman subjects whom they led +away into captivity. In the hands of a wise legislator, such an +industrious colony might have contributed to diffuse through the deserts +of Scythia the rudiments of the useful and ornamental arts; but these +captives, who had been taken in war, were accidentally dispersed among +the hordes that obeyed the empire of Attila. The estimate of their +respective value was formed by the simple judgment of unenlightened and +unprejudiced Barbarians. Perhaps they might not understand the merit of +a theologian, profoundly skilled in the controversies of the Trinity and +the Incarnation; yet they respected the ministers of every religion; +ind the active zeal of the Christian missionaries, without approaching +the person or the palace of the monarch, successfully labored in the +propagation of the Gospel. + +The pastoral tribes, who were ignorant of the distinction of landed +property, must have disregarded the use, as well as the abuse, of civil +jurisprudence; and the skill of an eloquent lawyer could excite only +their contempt or their abhorrence. The perpetual intercourse of the +Huns and the Goths had communicated the familiar knowledge of the two +national dialects; and the Barbarians were ambitious of conversing in +Latin, the military idiom even of the Eastern Empire. But they disdained +the language and the sciences of the Greeks; and the vain sophist, or +grave philosopher, who had enjoyed the flattering applause of the +schools, was mortified to find that his robust servant was a captive of +more value and importance than himself. The mechanic arts were +encouraged and esteemed, as they tended to satisfy the wants of the +Huns. An architect in the service of Onegesius, one of the favorites of +Attila, was employed to construct a bath; but this work was a rare +example of private luxury; and the trades of the smith, the carpenter, +the armorer, were much more adapted to supply a wandering people with +the useful instruments of peace and war. + +But the merit of the physician was received with universal favor and +respect: the Barbarians, who despised death, might be apprehensive of +disease; and the haughty conqueror trembled in the presence of a captive +to whom he ascribed perhaps an imaginary power of prolonging or +preserving his life. The Huns might be provoked to insult the misery of +their slaves, over whom they exercised a despotic command; but their +manners were not susceptible of a refined system of oppression; and the +efforts of courage and diligence were often recompensed by the gift of +freedom. The historian Priscus, whose embassy is a source of curious +instruction, was accosted in the camp of Attila by a stranger, who +saluted him in the Greek language, but whose dress and figure displayed +the appearance of a wealthy Scythian. In the siege of Viminiacum he had +lost, according to his own account, his fortune and liberty; he became +the slave of Onegesius; but his faithful services, against the Romans +and the Acatzires, had gradually raised him to the rank of the native +Huns; to whom he was attached by the domestic pledges of a new wife and +several children. The spoils of war had restored and improved his +private property; he was admitted to the table of his former lord; and +the apostate Greek blessed the hour of his captivity, since it had been +the introduction to a happy and independent state, which he held by the +honorable tenure of military service. + +This reflection naturally produced a dispute on the advantages and +defects of the Roman government, which was severely arraigned by the +apostate, and defended by Priscus in a prolix and feeble declamation. +The freedman of Onegesius exposed, in true and lively colors, the vices +of a declining empire, of which he had so long been the victim; the +cruel absurdity of the Roman princes, unable to protect their subjects +against the public enemy, unwilling to trust them with arms for their +own defence; the intolerable weight of taxes, rendered still more +oppressive by the intricate or arbitrary modes of collection; the +obscurity of numerous and contradictory laws; the tedious and expensive +forms of judicial proceedings; the partial administration of justice; +and the universal corruption, which increased the influence of the rich +and aggravated the misfortunes of the poor. A sentiment of patriotic +sympathy was at length revived in the breast of the fortunate exile: and +he lamented, with a flood of tears, the guilt or weakness of those +magistrates who had perverted the wisest and most salutary institutions. + +The timid or selfish policy of the Western Romans had abandoned the +Eastern Empire to the Huns. The loss of armies, and the want of +discipline or virtue, were not supplied by the personal character of the +monarch. Theodosius might still affect the style, as well as the title, +of "Invincible Augustus"; but he was reduced to solicit the clemency of +Attila, who imperiously dictated these harsh and humiliating conditions +of peace: + +I. The Emperor of the East resigned, by an express or tacit convention, +an extensive and important territory, which stretched along the southern +banks of the Danube, from Singidunum, or Belgrade, as far as Novae, in +the diocese of Thrace. The breadth was defined by the vague computation +of fifteen days' journey; but, from the proposal of Attila to remove +the situation of the national market, it soon appeared that he +comprehended the ruined city of Naissus within the limits of his +dominions. + +II. The King of the Huns required and obtained that his tribute or +subsidy should be augmented from seven hundred pounds of gold to the +annual sum of two thousand one hundred; and he stipulated the immediate +payment of six thousand pounds of gold to defray the expenses or to +expiate the guilt of the war. One might imagine that such a demand, +which scarcely equalled the measure of private wealth, would have been +readily discharged by the opulent Empire of the East; and the public +distress affords a remarkable proof of the impoverished, or at least of +the disorderly, state of the finances. A large proportion of the taxes +extorted from the people was detained and intercepted in their passage, +through the foulest channels, to the treasury of Constantinople. The +revenue was dissipated by Theodosius and his favorites in wasteful and +profuse luxury, which was disguised by the name of imperial magnificence +or Christian charity. The immediate supplies had been exhausted by the +unforeseen necessity of military preparations. A personal contribution, +rigorously but capriciously imposed on the members of the senatorian +order, was the only expedient that could disarm, without loss of time, +the impatient avarice of Attila; and the poverty of the nobles compelled +them to adopt the scandalous resource of exposing to public auction the +jewels of their wives and the hereditary ornaments of their palaces. + +III. The King of the Huns appears to have established, as a principle of +national jurisprudence, that he could never lose the property, which he +had once acquired, in the persons who had yielded either a voluntary or +reluctant submission to his authority. From this principle he concluded, +and the conclusions of Attila were irrevocable laws, that the Huns, who +had been, taken prisoners in war, should be released without delay and +without ransom; that every Roman captive who had presumed to escape +should purchase his right to freedom at the price of twelve pieces of +gold; and that all the Barbarians who had deserted the standard of +Attila should be restored, with out any promise or stipulation of +pardon. In the execution of this cruel and ignominious treaty the +imperial officers were forced to massacre several loyal and noble +deserters who refused to devote themselves to certain death; and the +Romans forfeited all reasonable claims to the friendship of any Scythian +people, by this public confession, that they were destitute either of +faith or power to protect the suppliant who had embraced the throne of +Theodosius. + +It would have been strange, indeed, if Theodosius had purchased, by the +loss of honor, a secure and solid tranquillity, or if his tameness had +not invited the repetition of injuries. The Byzantine court was insulted +by five or six successive embassies, and the ministers of Attila were +uniformly instructed to press the tardy or imperfect execution of the +last treaty; to produce the names of fugitives and deserters, who were +still protected by the Empire; and to declare, with seeming moderation, +that, unless their sovereign obtained complete and immediate +satisfaction, it would be impossible for him, were it even his wish, to +check the resentment of his warlike tribes. Besides the motives of pride +and interest, which might prompt the King of the Huns to continue this +train of negotiation, he was influenced by the less honorable view of +enriching his favorites at the expense of his enemies. The imperial +treasury was exhausted to procure the friendly offices of the +ambassadors and their principal attendants, whose favorable report might +conduce to the maintenance of peace. + +The Barbarian monarch was flattered by the liberal reception of his +ministers; he computed, with pleasure, the value and splendor of their +gifts, rigorously exacted the performance of every promise which would +contribute to their private emolument, and treated as an important +business of state the marriage of his secretary Constantius. That Gallic +adventurer, who was recommended by Aetius to the King of the Huns, had +engaged his service to the ministers of Constantinople, for the +stipulated reward of a wealthy and noble wife; and the daughter of Count +Saturninus was chosen to discharge the obligations of her country. The +reluctance of the victim, some domestic troubles, and the unjust +confiscation of her fortune cooled the ardor of her interested lover; +but he still demanded, in the name of Attila, an equivalent alliance; +and, after many ambiguous delays and excuses, the Byzantine court was +compelled to sacrifice to this insolent stranger the widow of Armatius, +whose birth, opulence, and beauty placed her in the most illustrious +rank of the Roman matrons. + +For these importunate and oppressive embassies Attila claimed a suitable +return: he weighed, with suspicious pride, the character and station of +the imperial envoys; but he condescended to promise that he would +advance as far as Sardica to receive any ministers who had been invested +with the consular dignity. The council of Theodosius eluded this +proposal, by representing the desolate and ruined condition of Sardica, +and even ventured to insinuate that every officer of the army or +household was qualified to treat with the most powerful princes of +Scythia. Maximin, a respectable courtier, whose abilities had been long +exercised in civil and military employments, accepted, with reluctance, +the troublesome, and perhaps dangerous, commission of reconciling the +angry spirit of the King of the Huns. + +His friend, the historian Priscus, embraced the opportunity of observing +the Barbarian hero in the peaceful and domestic scenes of life: but the +secret of the embassy, a fatal and guilty secret, was intrusted only to +the interpreter Vigilius. The two last ambassadors of the Huns, Orestes, +a noble subject of the Pannonian province, and Edecon, a valiant +chieftain of the tribe of the Scyrri, returned at the same time from +Constantinople to the royal camp. Their obscure names were afterward +illustrated by the extraordinary fortune and the contrast of their sons: +the two servants of Attila became the fathers of the last Roman Emperor +of the West, and of the first Barbarian King of Italy. + +The ambassadors, who were followed by a numerous train of men and +horses, made their first halt at Sardica, at the distance of three +hundred and fifty miles, or thirteen days' journey, from Constantinople. +As the remains of Sardica were still included within the limits of the +Empire, it was incumbent on the Romans to exercise the duties of +hospitality. They provided, with the assistance of the provincials, a +sufficient number of sheep and oxen, and invited the Huns to a splendid, +or, at least, a plentiful supper. But the harmony of the entertainment +was soon disturbed by mutual prejudice and indiscretion. The greatness +of the Emperor and the empire was warmly maintained by their ministers; +the Huns, with equal ardor, asserted the superiority of their victorious +monarch: the dispute was inflamed by the rash and unseasonable flattery +of Vigilius, who passionately rejected the comparison of a mere mortal +with the divine Theodosius; and it was with extreme difficulty that +Maximin and Priscus were able to divert the conversation, or to soothe +the angry minds, of the Barbarians. When they rose from the table, the +Imperial ambassador presented Edecon and Orestes with rich gifts of silk +robes and Indian pearls, which they thankfully accepted. + +Yet Orestes could not forbear insinuating that _he_ had not always been +treated with such respect and liberality; and the offensive distinction +which was implied, between his civil office and the hereditary rank of +his colleague seems to have made Edecon a doubtful friend and Orestes an +irreconcilable enemy. After this entertainment they travelled about one +hundred miles from Sardica to Naissus. That flourishing city, which had +given birth to the great Constantine, was levelled with the ground; the +inhabitants were destroyed or dispersed; and the appearance of some sick +persons, who were still permitted to exist among the ruins of the +churches, served only to increase the horror of the prospect. The +surface of the country was covered with the bones of the slain; and the +ambassadors, who directed their course to the northwest, were obliged to +pass the hills of modern Servia before they descended into the flat and +marshy grounds which are terminated by the Danube. + +The Huns were masters of the great river: their navigation was performed +in large canoes, hollowed out of the trunk of a single tree; the +ministers of Theodosius were safely landed on the opposite bank; and +their Barbarian associates immediately hastened to the camp of Attila, +which was equally prepared for the amusements of hunting or of war. No +sooner had Maximin advanced about two miles from the Danube than he +began to experience the fastidious insolence of the conqueror. He was +sternly forbidden to pitch his tents in a pleasant valley, lest he +should infringe the distant awe that was due to the royal mansion. The +ministers of Attila pressed him to communicate the business, and the +instructions, which he reserved for the ear of their sovereign. When +Maximin temperately urged the contrary practice of nations, he was still +more confounded to find that the resolutions of the Sacred Consistory, +those secrets (says Priscus) which should not be revealed to the gods +themselves, had been treacherously disclosed to the public enemy. On his +refusal to comply with such ignominious terms, the Imperial envoy was +commanded instantly to depart; the order was recalled; it was again +repeated; and the Huns renewed their ineffectual attempts to subdue the +patient firmness of Maximin. + +At length, by the intercession of Scotta, the brother of Onegesius, +whose friendship had been purchased by a liberal gift, he was admitted +to the royal presence; but, instead of obtaining a decisive answer, he +was compelled to undertake a remote journey toward the north, that +Attila might enjoy the proud satisfaction of receiving, in the same +camp, the ambassadors of the Eastern and Western empires. His journey +was regulated by the guides, who obliged him to halt, to hasten his +march, or to deviate from the common road, as it best suited the +convenience of the King. The Romans, who traversed the plains of +Hungary, suppose that they passed _several_ navigable rivers, either in +canoes or portable boats; but there is reason to suspect that the +winding stream of the Teyss, or Tibiscus, might present itself in +different places under different names. + +From the contiguous villages they received a plentiful and regular +supply of provisions; mead instead of wine, millet in the place of +bread, and a certain liquor named _camus_, which, according to the +report of Priscus, was distilled from barley.[21] Such fare might appear +coarse and indelicate to men who had tasted the luxury of +Constantinople; but, in their accidental distress, they were relieved by +the gentleness and hospitality of the same Barbarians, so terrible and +so merciless in war. The ambassadors had encamped on the edge of a large +morass. A violent tempest of wind and rain, of thunder and lightning, +overturned their tents, immersed their baggage and furniture in the +water, and scattered their retinue, who wandered in the darkness of the +night, uncertain of their road, and apprehensive of some unknown danger, +till they awakened by their cries the inhabitants of a neighboring +village, the property of the widow of Bleda. A bright illumination, and, +in a few moments, a comfortable fire of reeds, was kindled by their +officious benevolence; the wants, and even the desires, of the Romans +were liberally satisfied; and they seem to have been embarrassed by the +singular politeness of Bleda's widow, who added to her other favors the +gift, or at least the loan, of a sufficient number of beautiful and +obsequious damsels. + +The sunshine of the succeeding day was dedicated to repose, to collect +and dry the baggage, and to the refreshment of the men and horses; but, +in the evening, before they pursued their journey, the ambassadors +expressed their gratitude to the bounteous lady of the village, by a +very acceptable present of silver cups, red fleeces, dried fruits, and +Indian pepper. Soon after this adventure, they rejoined the march of +Attila, from whom they had been separated about six days, and slowly +proceeded to the capital of an empire, which did not contain, in the +space of several thousand miles, a single city. + +As far as we may ascertain the vague and obscure geography of Priscus, +this capital appears to have been seated between the Danube, the Teyss, +and the Carpathian hills, in the plains of Upper Hungary, and most +probably in the neighborhood of Jezberin, Agria, or Tokay. In its origin +it could be no more than an accidental camp, which, by the long and +frequent residence of Attila, had insensibly swelled into a huge +village, for the reception of his court, of the troops who followed his +person, and of the various multitude of idle or industrious slaves and +retainers. The baths, constructed by Onegesius, were the only edifice of +stone; the materials had been transported from Pannonia; and since the +adjacent country was destitute even of large timber, it may be presumed +that the meaner habitations of the royal village consisted of straw, or +mud, or of canvas. The wooden houses of the more illustrious Huns were +built and adorned with rude magnificence, according to the rank, the +fortune, or the taste of the proprietors. They seemed to have been +distributed with some degree of order and symmetry; and each spot +became more honorable as it approached the person of the sovereign. + +The palace of Attila, which surpassed all other houses in his dominions, +was built entirely of wood, and covered an ample space of ground. The +outward enclosure was a lofty wall, or palisade, of smooth square +timber, intersected with high towers, but intended rather for ornament +than defence. This wall, which seems to have encircled the declivity of +the hill, comprehended a great variety of wooden edifices, adapted to +the uses of royalty. A separate house was assigned to each of the +numerous wives of Attila; and, instead of the rigid and illiberal +confinement imposed by Asiatic jealousy, they politely admitted the +Roman ambassadors to their presence, their table, and even to the +freedom of an innocent embrace. When Maximin offered his presents to +Cerce, the principal Queen, he admired the singular architecture of her +mansion, the height of the round columns, the size and beauty of the +wood, which was curiously shaped or turned, or polished or carved; and +his attentive eye was able to discover some taste in the ornaments and +some regularity in the proportions. + +After passing through the guards, who watched before the gate, the +ambassadors were introduced into the private apartment of Cerce. The +wife of Attila received their visit sitting, or rather lying, on a soft +couch; the floor was covered with a carpet; the domestics formed a +circle round the Queen; and her damsels, seated on the ground, where +employed in working the variegated embroidery which adorned the dress of +the Barbaric warriors. The Huns were ambitious of displaying those +riches which were the fruit and evidence of their victories; the +trappings of their horses, their swords, and even their shoes were +studded with gold and precious stones; and their tables were profusely +spread with plates, and goblets, and vases of gold and silver, which had +been fashioned by the labor of Grecian artists. The monarch alone +assumed the superior pride of still adhering to the simplicity of his +Scythian ancestors. The dress of Attila, his arms, and the furniture of +his horse were plain, without ornament, and of a single color. The royal +table was served in wooden cups and platters; flesh was his only food; +and the conqueror of the North never tasted the luxury of bread. + +When Attila first gave audience to the Roman ambassadors on the banks +of the Danube, his tent was encompassed with a formidable guard. The +monarch himself was seated in a wooden chair. His stern countenance, +angry gestures, and impatient tone, astonished the firmness of Maximin; +but Vigilius had more reason to tremble, since he distinctly understood +the menace, that if Attila did not respect the law of nations, he would +nail the deceitful interpreter to the cross, and leave his body to the +vultures. The Barbarian condescended, by producing an accurate list, to +expose the bold falsehood of Vigilius, who had affirmed that no more +than seventeen deserters could be found. But he arrogantly declared that +he apprehended only the disgrace of contending with his fugitive slaves; +since he despised their impotent efforts to defend the provinces which +Theodosius had intrusted to their arms: "For what fortress," added +Attila, "what city, in the wide extent of the Roman Empire, can hope to +exist, secure and impregnable, if it is our pleasure that it should be +erased from the earth?" + +He dismissed, however, the interpreter, who returned to Constantinople +with his peremptory demand of more complete restitution and a more +splendid embassy. His anger gradually subsided, and his domestic +satisfaction in a marriage which he celebrated on the road with the +daughter of Eslam, might perhaps contribute to mollify the native +fierceness of his temper. The entrance of Attila into the royal village +was marked by a very singular ceremony. A numerous troop of women came +out to meet their hero and their King. They marched before him, +distributed into long and regular files; the intervals between the files +were filled by white veils of thin linen, which the women on either side +bore aloft in their hands, and which formed a canopy for a chorus of +young virgins, who chanted hymns and songs in the Scythian language. The +wife of his favorite Onegesius, with a train of female attendants, +saluted Attila at the door of her own house, on his way to the palace; +and offered, according to the custom of the country, her respectful +homage, by entreating him to taste the wine and meat which she had +prepared for his reception. As soon as the monarch had graciously +accepted her hospitable gift, his domestics lifted a small silver table +to a convenient height, as he sat on horseback; and Attila, when he had +touched the goblet with his lips, again saluted the wife of Onegesius, +and continued his march. + +During his residence at the seat of empire, his hours were not wasted in +the recluse idleness of a seraglio; and the King of the Huns could +maintain his superior dignity, without concealing his person from the +public view. He frequently assembled his council, and gave audience to +the ambassadors of the nations; and his people might appeal to the +supreme tribunal, which he held at stated times, and, according to the +Eastern custom, before the principal gate of his wooden palace. The +Romans, both of the East and of the West, were twice invited to the +banquets, where Attila feasted with the princes and nobles of Scythia. +Maximin and his colleagues were stopped on the threshold, till they had +made a devout libation to the health and prosperity of the King of the +Huns, and were conducted, after this ceremony, to their respective seats +in a spacious hall. The royal table and couch, covered with carpets and +fine linen, was raised by several steps in the midst of the hall; and a +son, an uncle, or perhaps a favorite king were admitted to share the +simple and homely repast of Attila. + +Two lines of small tables, each of which contained three or four guests, +were ranged in order on either hand; the right was esteemed the most +honorable, but the Romans ingenuously confess that they were placed on +the left; and that Beric, an unknown chieftain, most probably of the +Gothic race, preceded the representatives of Theodosius and Valentinian. +The Barbarian monarch received from his cup-bearer a goblet filled with +wine, and courteously drank to the health of the most distinguished +guest, who rose from his seat and expressed in the same manner his loyal +and respectful vows. This ceremony was successively performed for all, +or at least, for the illustrious persons of the assembly; and a +considerable time must have been consumed, since it was thrice repeated +as each course or service was placed on the table. But the wine still +remained after the meat had been removed; and the Huns continued to +indulge their intemperance long after the sober and decent ambassadors +of the two empires had withdrawn themselves from the nocturnal banquet. +Yet before they retired, they enjoyed a singular opportunity of +observing the manners of the nation in their convivial amusements. Two +Scythians stood before the couch of Attila, and recited the verses which +they had composed, to celebrate his valor and his victories. + +A profound silence prevailed in the hall; and the attention of the +guests was captivated by the vocal harmony, which revived and +perpetuated the memory of their own exploits; a martial ardor flashed +from the eyes of the warriors, who were impatient for battle; and the +tears of the old men expressed their generous despair, that they could +no longer partake the danger and glory of the field. This entertainment, +which might be considered as a school of military virtue, was succeeded +by a farce, that debased the dignity of human nature. A Moorish and a +Scythian buffoon successively excited the mirth of the rude spectators, +by their deformed figure, ridiculous dress, antic gestures, absurd +speeches, and the strange, unintelligible confusion of the Latin, the +Gothic, and the Hunnic languages; and the hall resounded with loud and +licentious peals of laughter. In the midst of this intemperate riot, +Attila alone, without a change of countenance, maintained his steadfast +and inflexible gravity; which was never relaxed, except on the entrance +of Irnac, the youngest of his sons: he embraced the boy with a smile of +paternal tenderness, gently pinched him by the cheek, and betrayed a +partial affection, which was justified by the assurance of his prophets +that Irnac would be the future support of his family and empire. + +Two days afterward, the ambassadors received a second invitation: and +they had reason to praise the politeness, as well as the hospitality, of +Attila. The King of the Huns held a long and familiar conversation with +Maximin; but his civility was interrupted by rude expressions and +haughty reproaches; and he was provoked, by a motive of interest, to +support, with unbecoming zeal, the private claims of his secretary +Constantius. "The Emperor," said Attila, "has long promised him a rich +wife: Constantius must not be disappointed; nor should a Roman emperor +deserve the name of liar." On the third day the ambassadors were +dismissed: the freedom of several captives was granted, for a moderate +ransom, to their pressing entreaties; and, besides the royal presents, +they were permitted to accept from each of the Scythian nobles the +honorable and useful gift of a horse. Maximin returned, by the same +road, to Constantinople; and though he was involved in an accidental +dispute with Beric, the new ambassador of Attila, he flattered himself +that he had contributed, by the laborious journey, to confirm the peace +and alliance of the two nations.[22] + +But the Roman ambassador was ignorant of the treacherous design which +had been concealed under the mask of the public faith. The surprise and +satisfaction of Edecon, when he contemplated the splendor of +Constantinople, had encouraged the interpreter Vigilius to procure for +him a secret interview with the eunuch Chrysaphius,[23] who governed the +Emperor and the empire. After some previous conversation, and a mutual +oath of secrecy, the eunuch, who had not from his own feelings or +experience imbibed any exalted notions of ministerial virtue, ventured +to propose the death of Attila as an important service, by which Edecon +might deserve a liberal share of the wealth and luxury which he admired. +The ambassador of the Huns listened to the tempting offer; and +professed, with apparent zeal, his ability, as well as readiness, to +execute the bloody deed: the design was communicated to the master of +the offices, and the devout Theodosius consented to the assassination of +his invincible enemy. But this perfidious conspiracy was defeated by the +dissimulation, or the repentance, of Edecon; and though he might +exaggerate his inward abhorrence for the treason, which he seemed to +approve, he dexterously assumed the merit of an early and voluntary +confession. + +If we _now_ review the embassy of Maximin and the behavior of Attila, we +must applaud the Barbarian, who respected the laws of hospitality, and +generously entertained and dismissed the minister of a prince who had +conspired against his life. But the rashness of Vigilius will appear +still more extraordinary, since he returned, conscious of his guilt and +danger, to the royal camp, accompanied by his son, and carrying with him +a weighty purse of gold, which the favorite eunuch had furnished, to +satisfy the demands of Edecon and to corrupt the fidelity of the guards. +The interpreter was instantly seized, and dragged before the tribunal of +Attila, where he asserted his innocence with specious firmness, till the +threat of inflicting instant death on his son extorted from him a +sincere discovery of the criminal transaction. Under the name of ransom, +or confiscation, the rapacious King of the Huns accepted two hundred +pounds of gold for the life of a traitor whom he disdained to punish. He +pointed his just indignation against a nobler object. His ambassadors, +Eslaw and Orestes, were immediately despatched to Constantinople, with a +peremptory instruction, which it was much safer for them to execute than +to disobey. + +They boldly entered the Imperial presence, with the fatal purse hanging +down from the neck of Orestes, who interrogated the eunuch Chrysaphius, +as he stood beside the throne, whether he recognized the evidence of his +guilt. But the office of reproof was reserved for the superior dignity +of his colleague, Eslaw, who gravely addressed the Emperor of the East +in the following words: "Theodosius is the son of an illustrious and +respectable parent: Attila likewise is descended from a noble race; and +_he_ has supported, by his actions, the dignity which he inherited from +his father Mundzuk. But Theodosius has forfeited his paternal honors, +and, by consenting to pay tribute, has degraded himself to the condition +of a slave. It is therefore just, that he should reverence the man whom +fortune and merit have placed above him, instead of attempting, like a +wicked slave, clandestinely to conspire against his master." The son of +Arcadius, who was accustomed only to the voice of flattery, heard with +astonishment the severe language of truth: he blushed and trembled, nor +did he presume directly to refuse the head of Chrysaphius, which Eslaw +and Orestes were instructed to demand. + +A solemn embassy, armed with full powers and magnificent gifts, was +hastily sent to deprecate the wrath of Attila; and his pride was +gratified by the choice of Nomius and Anatolius, two ministers of +consular or patrician rank, of whom the one was great treasurer, and the +other was master-general of the armies of the East. He condescended to +meet these ambassadors on the banks of the river Drenco; and though he +at first affected a stern and haughty demeanor, his anger was insensibly +mollified by their eloquence and liberality. He condescended to pardon +the Emperor, the eunuch, and the interpreter; bound himself by an oath +to observe the conditions of peace; released a great number of captives; +abandoned the fugitives and deserters to their fate; and resigned a +large territory, to the south of the Danube, which he had already +exhausted of its wealth and inhabitants. But this treaty was purchased +at an expense which might have supported a vigorous and successful war: +and the subjects of Theodosius were compelled to redeem the safety of a +worthless favorite by oppressive taxes, which they would more cheerfully +have paid for his destruction. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[19] Hungary has been successively occupied by three Scythian colonies: +1. The Huns of Attila; 2. The Abares, in the sixth century; and, 3. The +Turks or Magyars, A.D. 889, the immediate and genuine ancestors of the +modern Hungarians, whose connection with the two former is extremely +faint and remote. + +[20] Cherefeddin Ali, his servile panegyrist, would afford us many +horrid examples. In his camp before Delhi, Timur massacred one hundred +thousand Indian prisoners who had _smiled_ when the army of their +countrymen appeared in sight. The people of Ispahan supplied seventy +thousand human skulls for the structure of several lofty towers. A +similar tax was levied on the revolt of Bagdad; and the exact account, +which Cherefeddin was not able to procure from the proper officers, is +stated by another historian (Ahmed Arabsiada) at ninety thousand heads. + +[21] The Huns themselves still continued to despise the labors of +agriculture: they abused the privilege of a victorious nation; and the +Goths, their industrious subjects, who cultivated the earth, dreaded +their neighborhood, like that of so many ravenous wolves. + +[22] The curious narrative of this embassy, which required few +observations, and was not susceptible of any collateral evidence, may be +found in Priscus. But I have not confined myself to the same order; and +I had previously extracted the historical circumstances, which were less +intimately connected with the journey, and business, of the Roman +ambassadors. + +[23] M. de Tillemont has very properly given the succession of +chamberlains who reigned in the name of Theodosius. Chrysaphius was the +last, and, according to the unanimous evidence of history, the worst of +these favorites. His partiality for his godfather, the heresiarch +Eutyches, engaged him to persecute the orthodox party. + + + + +THE ENGLISH CONQUEST OF BRITAIN + +A.D. 449-579 + +JOHN R. GREEN CHARLES KNIGHT + + If we look for the fatherland of the English race, we must, as + modern historians have clearly shown, direct our search "far away + from England herself." In the fifth century of the Christian era a + region in what is now called Schleswig was known by the name of + Anglen (England). But the inhabitants of this district are believed + to have comprised only a small detached portion of the Engle + (English), while the great body of this people probably dwelt + within the limits of the present Oldenburg and lower Hanover. + + On several sides of Anglen were the homes of various tribes of + Saxons and Jutes, and these peoples were all kindred, being members + of one branch (Low German) of the Teutonic family. History first + finds them becoming united through community of blood, of language, + institutions, and customs, although it was too early yet to justify + the historian in giving to them the inclusive name of Englishmen. + They all, however, had part in the conquest of England, and it was + their union in that land that gave birth to the English people. + + Little is known of the actual character and life of these people + who made the earliest England, but their Germanic inheritance is + traceable in their social and political framework, which already + prefigured the national organization that through centuries of + gradual development became modern England. + + Out of their early modes grew the forms of English citizenship and + legislation, and the individual and public freedom which has slowly + broadened down from generation to generation. Later came the + modifying, if not transforming, influence of Christianity, + replacing the ancient nature-worship which they took with them to + their new home. On these foundations the English race, as it has + grown up in the land they made their own, and in other lands to + which like men and institutions have been carried, has reared its + various structures of nationality. + +JOHN R. GREEN + +Of the three English tribes the Saxons lay nearest to the empire, and +they were naturally the first to touch the Roman world; before the close +of the third century indeed their boats appeared in such force in the +English Channel as to call for a special fleet to resist them. The +piracy of our fathers had thus brought them to the shores of a land +which, dear as it is now to Englishmen, had not as yet been trodden by +English feet. This land was Britain. When the Saxon boats touched its +coast the island was the westernmost province of the Roman Empire. In +the fifty-fifth year before Christ a descent of Julius Caesar revealed it +to the Roman world; and a century after Caesar's landing the emperor +Claudius undertook its conquest. The work was swiftly carried out. +Before thirty years were over the bulk of the island had passed beneath +the Roman sway, and the Roman frontier had been carried to the firths of +Forth and of Clyde. The work of civilization followed fast on the work +of the sword. To the last indeed the distance of the island from the +seat of empire left her less Romanized than any other province of the +west. The bulk of the population scattered over the country seem in +spite of imperial edicts to have clung to their old law as to their old +language, and to have retained some traditional allegiance to their +native chiefs. But Roman civilisation rested mainly on city life, and in +Britain as elsewhere the city was thoroughly Roman. In towns such as +Lincoln or York, governed by their own municipal officers, guarded by +massive walls, and linked together by a network of magnificent roads +which reached from one end of the island to the other, manners, +language, political life, all were of Rome. + +For three hundred years the Roman sword secured order and peace without +Britain and within, and with peace and order came a wide and rapid +prosperity. Commerce sprang up in ports among which London held the +first rank; agriculture flourished till Britain became one of the +corn-exporting countries of the world; the mineral resources of the +province were explored in the tin mines of Cornwall, the lead mines of +Somerset or Northumberland, and the iron mines of the Forest of Dean. +But evils which sapped the strength of the whole empire told at last, on +the province of Britain. + +Wealth and population alike declined under a crushing system of +taxation, under restrictions which fettered industry, under a despotism +which crushed out all local independence. And with decay within came +danger from without. For centuries past the Roman frontier had held +back the Barbaric world beyond it--the Parthian of the Euphrates, the +Numidian of the African desert, the German of the Danube or the Rhine. +In Britain a wall drawn from Newcastle to Carlisle bridled the British +tribes, the Picts as they were called, who had been sheltered from Roman +conquest by the fastnesses of the Highlands. + +It was this mass of savage barbarism which broke upon the empire as it +sank into decay. In its western dominions the triumph of these +assailants was complete. The Franks conquered and colonized Gaul. The +West Goths conquered and colonized Spain. The Vandals founded a kingdom +in Africa. The Burgundians encamped in the borderland between Italy and +the Rhone. The East Goths ruled at last in Italy itself. + +It was to defend Italy against the Goths that Rome in the opening of the +fifth century withdrew her legions from Britain, and from that moment +the province was left to struggle unaided against the Picts. Nor were +these its only enemies. While marauders from Ireland, whose inhabitants +then bore the name of Scots, harried the west, the boats of Saxon +pirates, as we have seen, were swarming off its eastern and southern +coasts. + +For forty years Britain held bravely out against these assailants; but +civil strife broke its powers of resistance, and its rulers fell back at +last on the fatal policy by which the empire invited its doom while +striving to avert it, the policy of matching barbarian against +barbarian. By the usual promises of land and pay a band of warriors was +drawn for this purpose from Jutland in 449 with two ealdormen, Hengist +and Horsa, at their head. + +If by English history we mean the history of Englishmen in the land +which from that time they made their own, it is with this landing of +Hengist's war band that English history begins. They landed on the +shores of the Isle of Thanet at a spot known since as Ebbsfleet. No spot +can be so sacred to Englishmen as the spot which first felt the tread of +English feet. There is little to catch the eye in Ebbsfleet itself, a +mere lift of ground with a few gray cottages dotted over it, cut off +nowadays from the sea by a reclaimed meadow and a sea-wall. + +But taken as a whole the scene has a wild beauty of its own. To the +right the white curve of Ramsgate cliffs looks down on the crescent of +Pegwell Bay; far away to the left across gray marsh levels where smoke +wreaths mark the site of Richborough and Sandwich the coast line trends +dimly toward Deal. Everything in the character of the spot confirms the +national tradition which fixed here the landing-place of our fathers; +for the physical changes of the country since the fifth century have +told little on its main features. At the time of Hengist's landing a +broad inlet of sea parted Thanet from the mainland of Britain; and +through this inlet the pirate boats would naturally come sailing with a +fair wind to what was then the gravel spit of Ebbsfleet. + +The work for which the mercenaries had been hired was quickly done; and +the Picts are said to have been scattered to the winds in a battle +fought on the eastern coast of Britain. But danger from the Pict was +hardly over when danger came from the jutes themselves. Their +fellow-pirates must have flocked from the channel to their settlement in +Thanet; the inlet between Thanet and the mainland was crossed, and the +Englishmen won their first victory over the Britons in forcing their +passage of the Medway at the village of Aylesford. + +A second defeat at the passage of the Cray drove the British forces in +terror upon London; but the ground was soon won back again, and it was +not till 465 that a series of petty conflicts which had gone on along +the shores of Thanet made way for a decisive struggle at Wippedsfleet. +Here however the overthrow was so terrible that from this moment all +hope of saving northern Kent seems to have been abandoned, and it was +only on its southern shore that the Britons held their ground. Ten years +later, in 475, the long contest was over, and with the fall of Lymne, +whose broken walls look from the slope to which they cling over the +great flat of Romney Marsh, the work of the first English conqueror was +done. + +The warriors of Hengist had been drawn from the Jutes, the smallest of +the three tribes who were to blend in the English people. But the greed +of plunder now told on the great tribe which stretched from the Elbe to +the Rhine, and in 477 Saxon invaders were seen pushing slowly along the +strip of land which lay westward of Kent between the weald and the sea. +Nowhere has the physical aspect of the country more utterly changed. A +vast sheet of scrub, woodland, and waste which then bore the name of the +Andredsweald stretched for more than a hundred miles from the borders of +Kent to the Hampshire Downs, extending northward almost to the Thames +and leaving only a thin strip of coast which now bears the name of +Sussex between its southern edge and the sea. + +This coast was guarded by a fortress which occupied the spot now called +Pevensey, the future landing-place of the Norman Conqueror; and the fall +of this fortress of Anderida in 491 established the kingdom of the South +Saxons. "AElle and Cissa beset Anderida," so ran the pitiless record of +the conquerors, "and slew all that were therein, nor was there afterward +one Briton left." + +But Hengist and AElle's men had touched hardly more than the coast, and +the true conquest of Southern Britain was reserved for a fresh band of +Saxons, a tribe known as the Gewissas, who landed under Cerdic and +Cynric on the shores of the Southampton Water, and pushed in 495 to the +great downs or Gwent where Winchester offered so rich a prize. Nowhere +was the strife fiercer than here; and it was not till 519 that a +decisive victory at Charford ended the struggle for the "Gwent" and set +the crown of the West Saxons on the head of Cerdic. But the forest belt +around it checked any further advance; and only a year after Charford +the Britons rallied under a new leader, Arthur, and threw back the +invaders as they pressed westward through the Dorsetshire woodlands in a +great overthrow at Badbury or Mount Badon. The defeat was followed by a +long pause in the Saxon advance from the southern coast, but while the +Gewissas rested, a series of victories whose history is lost was giving +to men of the same Saxon tribe the coast district north of the mouth of +the Thames. + +It is probable, however, that the strength of Camulodunum, the +predecessor of our modern Colchester, made the progress of these +assailants a slow and doubtful one; and even when its reduction enabled +the East Saxons to occupy the territory to which they have given their +name of Essex a line of woodland which has left its traces in Epping and +Hainault forests checked their farther advance into the island. + +Though seventy years had passed since the victory of Aylesford only the +outskirts of Britain were won. The invaders were masters as yet but of +Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, and Essex. From London to St. David's Head, +from the Andredsweald to the Firth of Forth the country still remained +unconquered, and there was little in the years which followed Arthur's +triumph to herald that onset of the invaders which was soon to make +Britain England. Till now its assailants had been drawn from two only of +the three tribes whom we saw dwelling by the northern sea, from the +Saxons and the jutes. But the main work of conquest was to be done by +the third, by the tribe which bore that name of Engle or Englishmen +which was to absorb that of Saxon or Jute and to stamp itself on the +people which sprang from the union of the conquerors as on the land that +they won. + +The Engle had probably been settling for years along the coast of +Northumbria and in the great district which was cut off from the rest of +Britain by the Wash and the Fens, the later East Anglia. But it was not +till the moment we have reached that the line of defences which had +hitherto held the invaders at bay was turned by their appearance in the +Humber and the Trent. This great river line led like a highway into the +heart of Britain; and civil strife seems to have broken the strength of +British resistance. But of the incidents of this final struggle we know +nothing. One part of the English force marched from the Humber over the +Yorkshire wolds to found what was called the kingdom of the Deirans. + +Under the empire political power had centred in the district between the +Humber and the Roman wall; York was the capital of Roman Britain; villas +of rich land-owners studded the valley of the Ouse; and the bulk of the +garrison maintained in the island lay camped along its northern border. +But no record tells us how Yorkshire was won, or how the Engle made +themselves masters of the uplands about Lincoln. It is only by their +later settlements that we follow their march into the heart of Britain. +Seizing the valley of the Don and whatever breaks there were in the +woodland that then filled the space between the Humber and the Trent, +the Engle followed the curve of the latter river, and struck along the +line of its tributary the Soar. Here round the Roman Ratae, the +predecessor of our Leicester, settled a tribe known as the Middle +English, while a small body pushed farther southward, and under the name +of "South Engle" occupied the ooelitic upland that forms our present +Northamptonshire. + +But the mass of the invaders seem to have held to the line of the Trent +and to have pushed westward to its head-waters. Repton, Lichfield, and +Tamworth mark the country of these western Englishmen, whose older name +was soon lost in that of Mercians, or Men of the March. Their settlement +was in fact a new march or borderland between conqueror and conquered; +for here the impenetrable fastness of the Peak, the mass of Cannock +Chase, and the broken country of Staffordshire enabled the Briton to +make a fresh and desperate stand. + +It was probably this conquest of Mid-Britain by the Engle that roused +the West Saxons to a new advance. For thirty years they had rested +inactive within the limits of the Gwent, but in 552 their capture of the +hill fort of Old Sarum threw open the reaches of the Wiltshire downs, +and a march of King Cuthwulf on the Thames made them masters in 571 of +the districts which now form Oxfordshire and Berkshire. + +Pushing along the upper valley of Avon to a new battle at Barbury Hill +they swooped at last from their uplands on the rich prey that lay along +the Severn. Gloucester, Cirencester, and Bath, cities which had leagued +under their British kings to resist this onset, became in 577 the spoil +of an English victory at Deorham, and the line of the great western +river lay open to the arms of the conquerors. Once the West Saxons +penetrated to the borders of Chester, and Uriconium, a town beside the +Wrekin which has been recently brought again to light, went up in +flames. The raid ended in a crushing defeat which broke the West-Saxon +strength, but a British poet in verses still left to us sings piteously +the death song of Uriconium, "the white town in the valley," the town of +white stone gleaming among the green woodlands. The torch of the foe had +left it a heap of blackened ruins where the singer wandered through +halls he had known in happier days, the halls of its chief Kyndylan, +"without fire, without light, without song," their stillness broken only +by the eagle's scream, the eagle who "has swallowed fresh drink, +heart's blood of Kyndylan the fair." + +With the victory of Deorham the conquest of the bulk of Britain was +complete. Eastward of a line which may be roughly drawn along the +moorlands of Northumberland and Yorkshire through Derbyshire and the +Forest of Arden to the Lower Severn, and thence by Mendip to the sea, +the island had passed into English hands. Britain had in the main become +England. And within this new England a Teutonic society was settled on +the wreck of Rome. So far as the conquest had yet gone it had been +complete. Not a Briton remained as subject or slave on English ground. +Sullenly, inch by inch, the beaten men drew back from the land which +their conquerors had won; and eastward of the border line which the +English sword had drawn all was now purely English. + + +CHARLES KNIGHT + +"They" [the Romans], says Bede, "resided within the rampart that Severus +made across the island, on the south side of it; as the cities, temples, +bridges, and paved ways do testify to this day." On the north of the +wall were the nations that no severity had reduced to subjection, and no +resistance could restrain from plunder. At the extreme west of England +were the people of Cornwall, or little Wales, as it was called; having +the most intimate relations with the people of Britannia Secunda, or +Wales; and both connected with the colony of Armorica. The inhabitants +of Cornwall and Wales, we may assume, were almost exclusively of the old +British stock. The abandonment of the country by the Romans had affected +them far less than that change affected the more cultivated country, +that had been the earliest subdued, and for nearly four centuries had +received the Roman institutions and adopted the Roman customs. + +But in the chief portion of the island, from the southern and eastern +coasts to the Tyne and the Solway, there was a mixed population, among +whom it would be difficult to trace that common bond which would +constitute nationality. The British families of the interior had become +mingled with the settlers of Rome and its tributaries to whom grants of +land had been assigned as the rewards of military service; and the +coasts from the Humber to the Exe had been here and there peopled with +northern settlers, who had gradually planted themselves among the +Romanized British; and were, we may well believe, among the most active +of those who carried forward the commercial intercourse of Britain with +Gaul and Italy. + +When, therefore, we approach the period of what is termed the Saxon +invasion, and hear of the decay, the feebleness, the cowardice, and the +misery of the Britons--all which attributes have been somewhat too +readily bestowed upon the population which the Romans had left +behind--it would be well to consider what these so-called Britons really +were, to enable us properly to understand the transition state through +which the country passed. + +Our first native historian is Gildas, who lived in the middle of the +sixth century. "From the early part of the fifth century, when the Greek +and Roman writers cease to notice the affairs of Britain, his narrative, +on whatever authority it may have been founded, has been adopted without +question by Bede and succeeding authors, and accepted, notwithstanding +its barrenness of facts and pompous obscurity, by all but general +consent, as the basis of early English history." Gibbon has justly +pointed out his inconsistencies, his florid descriptions of the +flourishing condition of agriculture and commerce after the departure of +the Romans, and his denunciations of the luxury of the people; when he, +at the same time, describes a race who were ignorant of the arts, +incapable of building walls of defence, or of arming themselves with +proper weapons. When "this monk," as Gibbon calls him, "who, in the +profound ignorance of human life, presumes to exercise the office of +historian," tells us that the Romans, who were occasionally called in to +aid against the Picts and Scots, "give energetic counsel to the timorous +natives, and leave them patterns by which to manufacture arms," we seem +to be reading an account of some remote tribe, to whom the Roman sword +and buckler were as unfamiliar as the musket was to the Otaheitans when +Cook first went among them. + +When Gildas describes the soldiers on the wall as "equally slow to fight +and ill-adapted to run away"; and tells the remarkable incident which +forms part of every schoolboy's belief, that the defenders of the wall +were pulled down by great hooked weapons and dashed against the ground, +we feel a pity akin to contempt for a people so stupid and passive, and +are not altogether sorry that the Picts and Scots, "differing one from +another in manners, but inspired with the same avidity for blood," had +come with their bushy beards and their half-clothed bodies, to supplant +so effeminate a race. When he makes this feeble people send an embassy +to a Roman in Gaul to say, "The barbarians drive us to the sea; the sea +throws us back on the barbarians: thus two modes of death await us; we +are either slain or drowned," we must wonder at the very straitened +limits in which this unhappy people were shut up. + +Surely much of this is little more than the tumid rhetoric of the +cloister; for all the assumptions that have been raised of the physical +degeneracy of the people are quite unsupported by any real historical +evidence. M. Guizot considers it unjust and cruel to view their humble +supplications, so declared by Gildas, to Rome for aid, as evidences of +the effeminacy of that nation, whose resistance to the Saxons has given +a chapter to history at a time when history has few traces of Italians, +Spaniards, and Gauls. + +That the representations of Gildas could only be partially true, as +applied to some particular districts, is sufficiently proved, by the +undoubted fact that within little more than twenty years from the date +of these cowardly demonstrations Anthemius, the Emperor, solicited the +aid of the Britons against the Visigoths; and twelve thousand men from +this island, under one of the native chieftains, Rhiothimus, sailed up +the Loire, and fought under the Roman command. They are described by a +contemporary Roman writer as quick, well-armed; turbulent and +contumacious from their bravery, their numbers, and their common +agreement. These were not the people who were likely to have stood upon +a wall to be pulled down by hooked weapons. They might have been the +people who had clung, more than the other inhabitants of the Roman +provinces, to their original language and customs; but it is not +improbable that they would have been of the mixed races with whom Rome +had been in more intimate relations, and to whom she continued to render +offices of friendship after the separation of the island province from +her empire. + +Amid all this conflict of testimony there is the undoubted fact that +out of the Roman municipal institutions had risen the establishment of +separate sovereignties, as Procopius relates. Britain, according to St. +Jerome, was "a province fertile in tyrants." The Roman municipal +government was kept compact and uniform under a great centralizing +power. It fell to pieces here, as in Gaul, when that power was +withdrawn. It resolved itself into a number of local governments without +any principle of cohesion. The vicar of the municipium became an +independent ruler and head of a little republic; and that his authority +was contested by some who had partaken of his delegated dignity may be +reasonably inferred. + +The difference of races would also promote the contests for command. If +East Anglia contained a preponderance of one race of settlers, and Kent +and Sussex of another, they might well quarrel for supremacy. But when +all the settlers on the Saxon shore had lost the control and protection +of the Count who once governed them, it may also be imagined that the +more exclusively British districts would not readily cooeperate for +defence with those who were more strange to their kindred even than the +Roman. All the European Continent was in a state of political +dislocation; and we may safely conclude that when the great power was +shattered that had so long held the government of the world, the more +distant and subordinate branch of its empire would resolve itself into +some of the separate elements of authority and of imperfect obedience by +which a clan is distinguished from a nation. + +Nor was the power of the Christian Church in Britain of a more united +character than that of the civil rulers. No doubt a church had been +formed and organized. There were bishops, so called, in the several +cities; but their authority was little concentrated and their tenets +were discordant. Pilgrimages were even made to the sacred places of +Palestine; and at a very early period monasteries were founded. That of +Bangor, or the Great Circle, seems to have had some relation to the +ancient Druidical worship, upon which it was probably engrafted in that +region where Druidism had long flourished. There were British versions +of the Bible. But that the church had no sustaining power at the period +when civil society was so wholly disorganized, may be inferred from +circumstances which preceded the complete overthrow of Christian rites +by Saxon heathendom. + +Bede devotes several chapters of his _Ecclesiastical History_ to the +actions of St. Germanus, who came expressly to Britain to put down the +Pelagian heresy; and, amid the multitude of miraculous circumstances, +records how "the authors of the perverse notions lay hid, and, like the +evil spirits, grieved for the loss of the people that was rescued from +them. At length, after mature deliberation, they had the boldness to +enter the lists, and appeared, being conspicuous for riches, glittering +in apparel, and supported by the flatteries of many." The people, +according to Bede, were the judges of this great controversy, and gave +their voices for the orthodox belief. + +Whether the Pelagians were expelled from Britain by reason or by force, +it is evident that, in the middle of the fifth century, there was a +strong element of religious disunion very generally prevailing; and that +at a period when the congregations were in a great degree independent of +each other, and therefore difficult of subjection to a common authority, +the rich and the powerful had adopted a creed which was opposed to the +centralizing rule of the Roman Church, and were arguing about points of +faith as strongly as they were contesting for worldly supremacy. Dr. +Lappenberg justly points out this celebrated controversy in our country +as "indicating the weakness of that religious connection which was so +soon to be totally annihilated." We may, in some degree, account for the +reception of the doctrine of Pelagius by knowing that he was a Briton, +whose plain unlatinized name was Morgan. + +Macaulay has startled many a reader of the most familiar histories of +England, in saying, "Hengist and Horsa, Vortigern and Rowena, Arthur and +Mordred, are mythical persons, whose very existence may be questioned, +and whose adventures must be classed with those of Hercules and +Romulus." It is difficult to write of a period of which the same writer +has said, "an age of fable completely separates two ages of truth." Yet +no one knew better than this accomplished historian himself that an age +of fable and an age of truth cannot be distinguished with absolute +precision. It is not that what is presented to us through the haze of +tradition must necessarily be unreal, any more than that what comes to +us in an age of literature must be absolutely true. An historical fact, +a real personage, may be handed down from a remote age in the songs of +bards; but it is not therefore to be inferred that these national lyrics +are founded upon pure invention. It is curious to observe that, +wandering amid these traces of events and persons that have been shaped +into history, how ready we are to walk in the footsteps of some +half-fabulous records, and wholly to turn away from others which seem as +strongly impressed upon the shifting sands of national existence. + +We derive Hengist and Horsa from the old Anglo-Saxon authorities; and +modern history generally adopts them. Arthur and Mordred have a Celtic +origin, and they are as generally rejected as "mythical persons." It +appears to us that it is as precipitate wholly to renounce the one as +the other, because they are both surrounded with an atmosphere of the +fabulous. Hengist and Horsa come to us encompassed with Gothic +traditions that belong to other nations. Arthur presents himself with +his attributes of the magician Merlin, and the knights of the Round +Table. But are we therefore to deny altogether their historical +existence? In following the _ignis fatuus_ of tradition, the credulous +annalists of the monastic age were lost in the treacherous ground over +which it led them. The more patient research of a critical age sees in +that doubtful light a friendly warning of what to avoid, and hence a +guide to more stable pathways. + +Hengist and Horsa--who, according to the Anglo-Saxon historians, landed +in the year 449 on the shore which is called Ebbsfleet--were personages +of more than common mark. "They were the sons of Wihtgils; Wihtgils son +of Witta, Witta of Wecta, Wecta of Woden." So says the _Anglo-Saxon +Chronicle_, and adds, "From this Woden sprang all our royal families." +These descendants, in the third generation from the great Saxon +divinity, came over in three boats. They came by invitation of +Wyrtgeone--Vortigern--King of the Britons. The King gave them land in +the southeast of the country, on condition that they should fight +against the Picts; and they did fight, and had the victory wheresoever +they came. And then they sent for the Angles, and told them of the +worthlessness of the people and the excellences of the land. This is the +Saxon narrative. The seductive graces of Rowena, the daughter of Horsa, +who corrupted the King of the Britons by love and wine, is an +embellishment of the British traditions. + +Then came the great battles for possession of the land. At Aylesford and +Crayford the Kentish Britons were overthrown. Before the Angles the +Welsh fled like fire. These events occupy a quarter of a century. While +they are going on, the Roman Emperor, as we have mentioned upon +indubitable authority, receives an auxiliary force of twelve thousand +men from Britain. We cannot rely upon narratives that tell us of _the_ +king of the Britons, when we learn from no suspicious sources that the +land was governed by many separate chiefs; and which represent a petty +band of fugitives as gaining mighty triumphs for a great ruler, and then +subduing him themselves in a wonderfully short time. + +The pretensions of Hengist and Horsa to be the immediate descendants of +Woden would seem to imply their mythical origin. But many Saxon chiefs +of undoubted reality rested their pretensions upon a similar genealogy. +The myth was as flattering to the Anglo-Saxon pride of descent as the +corresponding myth that the ancient inhabitants of the island were +descended from the Trojan Brute was acceptable to the British race. But +amid much of fable there is the undoubted fact that Germanic tribes were +gradually possessing themselves of the fairest parts of Britain--a +progressive usurpation, far different from a sudden conquest. Amid the +wreck of the social institutions left by Rome, when all that remained of +a governing power was centred in the towns, it may be readily conceived +that the rich districts of the eastern and southern coasts would be +eagerly peopled by new settlers, whose bond of society was founded upon +the occupation of the land; and who, extending the area of their +occupation, would eventually come into hostile conflict with the +previous possessors. + +For a century and a half a thick darkness seems to overspread the +history of our country. In the Anglo-Saxon writers we can trace little, +with any distinctness, beyond the brief and monotonous records of +victories and slaughters. Hengist and AEsc slew four troops of Britons +with the edge of the sword. Hengist then vanishes, and AElla comes with +his three sons. In 491 they besieged Andres-cester, "and slew all that +dwelt therein, so that not a single Briton was there left." Then come +Cerdic and Cynric his son; then Port and his two sons, and land at +Portsmouth; and so we reach the sixth century. Cerdic and Cynric now +stand foremost among the slaughterers, and they establish the kingdom of +the West Saxons and conquer the Isle of Wight. + +In the middle of the century Ida begins to reign, from whom arose the +royal race of North-humbria. In 565 Ethelbert succeeded to the kingdom +of the Kentish-men, and held it fifty-three years. The war goes on in +the south-midland counties, where Cuthwulf is fighting; and it reaches +the districts of the Severn, where Cuthwine and Ceawlin slay great +kings, and take Gloucester and Cirencester and Bath. One of these fierce +brethren is killed at last, and Ceawlin, "having taken many spoils and +towns innumerable, wrathful returned to his own." Where "his own" was we +are not informed. + +We reach, at length, the year 596, when "Pope Gregory sent Augustin to +Britain, with a great many monks, who preached the word of God to the +nation of the Angles." Bede very judiciously omits all such details. He +tells us that "they carried on the conflagration from the eastern to the +western sea, without any opposition, and almost covered all the +superfices of the perishing island. Public as well as private structures +were overturned; the priests were everywhere slain before the altars; +the prelates and the people, without any respect of persons, were +destroyed with fire and sword." There is little to add to these +impressive words, which no doubt contain the general truth. But if we +open the British history of Geoffrey of Monmouth, we find ourselves +relieved from the thick darkness of the Anglo-Saxon records, by the blue +lights and red lights of the most wondrous romance. Rowena comes with +her golden wine-cup. Merlin instructs Vortigern how to discover the two +sleeping dragons who hindered the foundation of his tower. Aurelius, the +Christian King, burns Vortigern in his Cambrian city of refuge. Eldol +fights a duel with Hengist, cuts off his head, and destroys the Saxons +without mercy. Merlin the magician, and Uther Pendragon, with fifteen +thousand men, bring over "the Giant's Dance" from Ireland, and set it up +in Salisbury Plain. Uther Pendragon is made the Christian king over all +Britain. + +At length we arrive at Arthur, the son of Uther. To him the entire +monarchy of Britain belonged by hereditary right. Hoel sends him fifteen +thousand men from Armorica, and he makes the Saxons his tributaries; and +with his own hand kills four hundred and seventy in one battle. He not +only conquers the Saxons, but subdues Gaul, among other countries, and +holds his court in Paris. His coronation at the City of the Legions +(Caer-Leon) is gorgeous beyond all recorded magnificence; and the +general state of the country, in these days of Arthur, before the middle +of the sixth century, is thus described: "At that time, Britain had +arrived at such a pitch of grandeur that in abundance of riches, luxury +of ornaments, and politeness of inhabitants, it far surpassed all other +kingdoms." Mordred, the wicked traitor, at length disturbs all this +tranquillity and grandeur, and brings over barbarous people from +different countries. Arthur falls in battle. The Saxons prevail, and the +Britons retire into Cornwall and Wales. + +Amid the bewildering mass of the obscure and the fabulous which our +history presents of the first century and a half of the Saxon +colonization, there are some well-established facts which are borne out +by subsequent investigations. Such is Bede's account of the country of +the invaders, and the parts in which they settled. This account, +compared with other authorities, gives us the following results. They +consisted of "the three most powerful nations of Germany--Saxons, +Angles, and Jutes." The Saxons came from the parts which, in Bede's +time, were called the country of the Old Saxons. That country is now +known as the duchy of Holstein. These, under Ella, founded the kingdom +of the South Saxons--our present Sussex. Later in the fifth century, the +same people, under Cerdic, established themselves in the district +extending from Sussex to Devonshire and Cornwall, which was the kingdom +of the West Saxons. + +Other Saxons settled in Essex and Middlesex. The Angles, says Bede, came +from "the country called Angelland, and it is said from that time to +remain desert to this day." There is a part of the duchy of Schleswig, +to the north of Holstein, which still bears the name of Anglen. These +people gave their name to the whole country, Engla-land, or Angla-land, +from the greater extent of territory which they permanently occupied. As +the Saxons possessed themselves of the southern coasts, the Angles +established themselves on the northeastern. Their kingdom of East Anglia +comprised Norfolk and Suffolk, as well as part of Cambridgeshire; and +they extended themselves to the north of the Humber, forming the +powerful state of Northumbria, and carrying their dominion even to the +Forth and the Clyde. + +The Jutes came from the country north of the Angles, which is in the +upper part of the present Schleswig; and they occupied Kent and the Isle +of Wight, with that part of Hampshire which is opposite the island. Sir +Francis Palgrave is of opinion that "the tribes by whom Britain was +invaded appear principally to have proceeded from the country now called +Friesland; for of all the continental dialects the ancient Frisick is +the one which approaches most nearly to the Anglo-Saxon of our +ancestors." Mr. Craik has pointed out that "the modern kingdom of +Denmark comprehends all the districts from which issued, according to +the old accounts, the several tribes who invaded Britain upon the fall +of the Roman Empire. And the Danes proper (who may be considered to +represent the Jutes); the Angles, who live between the Bight of +Flensborg and the river Schley on the Baltic; the Frisons, who inhabit +the islands along the west coast of Jutland, with a part of the +bailiwick of Husum in Schleswig; and the Germans of Holstein (Bede's Old +Saxons) are still all recognized by geographers and ethnographers as +distinct races." + + + + +ATTILA INVADES WESTERN ROME + +BATTLE OF CHALONS + +A.D. 451 + +CREASY GIBBON + + + After Attila had conquered and laid waste the provinces of the + Eastern Empire south of the Danube and exacted heavy tribute from + Theodosius II, he turned his attention to the subjugation of the + Slavic and Germanic tribes who still remained independent. These, + with one exception, he overcame and placed under the sovereignty of + his son. He laid claim to one-half of the Western Empire, as the + betrothed husband of Valentinian's sister Honoria, from whom he had + years before received the offer of her hand in marriage. + + In 451, with Genseric, King of the Vandals, for his ally, he + invaded Gaul. Before his advance the cities hastened to capitulate, + and so complete was his devastation of the country that it came to + be a saying that the grass never grew where his horses had trod. + But in Aetius, their commander-in-chief under Valentinian III, the + Romans had an able general, who was aided by the West Gothic king + Theodoric. The West Goths and the Franks, the former from the + South, the latter from the North of Gaul, joined him in large + numbers, and the allied forces drove the Huns from the walls of + Orleans, which he had besieged. From there he retreated to Chalons, + where his westward movement was to receive its final check. This + decisive event was, in the words of Herbert, "the discomfiture of + the mighty attempt of Attila to found a new anti-Christian dynasty + upon the wreck of the temporal power of Rome, at the end of the + term of twelve hundred years, to which its duration had been + limited by the forebodings of the heathen." + + +SIR EDWARD SHEPHERD CREASY + +A broad expanse of plains, the Campi Catalaunici of the ancients, +spreads far and wide around the city of Chalons, in the northeast of +France. The long rows of poplars, through which the river Marne winds +its way, and a few thinly scattered villages, are almost the only +objects that vary the monotonous aspect of the greater part of this +region. But about five miles from Chalons, near the little hamlets of +Chape and Cuperly, the ground is indented and heaped up in ranges of +grassy mounds and trenches, which attest the work of man's hands in ages +past, and which, to the practised eye, demonstrate that this quiet spot +has once been the fortified position of a huge military host. + +Local tradition gives to these ancient earthworks the name of Attila's +Camp. Nor is there any reason to question the correctness of the title, +or to doubt that behind these very ramparts it was that fourteen hundred +years ago the most powerful heathen king that ever ruled in Europe +mustered the remnants of his vast army, which had striven on these +plains against the Christian soldiery of Toulouse and Rome. Here it was +that Attila prepared to resist to the death his victors in the field; +and here he heaped up the treasures of his camp in one vast pile, which +was to be his funeral pyre should his camp be stormed. It was here that +the Gothic and Italian forces watched, but dared not assail their enemy +in his despair, after that great and terrible day of battle when + + "The sound + Of conflict was o'erpast, the shout of all + Whom earth could send from her remotest bounds, + Heathen or faithful; from thy hundred mouths, + That feed the Caspian with Riphean snows. + Huge Volga! from famed Hypanis, which once + Cradled the Hun; from all the countless realms + Between Imaus and that utmost strand + Where columns of Herculean rock confront + The blown Altantic; Roman, Goth, and Hun, + And Scythian strength of chivalry, that tread + The cold Codanian shore or what far lands + Inhospitable drink Cimmerian floods, + Franks, Saxons, Suevic, and Sarmatian chiefs, + And who from green Armorica or Spain + Flocked to the work of death." + +The victory which the Roman general Aetius, with his Gothic allies, had +then gained over the Huns, was the last victory of imperial Rome. But +among the long fasti of her triumphs, few can be found that, for their +importance and ultimate benefit to mankind, are comparable with this +expiring effort of her arms. It did not, indeed, open to her any new +career of conquest--it did not consolidate the relics of her power--it +did not turn the rapid ebb of her fortunes. The mission of imperial +Rome was, in truth, already accomplished. She had received and +transmitted through her once ample dominion the civilization of Greece. +She had broken up the barriers of narrow nationalities among the various +states and tribes that dwelt around the coasts of the Mediterranean. She +had fused these and many other races into one organized empire, bound +together by a community of laws, of government and institutions. Under +the shelter of her full power the true faith had arisen in the earth, +and during the years of her decline it had been nourished to maturity, +it had overspread all the provinces that ever obeyed her sway. For no +beneficial purpose to mankind could the dominion of the seven-hilled +city have been restored or prolonged. But it was all-important to +mankind what nations should divide among them Rome's rich inheritance of +empire. Whether the Germanic and Gothic warriors should form states and +kingdoms out of the fragments of her dominions, and become the free +members of the Commonwealth of Christian Europe, or whether pagan +savages, from the wilds of central Asia, should crush the relics of +classic civilization and the early institutions of the Christianized +Germans in one hopeless chaos of barbaric conquest. The Christian +Visigoths of King Theodoric fought and triumphed at Chalons side by side +with the legions of Aetius. Their joint victory over the Hunnish host +not only rescued for a time from destruction the old age of Rome, but +preserved for centuries of power and glory the Germanic element in the +civilization of modern Europe. + +In order to estimate the full importance to mankind of the battle of +Chalons we must keep steadily in mind who and what the Germans were, and +the important distinctions between them and the numerous other races +that assailed the Roman Empire; and it is to be understood that the +Gothic and Scandinavian nations are included in the German race. Now, +"in two remarkable traits the Germans differed from the Sarmatic as well +as from the Slavic nations, and, indeed, from all those other races to +whom the Greeks and Romans gave the designation of barbarians. I allude +to their personal freedom and regard for the rights of men; secondly, to +the respect paid by them to the female sex, and the chastity for which +the latter were celebrated among the people of the North. These were +the foundations of that probity of character, self-respect, and purity +of manners which may be traced among the Germans and Goths even during +pagan times, and which, when their sentiments were enlightened by +Christianity, brought out those splendid traits of character which +distinguish the age of chivalry and romance." + +What the intermixture of the German stock with the classic, at the fall +of the Western Empire, has done for mankind may be best felt by +watching, with Arnold, over how large a portion of the earth the +influence of the German element is now extended. + +"It affects, more or less, the whole west of Europe, from the head of +the Gulf of Bothnia to the most southern promontory of Sicily, from the +Oder and the Adriatic to the Hebrides and to Lisbon. It is true that the +language spoken over a large portion of this place is not predominantly +German; but even in France and Italy, and Spain, the influence of the +Franks, Burgundians, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, and Lombards while it has +colored even the language, has in blood and institutions left its mark +legibly and indelibly. Germany, the Low Countries, Switzerland, for the +most part Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and our own islands are all in +language, in blood, and in institutions German most decidedly. But all +South America is peopled with Spaniards and Portuguese; all North +America and all Australia with Englishmen. I say nothing of the +prospects and influence of the German race in Africa and in India; it is +enough to say that half of Europe and all America and Australia are +German, more or less completely, in race, in language, or in +institutions, or in all." + +By the middle of the fifth century Germanic nations had settled +themselves in many of the fairest regions of the Roman Empire, had +imposed their yoke on the provincials, and had undergone, to a +considerable extent, that moral conquest which the arts and refinements +of the vanquished in arms have so often achieved over the rough victor. +The Visigoths held the North of Spain, and Gaul south of the Loire. +Franks, Alemanni, Alans, and Burgundians had established themselves in +other Gallic provinces, and the Suevi were masters of a large southern +portion of the Spanish peninsula. A king of the Vandals reigned in +North Africa; and the Ostrogoths had firmly planted themselves in the +provinces north of Italy. Of these powers and principalities, that of +the Visigoths, under their king Theodoric, son of Alaric, was by far the +first in power and in civilization. + +The pressure of the Huns upon Europe had first been felt in the fourth +century of our era. They had long been formidable to the Chinese empire, +but the ascendency in arms which another nomadic tribe of Central Asia, +the Sienpi, gained over them, drove the Huns from their Chinese conquest +westward; and this movement once being communicated to the whole chain +of barbaric nations that dwelt northward of the Black Sea and the Roman +Empire, tribe after tribe of savage warriors broke in upon the barriers +of civilized Europe. The Huns crossed the Tanais into Europe in 375, and +rapidly reduced to subjection the Alans, the Ostrogoths, and other +tribes that were then dwelling along the course of the Danube. The +armies of the Roman Emperor that tried to check their progress were cut +to pieces by them, and Pannonia and other provinces south of the Danube +were speedily occupied by the victorious cavalry of these new invaders. +Not merely the degenerate Romans, but the bold and hardy warriors of +Germany and Scandinavia, were appalled at the number, the ferocity, the +ghastly appearance, and the lightning-like rapidity of the Huns. Strange +and loathsome legends were coined and credited, which attributed their +origin to the union of + + "Secret, black, and midnight hags" + +with the evil spirits of the wilderness. + +Tribe after tribe and city after city fell before them. Then came a +pause in their career of conquest in Southwestern Europe, caused +probably by dissensions among their chiefs, and also by their arms being +employed in attacks upon the Scandinavian nations. But when Attila--or +Atzel, as he is called in the Hungarian language--became their ruler, +the torrent of their arms was directed with augmented terrors upon the +West and the South, and their myriads marched beneath the guidance of +one master-mind to the overthrow both of the new and the old powers of +the earth. + +Recent events have thrown such a strong interest over everything +connected with the Hungarian name that even the terrible renown of +Attila now impresses us the more vividly through our sympathizing +admiration of the exploits of those who claim to be descended from his +warriors, and "ambitiously insert the name of Attila among their native +kings." The authenticity of this martial genealogy is denied by some +writers and questioned by more. But it is at least certain that the +Magyars of Arpad, who are the immediate ancestors of the bulk of the +modern Hungarians, and who conquered the country which bears the name of +Hungary in A.D. 889, were of the same stock of mankind as were the Huns +of Attila, even if they did not belong to the same subdivision of that +stock. Nor is there any improbability in the tradition that after +Attila's death many of his warriors remained in Hungary, and that their +descendants afterward joined the Huns of Arpad in their career of +conquest. It is certain that Attila made Hungary the seat of his empire. +It seems also susceptible of clear proof that the territory was then +called Hungvar, and Attila's soldiers Hungvari. Both the Huns of Attila +and those of Arpad came from the family of nomadic nations whose +primitive regions were those vast wildernesses of High Asia which are +included between the Altaic and the Himalayan mountain chains. + +The inroads of these tribes upon the lower regions of Asia and into +Europe have caused many of the most remarkable revolutions in the +history of the world. There is every reason to believe that swarms of +these nations made their way into distant parts of the earth at periods +long before the date of the Scythian invasion of Asia, which is the +earliest inroad of the nomadic race that history records. The first, as +far as we can conjecture, in respect to the time of their descent, were +the Finnish and Ugrian tribes, who appear to have come down from the +Altaic border of High Asia toward the northwest, in which direction they +advanced to the Uralian Mountains. There they established themselves; +and that mountain chain, with its valleys and pasture lands, became to +them a new country, whence they sent out colonies on every side; but the +Ugrian colony which under Arpad occupied Hungary and became the +ancestors of the bulk of the present Hungarian nation did not quit +their settlements on the Uralian Mountains till a very late period, and +not until four centuries after the time when Attila led from the primary +seats of the nomadic races in High Asia the host with which he advanced +into the heart of France. That host was Turkish, but closely allied in +origin, language, and habits with the Finno-Ugrian settlers on the Ural. + +Attila's fame has not come down to us through the partial and suspicious +medium of chroniclers and poets of his own race. It is not from Hunnish +authorities that we learn the extent of his might: it is from his +enemies, from the literature and the legends of the nations whom he +afflicted with his arms, that we draw the unquestionable evidence of his +greatness. Besides the express narratives of Byzantine, Latin, and +Gothic writers, we have the strongest proof of the stern reality of +Attila's conquests in the extent to which he and his Huns have been the +themes of the earliest German and Scandinavian lays. Wild as many of +those legends are, they bear concurrent and certain testimony to the awe +with which the memory of Attila was regarded by the bold warriors who +composed and delighted in them. + +Attila's exploits, and the wonders of his unearthly steed and magic +sword, repeatedly occur in the sagas of Norway and Iceland; and the +celebrated _Nibelungenlied_, the most ancient of Germanic poetry, is +full of them. There Etsel, or Attila, is described as the wearer of +twelve mighty crowns, and as promising to his bride the lands of thirty +kings whom his irresistible sword had subdued. He is, in fact, the hero +of the latter part of this remarkable poem; and it is at his capital +city, Etselenburg, which evidently corresponds to the modern Buda, that +much of its action takes place. + +When we turn from the legendary to the historic Attila, we see clearly +that he was not one of the vulgar herd of barbaric conquerors. +Consummate military skill may be traced in his campaigns; and he relied +far less on the brute force of armies for the aggrandizement of his +empire than on the unbounded influence over the affections of friends +and the fears of foes which his genius enabled him to acquire. Austerely +sober in his private life--severely just on the judgment +seat--conspicuous among a nation of warriors for hardihood, strength, +and skill in every martial exercise--grave and deliberate in counsel, +but rapid and remorseless in execution, he gave safety and security to +all who were under his dominion, while he waged a warfare of +extermination against all who opposed or sought to escape from it. He +watched the national passions, the prejudices, the creeds, and the +superstitions of the varied nations over which he ruled and of those +which he sought to reduce beneath his sway: all these feelings he had +the skill to turn to his own account. His own warriors believed him to +be the inspired favorite of their deities, and followed him with fanatic +zeal; his enemies looked on him as the preappointed minister of heaven's +wrath against themselves; and though they believed not in his creed, +their own made them tremble before him. + +In one of his early campaigns he appeared before his troops with an +ancient iron sword in his grasp, which he told them was the god of war +whom their ancestors had worshipped. It is certain that the nomadic +tribes of Northern Asia, whom Herodotus described under the name of +Scythians, from the earliest times worshipped as their god a bare sword. +That sword-god was supposed, in Attila's time, to have disappeared from +earth; but the Hunnish King now claimed to have received it by special +revelation. It was said that a herdsman, who was tracking in the desert +a wounded heifer by the drops of blood, found the mysterious sword +standing fixed in the ground, as if it had darted down from heaven. The +herdsman bore it to Attila, who thenceforth was believed by the Huns to +wield the Spirit of Death in battle, and their seers prophesied that +that sword was to destroy the world. A Roman, who was on an embassy to +the Hunnish camp, recorded in his memoirs Attila's acquisition of this +supernatural weapon, and the immense influence over the minds of the +barbaric tribes which its possession gave him. In the title which he +assumed we shall see the skill with which he availed himself of the +legends and creeds of other nations as well as of his own. He designated +himself "ATTILA, Descendant of the Great Nimrod. Nurtured in Engaddi. By +the grace of God, King of the Huns, the Goths, the Danes, and the Medes. +The Dread of the World." + +Herbert states that Attila is represented on an old medallion with a +teraph, or a head, on his breast; and the same writer adds: "We know, +from the _Hamartigenea_ of Prudentius, that Nimrod, with a snaky-haired +head, was the object of adoration of the heretical followers of Marcion; +and the same head was the palladium set up by Antiochus Epiphanes over +the gates of Antioch, though it has been called the visage of Charon. +The memory of Nimrod was certainly regarded with mystic veneration by +many; and by asserting himself to be the heir of that mighty hunter +before the Lord, he vindicated to himself at least the whole Babylonian +kingdom. + +"The singular assertion in his style, that he was nurtured in Engaddi, +where he certainly had never been, will be more easily understood on +reference to the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation, concerning +the woman clothed with the sun, who was to bring forth in the +wilderness--'where she hath a place prepared of God'--a man-child, who +was to contend with the dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and +rule all nations with a rod of iron. This prophecy was at that time +understood universally by the sincere Christians to refer to the birth +of Constantine, who was to overwhelm the paganism of the city on the +seven hills, and it is still so explained; but it is evident that the +heathens must have looked on it in a different light, and have regarded +it as a foretelling of the birth of that Great one who should master the +temporal power of Rome. The assertion, therefore, that he was nurtured +in Engaddi, is a claim to be looked upon as that man-child who was to be +brought forth in a place prepared of God in the wilderness. Engaddi +means a place of palms and vines in the desert; it was hard by Zoar, the +city of refuge, which was saved in the Vale of Siddim, or Demons, when +the rest were destroyed by fire and brimstone from the Lord in heaven, +and might, therefore, be especially called a place prepared of God in +the wilderness." + +It is obvious enough why he styled himself "By the Grace of God, King of +the Huns and Goths," and it seems far from difficult to see why he added +the names of the Medes and the Danes. His armies had been engaged in +warfare against the Persian kingdom of the Sassanidae, and it is certain +that he meditated the invasion and overthrow of the Medo-Persian power. +Probably some of the northern provinces of that kingdom had been +compelled to pay him tribute; and this would account for his styling +himself king of the Medes, they being his remotest subjects to the +south. From a similar cause he may have called himself king of the +Danes, as his power may well have extended northward as far as the +nearest of the Scandinavian nations, and this mention of Medes and Danes +as his subjects would serve at once to indicate the vast extent of his +dominion.[24] + +The immense territory north of the Danube and Black Sea and eastward of +Caucasus, over which Attila ruled, first in conjunction with his brother +Bleda, and afterward alone, cannot be very accurately defined, but it +must have comprised within it, besides the Huns, many nations of Slavic, +Gothic, Teutonic, and Finnish origin. South also of the Danube, the +country, from the river Sau as far as Novi in Thrace, was a Hunnish +province. Such was the empire of the Huns in A.D. 445; a memorable year, +in which Attila founded Buda on the Danube as his capital city, and rid +himself of his brother by a crime which seems to have been prompted not +only by selfish ambition, but also by a desire of turning to his purpose +the legends and forebodings which then were universally spread +throughout the Roman Empire, and must have been well known to the +watchful and ruthless Hun. + +The year 445 of our era completed the twelfth century from the +foundation of Rome, according to the best chronologers. It had always +been believed among the Romans that the twelve vultures, which were said +to have appeared to Romulus when he founded the city, signified the time +during which the Roman power should endure. The twelve vultures denoted +twelve centuries. This interpretation of the vision of the birds of +destiny was current among learned Romans, even when there were yet many +of the twelve centuries to run, and while the imperial city was at the +zenith of its power. But as the allotted time drew nearer and nearer to +its conclusion, and as Rome grew weaker and weaker beneath the blows of +barbaric invaders, the terrible omen was more and more talked and +thought of; and in Attila's time, men watched for the momentary +extinction of the Roman State with the last beat of the last vulture's +wing. Moreover, among the numerous legends connected with the foundation +of the city, and the fratricidal death of Remus, there was one most +terrible one, which told that Romulus did not put his brother to death +in accident or in hasty quarrel, but that + + "He slew his gallant twin + With inexpiable sin," + +deliberately and in compliance with the warnings of supernatural powers. +The shedding of a brother's blood was believed to have been the price at +which the founder of Rome had purchased from destiny her twelve +centuries of existence. + +We may imagine, therefore, with what terror in this the twelve hundredth +year after the foundation of Rome the inhabitants of the Roman Empire +must have heard the tidings that the royal brethren Attila and Bleda had +founded a new capital on the Danube, which was designed to rule over the +ancient capital on the Tiber; and that Attila, like Romulus, had +consecrated the foundations of his new city by murdering his brother; so +that for the new cycle of centuries then about to commence, dominion had +been bought from the gloomy spirits of destiny in favor of the Hun by a +sacrifice of equal awe and value with that which had formerly obtained +it for the Roman. + +It is to be remembered that not only the pagans but also the Christians +of that age knew and believed in these legends and omens, however they +might differ as to the nature of the superhuman agency by which such +mysteries had been made known to mankind. And we may observe with +Herbert, a modern learned dignitary of our Church, how remarkably this +augury was fulfilled; for "if to the twelve centuries denoted by the +twelve vultures that appeared to Romulus we add, for the six birds that +appeared to Remus, six _lustra_ or periods of five years each, by which +the Romans were wont to number their time, it brings us precisely to the +year 476, in which the Roman Empire was finally extinguished by +Odoacer." + +An attempt to assassinate Attila, made, or supposed to have been made, +at the instigation of Theodoric the Younger, the emperor of +Constantinople, drew the Hunnish armies, in 445, upon the Eastern +Empire, and delayed for a time the destined blow against Rome. Probably +a more important cause of delay was the revolt of some of the Hunnish +tribes to the north of the Black Sea against Attila, which broke out +about this period, and is cursorily mentioned by the Byzantine writers. +Attila quelled this revolt, and having thus consolidated his power, and +having punished the presumption of the Eastern Roman Emperor by fearful +ravages of his fairest provinces, Attila, in 450 A.D., prepared to set +his vast forces in motion for the conquest of Western Europe. He sought +unsuccessfully by diplomatic intrigues to detach the king of the +Visigoths from his alliance with Rome, and he resolved first to crush +the power of Theodoric, and then to advance with overwhelming power to +trample out the last sparks of the doomed Roman Empire. + +A strange invitation from a Roman princess gave him a pretext for the +war, and threw an air of chivalric enterprise over his invasion. +Honoria, sister of Valentinian III, the emperor of the West, had sent to +Attila to offer him her hand and her supposed right to share in the +imperial power. This had been discovered by the Romans, and Honoria had +been forthwith closely imprisoned. Attila now pretended to take up arms +in behalf of his self-promised bride, and proclaimed that he was about +to march to Rome to redress Honoria's wrongs. Ambition and spite against +her brother must have been the sole motives that led the lady to woo the +royal Hun; for Attila's face and person had all the natural ugliness of +his race, and the description given of him by a Byzantine ambassador +must have been well known in the imperial courts. Herbert has well +versified the portrait drawn by Priscus of the great enemy of both +Byzantium and Rome: + + "Terrific was his semblance, in no mould + Of beautiful proportion cast; his limbs + Nothing exalted, but with sinews braced + Of Chalybean temper, agile, lithe, + And swifter than the roe; his ample chest + Was overbrow'd by a gigantic head, + With eyes keen, deeply sunk, and small, that gleam'd + Strangely in wrath as though some spirit unclean + Within that corporal tenement install'd + Look'd from its windows, but with temper'd fire + Beam'd mildly on the unresisting. Thin + His beard and hoary; his flat nostrils crown'd + A cicatrized, swart visage; but, withal, + That questionable shape such glory wore + That mortals quail'd beneath him." + +Two chiefs of the Franks, who were then settled on the Lower Rhine, were +at this period engaged in a feud with each other, and while one of them +appealed to the Romans for aid, the other invoked the assistance and +protection of the Huns. Attila thus obtained an ally whose cooeperation +secured for him the passage of the Rhine, and it was this circumstance +which caused him to take a northward route from Hungary for his attack +upon Gaul. The muster of the Hunnish hosts was swollen by warriors of +every tribe that they had subjugated; nor is there any reason to suspect +the old chroniclers of wilful exaggeration in estimating Attila's army +as seven hundred thousand strong. Having crossed the Rhine probably a +little below Coblentz, he defeated the king of the Burgundians, who +endeavored to bar his progress. He then divided his vast forces into two +armies, one of which marched northwest upon Tongres and Arras and the +other cities of that part of France, while the main body, under Attila +himself, advanced up the Moselle, and destroyed Besancon and other towns +in the country of the Burgundians. + +One of the latest and best biographers of Attila well observes that, +"having thus conquered the eastern part of France, Attila prepared for +an invasion of the West-Gothic territories beyond the Loire. He marched +upon Orleans, where he intended to force the passage of that river, and +only a little attention is requisite to enable us to perceive that he +proceeded on a systematic plan: he had his right wing on the north for +the protection of his Frank allies; his left wing on the south for the +purpose of preventing the Burgundians from rallying and of menacing the +passes of the Alps from Italy; and he led his centre toward the chief +object of the campaign--the conquest of Orleans, and an easy passage +into the West-Gothic dominion. The whole plan is very like that of the +allied powers in 1814, with this difference, that their left wing +entered France through the defiles of the Jura, in the direction of +Lyons, and that the military object of the campaign was the capture of +Paris." + +It was not until the year 451 that the Huns commenced the siege of +Orleans; and during their campaign in Eastern Gaul, the Roman general +Aetius had strenuously exerted himself in collecting and organizing such +an army as might, when united to the soldiery of the Visigoths, be fit +to face the Huns in the field. He enlisted every subject of the Roman +Empire whom patriotism, courage, or compulsion could collect beneath the +standards; and round these troops, which assumed the once proud title of +the legions of Rome he arrayed the large forces of barbaric auxiliaries, +whom pay, persuasion, or the general hate and dread of the Huns brought +to the camp of the last of the Roman generals. King Theodoric exerted +himself with equal energy. Orleans resisted her besiegers bravely as in +after-times. The passage of the Loire was skilfully defended against the +Huns; and Aetius and Theodoric, after much manoeuvring and difficulty, +effected a junction of their armies to the south of that important +river. + +On the advance of the allies upon Orleans, Attila instantly broke up the +siege of that city and retreated toward the Marne. He did not choose to +risk a decisive battle with only the central corps of his army against +the combined power of his enemies, and he therefore fell back upon his +base of operations, calling in his wings from Arras and Besancon, and +concentrating the whole of the Hunnish forces on the vast plains of +Chalons-sur-Marne. A glance at the map will show how scientifically this +place was chosen by the Hunnish general as the point for his scattered +forces to converge upon; and the nature of the ground was eminently +favorable for the operations of cavalry, the arm in which Attila's +strength peculiarly lay. + +It was during the retreat from Orleans that a Christian hermit is +reported to have approached the Hunnish King and said to him, "Thou art +the Scourge of God for the chastisement of the Christians." Attila +instantly assumed this new title of terror, which thenceforth became the +appellation by which he was most widely and most fearfully known. + +The confederate armies of Romans and Visigoths at last met their great +adversary face to face on the ample battleground of the Chalons plains. +Aetius commanded on the right of the allies; King Theodoric on the left; +and Sangipan, King of the Alans, whose fidelity was suspected, was +placed purposely in the centre, and in the very front of the battle. +Attila commanded his centre in person, at the head of his own +countrymen, while the Ostrogoths, the Gepidae, and the other subject +allies of the Huns were drawn up on the wings. + +Some manoeuvring appears to have occurred before the engagement, in +which Aetius had the advantage, inasmuch as he succeeded in occupying a +sloping hill which commanded the left flank of the Huns. Attila saw the +importance of the position taken by Aetius on the high ground, and +commenced the battle by a furious attack on this part of the Roman line, +in which he seems to have detached some of his best troops from his +centre to aid his left. The Romans, having the advantage of the ground, +repulsed the Huns, and while the allies gained this advantage on their +right, their left, under King Theodoric, assailed the Ostrogoths, who +formed the right of Attila's army. The gallant King was himself struck +down by a javelin as he rode onward at the head of his men; and his own +cavalry, charging over him, trampled him to death in the confusion. But +the Visigoths, infuriated, not dispirited, by their monarch's fall, +routed the enemies opposed to them, and then wheeled upon the flank of +the Hunnish centre, which had been engaged in a sanguinary and +indecisive contest with the Alans. + +In this peril Attila made his centre fall back upon his camp; and when +the shelter of its intrenchments and wagons had once been gained, the +Hunnish archers repulsed, without difficulty, the charges of the +vengeful Gothic cavalry. Aetius had not pressed the advantage which he +gained on his side of the field, and when night fell over the wild scene +of havoc Attila's left was still undefeated, but his right had been +routed and his centre forced back upon his camp. + +Expecting an assault on the morrow, Attila stationed his best archers in +front of the cars and wagons, which were drawn up as a fortification +along his lines, and made every preparation for a desperate resistance. +But the "Scourge of God" resolved that no man should boast of the honor +of having either captured or slain him, and he caused to be raised in +the centre of his encampment a huge pyramid of the wooden saddles of his +cavalry; round it he heaped the spoils and the wealth that he had won; +on it he stationed his wives who had accompanied him in the campaign; +and on the summit Attila placed himself, ready to perish in the flames +and balk the victorious foe of their choicest booty should they succeed +in storming his defences. + +But when the morning broke and revealed the extent of the carnage with +which the plains were heaped for miles, the successful allies saw also +and respected the resolute attitude of their antagonist. Neither were +any measures taken to blockade him in his camp, and so to extort by +famine that submission which it was too plainly perilous to enforce with +the sword. Attila was allowed to march back the remnants of his army +without molestation, and even with the semblance of success. + +It is probable that the crafty Aetius was unwilling to be too +victorious. He dreaded the glory which his allies the Visigoths had +acquired, and feared that Rome might find a second Alaric in Prince +Torismund, who had signalized himself in the battle, and had been chosen +on the field to succeed his father Theodoric. He persuaded the young +King to return at once to his capital, and thus relieved himself at the +same time of the presence of a dangerous friend as well as of a +formidable though beaten foe. + +Attila's attacks on the Western Empire were soon renewed, but never with +such peril to the civilized world as had menaced it before his defeat at +Chalons; and on his death, two years after that battle, the vast empire +which his genius had founded was soon dissevered by the successful +revolts of the subject nations. The name of the Huns ceased for some +centuries to inspire terror in Western Europe, and their ascendency +passed away with the life of the great King by whom it had been so +fearfully augmented.[25] + + +EDWARD GIBBON + +The facility with which Attila had penetrated into the heart of Gaul may +be ascribed to his insidious policy as well as to the terror of his +arms. His public declarations were skilfully mitigated by his private +assurances; he alternately soothed and threatened the Romans and the +Goths; and the courts of Ravenna and Toulouse, mutually suspicious of +each other's intentions, beheld with supine indifference the approach of +their common enemy. Aetius was the sole guardian of the public safety; +but his wisest measures were embarrassed by a faction which, since the +death of Placidia, infested the imperial palace; the youth of Italy +trembled at the sound of the trumpet; and the barbarians, who, from fear +or affection, were inclined to the cause of Attila, awaited with +doubtful and venal faith the event of the war. The patrician passed the +Alps at the head of some troops, whose strength and numbers scarcely +deserved the name of an army. But on his arrival at Aries, or Lyons, he +was confounded by the intelligence that the Visigoths, refusing to +embrace the defence of Gaul, had determined to expect, within their own +territories, the formidable invader, whom they professed to despise. + +The senator Avitus, who, after the honorable exercise of the praetorian +prefecture, had retired to his estate in Auvergne, was persuaded to +accept the important embassy, which he executed with ability and +success. He represented to Theodoric that an ambitious conqueror, who +aspired to the dominion of the earth, could be resisted only by the firm +and unanimous alliance of the powers whom he labored to oppress. The +lively eloquence of Avitus inflamed the Gothic warriors by the +description of the injuries which their ancestors had suffered from the +Huns, whose implacable fury still pursued them from the Danube to the +foot of the Pyrenees. He strenuously urged that it was the duty of every +Christian to save from sacrilegious violation the churches of God and +the relics of the saints; that it was the interest of every barbarian +who had acquired a settlement in Gaul, to defend the fields and +vineyards, which were cultivated for his use, against the desolation of +the Scythian shepherds. Theodoric yielded to the evidence of truth, +adopted the measure at once the most prudent and the most honorable, and +declared that, as the faithful ally of Aetius and the Romans, he was +ready to expose his life and kingdom for the common safety of Gaul. The +Visigoths, who at that time were in the mature vigor of their fame and +power, obeyed with alacrity the signal of war, prepared their arms and +horses, and assembled under the standard of their aged King, who was +resolved, with his two eldest sons, Torismond and Theodoric, to command +in person his numerous and valiant people. + +The example of the Goths determined several tribes or nations that +seemed to fluctuate between the Huns and the Romans. The indefatigable +diligence of the patrician gradually collected the troops of Gaul and +Germany, who had formerly acknowledged themselves the subjects or +soldiers of the republic, but who now claimed the rewards of voluntary +service and the rank of independent allies; the Laeti, the Armoricans, +the Breones, the Saxons, the Burgundians, the Sarmatians or Alani, the +Ripuarians, and the Franks who followed Meroveus as their lawful prince. +Such was the various army which, under the conduct of Aetius and +Theodoric, advanced, by rapid marches, to relieve Orleans and to give +battle to the innumerable host of Attila. + +On their approach, the king of the Huns immediately raised the siege, +and sounded a retreat to recall the foremost of his troops from the +pillage of a city which they had already entered. The valor of Attila +was always guided by his prudence; and as he foresaw the fatal +consequences of a defeat in the heart of Gaul, he repassed the Seine, +and expected the enemy in the plains of Chalons, whose smooth and level +surface was adapted to the operations of his Scythian cavalry. But in +this tumultuary retreat, the vanguard of the Romans and their allies +continually pressed, and sometimes engaged, the troops whom Attila had +posted in the rear; the hostile columns, in the darkness of the night +and the perplexity of the roads, might encounter each other without +design; and the bloody conflict of the Franks and Gepidae, in which +fifteen thousand barbarians were slain, was a prelude to a more general +and decisive action. + +The Catalaunian fields spread themselves round Chalons, and extend, +according to the vague measurement of Jornandes, to the length of one +hundred and fifty and the breadth of one hundred miles, over the whole +province, which is entitled to the appellation of a _champaign_ country. +This spacious plain was distinguished, however, by some inequalities of +ground; and the importance of a height which commanded the camp of +Attila was understood and disputed by the two generals. The young and +valiant Torismond first occupied the summit; the Goths rushed with +irresistible weight on the Huns, who labored to ascend from the opposite +side; and the possession of this advantageous post inspired both the +troops and their leaders with a fair assurance of victory. The anxiety +of Attila prompted him to consult his priests and haruspices. It was +reported that, after scrutinizing the entrails of victims and scraping +their bones, they revealed, in mysterious language, his own defeat, with +the death of his principal adversary; and that the barbarian, by +accepting the equivalent, expressed his involuntary esteem for the +superior merit of Aetius. + +But the unusual despondency, which seemed to prevail among the Huns, +engaged Attila to use the expedient, so familiar to the generals of +antiquity, of animating his troops by a military oration; and his +language was that of a king who had often fought and conquered at their +head. He pressed them to consider their past glory, their actual danger, +and their future hopes. The same fortune which opened the deserts and +morasses of Scythia to their unarmed valor, which had laid so many +warlike nations prostrate at their feet, had reserved the _joys_ of this +memorable field for the consummation of their victories. The cautious +steps of their enemies, their strict alliance, and their advantageous +posts he artfully represented as the effects, not of prudence, but of +fear. The Visigoths alone were the strength and nerves of the opposite +army; and the Huns might securely trample on the degenerate Romans, +whose close and compact order betrayed their apprehensions, and who were +equally incapable of supporting the dangers or the fatigues of a day of +battle. The doctrine of predestination, so favorable to martial virtue, +was carefully inculcated by the king of the Huns, who assured his +subjects that the warriors, protected by heaven, were safe and +invulnerable amid the darts of the enemy, but that the unerring Fates +would strike their victims in the bosom of inglorious peace. "I myself," +continued Attila, "will throw the first javelin, and the wretch who +refuses to imitate the example of his sovereign is devoted to inevitable +death." + +The spirit of the barbarians was rekindled by the presence, the voice, +and the example of their intrepid leader; and Attila, yielding to their +impatience, immediately formed his order of battle. At the head of his +brave and faithful Huns, he occupied in person the centre of the line. +The nations subject to his empire, the Rugians, the Heruli, the +Thuringians, the Franks, the Burgundians, were extended on either hand, +over the ample space of the Catalaunian fields; the right wing was +commanded by Ardaric, king of the Gepidae; and the three valiant brothers +who reigned over the Ostrogoths were posted on the left to oppose the +kindred tribes of the Visigoths. The disposition of the allies was +regulated by a different principle. Sangiban, the faithless King of the +Alani, was placed in the centre, where his motions might be strictly +watched, and his treachery might be instantly punished. Aetius assumed +the command of the left, and Theodoric of the right wing; while +Torismond still continued to occupy the heights which appear to have +stretched on the flank, and perhaps the rear, of the Scythian army. The +nations from the Volga to the Atlantic were assembled on the plain of +Chalons; but many of these nations had been divided by faction or +conquest or emigration; and the appearance of similar arms and ensigns, +which threatened each other, presented the image of a civil war. + +The discipline and tactics of the Greeks and Romans form an interesting +part of their national manners. The attentive study of the military +operations of Xenophon or Caesar or Frederic, when they are described by +the same genius which conceived and executed them, may tend to +improve--if such improvement can be wished--the art of destroying the +human species. But the battle of Chalons can only excite our curiosity +by the magnitude of the object; since it was decided by the blind +impetuosity of barbarians, and has been related by partial writers, +whose civil or ecclesiastical profession secluded them from the +knowledge of military affairs. Cassiodorus, however, had familiarly +conversed with many Gothic warriors who served in that memorable +engagement; "a conflict," as they informed him, "fierce, various, +obstinate, and bloody; such as could not be paralleled either in the +present or in past ages." The number of the slain amounted to one +hundred and sixty-two thousand, or, according to another account, three +hundred thousand persons; and these incredible exaggerations suppose a +real and effective loss sufficient to justify the historian's remark +that whole generations may be swept away, by the madness of kings, in +the space of a single hour. + +After the mutual and repeated discharge of missile weapons, in which the +archers of Scythia might signalize their superior dexterity, the cavalry +and infantry of the two armies were furiously mingled in closer combat. +The Huns, who fought under the eyes of their King, pierced through the +feeble and doubtful centre of the allies, separated their wings from +each other, and wheeling, with a rapid effort, to the left, directed +their whole force against the Visigoths. As Theodoric rode along the +ranks to animate his troops, he received a mortal stroke from the +javelin of Andages, a noble Ostrogoth, and immediately fell from his +horse. The wounded King was oppressed in the general disorder and +trampled under the feet of his own cavalry; and this important death +served to explain the ambiguous prophecy of the haruspices. + +Attila already exulted in the confidence of victory, when the valiant +Torismund descended from the hills and verified the remainder of the +prediction. The Visigoths, who had been thrown into confusion by the +flight or defection of the Alani, gradually restored their order of +battle; and the Huns were undoubtedly vanquished, since Attila was +compelled to retreat. He had exposed his person with the rashness of a +private soldier; but the intrepid troops of the centre had pushed +forward beyond the rest of the line; their attack was faintly supported; +their flanks were unguarded; and the conquerors of Scythia and Germany +were saved by the approach of the night from a total defeat. They +retired within the circle of wagons that fortified their camp; and the +dismounted squadrons prepared, themselves for a defence, to which +neither their arms nor their temper was adapted. The event was doubtful: +but Attila had secured a last and honorable resource. The saddles and +rich furniture of the cavalry were collected, by his order, into a +funeral pile; and the magnanimous barbarian had resolved, if his +intrenchments should be forced, to rush headlong into the flames, and to +deprive his enemies of the glory which they might have acquired by the +death or captivity of Attila. + +But his enemies had passed the night in equal disorder and anxiety. The +inconsiderate courage of Torismund was tempted to urge the pursuit, till +he unexpectedly found himself, with a few followers, in the midst of the +Scythian wagons. In the confusion of a nocturnal combat he was thrown +from his horse; and the Gothic prince must have perished like his +father, if his youthful strength, and the intrepid zeal of his +companions, had not rescued him from this dangerous situation. In the +same manner, but on the left of the line, Aetius himself, separated from +his allies, ignorant of their victory and anxious for their fate, +encountered and escaped the hostile troops that were scattered over the +plains of Chalons, and at length reached the camp of the Goths, which he +could only fortify with a slight rampart of shields till the dawn of +day. The imperial general was soon satisfied of the defeat of Attila, +who still remained inactive within his intrenchments; and when he +contemplated the bloody scene, he observed, with secret satisfaction, +that the loss had principally fallen on the barbarians. The body of +Theodoric, pierced with honorable wounds, was discovered under a heap of +the slain; his subjects bewailed the death of their king and father; but +their tears were mingled with songs and acclamations, and his funeral +rites were performed in the face of a vanquished enemy. + +The Goths, clashing their arms, elevated on a buckler his eldest son +Torismund, to whom they justly ascribed the glory of their success; and +the new King accepted the obligation of revenge as a sacred portion of +his paternal inheritance. Yet the Goths themselves were astonished by +the fierce and undaunted aspect of their formidable antagonist; and +their historian has compared Attila to a lion encompassed in his den and +threatening his hunters with redoubled fury. The kings and nations who +might have deserted his standard in the hour of distress were made +sensible that the displeasure of their monarch was the most imminent and +inevitable danger. All his instruments of martial music incessantly +sounded a loud and animating strain of defiance; and the foremost troops +who advanced to the assault were checked or destroyed by showers of +arrows from every side of the intrenchments. It was determined, in a +general council of war, to besiege the King of the Huns in his camp, to +intercept his provisions, and to reduce him to the alternative of a +disgraceful treaty or an unequal combat. But the impatience of the +barbarians soon disdained these cautious and dilatory measures; and the +mature policy of Aetius was apprehensive that, after the extirpation of +the Huns, the republic would be oppressed by the pride and power of the +Gothic nation. + +The patrician exerted the superior ascendants of authority and reason to +calm the passions, which the son of Theodoric considered as a duty; +represented, with seeming affection and real truth, the dangers of +absence and delay; and persuaded Torismond to disappoint, by his speedy +return, the ambitious designs of his brothers, who might occupy the +throne and treasures of Toulouse. After the departure of the Goths and +the separation of the allied army, Attila was surprised at the vast +silence that reigned over the plains of Chalons: the suspicion of some +hostile stratagem detained him several days within the circle of his +wagons, and his retreat beyond the Rhine confessed the last victory +which was achieved in the name of the Western Empire. Meroveus and his +Franks, observing a prudent distance, and magnifying the opinion of +their strength by the numerous fires which they kindled every night, +continued to follow the rear of the Huns till they reached the confines +of Thuringia. The Thuringians served in the army of Attila: they +traversed, both in their march and in their return, the territories of +the Franks; and it was perhaps in this war that they exercised the +cruelties which, about fourscore years afterward, were revenged by the +son of Clovis. They massacred their hostages, as well as their captives: +two hundred young maidens were tortured with exquisite and unrelenting +rage; their bodies were torn asunder by wild horses or their bones were +crushed under the weight of rolling wagons, and their unburied limbs +were abandoned on the public roads as a prey to dogs and vultures. Such +were those savage ancestors whose imaginary virtues have sometimes +excited the praise and envy of civilized ages! + +FOOTNOTES: + +[24] In the _Nibelungenlied_, the old poet who describes the reception +of the heroine Chrimhild by Attila [Etsel], says that Attila's dominions +were so vast that among his subject warriors there were Russian, Greek, +Wallachian, Polish, _and even Danish knights_. + +[25] If I seem to have given fewer of the details of the battle itself +than its importance would warrant, my excuse must be that Gibbon has +enriched our language with a description of it too long for quotation +and too splendidly for rivalry. I have not, however, taken altogether +the same view of it that he has. + + + + +FOUNDATION OF VENICE + +A.D. 452 + +THOMAS HODGKIN JOHN RUSKIN + + + The foundation of Venice (Venetia) is an incident in the history of + Attila's incursions, at the head of his Huns, into Italy after his + defeat at the battle of Chalons-sur-Marne. Venetia was then a large + and fertile province of Northern Italy, and fifty Venetian cities + flourished in peace and safety under the protection of the Empire. + After Attila's remorseless hordes had taken and destroyed Aquileia, + near the head of the Adriatic, they swept, with resistless fury, + through Venetia, whose cities were so utterly destroyed that their + very sites could henceforth scarcely be identified. The inhabitants + fled in large numbers to the shores of the Adriatic, where, at the + extremity of the gulf, a group of a hundred islets is separated by + shallows from the mainland of Italy. Here the Venetians built their + city on what had hitherto been uncultivated and almost uninhabited + sand-banks. Under such unfavorable circumstances was started the + career of that wonderful city which afterward became "Queen of the + Adriatic" and mother of art, science, and learning. + + The two greatest authorities on Venice are Thomas Hodgkin, who made + a life study of Italy and her invaders, and the immortal Ruskin, + whose grandly descriptive articles were written in the atmosphere + of Venice and the Adriatic Sea. + + +THOMAS HODGKIN + + +The terrible invaders, made wrathful and terrible by the resistance of +Aquileia, streamed through the trembling cities of Venetia. Each earlier +stage in the itinerary shows a town blotted out by their truly Tartar +genius for destruction. At the distance of thirty-one miles from +Aquileia stood the flourishing colony of Tulia Concordia, so named, +probably, in commemoration of the universal peace which, four hundred +and eighty years before, Augustus had established in the world. +Concordia was destroyed, and only an insignificant little village now +remains to show where it once stood. At another interval of thirty-one +miles stood Altinum, with its white villas clustering round the curves +of its lagoons, and rivalling Baiae in its luxurious charms. Altinum was +effaced as Concordia and as Aquileia. Yet another march of thirty-two +miles brought the squalid invaders to Patavium, proud of its imagined +Trojan origin, and, with better reason, proud of having given birth to +Livy. Patavium, too, was levelled with the ground. True, it has not like +its sister towns remained in the nothingness to which Attila reduced it. +It is now + + "Many-domed Padua proud," + +but all its great buildings date from the Middle Ages. Only a few broken +friezes and a few inscriptions in its museum exist as memorials of the +classical Patavium. + +As the Huns marched on Vicenza, Verona, Brescia, Bergamo, all opened +their gates at their approach, for the terror which they inspired was on +every heart. In these towns, and in Milan and Pavia (Ticinum), which +followed their example, the Huns enjoyed doubtless to the full their +wild revel of lust and spoliation, but they left the buildings unharmed, +and they carried captive the inhabitants instead of murdering them. + +The valley of the Po was now wasted to the heart's content of the +invaders. Should they cross the Apennines and blot out Rome as they had +blotted out Aquileia from among the cities of the world? This was the +great question that was being debated in the Hunnish camp, and, strange +to say, the voices were not all for war. Already Italy began to strike +that strange awe into the hearts of her northern conquerors which so +often in later ages has been her best defence. The remembrance of +Alaric, cut off by a mysterious death immediately after his capture of +Rome, was present in the mind of Attila, and was frequently insisted +upon by his counsellors, who seem to have had a foreboding that only +while he lived would they be great and prosperous. + +While this discussion was going forward in the barbarian camp, all +voices were hushed, and the attention of all was aroused by the news of +the arrival of an embassy from Rome. What had been going on in that city +it is not easy to ascertain. The Emperor seems to have been dwelling +there, not at Ravenna. Aetius shows a strange lack of courage or of +resource, and we find it difficult to recognize in him the victor of the +Mauriac plains. He appears to have been even meditating flight from +Italy, and to have thought of persuading Valentinian to share his +exile. But counsels a shade less timorous prevailed. Some one suggested +that possibly even the Hun might be satiated with havoc, and that an +embassy might assist to mitigate the remainder of his resentment. +Accordingly ambassadors were sent in the once mighty name of "the +Emperor and the Senate and People of Rome" to crave for peace, and these +were the men who were now ushered into the camp of Attila. + +The envoys had been well chosen to satisfy that punctilious pride which +insisted that only men of the highest dignity among the Romans should be +sent to treat with the lord of Scythia and Germany. Avienus, who had, +two years before, worn the robes of consul, was one of the ambassadors. +Trigetius, who had wielded the powers of a prefect, and who, seventeen +years before, had been despatched upon a similar mission to Genseric the +Vandal, was another. But it was not upon these men, but upon their +greater colleague, that the eyes of all the barbarian warriors and +statesmen were fixed. Leo, bishop of Rome, had come, on behalf of his +flock, to sue for peace from the idolater. + +The two men who had thus at last met by the banks of the Mincio are +certainly the grandest figures whom the fifth century can show to us, at +any rate since Alaric vanished from the scene. + +Attila we by this time know well enough; adequately to describe Pope Leo +I, we should have to travel too far into the region of ecclesiastical +history. Chosen pope in the year 440, he was now about half way through +his long pontificate, one of the few which have nearly rivalled the +twenty-five years traditionally assigned to St. Peter. A firm +disciplinarian, not to say a persecutor, he had caused the +Priscillianists of Spain and the Manichees of Rome to feel his heavy +hand. A powerful rather than subtle theologian, he had asserted the +claims of Christian common-sense as against the endless refinements of +oriental speculation concerning the nature of the Son of God. Like an +able Roman general he had traced, in his letters on the Eutychian +controversy, the lines of the fortress in which the defenders of the +Catholic verity were thenceforward to intrench themselves and from which +they were to repel the assaults of Monophysites on the one hand and of +Nestorians on the other. These lines had been enthusiastically accepted +by the great council of Chalcedon--held in the year of Attila's Gaulish +campaign--and remain from that day to this the authoritative utterance +of the Church concerning the mysterious union of the Godhead and the +manhood in the person of Jesus Christ. + +And all these gifts of will, of intellect, and of soul were employed by +Leo with undeviating constancy, with untired energy, in furthering his +great aim, the exaltation of the dignity of the popedom, the conversion +of the admitted primacy of the bishops of Rome into an absolute and +world-wide spiritual monarchy. Whatever our opinions may be as to the +influence of this spiritual monarchy on the happiness of the world, or +its congruity with the character of the Teacher in whose words it +professed to root itself, we cannot withhold a tribute of admiration for +the high temper of this Roman bishop, who in the ever-deepening +degradation of his country still despaired not, but had the courage and +endurance to work for a far-distant future, who, when the Roman was +becoming the common drudge and footstool of all nations, still +remembered the proud words "_Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, +memento!_" and under the very shadow of Attila and Genseric prepared for +the city of Romulus a new and spiritual dominion, vaster and more +enduring than any which had been won for her by Julius or by Hadrian. + +Such were the two men who stood face to face in the summer of 452 upon +the plains of Lombardy. The barbarian King had all the material power in +his hand, and he was working but for a twelvemonth. The pontiff had no +power but in the world of intellect, and his fabric was to last fourteen +centuries. They met, as has been said, by the banks of the Mincio. +Jordanes tells us that it was "where the river is crossed by many +wayfarers coming and going." Some writers think that these words point +to the ground now occupied by the celebrated fortress of Peschiera, +close to the point where the Mincio issues from the Lake of Garda. +Others place the interview at Governolo, a little village hard by the +junction of the Mincio and the Po. If the latter theory be true, and it +seems to fit well with the route which would probably be taken by +Attila, the meeting took place in Vergil's country, and almost in sight +of the very farm where Tityrus and Meliboeus chatted at evening under +the beech-tree. + +Leo's success as an ambassador was complete. Attila laid aside all the +fierceness of his anger and promised to return across the Danube, and to +live thenceforward at peace with the Romans. But in his usual style, in +the midst of reconciliation he left a loophole for a future wrath, for +"he insisted still on this point above all, that Honoria, the sister of +the Emperor, and the daughter of the Augusta Placidia, should be sent to +him with the portion of the royal wealth which was her due; and he +threatened that unless this was done he would lay upon Italy a far +heavier punishment than any which it had yet borne." + +But for the present, at any rate, the tide of devastation was turned, +and few events more powerfully impressed the imagination of that new and +blended world which was now standing at the threshold of the dying +empire than this retreat of Attila, the dreaded king of kings, before +the unarmed successor of St. Peter. + +Attila was already predisposed to moderation by the counsels of his +ministers. The awe of Rome was upon him and upon them, and he was forced +incessantly to ponder the question, "What if I conquer like Alaric, to +die like him?" Upon these doubts and ponderings of his supervened the +stately presence of Leo, a man of holy life, firm will, dauntless +courage--that, be sure, Attila perceived in the first moments of their +interview--and, besides this, holding an office honored and venerated +through all the civilized world. The barbarian yielded to his spell as +he had yielded to that of Lupus of Troyes, and, according to a +tradition, which, it must be admitted, is not very well authenticated, +he jocularly excused his unaccustomed gentleness by saying that "he knew +how to conquer men, but the lion and the wolf (Leo and Lupus) had +learned how to conquer him." + +The tradition which asserts that the republic of Venice and its neighbor +cities in the lagoons were peopled by fugitives from the Hunnish +invasion of 452, is so constant and in itself so probable that we seem +bound to accept it as substantially true, though contemporary or nearly +contemporary evidence to the fact is utterly wanting. + +The thought of "the glorious city in the sea" so dazzles our +imaginations when we turn our thoughts toward Venice that we must take a +little pains to free ourselves from the spell and reproduce the aspect +of the desolate islands and far-stretching wastes of sand and sea to +which the fear of Attila drove the delicately nurtured Roman provincials +for a habitation. + +If we examine on the map the well-known and deep recess of the Adriatic +Sea, we shall at once be struck by one marked difference between its +eastern and its northern shores. For three hundred miles down the +Dalmatian coast not one large river, scarcely a considerable stream, +descends from the too closely towering Dinaric mountains to the sea. If +we turn now to the northwestern angle which formed the shore of the +Roman province of Venetia, we find the coast line broken by at least +seven streams, two of which are great rivers. + +These seven streams, whose mouths are crowded into less than eighty +miles of coast, drain an area which, reckoning from Monte Viso to the +Terglon Alps--the source of the Ysonzo--must be four hundred and fifty +miles in length, and may average two hundred miles in breadth, and this +area is bordered on one side by the highest mountains in Europe, +snow-covered, glacier-strewn, wrinkled and twisted into a thousand +valleys and narrow defiles, each of which sends down its river or its +rivulet to swell the great outpour. + +For our present purpose, and as a worker out of Venetian history, Po, +notwithstanding the far greater volume of his waters, is of less +importance than the six other small streams which bear him company. He, +carrying down the fine alluvial soil of Lombardy, goes on lazily adding, +foot by foot, to the depth of his delta, and mile by mile to its extent. +They, swiftly hurrying over their shorter course from mountain to sea, +scatter indeed many fragments, detached from their native rocks, over +the first meadows which they meet with in the plain, but carry some also +far out to sea, and then, behind the bulwark which they thus have made, +deposit the finer alluvial particles with which they, too, are laden. +Thus we get the two characteristic features of the ever-changing coast +line, the Lido and the Laguna. The Lido, founded upon the masses of +rock, is a long, thin slip of the _terra firma_, which form a sort of +advance guard of the land. + +The Laguna, occupying the interval between the Lido and the true shore, +is a wide expanse of waters, generally very few feet in depth, with a +bottom of fine sand, and with a few channels of deeper water, the +representatives of the forming rivers winding intricately among them. In +such a configuration of land and water the state of the tide makes a +striking difference in the scene. And unlike the rest of the +Mediterranean, the Adriatic does possess a tide, small, it is true, in +comparison with the great tides of ocean--for the whole difference +between high and low water at the flood is not more than six feet, and +the average flow is said not to amount to more than two feet six +inches--but even this flux is sufficient to produce large tracts of sea +which the reflux converts into square miles of oozy sand. + +Here, between sea and land, upon this detritus of the rivers, settled +the detritus of humanity. The Gothic and the Lombard invasions +contributed probably their share of fugitives, but fear of the Hunnish +world-waster--whose very name, according to some, was derived from one +of the mighty rivers of Russia--was the great "degrading" influence that +carried down the fragments of Roman civilization and strewed them over +the desolate lagoons. The inhabitants of Aquileia, or at least the +feeble remnants that escaped the sword of Attila, took refuge at Grado. +Concordia migrated to Caprularia (now Caorle). The inhabitants of +Altinum, abandoning their ruined villas, founded their new habitations +upon seven islands at the mouth of the Piave, which, according to +tradition, they named from the seven gates of their old city--Torcellus, +Maiurbius, Boreana, Ammiana, Constantiacum, and Anianum. The +representatives of some of these names, Torcello, Mazzorbo, Burano, are +familiar sounds to the Venetian at the present day. + +From Padua came the largest stream of emigrants. They left the tomb of +their mythical ancestor, Antenor, and built their humble dwellings upon +the islands of the rivers Altus and Methamaucus, better known to us as +Rialto and Malamocco. This Paduan settlement was one day to be known to +the world by the name of Venice. But let us not suppose that the future +"Queen of the Adriatic" sprang into existence at a single bound like +Constantinople or Alexandria. For two hundred and fifty years, that is +to say for eight generations, the refugees on the islands of the +Adriatic prolonged an obscure and squalid existence--fishing, salt +manufacturing, damming out the waves with wattled vine-branches, driving +piles into the sand-banks, and thus gradually extending the area of +their villages. Still these were but fishing villages, loosely +confederated together, loosely governed, poor and insignificant, so that +the anonymous geographer of Ravenna, writing in the seventh century, can +only say of them, "In the country of Venetia there are some few islands +which are inhabited by men." This seems to have been their condition, +though perhaps gradually growing in commercial importance, until at the +beginning of the eighth century the concentration of political authority +in the hands of the first doge, and the recognition of the Rialto +cluster of islands as the capital of the confederacy, started the +republic on a career of success and victory, in which for seven +centuries she met no lasting check. + +But this lies far beyond the limit of our present subject. It must be +again said that we have not to think of "the pleasant place of all +festivity," but of a few huts among the sand-banks, inhabited by Roman +provincials, who mournfully recall their charred and ruined habitations +by the Brenta and the Piave. The sea alone does not constitute their +safety. If that were all, the pirate ships of the Vandal Genseric might +repeat upon their poor dwellings all the terror of Attila. But it is in +their amphibious life, in that strange blending of land and sea which is +exhibited by the lagunes, that their safety lies. Only experienced +pilots can guide a vessel of any considerable draught through the mazy +channels of deep water which intersect these lagoons; and should they +seem to be in imminent peril from the approach of an enemy, they will +defend themselves not like the Dutch by cutting the dikes which +barricade them from the ocean, but by pulling up the poles which even +those pilots need to indicate their pathway through the waters. There, +then, engaged in their humble, beaver-like labors, we leave for the +present the Venetian refugees from the rage of Attila. + +But even while protesting, it is impossible not to let into our minds +some thought of what those desolate fishing villages will one day +become. The dim religious light, half revealing the slowly gathered +glories of St. Mark's; the Ducal Palace, that history in stone; the +Rialto, with the babble of many languages; the Piazza, with its flock of +fearless pigeons; the Brazen Horses, the Winged Lion, the Bucentaur, all +that the artists of Venice did to make her beautiful, her ambassadors to +make her wise, her secret tribunals to make her terrible; memories of +these things must come thronging upon the mind at the mere mention of +her spell-like name. Now, with these pictures glowing vividly before +you, wrench the mind away with sudden effort to the dreary plains of +Pannonia. Think of the moody Tartar, sitting in his log-hut, surrounded +by his barbarous guests; of Zercon, gabbling his uncouth mixture of +Hunnish and Latin; of the bath-man of Onegesh, and the wool-work of +Kreka, and the reed candles in the village of Bleda's widow; and say if +cause and effect were ever more strangely meted in history than the rude +and brutal might of Attila with the stately and gorgeous and subtle +republic of Venice. + +One more consideration is suggested to us by that which was the noblest +part of the work of Venice, the struggle which she maintained for +centuries, really in behalf of all Europe, against the Turk. Attila's +power was soon to pass away, but, in the ages that were to come, another +Turanian race was to arise, as brutal as the Huns, but with their +fierceness sharp-pointed and hardened into a far more fearful weapon of +offence by the fanaticism of Islam. These descendants of the kinsfolk of +Attila were the Ottomans, and but for the barrier which, like their own +_murazzi_ against the waves, the Venetians interposed against the +Ottomans, it is scarcely too much to say that half Europe would have +undergone the misery of subjection to the organized anarchy of the +Turkish pachas. The Tartar Attila, when he gave up Aquileia and her +neighbor cities to the tender mercies of his myrmidons, little thought +that he was but the instrument in an unseen Hand for hammering out the +shield which should one day defend Europe from Tartar robbers such as he +was. The Turanian poison secreted the future antidote to itself, and the +name of that antidote was Venice. + +JOHN RUSKIN + + +In the olden days of travelling, now to return no more, in which +distance could not be vanquished without toil, but in which that toil +was rewarded, partly by the power of deliberate survey of the countries +through which the journey lay, and partly by the happiness of the +evening hours, when, from the top of the last hill he had surmounted, +the traveller beheld the quiet village where he was to rest, scattered +among the meadows beside its valley stream; or, from the long-hoped-for +turn in the dusty perspective of the causeway, saw, for the first time, +the towers of some famed city, faint in the rays of sunset--hours of +peaceful and thoughtful pleasure, for which the rush of the arrival in +the railway station is perhaps not always, or to all men, an +equivalent--in those days, I say, when there was something more to be +anticipated and remembered in the first aspect of each successive +halting-place, than a new arrangement of glass roofing and iron girder, +there were few moments of which the recollection was more fondly +cherished by the traveller than that which brought him within sight of +Venice, as his gondola shot into the open Lagoon from the canal of +Mestre. + +Not but that the aspect of the city itself was generally the source of +some slight disappointment, for, seen in this direction, its buildings +are far less characteristic than those of the other great towns of +Italy; but this inferiority was partly disguised by distance, and more +than atoned for by the strange rising of its walls and towers, out of +the midst, as it seemed, of the deep sea, for it was impossible that the +mind or the eye could at once comprehend the shallowness of the vast +sheet of water which stretched away in leagues of rippling lustre to the +north and south, or trace the narrow line of islets bounding it to the +east. The salt breeze, the white moaning sea-birds, the masses of black +weed separating and disappearing gradually, in knots of heaving shoal, +under the advance of the steady tide, all proclaimed it to be indeed the +ocean on whose bosom the great city rested so calmly; not such blue, +soft, lake-like ocean as bathes the Neapolitan promontories or sleeps +beneath the marble rocks of Genoa, but a sea with the bleak power of our +own northern waves, yet subdued into a strange spacious rest, and +changed from its angry pallor into a field of burnished gold, as the sun +declined behind the belfry tower of the lonely island church, fitly +named "St. George of the Sea-weed." + +As the boat drew nearer to the city, the coast which the traveller had +just left sank behind him into one long, low, sad-colored line, tufted +irregularly with brushwood and willows: but, at what seemed its northern +extremity, the hills of Arqua rose in a dark cluster of purple pyramids, +balanced on the bright mirage of the Lagoon; two or three smooth surges +of inferior hill extended themselves about their roots, and beyond +these, beginning with the craggy peaks above Vicenza, the chain of the +Alps girded the whole horizon to the north--a wall of jagged blue, here +and there showing through its clefts a wilderness of misty precipices, +fading far back into the recesses of Cadore, and itself rising and +breaking away eastward, where the sun struck opposite upon its snow, +into mighty fragments of peaked light, standing up behind the barred +clouds of evening, one after another, countless, the crown of the Adrian +Sea, until the eye turned back from pursuing them, to rest upon the +nearer burning of the campaniles of Murano, and on the great city, where +it magnified itself along the waves, as the quick silent pacing of the +gondola drew nearer and nearer. And at last, when its walls were +reached, and the outmost of its untrodden streets was entered, not +through towered gate or guarded rampart, but as a deep inlet between two +rocks of coral in the Indian sea; when first upon the traveller's sight +opened the long ranges of columned palaces--each with its black boat +moored at the portal--each with its image cast down, beneath its feet, +upon that green pavement which every breeze broke into new fantasies of +rich tessellation; when first, at the extremity of the bright vista, the +shadowy Rialto threw its colossal curve slowly forth from behind the +palace of the Camerlenghi; that strange curve, so delicate, so +adamantine, strong as a mountain cavern, graceful as a bow just bent; +when first, before its moonlike circumference was all risen, the +gondolier's cry, "Ah! Stali," struck sharp upon the ear, and the prow +turned aside under the mighty cornices that half met over the narrow +canal, where the plash of the water followed close and loud, ringing +along the marble by the boat's side; and when at last that boat darted +forth upon the breadth of silver sea, across which the front of the +Ducal Palace, flushed with its sanguine veins, looks to the snowy dome +of Our Lady of Salvation, it was no marvel that the mind should be so +deeply entranced by the visionary charm of a scene so beautiful and so +strange as to forget the darker truths of its history and its being. + +Well might it seem that such a city had owed her existence rather to the +rod of the enchanter than the fear of the fugitive; that the waters +which encircled her had been chosen for the mirror of her state rather +than the shelter of her nakedness; and that all which in nature was wild +or merciless--Time and Decay, as well as the waves and tempests--had +been won to adorn her instead of to destroy, and might still spare, for +ages to come, that beauty which seemed to have fixed for its throne the +sands of the hour-glass as well as of the sea. + +And although the last few eventful years, fraught with change to the +face of the whole earth, have been more fatal in their influence on +Venice than the five hundred that preceded them; though the noble +landscape of approach to her can now be seen no more, or seen only by a +glance, as the engine slackens its rushing on the iron line; and though +many of her palaces are forever defaced and many in desecrated ruins, +there is still so much of magic in her aspect that the hurried +traveller, who must leave her before the wonder of that first aspect has +been worn away, may still be led to forget the humility of her origin +and to shut his eyes to the depth of her desolation. They, at least, are +little to be envied in whose hearts the great charities of the +imagination lie dead, and for whom the fancy has no power to repress the +importunity of painful impressions or to raise what is ignoble and +disguise what is discordant in a scene so rich in its remembrances, so +surpassing in its beauty. But for this work of the imagination there +must be no permission during the task which is before us. + +The impotent feelings of romance, so singularly characteristic of this +century, may indeed gild, but never save, the remains of those mightier +ages to which they are attached like climbing flowers; and they must be +torn away from the magnificent fragments, if we would see them as they +stood in their own strength. Those feelings, always as fruitless as they +are fond, are in Venice not only incapable of protecting, but even of +discerning, the objects to which they ought to have been attached. The +Venice of modern fiction and drama is a thing of yesterday, a mere +efflorescence of decay, a stage dream which the first ray of daylight +must dissipate into dust. No prisoner, whose name is worth remembering, +or whose sorrow deserved sympathy, ever crossed that "Bridge of Sighs," +which is the centre of the Byronic ideal of Venice; no great merchant of +Venice ever saw that Rialto under which the traveller now passes with +breathless interest: the statue which Byron makes Faliero address as of +one of his great ancestors was erected to a soldier of fortune a hundred +and fifty years after Faliero's death; and the most conspicuous parts of +the city have been so entirely altered in the course of the last three +centuries that if Henry Dandolo or Francis Foscari could be summoned +from his tomb, and stood each on the deck of his galley at the entrance +of the Grand Canal, that renowned entrance, the painter's favorite +subject, the novelist's favorite scene, where the water first narrows by +the steps of the Church of La Salute--the mighty doges would not know in +what spot of the world they stood, would literally not recognize one +stone of the great city, for whose sake, and by whose ingratitude, their +gray hairs had been brought down with bitterness to the grave. + +The remains of _their_ Venice lie hidden behind the cumbrous masses +which were the delight of the nation in its dotage; hidden in many a +grass-grown court and silent pathway and lightless canal, where the slow +waves have sapped their foundations for five hundred years, and must +soon prevail over them forever. It must be our task to glean and gather +them forth, and restore out of them some faint image of the lost city, +more gorgeous a thousandfold than that which now exists, yet not created +in the day-dream of the prince nor by the ostentation of the noble, but +built by iron hands and patient hearts, contending against the adversity +of nature and the fury of man, so that its wonderfulness cannot be +grasped by the indolence of imagination, but only after frank inquiry +into the true nature of that wild and solitary scene whose restless +tides and trembling sands did indeed shelter the birth of the city, but +long denied her dominion. + +When the eye falls casually on a map of Europe, there is no feature by +which it is more likely to be arrested than the strange sweeping loop +formed by the junction of the Alps and Apennines, and enclosing the +great basin of Lombardy. This return of the mountain chain upon itself +causes a vast difference in the character of the distribution of its +_debris_ on its opposite sides. The rock fragments and sediment which +the torrents on the north side of the Alps bear into the plains are +distributed over a vast extent of country, and, though here and there +lodged in beds of enormous thickness, soon permit the firm substrata to +appear from underneath them; but all the torrents which descend from the +southern side of the High Alps and from the northern slope of the +Apennines meet concentrically in the recess or mountain-bay which the +two ridges enclose; every fragment which thunder breaks out of their +battlements, and every grain of dust which the summer rain washes from +their pastures, is at last laid at rest in the blue sweep of the +Lombardic plain; and that plain must have risen within its rocky +barriers as a cup fills with wine, but for two contrary influences which +continually depress, or disperse from its surface, the accumulation of +the ruins of ages. + +I will not tax the reader's faith in modern science by insisting on this +singular depression of the surface of Lombardy, which appears for many +centuries to have taken place steadily and continually; the main fact +with which we have to do is the gradual transport, by the Po and its +great collateral rivers, of vast masses of the finer sediment to the +sea. The character of the Lombardic plains is most strikingly expressed +by the ancient walls of its cities, composed for the most part of large +rounded Alpine pebbles alternating with narrow courses of brick, and was +curiously illustrated in 1848 by the ramparts of these same pebbles +thrown up four or five feet high round every field, to check the +Austrian cavalry in the battle under the walls of Verona. + +The finer dust among which these pebbles are dispersed is taken up by +the rivers, fed into continual strength by the Alpine snow, so that, +however pure their waters may be when they issue from the lakes at the +foot of the great chain, they become of the color and opacity of clay +before they reach the Adriatic; the sediment which they bear is at once +thrown down as they enter the sea, forming a vast belt of low land along +the eastern coast of Italy. The powerful stream of the Po of course +builds forward the fastest; on each side of it, north and south, there +is a tract of marsh, fed by more feeble streams, and less liable to +rapid change than the delta of the central river. In one of these tracts +is built Ravenna, and in the other Venice. + +What circumstances directed the peculiar arrangement of this great belt +of sediment in the earliest times, it is not here the place to inquire. +It is enough for us to know that from the mouths of the Adige to those +of the Piave there stretches, at a variable distance of from three to +five miles from the actual shore, a bank of sand, divided into long +islands by narrow channels of sea. The space between this bank and the +true shore consists of the sedimentary deposits from these and other +rivers, a great plain of calcareous mud, covered, in the neighborhood of +Venice, by the sea at high water, to the depth in most places of a foot +or a foot and a half, and nearly everywhere exposed at low tide, but +divided by an intricate network of narrow and winding channels, from +which the sea never retires. + +In some places, according to the run of the currents, the land has risen +into marshy islets, consolidated, some by art, and some by time, into +ground firm enough to be built upon or fruitful enough to be cultivated: +in others, on the contrary, it has not reached the sea-level; so that, +at the average low water, shallow lakelets glitter among its irregularly +exposed fields of seaweed. In the midst of the largest of these, +increased in importance by the confluence of several large river +channels toward one of the openings in the sea-bank, the city of Venice +itself is built, on a crowded cluster of islands; the various plots of +higher ground which appear to the north and south of this central +cluster have at different periods been also thickly inhabited, and now +bear, according to their size, the remains of cities, villages, or +isolated convents and churches, scattered among spaces of open ground, +partly waste and encumbered by ruins, partly under cultivation for the +supply of the metropolis. + +The average rise and fall of the tide are about three feet--varying +considerably with the seasons--but this fall, on so flat a shore, is +enough to cause continual movement in the waters, and in the main canals +to produce a reflux which frequently runs like a mill-stream. At high +water no land is visible for many miles to the north or south of Venice, +except in the form of small islands crowned with towers or gleaming with +villages; there is a channel, some three miles wide, between the city +and the mainland, and some mile and a half wide between it and the sandy +breakwater called the Lido, which divides the Lagoon from the Adriatic, +but which is so low as hardly to disturb the impression of the city's +having been built in the midst of the ocean, although the secret of its +true position is partly, yet not painfully, betrayed by the clusters of +piles set to mark the deep-water channels, which undulate far away in +spotty chains like the studded backs of huge sea-snakes, and by the +quick glittering of the crisped and crowded waves that flicker and dance +before the strong winds upon the unlifted level of the shallow sea. + +But the scene is widely different at low tide. A fall of eighteen or +twenty inches is enough to show ground over the greater part of the +Lagoon; and at the complete ebb the city is seen standing in the midst +of a dark plain of sea-weed, of gloomy green, except only where the +larger branches of the Brenta and its associated streams converge toward +the port of the Lido. Through this salt and sombre plain the gondola and +the fishing-boat advance by tortuous channels, seldom more than four or +five feet deep, and often so choked with slime that the heavier keels +furrow the bottom till their crossing tracks are seen through the clear +sea-water like the ruts upon a wintry road, and the oar leaves blue +gashes upon the ground at every stroke, or is entangled among the thick +weed that fringes the banks with the weight of its sullen waves, leaning +to and fro upon the uncertain sway of the exhausted tide. + +The scene is often profoundly oppressive, even at this day, when every +plot of higher ground bears some fragment of fair building: but, in +order to know what it was once, let the traveller follow in his boat at +evening the windings of some unfrequented channel far into the midst of +the melancholy plain; let him remove, in his imagination, the brightness +of the great city that still extends itself in the distance, and the +walls and towers from the islands that are near; and so wait, until the +bright investiture and sweet warmth of the sunset are withdrawn from the +waters, and the black desert of their shore lies in its nakedness +beneath the night, pathless, comfortless, infirm, lost in dark languor +and fearful silence, except where the salt runlets plash into the +tideless pools, or the sea-birds flit from their margins with a +questioning cry; and he will be enabled to enter in some sort into the +horror of heart with which this solitude was anciently chosen by man for +his habitation. + +They little thought, who first drove the stakes into the sand, and +strewed the ocean reeds for their rest, that their children were to be +the princes of that ocean, and their palaces its pride; and yet, in the +great natural laws that rule that sorrowful wilderness, let it be +remembered what strange preparation had been made for the things which +no human imagination could have foretold, and how the whole existence +and fortune of the Venetian nation were anticipated or compelled, by the +setting of those bars and doors to the rivers and the sea. Had deeper +currents divided their islands, hostile navies would again and again +have reduced the rising city into servitude; had stronger surges beaten +their shores, all the richness and refinement of the Venetian +architecture must have been exchanged for the walls and bulwarks of an +ordinary seaport. Had there been no tide, as in other parts of the +Mediterranean, the narrow canals of the city would have become noisome, +and the marsh in which it was built pestiferous. Had the tide been only +a foot or eighteen inches higher in its rise, the water access to the +doors of the palaces would have been impossible; even as it is, there is +sometimes a little difficulty, at the ebb, in landing without setting +foot upon the lower and slippery steps: and the highest tides sometimes +enter the court-yards, and overflow the entrance halls. + +Eighteen inches more of difference between the level of the flood and +ebb would have rendered the doorsteps of every palace, at low water, a +treacherous mass of weeds and limpets, and the entire system of +water-carriage for the higher classes, in their easy and daily +intercourse, must have been done away with. The streets of the city +would have been widened, its network of canals filled up, and all the +peculiar character of the place and the people destroyed. + +The reader may perhaps have felt some pain in the contrast between this +faithful view of the site of the Venetian throne, and the romantic +conception of it which we ordinarily form; but this pain, if he have +felt it, ought to be more than counterbalanced by the value of the +instance thus afforded to us at once of the inscrutableness and the +wisdom of the ways of God. If, two thousand years ago, we had been +permitted to watch the slow settling of the slime of those turbid rivers +into the polluted sea, and the gaining upon its deep and fresh waters of +the lifeless, impassable, unvoyageable plain, how little could we have +understood the purpose with which those islands were shaped out of the +void, and the torpid waters enclosed with their desolate walls of sand! +How little could we have known, any more than of what now seems to us +most distressful, dark, and objectless, the glorious aim which was then +in the mind of Him in whose hand are all the corners of the earth! How +little imagined that in the laws which were stretching forth the gloomy +margins of those fruitless banks, and feeding the bitter grass among +their shallows, there was indeed a preparation, and _the only +preparation possible_, for the founding of a city which was to be set +like a golden clasp on the girdle of the earth, to write her history on +the white scrolls of the sea-surges, and to word it in their thunder, +and to gather and give forth, in world-wide pulsation, the glory of the +West and of the East, from the burning heart of her Fortitude and +Splendor. + + + + +CLOVIS FOUNDS THE KINGDOM OF THE FRANKS: IT BECOMES CHRISTIAN + +A.D. 486-511 + +FRANCOIS P.G. GUIZOT + + + Clovis, the sturdy Frank, wrought marvellous changes in Gaul. His + marriage to the Christian princess Clotilde was followed by the + conversion of himself and, gradually, that of his people. With a + well-disciplined army he pulled down and swept away the last + pillars of Roman power out of Gaul. Guizot gives a graphic account + of the transition of the Franks, during two hundred and fifty + years, from being isolated wandering tribes, each constantly + warring against the other, to a well-ordered Christian kingdom, + which led to the establishment of the French monarchy. The climax + of this period of transition came in the reign of Clovis, with whom + commences the real history of France. Under his strong hand the + various tribes were gradually brought under his sole rule. + + When Clovis, at the age of fifteen, succeeded his father, + Childeric, as king of the Salian tribe, his people were mainly + pagans; the Salian domain was very limited, the treasury empty, and + there was no store of either grain or wine. But these difficulties + were overcome by him; he subjugated the neighboring tribes, and + made Christianity the state religion. The new faith was accorded + great privileges and means of influence, in many cases favorable to + humanity and showing respect to the rights of individuals. So great + an advance in civilization is an early milestone on the path of + progress. + + +About A.D. 241 or 242 the Sixth Roman legion, commanded by Aurelian, at +that time military tribune, and thirty years later emperor, had just +finished a campaign on the Rhine, undertaken for the purpose of driving +the Germans from Gaul, and was preparing for eastern service, to make +war on the Persians. The soldiers sang: + + "We have slain a thousand Franks and a thousand + Sarmatians; we want a thousand, thousand, + Thousand Persians." + +That was, apparently, a popular burthen at the time, for on the days of +military festivals, at Rome and in Gaul, the children sang, as they +danced: + + "We have cut off the heads of a thousand, thousand, thousand + Thousand; + One man hath cut off the heads of a thousand, thousand, thousand, + Thousand thousand; + May he live a thousand thousand years, he who + Hath slain a thousand thousand! + Nobody hath so much of wine as he + Hath of blood poured out." + +Aurelian, the hero of these ditties, was indeed much given to the +pouring out of blood, for at the approach of a fresh war he wrote to the +senate: + +"I marvel, conscript fathers, that ye have so much misgiving about +opening the Sibylline books, as if ye were deliberating in an assembly +of Christians, and not in the temple of all the gods. Let inquiry be +made of the sacred books, and let celebration take place of the +ceremonies that ought to be fulfilled. Far from refusing, I offer, with +zeal, to satisfy all expenditure required with _captives of every +nationality_, victims of royal rank. It is no shame to conquer with the +aid of the gods; it is thus that our ancestors began and ended many a +war." + +Human sacrifices, then, were not yet foreign to pagan festivals, and +probably the blood of more than one Frankish captive on that occasion +flowed in the temple of all the gods. + +It is the first time the name of _Franks_ appears in history; and it +indicated no particular, single people, but a confederation of Germanic +peoplets, settled or roving on the right bank of the Rhine, from the +Main to the ocean. The number and the names of the tribes united in this +confederation are uncertain. A chart of the Roman Empire, prepared +apparently at the end of the fourth century, in the reign of the emperor +Honorius--which chart, called _tabula Peutingeri_, was found among the +ancient MSS. collected by Conrad Peutinger, a learned German +philosopher, in the fifteenth century--bears, over a large territory on +the right bank of the Rhine, the word _Francia_, and the following +enumeration: "The Chaucians, the Ampsuarians, the Cheruscans, and the +Chamavians, who are also called Franks;" and to these tribes divers +chroniclers added several others, "the Attuarians, the Bructerians, the +Cattians, and the Sicambrians." + +Whatever may have been the specific names of these peoplets, they were +all of German race, called themselves Franks, that is "freemen," and +made, sometimes separately, sometimes collectively, continued incursions +into Gaul--especially Belgica and the northern portions of Lyonness--at +one time plundering and ravaging, at another occupying forcibly, or +demanding of the Roman emperors lands whereon to settle. From the middle +of the third to the beginning of the fifth century the history of the +Western Empire presents an almost uninterrupted series of these +invasions on the part of the Franks, together with the different +relationships established between them and the imperial government. At +one time whole tribes settled on Roman soil, submitted to the emperors, +entered their service, and fought for them even against their own German +compatriots. At another, isolated individuals, such and such warriors of +German race, put themselves at the command of the emperors, and became +of importance. At the middle of the third century the emperor Valerian, +on committing a command to Aurelian, wrote, "Thou wilt have with thee +Hartmund, Haldegast, Hildmund, and Carioviscus." + +Some Frankish tribes allied themselves more or less fleetingly with the +imperial government, at the same time that they preserved their +independence; others pursued, throughout the empire, their life of +incursion and adventure. From A.D. 260 to 268, under the reign of +Gallienus, a band of Franks threw itself upon Gaul, scoured it from +northeast to southeast, plundering and devastating on its way; then it +passed from Aquitania into Spain, took and burned Tarragona, gained +possession of certain vessels, sailed away, and disappeared in Africa, +after having wandered about for twelve years at its own will and +pleasure. There was no lack of valiant emperors, precarious and +ephemeral as their power may have been, to defend the empire, and +especially Gaul, against those enemies, themselves ephemeral, but +forever recurring; Decius, Valerian, Gallienus, Claudius Gothicus, +Aurelian, and Probus gallantly withstood those repeated attacks of +German hordes. Sometimes they flattered themselves they had gained a +definitive victory, and then the old Roman pride exhibited itself in +their patriotic confidence. About A.D. 278, the emperor Probus, after +gaining several victories in Gaul over the Franks, wrote to the senate: + +"I render thanks to the immortal gods, conscript fathers, for that they +have confirmed your judgment as regards me. Germany is subdued +throughout its whole extent; nine kings of different nations have come +and cast themselves at my feet, or rather at yours, as suppliants with +their foreheads in the dust. Already all those barbarians are tilling +for you, sowing for you, and fighting for you against the most distant +nations. Order ye, therefore, according to your custom, prayers of +thanksgiving, for we have slain four thousand of the enemy; we have had +offered to us sixteen thousand men ready armed; and we have wrested from +the enemy the seventy most important towns. The Gauls, in fact, are +completely delivered. The crowns offered to me by all the cities of Gaul +I have submitted, conscript fathers, to your grace; dedicate ye them +with your own hands to Jupiter, all-bountiful, all-powerful, and to the +other immortal gods and goddesses. All the booty is retaken, and, +further, we have made fresh captures, more considerable than our first +losses; the fields of Gaul are tilled by the oxen of the barbarians, and +German teams bend their necks in slavery to our husbandmen; divers +nations raise cattle for our consumption, and horses to remount our +cavalry; our stores are full of the corn of the barbarians--in one word, +we have left to the vanquished naught but the soil; all their other +possessions are ours. We had at first thought it necessary, conscript +fathers, to appoint a new governor of Germany; but we have put off this +measure to the time when our ambition shall be more completely +satisfied, which will be, as it seems to us, when it shall have pleased +divine Providence to increase and multiply the forces of our armies." + +Probus had good reason to wish that "divine Providence might be pleased +to increase the forces of the Roman armies," for even after his +victories, exaggerated as they probably were, they did not suffice for +their task, and it was not long before the vanquished recommenced war. +He had dispersed over the territory of the empire the majority of the +prisoners he had taken. A band of Franks, who had been transported and +established as a military colony on the European shore of the Black Sea, +could not make up their minds to remain there. They obtained possession +of some vessels, traversed the Propontis, the Hellespont, and the +Archipelago, ravaged the coasts of Greece, Asia Minor, and Africa, +plundered Syracuse, scoured the whole of the Mediterranean, entered the +ocean by the Straits of Gibraltar, and, making their way up again along +the coasts of Gaul, arrived at last at the mouths of the Rhine, where +they once more found themselves at home among the vines which Probus, in +his victorious progress, had been the first to have planted, and with +probably their old taste for adventure and plunder. + +After the commencement of the fifth century, from A.D. 406 to 409, it +was no longer by incursions limited to certain points, and sometimes +repelled with success, that the Germans harassed the Roman provinces; a +veritable deluge of divers nations forced, one upon another, from Asia, +into Europe, by wars and migration in mass, inundated the empire and +gave the decisive signal for its fall. St. Jerome did not exaggerate +when he wrote to Ageruchia: "Nations, countless in number and exceeding +fierce, have occupied all the Gauls; Quadians, Vandals, Sarmatians, +Alans, Gepidians, Herulians, Saxons, Burgundians, Allemannians, +Pannonians, and even Assyrians have laid waste all that there is between +the Alps and the Pyrenees, the ocean and the Rhine. Sad destiny of the +Commonwealth! Mayence, once a noble city, hath been taken and destroyed; +thousands of men were slaughtered in the church. Worms hath fallen after +a long siege. The inhabitants of Rheims, a powerful city, and those of +Amiens, Arras, Terouanne, at the extremity of Gaul, Tournay, Spires, and +Strasburg have been carried away to Germany. All hath been ravaged in +Aquitania (Novempopulania), Lyonness, and Narbonensis; the towns, save a +few, are dispeopled; the sword pursueth them abroad and famine at home. +I cannot speak without tears of Toulouse; if she be not reduced to equal +ruin, it is to the merits of her holy bishop Exuperus that she oweth +it." + +Then took place throughout the Roman Empire, in the East as well as in +the West, in Asia and Africa as well as in Europe, the last grand +struggle between the Roman armies and barbaric nations. _Armies_ is the +proper term; for, to tell the truth, there was no longer a Roman nation, +and very seldom a Roman emperor with some little capacity for government +or war. The long continuance of despotism and slavery had enervated +equally the ruling power and the people; everything depended on the +soldiers and their generals. It was in Gaul that the struggle was most +obstinate and most promptly brought to a decisive issue, and the +confusion there was as great as the obstinacy. Barbaric peoplets served +in the ranks and barbaric leaders held the command of the Roman armies; +Stilicho was a Goth; Arbogastes and Mellobaudes were Franks; Ricimer was +a Suevian. The Roman generals, Bonifacius, Aetius, AEgidius, Syagrius, at +one time fought the barbarians, at another negotiated with such and such +of them, either to entice them to take service against other barbarians, +or to promote the objects of personal ambition; for the Roman generals +also, under the titles of patrician, consul, or proconsul, aspired to +and attained a sort of political independence, and contributed to the +dismemberment of the empire in the very act of defending it. + +No later than A.D. 412 two German nations, the Visigoths and the +Burgundians, took their stand definitively in Gaul, and founded there +two new kingdoms: the Visigoths, under their kings Ataulph and Wallia, +in Aquitania and Narbonensis; the Burgundians, under their kings +Gundichaire and Gundioch, in Lyonnais, from the southern point of +Alsatia right into Provence, along the two banks of the Saone and the +left bank of the Rhone, and also in Switzerland. In 451 the arrival in +Gaul of the Huns and their king Attila--already famous, both king and +nation, for their wild habits, their fierce valor, and their successes +against the Eastern Empire--gravely complicated the situation. The +common interest of resistance against the most barbarous of barbarians, +and the renown and energy of Aetius, united, for the moment, the old and +new masters of Gaul; Romans, Gauls, Visigoths, Burgundians, Franks, +Alans, Saxons, and Britons formed the army led by Aetius against that of +Attila, who also had in his ranks Goths, Burgundians, Gepidians, Alans, +and beyond-Rhine Franks, gathered together and enlisted on his road. It +was a chaos and a conflict of barbarians, of every name and race, +disputing one with another, pell-mell, the remnants of the Roman Empire +torn asunder and in dissolution. + +Attila had already arrived before Orleans, and was laying siege to it. +The bishop, St. Anianus, sustained awhile the courage of the besieged by +promising them aid from Aetius and his allies. The aid was slow to come; +and the bishop sent to Aetius a message: "If thou be not here this very +day, my son, it will be too late." Still Aetius came not. The people of +Orleans determined to surrender; the gates flew open; the Huns entered; +the plundering began without much disorder; "wagons were stationed to +receive the booty as it was taken from the houses, and the captives, +arranged in groups, were divided by lot between the victorious +chieftains." Suddenly a shout reechoed through the streets: it was +Aetius, Theodoric, and Torismund, his son, who were coming with the +eagles of the Roman legions and with the banners of the Visigoths. A +fight took place between them and the Huns, at first on the banks of the +Loire, and then in the streets of the city. The people of Orleans joined +their liberators; the danger was great for the Huns, and Attila ordered +a retreat. + +It was the 14th of June, 451, and that day was for a long while +celebrated in the church of Orleans as the date of a signal deliverance. +The Huns retired toward Champagne, which they had already crossed at +their coming into Gaul; and when they were before Troyes, the bishop, +St. Lupus, repaired to Attila's camp, and besought him to spare a +defenceless city, which had neither walls nor garrison. "So be it," +answered Attila; "but thou shalt come with me and see the Rhine; I +promise then to send thee back again." With mingled prudence and +superstition the barbarian meant to keep the holy man as a hostage. The +Huns arrived at the plains hard by Chalons-sur-Marne; Aetius and all his +allies had followed them; and Attila, perceiving that a battle was +inevitable, halted in a position for delivering it. The Gothic historian +Jornandes says that he consulted his priests, who answered that the Huns +would be beaten, but that _the general of the enemy_ would fall in the +fight. In this prophecy Attila saw predicted the death of Aetius, his +most formidable enemy; and the struggle commenced. There is no precise +information about the date; but "it was," says Jornandes, "a battle +which for atrocity, multitude, horror, and stubbornness has not the like +in the records of antiquity." + +Historians vary in their exaggerations of the numbers engaged and +killed: according to some, three hundred thousand, according to others +one hundred and sixty-two thousand, were left on the field of battle. +Theodoric, king of the Visigoths, was killed. Some chroniclers name +Meroveus as king of the Franks, settled in Belgica, near Tongres, who +formed part of the army of Aetius. They even attribute to him a +brilliant attack made on the eve of the battle upon the Gepidians, +allies of the Huns, when ninety thousand men fell according to some, and +only fifteen thousand according to others. The numbers are purely +imaginary, and even the fact is doubtful. However, the battle of Chalons +drove the Huns out of Gaul, and was the last victory in Gaul, gained +still in the name of the Roman Empire, but in reality for the advantage +of the German nations which had already conquered it. Twenty-four years +afterward the very name of Roman Empire disappeared with Augustulus, the +last of the emperors of the West. + +Thirty years after the battle of Chalons the Franks settled in Gaul were +not yet united as one nation; several tribes with this name, independent +one of another, were planted between the Rhine and the Somme; there were +some in the environs of Cologne, Calais, Cambrai, even beyond the Seine +and as far as Le Mans, on the confines of the Britons. This is one of +the reasons of the confusion that prevails in the ancient chronicles +about the chieftains or kings of these tribes, their names and dates, +and the extent and site of their possessions. Pharamond, Clodion, +Meroveus, and Childeric cannot be considered as kings of France and +placed at the beginning of her history. If they are met with in +connection with historical facts, fabulous legends or fanciful +traditions are mingled with them; Priam appears as a predecessor of +Pharamond; Clodion, who passes for having been the first to bear and +transmit to the Frankish kings the title of "long-haired," is +represented as the son, at one time of Pharamond, at another of another +chieftain named Theodemer; romantic adventures, spoilt by geographical +mistakes, adorn the life of Childeric. + +All that can be distinctly affirmed is that, from A.D. 450 to 480, the +two principal Frankish tribes were those of the Salian Franks and the +Ripuarian Franks, settled, the latter in the east of Belgica, on the +banks of the Moselle and the Rhine; the former toward the west, between +the Meuse, the ocean, and the Somme. Meroveus, whose name was +perpetuated in his line, was one of the principal chieftains of the +Salian Franks; and his son Childeric, who resided at Tournai, where his +tomb was discovered in 1655, was the father of Clovis, who succeeded him +in 481, and with whom really commenced the kingdom and history of +France. + +Clovis was fifteen or sixteen years old when he became king of the +Salian Franks of Tournai. Five years afterward his ruling passion, +ambition, exhibited itself, together with that mixture of boldness and +craft which was to characterize his whole life. He had two neighbors: +one, hostile to the Franks, the Roman patrician Syagrius, who was left +master at Soissons after the death of his father AEgidius, and whom +Gregory of Tours calls "king of the Romans"; the other, a +Salian-Frankish chieftain, just as Clovis was, and related to him, +Ragnacaire, who was settled at Cambrai. Clovis induced Ragnacaire to +join him in a campaign against Syagrius. They fought, and Syagrius was +driven to take refuge in Southern Gaul, with Alaric, king of the +Visigoths. + +Clovis, not content with taking possession of Soissons, and anxious to +prevent any troublesome return, demanded of Alaric to send Syagrius back +to him, threatening war if the request were refused. The Goth, less +bellicose than the Frank, delivered up Syagrius to the envoys of Clovis, +who immediately had him secretly put to death, settled himself at +Soissons, and from thence set on foot, in the country between the Aisne +and the Loire, plundering and subjugating expeditions which speedily +increased his domains and his wealth, and extended far and wide his fame +as well as his ambition. The Franks who accompanied him were not long +before they also felt the growth of his power; like him they were +pagans, and the treasures of the Christian churches counted for a great +deal in the booty they had to divide. On one of their expeditions they +had taken in the church of Rheims, among other things, a vase "of +marvellous size and beauty." + +The bishop of Rheims, St. Remi, was not quite a stranger to Clovis. Some +years before, when he had heard that the son of Childeric had become +king of the Franks of Tournai, he had written to congratulate him. "We +are informed," said he, "that thou hast undertaken the conduct of +affairs; it is no marvel that thou beginnest to be what thy fathers ever +were;" and, while taking care to put himself on good terms with the +young pagan chieftain, the bishop added to his felicitations some pious +Christian counsel, without letting any attempt at conversion be mixed up +with his moral exhortations. The bishop, informed of the removal of the +vase, sent to Clovis a messenger begging the return, if not of all his +church's ornaments, at any rate of that. "Follow us as far as Soissons," +said Clovis to the messenger; "it is there the partition is to take +place of what we have captured; when the lots shall have given me the +vase, I will do what the bishop demands." + +When Soissons was reached, and all the booty had been placed in the +midst of the host, the king said: "Valiant warriors, I pray you not to +refuse me, over and above my share, this vase here." At these words of +the king, those who were of sound mind among the assembly answered: +"Glorious king, everything we see here is thine, and we ourselves are +submissive to thy commands. Do thou as seemeth good to thee, for there +is none that can resist thy power." When they had thus spoken, a certain +Frank, light-minded, jealous, and vain, cried out aloud as he struck the +vase with his battle-axe, "Thou shalt have naught of all this save what +the lots shall truly give thee." At these words all were astounded; but +the king bore the insult with sweet patience, and, accepting the vase, +he gave it to the messenger, hiding his wound in the recesses of his +heart. At the end of a year he ordered all his host to assemble fully +equipped at the March parade, to have their arms inspected. After having +passed in review all the other warriors, he came to him who had struck +the vase. "None," said he, "hath brought hither arms so ill-kept as +thine; nor lance, nor sword, nor battle-axe are in condition for +service." And wresting from him his axe he flung it on the ground. The +man stooped down a little to pick it up, and forthwith the King, raising +with both hands his own battle-axe, drove it into his skull, saying, +"Thus didst thou to the vase of Soissons!" On the death of this fellow +he bade the rest begone, and by this act made himself greatly feared. + +A bold and unexpected deed has always a great effect on men: with his +Frankish warriors, as well as with his Roman and Gothic foes, Clovis had +at command the instincts of patience and brutality in turn; he could +bear a mortification and take vengeance in due season. While prosecuting +his course of plunder and war in Eastern Belgica, on the banks of the +Meuse, Clovis was inspired with a wish to get married. He had heard tell +of a young girl, like himself of the Germanic royal line, Clotilde, +niece of Gondebaud, at that time king of the Burgundians. She was dubbed +beautiful, wise, and well-informed; but her situation was melancholy and +perilous. Ambition and fraternal hatred had devastated her family. Her +father, Chilperic, and her two brothers, had been put to death by her +uncle Gondebaud, who had caused her mother, Agrippina, to be thrown into +the Rhone, with a stone round her neck, and drowned. Two sisters alone +had survived this slaughter: the elder, Chrona, had taken religious +vows; the other, Clotilde, was living almost in exile at Geneva, +absorbed in works of piety and charity. + +The principal historian of this epoch, Gregory of Tours, an almost +contemporary authority, for he was elected bishop sixty-two years after +the death of Clovis, says simply: "Clovis at once sent a deputation to +Gondebaud to ask Clotilde in marriage. Gondebaud, not daring to refuse, +put her into the hands of the envoys, who took her promptly to the King. +Clovis at sight of her was transported with joy, and married her." But +to this short account other chroniclers, among them Fredegaire, who +wrote a commentary upon and a continuation of Gregory of Tours' work, +added details which deserve reproduction, first as a picture of manners, +next for the better understanding of history. "As he was not allowed to +see Clotilde," says Fredegaire, "Clovis charged a certain Roman, named +Aurelian, to use all his wit to come nigh her. Aurelian repaired alone +to the spot, clothed in rags and with his wallet upon his back, like a +mendicant. To insure confidence in himself he took with him the ring of +Clovis. On his arrival at Geneva, Clotilde received him as a pilgrim +charitably, and while she was washing his feet Aurelian, bending toward +her, said, under his breath, 'Lady, I have great matters to announce to +thee if thou deign to permit me secret revelation.' She, consenting, +replied, 'Say on.' 'Clovis, king of the Franks,' said he, 'hath sent me +to thee: if it be the will of God, he would fain raise thee to his high +rank by marriage; and that thou mayest be certified thereof, he sendeth +thee this ring.' She accepted the ring with great joy, and said to +Aurelian, 'Take for recompense of thy pains these hundred sous in gold +and this ring of mine. Return promptly to thy lord; if he would fain +unite me to him by marriage, let him send without delay messengers to +demand me of my uncle Gondebaud, and let the messengers who shall come +take me away in haste, so soon as they shall have obtained permission; +if they haste not I fear lest a certain sage, one Aridius, may return +from Constantinople, and, if he arrive beforehand, all this matter will +by his counsel come to naught.' + +"Aurelian returned in the same disguise under which he had come. On +approaching the territory of Orleans, and at no great distance from his +house, he had taken as travelling companion a certain poor mendicant, by +whom he, having fallen asleep from sheer fatigue, and thinking himself +safe, was robbed of his wallet and the hundred sous in gold that it +contained. On awakening, Aurelian was sorely vexed, ran swiftly home, +and sent his servants in all directions in search of the mendicant who +had stolen his wallet. He was found and brought to Aurelian, who, after +drubbing him soundly for three days, let him go his way. He afterward +told Clovis all that had passed and what Clotilde suggested. Clovis, +pleased with his success and with Clotilde's notion, at once sent a +deputation to Gondebaud to demand his niece in marriage. Gondebaud, not +daring to refuse, and flattered at the idea of making a friend of +Clovis, promised to give her to him. Then the deputation, having offered +the denier and the sou, according to the custom of the Franks, espoused +Clotilde in the name of Clovis, and demanded that she be given up to +them to be married. + +"Without any delay the council was assembled at Chalons, and +preparations made for the nuptials. The Franks, having arrived with all +speed, received her from the hands of Gondebaud, put her into a covered +carriage, and escorted her to Clovis, together with much treasure. She, +however, having already learned that Aridius was on his way back, said +to the Frankish lords, 'If ye would take me into the presence of your +lord, let me descend from this carriage, mount me on horseback, and get +you hence as fast as ye may; for never in this carriage shall I reach +the presence of your lord.' + +"Aridius, in fact, returned very speedily from Marseilles, and +Gondebaud, on seeing him, said to him, 'Thou knowest that we have made +friends with the Franks, and that I have given my niece to Clovis to +wife.' 'This,' answered Aridius, 'is no bond of friendship, but the +beginning of perpetual strife. Thou shouldst have remembered, my lord, +that thou didst slay Clotilde's father, thy brother Chilperic, that thou +didst drown her mother, and that thou didst cut off her brothers' heads +and cast their bodies into a well. If Clotilde become powerful she will +avenge the wrongs of her relatives. Send thou forthwith a troop in +chase, and have her brought back to thee. It will be easier for thee to +bear the wrath of one person than to be perpetually at strife, thyself +and thine, with all the Franks.' And Gondebaud did send forthwith a +troop in chase to fetch back Clotilde with the carriage and all the +treasure; but she, on approaching Villers, where Clovis was waiting for +her, in the territory of the Troyes, and before passing the Burgundian +frontier, urged them who escorted her to disperse right and left over a +space of twelve leagues in the country whence she was departing, to +plunder and burn; and that having been done with the permission of +Clovis, she cried aloud, 'I thank thee, God omnipotent, for that I see +the commencement of vengeance for my parents and my brethren!'" + +The majority of the learned have regarded this account of Fredegaire as +a romantic fable, and have declined to give it a place in history. M. +Fauriel, one of the most learned associates of the Academy of +Inscriptions, has given much the same opinion, but he nevertheless +adds: "Whatever may be their authorship, the fables in question are +historic in the sense that they relate to real facts of which they are a +poetical expression, a romantic development, conceived with the idea of +popularizing the Frankish kings among the Gallo-Roman subjects." It +cannot, however, be admitted that a desire to popularize the Frankish +kings is a sufficient and truth-like explanation of these tales of the +Gallo-Roman chroniclers, or that they are no more than "a poetical +expression, a romantic development" of the real facts briefly noted by +Gregory of Tours; the tales have a graver origin and contain more truth +than would be presumed from some of the anecdotes and sayings mixed up +with them. In the condition of minds and parties in Gaul at the end of +the fifth century the marriage of Clovis and Clotilde was, for the +public of the period, for the barbarians and for the Gallo-Romans, a +great matter. Clovis and the Franks were still pagans; Gondebaud and the +Burgundians were Christians, but Arians; Clotilde was a Catholic +Christian. To which of the two, Catholics or Arians, would Clovis ally +himself? To whom, Arian, pagan, or Catholic, would Clotilde be married? + +Assuredly the bishops, priests, and all the Gallo-Roman clergy, for the +most part Catholics, desired to see Clovis, that young and audacious +Frankish chieftain, take to wife a Catholic rather than an Arian or a +pagan, and hoped to convert the pagan Clovis to Christianity much more +easily than an Arian to orthodoxy. The question between Catholic +orthodoxy and Arianism was, at that time, a vital question for +Christianity in its entirety, and St. Athanasius was not wrong in +attributing to it supreme importance. It may be presumed that the +Catholic clergy, the bishop of Rheims, or the bishop of Langres was no +stranger to the repeated praises which turned the thoughts of the +Frankish King toward the Burgundian princess, and the idea of their +marriage once set afloat, the Catholics, priesthood or laity, labored +undoubtedly to push it forward, while the Burgundian Arians exerted +themselves to prevent it. + +Thus there took place between opposing influences, religious and +national, a most animated struggle. No astonishment can be felt, then, +at the obstacles the marriage encountered, at the complications mingled +with it, and at the indirect means employed on both sides to cause its +success or failure. The account of Fredegaire is but a picture of this +struggle and its incidents, a little amplified or altered by imagination +or the credulity of the period; but the essential features of the +picture, the disguise of Aurelian, the hurry of Clotilde, the prudent +recollection of Aridius, Gondebaud's alternations of fear and violence, +and Clotilde's vindictive passion when she is once out of danger--there +is nothing in all this out of keeping with the manners of the time or +the position of the actors. Let it be added that Aurelian and Aridius +are real personages who are met with elsewhere in history, and whose +parts as played on the occasion of Clotilde's marriage are in harmony +with the other traces that remain of their lives. + +The consequences of the marriage justified before long the importance +which had on all sides been attached to it. Clotilde had a son; she was +anxious to have him baptized, and urged her husband to consent. "The +gods you worship," said she, "are naught, and can do naught for +themselves or others; they are of wood or stone or metal." Clovis +resisted, saying: "It is by the command of our gods that all things are +created and brought forth. It is plain that your God hath no power; +there is no proof even that he is of the race of the gods." But Clotilde +prevailed; and she had her son baptized solemnly, hoping that the +striking nature of the ceremony might win to the faith the father whom +her words and prayers had been powerless to touch. The child soon died, +and Clovis bitterly reproached the Queen, saying: "Had the child been +dedicated to my gods he would be alive; he was baptized in the name of +your God, and he could not live." Clotilde defended her God and prayed. +She had a second son who was also baptized, and fell sick. "It cannot be +otherwise with him than with his brother," said Clovis; "baptized in the +name of your Christ, he is going to die." But the child was cured, and +lived; and Clovis was pacified and less incredulous of Christ. + +An event then came to pass which affected him still more than the +sickness or cure of his children. + +In 496 the Alemannians, a Germanic confederation like the Franks, who +also had been, for some time past, assailing the Roman Empire on the +banks of the Rhine or the frontiers of Switzerland, crossed the river +and invaded the settlements of the Franks on the left bank. Clovis went +to the aid of his confederation and attacked the Alemannians at Tolbiac, +near Cologne. He had with him Aurelian, who had been his messenger to +Clotilde, whom he had made duke of Melun, and who commanded the forces +of Sens. The battle was going ill; the Franks were wavering and Clovis +was anxious. Before setting out he had, according to Fredegaire, +promised his wife that if he were victorious he would turn Christian. + +Other chroniclers say that Aurelian, seeing the battle in danger of +being lost, said to Clovis, "My lord King, believe only on the Lord of +heaven whom the Queen, my mistress, preacheth." Clovis cried out with +emotion: "Christ Jesus, thou whom my queen Clotilde calleth the Son of +the living God, I have invoked my own gods, and they have withdrawn from +me; I believe that they have no power, since they aid not those who call +upon them. Thee, very God and Lord, I invoke; if thou give me victory +over these foes, if I find in thee the power that the people proclaim of +thee, I will believe on thee, and will be baptized in thy name." The +tide of battle turned; the Franks recovered confidence and courage; and +the Allemannians, beaten and seeing their King slain, surrendered +themselves to Clovis, saying: "Cease, of thy grace, to cause any more of +our people to perish; for we are thine." + +On the return of Clovis, Clotilde, fearing he should forget his victory +and his promise, "secretly sent," says Gregory of Tours, "to St. Remi, +bishop of Rheims, and prayed him to penetrate the King's heart with the +words of salvation." St. Remi was a fervent Christian and able bishop; +and "I will listen to thee, most holy father," said Clovis, "willingly; +but there is a difficulty. The people that follow me will not give up +their gods. But I am about to assemble them, and will speak to them +according to thy word." The King found the people more docile or better +prepared than he had represented to the bishop. Even before he opened +his mouth the greater part of those present cried out: "We abjure the +mortal gods; we are ready to follow the immortal God whom Remi +preacheth." + +About three thousand Frankish warriors, however, persisted in their +intention of remaining pagans, and deserting Clovis betook themselves to +Ragnacaire, the Frankish king of Cambrai, who was destined ere long to +pay dearly for this acquisition. So soon as St. Remi was informed of +this good disposition on the part of king and people, he fixed Christmas +Day of this year, 496, for the ceremony of the baptism of these grand +neophytes. The description of it is borrowed from the historian of the +church of Rheims, Frodoard by name, born at the close of the ninth +century. He gathered together the essential points of it from the _Life +of Saint Remi_, written, shortly before that period, by the saint's +celebrated successor at Rheims, Archbishop Hincmar. "The bishop," says +he, "went in search of the King at early morn in his bed-chamber, in +order that, taking him at the moment of freedom from secular cares, he +might more freely communicate to him the mysteries of the holy word. The +King's chamber-people receive him with great respect, and the King +himself runs forward to meet him. Thereupon they pass together into an +oratory dedicated to St. Peter, chief of the apostles, and adjoining the +King's apartment. + +"When the bishop, the King, and the Queen had taken their places on the +seats prepared for them, and admission had been given to some clerics +and also some friends and household servants of the King, the venerable +bishop began his instructions on the subject of salvation. + +"Meanwhile preparations are being made along the road from the palace to +the baptistery; curtains and valuable stuffs are hung up; the houses on +either side of the street are dressed out; the baptistery is sprinkled +with balm and all manner of perfume. The procession moves from the +palace; the clergy lead the way with the holy gospels, the cross, and +standards, singing hymns and spiritual songs; then comes the bishop, +leading the King by the hand; after him the Queen, lastly the people. On +the road, it is said that the King asked the bishop if that were the +kingdom promised him. 'No,' answered the prelate, 'but it is the +entrance to the road that leads to it.' + +"At the moment when the King bent his head over the fountain of life, +'Lower thy head with humility, Sicambrian,' cried the eloquent bishop; +'adore what thou hast burned; burn what thou hast adored.' The King's +two sisters, Alboflede and Lantechilde, likewise received baptism; and +so at the same time did three thousand of the Frankish army, besides a +large number of women and children." + +When it was known that Clovis had been baptized by St. Remi, and with +what striking circumstance, great was the satisfaction among the +Catholics. The chief Burgundian prelate, Avitus, bishop of Vienne, wrote +to the Frankish King: "Your faith is our victory; in choosing for you +and yours, you have pronounced for all; divine Providence hath given you +as arbiter to our age. Greece can boast of having a sovereign of our +persuasion; but she is no longer alone in possession of this precious +gift; the rest of the world doth share her light." Pope Anastasius +hastened to express his joy to Clovis. "The Church, our common mother," +he wrote, "rejoiceth to have born unto God so great a king. Continue, +glorious and illustrious son, to cheer the heart of this tender mother; +be a column of iron to support her, and she in her turn will give thee +victory over all thine enemies." + +Clovis was not a man to omit turning his Catholic popularity to the +account of his ambition. At the very time when he was receiving these +testimonies of good-will from the heads of the Church he learned that +Gondebaud, disquieted, no doubt, at the conversion of his powerful +neighbor, had just made a vain attempt, at a conference held at Lyons, +to reconcile in his kingdom the Catholics and the Arians. Clovis +considered the moment favorable to his projects of aggrandizement at the +expense of the Burgundian King; he fomented the dissensions which +already prevailed between Gondebaud and his brother Godegisile, assured +to himself the latter's complicity, and suddenly entered Burgundy with +his army. Gondebaud, betrayed and beaten at the first encounter at +Dijon, fled to the south of his kingdom, and went and shut himself up in +Avignon. Clovis pursued, and besieged him there. Gondebaud in great +alarm asked counsel of his Roman confidant Aridius, who had but lately +foretold to him what the marriage of his niece Clotilde would bring upon +him. "On every side," said the King, "I am encompassed by perils, and I +know not what to do. Lo! here be these barbarians come upon us to slay +us and destroy the land." "To escape death," answered Aridius, "thou +must appease the ferocity of this man. Now, if it please thee, I will +feign to fly from thee and go over to him. So soon as I shall be with +him, I will so do that he ruin neither thee nor the land. Only have thou +care to perform whatsoever I shall ask of thee, until the Lord in his +goodness deign to make thy cause triumph." "All that thou shalt bid will +I do," said Gondebaud. So Aridius left Gondebaud and went his way to +Clovis, and said: "Most pious King, I am thy humble servant; I give up +this wretched Gondebaud and come unto thy mightiness. If thy goodness +deign to cast a glance upon me, thou and thy descendants will find in me +a servant of integrity and fidelity." + +Clovis received him very kindly and kept him by him, for Aridius was +agreeable in conversation, wise in counsel, just in judgment, and +faithful in whatever was committed to his care. As the siege continued +Aridius said to Clovis: "O King, if the glory of thy greatness would +suffer thee to listen to the words of my feebleness, though thou needest +not counsel, I would submit them to thee in all fidelity, and they might +be of use to thee, whether for thyself or for the towns by the which +thou dost propose to pass. Wherefore keepest thou here thine army whilst +thine enemy doth hide himself in a well-fortified place? Thou ravagest +the fields, thou pillagest the corn, thou cuttest down the vines, thou +fellest the olive-trees, thou destroyest all the produce of the land, +and yet thou succeedest not in destroying thine adversary. Rather send +thou unto him deputies, and lay on him a tribute to be paid to thee +every year. Thus the land will be preserved, and thou wilt be lord +forever over him who owes thee tribute. If he refuse, thou shalt then do +what pleaseth thee." Clovis found the counsel good, ordered his army to +return home, sent deputies to Gondebaud, and called upon him to +undertake the payment every year of a fixed tribute. Gondebaud paid for +the time, and promised to pay punctually for the future. And peace +appeared made between the two barbarians. + +Pleased with his campaign against the Burgundians, Clovis kept on good +terms with Gondebaud, who was to be henceforth a simple tributary, and +transferred to the Visigoths of Aquitania and their King, Alaric II, his +views of conquest. He had there the same pretexts for attack and the +same means of success. Alaric and his Visigoths were Arians, and between +them and the bishops of Southern Gaul, nearly all orthodox Catholics, +there were permanent ill-will and distrust. Alaric attempted to +conciliate their good-will: in 506 a council met at Agde; the +thirty-four bishops of Aquitania attended in person or by delegate; the +King protested that he had no design of persecuting the Catholics; the +bishops, at the opening of the council, offered prayers for the King; +but Alaric did not forget that immediately after the conversion of +Clovis, Volusian, bishop of Tours, had conspired in favor of the +Frankish King, and the bishops of Aquitania regarded Volusian as a +martyr, for he had been deposed, without trial, from his see, and taken +as a prisoner first to Toulouse, and afterward into Spain, where in a +short time he had been put to death. In vain did the glorious chief of +the race of Goths, Theodoric the Great, king of Italy, father-in-law of +Alaric, and brother-in-law of Clovis, exert himself to prevent any +outbreak between the two kings. In 498 Alaric, no doubt at his +father-in-law's solicitation, wrote to Clovis, "If my brother consent +thereto, I would, following my desires and by the grace of God, have an +interview with him." + +The interview took place at a small island in the Loire, called the Ile +d'Or or de St. Jean, near Amboise. "The two kings," says Gregory of +Tours, "conversed, ate, and drank together, and separated with mutual +promises of friendship." The positions and passions of each soon made +the promises of no effect. In 505 Clovis was seriously ill; the bishops +of Aquitania testified warm interest in him; and one of them, Quintian, +bishop of Rodez, being on this account persecuted by the Visigoths, had +to seek refuge at Clermont, in Auvergne. Clovis no longer concealed his +designs. In 507 he assembled his principal chieftains; and "It +displeaseth me greatly," said he, "that these Arians should possess a +portion of the Gauls; march we forth with the help of God, drive we them +from that land, for it is very goodly, and bring we it under our own +power." + +The Franks applauded their King; and the army set out on the march in +the direction of Poitiers, where Alaric happened at that time to be. "As +a portion of the troops was crossing the territory of Tours," says +Gregory, who was shortly afterward its bishop, "Clovis forbade, out of +respect for St. Martin, anything to be taken, save grass and water. One +of the army, however, having found some hay belonging to a poor man, +said, 'This is grass; we do not break the King's commands by taking it'; +and, in spite of the poor man's resistance, he robbed him of his hay. +Clovis, informed of the fact, slew the soldier on the spot with one +sweep of his sword, saying, 'What will become of our hopes of victory, +if we offend St. Martin?'" Alaric had prepared for the struggle; and the +two armies met in the plain of Vouille, on the banks of the little river +Clain, a few leagues from Poitiers. The battle was very severe. "The +Goths," says Gregory of Tours, "fought with missiles; the Franks sword +in hand. Clovis met and with his own hand slew Alaric in the fray; at +the moment of striking his blow two Goths fell suddenly upon Clovis, and +attacked him with their pikes on either side, but he escaped death, +thanks to his cuirass and the agility of his horse." + +Beaten and kingless, the Goths retreated in great disorder; and Clovis, +pursuing his march, arrived without opposition at Bordeaux, where he +settled down with his Franks for the winter. When the war season +returned he marched on Toulouse, the capital of the Visigoths, which he +likewise occupied without resistance, and where he seized a portion of +the treasure of the Visigothic kings. He quitted it to lay siege to +Carcassonne, which had been made by the Romans into the stronghold of +Septimania. + +There his course of conquest was destined to end. After the battle of +Vouille he had sent his eldest son, Theodoric, in command of a division, +with orders to cross Central Gaul from west to east, to go and join the +Burgundians of Gondebaud, who had promised his assistance, and in +conjunction with them to attack the Visigoths on the banks of the Rhone +and in Narbonensis. The young Frank boldly executed his father's orders, +but the intervention of Theodoric the Great, king of Italy, prevented +the success of the operation. He sent an army into Gaul to the aid of +his son-in-law Alaric; and the united Franks and Burgundians failed in +their attacks upon the Visigoths of the eastern provinces. Clovis had no +idea of compromising by his obstinacy the conquests already +accomplished; he therefore raised the siege of Carcassonne, returned +first to Toulouse, and then to Bordeaux, took Angouleme, the only town +of importance he did not possess in Aquitania; and feeling reasonably +sure that the Visigoths, who, even with the aid that had come from +Italy, had great difficulty in defending what remained to them of +Southern Gaul, would not come and dispute with him what he had already +conquered, he halted at Tours, and stayed there some time, to enjoy on +the very spot the fruits of his victory and to establish his power in +his new possessions. + +It appears that even the Britons of Armorica tendered to him at that +time, through the interposition of Melanius, bishop of Rennes, if not +their actual submission, at any rate their subordination and homage. + +Clovis at the same time had his self-respect flattered in a manner to +which barbaric conquerors always attach great importance. Anastasius, +emperor of the East, with whom he had already had some communication, +sent to him at Tours a solemn embassy, bringing him the titles and +insignia of patrician and consul. "Clovis," says Gregory of Tours, "put +on the tunic of purple and the chlamys and the diadem; then mounting his +horse, he scattered with his own hand and with much bounty gold and +silver among the people, on the road which lies between the gate of the +court belonging to the basilica of St. Martin and the church of the +city. From that day he was called consul and augustus. On leaving the +city of Tours he repaired to Paris, where he fixed the seat of his +government." + +Paris was certainly the political centre of his dominions, the +intermediate point between the early settlements of his race and himself +in Gaul and his new Gallic conquests; but he lacked some of the +possessions nearest to him and most naturally, in his own opinion, his. +To the east, north, and south-west of Paris were settled some +independent Frankish tribes, governed by chieftains with the name of +kings. So soon as he had settled at Paris, it was the one fixed idea of +Clovis to reduce them all to subjection. He had conquered the +Burgundians and the Visigoths; it remained for him to conquer and unite +together all the Franks. The barbarian showed himself in his true +colors, during this new enterprise, with his violence, his craft, his +cruelty, and his perfidy. He began with the most powerful of the tribes, +the Ripuarian Franks. He sent secretly to Cloderic, son of Sigebert, +their King, saying: "Thy father hath become old, and his wound maketh +him to limp o' one foot; if he should die, his kingdom will come to thee +of right, together with our friendship." Cloderic had his father +assassinated while asleep in his tent, and sent messengers to Clovis, +saying: "My father is dead, and I have in my power his kingdom and his +treasures. Send thou unto me certain of thy people, and I will gladly +give into their hands whatsoever among these treasures shall seem like +to please thee." The envoys of Clovis came, and, as they were examining +in detail the treasures of Sigebert, Cloderic said to them, "This is the +coffer wherein my father was wont to pile up his gold pieces." "Plunge," +said they, "thy hand right to the bottom, that none escape thee." +Cloderic bent forward, and one of the envoys lifted his battle-axe and +cleft his skull. + +Clovis went to Cologne and convoked the Franks of the canton. "Learn," +said he, "that which hath happened. As I was sailing on the river +Scheldt, Cloderic, son of my relative, did vex his father, saying I was +minded to slay him; and as Sigebert was flying across the forest of +Buchaw, his son himself sent bandits, who fell upon him and slew him. +Cloderic also is dead, smitten I know not by whom as he was opening his +father's treasures. I am altogether unconcerned in it all, and I could +not shed the blood of my relatives, for it is a crime. But since it hath +so happened, I give unto you counsel, which ye shall follow if it seem +to you good; turn ye toward me, and live under my protection." And they +who were present hoisted him on a huge buckler and hailed him king. + +After Sigebert and the Ripuarian Franks came the Franks of Terouanne, +and Chararic, their King. He had refused, twenty years before, to march +with Clovis against the Roman Syagrius. Clovis, who had not forgotten +it, attacked him, took him and his son prisoners, and had them both +shorn, ordering that Chararic should be ordained priest and his son +deacon. Chararic was much grieved. Then said his son to him: "Here be +branches which were cut from a green tree, and are not yet wholly dried +up: soon they will sprout forth again. May it please God that he who +hath wrought all this shall die as quickly!" Clovis considered these +words as a menace, had both father and son beheaded, and took possession +of their dominions. Ragnacaire, king of the Franks of Cambrai, was the +third to be attacked. He had served Clovis against Syagrius, but Clovis +took no account of that. Ragnacaire, being beaten, was preparing for +flight, when he was seized by his own soldiers, who tied his hands +behind his back, and took him to Clovis along with his brother Riquier. +"Wherefore hast thou dishonored our race," said Clovis, "by letting +thyself wear bonds? 'Twere better to have died," and cleft his skull +with one stroke of his battle-axe; then turning to Riquier, "Hadst thou +succored thy brother," said he, "he had assuredly not been bound," and +felled him likewise at his feet. Rignomer, king of the Franks of Le +Mans, met the same fate, but not at the hands, only by the order, of +Clovis. So Clovis remained sole king of the Franks, for all the +independent chieftains had disappeared. + +It is said that one day, after all these murders, Clovis, surrounded by +his trusted servants, cried: "Woe is me! who am left as a traveller +among strangers, and who have no longer relatives to lend me support in +the day of adversity!" Thus do the most shameless take pleasure in +exhibiting sham sorrow after crimes they cannot disavow. + +It cannot be known whether Clovis ever felt in his soul any scruple or +regret for his many acts of ferocity and perfidy, or if he looked as +sufficient expiation upon the favor he had bestowed on the churches and +their bishops, upon the gifts he lavished on them, and upon the +absolutions he demanded of them. In times of mingled barbarism and faith +there are strange cases of credulity in the way of bargains made with +divine justice. We read in the life of St. Eleutherus, bishop of +Tournai, the native land of Clovis, that at one of those periods when +the conscience of the Frankish King must have been most heavily laden, +he presented himself one day at the church. "My lord King," said the +bishop, "I know wherefore thou art come to me." "I have nothing special +to say unto thee," rejoined Clovis, "Say not so, O King," replied the +bishop; "thou hast sinned, and darest not avow it." The King was moved, +and ended by confessing that he had deeply sinned and had need of large +pardon. St. Eleutherus betook himself to prayer; the King came back the +next day, and the bishop gave him a paper on which was written by a +divine hand, he said, "the pardon granted to royal offences which might +not be revealed." + +Clovis accepted this absolution, and loaded the church of Tournai with +his gifts. In 511, the very year of his death, his last act in life was +the convocation at Orleans of a council, which was attended by thirty +bishops from the different parts of his kingdom, and at which were +adopted thirty-one canons that, while granting to the Church great +privileges and means of influence, in many cases favorable to humanity +and respect for the rights of individuals, bound the Church closely to +the state, and gave to royalty, even in ecclesiastical matters, great +power. The bishops, on breaking up, sent these canons to Clovis, praying +him to give them the sanction of his adhesion, which he did. A few +months afterward, on the 27th of November, 511, Clovis died at Paris, +and was buried in the church of St. Peter and St. Paul, nowadays St. +Genevieve, built by his wife, Queen Clotilde, who survived him. + +It was but right to make the reader intimately acquainted with that +great barbarian who, with all his vices and all his crimes, brought +about, or rather began, two great matters which have already endured +through fourteen centuries and still endure; for he founded the French +monarchy and Christian France. Such men and such facts have a right to +be closely studied and set in a clear light by history. Nothing similar +will be seen for two centuries, under the descendants of Clovis, the +Merovingians; among them will be encountered none but those personages +whom death reduces to insignificance, whatever may have been their rank +in the world, and of whom Vergil thus speaks to Dante: + + "Waste we no words on them: one glance and pass thou on." + + + + +PUBLICATION OF THE JUSTINIAN CODE + +A.D. 529-534 + +EDWARD GIBBON + + + The richest legacy ever left by one civilization to another was the + Justinian Code. This compilation of the entire body of the Roman + civil law (_Corpus Juris Civilis_), as evolved during the thousand + years after the Decemvirate legislation of the Twelve Tables, + comprises perhaps the most valuable historical data preserved from + ancient times. It presents a vivid and authentic picture of the + domestic life of the Romans and the rules which governed their + relations to each other. This phase of history is considered by + modern historians as of far greater importance than the chronicles + of battles and court intrigues. + + The importance of the Justinian Code, however, is not that of mere + history. Its influence as a living force is what compels the + admiration and gratitude of mankind. It forms the basis of the + systems of law in all the civilized nations of the world, with the + exception of those of the English-speaking peoples, and even in + these the principles of the civil law--as the Roman law is called + in contradistinction to the common and statute law of these + nations--form the most important part of the regulations concerning + personal property. + + For this monumental work the world is indebted to Justinian I + (Flavius Anicius Justinianus), the most famous of the emperors of + the Eastern Empire since Constantine. He was born a Slavonian + peasant. Uprawda, his original name, was Latinized into Justinian + when he became an officer in the Imperial Guard. He was adopted, + educated, and trained by Justin I, whom he succeeded as emperor. + His long reign (527-565) was disturbed by the sanguinary factions + of the Circus--the Greens and the Blues, so named from the colors + of the competing charioteers in the games--the suppression of the + schools of philosophy at Athens, and by various wars. Nevertheless + it was marked by magnificent works, the administrative organization + of the empire, and the great buildings at Constantinople. The + Church of Santa-Sophia, the first great Christian church, although + used as a Mahometan mosque since 1459, still stands at + Constantinople, with its plain exterior but impressive interior, a + monument of Justinian's reign. + + His two great masters of war, foreigners in origin like himself, + were Belisarius the Thracian and Narses the Armenian. Africa was + wrested from the Vandals; Italy from the successors of Theodoric; + and much of Spain from the Western Goths. Under Justinian the + Byzantine or Eastern Empire resumed much of the majesty and power + of ancient Rome. But the crowning glory of his career was the + Code. One of the greatest historians says of his reign: "Its most + instructive lesson has been drawn from the influence which its + legislation has exercised on foreign nations. The unerring instinct + of mankind has fixed on this period as one of the greatest eras in + man's annals." + + The Code was a digest of the whole mass of Roman law literature, + compiled and annotated at the command of Justinian, under the + supervision of the great lawyer Tribonian, who, with his helpers, + reduced the chaotic mass to a logical system containing the essence + of Roman law. The first part of the _Codex Constitutionem_, + prepared in less than a year, was published in April, 529. The + second part, the _Digest_ or _Pandects,_ appeared in December, 533. + To insure conformity, both were revised and issued in November, + 534, the Institutiones, an _elementary_ text-book, founded on the + _Institutiones_ of Gaius, who lived A.D. 110-180, being added, and + the whole, as a complete body of law, given to the law schools at + Constantinople, Rome, Alexandria, Berytus, and Caesarea, for use in + their graduate course. Later the _Novellae Constitutione_, or + _Novels,_ most of them in Greek, comprising statutes of Justinian + arranged chronologically, completed the Code. + + Forgotten or ignored during the lawless days of the Dark Ages, an + entire copy of this famous code was discovered when Amalphi was + taken by the Pisans in 1137. Its publication immediately attracted + the attention of the learned world. Gratian, a monk of Bologna, + compiled a digest of the canon law on the model of that work, and + soon afterward, incorporating with his writings the collections of + prior authors, gave his "decretum" to the public in 1151. From that + time the two codes, the civil and canon laws, were deemed the + principal repositories of legal knowledge, and the study of each + was considered necessary to throw light on the other. + + Justinian's example in the codification of laws was followed by + almost every European nation after the eighteenth century; the Code + Napoleon (1803-04), regulating all that pertains "to the civil + rights of citizens and of property," being the most brilliant + parallel to the Justinian Code. The reader familiar with the life + of Napoleon will recall that all of his historians quote his + frequent allusion to the Code Napoleon as the one great work which + would be a living monument of his career, when the glory of all his + other achievements would be dimmed by time or forgotten. + + Gibbon's examination of the Justinian Code is justly regarded as + one of the most important features of the historian's great work, + and in several of the leading universities of Europe has long been + used as a text-work on civil law. + + +When Justinian ascended the throne, the reformation of the Roman +jurisprudence was an arduous but indispensable task. In the space of ten +centuries, the infinite variety of laws and legal opinions had filled +many thousand volumes, which no fortune could purchase and no capacity +could digest. Books could not easily be found; and the judges, poor in +the midst of riches, were reduced to the exercise of their illiterate +discretion. The subjects of the Greek provinces were ignorant of the +language that disposed of their lives and properties; and the +_barbarous_ dialect of the Latins was imperfectly studied in the +academies of Berytus and Constantinople. As an Illyrian soldier, that +idiom was familiar to the infancy of Justinian; his youth had been +instructed by the lessons of jurisprudence, and his imperial choice +selected the most learned civilians of the East, to labor with their +sovereign in the work of reformation. The theory of professors was +assisted by the practice of advocates and the experience of magistrates, +and the whole undertaking was animated by the spirit of Tribonian. + +This extraordinary man, the object of so much praise and censure, was a +native of Side in Pamphylia; and his genius, like that of Bacon, +embraced as his own all the business and knowledge of the age. Tribonian +composed, both in prose and verse, on a strange diversity of curious and +abstruse subjects; a double panegyric of Justinian and the life of the +philosopher Theodotus; the nature of happiness and the duties of +government; Homer's catalogue and the four-and-twenty sorts of metre; +the astronomical canon of Ptolemy; the changes of the months; the houses +of the planets; and the harmonic system of the world. To the literature +of Greece he added the use of the Latin tongue; the Roman civilians were +deposited in his library and in his mind; and he most assiduously +cultivated those arts which opened the road of wealth and preferment. +From the bar of the praetorian prefects he raised himself to the honors +of quaestor, of consul, and of master of the offices: the council of +Justinian listened to his eloquence and wisdom, and envy was mitigated +by the gentleness and affability of his manners. + +The reproaches of impiety and avarice have stained the virtues or the +reputation of Tribonian. In a bigoted and persecuting court the +principal minister was accused of a secret aversion to the Christian +faith, and was supposed to entertain the sentiments of an atheist and a +pagan, which have been imputed, inconsistently enough, to the last +philosophers of Greece. His avarice was more clearly proved and more +sensibly felt. If he were swayed by gifts in the administration of +justice, the example of Bacon will again occur: nor can the merit of +Tribonian atone for his baseness, if he degraded the sanctity of his +profession; and if laws were every day enacted, modified, or repealed, +for the base consideration of his private emolument. In the sedition of +Constantinople his removal was granted to the clamors, perhaps to the +just indignation, of the people; but the quaestor was speedily restored, +and, till the hour of his death, he possessed above twenty years the +favor and confidence of the Emperor. His passive and dutiful submission +has been honored with the praise of Justinian himself, whose vanity was +incapable of discerning how often that submission degenerated into the +grossest adulation. Tribonian adored the virtues of his gracious master: +the earth was unworthy of such a prince; and he affected a pious fear, +that Justinian, like Elijah or Romulus, would be snatched into the air +and translated alive to the mansions of celestial glory. + +If Caesar had achieved the reformation of the Roman law, his creative +genius, enlightened by reflection and study, would have given to the +world a pure and original system of jurisprudence. Whatever flattery +might suggest, the Emperor of the East was afraid to establish his +private judgment as the standard of equity; in the possession of +legislative power, he borrowed the aid of time and opinion; and his +laborious compilations are guarded by the sages and legislators of past +times. Instead of a statue cast in a simple mould by the hand of an +artist, the works of Justinian represent a tessellated pavement of +antique and costly, but too often of incoherent, fragments. In the first +year of his reign he directed the faithful Tribonian and nine learned +associates to revise the ordinances of his predecessors, as they were +contained, since the time of Adrian, in the Gregorian, Hermogenian, and +Theodosian codes; to purge the errors and contradictions, to retrench +whatever was obsolete or superfluous, and to select the wise and +salutary laws best adapted to the practice of the tribunals and the use +of his subjects. The work was accomplished in fourteen months; and the +_Twelve_ books or _Tables_, which the new decemvirs produced, might be +designed to imitate the labors of their Roman predecessors. + +The new _Code_ of Justinian was honored with his name and confirmed by +his royal signature: authentic transcripts were multiplied by the pens +of notaries and scribes; they were transmitted to the magistrates of the +European, the Asiatic, and afterward the African provinces; and the law +of the empire was proclaimed on solemn festivals at the doors of +churches. A more arduous operation was still behind--to extract the +spirit of jurisprudence from the decisions and conjectures, the +questions and disputes of the Roman civilians. Seventeen lawyers, with +Tribonian at their head, were appointed by the Emperor to exercise an +absolute jurisdiction over the works of their predecessors. If they had +obeyed his commands in ten years, Justinian would have been satisfied +with their diligence; and the rapid composition of the _Digest_ or +_Pandects_ in three years will deserve praise or censure, according to +the merit of the execution. + +From the library of Tribonian they chose forty, the most eminent +civilians of former times: two thousand treatises were comprised in an +abridgment of fifty books; and it has been carefully re-reduced in this +abstract to the moderate number of one hundred and fifty thousand. The +edition of this great work was delayed a month after that of the +_Institutes_, and it seemed reasonable that the elements should precede +the digest of the Roman law. As soon as the Emperor had approved their +labors, he ratified by his legislative power the speculations of these +private citizens: their commentaries on the _Twelve Tables_, the +perpetual edict, the laws of the people, and the decrees of the senate +succeeded to the authority of the text; and the text was abandoned as a +useless, though venerable, relic of antiquity. The _Code_, the +_Pandects_, and the _Institutes_ were declared to be the legitimate +system of civil jurisprudence; they alone were admitted in the +tribunals, and they alone were taught in the academies of Rome, +Constantinople, and Berytus. Justinian addressed to the senate and +provinces his _eternal oracles_; and his pride, under the mask of piety, +ascribed the consummation of this great design to the support and +inspiration of the Deity. + +Since the Emperor declined the fame and envy of original composition, +we can only require at his hands method, choice, and fidelity, the +humble, though indispensable, virtues of a compiler. Among the various +combinations of ideas it is difficult to assign any reasonable +preference; but as the order of Justinian is different in his three +works, it is possible that all may be wrong; and it is certain that two +cannot be right. In the selection of ancient laws he seems to have +viewed his predecessors without jealousy and with equal regard: the +series could not ascend above the reign of Adrian; and the narrow +distinction of paganism and Christianity, introduced by the superstition +of Theodosius, had been abolished by the consent of mankind. But the +jurisprudence of the _Pandects_ is circumscribed within a period of a +hundred years, from the perpetual edict to the death of Severus +Alexander: the civilians who lived under the first Caesars are seldom +permitted to speak, and only three names can be attributed to the age of +the republic. The favorite of Justinian (it has been fiercely urged) was +fearful of encountering the light of freedom and the gravity of Roman +sages. Tribonian condemned to oblivion the genuine and native wisdom of +Cato, the Scaevolas, and Sulpicius; while he invoked spirits more +congenial to his own, the Syrians, Greeks, and Africans, who flocked to +the imperial court to study Latin as a foreign tongue and jurisprudence +as a lucrative profession. But the ministers of Justinian were +instructed to labor, not for the curiosity of antiquarians, but for the +immediate benefit of his subjects. It was their duty to select the +useful and practical parts of the Roman law; and the writings of the old +republicans, however curious or excellent, were no longer suited to the +new system of manners, religion, and government. + +Perhaps, if the preceptors and friends of Cicero were still alive, our +candor would acknowledge that, except in purity of language, their +intrinsic merit was excelled by the school of Papinian and Ulpian. The +science of the laws is the slow growth of time and experience, and the +advantage both of method and materials is naturally assumed by the most +recent authors. The civilians of the reign of the Antonines had studied +the works of their predecessors: their philosophic spirit had mitigated +the rigor of antiquity, simplified the forms of proceeding, and emerged +from the jealousy and prejudice of the rival sects. The choice of the +authorities that compose the _Pandects_ depended on the judgment of +Tribonian; but the power of his sovereign could not absolve him from the +sacred obligations of truth and fidelity. As the legislator of the +empire, Justinian might repeal the acts of the Antonines, or condemn as +seditious the free principles which were maintained by the last of the +_Roman_ lawyers. But the existence of past facts is placed beyond the +reach of despotism; and the Emperor was guilty of fraud and forgery when +he corrupted the integrity of their text, inscribed with their venerable +names the words and ideas of his servile reign, and suppressed by the +hand of power the pure and authentic copies of their sentiments. The +changes and interpolations of Tribonian and his colleagues are excused +by the pretence of uniformity: but their cares have been insufficient, +and the antinomies, or contradictions, of the _Code_ and _Pandects_ +still exercise the patience and subtlety of modern civilians. + +A rumor devoid of evidence has been propagated by the enemies of +Justinian, that the jurisprudence of ancient Rome was reduced to ashes +by the author of the _Pandects_, from the vain persuasion that it was +now either false or superfluous. Without usurping an office so +invidious, the Emperor might safely commit to ignorance and time the +accomplishment of this destructive wish. Before the invention of +printing and paper, the labor and the materials of writing could be +purchased only by the rich; and it may reasonably be computed that the +price of books was a hundredfold their present value. Copies were slowly +multiplied and cautiously renewed: the hopes of profit tempted the +sacrilegious scribes to erase the characters of antiquity,[26] and +Sophocles or Tacitus were obliged to resign the parchment to missals, +homilies, and the _Golden Legend_. If such was the fate of the most +beautiful compositions of genius, what stability could be expected for +the dull and barren works of an obsolete science? The books of +jurisprudence were interesting to few and entertaining to none: their +value was connected with present use, and they sunk forever as soon as +that use was superseded by the innovations of fashion, superior merit, +or public authority. In the age of peace and learning, between Cicero +and the last of the Antonines, many losses had been already sustained, +and some luminaries of the school or Forum were known only to the +curious by tradition and report. Three hundred and sixty years of +disorder and decay accelerated the progress of oblivion; and it may +fairly be presumed that of the writings which Justinian is accused of +neglecting many were no longer to be found in the libraries of the East. +The copies of Papinian or Ulpian, which the reformer had proscribed, +were deemed unworthy of future notice; the _Twelve Tables_ and praetorian +edicts insensibly vanished, and the monuments of ancient Rome were +neglected or destroyed by the envy and ignorance of the Greeks. + +Even the _Pandects_ themselves have escaped with difficulty and danger +from the common shipwreck, and criticism has pronounced that _all_ the +editions and manuscripts of the West are derived from _one_ original. It +was transcribed at Constantinople in the beginning of the seventh +century, was successfully transported by the accidents of war and +commerce to Amalphi, Pisa, and Florence,[27] and is now deposited as a +sacred relic in the ancient palace of the republic.[28] + +It is the first care of a reformer to prevent any future reformation. To +maintain the text of the _Pandects_, the _Institutes,_ and the _Code_, +the use of ciphers and abbreviations was rigorously proscribed; and as +Justinian recollected, that the perpetual edict had been buried under +the weight of commentators, he denounced the punishment of forgery +against the rash civilians who should presume to interpret or pervert +the will of their sovereign. The scholars of Accursius, of Bartolus, of +Cujacius, should blush for their accumulated guilt, unless they dare to +dispute his right of binding the authority of his successors and the +native freedom of the mind. But the Emperor was unable to fix his own +inconstancy; and while he boasted of renewing the exchange of Diomede, +of transmuting brass into gold, discovered the necessity of purifying +his gold from the mixture of baser alloy. Six years had not elapsed from +the publication of the _Code_ before he condemned the imperfect attempt +by a new and more accurate edition of the same work, which he enriched +with two hundred of his own laws and fifty decisions of the darkest and +most intricate points of jurisprudence. Every year or, according to +Procopius, each day of his long reign was marked by some legal +innovation. Many of his acts were rescinded by himself; many were +rejected by his successors; many have been obliterated by time; but the +number of sixteen _Edicts_ and one hundred and sixty-eight _Novels_ has +been admitted into the authentic body of the civil jurisprudence. In the +opinion of a philosopher superior to the prejudices of his profession, +these incessant and, for the most part, trifling alterations, can be +only explained by the venal spirit of a prince who sold without shame +his judgments and his laws. + +Monarchs seldom condescend to become the preceptors of their subjects; +and some praise is due to Justinian, by whose command an ample system +was reduced to a short and elementary treatise. Among the various +institutes of the Roman law those of Caius were the most popular in the +East and West; and their use may be considered as an evidence of their +merit. They were selected by the imperial delegates, Tribonian, +Theophilus, and Dorotheus, and the freedom and purity of the Antonines +were incrusted with the coarser materials of a degenerate age. The same +volume which introduced the youth of Rome, Constantinople, and Berytus +to the gradual study of the _Code_ and _Pandects_ is still precious to +the historian, the philosopher, and the magistrate. The _Institutes_ of +Justinian are divided into four books: they proceed, with no +contemptible method, from (1), _Persons_, to (2) _Things_, and from +things to (3) _Actions_; and the Article IV of _Private Wrongs_ is +terminated by the principles of _Criminal Law_.[29] + +I. The distinction of ranks and _persons_ is the firmest basis of a +mixed and limited government. The perfect equality of men is the point +in which the extremes of democracy and despotism are confounded; since +the majesty of the prince or people would be offended, if any heads were +exalted above the level of their fellow-slaves or fellow-citizens. In +the decline of the Roman Empire, the proud distinctions of the republic +were gradually abolished, and the reason or instinct of Justinian +completed the simple form of an absolute monarchy. The Emperor could not +eradicate the popular reverence which always waits on the possession of +hereditary wealth or the memory of famous ancestors. He delighted to +honor with titles and emoluments his generals, magistrates, and +senators; and his precarious indulgence communicated some rays of their +glory to the persons of their wives and children. But in the eye of the +law all Roman citizens were equal, and all subjects of the empire were +citizens of Rome. That inestimable character was degraded to an obsolete +and empty name. The voice of a Roman could no longer enact his laws or +create the annual ministers of his power: his constitutional rights +might have checked the arbitrary will of a master, and the bold +adventurer from Germany or Arabia was admitted, with equal favor, to the +civil and military command which the citizen alone had been once +entitled to assume over the conquests of his fathers. The first Caesars +had scrupulously guarded the distinction of _ingenuous_ and _servile_ +birth, which was decided by the condition of the mother; and the candor +of the laws was satisfied if _her_ freedom could be ascertained during a +single moment between the conception and the delivery. The slaves who +were liberated by a generous master immediately entered into the middle +class of _libertines_ or freedmen; but they could never be enfranchised +from the duties of obedience and gratitude: whatever were the fruits of +their industry, their patron and his family inherited the third part, or +even the whole of their fortune if they died without children and +without a testament. + +Justinian respected the rights of patrons, but his indulgence removed +the badge of disgrace from the two inferior orders of freedmen: whoever +ceased to be a slave obtained without reserve or delay the station of a +citizen; and at length the dignity of an ingenuous birth, which nature +had refused, was created or supposed by the omnipotence of the Emperor. +Whatever restraints of age, or forms, or numbers had been formerly +introduced to check the abuse of manumissions and the too rapid increase +of vile and indigent Romans, he finally abolished; and the spirit of his +laws promoted the extinction of domestic servitude. Yet the eastern +provinces were filled in the time of Justinian with multitudes of +slaves, either born or purchased for the use of their masters; and the +price, from ten to seventy pieces of gold, was determined by their age, +their strength, and their education. But the hardships of this dependent +state were continually diminished by the influence of government and +religion, and the pride of a subject was no longer elated by his +absolute dominion over the life and happiness of his bondsman. + +The law of nature instructs most animals to cherish and educate their +infant progeny. The law of reason inculcates to the human species the +return of filial piety. But the exclusive, absolute, and perpetual +dominion of the father over his children is peculiar to the Roman +jurisprudence and seems to be coeval with the foundation of the city. +The paternal power was instituted or confirmed by Romulus himself; and +after the practice of three centuries it was inscribed on the fourth +table of the decemvirs. In the Forum, the senate, or the camp the adult +son of a Roman citizen enjoyed the public and private rights of a +_person_: in his father's house he was a mere _thing_;[30] confounded by +the laws with the movables, the cattle, and the slaves, whom the +capricious master might alienate or destroy without being responsible to +any earthly tribunal. The hand which bestowed the daily sustenance +might resume the voluntary gift, and whatever was acquired, by the labor +or fortune of the son was immediately lost in the property of the +father. His stolen goods (his oxen or his children) might be recovered +by the same action of theft; and if either had been guilty of a +trespass, it was in his own option to compensate the damage or resign to +the injured party the obnoxious animal. + +At the call of indigence or avarice the master of a family could dispose +of his children or his slaves. But the condition of the slave was far +more advantageous, since he regained by the first manumission his +alienated freedom: the son was again restored to his unnatural father; +he might be condemned to servitude a second and a third time, and it was +not till after the third sale and deliverance that he was enfranchised +from the domestic power which had been so repeatedly abused. According +to his discretion, a father might chastise the real or imaginary faults +of his children by stripes, by imprisonment, by exile, by sending them +to the country to work in chains among the meanest of his servants. The +majesty of a parent was armed with the power of life and death; and the +examples of such bloody executions, which were sometimes praised and +never punished, may be traced in the annals of Rome beyond the times of +Pompey and Augustus. Neither age nor rank, nor the consular office, nor +the honors of a triumph could exempt the most illustrious citizen from +the bonds of filial subjection: his own descendants were included in the +family of their common ancestor; and the claims of adoption were not +less sacred or less rigorous than those of nature. Without fear, though +not without danger of abuse, the Roman legislators had reposed an +unbounded confidence in the sentiments of paternal love, and the +oppression was tempered by the assurance that each generation must +succeed in its turn to the awful dignity of parent and master. + +The first limitation of paternal power is ascribed to the justice and +humanity of Numa, and the maid who, with _his_ father's consent, had +espoused a freeman, was protected from the disgrace of becoming the wife +of a slave. In the first ages, when the city was pressed and often +famished by her Latin and Tuscan neighbors, the sale of children might +be a frequent practice; but as a Roman could not legally purchase the +liberty of his fellow-citizen, the market must gradually fail, and the +trade would be destroyed by the conquests of the republic. An imperfect +right of property was at length communicated to sons; and the threefold +distinction of _profectitious_, _adventitious_, and _professional_ was +ascertained by the jurisprudence of the _Code_ and _Pandects_. Of all +that proceeded from the father, he imparted only the use, and reserved +the absolute dominion; yet if his goods were sold, the filial portion +was excepted by a favorable interpretation from the demands of the +creditors. In whatever accrued by marriage, gift, or collateral +succession, the property was secured to the son; but the father, unless +he had been specially excluded, enjoyed the usufruct during his life. + +As a just and prudent reward of military virtue, the spoils of the enemy +were acquired, possessed, and bequeathed by the soldier alone; and the +fair analogy was extended to the emoluments of any liberal profession, +the salary of public service, and the sacred liberality of the emperor +or empress. The life of a citizen was less exposed than his fortune to +the abuse of paternal power. Yet his life might be adverse to the +interest or passions of an unworthy father: the same crimes that flowed +from the corruption were more sensibly felt by the humanity of the +Augustan age; and the cruel Erixo, who whipped his son till he expired, +was saved by the Emperor from the just fury of the multitude. The Roman +father, from the license of servile dominion, was reduced to the gravity +and moderation of a judge. The presence and opinion of Augustus +confirmed the sentence of exile pronounced against an intentional +parricide by the domestic tribunal of Arius. Adrian transported to an +island the jealous parent who, like a robber, had seized the opportunity +of hunting to assassinate a youth, the incestuous lover of his +step-mother. A private jurisdiction is repugnant to the spirit of +monarchy; the parent was again reduced from a judge to an accuser, and +the magistrates were enjoined by Severus Alexander to hear his +complaints and execute his sentence. He could no longer take the life of +a son without incurring the guilt and punishment of murder; and the +pains of parricide, from which he had been excepted by the Pompeian +law, were finally inflicted by the justice of Constantine. + +The same protection was due to every period of existence; and reason +must applaud the humanity of Paulus for imputing the crime of murder to +the father who strangles, or starves, or abandons his new-born infant; +or exposes him in a public place to find the mercy which he himself had +denied. But the exposition of children was the prevailing and stubborn +vice of antiquity: it was sometimes prescribed, often permitted, almost +always practised with impunity by the nations who never entertained the +Roman ideas of paternal power; and the dramatic poets who appeal to the +human heart represent with indifference a popular custom which was +palliated by the motives of economy and compassion. If the father could +subdue his own feelings, he might escape, though not the censure, at +least the chastisement of the laws; and the Roman Empire was stained +with the blood of infants, till such murders were included by +Valentinian and his colleagues in the letter and spirit of the Cornelian +law. The lessons of jurisprudence and Christianity had been insufficient +to eradicate this inhuman practice, till their gentle influence was +fortified by the terrors of capital punishment. + +Experience has proved that savage are the tyrants of the female sex, and +that the condition of women is usually softened by the refinements of +social life. In the hope of a robust progeny, Lycurgus had delayed the +season of marriage: it was fixed by Numa at the tender age of twelve +years, that the Roman husband might educate to his will a pure and +obedient virgin. According to the custom of antiquity, he bought his +bride of her parents, and she fulfilled the _coemption_ by purchasing, +with three pieces of copper, a just introduction to his house and +household deities. A sacrifice of fruits was offered by the pontiffs in +the presence of ten witnesses; the contracting parties were seated on +the same sheepskin; they tasted a salt-cake of _far_ or rice; and this +confarreation, which denoted the ancient food of Italy, served as an +emblem of their mystic union of mind and body. + +But this union on the side of the woman was rigorous and unequal; and +she renounced the name and worship of her father's house to embrace a +new servitude, decorated only by the title of adoption: a fiction of the +law, neither rational nor elegant, bestowed on the mother of a family +(her proper appellation) the strange characters of sister to her own +children, and of daughter to her husband or master, who was invested +with the plenitude of paternal power. By his judgment or caprice her +behavior was approved or censured or chastised; he exercised the +jurisdiction of life and death, and it was allowed that in the cases of +adultery or drunkenness the sentence might be properly inflicted. She +acquired and inherited for the sole profit of her lord; and so clearly +was woman defined, not as a _person_, but as a _thing_, that if the +original title were deficient, she might be claimed, like other +movables, by the _use_ and possession of an entire year. The inclination +of the Roman husband discharged or withheld the conjugal debt, so +scrupulously exacted by the Athenian and Jewish laws; but as polygamy +was unknown, he could never admit to his bed a fairer or more favored +partner. + +After the Punic triumphs the matrons of Rome aspired to the common +benefits of a free and opulent republic; their wishes were gratified by +the indulgence of fathers and lovers, and their ambition was +unsuccessfully resisted by the gravity of Cato the Censor. They declined +the solemnities of the old nuptials; defeated the annual prescription by +an absence of three days; and, without losing their name or +independence, subscribed the liberal and definite terms of a marriage +contract. Of their private fortunes they communicated the use and +secured the property; the estates of a wife could neither be alienated +nor mortgaged by a prodigal husband; their mutual gifts were prohibited +by the jealousy of the laws; and the misconduct of either party might +afford under another name a future subject for an action of theft. To +this loose and voluntary compact religious and civil rights were no +longer essential; and between persons of similar rank, the apparent +community of life was allowed as sufficient evidence of their nuptials. + +The dignity of marriage was restored by the Christians, who derived all +spiritual grace from the prayers of the faithful and the benediction of +the priest or bishop. The origin, validity, and duties of the holy +institution were regulated by the tradition of the synagogue, the +precepts of the gospel, and the canons of general or provincial synods; +and the conscience of the Christians was awed by the decrees and +censures of their ecclesiastical rulers. Yet the magistrates of +Justinian were not subject to the authority of the Church; the Emperor +consulted the unbelieving civilians of antiquity, and the choice of +matrimonial laws in the _Code_ and _Pandects_ is directed by the earthly +motives of justice, policy, and the natural freedom of both sexes. + +Besides the agreement of the parties, the essence of every rational +contract, the Roman marriage required the previous approbation of the +parents. A father might be forced by some recent laws to supply the +wants of a mature daughter; but even his insanity was not generally +allowed to supersede the necessity of his consent. The causes of the +dissolution of matrimony have varied among the Romans; but the most +solemn sacrament, the confarreation itself, might always be done away by +rites of a contrary tendency. In the first ages the father of a family +might sell his children, and his wife was reckoned in the number of his +children; the domestic judge might pronounce the death of the offender, +or his mercy might expel her from his bed and house; but the slavery of +the wretched female was hopeless and perpetual, unless he asserted for +his own convenience the manly prerogative of divorce. The warmest +applause has been lavished on the virtue of the Romans, who abstained +from the exercise of this tempting privilege above five hundred years; +but the same fact evinces the unequal terms of a connection in which the +slave was unable to renounce her tyrant, and the tyrant was unwilling to +relinquish his slave. + +When the Roman matrons became the equal and voluntary companions of +their lords, a new jurisprudence was introduced, that marriage, like +other partnerships, might be dissolved by the abdication of one of the +associates. In three centuries of prosperity and corruption this +principle was enlarged to frequent practice and pernicious abuse. +Passion, interest, or caprice suggested daily motives for the +dissolution of marriage; a word, a sign, a message, a letter, the +mandate of a freedman declared the separation; the most tender of human +connections was degraded to a transient society of profit or pleasure. +According to the various conditions of life, both sexes alternately +felt the disgrace and injury; an inconstant spouse transferred her +wealth to a new family, abandoning a numerous, perhaps a spurious +progeny to the paternal authority and care of her late husband; a +beautiful virgin might be dismissed to the world, old, indigent, and +friendless; but the reluctance of the Romans, when they were pressed to +marriage by Augustus, sufficiently marks that the prevailing +institutions were least favorable to the males. A specious theory is +confuted by this free and perfect experiment, which demonstrates that +the liberty of divorce does not contribute to happiness and virtue. The +facility of separation would destroy all mutual confidence, and inflame +every trifling dispute; the minute difference between a husband and a +stranger, which might so easily be removed, might still more easily be +forgotten; and the matron, who in five years can submit to the embraces +of eight husbands, must cease to reverence the chastity of her own +person. + +Insufficient remedies followed with distant and tardy steps the rapid +progress of the evil. The ancient worship of the Romans afforded a +peculiar goddess to hear and reconcile the complaints of a married life; +but her epithet of _viriplaca_, the appeaser of husbands, too clearly +indicates on which side submission and repentance were always expected. +Every act of a citizen was subject to the judgment of the censors; the +first who used the privilege of divorce assigned at their command the +motives of his conduct; and a senator was expelled for dismissing his +virgin spouse without the knowledge or advice of his friends. Whenever +an action was instituted for the recovery of a marriage portion, the +praetor, as the guardian of equity, examined the cause and the +characters, and gently inclined the scale in favor of the guiltless and +injured party. Augustus, who united the powers of both magistrates, +adopted their different modes of repressing or chastising the license of +divorce. + +The presence of seven Roman witnesses was required for the validity of +this solemn and deliberate act: if any adequate provocation had been +given by the husband, instead of the delay of two years, he was +compelled to refund immediately, or in the space of six months; but if +he could arraign the manners of his wife, her guilt or levity was +expiated by the loss of the sixth or eighth part of her marriage +portion. The Christian princes were the first who specified the just +causes of a private divorce; their institutions, from Constantine to +Justinian, appear to fluctuate between the custom of the empire and the +wishes of the Church, and the author of the _Novels_ too frequently +reforms the jurisprudence of the _Code_ and _Pandects_. In the most +rigorous laws, a wife was condemned to support a gamester, a drunkard, +or a libertine, unless he were guilty of homicide, poison, or sacrilege, +in which cases the marriage, as it should seem, might have been +dissolved by the hand of the executioner. + +But the sacred right of the husband was invariably maintained, to +deliver his name and family from the disgrace of adultery: the list of +_mortal_ sins, either male or female, was curtailed and enlarged by +successive regulations, and the obstacles of incurable impotence, long +absence, and monastic profession were allowed to rescind the matrimonial +obligation. Whoever transgressed the permission of the law was subject +to various and heavy penalties. The woman was stripped of her wealth and +ornaments, without excepting the bodkin of her hair: if the man +introduced a new bride into his bed, _her_ fortune might be lawfully +seized by the vengeance of his exiled wife. Forfeiture was sometimes +commuted to a fine; the fine was sometimes aggravated by transportation +to an island or imprisonment in a monastery; the injured party was +released from the bonds of marriage; but the offender during life or a +term of years was disabled from the repetition of nuptials. The +successor of Justinian yielded to the prayers of his unhappy subjects, +and restored the liberty of divorce by mutual consent: the civilians +were unanimous, the theologians were divided, and the ambiguous word, +which contains the precept of Christ, is flexible to any interpretation +that the wisdom of a legislator can demand. + +The freedom of love and marriage was restrained among the Romans by +natural and civil impediments. An instinct, almost innate and universal, +appears to prohibit the incestuous commerce of parents and children in +the infinite series of ascending and descending generations. Concerning +the oblique and collateral branches nature is indifferent, reason mute, +and custom various and arbitrary. In Egypt the marriage of brothers and +sisters was admitted without scruple or exception: a Spartan might +espouse the daughter of his father, an Athenian that of his mother; and +the nuptials of an uncle with his niece were applauded at Athens as a +happy union of the dearest relations. + +The profane law-givers of Rome were never tempted by interest or +superstition to multiply the forbidden degrees: but they inflexibly +condemned the marriage of sisters and brothers, hesitated whether first +cousins should be touched by the same interdict; revered the parental +character of aunts and uncles, and treated affinity and adoption as a +just imitation of the ties of blood. According to the proud maxims of +the republic, a legal marriage could only be contracted by free +citizens; an honorable, at least an ingenuous birth, was required for +the spouse of a senator: but the blood of kings could never mingle in +legitimate nuptials with the blood of a Roman; and the name of Stranger +degraded Cleopatra and Berenice to live the _concubines_ of Mark Antony +and Titus. This appellation, indeed, so injurious to the majesty, cannot +without indulgence be applied to the manners of these oriental queens. A +concubine, in the strict sense of the civilian, was a woman of servile +or plebeian extraction, the sole and faithful companion of a Roman +citizen, who continued in a state of celibacy. Her modest station, below +the honors of a wife, above the infamy of a prostitute, was acknowledged +and approved by the laws: from the age of Augustus to the tenth century, +the use of this secondary marriage prevailed both in the West and East; +and the humble virtues of a concubine were often preferred to the pomp +and insolence of a noble matron. In this connection the two Antonines, +the best of princes and of men, enjoyed the comforts of domestic love; +the example was imitated by many citizens impatient of celibacy, but +regardful of their families. If at any time they desired to legitimate +their natural children, the conversion was instantly performed by the +celebration of their nuptials with a partner whose fruitfulness and +fidelity they had already tried.[31] By this epithet of _natural_, the +offspring of the concubine were distinguished from the spurious brood +of adultery, prostitution, and incest, to whom Justinian reluctantly +grants the necessary aliments of life; and these natural children alone +were capable of succeeding to a sixth part of the inheritance of their +reputed father. According to the rigor of law, bastards were entitled to +the name and condition of their mother, from whom they might derive the +character of a slave, a stranger, or a citizen. The outcasts of every +family were adopted without reproach as the children of the State. + +The relation of guardian and ward, or in Roman words of _tutor_ and +_pupil_, which covers so many titles of the _Institutes_ and _Pandects_, +is of a very simple and uniform nature. The person and property of an +orphan must always be trusted to the custody of some discreet friend. If +the deceased father had not signified his choice, the _agnats_, or +paternal kindred of the nearest degree, were compelled to act as the +natural guardians: the Athenians were apprehensive of exposing the +infant to the power of those most interested in his death; but an axiom +of Roman jurisprudence has pronounced that the charge of tutelage should +constantly attend the emolument of succession. If the choice of the +father and the line of consanguinity afforded no efficient guardian, the +failure was supplied by the nomination of the praetor of the city or the +president of the province. But the person whom they named to this +_public_ office might be legally excused by insanity or blindness, by +ignorance or inability, by previous enmity or adverse interest, by the +number of children or guardianships with which he was already burdened +and by the immunities which were granted to the useful labors of +magistrates, lawyers, physicians, and professors. + +Till the infant could speak and think he was represented by the tutor, +whose authority was finally determined by the age of puberty. Without +his consent no act of the pupil could bind himself to his own prejudice, +though it might oblige others for his personal benefit. It is needless +to observe that the tutor often gave security, and always rendered an +account, and that the want of diligence or integrity exposed him to a +civil and almost criminal action for the violation of his sacred trust. +The age of puberty had been rashly fixed by the civilians at fourteen; +but as the faculties of the mind ripen more slowly than those of the +body, a _curator_ was interposed to guard the fortunes of a Roman youth +from his own inexperience and headstrong passions. Such a trustee had +been first instituted by the praetor, to save a family from the blind +havoc of a prodigal or madman; and the minor was compelled by the laws +to solicit the same protection, to give validity to his acts till he +accomplished the full period of twenty-five years. Women were condemned +to the perpetual tutelage of parents, husbands, or guardians; a sex +created to please and obey was never supposed to have attained the age +of reason and experience. Such, at least, was the stern and haughty +spirit of the law, which had been insensibly mollified before the time +of Justinian. + +II. The original right of property can only be justified by the accident +or merit of prior occupancy; and on this foundation it is wisely +established by the philosophy of the civilians. The savage who hollows a +tree, inserts a sharp stone into a wooden handle, or applies a string to +an elastic branch becomes in a state of nature the just proprietor of +the canoe, the bow, or the hatchet. The materials were common to all, +the new form, the produce of his time and simple industry, belong solely +to himself. His hungry brethren cannot, without a sense of their own +injustice, extort from the hunter the game of the forest overtaken or +slain by his personal strength and dexterity. If his provident care +preserves and multiplies the tame animals, whose nature is tractable to +the arts of education, he acquires a perpetual title to the use and +service of their numerous progeny, which derives its existence from him +alone. If he encloses and cultivates a field for their sustenance and +his own, a barren waste is converted into a fertile soil; the seed, the +manure, the labor, create a new value, and the rewards of harvest are +painfully earned by the fatigues of the revolving year. + +In the successive states of society the hunter, the shepherd, the +husbandman, may defend their possessions by two reasons which forcibly +appeal to the feelings of the human mind: that whatever they enjoy is +the fruit of their own industry; and that every man who envies their +felicity may purchase similar acquisitions by the exercise of similar +diligence. Such, in truth, may be the freedom and plenty of a small +colony cast on a fruitful island. But the colony multiplies, while the +space still continues the same; the common rights, the equal inheritance +of mankind, are engrossed by the bold and crafty; each field and forest +is circumscribed by the landmarks of a jealous master; and it is the +peculiar praise of the Roman jurisprudence that it asserts the claim of +the first occupant to the wild animals of the earth, the air, and the +waters. In the progress from primitive equity to final injustice, the +steps are silent, the shades are almost imperceptible, and the absolute +monopoly is guarded by positive laws and artificial reason. The active, +insatiable principle of self-love can alone supply the arts of life and +the wages of industry; and as soon as civil government and exclusive +property have been introduced, they become necessary to the existence of +the human race. + +Except in the singular institutions of Sparta, the wisest legislators +have disapproved an agrarian law as a false and dangerous innovation. +Among the Romans the enormous disproportion of wealth surmounted the +ideal restraints of a doubtful tradition and an obsolete statute; a +tradition that the poorest follower of Romulus had been endowed with the +perpetual inheritance of two jugera; a statute which confined the +richest citizen to the measure of five hundred jugera, or three hundred +and twelve acres of land. The original territory of Rome consisted only +of some miles of wood and meadow along the banks of the Tiber, and +domestic exchange could add nothing to the national stock. But the goods +of an alien or enemy were lawfully exposed to the first hostile +occupier; the city was enriched by the profitable trade of war, and the +blood of her sons was the only price that was paid for the Volscian +sheep, the slaves of Britain, to the gems and gold of Asiatic kingdoms. +In the language of ancient jurisprudence, which was corrupted and +forgotten before the age of Justinian, these spoils were distinguished +by the name of manceps or mancipium, taken with the hand; and whenever +they were sold or emancipated, the purchaser required some assurance +that they had been the property of an enemy and not of a fellow-citizen. + +A citizen could only forfeit his rights by apparent dereliction, and +such dereliction of a valuable interest could not easily be presumed. +Yet, according to the _Twelve Tables_, a prescription of one year for +movables, and of two years for immovables, abolished the claim of the +ancient master, if the actual possessor had acquired them by a fair +transaction from the person whom he believed to be the lawful +proprietor.[32] Such conscientious injustice, without any mixture of +fraud or force could seldom injure the members of a small republic; but +the various periods of three, of ten, or of twenty years, determined by +Justinian, are more suitable to the latitude of a great empire. It is +only in the term of prescription that the distinction of real and +personal fortune has been remarked by the civilians; and their general +idea of property is that of simple, uniform, and absolute dominion. The +subordinate exceptions of use, of usufruct, of servitudes, imposed for +the benefit of a neighbor on lands and houses, are abundantly explained +by the professors of jurisprudence. The claims of property, as far as +they are altered by the mixture, the division, or the transformation of +substances, are investigated with metaphysical subtlety by the same +civilians. + +The personal title of the first proprietor must be determined by his +death: but the possession, without any appearance of change, is +peaceably continued in his children, the associates of his toil and the +partners of his wealth. This natural inheritance has been protected by +the legislators of every climate and age, and the father is encouraged +to persevere in slow and distant improvements, by the tender hope that a +long posterity will enjoy the fruits of his labor. The _principle_ of +hereditary succession is universal; but the _order_ has been variously +established by convenience or caprice, by the spirit of national +institutions, or by some partial example which was originally decided by +fraud or violence. The jurisprudence of the Romans appears to have +deviated from the equality of nature much less than the Jewish, the +Athenian, or the English institutions. On the death of a citizen all his +descendants, unless they were already freed from his paternal power, +were called to the inheritance of his possessions. The insolent +prerogative of primogeniture was unknown; the two sexes were placed on a +just level; all the sons and daughters were entitled to an equal portion +of the patrimonial estate; and if any of the sons had been intercepted +by a premature death, his person was represented and his share was +divided by his surviving children. + +On the failure of the direct line, the right of succession must diverge +to the collateral branches. The degrees of kindred are numbered by the +civilians, ascending from the last possessor to a common parent, and +descending from the common parent to the next heir: my father stands in +the first degree, my brother in the second, his children in the third, +and the remainder of the series may be conceived by fancy, or pictured +in a genealogical table. In this computation a distinction was made, +essential to the laws and even the constitution of Rome; the _agnats_, +or persons connected by a line of males, were called, as they stood in +the nearest degree, to an equal partition; but a female was incapable of +transmitting any legal claims; and the _cognats_ of every rank, without +excepting the dear relation of a mother and a son, were disinherited by +the _Twelve Tables_, as strangers and aliens. Among the Romans a _gens_ +or lineage was united by a common _name_ and domestic rites; the various +_cognomens_ or _surnames_ of Scipio or Marcellus distinguished from each +other the subordinate branches or families of the Cornelian or Claudian +race: the default of the _agnats_, of the same surname, was supplied by +the larger denomination of _gentiles_; and the vigilance of the laws +maintained in the same name the perpetual descent of religion and +property. + +A similar principle dictated the Voconian law, which abolished the right +of female inheritance. As long as virgins were given or sold in +marriage, the adoption of the wife extinguished the hopes of the +daughter. But the equal succession of independent matrons supported +their pride and luxury, and might transport into a foreign house the +riches of their fathers. While the maxims of Cato were revered, they +tended to perpetuate in each family a just and virtuous mediocrity: till +female blandishments insensibly triumphed, and every salutary restraint +was lost in the dissolute greatness of the republic. The rigor of the +decemvirs was tempered by the equity of the praetors. Their edicts +restored and emancipated posthumous children to the rights of nature; +and upon the failure of the _agnats_ they preferred the blood of the +_cognats_ to the name of the _gentiles,_ whose title and character were +insensibly covered with oblivion. The reciprocal inheritance of mothers +and sons was established in the Tertullian and Orphitian decrees by the +humanity of the senate. A new and more impartial order was introduced by +the _Novels_ of Justinian, who affected to revive the jurisprudence of +the _Twelve Tables_. The lines of masculine and female kindred were +confounded: the descending, ascending, and collateral series was +accurately defined; and each degree, according to the proximity of blood +and affection, succeeded the vacant possessions of a Roman citizen. + +The order of succession is regulated by nature, or at least by the +general and permanent reason of the law-giver: but this order is +frequently violated by the arbitrary and partial wills, which prolong +the dominion of the testator beyond the grave. In the simple state of +society this last use or abuse of the right of property is seldom +indulged; it was introduced at Athens by the laws of Solon; and the +private testaments of a father of a family are authorized by the _Twelve +Tables_. Before the time of the decemvirs a Roman citizen exposed his +wishes and motives to the assembly of the thirty curiae or parishes, and +the general law of inheritance was suspended by an occasional act of the +legislature. After the permission of the decemvirs, each private +law-giver promulgated his verbal or written testament in the presence +of five citizens, who represented the five classes of the Roman people; +a sixth witness attested their concurrence; a seventh weighed the copper +money, which was paid by an imaginary purchaser, and the estate was +emancipated by a fictitious sale and immediate release. + +This singular ceremony, which excited the wonder of the Greeks, was +still practised in the age of Severus, but the praetor had already +approved a more simple testament, for which they required the seals and +signatures of seven witnesses, free from all legal exception and +purposely summoned for the execution of that important act. A domestic +monarch, who reigned over the lives and fortunes of his children, might +distribute their respective shares according to the degrees of their +merit or his affection; his arbitrary displeasure chastised an unworthy +son by the loss of his inheritance, and the mortifying preference of a +stranger. But the experience of unnatural parents recommended some +limitations of their testamentary powers. A son or, by the laws of +Justinian, even a daughter, could no longer be disinherited by their +silence; they were compelled to name the criminal and to specify the +offence; and the justice of the Emperor enumerated the sole causes that +could justify such a violation of the first principles of nature and +society. Unless a legitimate portion, a fourth part, had been reserved +for the children, they were entitled to institute an action or complaint +of _inofficious_ testament; to suppose that their father's understanding +was impaired by sickness or age, and respectfully to appeal from his +rigorous sentence to the deliberate wisdom of the magistrate. + +In the Roman jurisprudence an essential distinction was admitted between +the inheritance and the legacies. The heirs who succeeded to the entire +unity, or to any of the twelve fractions of the substance of the +testator, represented his civil and religious character, asserted his +rights, fulfilled his obligations, and discharged the gifts of +friendship or liberality, which his last will had bequeathed under the +name of legacies. But as the imprudence or prodigality of a dying man +might exhaust the inheritance and leave only risk and labor to his +successor, he was empowered to retain the Falcidian portion; to deduct, +before the payment of the legacies, a clear fourth for his own +emolument. A reasonable time was allowed to examine the proportion +between the debts and the estate, to decide whether he should accept or +refuse the testament; and if he used the benefit of an inventory, the +demands of the creditors could not exceed the valuation of the effects. +The last will of a citizen might be altered during his life or rescinded +after his death; the persons whom he named might die before him, or +reject the inheritance, or be exposed to some legal disqualification. In +the contemplation of these events he was permitted to substitute second +and third heirs, to replace each other according to the order of the +testament; and the incapacity of a madman or an infant to bequeath his +property might be supplied by a similar substitution. But the power of +the testator expired with the acceptance of the testament; each Roman of +mature age and discretion acquired the absolute dominion of his +inheritance, and the simplicity of the civil law was never clouded by +the long and intricate entails which confine the happiness and freedom +of unborn generations. + +Conquest and the formalities of law established the use of codicils. If +a Roman was surprised by death in a remote province of the empire he +addressed a short epistle to his legitimate or testamentary heir, who +fulfilled with honor, or neglected with impunity, this last request, +which the judges before the age of Augustus were not authorized to +enforce. A codicil might be expressed in any mode, or in any language; +but the subscription of five witnesses must declare that it was the +genuine composition of the author. His intention, however laudable, was +sometimes illegal; and the invention of _fidei-commissa_, or trusts, +arose from the struggle between natural justice and positive +jurisprudence. A stranger of Greece or Africa might be the friend or +benefactor of a childless Roman, but none, except a fellow-citizen, +could act as his heir. + +The Voconian law, which abolished female succession, restrained the +legacy or inheritance of a woman to the sum of one hundred thousand +sesterces, and an only daughter was condemned almost as an alien in her +father's house. The zeal of friendship and parental affection suggested +a liberal artifice: a qualified citizen was named in the testament, with +a prayer or injunction that he would restore the inheritance to the +person for whom it was truly intended. Various was the conduct of the +trustees in this painful situation; they had sworn to observe the laws +of their country, but honor prompted them to violate their oath; and if +they preferred their interest under the mask of patriotism, they +forfeited the esteem of every virtuous mind. The declaration of Augustus +relieved their doubts, gave a legal sanction to confidential testaments +and codicils, and gently unravelled the forms and restraints of the +republican jurisprudence. But as the new practice of trusts degenerated +into some abuse, the trustee was enabled, by the Trebellian and Pegasian +decrees, to reserve one-fourth of the estate, or to transfer on the head +of the real heir all the debts and actions of the succession. The +interpretation of testaments was strict and literal; but the language of +trusts and codicils was delivered from the minute and technical accuracy +of the civilians. + +III. The general duties of mankind are imposed by their public and +private relations: but their specific _obligations_ to each other can +only be the effect of (1) a promise, (2) a benefit, or (3) an injury; +and when these obligations are ratified by law, the interested party may +compel the performance by a judicial action. On this principle the +civilians of every country have erected a similar jurisprudence, the +fair conclusion of universal reason and justice. + +1. The goddess of faith (of human and social faith) was worshipped, not +only in her temples, but in the lives of the Romans; and if that nation +was deficient in the more amiable qualities of benevolence and +generosity, they astonished the Greeks by their sincere and simple +performance of the most burdensome engagements. Yet among the same +people, according to the rigid maxims of the patricians and decemvirs, a +naked pact, a promise, or even an oath, did not create any civil +obligation, unless it was confirmed by the legal form of a stipulation. +Whatever might be the etymology of the Latin word, it conveyed the idea +of a firm and irrevocable contract, which was always expressed in the +mode of a question and answer. Do you promise to pay me one hundred +pieces of gold? was the solemn interrogation of Seius. I do promise, was +the reply of Sempronius. The friends of Sempronius, who answered for his +ability and inclination, might be separately sued at the option of +Seius; and the benefit of partition, or order of reciprocal actions, +insensibly deviated from the strict theory of stipulation. The most +cautious and deliberate consent was justly required to sustain the +validity of a gratuitous promise; and the citizen who might have +obtained a legal security, incurred the suspicion of fraud and paid the +forfeit of his neglect. But the ingenuity of the civilians successfully +labored to convert simple engagements into the form of solemn +stipulations. The praetors, as the guardians of social faith, admitted +every rational evidence of a voluntary and deliberate act, which in +their tribunal produced an equitable obligation, and for which they gave +an action and a remedy. + +2. The obligations of the second class, as they were contracted by the +delivery of a thing, are marked by the civilians with the epithet of +real. A grateful return is due to the author of a benefit; and whoever +is intrusted with the property of another has bound himself to the +sacred duty of restitution. In the case of a friendly loan, the merit of +generosity is on the side of the lender only; in a deposit, on the side +of the receiver; but in a pledge, and the rest of the selfish commerce +of ordinary life, the benefit is compensated by an equivalent, and the +obligation to restore is variously modified by the nature of the +transaction. The Latin language very happily expresses the fundamental +difference between the _commodatum_ and the _mutuum_, which our poverty +is reduced to confound under the vague and common appellation of a loan. +In the former, the borrower was obliged to restore the same individual +thing with which he had been accommodated for the temporary supply of +his wants; in the latter it was destined for his use and consumption, +and he discharged this mutual engagement by substituting the same +specific value according to a just estimation of number, of weight, and +of measure. In the contract of sale, the absolute dominion is +transferred to the purchaser, and he repays the benefit with an adequate +sum of gold or silver, the price and universal standard of all earthly +possessions. + +The obligation of another contract, that of location, is of a more +complicated kind. Lands or houses, labor or talents, may be hired for a +definite term; at the expiration of the time the thing itself must be +restored to the owner, with the additional reward for the beneficial +occupation and employment. In these lucrative contracts, to which may be +added those of partnership and commissions, the civilians sometimes +imagine the delivery of the object, and sometimes presume the consent of +the parties. The substantial pledge has been refined into the invisible +rights of a mortgage or _hypotheca_; and the agreement of sale, for a +certain price, imputes from that moment the chances of gain or loss to +the account of the purchaser. It may be fairly supposed that every man +will obey the dictates of his interest; and if he accepts the benefit, +he is obliged to sustain the expense of the transaction. In this +boundless subject, the historian will observe the _location_ of land and +money, the rent of the one and the interest of the other, as they +materially affect the prosperity of agriculture and commerce. + +The landlord was often obliged to advance the stock and instruments of +husbandry, and to content himself with a partition of the fruits. If the +feeble tenant was oppressed by accident, contagion, or hostile violence, +he claimed a proportionable relief from the equity of the laws; five +years were the customary term, and no solid or costly improvements could +be expected from a farmer who at each moment might be ejected by the +sale of the estate. Usury, the inveterate grievance of the city, had +been discouraged by the _Twelve Tables_, and abolished by the clamors of +the people. It was revived by their wants and idleness, tolerated by the +discretion of the praetors, and finally determined by the _Code_ of +Justinian. Persons of illustrious rank were confined to the moderate +profit of 4 per cent. 6 was pronounced to be the ordinary and legal +standard of interest; 8 was allowed for the convenience of manufacturers +and merchants; 12 was granted to nautical insurance, which the wiser +ancients had not attempted to define; but, except in this perilous +adventure, the practice of exorbitant usury was severely restrained.[33] +The most simple interest was condemned by the clergy of the East and +West; but the sense of mutual benefit, which had triumphed over the laws +of the republic, had resisted with equal firmness the decrees of the +Church, and even the prejudices of mankind.[34] + +3. Nature and society impose the strict obligation of repairing an +injury; and the sufferer by private injustice acquires a personal right +and a legitimate action. If the property of another be intrusted to our +care, the requisite degree of care may rise and fall according to the +benefit which we derive from such temporary possession; we are seldom +made responsible for inevitable accident, but the consequences of a +voluntary fault must always be imputed to the author. A Roman pursued +and recovered his stolen goods by a civil action of theft; they might +pass through a succession of pure and innocent hands, but nothing less +than a prescription of thirty years could extinguish his original claim. +They were restored by the sentence of the praetor, and the injury was +compensated by double, or threefold, or even quadruple damages, as the +deed had been perpetrated by secret fraud or open rapine, as the robber +had been surprised in the fact or detected by a subsequent research. The +Aquilian law defended the living property of a citizen, his slaves and +cattle, from the stroke of malice or negligence: the highest price was +allowed that could be ascribed to the domestic animal at any moment of +the year preceding his death; a similar latitude of thirty days was +granted on the destruction of any other valuable effects. A personal +injury is blunted or sharpened by the manners of the times and the +sensibility of the individual: the pain or the disgrace of a word or +blow cannot easily be appreciated by a pecuniary equivalent. + +The rude jurisprudence of the decemvirs had confounded all hasty +insults, which did not amount to the fracture of a limb by condemning +the aggressor to the common penalty of twenty-five _asses_. But the same +denomination of money was reduced in three centuries from a pound to the +weight of half an ounce: and the insolence of a wealthy Roman indulged +himself in the cheap amusement of breaking and satisfying the law of the +_Twelve Tables_. Veratius ran through the streets striking on the face +the inoffensive passengers, and his attendant purse-bearer immediately +silenced their clamors by the legal tender of twenty-five pieces of +copper, about the value of one shilling. The equity of the praetors +examined and estimated the distinct merits of each particular complaint. +In the adjudication of civil damages the magistrate assumed the right to +consider the various circumstances of time and place, of age and +dignity, which may aggravate the shame and sufferings of the injured +person: but if he admitted the idea of a fine, a punishment, an example, +he invaded the province, though, perhaps, he supplied the defects of the +criminal law. + +IV. The execution of the Alban dictator, who was dismembered by eight +horses, is represented by Livy as the first and the last instance of +Roman cruelty in the punishment of the most atrocious crimes. But this +act of justice, or revenge, was inflicted on a foreign enemy in the heat +of victory and at the command of a single man. The _Twelve Tables_ +afford a more decisive proof of the national spirit, since they were +framed by the wisest of the senate, and accepted by the free voices of +the people; yet these laws, like the statutes of Draco, are written in +characters of blood. They approve the inhuman and unequal principle of +retaliation; and the forfeit of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, +a limb for a limb, is rigorously exacted, unless the offender can redeem +his pardon by a fine of three hundred pounds of copper. The decemvirs +distributed with much liberality the slighter chastisements of +flagellation and servitude; and nine crimes of a very different +complexion are adjudged worthy of death. + +1. Any act of treason against the state, or of correspondence with the +public enemy. The mode of execution was painful and ignominious: the +head of the degenerate Roman was shrouded in a veil, his hands were tied +behind his back, and after he had been scourged by the lictor, he was +suspended in the midst of the Forum on a cross or inauspicious tree. + +2. Nocturnal meetings in the city; whatever might be the pretence, of +pleasure, or religion, or the public good. + +3. The murder of a citizen; for which the common feelings of mankind +demand the blood of the murderer. Poison is still more odious than the +sword or dagger; and we are surprised to discover in two flagitious +events how early such subtle wickedness has infected the simplicity of +the republic, and the chaste virtues of the Roman matrons.[35] The +parricide, who violated the duties of nature and gratitude, was cast +into the river or the sea, enclosed in a sack; and a cock, a viper, a +dog, and a monkey were successively added as the most suitable +companions. Italy produces no monkeys; but the want could never be felt +till the middle of the sixth century first revealed the guilt of a +parricide.[36] + +4. The malice of an incendiary. After the previous ceremony of whipping, +he himself was delivered to the flames; and in this example alone our +reason is tempted to applaud the justice of retaliation. + +5. Judicial perjury. The corrupt or malicious witness was thrown +headlong from the Tarpeian Rock to expiate his falsehood, which was +rendered still more fatal by the severity of the penal laws and the +deficiency of written evidence. + +6. The corruption of a judge who accepted bribes to pronounce an +iniquitous sentence. + +7. Libels and satires, whose rude strains sometimes disturbed the peace +of an illiterate city. The author was beaten with clubs, a worthy +chastisement, but it is not certain that he was left to expire under the +blows of the executioner. + +8. The nocturnal mischief of damaging or destroying a neighbor's corn. +The criminal was suspended as a grateful victim to Ceres. But the sylvan +deities were less implacable, and the extirpation of a more valuable +tree was compensated by the moderate fine of twenty-five pounds of +copper. + +9. Magical incantations; which had power, in the opinion of the Latian +shepherds, to exhaust the strength of an enemy, to extinguish his life, +and to remove from their seats his deep-rooted plantations. The cruelty +of the _Twelve Tables_ against insolvent debtors still remains to be +told; and I shall dare to prefer the literal sense of antiquity to the +specious refinements of modern criticism. After the judicial proof or +confession of the debt, thirty days of grace were allowed before a Roman +was delivered into the power of his fellow-citizen. In this private +prison twelve ounces of rice were his daily food; he might be bound with +a chain of fifteen pounds weight, and his misery was thrice exposed in +the market-place, to solicit the compassion of his friends and +countrymen. At the expiration of sixty days the debt was discharged by +the loss of liberty or life; the insolvent debtor was either put to +death or sold in foreign slavery beyond the Tiber; but, if several +creditors were alike obstinate and unrelenting, they might legally +dismember his body and satiate their revenge by this horrid partition. + +The advocates for this savage law have insisted that it must strongly +operate in deterring idleness and fraud from contracting debts which +they were unable to discharge; but experience would dissipate this +salutary terror by proving that no creditor could be found to exact this +unprofitable penalty of life or limb. As the manners of Rome were +insensibly polished, the criminal code of the decemvirs was abolished by +the humanity of accusers, witnesses, and judges; and impunity became the +consequence of immoderate rigor. The Porcian and Valerian laws +prohibited the magistrates from inflicting on a free citizen any +capital, or even corporal, punishment, and the obsolete statutes of +blood were artfully, and perhaps truly, ascribed to the spirit, not of +patrician but of regal tyranny. + +In the absence of penal laws and the insufficiency of civil actions, the +peace and justice of the city were imperfectly maintained by the private +jurisdiction of the citizens. The malefactors who replenish our jails +are the outcasts of society, and the crimes for which they suffer may be +commonly ascribed to ignorance, poverty, and brutal appetite. For the +perpetration of similar enormities, a vile plebeian might claim and +abuse the sacred character of a member of the republic; but on the proof +or suspicion of guilt, the slave or the stranger was nailed to a cross: +and this strict and summary justice might be exercised without restraint +over the greatest part of the populace of Rome. Each family contained a +domestic tribunal, which was not confined, like that of the praetor, to +the cognizance of external actions; virtuous principles and habits were +inculcated by the discipline of education, and the Roman father was +accountable to the State for the manners of his children, since he +disposed, without appeal, of their life, their liberty, and their +inheritance. In some pressing emergencies the citizen was authorized to +avenge his private or public wrongs. The consent of the Jewish, the +Athenian, and the Roman laws approved the slaughter of the nocturnal +thief; though in open daylight a robber could not be slain without some +previous evidence of danger and complaint. Whoever surprised an +adulterer in his nuptial bed might freely exercise his revenge; the most +bloody and wanton outrage was excused by the provocation; nor was it +before the reign of Augustus that the husband was reduced to weigh the +rank of the offender, or that the parent was condemned to sacrifice his +daughter with her guilty seducer. + +After the expulsion of the kings the ambitious Roman who should dare to +assume their title or imitate their tyranny, was devoted to the infernal +gods; each of his fellow-citizens was armed with the sword of justice; +and the act of Brutus, however repugnant to gratitude or prudence, had +been already sanctified by the judgment of his country. The barbarous +practice of wearing arms in the midst of peace, and the bloody maxims of +honor were unknown to the Romans; and during the two purest ages, from +the establishment of equal freedom to the end of the Punic wars, the +city was never disturbed by sedition, and rarely polluted with atrocious +crimes. The failure of penal laws was more sensibly felt, when every +vice was inflamed by faction at home and dominion abroad. In the time of +Cicero each private citizen enjoyed the privilege of anarchy; each +minister of the republic was exalted to the temptations of regal power, +and their virtues are entitled to the warmest praise, as the spontaneous +fruits of nature or philosophy. After a triennial indulgence of lust, +rapine, and cruelty, Verres, the tyrant of Sicily, could only be sued +for the pecuniary restitution of three hundred thousand pounds sterling; +and such was the temper of the laws, the judges, and perhaps the accuser +himself, that on refunding a thirteenth part of his plunder Verres +could retire to an easy and luxurious exile.[37] + +The first imperfect attempt to restore the proportion of crimes and +punishments was made by the dictator Sylla, who, in the midst of his +sanguinary triumph, aspired to restrain the license rather than to +oppress the liberty of the Romans. He gloried in the arbitrary +proscription of four thousand seven hundred citizens. But in the +character of a legislator he respected the prejudices of the times; and +instead of pronouncing a sentence of death against the robber or +assassin, the general who betrayed an army, or the magistrate who ruined +a province, Sylla was content to aggravate the pecuniary damages by the +penalty of exile, or, in more constitutional language, by the +interdiction of fire and water. The Cornelian and afterward the Pompeian +and Julian laws introduced a new system of criminal jurisprudence; and +the emperors, from Augustus to Justinian, disguised their increasing +rigor under the names of the original authors. + +But the invention and frequent use of _extraordinary pains_ proceeded +from the desire to extend and conceal the progress of despotism. In the +condemnation of illustrious Romans the senate was always prepared to +confound, at the will of their masters, the judicial and legislative +powers. It was the duty of the governors to maintain the peace of their +province by the arbitrary and rigid administration of justice; the +freedom of the city evaporated in the extent of empire, and the Spanish +malefactor, who claimed the privilege of a Roman, was elevated by the +command of Galba on a fairer and more lofty cross. Occasional rescripts +issued from the throne to decide the questions which, by their novelty +or importance, appeared to surpass the authority and discernment of a +proconsul. Transportation and beheading were reserved for honorable +persons; meaner criminals were either hanged, or burned, or buried in +the mines, or exposed to the wild beasts of the amphitheatre. Armed +robbers were pursued and extirpated as the enemies of society; the +driving away of horses or cattle was made a capital offence, but simple +theft was uniformly considered as a mere civil and private injury. The +degrees of guilt and the modes of punishment were too often determined +by the discretion of the rulers, and the subject was left in ignorance +of the legal danger which he might incur by every action of his life. + +A sin, a vice, a crime, are the objects of theology, ethics, and +jurisprudence. Whenever their judgments agree, they corroborate each +other; but as often as they differ a prudent legislator appreciates the +guilt and punishment according to the measure of social injury. On this +principle the most daring attack on the life and property of a private +citizen is judged less atrocious than the crime of treason or rebellion, +which invades the _majesty_ of the republic; the obsequious civilians +unanimously pronounced that the republic is contained in the person of +its chief; and the edge of the Julian law was sharpened by the incessant +diligence of the emperors. The licentious commerce of the sexes may be +tolerated as an impulse of nature, or forbidden as a source of disorder +and corruption; but the fame, the fortunes, the family of the husband, +are seriously injured by the adultery of the wife. The wisdom of +Augustus, after curbing the freedom of revenge, applied to this domestic +offence the animadversion of the laws; and the guilty parties, after the +payment of heavy forfeitures and fines, were condemned to long or +perpetual exile in two separate islands. + +Religion pronounces an equal censure against the infidelity of the +husband; but, as it is not accompanied by the same civil effects, the +wife was never permitted to vindicate her wrong; and the distinction of +simple or double adultery, so familiar and so important in the canon +law, is unknown to the jurisprudence of the _Code_ and the _Pandects_. I +touch with reluctance and despatch with impatience a more odious vice, +of which modesty rejects the name, and nature abominates the idea. The +primitive Romans were infected by the example of the Etruscans and +Greeks; in the mad abuse of prosperity and power, every pleasure that is +innocent was deemed insipid; and the Scatinian law, which had been +extorted by an act of violence, was insensibly abolished by the lapse of +time and the multitude of criminals. + +By this law the rape, perhaps the seduction, of an ingenuous youth was +compensated as a personal injury by the poor damages of ten thousand +sesterces, or fourscore pounds; the ravisher might be slain by the +resistance or revenge of chastity; and I wish to believe that at Rome, +as in Athens, the voluntary and effeminate deserter of his sex was +degraded from the honors and the rights of a citizen. But the practice +of vice was not discouraged by the severity of opinion; the indelible +stain of manhood was confounded with the more venial transgressions of +fornication and adultery, nor was the licentious lover exposed to the +same dishonor which he impressed on the male or female partner of his +guilt. From Catullus to Juvenal the poets accuse and celebrate the +degeneracy of the times; and the reformation of manners was feebly +attempted by the reason and authority of the civilians till the most +virtuous of the Caesars proscribed the sin against nature as a crime +against society. + +A new spirit of legislation, respectable even in its error, arose in the +empire with the religion of Constantine. The laws of Moses were received +as the divine original of justice, and the Christian princes adapted +their penal statutes to the degrees of moral and religious turpitude. +Adultery was first declared to be a capital offence: the frailty of the +sexes was assimilated to poison or assassination, to sorcery or +parricide; the same penalties were inflicted on the passive and active +guilt of pederasty, and all criminals of free or servile condition were +either drowned or beheaded, or cast alive into the avenging flames. The +adulterers were spared by the common sympathy of mankind; but the lovers +of their own sex were pursued by general and pious indignation: the +impure manners of Greece still prevailed in the cities of Asia, and +every vice was fomented by the celibacy of the monks and clergy. + +Justinian relaxed the punishment at least of female infidelity: the +guilty spouse was only condemned to solitude and penance, and at the end +of two years she might be recalled to the arms of a forgiving husband. +But the same Emperor declared himself the implacable enemy of unmanly +lust, and the cruelty of his persecution can scarcely be excused by the +purity of his motives. In defiance of every principle of justice he +stretched to past as well as future offences the operations of his +edicts, with the previous allowance of a short respite for confession +and pardon. A painful death was inflicted by the amputation of the +sinful instrument, or the insertion of sharp reeds into the pores and +tubes of most exquisite sensibility; and Justinian defended the +propriety of the execution, since the criminals would have lost their +hands had they been convicted of sacrilege. In this state of disgrace +and agony two bishops, Isaiah of Rhodes and Alexander of Diospolis, were +dragged through the streets of Constantinople, while their brethren were +admonished by the voice of a crier to observe this awful lesson, and not +to pollute the sanctity of their character. Perhaps these prelates were +innocent. A sentence of death and infamy was often founded on the slight +and suspicious evidence of a child or a servant; the guilt of the green +faction, of the rich, and of the enemies of Theodora was presumed by the +judges, and pederasty became the crime of those to whom no crime could +be imputed. A French philosopher[38] has dared to remark that whatever +is secret must be doubtful, and that our natural horror of vice may be +abused as an engine of tyranny. But the favorable persuasion of the same +writer, that a legislator may confide in the taste and reason of +mankind, is impeached by the unwelcome discovery of the antiquity and +extent of the disease. + +V. The free citizens of Athens and Rome enjoyed in all criminal cases +the invaluable privilege of being tried by their country. + +1. The administration of justice is the most ancient office of a prince: +it was exercised by the Roman kings and abused by Tarquin, who alone, +without law or council, pronounced his arbitrary judgments. The first +consuls succeeded to this regal prerogative; but the sacred right of +appeal soon abolished the jurisdiction of the magistrates, and all +public causes were decided by the supreme tribunal of the people. But a +wild democracy, superior to the forms, too often disdains the essential +principles of justice: the pride of despotism was envenomed by plebeian +envy, and the heroes of Athens might sometimes applaud the happiness of +the Persian, whose fate depended on the caprice of a _single_ tyrant. +Some salutary restraints, imposed by the people on their own passions, +were at once the cause and effect of the gravity and temperance of the +Romans. The right of accusation was confined to the magistrates. A vote +of the thirty-five tribes could inflict a fine; but the cognizance of +all capital crimes was reserved by a fundamental law to the assembly of +the centuries, in which the weight of influence and property was sure to +preponderate. Repeated proclamations and adjournments were interposed to +allow time for prejudice and resentment to subside: the whole proceeding +might be annulled by a seasonable omen or the opposition of a tribune; +and such popular trials were commonly less formidable to innocence than +they were favorable to guilt. But this union of the judicial and +legislative powers left it doubtful whether the accused party was +pardoned or acquitted; and in the defence of an illustrious client the +orators of Rome and Athens address their arguments to the policy and +benevolence, as well as to the justice, of their sovereign. + +2. The task of convening the citizens for the trial of each offender +became more difficult as the citizens and the offenders continually +multiplied, and the ready expedient was adopted of delegating the +jurisdiction of the people to the ordinary magistrates or to +extraordinary inquisitors. In the first ages these questions were rare +and occasional. In the beginning of the seventh century of Rome they +were made perpetual: four praetors were annually empowered to sit in +judgment on the state offences of treason, extortion, peculation, and +bribery; and Sylla added new praetors and new questions for those crimes +which more directly injure the safety of individuals. By these +inquisitors the trial was prepared and directed; but they could only +pronounce the sentence of the majority of judges. To discharge this +important though burdensome office, an annual list of ancient and +respectable citizens was formed by the praetor. After many constitutional +struggles they were chosen in equal numbers from the senate, the +equestrian order, and the people; four hundred and fifty were appointed +for single questions, and the various rolls or _decuries_ of judges must +have contained the names of some thousand Romans who represented the +judicial authority of the State. In each particular cause a sufficient +number was drawn from the urn; their integrity was guarded by an oath; +the mode of ballot secured their independence; the suspicion of +partiality was removed by the mutual challenges of the accuser and +defendant; and the judges of Milo, by the retrenchment of fifteen on +each side, were reduced to fifty-one voices or tablets of acquittal, of +condemnation, or of favorable doubt.[39] + +3. In his civil jurisdiction the praetor of the city was truly a judge, +and almost a legislator; but as soon as he had prescribed the action of +law he often referred to a delegate the determination of the fact. With +the increase of legal proceedings, the tribunal of the centumvirs in +which he presided acquired more weight and reputation. But whether he +acted alone, or with the advice of his council, the most absolute powers +might be trusted to a magistrate who was annually chosen by the votes of +the people. The rules and precautions of freedom have required some +explanation; the order of despotism is simple and inanimate. Before the +age of Justinian, or perhaps of Diocletian, the decuries of Roman judges +had sunk to an empty title: the humble advice of the assessors might be +accepted or despised, and in each tribunal the civil and criminal +jurisdiction was administered by a single magistrate, who was raised and +disgraced by the will of the emperor. + +A Roman accused of any capital crime might prevent the sentence of the +law by voluntary exile or death. Till his guilt had been legally proved +his innocence was presumed, and his person was free: till the votes of +the last _century_ had been counted and declared, he might peaceably +secede to any of the allied cities of Italy, or Greece, or Asia.[40] His +fame and fortunes were preserved, at least to his children, by this +civil death; and he might still be happy in every rational and sensual +enjoyment, if a mind accustomed to the ambitious tumult of Rome could +support the uniformity and silence of Rhodes or Athens. A bolder effort +was required to escape from the tyranny of the Caesars; but this effort +was rendered familiar by the maxims of the Stoics, the example of the +bravest Romans, and the legal encouragements of suicide. The bodies of +condemned criminals were exposed to public ignominy, and their children, +a more serious evil, were reduced to poverty by the confiscation of +their fortunes. But if the victims of Tiberius and Nero anticipated the +decree of the prince or senate, their courage and despatch were +recompensed by the applause of the public, the decent honors of burial, +and the validity of their testaments. The exquisite avarice and cruelty +of Domitian appear to have deprived the unfortunate of this last +consolation, and it was still denied even by the clemency of the +Antonines. + +A voluntary death which, in the case of a capital offence, intervened +between the accusation and the sentence, was admitted as a confession of +guilt, and the spoils of the deceased were seized by the inhuman claims +of the treasury. Yet the civilians have always respected the natural +right of a citizen to dispose of his life; and the posthumous disgrace +invented by Tarquin,[41] to check the despair of his subjects, was never +revived or imitated by succeeding tyrants. The powers of this world have +indeed lost their dominion over him who is resolved on death, and his +arm can only be restrained by the religious apprehension of a future +state. Suicides are enumerated by Vergil among the unfortunate rather +than the guilty;[42] and the poetical fables of the infernal shades +could not seriously influence the faith or practice of mankind. But the +precepts of the gospel, or the Church, have at length imposed a pious +servitude on the minds of Christians, and condemn them to expect, +without a murmur, the last stroke of disease or the executioner. + +The penal statutes form a very small proportion of the sixty-two books +of the _Code_ and _Pandects_; and in all judicial proceeding the life or +death of a citizen is determined with less caution or delay than the +most ordinary question of covenant or inheritance. This singular +distinction, though something may be allowed for the urgent necessity of +defending the peace of society, is derived from the nature of criminal +and civil jurisprudence. Our duties to the state are simple and uniform: +the law by which he is condemned is inscribed not only on brass or +marble, but on the conscience of the offender, and his guilt is commonly +proved by the testimony of a single fact. But our relations to each +other are various and infinite; our obligations are created, annulled, +and modified by injuries, benefits, and promises; and the interpretation +of voluntary contracts and testaments, which are often dictated by fraud +or ignorance, affords a long and laborious exercise to the sagacity of +the judge. The business of life is multiplied by the extent of commerce +and dominion, and the residence of the parties in the distant provinces +of an empire is productive of doubt, delay, and inevitable appeals from +the local to the supreme magistrate. Justinian, the Greek emperor of +Constantinople and the East, was the legal successor of the Latian +shepherd who had planted a colony on the banks of the Tiber. In a period +of thirteen hundred years the laws had reluctantly followed the changes +of government and manners, and the laudable desire of conciliating +ancient names with recent institutions destroyed the harmony and swelled +the magnitude of the obscure and irregular system. + +The laws which excuse on any occasions the ignorance of their subjects +confess their own imperfections. The civil jurisprudence, as it was +abridged by Justinian, still continued a mysterious science and a +profitable trade, and the innate perplexity of the study was involved in +tenfold darkness by the private industry of the practitioners. The +expense of the pursuit sometimes exceeded the value of the prize, and +the fairest rights were abandoned by the poverty or prudence of the +claimants. Such costly justice might tend to abate the spirit of +litigation, but the unequal pressure serves only to increase the +influence of the rich, and to aggravate the misery of the poor. By these +dilatory and expensive proceedings, the wealthy pleader obtains a more +certain advantage than he could hope from the accidental corruption of +his judge. The experience of an abuse, from which our own age and +country are not perfectly exempt, may sometimes provoke a generous +indignation, and extort the hasty wish of exchanging our elaborate +jurisprudence for the simple and summary decrees of a Turkish cadi. Our +calmer reflection will suggest that such forms and delays are necessary +to guard the person and property of the citizen; that the discretion of +the judge is the first engine of tyranny, and that the laws of a free +people should foresee and determine every question that may probably +arise in the exercise of power and the transactions of industry. But the +government of Justinian united the evils of liberty and servitude; and +the Romans were oppressed at the same time by the multiplicity of their +laws and the arbitrary will of their master. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[26] Among the works which have been recovered, by the persevering and +successful endeavors of M. Mai and his followers to trace the +imperfectly erased characters of the ancient writers on these +palimpsests, Gibbon at this period of his labors would have hailed with +delight the recovery of the _Institutes_ of Gaius, and the fragments of +the Theodosian _Code_, published by M. Peyron of Turin. + +[27] Pisa was taken by the Florentines in the year 1406; and in 1411 the +_Pandects_ were transported to the capital. These events are authentic +and famous. + +[28] They were new bound in purple, deposited in a rich casket, and +shown to curious travellers by the monks and magistrates bareheaded and +with lighted tapers. + +[29] Gibbon, dividing the _Institutes_ into four parts, considers the +appendix of the criminal law in the last title as a fourth part. + +[30] This parental power was strictly confined to the Roman citizen. The +foreigner, or he who had only _jus Latii_, did not possess it. If a +Roman citizen unknowingly married a Latin or a foreign wife, he did not +possess this power over his son, because the son, following the legal +condition of the mother, was not a Roman citizen. A man, however, +alleging sufficient cause for his ignorance, might raise both mother and +child to the rights of citizenship. + +[31] The edict of Constantine first conferred this right; for Augustus +had prohibited the taking as a concubine a woman who might be taken as a +wife; and if marriage took place afterward, this marriage made no change +in the rights of the children born before it; recourse was then had to +adoption, properly called arrogation. + +[32] The Roman laws protected all property acquired in a lawful manner. +They imposed on those who had invaded it, the obligation of making +restitution and reparation of all damage caused by that invasion; they +punished it moreover, in many cases, by a pecuniary fine. But they did +not always grant a recovery against the third person, who had become +_bona fide_ possessed of the property. He who had obtained possession of +a thing belonging to another, knowing nothing of the prior rights of +that person, maintained the possession. The law had expressly determined +those cases, in which it permitted property to be reclaimed from an +innocent possessor. In these cases possession had the characters of +absolute proprietorship. To possess this right, it was not sufficient to +have entered into possession of the thing _in any manner_; the +acquisition was bound to have that character of publicity, which was +given by the observation of solemn forms, prescribed by the laws, or the +uninterrupted exercise of proprietorship during a certain time: the +Roman citizen alone could acquire this proprietorship. Every other kind +of possession, which might be named imperfect proprietorship, was called +_in bonis habere_. It was not till after the time of Cicero that the +general name of _dominium_ was given to all proprietorship. + +[33] Justinian has not condescended to give usury a place in his +_Institutes_; but the necessary rules and restrictions are inserted in +the _Pandects_ and the _Code_. + +[34] Cato, Seneca, Plutarch, have loudly condemned the practice or abuse +of usury. According to etymology, the principal is supposed to +_generate_ the interest: "A breed for barren metal," exclaims +Shakspeare--and the stage is an echo of the public voice. + +[35] Livy mentions two remarkable and flagitious eras, of three thousand +persons accused, and of one hundred and ninety noble matrons convicted, +of the crime of poisoning. Hume discriminates the ages of private and +public virtue. Rather say that such ebullitions of mischief (as in +France in the year 1680) are accidents and prodigies which leave no +marks on the manners of a nation. + +[36] The first parricide at Rome was L. Ostius, after the Second Punic +War. During the Cimbric, P. Malleolus was guilty of the first matricide. + +[37] Verres lived near thirty years after his trial, till the Second +Triumvirate, when he was proscribed by the taste of Mark Antony for the +sake of his Corinthian plate. + +[38] Montesquieu, that eloquent philosopher, conciliates the rights of +liberty and of nature, which should never be placed in opposition to +each other. + +[39] We are indebted for this interesting fact to a fragment of Asconius +Pedianus, who flourished under the reign of Tiberius. The loss of his +_Commentaries on the Orations of Cicero_ has deprived us of a valuable +fund of historical and legal knowledge. + +[40] The extension of the Empire and _city_ of Rome obliged the exile to +seek a more distant place of retirement. + +[41] When he fatigued his subjects in building the Capitol, many of the +laborers were provoked to despatch themselves: he nailed their dead +bodies to crosses. + +[42] The sole resemblance of a violent and premature death has engaged +Vergil to confound suicides with infants, lovers, and persons unjustly +condemned. Some of his editors are at a loss to deduce the idea or +ascertain the jurisprudence of the Roman poet. + + + + +AUGUSTINE'S MISSIONARY WORK IN ENGLAND + +A.D. 597 + +THE VENERABLE BEDE[43] JOHN RICHARD GREEN + + + St. Augustine was the first archbishop of Canterbury. He was + educated in Rome under Pope Gregory I, by whom he was sent to + Britain with forty monks of the Benedictine order, for the purpose + of converting the English to Christianity. Bertha, wife of + Ethelbert, king of Kent, was a Christian. She was a daughter of + Charibert, king of Paris, and had brought her chaplain with her, + who held services in the ruined church of St. Martin, near + Canterbury. + + There seemed little prospect, however, of the faith spreading among + the wild islanders until Augustine arrived on the Isle of Thanet + A.D. 596. The occasion of his being sent on this missionary errand + is said to have been connected with an incident which has often + been related, wherein it appears that Gregory, while yet a monk, + struck with the beauty of some heathen Anglo-Saxon youths exposed + for sale in the slave market at Rome, inquired concerning their + nationality. Being told that they were Angles, he said: "_Non Angli + sed angeli_ ['Not Angles, but angels'], and well may, for their + angel-like faces it becometh such to be coheirs with the angels in + heaven. In what province of England do they live?" "Deira" was the + reply. "From _Dei ira_ ['God's wrath'] are they to be freed?" + answered Gregory. "How call ye the king of that country?" "AElla." + "Then Alleluia surely ought to be sung in his kingdom to the praise + of that God who created all things," said the gracious and clever + monk. + + "The conversion of the English to Christianity," says Freeman, "at + once altered their whole position in the world. Hitherto our + history had been almost wholly insular; our heathen forefathers had + had but little to do, either in war or peace, with any nations + beyond their own four seas. We hear little of any connection being + kept up between the Angles and Saxons who settled in Britain, and + their kinsfolk who abode in their original country. By its + conversion England was first brought, not only within the pale of + the Christian Church, but within the pale of the general political + society of Europe. But our insular position, combined with the + events of our earlier history, was not without its effect on the + peculiar character of Christianity as established in England. + England was the first great territorial conquest of the spiritual + power, beyond the limits of the Roman Empire, beyond the influence + of Greek and Roman civilization." + + + The following account from the _Ecclesiastical History_ of the + Venerable Bede, the "father of English history," and foremost + scholar of England in his age, is in the modern English rendering + by Thomson, of King Alfred's famous translation, made for the + instruction of the English people as the best work of that period + on their own history. + + As a contrast John Richard Green's treatment of the same episode is + appended. + +THE VENERABLE BEDE + + +When according to forthrunning time [it] was about five hundred and +ninety-two years from Christ's hithercoming, Mauricius, the Emperor, +took to the government, and had it two-and-twenty years. He was the +fifty-fourth from Augustus. In the tenth year of that Emperor's reign, +Gregory, the holy man, who was in lore and deed the highest, took to the +bishophood of the Roman Church, and of the apostolic seat, and held and +governed it thirteen years and six months and ten days. In the +fourteenth year of the same Emperor, about a hundred and fifty years +from the English nation's hithercoming into Britain, he was admonished +by a divine impulse that he should send God's servant Augustine, and +many other monks with him, fearing the Lord, to preach God's word to the +English nation. + +When they obeyed the bishop's commands, and began to go to the mentioned +work, and had gone some deal of the way, then began they to fear and +dread the journey, and thought that it was wiser and safer for them that +they should rather return home than seek the barbarous people, and the +fierce and the unbelieving, even whose speech they knew not; and in +common chose this advice to themselves; and then straightway sent +Augustine (whom they had chosen for their bishop if their doctrines +should be received) to the Pope, that he might humbly intercede for +them, that they might not need to go upon a journey so perilous and so +toilsome, and a pilgrimage so unknown. + +Then St. Gregory sent a letter to them, and exhorted and advised them in +that letter: that they should humbly go into the work of God's word, and +trust in God's help; and that they should not fear the toil of the +journey, nor dread the tongues of evil-speaking men; but that, with all +earnestness, and with the love of God, they should perform the good +things which they by God's help had begun to do; and that they should +know that the great toil would be followed by the greater glory of +everlasting life; and he prayed Almighty God that he would shield them +by his grace; and that he would grant to himself that he might see the +fruit of their labor in the heavenly kingdom's glory, because he was +ready to be in the same labor with them, if leave had been given him. + +Then Augustine was strengthened by the exhortation of the blessed father +Gregory, and with Christ's servants who were with him returned to the +work of God's word, and came into Britain. Then was at that time +Ethelbert king in Kent, and a mighty one, who had rule as far as the +boundary of the river Humber, which sheds asunder the south folk of the +English nation and the north folk. Then [there] is on the eastward of +Kent a great island [Thanet by name], which is six hundred hides large, +after the English nation's reckoning. The isle is shed away from the +continuous land by the stream Wantsum, which is three furlongs broad, +and in two places is fordable, and either end lies in the sea. On this +isle came up Christ's servant Augustine and his fellows--he was one of +forty. They likewise took with them interpreters from Frankland +[France], as St. Gregory bade them; and he sent messengers to Ethelbert, +and let him know that he came from Rome, and brought the best errand, +and whosoever would be obedient to him, he promised him everlasting +gladness in heaven, and a kingdom hereafter without end, with the true +and living God. + +When [he then] the King heard these words, then ordered he them to abide +in the isle on which they had come up; and their necessaries to be there +given them until he should see what he would do to them. Likewise before +that a report of the Christian religion had come to him, for he had a +Christian wife, who was given to him from the royal kin of the +Franks--Bertha was her name; which woman he received from her parents on +condition that she should have his leave that she might hold the manner +of the Christian belief, and of her religion, unspotted, with the bishop +whom they gave her for the help of that faith; whose name was Luidhard. + +Then [it] was after many days that the King came to the isle, and +ordered to make a seat for him out [of doors], and ordered Augustine +with his fellows to come to his speech (a _conference_). He guarded +himself lest they should go into any house to him; he used the old +greeting, in case they had any magic whereby they should overcome and +deceive him. But they came endowed--not with devil-craft, but with +divine might. They bore Christ's rood-token--a silvern cross of Christ +and a likeness of the Lord Jesus colored and delineated on a board; and +were crying the names of holy men; and singing prayers together, made +supplication to the Lord for the everlasting health of themselves and of +those to whom they come. + +Then the King bade them sit, and they did so; and they soon preached and +taught the word of life to him, together with all his peers who were +there present. Then answered the King, and thus said: Fair words and +promises are these which ye have brought and say to us; but because they +are new and unknown, we cannot yet agree that we should forsake the +things which we for a long time, with all the English nation, have held. + +But because ye have come hither as pilgrims from afar, and since it +seems and is evident to me that ye wished to communicate to us also the +things which ye believed true and best, we will not therefore be heavy +to you, but will kindly receive you in hospitality, and give you a +livelihood, and supply your needs. Nor will we hinder you from joining +and adding to the religion of your belief all whom you can through your +lore. + +Then the King gave them a dwelling and a place in Canterbury, which was +the chief city of all his kingdom, and as he had promised to give them a +livelihood and their worldly needs, he likewise gave them leave that +they might preach and teach the Christian faith. It is said that when +they went and drew nigh to the city, as their custom was, with Christ's +holy cross, and with the likeness of the great King our Lord Jesus +Christ, they sung with a harmonious voice this Litany and Antiphony: +_Deprecamur te_, etc. "We beseech thee, Lord, in all thy mercy, that thy +fury and thy wrath be taken off from this city and [from] thy holy +house, because we have sinned. Alleluia." + +Then it was soon after they had entered into the dwelling place which +had been granted to them in the royal city, when they began to imitate +the apostolic life of the primitive church--that is, served the Lord in +constant prayers, and waking and fasting, and preached and taught God's +word to whom they might, and slighted all things of this world as +foreign; but those things only which were seen [to be] needful for their +livelihood they received from those whom they taught; according to that +which they taught, they [themselves] through everything lived; and they +had a ready mind to suffer adversity, yea likewise death [it] self, for +the truth which they preached and taught. Then was no delay that many +believed and were baptized. They also wondered at the simplicity of +[their] harmless life and the sweetness of their heavenly lore. + +There was by east well-nigh the city a church built in honor of St. +Martin long ago, while the Romans yet dwelt in Britain [in which church +the Queen (was) wont to pray, of whom we said before that she was a +Christian]. In this church at first the holy teachers began to meet and +sing and pray, and do mass-song, and teach men and baptize, until the +King was converted to the faith, and they obtained more leave to teach +everywhere, and to build and repair churches. + +Then came it about through the grace of God that the King likewise among +others began to delight in the cleanest life of holy [men] and their +sweetest promises, and they also gave confirmation that those were true +by the showing of many wonders; and he then, being glad, was baptized. +Then began many daily to hasten and flock together to hear God's word, +and to forsake the manner of heathenism, and joined themselves, through +belief, to the oneness of Christ's holy Church. Of their belief and +conversion [it] is said that the King was so evenly glad that he, +however, forced none to the Christian manner [of worship], but that +those who turned to belief and to baptism he more inwardly loved, as +they were fellow-citizens of the heavenly kingdom. For he had learnt +from his teachers and from the authors of his health that Christ's +service should be of good will, not of compulsion. And he then, the +King, gave and granted to his teachers a place and settlement suitable +to their condition, in his chief city, and thereto gave their needful +supplies in various possessions. + +During these things the holy man Augustine fared over sea, and came to +the city Arles, and by AEtherius, archbishop of the said city, according +to the behest and commandment of the blessed father St. Gregory, was +hallowed archbishop of the English people, and returned and fared into +Britain, and soon sent messengers to Rome, that was Laurence a +mass-priest and Peter a monk, that they should say and make known to the +blessed St. Gregory that the English nation had received Christ's +belief, and that he had been consecrated as bishop. He likewise +requested his advice about many causes and questions which were seen by +him [to be] needful; and he soon sent suitable answers of them. + +Asked by St. Augustine, bishop of the church of Canterbury: First, of +bishops, how they shall behave and live with their fellows. Next, on the +gifts of the faithful which they bring to holy tables and to God's +churches--how many doles of them shall be? + +Answered by Pope St. Gregory: Holy writ makes it known, quoth he, which +I have no doubt thou knowest, and sunderly the blessed Paul's epistle, +which he wrote to Timothy, in which he earnestly trained and taught him +how he should behave and do in God's house. For it is the manner of the +apostolic seat, when they hallow bishops, that they give them +commandments, and that of all the livelihood which comes in to them +there shall be four doles. One, in the first place, to the bishop and +his family for food, and entertainment of guests and comers; a second +dole to God's servants; a third to the needy; the fourth to renewing and +repair of God's church. But because thy brotherliness has been trained +and taught in monastic rules, thou shalt not, however, be asunder from +thy fellows in the English church, which now yet is newly come and led +to the faith of God. This behavior and this life thou shalt set up, +which our fathers had in the beginning of the new-born church, when none +of them said aught of that which they owned was his in sunder; but they +all had all things common. If, then, any priests or God's servants are +settled without holy orders, let those who cannot withhold themselves +from women take them wives, and receive their livelihood outside. For of +the same fathers, of whom we spoke before, [it] is written that they +dealt their worldly goods to sundry men as every [one] had need. + +Likewise concerning their livelihood it is to be thought and foreseen +(_i.e., provided_) that they live in good manners under ecclesiastical +rules, and sing psalms and keep wakes and hold their hearts and tongues +and bodies clean from all forbidden [things] to Almighty God. But, as to +those living in common life, what have we to say how they deal their +alms, or exercise hospitality, and fulfil mercy? since all that is left +over in their worldly substance is to be reached and given to the pious +and good, as the master of all, our Lord Christ, taught and said: _Quod +superest_, etc. "What is over and left, give alms, and to you are all +[things] clean." + +Asked by St. Augustine: Since there is one faith, and are various +customs of churches, there is one custom of mass-song in the holy Roman +Church, and another is had in the kingdom of Gaul. + +Answered by Pope St. Gregory: Thou thyself knowest the manner and custom +of the Roman Church, in which thou wert reared; but now it seems good, +and is more agreeable to me, that whatsoever thou hast found either in +the Roman Church or in Gaul, or in any other [church], that was more +pleasing to Almighty God, thou should carefully choose that, and set it +to be held fast in the Church of the English nation, which now yet is +new in the faith. For the things are not to be loved for places; but the +places for good things. Therefore what things thou choosest as pious, +good, and right from each of sundry churches, these gather thou +together, and settle into a custom in the mind of the English nation. + +Asked by Augustine: I pray thee, what punishment shall he +suffer--whosoever takes away anything by stealth from a church? + +Answered by Gregory: This may thy brotherliness determine from the +thief's condition, how he may be corrected. For there are some who have +worldly wealth, and yet commit theft; there are some who are in this +wise guilty through poverty. Therefore need is that some be corrected by +waning of their worldly goods, some by stripes; some more sternly, some +more mildly. And though the punishment be inflicted a little harder or +sterner, yet it is to be done of love, not of wrath nor of fury; because +through the throes of this is procured to the man that he be not given +to the everlasting fires of hell-torments. For in this manner we ought +to punish men, as the good fathers are wont [to do] their fleshly +children, whom they chide and swinge for their sins; and yet those same +whom they chide and chastise by these pains they also love, and wish to +have for their heirs, and for them hold their worldly goods which they +possess, whom they seem in anger to persecute and torment. For love is +ever to be held in the mind, and it dictates and determines the measure +of the chastisement, so that the mind does nothing at all beside the +right rule. Thou likewise addest in thy inquiry, how those things should +be compensated which have been taken away from a church by theft. But, +oh! far be it that God's Church should receive with increase what she +seems to let alone of earthly things, and seek worldly gain by vain +things. + +Asked by Bishop St. Augustine: At what generation shall Christian people +be joined among themselves in marriage with their kinsfolk?... Answered +by St. Gregory: ... But because there are many in the English nation +[who], while they were then yet in unbelief, are said to have been +joined together in this sinful marriage,[44] now they are to be +admonished, since they have come to the faith, that they hold themselves +off from such iniquities, and understand that it is a heavy sin, and +dread the awful doom of God, lest they for fleshly love receive the +torments of everlasting death. They are not, however, for this cause to +be deprived of the communion of Christ's body and blood, lest this thing +may seem to be revenged on them, in which they through unwittingness +sinned before the bath of baptism. For at this time the Holy Church +corrects some things through zeal, bears with some through mildness, +overlooks some through consideration, and so bears and overlooks that +often by bearing and overlooking she checks the opposing evil. All those +who come to the faith of Christ are to be reminded that they may not +dare to commit any such thing. But, if any shall commit them, then are +they to be deprived of Christ's body and blood; for, as some little is +to be borne with in regard to those men who through unwittingness +commit sin, so on the other hand it is to be strongly pursued in those +who dread not to sin wittingly. + +Asked by Bishop St. Augustine: If a great distance of journey lies +between, so that bishops may not easily come, whether may a bishop be +hallowed without the presence of other bishops. + +Answered by Gregory: In the English Church, indeed, in which thou alone +as yet art found a bishop, thou canst not hallow a bishop otherwise than +without other bishops; but bishops must come to thee out of the kingdom +of Gaul, that they may stand as witness at the bishop's hallowing, for +the hallowing of bishops must not be otherwise than in the assembling +and witnessing of three or four bishops, that they may send [up] and +pour [forth] their petitions and prayers to the Almighty God for his +favor. + +Asked by Augustine: How must we do with the bishops of Gaul and Britain? + +Answered by Pope Gregory: Over the bishops of Gaul we give thee no +authority, because from the earlier times of my predecessors the bishop +of the city Arles received the pallium, whom we ought not to degrade nor +to deprive of the received authority. But, if thou happen to go into the +province of Gaul, have thou a conference and consultation with the said +bishop what is to be done, or, if any vices are found in bishops, how +they shall be corrected and reformed; and if there be a supposition that +he is too lukewarm in the vigor of his discipline and chastisement, then +is he to be inflamed and abetted by thy brotherliness's love,[45] that +he may ward off those things which are contrary to the behest and +commands of our Maker, from the manners of the bishops. Thou mayest not +judge the bishops of Gaul without their own authority; but thou shalt +mildly admonish them, and show them the imitation of thy good works. All +the bishops of Britain we commend to thy brotherliness, in order that +the unlearned may be taught, the weak strengthened by thy exhortation, +and the perverse corrected by thy authority.[46] + +Augustine likewise bade [his messengers] acquaint him that a great +harvest was here present and few workmen. And he then sent with the +aforesaid messengers more help to him for divine learning, among whom +the first and greatest were Mellitus and Justus and Paulinus and +Rufinianus, and by them generally all those things which were needful +for the worship and service of the Church--communion vessels, +altar-cloth, and church ornaments, and bishops' robes, and deacons' +robes, as also reliques of the apostles and holy martyrs, and many +books. He likewise sent to Augustine the bishop a pallium, and a letter +in which he intimated how he should hallow other bishops, and in what +places [he should] set them in Britain. + +The blessed Pope Gregory likewise at the same time sent a letter to King +Ethelbert, and along with it many worldly gifts of diverse sorts. He +wished likewise by these temporal honors to glorify the King, to whom he +had, by his labor and by his diligence in teaching, opened and made +known the glory of the heavenly kingdom. + +And then St. Augustine, as soon as he received the bishop-seat in the +royal city, renewed and wrought, with the King's help, the church which +he had learnt was wrought long before by old Roman work, and hallowed it +in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; and he there set a dwelling-place +for himself and all his after-followers. He likewise built a monastery +by east of the city, in which Ethelbert the King, by his exhortation and +advice, ordered to build a church worthy of the blessed apostles Peter +and Paul, and he enriched it with various gifts, in which church the +body of Augustine, and of all the Canterbury bishops together, and of +their kings, might be laid. The church, however, not Augustine, but +Bishop Laurentius, his after-follower, hallowed. + +The first abbot at the same monastery was a mass-priest named Peter, who +was sent back as a messenger into the kingdom of Gaul, and then was +drowned in a bay of the sea, which was called Amfleet, and was laid in +an unbecoming grave by the inhabitants of the place. But the Almighty +God would show of what merit the holy man was, and every night a +heavenly light was made to shine over his grave, until the neighbors, +who saw it, understood that it was a great and holy man who was buried +there; and they then asked who and whence he was: they then took his +body, and laid and buried it in a church in the city of Boulogne, with +the honor befitting so great and so holy a man. + +Then it was that Augustine, with the help of King Ethelbert, invited to +his speech the bishops and teachers of the Britons, in the place which +is yet named Augustine's Oak, on the borders of the Hwiccii and West +Saxons. And he then began, with brotherly love, to advise and teach +them, that they should have right love and peace between them, and +undertake, for the Lord, the common labor of teaching divine lore in the +English nation. And they would not hear him, nor keep Easter at its +right tide, and also had many other things unlike and contrary to +ecclesiastical unity. When they had held a long conference and strife +about those things, and they would not yield any things to Augustine's +instructions, nor to his prayers, nor to his threats, and [those] of his +companions, but thought their own customs and institutions better than +[that] they should agree with all Christ's churches throughout the +world; then the holy father Augustine put an end to this troublesome +strife, and thus spoke: + +"Let us pray Almighty God, who makes the one-minded to dwell in his +Father's house, that he vouchsafe to signify to us by heavenly wonders +which institution we ought to follow, by what ways to hasten to the +entrance of his kingdom. Let an infirm man be brought hither to us, and, +through whose prayer soever he be healed, let his belief and practice be +believed acceptable to God, and to be followed by all." + +When his adversaries had hardly granted that, a blind man of English kin +was led forth: he was first led to the bishops of the Britons, and he +received no health nor comfort through their ministry. Then at last +Augustine was constrained by righteous need, arose and bowed his knees, +[and] prayed God the Almighty Father that he would give sight to the +blind man, that he through one man's bodily enlightening might kindle +the gift of ghostly light in the hearts of many faithful Then soon, +without delay, the blind man was enlightened, and received sight; and +the true preacher of the heavenly light, Augustine, was proclaimed and +praised by all. Then the Britons also acknowledged with shame that they +understood that it was the way of truth which Augustine preached; they +said, however, that they could not, without consent and leave of their +people, shun and forsake their old customs. They begged that again +another synod should be [assembled], and they then would attend it with +more counsellors. + +When that accordingly was set, seven bishops of the Britons came, and +all the most learned men, who were chiefly from the city Bangor: at that +time the abbot of that monastery was named Dinoth. When they then were +going to the meeting, they first came to a [certain] hermit, who was +with them holy and wise. They interrogated and asked him whether they +should for Augustine's lore forsake their own institutions and customs. +Then answered he them, "If he be a man of God, follow him." Quoth they +to him, "How may we know whether he be so?" Quoth he: "[Our] Lord +himself hath said in his gospel, Take ye my yoke upon you, and learn +from me that I am mild and of lowly heart. And now if Augustine is mild +and of lowly heart, then it is [to be] believed that he bears Christ's +yoke and teaches you to bear it. If he then is unmild and haughty, then +it is known that he is not from God, nor [should] ye mind his words." +Quoth they again, "How may we know that distinctly?" Quoth he, "See ye +that he come first to the synod with his fellows, and sit; and, if he +rises toward you when ye come, then wit ye that he is Christ's servant, +and ye shall humbly hear his words and his lore. But if he despise you, +and will not rise toward you since there are more of you, be he then +despised by you." Well, they did so as he said. + +When they had come to the synod-place, the archbishop Augustine was +sitting on his seat. When they saw that he rose not for them, they +quickly became angry, and upbraided him [as being] haughty, and gainsaid +and withstood all his words. The archbishop said to them: "In many +things ye are contrary to our customs and so to [those] of all God's +churches; and yet if ye will be obedient to me in these three +things--that first ye celebrate Easter at the right tide; that ye fulfil +the ministry of baptism, through which we are born as God's children, +after the manner of the holy Roman and apostolic Church; and that, +thirdly, ye preach the word of the Lord to the English people together +with us--we will patiently bear with all other things which ye do that +are contrary to our customs." They said that they would do none of these +things, nor would have him for an archbishop; they said among +themselves, "If he would not now rise for us, much more, if we shall be +subjected to him, will he contemn us for naught." It is said that the +man of God, St. Augustine, in a threatening manner foretold, "if they +would not receive peace with men of God, that they should receive +unpeace and war from their foes; and, if they would not preach among the +English race the word of life, they should through their hands suffer +the vengeance of death." + +And through everything, as the man of God had foretold, by the righteous +doom of God it came to pass; and very soon after this Ethelfrith, king +of the English, collected a great army, and led it to Legcaster, and +there fought against the Britons, and made the greatest slaughter of the +faithless people. While he was beginning the battle, King Ethelfrith saw +their priests and bishops and monks standing aloof in a safer place, +that they should pray and make intercession to God for their warriors: +he inquired and asked what that host was, and what they were doing +there. When he understood the cause of their coming, then said he, "So! +I wot if they cry to their God against us, though they bear not a +weapon, they fight against us, for they pursue us with their hostile +prayers and curses." He then straightway ordered to turn upon them +first, and slay them. Men say that there were twelve hundred of this +host, and fifty of them escaped by flight; and he so then destroyed and +blotted out the other host of the sinful nation, not without great +waning of his [own] host; and so was fulfilled the prophecy of the holy +bishop Augustine, that they should for their trowlessness suffer the +vengeance of temporal perdition, because they despised the skilful +counsel of their eternal salvation. + +After these things Augustine, bishop [of Britain], hallowed two bishops: +the one was named Mellitus, the other Justus. Mellitus he sent to preach +divine lore to the East Saxons, who are shed off from Kentland by the +river Thames, and joined to the east sea. Their chief city is called +Lundencaster (_now London_), standing on the bank of the foresaid +river; and it is the market-place of land and sea comers. The King in +the nation at that time was Seabright (_or Sabert_), Ethelbert's +sister-son, and his vassal. Then he and the nation of the East Saxons +received the word of truth and the faith of Christ through Mellitus, the +bishop's lore. Then King Ethelbert ordered to build a church in London, +and to hallow it to St. Paul the apostle, that he and his +after-followers might have their bishop-seat in that place. Justus he +hallowed as bishop in Kent itself at Rochester, which is four-and-twenty +miles right west from Canterbury, in which city likewise King Ethelbert +ordered to build a church, and to hallow it to St. Andrew the apostle; +and to each of these bishops the King gave his gifts and bookland and +possessions for them to brook with their fellows. + +After these things, then, Father Augustine, beloved of God, departed +[this life], and his body was buried without [doors], nigh the church of +the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, which we mentioned before, because +it was not then yet fully built nor hallowed. As soon as it was +hallowed, then his body was put into it, and becomingly buried in the +north porch of the church, in which likewise the bodies of all the +after-following archbishops are buried but two; that is, Theodorus and +Berhtwald, whose bodies are laid in the church itself, because no more +might [be so] in the foresaid porch. Well-nigh in the middle of the +church is an altar set and hallowed in name of St. Gregory, on which +every Saturday their memory and decease are celebrated with mass-song by +the mass-priest of that place. On St. Augustine's tomb is written an +inscription of this sort: Here resteth Sir[47] Augustine, the first +archbishop of Canterbury, who was formerly sent hither by the blessed +Gregory, bishop of the Roman city; and was upheld by God with working of +wonders. King Ethelbert and his people he led from the worship of idols +to the faith of Christ, and, having fulfilled the days of his ministry +in peace, departed on the 26th day of May in the same King's reign. + +JOHN RICHARD GREEN + +Years had passed by since Gregory pitied the English slaves in the +market-place of Rome. As bishop of the imperial city he at last found +himself in a position to carry out his dream of winning Britain to the +faith, and an opening was given him by Ethelbert's marriage with Bertha, +a daughter of the Frankish king Charibert of Paris. Bertha, like her +Frankish kindred, was a Christian; a Christian bishop accompanied her +from Gaul; and a ruined Christian church, the church of St. Martin +beside the royal city of Canterbury, was given them for their worship. + +The King himself remained true to the gods of his fathers; but his +marriage no doubt encouraged Gregory to send a Roman abbot, Augustine, +at the head of a band of monks to preach the Gospel, to the English +people. The missionaries landed in 597 in the Isle of Thanet, at the +spot where Hengist had landed more than a century before; and Ethelbert +received them sitting in the open air, on the chalk-down above Minster +where the eye nowadays catches miles away over the marshes the dim tower +of Canterbury. + +The King listened patiently to the long sermon of Augustine as the +interpreters the abbot had brought with him from Gaul rendered it in the +English tongue. "Your words are fair," Ethelbert replied at last with +English good sense, "but they are new and of doubtful meaning." For +himself, he said, he refused to forsake the gods of his fathers, but +with the usual religious tolerance of his race he promised shelter and +protection to the strangers. + +The band of monks entered Canterbury bearing before them a silver cross +with a picture of Christ, and singing in concert the strains of the +litany of their church. "Turn from this city, O Lord," they sang, "thine +anger and wrath, and turn it from thy holy house, for we have sinned." +And then in strange contrast came the jubilant cry of the older Hebrew +worship, the cry which Gregory had wrested in prophetic earnestness from +the name of the Yorkshire king in the Roman market-place, +"Alleluia!"[48] + +It was thus that the spot which witnessed the landing of Hengist became +yet better known as the landing-place of Augustine. But the second +landing at Ebbsfleet was in no small measure a reversal and undoing of +the first. "Strangers from Rome" was the title with which the +missionaries first fronted the English King. The march of the monks as +they chanted their solemn litany was in one sense a return of the Roman +legions who withdrew at the trumpet-call of Alaric. It was to the tongue +and the thought not of Gregory only, but of the men whom his Jutish +fathers had slaughtered or driven out that Ethelbert listened in the +preaching of Augustine. + +Canterbury, the earliest royal city of German England, became a centre +of Latin influence. The Roman tongue became again one of the tongues of +Britain, the language of its worship, its correspondence, its +literature. But more than the tongue of Rome returned with Augustine. +Practically his landing renewed that union with the western world which +the landing of Hengist had destroyed. The new England was admitted into +the older commonwealth of nations. The civilization, art, letters, which +had fled before the sword of the English conquerors returned with the +Christian faith. The great fabric of the Roman law indeed never took +root in England, but it is impossible not to recognize the result of the +influence of the Roman missionaries in the fact that codes of the +customary English law began to be put in writing soon after their +arrival. + +A year passed before Ethelbert yielded to the preaching of Augustine. +But from the moment of his conversion the new faith advanced rapidly and +the Kentish men crowded to baptism in the train of their King. The new +religion was carried beyond the bounds of Kent by the supremacy which +Ethelbert wielded over the neighboring kingdoms. Sebert, king of the +East Saxons, received a bishop sent from Kent, and suffered him to build +up again a Christian church in what was now his subject city of London, +while the East Anglian king Redwald resolved to serve Christ and the +older gods together. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[43] Translated by King Alfred the Great. + +[44] That is, with their near kinsfolk. + +[45] A brother is here styled "his brotherliness," as a pope "his +holiness." + +[46] The remainder of this is not translated here. + +[47] "Sir" in English (_Schir_, Scottish) equal to _Dominus_, Latin, was +five or six centuries ago prefixed to the name of every ordained priest. + +[48] See introduction to _Augustine's Missionary Work in England_. + + + + +THE HEGIRA + +CAREER OF MAHOMET: THE KORAN: AND MAHOMETAN CREED + +A.D. 622 + +IRVING OCKLEY + + + The flight of Mahomet from Mecca to Medina occurred June 20, 622, + and was called the _hegira_, or departure of the prophet. That + event marks the commencement of the Mahometan era, which is called + there-from the _Hegira_. According to the civil calculation it is + fixed at Friday, July 16th, the date of the Mahometans, although + astronomers and some historians assign it to the day preceding. + While primarily referring to the flight of Mahomet, the term is + applied also to the emigration to Medina, prior to the capture of + Mecca (630) of those of Mahomet's disciples, who henceforth were + known as Mohajerins--Emigrants or Refugees--which became a title of + honor. + + A scion of the family of Hashem and of the tribe of Koreish, the + noblest race in Arabia, and the guardians of the ancient temple and + idols of the Kaaba, Mahomet was born at Mecca, August 20, A.D. 570. + He acquired wealth and influence by his marriage with Kadijah, a + rich widow, but, about his fortieth year, by announcing himself as + an apostle of God, sent to extirpate idolatry and to restore the + true faith of the prophets Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, he and his + converts were exposed to contumely and persecution. + + It was, as Irving's recital shows, necessary for the preservation + of his life--which was threatened by his own tribe, the + Koreishites--that Mahomet should leave Mecca, and he escaped none + too soon. It must also be observed that by this going out he found + ampler means for the spread of his doctrine and the increase of his + followers. His very presence among strangers drew multitudes to the + support of his cause, and the enthusiasm aroused by the prophet at + Medina made that city the centre of his first great propaganda. + There Mahomet died; in the Great Mosque is his tomb, and Medina is + sometimes called the "City of the Prophet." From this centre began + the development and spread of Islam into a world-religion, which + has flourished to the present day, when its followers are estimated + at nearly two hundred millions, having large empire and still wider + influence among some of the most important races of the East. + +WASHINGTON IRVING + + +The fortunes of Mahomet were becoming darker and darker in his native +place. Kadijah, his original benefactress, the devoted companion of his +solitude and seclusion, the zealous believer in his doctrines, was in +her grave; so also was Abu-Taleb, once his faithful and efficient +protector. Deprived of the sheltering influence of the latter, Mahomet +had become, in a manner, an outlaw in Mecca; obliged to conceal himself, +and remain a burden on the hospitality of those whom his own doctrines +had involved in persecution. If worldly advantage had been his object, +how had it been attained? Upward of ten years had elapsed since first he +announced his prophetic mission; ten long years of enmity, trouble, and +misfortune. Still he persevered, and now, at a period of life when men +seek to enjoy in repose the fruition of the past, rather than risk all +in new schemes for the future, we find him, after having sacrificed +ease, fortune, and friends, prepared to give up home and country also, +rather than his religious creed. + +As soon as the privileged time of pilgrimage arrived, he emerged once +more from his concealment, and mingled with the multitude assembled from +all parts of Arabia. His earnest desire was to find some powerful tribe, +or the inhabitants of some important city, capable and willing to +receive him as a guest, and protect him in the enjoyment and propagation +of his faith. + +His quest was for a time unsuccessful. Those who had come to worship at +the Kaaba[49] drew back from a man stigmatized as an apostate; and the +worldly-minded were unwilling to befriend one proscribed by the powerful +of his native place. + +At length, as he was one day preaching on the hill Al Akaba, a little to +the north of Mecca, he drew the attention of certain pilgrims from the +city of Yathreb. This city, since called Medina, was about two hundred +and seventy miles north of Mecca. Many of its inhabitants were Jews and +heretical Christians. The pilgrims in question were pure Arabs of the +ancient and powerful tribe of Khazradites, and in habits of friendly +intercourse with the Keneedites and Naderites, two Jewish tribes +inhabiting Mecca, who claimed to be of the sacerdotal line of Aaron. The +pilgrims had often heard their Jewish friends explain the mysteries of +their faith and talk of an expected messiah. They were moved by the +eloquence of Mahomet, and struck with the resemblance of his doctrines +to those of the Jewish law; insomuch that when they heard him proclaim +himself a prophet, sent by heaven to restore the ancient faith, they +said, one to another, "Surely this must be the promised messiah of which +we have been told." The more they listened, the stronger became their +persuasion of the fact, until in the end they avowed their conviction, +and made a final profession of their faith. + +As the Khazradites belonged to one of the most powerful tribes of +Yathreb, Mahomet sought to secure their protection, and proposed to +accompany them on their return; but they informed him that they were at +deadly feud with the Awsites, another powerful tribe of that city, and +advised him to defer his coming until they should be at peace. He +consented; but on the return home of the pilgrims, he sent with them +Musab Ibn Omeir, one of the most learned and able of his disciples, with +instructions to strengthen them in the faith, and to preach it to their +townsmen. + +Thus were the seeds of Islamism first sown in the city of Medina. For a +time they thrived but slowly. Musab was opposed by the idolaters, and +his life threatened; but he persisted in his exertions and gradually +made converts among the principal inhabitants. Among these were Saad Ibn +Maads, a prince or chief of the Awsites, and Osaid Ibn Hodheir, a man +of great authority in the city. Numbers of the Moslems of Mecca also, +driven away by persecution, took refuge in Medina, and aided in +propagating the new faith among its inhabitants, until it found its way +into almost every household. + +Feeling now assured of being able to give Mahomet an asylum in the city, +upward of seventy of the converts of Medina, led by Musab Ibn Omeir, +repaired to Mecca with the pilgrims in the holy month of the thirteenth +year of "the mission," to invite him to take up his abode in their city. +Mahomet gave them a midnight meeting on the hill Al Akaba. His uncle Al +Abbas, who, like the deceased Abu-Taleb, took an affectionate interest +in his welfare, though no convert to his doctrines, accompanied him to +this secret conference, which he feared might lead him into danger. He +entreated the pilgrims from Medina not to entice his nephew to their +city until more able to protect him; warning them that their open +adoption of the new faith would bring all Arabia in arms against them. + +His warnings and entreaties were in vain; a solemn compact was made +between the parties. Mahomet demanded that they should abjure idolatry, +and worship the one true God openly and fearlessly. For himself he +exacted obedience in weal and woe; and for the disciples who might +accompany him, protection; even such as they would render to their own +wives and children. On these terms he offered to bind himself to remain +among them, to be the friend of their friends, the enemy of their +enemies. + +"But, should we perish in your cause," asked they, "what will be our +reward?" + +"Paradise," replied the prophet. + +The terms were accepted; the emissaries from Medina placed their hands +in the hands of Mahomet, and swore to abide by their compact. The latter +then singled out twelve from among them, whom he designated as his +apostles; in imitation, it is supposed, of the example of our Saviour. +Just then a voice was heard from the summit of the hill, denouncing them +as apostates and menacing them with punishment. The sound of this voice, +heard in the darkness of the night, inspired temporary dismay. "It is +the voice of the fiend Iblis," said Mahomet scornfully; "he is the foe +of God; fear him not." It was probably the voice of some spy or +eavesdropper of the Koreishites; for the very next morning they +manifested a knowledge of what had taken place in the night, and treated +the new confederates with great harshness as they were departing from +the city. + +It was this early accession to the faith, and this timely aid proffered +and subsequently afforded to Mahomet and his disciples, which procured +for the Moslems of Medina the appellation of Ansarians, or auxiliaries, +by which they were afterward distinguished. + +After the departure of the Ansarians, and the expiration of the holy +month, the persecutions of the Moslems were resumed with increased +virulence, insomuch that Mahomet, seeing a crisis was at hand, and being +resolved to leave the city, advised his adherents generally to provide +for their safety. For himself he still lingered in Mecca with a few +devoted followers. + +Abu Sofian, his implacable foe, was at this time governor of the city. +He was both incensed and alarmed at the spreading growth of the new +faith, and held a meeting of the chief of the Koreishites to devise some +means of effectually putting a stop to it. Some advised that Mahomet +should be banished the city; but it was objected that he might gain +other tribes to his interest, or perhaps the people of Medina, and +return at their head to take his revenge. Others proposed to wall him up +in a dungeon, and supply him with food until he died; but it was +surmised that his friends might effect his escape. All these objections +were raised by a violent and pragmatical old man, a stranger from the +province of Nedja, who, say the Moslem writers, was no other than the +devil in disguise, breathing his malignant spirit into those present. + +At length it was declared by Abu-Jahl that the only effectual check on +the growing evil was to put Mahomet to death. To this all agreed, and as +a means of sharing the odium of the deed, and withstanding the vengeance +it might awaken among the relatives of the victim, it was arranged that +a member of each family should plunge his sword into the body of +Mahomet. + +It is to this conspiracy that allusion is made in the eighth chapter of +the _Koran_: + +"And call to mind how the unbelievers plotted against thee, that they +might either detain thee in bonds, or put thee to death, or expel thee +the city; but God laid a plot against them; and God is the best layer of +plots." + +In fact, by the time the murderers arrived before the dwelling of +Mahomet, he was apprised of the impending danger. As usual, the warning +is attributed to the angel Gabriel, but it is probable it was given by +some Koreishite, less bloody-minded than his confederates. It came just +in time to save Mahomet from the hands of his enemies. They paused at +his door, but hesitated to enter. Looking through a crevice they beheld, +as they thought, Mahomet wrapped in his green mantle, and lying asleep +on his couch. They waited for a while, consulting whether to fall on him +while sleeping or wait until he should go forth. At length they burst +open the door and rushed toward the couch. The sleeper started up; but, +instead of Mahomet, Ali stood before them. Amazed and confounded they +demanded, "Where is Mahomet?" "I know not," replied Ali sternly, and +walked forth; nor did anyone venture to molest him. Enraged at the +escape of their victim, however, the Koreishites proclaimed a reward of +a hundred camels to anyone who should bring them Mahomet alive or dead. + +Divers accounts are given of the mode in which Mahomet made his escape +from the house after the faithful Ali had wrapped himself in his mantle +and taken his place upon the couch. The most miraculous account is, that +he opened the door silently, as the Koreishites stood before it, and, +scattering a handful of dust in the air, cast such blindness upon them +that he walked through the midst of them without being perceived. This, +it is added, is confirmed by the verse of the thirtieth chapter of the +_Koran_: "We have thrown blindness upon them, that they shall not see." +The most probable account is that he clambered over the wall in the rear +of the house, by the help of a servant, who bent his back for him to +step upon it.[50] + +He repaired immediately to the house of Abu-Bekr, and they arranged for +instant flight. It was agreed that they should take refuge in a cave in +Mount Thor, about an hour's distance from Mecca, and wait there until +they could proceed safely to Medina; and in the mean time the children +of Abu-Bekr should secretly bring them food. They left Mecca while it +was yet dark, making their way on foot by the light of the stars, and +the day dawned as they found themselves at the foot of Mount Thor. +Scarce were they within the cave when they heard the sound of pursuit. +Abu-Bekr, though a brave man, quaked with fear. + +"Our pursuers," said he, "are many, and we are but two." + +"Nay," replied Mahomet, "there is a third; God is with us!" + +And here the Moslem writers relate a miracle, dear to the minds of all +true believers. By the time, say they, that the Koreishites reached the +mouth of the cavern, an acacia-tree had sprung up before it, in the +spreading branches of which a pigeon had made its nest and laid its +eggs, and over the whole a spider had woven its web. When the +Koreishites beheld these signs of undisturbed quiet, they concluded that +no one could recently have entered the cavern; so they turned away, and +pursued their search in another direction. + +Whether protected by miracle or not, the fugitives remained for three +days undiscovered in the cave, and Asama, the daughter of Abu-Bekr, +brought them food in the dusk of the evenings. + +On the fourth day, when they presumed the ardor of pursuit had abated, +the fugitives ventured forth, and set out for Medina, on camels which a +servant of Abu-Bekr had brought in the night for them. Avoiding the main +road usually taken by the caravans, they bent their course nearer to the +coast of the Red Sea. They had not proceeded far, however, before they +were overtaken by a troop of horse headed by Soraka Ibn Malec. Abu-Bekr +was again dismayed by the number of their pursuers; but Mahomet repeated +the assurance, "Be not troubled; Allah is with us." Soraka was a grim +warrior, with shagged iron-gray locks and naked sinewy arms rough with +hair. As he overtook Mahomet, his horse reared and fell with him. His +superstitious mind was struck with it as an evil sign. Mahomet perceived +the state of his feeling, and by an eloquent appeal wrought upon him to +such a degree that Soraka, filled with awe, entreated his forgiveness, +and turning back with his troop suffered him to proceed on his way +unmolested. + +The fugitives continued their journey without further interruption, +until they arrived at Kobe, a hill about two miles from Medina. It was a +favorite resort of the inhabitants of the city, and a place to which +they sent their sick and infirm, for the air was pure and salubrious. +Hence, too, the city was supplied with fruit; the hill and its environs +being covered with vineyards and with groves of the date and lotus; with +gardens producing citrons, oranges, pomegranates, figs, peaches, and +apricots, and being irrigated with limpid streams. + +On arriving at this fruitful spot Al Kaswa, the camel of Mahomet, +crouched on her knees, and would go no farther. The prophet interpreted +it as a favorable sign, and determined to remain at Koba, and prepare +for entering the city. The place where his camel knelt is still pointed +out by pious Moslems, a mosque named Al Takwa having been built there to +commemorate the circumstance. Some affirm that it was actually founded +by the prophet. A deep well[51] is also shown in the vicinity, beside +which Mahomet reposed under the shade of the trees, and into which he +dropped his seal ring. It is believed still to remain there, and has +given sanctity to the well, the waters of which are conducted by +subterraneous conduits to Medina. At Koba he remained four days, +residing in the house of an Awsite named Colthum Ibn Hadem. While at +this village he was joined by a distinguished chief, Boreida Ibn al +Hoseib, with seventy followers, all of the tribe of Saham. These made +profession of faith between the hands of Mahomet. + +Another renowned proselyte who repaired to the prophet at this village +was Salman al Parsi--or the Persian. He is said to have been a native of +a small place near Ispahan, and that, on passing one day by a Christian +church, he was so much struck by the devotion of the people, and the +solemnity of the worship, that he became disgusted with the idolatrous +faith in which he had been brought up. He afterward wandered about the +East, from city to city and convent to convent, in quest of a religion, +until an ancient monk, full of years and infirmities, told him of a +prophet who had arisen in Arabia to restore the pure faith of Abraham. + +This Salman rose to power in after years, and was reputed by the +unbelievers of Mecca to have assisted Mahomet in compiling his doctrine. +This is alluded to in the sixteenth chapter of the _Koran_: "Verily, the +idolaters say, that a certain man assisted to compose the _Koran_; but +the language of this man is Ajami--or Persian--and the _Koran_ is +indited in the pure Arabian tongue." + +The Moslems of Mecca, who had taken refuge some time before in Medina, +hearing that Mahomet was at hand, came forth to meet him at Koba; among +these were the early convert Talha, and Zobeir, the nephew of Kadijah. +These, seeing the travel-stained garments of Mahomet and Abu-Bekr, gave +them white mantles, with which to make their entrance into Medina. +Numbers of the Ansarians, or auxiliaries, of Medina, who had made their +compact with Mahomet in the preceding year, now hastened to renew their +vow of fidelity. + +Learning from them that the number of proselytes in the city was rapidly +augmenting, and that there was a general disposition to receive him +favorably, he appointed Friday, the Moslem Sabbath,[52] the sixteenth +day of the month Rabi, for his public entrance. + +Accordingly on the morning of that day he assembled all his followers to +prayer; and after a sermon, in which he expounded the main principles of +his faith, he mounted his camel Al Kaswa, and set forth for that city, +which was to become renowned in after ages as his city of refuge. + +Boreida Ibn al Hoseib, with his seventy horsemen of the tribe of Saham, +accompanied him as a guard. Some of the disciples took turns to hold a +canopy of palm leaves over his head, and by his side rode Abu-Bekr. "O +apostle of God!" cried Boreida, "thou shalt not enter Medina without a +standard"; so saying, he unfolded his turban, and tying one end of it to +the point of his lance, bore it aloft before the prophet. + +The city of Medina was fair to approach, being extolled for beauty of +situation, salubrity of climate, and fertility of soil; for the +luxuriance of its palm-trees, and the fragrance of its shrubs and +flowers. At a short distance from the city a crowd of new proselytes to +the faith came forth in sun and dust to meet the cavalcade. Most of them +had never seen Mahomet, and paid reverence to Abu-Bekr through mistake; +but the latter put aside the screen of palm leaves, and pointed out the +real object of homage, who was greeted with loud acclamations. + +In this way did Mahomet, so recently a fugitive from his native city, +with a price upon his head, enter Medina, more as a conqueror in triumph +than an exile seeking an asylum. He alighted at the house of a +Khazradite, named Abu-Ayub, a devout Moslem, to whom moreover he was +distantly related; here he was hospitably received, and took up his +abode in the basement story. + +Shortly after his arrival he was joined by the faithful Ali,[53] who had +fled from Mecca, and journeyed on foot, hiding himself in the day and +travelling only at night, lest he should fall into the hands of the +Koreishites. He arrived weary and way-worn, his feet bleeding with the +roughness of the journey. + +Within a few days more came Ayesha, and the rest of Abu-Bekr's +household, together with the family of Mahomet, conducted by his +faithful freedman Zeid, and by Abu-Bekr's servant Abdallah. + + +SIMON OCKLEY + +Mahomet had hitherto propagated his religion by fair means only. During +his stay at Mecca he had declared his business was only to preach and +admonish; and that whether people believed or not was none of his +concern. He had hitherto confined himself to the arts of persuasion, +promising, on the one hand, the joys of paradise to all who should +believe in him, and who should, for the hopes of them, disregard the +things of this world, and even bear persecution with patience and +resignation; and, on the other, deterring his hearers from what he +called infidelity, by setting before them both the punishments inflicted +in this world upon Pharaoh and others, who despised the warnings of the +prophets sent to reclaim them; and also the torments of hell, which +would be their portion in the world to come. Now, however, when he had +got a considerable town at his command, and a good number of followers +firmly attached to him, he began to sing another note. Gabriel now +brings him messages from heaven to the effect that, whereas other +prophets had come with miracles and been rejected, he was to take +different measures, and propagate Islamism by the sword. And +accordingly, within a year after his arrival at Medina he began what was +called the holy war. For this purpose he first of all instituted a +brotherhood, joining his Ansars or helpers, and his Mohajerins or +refugees together in pairs; he himself taking Ali for his brother. It +was in allusion to this that Ali, afterward when preaching at Cufa, +said, "I am the servant of God, and brother to his apostle." + +In the second year of the Hegira, Mahomet changed the Kebla of the +Mussulman, which before this time had been toward Jerusalem, ordering +them henceforth to turn toward Mecca when they prayed. In the same year +he also appointed the fast of the month Ramadan. + +Mahomet having now a pretty large congregation at Medina found it +necessary to have some means of calling them to prayers; for this +purpose he was thinking of employing a horn, or some instrument of wood, +which should be made to emit a loud sound by being struck upon. But his +doubts were settled this year by a dream of one of his disciples, in +which a man appearing to him in a green vest recommended as a better +way, that the people should be summoned to prayers by a crier calling +out, "Allah acbar, Allah acbar," etc.; "God is great, God is great, +there is but one God, Mahomet is his prophet;[54] come to prayers, come +to prayers." Mahomet approved of the scheme, and this is the very form +in use to this day among the Mussulmans; who, however, in the call to +morning prayers, add the words, "Prayer is better than sleep, prayer is +better than sleep"--a sentiment not unworthy the consideration of those +who are professors of a better religion. + +The same year the apostle sent some of his people to plunder a caravan +going to Mecca; which they did, and brought back two prisoners to +Medina. This was the first act of hostility committed by the Mussulmans +against the idolaters. The second was the battle of Beder. The history +of the battle is thus given by Abulfeda: "The apostle, hearing that a +caravan of the Meccans was coming home from Syria, escorted by Abu +Sofian at the head of thirty men, placed a number of soldiers in +ambuscade to intercept it. Abu Sofian, being informed thereof by his +spies, sent word immediately to Mecca, whereupon all the principal men +except Abu Laheb--who, however, sent Al Asum son of Hesham in his +stead--marched out to his assistance, making in all nine hundred and +fifty men, whereof two hundred were cavalry. The apostle of God went out +against them with three hundred and thirteen men, of whom seventy-seven +were refugees from Mecca, the rest being helpers from Medina; they had +with them only two horses and seventy camels, upon which they rode by +turns. The apostle encamped near a well called Beder, from the name of +the person who was owner of it, and had a hut made where he and Abu-Bekr +sat. As soon as the armies were in sight of each other, three champions +came out from among the idolaters, Otha son of Rabia, his brother +Shaiba, and Al Walid son of Otha; against the first of these, the +prophet sent Obeidah son of Hareth, Hamza against the second, and Ali +against the third: Hamza and Ali slew each his man and then went to the +assistance of Obeidah, and having killed his adversary, brought off +Obeidah, who, however, soon after died of a wound in his foot. + +"All this while the apostle continued in his hut in prayer, beating his +breast so violently that his cloak fell off his shoulders, and he was +suddenly taken with a palpitation of the heart; soon recovering, +however, he comforted Abu-Bekr, telling him God's help was come. Having +uttered these words, he forthwith ran out of his hut and encouraged his +men, and taking a handful of dust threw it toward the Koreishites, and +said, 'May their faces be confounded,' and immediately they fled. After +the battle, Abdallah, the son of Masud, brought the head of Abu Jehel to +the apostle, who gave thanks to God; Al As, brother to Abu Jehel, was +also killed; Al Abbas also, the prophet's uncle, and Ocail son of Abu +Taleb, were taken prisoners. Upon the news of this defeat Abu Laheb died +of grief within a week." + +Of the Mussulmans died fourteen martyrs (for so they call all such as +die fighting for Islamism). The number of idolaters slain was seventy; +among whom my author names some of chief note, Hantala son of Abu +Sofian, and Nawfal, brother to Kadijah. Ali slew six of the enemy with +his own hand. + +The prophet ordered the dead bodies of the enemy to be thrown into a +pit, and remained three days upon the field of battle dividing the +spoil; on occasion of which a quarrel arose between the helpers and the +refugees, and to quiet them the eighth chapter of the _Koran_ was +brought from heaven. It begins thus, "They will ask thee concerning the +spoils: say, The spoils belong to God and his apostle": and again in the +same chapter, "And know that whenever ye gain any, a fifth part +belongeth to God, and to the apostle, and his kindred, and the orphans, +and the poor." The other four-fifths are to be divided among those who +are present at the action. The apostle, when he returned to Safra in his +way to Medina, ordered Ali to behead two of his prisoners. + +The victory at Beder was of great importance to Mahomet; to encourage +his men, and to increase the number of his followers, he pretended that +two miracles were wrought in his favor, in this, as also in several +subsequent battles: first, that God sent his angels to fight on his +side; and second, made his army appear to the enemy much greater than it +really was. Both these miracles are mentioned in the _Koran_, chapter +viii. Al Abbas said he was taken prisoner by a man of a prodigious size +(an angel, of course); no wonder, then, he became a convert. + +As soon as the Mussulmans returned to Medina the Koreishites sent to +offer a ransom for their prisoners, which was accepted, and distributed +among those who had taken them, according to the quality of the +prisoners. Some had one thousand drachms for their share. Those who had +only a small or no part of the ransom Mahomet rewarded with donations, +so as to content them all. + +The Jews had many a treaty with Mahomet, and lived peaceably at Medina; +till a Jew, having affronted an Arabian milk-woman, was killed by a +Mussulman. In revenge for this the Jews killed the Mussulman, whereupon +a general quarrel ensued. The Jews fled to their castles; but after a +siege of fifteen days were forced to surrender at discretion. Mahomet +ordered their hands to be tied behind them, determined to put them all +to the sword, and was with great difficulty prevailed upon to spare +their lives and take all their property. Kaab, son of Ashraf, was one of +the most violent among the Jews against Mahomet. He had been at Mecca, +and, with some pathetic verses upon the unhappy fate of those who had +fallen at Beder, excited the Meccans to take up arms. Upon his return to +Medina he rehearsed the same verses among the lower sort of people and +the women. Mahomet, being told of these underhand practices, said, one +day, "Who will rid me of the son of Ashraf?" when Mahomet, son of +Mosalama, one of the helpers, answered, "I am the man, O apostle of God, +that will do it," and immediately took with him Salcan son of Salama, +and some other Moslems, who were to lie in ambush. In order to decoy +Kaab out of his castle, which was a very strong one, Salcan, his +foster-brother, went alone to visit him in the dusk of the evening; and, +entering into conversation, told him some little stories of Mahomet, +which he knew would please him. When he got up to take his leave, Kaab, +as he expected, attended him to the gate; and, continuing the +conversation, went on with him till he came near the ambuscade, where +Mahomet and his companions fell upon him and stabbed him. + +Abu Sofian, meditating revenge for the defeat at Beder, swore he would +neither anoint himself nor come near his women till he was even with +Mahomet. Setting out toward Medina with two hundred horse, he posted a +party of them near the town, where one of the helpers fell into their +hands and was killed. Mahomet, being informed of it, went out against +them, but they all fled; and, for the greater expedition, threw away +some sacks of meal, part of their provision. From which circumstance +this was called the meal-war. + +Abu Sofian, resolving to make another and more effectual effort, got +together a body of three thousand men, whereof seven hundred were +cuirassiers and two hundred cavalry; his wife Henda, with a number of +women, followed in the rear, beating drums, and lamenting the fate of +those slain at Beder, and exciting the idolaters to fight courageously. +The apostle would have waited for them in the town, but as his people +were eager to advance against the enemy, he set out at once with one +thousand men; but of these one hundred turned back, disheartened by the +superior numbers of the enemy. He encamped at the foot of Mount Ohud, +having the mountain in his rear. Of his nine hundred men only one +hundred had armor on; and as for horses, there was only one besides that +on which he himself rode. Mosaab carried the prophet's standard; Kaled, +son of Al Walid, led the right wing of the idolaters; Acrema, son of Abu +Jehel, the left; the women kept in the rear, beating their drums. Henda +cried out to them: "Courage, ye sons of Abdal Dari; courage! smite with +all your swords." + +Mahomet placed fifty archers in his rear, and ordered them to keep their +post. Then Hamza fought stoutly, and killed Arta, the standard-bearer of +the idolaters; and as Seba, son of Abdal Uzza, came near him, Hamza +struck off his head also; but was himself immediately after run through +with a spear by Wabsha, a slave, who lurked behind a rock with that +intent. Then Ebn Kamia slew Mosaab, the apostle's standard-bearer; and +taking him for the prophet cried out, "I have killed Mahomet!" When +Mosaab was slain the standard was given to Ali. + +At the beginning of the action the Mussulmans attacked the idolaters so +furiously that they gave ground, fell back upon their rear, and threw it +into disorder. The archers seeing this, and expecting a complete +victory, left their posts, contrary to the express orders that had been +given them, and came forward from fear of losing their share of the +plunder. In the mean time Kaled, advancing with his cavalry, fell +furiously upon the rear of the Mussulmans, crying aloud at the same time +that Mahomet was slain. This cry, and the finding themselves attacked on +all sides, threw the Mussulmans into such consternation that the +idolaters made great havoc among them, and were able to press on so near +the apostle as to beat him down with a shower of stones and arrows. He +was wounded in the lip, and two arrow-heads stuck in his face. Abu +Obeidah pulled out first one and then the other; at each operation one +of the apostle's teeth came out. As Sonan Abu Said wiped the blood from +off his face, the apostle exclaimed, "He that touches my blood, and +handles it tenderly, shall not have his blood spilt in the fire" (of +hell). In this action, it is said, Telhah, while he was putting a +breast-plate upon Mahomet, received a wound upon his hand, which maimed +it forever. Omar and Abu-Bekr were also wounded. When the Mussulmans saw +Mahomet fall, they concluded he was killed and took to flight; and even +Othman was hurried along by the press of those that fled. In a little +time, however, finding Mahomet was alive, a great number of his men +returned to the field; and, after a very obstinate fight, brought him +off, and carried him to a neighboring village. The Mussulmans had +seventy men killed, the idolaters lost only twenty-two. + +The Koreishites had no other fruit of their victory but the +gratification of a poor spirit of revenge. Henda, and the women who had +fled with her upon the first disorder of the idolaters, now returned, +and committed great barbarities upon the dead bodies of the apostle's +friends. They cut off their ears and noses, and made bracelets and +necklaces of them; Henda pulled Hamza's liver out of his body, and +chewed and swallowed some of it. Abu Sofian, having cut pieces off the +cheeks of Hamza, put them upon the end of his spear, and cried out +aloud, "The success of war is uncertain; after the battle of Beder comes +the battle of Ohud; now, Hobal,[55] thy religion is victorious!" +Notwithstanding this boasting, he decamped the same day. Jannabi +ascribes his retreat to a panic; however that may have been, Abu Sofian +sent to propose a truce for a year, which was agreed to. + +When the enemy were retreated toward Mecca, Mahomet went to the field +of battle to look for the body of Hamza. Finding it shamefully mangled, +in the manner already related, he ordered it to be wrapped in a black +cloak, and then prayed over it, repeating seven times, "Allah acbar," +etc. ("God is great," etc.). In the same manner he prayed over every one +of the martyrs, naming Hamza again with every one of them; so that Hamza +had the prayers said over him seventy-two times. But, as if this were +not enough, he declared that Gabriel had told him he had been received +into the seventh heaven, and welcomed with this eulogium, "Hamza, the +lion of God, and the lion of his prophet." + +The Mussulmans were much chagrined at this defeat. Some expressed a +doubt of the prophet being as high in the divine favor as he pretended, +since he had suffered such an overthrow by infidels. Others murmured at +the loss of their friends and relations. To pacify them he used various +arguments, telling them the sins of some had been the cause of disgrace +to all; that they had been disobedient to orders, in quitting their post +for the sake of plunder; that the devil put it into the minds of those +who turned back; their flight, however, was forgiven, because God is +merciful; that their defeat was intended to try them, and to show them +who were believers and who not; that the event of war is uncertain; that +the enemy had suffered as well as they; that other prophets before him +had been defeated in battle; that death is unavoidable. And here +Mahomet's doctrine of fate was of as great service to him as it was +afterward to his successors, tending as it did to make his people +fearless and desperate in fight. For he taught them that the time of +every man's death is so unalterably fixed that he cannot die before the +appointed hour; and, when that is come, no caution whatever can prolong +his life one moment;[56] so that they who were slain in battle would +certainly have died at the same time, if they had been at home in their +houses; but, as they now died fighting for the faith, they had thereby +gained a crown of martyrdom, and entered immediately into paradise, +where they were in perfect bliss with their Lord. + +In the beginning of the next year the prophet had a revelation, +commanding him to prohibit wine and games of chance. Some say the +prohibition was owing to a quarrel occasioned by these things among his +followers.[57] + +In the fifth year of the Hegira, Mahomet, informed by his spies of a +design against Medina, surrounded it with a ditch, which was no sooner +finished than the Meccans, with several tribes of Arabs, sat down before +it, to the number of ten thousand men. The appearance of so great a +force threw the Mussulmans into a consternation. Some were ready to +revolt; and one of them exclaimed aloud, "Yesterday the prophet promised +us the wealth of Khusrau (Cosroes) and Caesar, and now he is forced to +hide himself behind a nasty ditch." In the mean time Mahomet, skilfully +concealing his real concern, and setting as good a face upon the matter +as he could, marched out with three thousand Mussulmans, and formed his +army at a little distance behind the intrenchment. The two armies +continued facing each other for twenty days, without any action, except +a discharge of arrows on both sides. At length some champions of the +Koreishites, Amru son of Abdud, Acrema son of Abu Jehel, and Nawfal son +of Abdallah, coming to the ditch leaped over it; and, wheeling about +between the ditch and the Moslem army, challenged them to fight. Ali +readily accepted the challenge, and came forward against his uncle Amru, +who said to him, "Nephew, what a pleasure am I now going to have in +killing you." Ali replied, "No; it is I that am to have a much greater +pleasure in killing you." Amru immediately alighted, and, having +hamstrung his horse, advanced toward Ali, who had also dismounted and +was ready to receive him. They immediately engaged, and, in turning +about to flank each other, raised such a dust that they could not be +distinguished, only the strokes of their swords might be heard. At last, +the dust being laid, Ali was seen with his knee upon the breast of his +adversary, cutting his throat. Upon this, the other two champions went +back as fast as they came. Nawfal, however, in leaping the ditch, got a +fall, and being overwhelmed with a shower of stones, cried out, "I had +rather die by the sword than thus." Ali hearing him, leaped into the +ditch and despatched him. He then pursued after Acrema, and having +wounded him with a spear, drove him and his companions back to the army. +Here they related what had happened; which put the rest in such fear +that they were ready to retreat; and when some of their tents had been +overthrown by a storm, and discord had arisen among the allies, the +Koreishites, finding themselves forsaken by their auxiliaries, returned +to Mecca. Mahomet made a miracle of this retreat; and published upon it +this verse of the _Koran_, "God sent a storm and legions of angels, +which you did not see." + +Upon the prophet's return into the town, while he was laying by his +armor and washing himself, Gabriel came and asked him, "Have you laid by +your arms? we have not laid by ours; go and attack them," pointing to +the Koraidites, a Jewish tribe confederated against him. Whereupon +Mahomet went immediately, and besieged them so closely in their castles +that after twenty-five days they surrendered at discretion. He referred +the settlement of the conditions to Saad, son of Moad; who being wounded +by an arrow at the ditch, had wished he might only live to be revenged. +Accordingly, he decreed that all the men, in number between six and +seven hundred, should be put to the sword, the women and children sold +for slaves, and their goods given to the soldiers for a prey. Mahomet +extolled the justice of this sentence, as a divine direction sent down +from the seventh heaven, and had it punctually executed. Saad, dying of +his wound presently after, Mahomet performed his funeral obsequies, and +made a harangue in praise of him. + +One Salam, a Jew, having been very strenuous in stirring up the people +against the prophet, some zealous Casregites desired leave to go and +assassinate him. Permission being readily granted, away they went to the +Jew's house, and being let in by his wife, upon their pretending they +were come to buy provisions, they murdered him in his bed, and made +their escape. + +Toward the end of this year Mahomet, going into the house of Zaid, did +not find him at home, but happened to espy his wife Zainab so much in +dishabille as to discover beauties enough to touch a heart so amorous as +his was. He could not conceal the impression made upon him, but cried +out, "Praised be God, who turneth men's hearts as he pleases!" Zainab +heard him, and told it to her husband when he came home. Zaid, who had +been greatly obliged to Mahomet, was very desirous to gratify him, and +offered to divorce his wife. Mahomet pretended to dissuade him from it, +but Zaid easily perceiving how little he was in earnest, actually +divorced her. Mahomet thereupon took her to wife, and celebrated the +nuptials with extraordinary magnificence, keeping open house upon the +occasion. Notwithstanding, this step gave great offence to many who +could not bring themselves to brook that a prophet should marry his +son's wife; for he had before adopted Zaid for his son. To salve the +affair, therefore, he had recourse to his usual expedient: Gabriel +brought him a revelation from heaven, in which God commands him to take +the wife of his adopted son, on purpose that forever after believers +might have no scruple in marrying the divorced wives or widows of their +adopted sons; which the Arabs had before looked upon as unlawful. The +apostle is even reproved for fearing men in this affair, whereas he +ought to fear God. (_Koran_, chapter xxxiii.) + +In the sixth year he subdued several tribes of the Arabs. Among the +captives was a woman of great beauty, named Juweira, whom Mahomet took +to wife and, by way of dowry, released all her kindred that were taken +prisoners. + +When Mahomet went upon any expedition, it was generally determined by +lots which of his wives should go with him; at this time it fell to +Ayesha's lot to accompany him. Upon their return to Medina, Ayesha was +accused of intriguing with one of the officers of the army, and was in +great disgrace for about a month. The prophet was exceedingly chagrined +to have his best-beloved wife accused of adultery; but his fondness for +her prevailed over his resentment, and she was restored to his favor, +upon her own protestation of her innocence. This, however, did not quite +satisfy the world, nor, indeed, was the prophet's mind perfectly at ease +on the subject, until Gabriel brought him a revelation, wherein Ayesha +is declared innocent of the crime laid to her charge; while those who +accuse believers of any crime, without proof, are severely reproved, and +a command given, that whosoever accuses chaste women, and cannot produce +four eye-witnesses in support of the charge, shall receive eighty +stripes. (_Koran_, chapter xxiv.) In obedience to this command, all +those who had raised this report upon Ayesha were publicly scourged, +except Abdallah, son of Abu Solul, who was too considerable a man to be +so dealt with, notwithstanding he had been particularly industrious in +spreading the scandal.[58] + +Mahomet, being now increased in power, marched his army against Mecca, +and a battle being fought on the march, wherein neither side gaining the +advantage, a truce was agreed upon for ten years, on the following +conditions: All within Mecca, who were disposed, were to be at liberty +to join Mahomet; and those who had a mind to leave him and return to +Mecca, were to be equally free to do so; but, for the future, if any +Meccans deserted to him, they should be sent back upon demand; and that +Mahomet or any of the Mussulmans might come to Mecca, provided they came +unarmed, and tarried not above three days at a time. + +Mahomet was now so well confirmed in his power that he took upon himself +the authority of a king, and was, by the chief men of his army, +inaugurated under a tree near Medina; and having, by the truce obtained +for his followers, free access to Mecca, he ordained they should +henceforward make their pilgrimages thither.[59] Among the Arabs it had +been an ancient usage to visit the Kaaba once a year, to worship there +the heathen deities. Mahomet, therefore, thought it expedient to comply +with a custom with which they were pleased, and which, besides, was so +beneficial to his native place, by bringing a great concourse of +pilgrims to it, that when he afterward came to be master of Mecca, he +enforced the pilgrimage with most of the old ceremonies belonging to it, +only taking away the idols and abolishing this worship. Though he now +took upon himself the sovereign command and the insignia of royalty, he +still retained the sacred character of chief pontiff of his religion, +and transmitted both these powers to his caliphs or successors, who, for +some time, not only ordered all matters of religion, but used, +especially upon public occasions, to officiate in praying and preaching +in their mosques. In process of time this came to be all the authority +the caliphs had left, for, about the year of the Hegira 325, the +governors of provinces seized the regal authority and made themselves +kings of their several governments. They continued, indeed, to pay a +show of deference to the caliph, who usually resided at Bagdad, whom, +however, they occasionally deposed. At this present time most Mahometan +princes have a person in their respective dominions who bears this +sacred character, and is called the _mufti_ in Turkey, and in Persia the +_sadre_. He is often appealed to as the interpreter of the law; but, as +a tool of state, usually gives such judgment as he knows will be most +acceptable to his prince. + +Mahomet used at first, when preaching in his mosque at Medina, to lean +upon a post of a palm-tree driven into the ground; but being now +invested with greater dignity, by the advice of one of his wives he had +a pulpit built, which had two steps up to it and a seat within. When +Othman was caliph he hung it with tapestry, and Moawiyah raised it six +steps higher, that he might be heard when he sat down, as he was forced +to do, being very fat and heavy; whereas his predecessors all used to +stand. + +Mahomet had now a dream that he held in his hand the key of the Kaaba, +and that he and his men made the circuits round it and performed all the +ceremonies of the pilgrimage. Having told his dream next morning, he and +his followers were all in high spirits upon it, taking it for an omen +that they should shortly be masters of Mecca. Accordingly, great +preparations were made for an expedition to this city. The prophet gave +it out that his only intent was to make the pilgrimage. He provided +seventy camels for the sacrifice, which were conducted by seven hundred +men, ten to each camel; as, however, he apprehended opposition from the +Koreishites, he took with him his best troops, to the number of fourteen +hundred men, besides an incredible number of wandering Arabs from all +parts. The Koreishites, alarmed at the march of the Mussulmans, got +together a considerable force and encamped about six miles from Mecca. +Mahomet continued his march, but finding, by his spies, the enemy had +posted their men so as to stop the passes in his feints and +counter-marches, came to a place where his camel fell upon her knees. +The people said she was restive, but the prophet took it for a divine +intimation that he should not proceed any farther in his intended +expedition, but wait with resignation till the appointed time. He +therefore turned back, and encamped without the sacred territory, at +Hodaibia. The Koreishites sent three several messengers, the two last +men of consequence, to demand what was his intention in coming thither. +He answered that it was purely out of a devout wish to visit the sacred +house, and not with any hostile design. Mahomet also sent one of his own +men to give them the same assurance; but the Koreishites cut the legs of +his camel, and would also have killed the man had not the Ahabishites +interposed and helped him to escape. Upon this he wished Omar to go upon +the same errand; but he excused himself, as not being upon good terms +with the Koreishites. At last Othman was sent; who delivered his +message, and was coming away, when they told him he might, if he wished, +make his circuits round the Kaaba. But upon his replying he would not do +so until the apostle of God had first performed his vow to make the holy +circuits, they were so greatly provoked that they laid him in irons. In +the Mussulman army it was reported that he was killed, at which Mahomet +was much afflicted and said aloud, "We will not stir from hence till we +have given battle to the enemy." Thereupon the whole army took an oath +of obedience and fealty to the prophet, who, on his part, by the +ceremony of clapping his hands one against the other, took an oath to +stand by them as long as there was one of them left. + +The Koreishites sent a party of eighty men toward the camp of the +Mussulmans to beat up their quarters. Being discovered, by the +sentinels, they were surrounded, taken prisoners, and brought before +Mahomet; who, thinking it proper at that time to be generous, released +them. In return, Sohail son of Amru was sent to him with proposals of +peace, which he agreed to accept. + +Mahomet, pretending he had a divine promise of a great booty, returned +to Medina and, having concluded a peace for ten years with the +Koreishites, was the better enabled to attack the Jews, his +irreconcilable enemies. Accordingly, he went to Khaibar, a strong town +about six days' journey northeast of Medina, and took that and several +other strong places, whereto the Jews had retired, and carried a vast +deal of treasure; this all fell into the hands of the Mussulmans. Being +entertained at Khaibar, a young Jewess, to try, as she afterward said, +whether he were a prophet or not, poisoned a shoulder of mutton, a joint +Mahomet was particularly fond of. One of those who partook of it at the +table, named Basher, died upon the spot; but Mahomet, finding it taste +disagreeable, spat it out, saying, "This mutton tells me it is +poisoned." The miracle-mongers improve this story, by making the +shoulder of mutton speak to him; but if it did, it spoke too late, for +he had already swallowed some of it; and of the effects of that morsel +he complained in his last illness, of which he died three years after. + +In this year, Jannabi mentions Mahomet's being bewitched by the Jews. +Having made a waxen image of him, they hid it in a well, together with a +comb and a tuft of hair tied in eleven knots. The prophet fell into a +very wasting condition, till he had a dream that informed him where +these implements of witchcraft were, and accordingly had them taken +away. In order to untie the knots Gabriel read to him the two last +chapters of the _Koran_, consisting of eleven verses; each verse untied +a knot, and, when all were untied, he recovered.[60] + +This year Mahomet had a seal made with this inscription, "Mahomet, the +apostle of God." This was to seal his letters, which he now took upon +him to write to divers princes, inviting them to Islamism. His first +letter to this effect was sent to Badham, viceroy of Yemen, to be +forwarded to Khusrau, king of Persia. Khusrau tore the letter, and +ordered Badham to restore the prophet to his right mind or send him his +head. Khusrau was presently after murdered by his son Siroes; Badham +with his people turned Mussulmans, and Mahomet continued him in his +government. + +He also sent a letter of the same purport to the Roman emperor +Heraclius. Heraclius received the letter respectfully, and made some +valuable presents to the messenger. He sent another to Makawkas, viceroy +of Egypt, who returned in answer he would consider of the proposals, and +sent, among other presents, two young maidens. One of these, named Mary, +of fifteen years of age, Mahomet debauched. This greatly offended two of +his wives, Hafsa and Ayesha, and to pacify them he promised, upon oath, +to do so no more. But he was soon taken again by them transgressing in +the same way. And now, that he might not stand in awe of his wives any +longer, down comes a revelation which is recorded in the sixty-sixth +chapter of the _Koran_, releasing the prophet from his oath, and +allowing him to have concubines, if he wished.[61] And the two wives of +Mahomet, who, upon the quarrel about Mary, had gone home to their +fathers, being threatened in the same chapter with a divorce, were glad +to send their fathers to him to make their peace with him, and obtain +his permission for their return. They were fain to come and submit to +live with him upon his own terms. + +[Illustration: Mahomet, preaching the unity of God, enters Mecca at the +head of his victorious followers + +Painting by A. Mueller.] + +Mahomet sent letters at the same time to the king of Ethiopia, who had +before professed Islamism, and now in his answer repeated his profession +of it. He wrote to two other Arabian princes, who sent him disagreeable +answers, which provoked him to curse them. He sent also to Al Mondar, +king of Bahrain, who came into his religion, and afterward routed the +Persians and made a great slaughter of them. And now all the Arabians of +Bahrain had become converts to his religion. + +Among the captives taken at Khaibar was Safia, betrothed to the son of +Kenana, the king of the Jews. Mahomet took the former to wife, and put +Kenana to the torture to make him discover his treasure. In the action +at Khaibar, it is said, Ali, having his buckler struck out of his hand, +took one of the gates off its hinges, and used it for a buckler till the +place was taken. The narrator of this story asserts that he and seven +men tried to stir the gate, and were not able. + +One of the articles of the peace being, that any Mussulman might be +permitted to perform his pilgrimage at Mecca, the prophet went to that +city to complete the visitation of the holy places, which he could not +do as he intended when at Hodaiba. Hearing, upon this occasion, the +Meccans talking of his being weakened by the long marches he had made, +to show the contrary, in going round the Kaaba seven times, he went the +first three rounds in a brisk trot, shaking his shoulders the while, but +performed the four last circuits in a common walking pace. This is the +reason why Mussulmans always perform seven circuits round the Kaaba in a +similar manner. + +In the eighth year of the Hegira, Kaled son of Al Walid, Amru son of Al +As, and Othman son of Telha, who presided over the Kaaba, became +Mussulmans; this was a considerable addition to Mahomet's power and +interest. The same year Mahomet, having sent a letter to the governor of +Bostra in Syria, as he had to others, and his messenger being slain +there, sent Zaid, son of Hareth, with three thousand men to Muta in +Syria, against the Roman army, which, with their allies, made a body of +nearly one hundred thousand men. Zaid being slain, the command fell to +Jaafar, and, upon his death, to Abdallah son of Rawahas, who was also +killed.[62] Thereupon the Mussulmans unanimously chose Kaled for their +leader, who defeated the enemy, and returned to Medina with a +considerable booty, on which account Mahomet gave him the title of the +"Sword of God." + +The same year the Koreishites assisted some of their allies against the +Kozaites, who were in alliance with Mahomet. This the latter resented as +an infraction of the peace. Abu Sofian was sent to try to make up +matters, but Mahomet would not vouchsafe to receive his explanation. But +having made his preparation to fall upon them before they could be +prepared to receive him, he advanced upon Mecca with about ten thousand +men. Abu Sofian having come out of the town in the evening to +reconnoitre, he fell in with Al Abbas, who, out of friendship to his +countrymen, had ridden from the army with the hope of meeting some +straggling Meccans whom he might send back with the news of Mahomet's +approach, and advise the Meccans to surrender. Al Abbas, recognizing Abu +Sofian's voice, called to him, and advised him to get up behind him, and +go with him, and in all haste make his submission to Mahomet. This he +did, and, to save his life, professed Islamism, and was afterward as +zealous in propagating as he had hitherto been in opposing it. + +Mahomet had given orders to his men to enter Mecca peaceably, but Kaled +meeting with a party who discharged some arrows at him, fell upon them, +and slew twenty-eight of them. Mahomet sent one of his helpers to bid +him desist from the slaughter; but the messenger delivered quite the +contrary order, commanding him to show them no mercy. Afterward, when +Mahomet said to the helper, "Did not I bid you tell Kaled not to kill +anybody in Mecca?" + +"It is true," said the helper, "and I would have done as you directed +me, but God would have it otherwise, and God's will was done." + +When all was quiet, Mahomet went to the Kaaba, and rode round it upon +his camel seven times, and touched with his cane a corner of the black +stone with great reverence. Having alighted, he went into the Kaaba, +where he found images of angels, and a figure of Abraham holding in his +hand a bundle of arrows, which had been made use of for deciding things +by lot. All these, as well as three hundred and sixty idols which stood +on the outside of the Kaaba, he caused to be thrown down and broken in +pieces. As he entered the Kaaba, he cried with a loud voice, "Allah +acbar," seven times, turning round to all the sides of the Kaaba. He +also appointed it to be the Kebla, or place toward which the Mussulmans +should turn themselves when they pray. Remounting his camel, he now rode +once more seven times round the Kaaba, and again alighting, bowed +himself twice before it. He next visited the well Zem-zem, and from +thence passed to the station of Abraham. Here he stopped awhile, and +ordering a pail of water to be brought from the Zem-zem, he drank +several large draughts, and then made the holy washing called _wodhu_. +Immediately all his followers imitated his example, purifying themselves +and washing their faces. After this, Mahomet, standing at the door of +the Kaaba, made a harangue to the following effect: "There is no other +god but God, who has fulfilled his promise to his servant, and who alone +has put to flight his enemies, and put under my feet everything that is +visible, men, animals, goods, riches, except only the government of the +Kaaba and the keeping of the cup for the pilgrims to drink out of. As +for you, O ye Koreishites, God hath taken from you the pride of +paganism, which caused you to worship as deities our fathers Abraham and +Ishmael, though they were men descended from Adam, who was created out +of the earth." Having a mind to bestow on one of his own friends the +prefecture of the Kaaba, he took the keys of it from Othman the son of +Telha, and was about to give them to Al Abbas, who had asked for them, +when a direction came to him from heaven, in these words, "Give the +charge to whom it belongs." Whereupon he returned the keys by Ali to +Othman, who, being agreeably surprised, thanked Mahomet, and made a new +profession of his faith. The pilgrim's cup, however, he consigned to the +care of Al Abbas, in whose family it became hereditary. + +The people of Mecca were next summoned to the hill Al Safa, to witness +Mahomet's inauguration. The prophet having first taken an oath to them, +the men first, and then the women, bound themselves by oath to be +faithful and obedient to whatsoever he should command them. After this +he summoned an extraordinary assembly, in which it was decreed that +Mecca should be henceforward an asylum or inviolable sanctuary, within +which it should be unlawful to shed the blood of man, or even to fell a +tree. + +After telling the Meccans they were his slaves by conquest, he pardoned +and declared them free, with the exception of eleven men and six women, +whom, as his most inveterate enemies, he proscribed, ordering his +followers to kill them wherever they should find them. Most of them +obtained their pardon by embracing Islamism, and were ever after the +most zealous of Mussulmans. One of these, Abdallah, who had greatly +offended Mahomet, was brought to him by Othman, upon whose intercession +Mahomet pardoned him. Before he granted his pardon, he maintained a long +silence, in expectation, as he afterward owned, that some of those about +him would fall upon Abdallah and kill him. Of the women, three embraced +Islamism and were pardoned, the rest were put to death, one being +crucified. + +Mahomet now sent out Kaled and others to destroy the idols which were +still retained by some of the tribes, and to invite them to Islamism. +Kaled executed his commission with great brutality. The Jodhamites had +formerly robbed and murdered Kaled's uncle as he journeyed from Arabia +Felix. Kaled having proposed Islamism to them, they cried out, "they +professed Sabaeism." This was what he wanted. He immediately fell upon +them, killing some, and making others prisoners: of these, he +distributed some among his men, and reserved others for himself. As for +the latter, having tied their hands behind them, he put them all to the +sword. On hearing of this slaughter Mahomet lifted up his eyes and +protested his innocence of this murder, and immediately sent Ali with a +sum of money to make satisfaction for the bloodshed, and to restore the +plunder. Ali paid to the surviving Jodhamites as much as they demanded, +and generously divided the overplus among them. This action Mahomet +applauded and afterward reproved Kaled for his cruelty. + +Upon the conquest of Mecca, many of the tribes of the Arabs came and +submitted to Mahomet; but the Hawazanites, the Thakishites, and part of +the Saadites, assembled to the number of four thousand effective men, +besides women and children, to oppose him. He went against them at the +head of twelve thousand fighting men. At the first onset the Mussulmans, +being received with a thick shower of arrows, were put to flight; but +Mahomet, with great courage, rallied his men, and finally obtained the +victory. The next considerable action was the siege of Taif, a town +sixty miles east from Mecca. The Mussulmans set down before it and, +having made several breaches with their engines, marched resolutely up +to them, but were vigorously repulsed by the besieged. Mahomet, having +by a herald proclaimed liberty to all the slaves who should come over to +him, twenty-three deserted, to each of whom he assigned a Mussulman for +a comrade. So inconsiderable a defection did not in the least abate the +courage of the besieged; so that the prophet began to despair of +reducing the place, and, after a dream, which Abu-Bekr interpreted +unfavorably to the attempt, determined to raise the siege. His men, +however, on being ordered to prepare for a retreat, began to murmur; +whereupon he commanded them to be ready for an assault the next day. The +assault being made the assailants were beaten back with great loss. To +console them in their retreat, the prophet smiled, and said, "We will +come here again, if it please God." When the army reached Jesana, where +all the booty taken from the Hawazanites had been left, a deputation +arrived from that tribe to beg it might be restored. The prophet having +given them their option between the captives or their goods, they chose +to have their wives and children again. Their goods being divided among +the Mussulmans, Mahomet, in order to indemnify those who had been +obliged to give up their slaves, gave up his own share of the plunder +and divided it among them. To Malec, however, son of Awf, the general of +the Hawazanites, he intimated that if he would embrace Islamism he +should have all his goods as well as his family, and a present of one +hundred camels besides. By this promise Malec was brought over to be so +good a Mussulman that he had the command given him of all his countrymen +who should at any time be converts, and was very serviceable against the +Thakishites. + +The prophet, after this, made a holy visit to Mecca, where he appointed +Otab, son of Osaid, governor, though not quite twenty years of age; +Maad, son of Jabal, _imam_, or chief priest, to teach the people +Islamism, and direct them in solemnizing the pilgrimage. Upon his return +to Medina his concubine, Mary, brought him a son, whom he named Ibrahim, +celebrating his birth with a great feast. The child, however, lived but +fifteen months. + +In the ninth year of the Hegira envoys from all parts of Arabia came to +Mahomet at Medina, to declare the readiness of their several tribes to +profess his religion. + +The same year Mahomet, with an army of thirty thousand men, marched +toward Syria, to a place called Tobuc, against the Romans and Syrians, +who were making preparation against him, but, upon his approach, +retreated. The Mussulmans, in their march back toward Medina, took +several forts of the Christian Arabs, and made them tributaries. Upon +his return to Medina the Thakishites, having been blockaded in the Taif +by the Mussulman tribes, sent deputies offering to embrace Islamism, +upon condition of being allowed to retain a little longer an idol to +which their people were bigotedly attached. When Mahomet insisted upon +its being immediately demolished, they desired to be at least excused +from using the Mussulmans' prayers, but to this he answered very justly, +"That a religion without prayers was good for nothing." At last they +submitted absolutely. + +During the same year Mahomet sent Abu-Bekr to Mecca, to perform the +pilgrimage, and sacrifice in his behalf twenty camels. Presently +afterward he sent Ali to publish the ninth chapter of the _Koran_, +which, though so placed in the present confused copy, is generally +supposed to have been the last that was revealed. It is called "Barat," +or Immunity; the purport of it is that the associators with whom Mahomet +had made a treaty must, after four months' liberty of conscience, either +embrace Islamism or pay tribute. The command runs thus: "When those holy +months are expired, kill the idolaters wherever ye shall find them." +Afterward come these words, "If they repent, and observe the times of +prayer and give alms, they are to be looked upon as your brethren in +religion." The same chapter also orders, "That nobody should, not having +on the sacred habit, perform the holy circuits round the Kaaba; and that +no idolater should make the pilgrimage to Mecca." In consequence, no +person except a Mahometan may approach the Kaaba, on pain of death. + +The following account of Mahomet's farewell pilgrimage is from Jaber, +son of Abdallah, who was one of the company: "The apostle of God had not +made the pilgrimage for nine years (for when he conquered Mecca he only +made a visitation). In the tenth year of the Hegira, he publicly +proclaimed his intention to perform the pilgrimage, whereupon a +prodigious multitude of people (some make the number near one hundred +thousand) flocked from all parts to Medina. Our chief desire was to +follow the apostle of God, and imitate him. When we came to Dhul +Holaifa, the apostle of God prayed in the mosque there; then mounting +his camel he rode hastily to the plain Baida, where he began to praise +God in the form that professes his unity, saying, 'Here I am, O God, +ready to obey thee; thou hast no partner,' etc. When he came to the +Kaaba, he kissed the corner of the black stone, went seven times +round--three times in a trot, four times walking--then went to the +station of Abraham, and coming again to the black stone, reverently +kissed it. Afterward he went through the gate of the sons of Madhumi to +the hill Safa, and went up it till he could see the Kaaba; when, turning +toward the Kebla, he professed again the unity of God, saying, 'There is +no God but one, his is the kingdom, to him be praises, he is powerful +above everything,' etc. After this profession he went down toward the +hill Merwan, I following him all the way through the valley; he then +ascended the hill slowly till he came to the top of Merwan; from thence +he ascended Mount Arafa. It being toward the going down of the sun, he +preached here till sunset; then going to Mosdalefa, between Arafa and +the valley of Mena, he made the evening and the late prayers, with two +calls to prayer, and two risings up. Then he lay down till the dawn, +and, having made the morning prayer, went to the enclosure of the Kaaba, +where he remained standing till it grew very light. Hence he proceeded +hastily, before the sun was up, to the valley of Mena; where, throwing +up seven stones, he repeated at each throw, 'God is great,' etc. Leaving +now the valley, he went to the place of sacrifice. Having made free +sixty-three slaves, he slew sixty-three victims[63] with his own hand, +being then sixty-three years old, and then ordered Ali to sacrifice as +many more victims as would make up the number to one hundred. The next +thing the apostle did was to shave his head, beginning on the right side +of it, and finishing it on the left. His hair, as he cut it off, he cast +upon a tree, that the wind might scatter it among the people. Kaled was +fortunate enough to catch a part of the fore-lock, which he fixed upon +his turban; the virtue whereof he experienced in every battle he +afterward fought. The limbs of the victims being now boiled, the apostle +sat down with no other companion but Ali to eat some of the flesh and +drink some of the broth. The repast being over, he mounted his camel +again and rode to the Kaaba; where he made the noon-tide prayer, and +drank seven large draughts of the well Zem-zem, made seven circuits +round the Kaaba, and concluded his career between the hills Safa and +Merwan. + +"The ninth day of the feast he went to perform his devotions on Mount +Arafa. This hill, situated about a mile from Mecca, is held in great +veneration by the Mussulmans as a place very proper for penitence. Its +fitness in this respect is accounted for by a tradition that Adam and +Eve, on being banished out of paradise, in order to do penance for their +transgression were parted from each other, and after a separation of +sixscore years met again upon this mountain." + +At the conclusion of this farewell pilgrimage, as it was called, being +the last he ever made, Mahomet reformed the calendar in two points: In +the first place, he appointed the year to be exactly lunar, consisting +of twelve lunar months; whereas before, in order to reduce the lunar to +the solar year, they used to make every third year consist of thirteen +months. And secondly, whereas the ancient Arabians held four months +sacred, wherein it was unlawful to commit any act of hostility, he took +away that prohibition, by this command, "Attack the idolaters in all the +months of the year, as they attack you in all." (_Koran_, ix.) + +In the eleventh year of the Hegira there arrived an embassy from Arabia +Felix, consisting of about one hundred who had embraced Islamism. The +same year Mahomet ordered Osama to go to the place where Zaid his father +was slain at the battle of Muta, to revenge his death. This was the last +expedition he ever ordered, for, being taken ill two days after, he died +within thirteen days. The beginning of his sickness was a slow fever, +which made him delirious. In his frenzy he called for pen, ink, and +paper, and said he "would write a book that should keep them from erring +after his death." But Omar opposed it, saying the _Koran_ is sufficient, +and that the prophet, through the greatness of his malady, knew not what +he said. Others, however, expressing a desire that he would write, a +contention arose, which so disturbed Mahomet that he bade them all +begone. During his illness he complained of the poisoned meat he had +swallowed at Khaibar. Some say, when he was dying, Gabriel told him the +angel of death, who never before had been, nor would ever again be, so +ceremonious toward anybody, was waiting for his permission to come in. +As soon as Mahomet had answered, "I give him leave," the angel of death +entered and complimented the prophet, telling him God was very desirous +to have him, but had commanded he should take his soul or leave it, just +as he himself should please to order. Mahomet replied, "Take it, then." +[According to the testimony of all the Eastern authors Mahomet died on +Monday the 12th Reby 1st, in the year 11 of the Hegira, which answers in +reality to the 8th of June, A.D. 632.] + +His grave was dug under the bed whereon he lay, in the chamber of +Ayesha. The Arabian writers are very particular to tell us everything +about the washing and embalming his body; who dug his grave, who put him +in, etc.[64] + +The person of Mahomet is minutely described by Arabian writers. He was +of a middle stature, had a large head, thick beard, black eyes, hooked +nose, wide mouth, a thick neck, flowing hair. They also tell us that +what was called the seal of his apostleship, a hairy mole between his +shoulders, as large as a pigeon's egg, disappeared at his death. Its +disappearance seems to have convinced those who would not before believe +it that he was really dead. His intimate companion Abu Horaira said he +never saw a more beautiful man than the prophet. He was so reverenced by +his bigoted disciples they would gather his spittle up and swallow it. + +The same writers extol Mahomet as a man of fine parts and a strong +memory, of few words, of a cheerful aspect, affable and complaisant in +his behavior. They also celebrate his justice, clemency, generosity, +modesty, abstinence, and humility. As an instance of the last virtue, +they tell us he mended his own clothes and shoes. However, to judge of +him by his actions as related by these same writers, we cannot help +concluding that he was a very subtle and crafty man, who put on the +appearance only of those good qualities, while the governing principles +of his soul were ambition and lust. For we see him, as soon as he found +himself strong enough to act upon the offensive, plundering caravans, +and, under a pretence of fighting for the true religion, attacking, +murdering, enslaving, and making tributaries of his neighbors, in order +to aggrandize and enrich himself and his greedy followers, and without +scruple making use of assassination to cut off those who opposed him. Of +his lustful disposition we have a sufficient proof, in the peculiar +privileges he claimed to himself of having as many wives as he pleased, +and of whom he chose, even though they were within forbidden degrees of +affinity. The authors who give him the smallest number of wives own that +he had fifteen; whereas the _Koran_ allows no Mussulman more than four. +As for himself, Mahomet had no shame in avowing that his chief pleasures +were perfumes and women. + + +THE KORAN + +The _Koran_ is held by the Mahometans in the greatest veneration. The +book must not be touched by anybody but a Mussulman, nor even by a +believer except he be free from pollution. Whether the _Koran_ be +created or uncreated has been the subject of a controversy fruitful of +the most violent persecutions. The orthodox opinion is that the original +has been written from all eternity on the preserved table. Of this they +believe a complete transcript was brought down to the lower heaven (that +of the moon) by the angel Gabriel, and thence taken and shown to +Mahomet, once every year of his mission, and twice in the last year of +his life. They assert, however, that it was only piecemeal, that the +several parts were _revealed_ by the angel to the prophet, and that he +immediately dictated what had been revealed to his secretary, who wrote +it down. Each part, as soon as it was thus copied out, was communicated +to his disciples, to get by heart, and was afterward deposited in what +he called the chest of his apostleship. This chest the prophet left in +the custody of his wife Hafsa. + +When we consider the way in which the _Koran_ was compiled, we cannot +wonder that it is so incoherent a piece as we find it. The book is +divided into chapters; of these some are very long; others again, +especially a few toward the end, very short. Each chapter has a title +prefixed, taken from the first word, or from some one particular thing +mentioned in it, rarely from the subject-matter of it; for if a chapter +be of any length, it usually runs into various subjects that have no +connection with each other. A celebrated commentator divides the +contents of the _Koran_ into three general heads: 1. Precepts or +directions, relating either to religion, as prayers, fasting, +pilgrimages, or to civil polity, as marriages, inheritances, +judicatures. 2. Histories--whereof some are taken from the Scriptures, +but falsified with fabulous additions; others are wholly false, having +no foundation in fact. 3. Admonitions: under which head are comprised +exhortations to receive Islamism; to fight for it, to practise its +precepts, prayers, alms, etc.; the moral duties, such as justice, +temperance, etc., promises of everlasting felicity to the obedient, +dissuasives from sin, threatenings of the punishments of hell to the +unbelieving and disobedient. Many of the threatenings are levelled +against particular persons, and those sometimes of Mahomet's own family, +who had opposed him in propagating his religion. + +In the _Koran_ God is brought in saying, "We have given you a book." By +this it appears that the impostor published early, in writing, some of +his principal doctrines, as also some of his historical relations. Thus, +in his life of himself we find his disciples reading the twentieth +chapter of the _Koran_, before his flight from Mecca; after which he +pretended many of the revelations in other chapters were brought to him. +Undoubtedly, all those said to be revealed at Medina must be posterior +to what he had then published at Mecca; because he had not yet been at +Medina. Many parts of the _Koran_ he declared were brought to him by the +angel Gabriel, on special occasions, of which we have already met with +several instances in his biography. Accordingly, the commentators on the +_Koran_ often explain passages in it by relating the occasion on which +they were first revealed. Without such a key many of them would be +perfectly unintelligible. + +There are several contradictions in the _Koran_. To reconcile these, the +Mussulman doctors have invented the doctrine of abrogation, _i.e._, that +what was revealed at one time was revoked by a new revelation. A great +deal of it is so absurd, trifling, and full of tautology that it +requires no little patience to read much of it at a time. +Notwithstanding, the _Koran_ is cried up by the Mussulmans as +inimitable; and in the seventeenth chapter of the _Koran_ Mahomet is +commanded to say, "Verily if men and genii were purposely assembled, +that they might produce anything like the _Koran_, they could not +produce anything like unto it, though they assisted one another." +Accordingly, when the impostor was called upon, as he often was, to work +miracles in proof of his divine mission, he excused himself by various +pretences, and appealed to the _Koran_ as a standing miracle.[65] Each +chapter of the _Koran_ is divided into verses, that is, lines of +different length, terminated with the same letter, so as to make a +different rhyme, but without any regard to the measure of the syllables. + +The Mahometan religion consists of two parts, faith and practice. Faith +they divide into six articles: 1. A belief in the unity of God, in +opposition to those whom they call associators; by which name they mean +not only those who, besides the true God, worship idols or inferior gods +or goddesses, but the Christians also, who hold our blessed Saviour's +divinity and the doctrine of the Trinity. 2. A belief of angels, to whom +they attribute various shapes, names, and offices, borrowed from the +Jews and Persians. 3. The Scriptures. 4. The prophets: on this head the +_Koran_ teaches that God revealed his will to various prophets, in +divers ages of the world, and gave it in writing to Adam, Seth, Enoch, +Abraham, etc.; but these books are lost: that afterward he gave the +Pentateuch to Moses, the Psalms to David, the Gospel to Jesus, and the +_Koran_ to Mahomet. The _Koran_ speaks with great reverence of Moses and +Jesus, but says the Scriptures left by them have been greatly mutilated +and corrupted. Under this pretence it adds a great many fabulous +relations to the history contained in those sacred books, and charges +the Jews and Christians with suppressing many prophecies concerning +Mahomet (a calumny easily refuted, the Scriptures having been translated +into various languages long before Mahomet was born). 5. The fifth +article of belief is the resurrection and day of judgment, while about +the intermediate state Mahometan divines have various opinions. The +happiness promised to the Mussulmans in paradise is wholly sensual, +consisting of fine gardens, rich furniture sparkling with gems and gold, +delicious fruits, and wines that neither cloy nor intoxicate; but above +all, affording the fruition of all the delights of love in the society +of women having large black eyes and every trait of exquisite beauty, +who shall ever continue young and perfect. Some of their writers speak +of these females of paradise in very lofty strains; telling us, for +instance, that if one of them were to look down from heaven in the night +she would illuminate the earth as the sun does; and if she did but spit +into the ocean, it would be immediately turned as sweet as honey. These +delights of paradise were certainly, at first, understood literally; +however Mahometan divines may have since allegorized them into a +spiritual sense. As to the punishments threatened to the wicked, they +are hell-fire, breathing hot winds, the drinking of boiling and stinking +water, eating briers and thorns, and the bitter fruit of the tree Zacom, +which in their bellies will feel like boiling pitch. These punishments +are to be everlasting to all except those who embrace Islamism; for the +latter, after suffering a number of years, in proportion to their +demerits, will then, if they have had but so much faith as is equal to +the weight of an ant, be released by the mercy of God, and, upon the +intercession of Mahomet, admitted into paradise. + +The sixth article of belief is that God decrees everything that is to +happen, not only all events, but the actions and thoughts of men, their +belief or infidelity; that everything that has or will come to pass has +been, from eternity, written in the preserved or secret table, which is +a white stone of an immense size, preserved in heaven, near the throne +of God. Agreeable to this notion one of their poets thus expresses +himself: "Whatever is written against thee will come to pass; what is +written for thee shall not fail; resign thyself to God, and know thy +Lord to be powerful; his decrees will certainly take place; his servants +ought to be silent." + +Of their four fundamental points of practice, the first is prayer. This +duty is to be performed five times in the twenty-four hours: 1. In the +morning before sunrise. 2. When noon is past. 3. A little before sunset. +4. A little after sunset. 5. Before the first watch of the night. +Previous to prayer they are to purify themselves by washing. Some kinds +of pollution require the whole body to be immersed in water, but +commonly it is enough to wash some parts only--the head, the face and +neck, hands and feet. In the latter ablution, called _wodhu_, fine sand +or dust may be used when water cannot be had; in such case the palm of +the hand, being first laid upon the sand, is then to be drawn over the +part required to be washed. The Mahometans, out of respect to the divine +Majesty before whom they are to appear, are required to be clean and +decent when they go to public prayers in their mosques; but are yet +forbidden to appear there in sumptuous apparel, particularly clothes +trimmed with gold or silver, lest they should make them vain and +arrogant. The women are not allowed to be in their mosques at the same +time with the men; this they think would make their thoughts wander from +their proper business there. On this account they reproach the +Christians with the impropriety of the contrary usage. The next point of +practice is alms-giving, which is frequently enjoined in the _Koran_ and +looked upon as highly meritorious. Many of them have been very exemplary +in the performance of this duty. The third point of practical religion +is fasting the whole month Ramadan, during which they are every day to +abstain from eating or drinking, or touching a woman, from daybreak to +sunset; after that they are at liberty to enjoy themselves as at other +times. From this fast an exception is made in favor of old persons and +children. Those also that are sick or on a journey, and women pregnant +or nursing, are also excused in this month. But then, the person making +use of this dispensation must expiate the omission by fasting an equal +number of days in some other month and by giving alms to the poor. There +are also some other days of fasting, which are, by the more religious, +observed in the manner above described. The last practical duty is going +the pilgrimage to Mecca, which every man who is able is obliged to +perform once in his life. In the ceremonies of it they strictly copy +those observed by Mahomet. A pilgrimage can be made only in the month +Dulhagha; but a visitation to Mecca may be made at any other time of the +year. + + +THE MAHOMETAN CREED + +As an illustration of the Mahometan creed and practice I have thought it +advisable to insert their famous Dr. Al-Gazali's interpretation of the +two articles of their faith, viz., "There is no God but God; Mahomet is +the apostle of God": + +"Praise be to God the Creator and Restorer of all things: who does +whatsoever he pleases, who is master of the glorious throne and mighty +force, and directs his sincere servants into the right way and the +straight path; who favoreth them who have once borne testimony to the +unity, by preserving their confessions from the darkness of doubt and +hesitation; who directs them to follow his chosen apostle, upon whom be +the blessing and peace of God; and to go after his most honorable +companions, to whom he hath vouchsafed his assistance and direction +which is revealed to them in his essence and operations by the +excellences of his attributes, to the knowledge whereof no man attains +but he that hath been taught by hearing. To these, as touching his +essence, he maketh known that he is one, and hath no partner: singular, +without anything like him: uniform, having no contrary: separate, having +no equal. He is ancient, having no first: eternal, having no beginning: +remaining forever, having no end: continuing to eternity, without any +termination. He persists, without ceasing to be, remains without +failing, and never did cease, nor ever shall cease, to be described by +glorious attributes, nor is subject to any decree so as to be determined +by any precise limits or set times, but is the First and the Last, and +is within and without. + +"_What God is not_.] He (glorified be his name) is not a body endued +with form, nor a substance circumscribed with limits or determined by +measure; neither does he resemble bodies, as they are capable of being +measured or divided. Neither is he a substance, neither do substances +exist in him; neither is he an accident, nor do accidents exist in him. +Neither is he like to anything that exists, neither is anything like to +him; nor is he determinate in quantity nor comprehended by bounds, nor +circumscribed by the differences of situation nor contained in the +heavens. He sits upon the throne, after that manner which he himself +hath described, and in that same sense which he himself means, which is +a sitting far removed from any notion of contact, or resting upon, or +local situation; but both the throne itself, and whatsoever is upon it, +are sustained by the goodness of his power, and are subject to the grasp +of his hand. But he is above the throne, and above all things, even to +the utmost ends of the earth; but so above as at the same time not to be +a whit nearer the throne and the heaven; since he is exalted by +(infinite) degrees above the throne no less than he is exalted above the +earth, and at the same time is near to everything that hath a being; +nay, nearer to men than their jugular veins, and is witness to +everything; though his nearness is not like the nearness of bodies, as +neither is his essence like the essence of bodies. Neither doth he exist +in anything, neither doth anything exist in him; but he is too high to +be contained in any place, and too holy to be determined by time; for he +was before time and place were created, and is now after the same manner +as he always was. He is also distinct from the creatures by his +attributes, neither is there anything besides himself in his essence, +nor is his essence in any other besides him. He is too holy to be +subject to change, or any local motion; neither do any accidents dwell +in him nor any contingencies befall him, but he abides through all +generations with his glorious attributes, free from all danger of +dissolution. As to the attribute of perfection, he wants no addition of +his perfection. As to being, he is known to exist by the apprehension of +the understanding; and he is seen as he is by an ocular intuition, which +will be vouchsafed out of his mercy and grace to the holy in the eternal +mansion, completing their joy by the vision of his glorious presence. + +"_His Power_.] He, praised be his name, is living, powerful, mighty, +omnipotent, not liable to any defect or impotence, neither slumbering +nor sleeping, nor being obnoxious to decay or death. To him belong the +kingdom, and the power, and the might. His is the dominion, and the +excellency, and the creation, and the command thereof. The heavens are +folded up in his right hand, and all creatures are crouched within his +grasp. His excellency consists in his creating and producing, and his +unity in communicating existence and a beginning of being. He created +men and their works, and measured out their maintenance and their +determined times. Nothing that is possible can escape his grasp, nor can +the vicissitudes of things elude his power. The effects of his might are +innumerable, and the objects of his knowledge infinite. + +"_His Knowledge_.] He, praised be his name, knows all things that can be +understood, and comprehends whatsoever comes to pass, from the +extremities of the earth to the highest heavens, even the weight of a +pismire could not escape him either in earth or heaven; but he would +perceive the creeping of the black pismire in the dark night upon the +hard stone, and discern the motion of an atom in the open air. He knows +what is secret and conceals it, and views the conceptions of the minds, +and the motions of the thoughts, and the inmost recesses of secrets, by +a knowledge ancient and eternal, that never ceased to be his attribute +from eternal eternity, and not by any new knowledge, superadded to his +essence, either inhering or adventitious. + +"_His Will_.] He, praised be his name, doth will those things to be that +are, and disposes of all accidents. Nothing passes in the empire, nor +the kingdom, neither little nor much, nor small nor great, nor good nor +evil, nor profitable nor hurtful, nor faith nor infidelity, nor +knowledge nor ignorance, nor prosperity nor adversity, nor increase nor +decrease, nor obedience nor rebellion, but by his determinate counsel +and decree, and his definite sense and will. Nor doth the wink of him +that seeth, nor the subtlety of him that thinketh, exceed the bounds of +his will: but it is he who gave all things their beginning; he is the +creator and restorer, the sole operator of what he pleases; there is no +reversing his decree nor delaying what he hath determined, nor is there +any refuge to man from his rebellion against him, but only his help and +mercy; nor hath any man any power to perform any duty toward him, but +through his love and will. Though men and genii, angels and devils, +should conspire together either to put one single atom in motion, or +cause it to cease its motion, without his will and approbation they +would not be able to do it. His will subsists in his essence among the +rest of his attributes, and was from eternity one of his eternal +attributes, by which he willed from eternity the existence of those +things that he had decreed, which were produced in their proper seasons +according to his eternal will, without any before or after, and in +agreement both with his knowledge and will, and not by methodizing of +thoughts, nor waiting for a proper time, for which reason no one thing +is in him a hinderance from another. + +"_His Hearing and Sight_.] And he, praised be his name, is hearing and +seeing, and heareth and seeth. No audible object, how still soever, +escapeth his hearing; nor is anything visible so small as to escape his +sight; for distance is no hinderance to his hearing, nor darkness to his +sight. He sees without pupil or eyelids, and hears without any passage +or ear, even as he knoweth without a heart, and performs his actions +without the assistance of any corporeal limb, and creates without any +instrument, for his attributes (or properties) are not like those of +men, any more than his essence is like theirs. + +"_His Word_.] Furthermore, he doth speak, command, forbid, promise, and +threaten by an eternal, ancient word subsisting in his essence. Neither +is it like to the word of the creatures, nor doth it consist in a voice +arising from the commotion of the air and the collision of bodies, nor +letters which are separated by the joining together of the lips or the +motion of the tongue. The _Koran_, the Law, the Gospel, and the Psalter, +are books sent down by him to his apostles, and the _Koran_, indeed, is +read with tongues, written in books, and kept in hearts; yet as +subsisting in the essence of God, it doth not become liable to +separation and division while it is transferred into the hearts and the +papers. Thus Moses also heard the word of God without voice or letter, +even as the saints behold the essence of God without substance or +accident. And that since these are his attributes, he liveth and +knoweth, is powerful and willeth and operateth, and seeth and speaketh, +by life and knowledge, and will and hearing, and sight and word, not by +his simple essence. + +"_His Works_.] He, praised be his name, exists after such a manner that +nothing besides him hath any being but what is produced by his +operation, and floweth from his justice after the best, most excellent, +most perfect, and most just model. He is, moreover, wise in his works +and just in his decrees. But his justice is not to be compared with the +justice of men. For a man may be supposed to act unjustly by invading +the possession of another; but no injustice can be conceived of God, +inasmuch as there is nothing that belongs to any other besides himself, +so that wrong is not imputable to him as meddling with things not +appertaining to him. All things, himself only excepted, genii, men, the +devil, angels, heaven, earth, animals, plants, substance, accident, +intelligible, sensible, were all created originally by him. He created +them by his power out of mere privation, and brought them into light, +when as yet they were nothing at all, but he alone existing from +eternity, neither was there any other with him. Now he created all +things in the beginning for the manifestation of his power, and his +will, and the confirmation of his word, which was true from all +eternity. Not that he stood in need of them, nor wanted them; but he +manifestly declared his glory in creating, and producing, and +commanding, without being under any obligation, nor out of necessity. +Loving-kindness, and to show favor, and grace, and beneficence, belong +to him; whereas it is in his power to pour forth upon men a variety of +torments, and afflict them with various kinds of sorrows and diseases, +which, if he were to do, his justice could not be arraigned, nor would +he be chargeable with injustice. Yet he rewards those that worship him +for their obedience on account of his promise and beneficence, not of +their merit nor of necessity, since there is nothing which he can be +tied to perform; nor can any injustice be supposed in him, nor can he +be under any obligation to any person whatsoever. That his creatures, +however, should be bound to serve him, ariseth from his having declared +by the tongues of the prophets that it was due to him from them. The +worship of him is not simply the dictate of the understanding, but he +sent messengers to carry to men his commands, and promises, and threats, +whose veracity he proved by manifest miracles, whereby men are obliged +to give credit to them in those things that they relate. + +"_The signification of the second article; that is, the testimony +concerning the Apostle_.] He, the Most High, sent Mahomet, the +illiterate prophet of the family of the Koreish, to deliver his message +to all the Arabians and barbarians and genii and men; and abrogated by +his religion all other religions, except in those things which he +confirmed; and gave him the preeminence over all the rest of the +prophets, and made him lord over all mortal men. Neither is the faith, +according to his will, complete by the testimony of the unity alone; +that is, by simply saying, There is but one God, without the addition of +the testimony of the apostle; _i.e._, without the further testimony, +Mahomet is the apostle of God. And he hath made it necessary to men to +give credit to Mahomet in those things which he hath related, both with +regard to this present world and the life to come. For a man's faith is +not accepted till he is fully persuaded of those things which the +prophet hath affirmed shall be after death. The first of these is the +examination of Munkir and Nakir. These are two angels, of a most +terrible and fearful aspect, who shall place [every] man upright in his +grave, consisting again both of soul and body, and ask him concerning +the unity and the mission [of the apostle], saying, Who is thy Lord? +and, What is thy religion? and, Who is thy prophet? For these are the +searchers of the grave, and their examination the first trial after +death. Everyone must also believe the torment of the sepulchre, and that +it is due and right and just, both upon the body and the soul, being +according to the will of God. + +"He shall also believe in the balance with two scales and a beam, that +shall equal the extent of the heavens and the earth; wherein the works +[of men] shall be weighed by the power of God. At which time weights not +heavier than atoms, or mustard-seeds, shall be brought out, that things +may be balanced with the utmost exactness, and perfect justice +administered. Then the books of the good works, beautiful to behold, +shall be cast into the balance of light, by which the balance shall be +depressed according to their degrees, out of the favor of God. But the +books of evil deeds, nasty to look upon, shall be cast into the balance +of darkness, with which the scale shall lightly ascend by the justice of +the most high God. + +"He must also believe that there is a real way, extended over the middle +of hell, which is sharper than a sword and finer than a hair, over which +all must pass. In this passage of it, while the feet of the infidels, by +the decree of God, shall slip, so as they shall fall into hell-fire, the +feet of the faithful shall never stumble, but they shall arrive safely +into the eternal habitation. + +"He shall also believe the pond where they go down to be watered, that +is the pond of Mahomet (upon whom be the blessing and peace of God), out +of which the faithful, after they have passed the way, drink before they +enter into paradise; and out of which whosoever once drinketh shall +thirst no more forever. Its breadth is a month's journey, it is whiter +than milk and sweeter than honey. Round about it stand cups as +innumerable as the stars, and it hath two canals, by which the waters of +the [river] Cauthar flow into it. + +"He shall also believe the [last] account, in which men shall be divided +into those that shall be reckoned withal with the utmost strictness, and +those that shall be dealt withal more favorably, and those that shall be +admitted into paradise without any manner of examination at all; namely, +those whom God shall cause to approach near to himself. Moreover, he +shall believe that God will ask any of his apostles, whomsoever he shall +please, concerning their mission; of the infidels, and whomsoever he +shall please, what was the reason why, by their unbelief, they accused +those that were sent to them of lying. He will also examine the heretics +concerning tradition, and the faithful concerning their good works. + +"He shall also believe that all who confess one God shall, upon the +intercession of the prophets, next of the doctors, then of the martyrs, +and finally of the rest of the faithful--that is, everyone according to +his excellency and degree--at length go out of the fire after they have +undergone the punishment due to their sins. + +"And if besides these remain any of the faithful, having no intercessor, +they shall go out by the grace of God; neither shall any one of the +faithful remain forever in hell, but shall go out from thence though he +had but so much faith in his heart as the weight of an atom. And thus, +by the favorable mercy of God, no person shall remain in hell who in +life acknowledge the unity of the Godhead. + +"It is also necessary that every true believer acknowledge the +excellency of the companions [of Mahomet] and their degrees; and that +the most excellent of men, next to Mahomet, is Abu-Bekr, then Omar, then +Othman, and then Ali. Moreover, he must entertain a good opinion of all +the companions, and celebrate their memories, according as God and his +apostles hath celebrated them. And all these things are received by +tradition, and evinced by evident tokens; and he that confesseth all +these things, and surely believeth them, is to be reckoned among the +number of those that embrace truth, and of the congregation of those +that walk in the received way, separated from the congregation of those +that err, and the company of heretics. + +"These are the things that everyone is obliged to believe and confess +that would be accounted worthy of the name of a Mussulman; and that, +according to the literal meaning of the words, not as they may be made +capable of any sounder sense; for, says the author of this exposition, +some pretending to go deeper have put an interpretation upon those +things that are delivered concerning the world to come, such as the +balance, and the way, and some other things besides, but it is heresy." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[49] This famous structure (in the Arabic, _Kef'bah_--a square building) +for over twelve hundred years has been the cynosure of the Moslem +peoples. It is undoubtedly of great antiquity, being mentioned by +Diodorus the historian in the latter part of the first century, at which +time its sanctity was acknowledged and its idols venerated by the +Arabians and kindred tribes who paid yearly visits to the shrine to +offer their devotions. + +According to the Arabian legend Adam, after his expulsion from the +Garden, worshipped Allah on this spot. A tent was then sent down from +heaven, but Seth substituted a hut for the tent. After the Flood, +Abraham and Ishmael rebuilt the Kaaba. + +At present it is a cube-shaped, flat-roofed building of stone in the +Great Mosque at Mecca. In its southeast corner next to the silver door +is the famous black stone "_hajar al aswud_," dropped from paradise. It +was said to have been originally a white stone (by other accounts a +ruby), but the tears--or more probably the kisses--of pilgrims have +turned it quite black. + +[50] Palmer has it: "In the mean time Mahomet and Abu-Bekr escaped by a +back window in the house of the latter." + +[51] _Zem-sem_, the name of this well, is said by the Moslems to be the +spring which Hagar had revealed to her when driven into the wilderness +with her son, Ishmael. + +[52] Friday remains the Sabbath of the Moslems. + +[53] His nephew and son-in-law, surnamed "the Lion-hearted." + +[54] The Persians add these words, "and Ali is the friend of God." Kouli +Khan, having a mind to unite the two different sects, ordered them to be +omitted.--_Fraser's Life of Kouli Khan_, p. 124. + +[55] An Arab of Kossay, named Ammer Ibn Lahay, is said to have first +introduced idolatry among his countrymen; he brought the idol called +Hobal, from Hyt in Mesopotamia, and set it up in the Kaaba. It was the +Jupiter of the Arabians, and was made of red agate in the form of a man +holding in his hand seven arrows without heads or feathers, such as the +Arabs use in divination. At a subsequent period the Kaaba was adorned +with three hundred and sixty idols, corresponding probably to the days +of the Arabian year.--_Burckhardt's Arabia_, pp. 163, 164. + +[56] An opinion as ancient as Homer.--_Iliad_, vi. 487. + +[57] Several stories have been told as the occasion of Mahomet's +prohibiting the drinking of wine. Busbequius says: "Mahomet, making a +journey to a friend at noon, entered into his house, where there was a +marriage feast; and sitting down with the guests, he observed them to be +very merry and jovial, kissing and embracing one another, which was +attributed to the cheerfulness of their spirits raised by the wine; so +that he blessed it as a sacred thing in being thus an instrument of much +love among men. But returning to the same house the next day, he beheld +another face of things, as gore-blood on the ground, a hand cut off, an +arm, foot, and other limbs dismembered, which he was told was the effect +of the brawls and fightings occasioned by the wine, which made them mad, +and inflamed them into a fury, thus to destroy one another. Whereon he +changed his mind, and turned his former blessing into a curse, and +forbade wine ever after to all his disciples." (Epist. 3.) "This +prohibition of wine hindered many of the prophet's contemporaries from +embracing his religion. Yet several of the most respectable of the pagan +Arabs, like certain of the Jews and early Christians, abstained totally +from wine, from a feeling of its injurious effects upon morals, and, in +their climate, upon health; or, more especially, from the fear of being +led by it into the commission of foolish and degrading actions. Thus +Keys, the son of Asim, being one night overcome with wine, attempted to +grasp the moon, and swore that he would not quit the spot where he stood +until he had laid hold of it. After leaping several times with the view +of doing so, he fell flat upon his face; and when he recovered his +senses, and was acquainted with the cause of his face being bruised, he +made a solemn vow to abstain from wine ever after."--_Lane's Arab. +Nights_, vol. i. pp. 217, 218. + +[58] The following elucidation of the above circumstance is given by +Sale: "Mahomet having undertaken an expedition against the tribe of +Mostalek, in the sixth year of the Hegira, took his wife Ayesha with +him. On their return, when they were not far from Medina, the army +removing by night, Ayesha, on the road, alighted from her camel, and +stepped aside on a private occasion; but on her return, perceiving she +had dropped her necklace, which was of onyxes of Dhafar, she went back +to look for it; and in the mean time her attendants, taking it for +granted that she was got into her pavilion, set it again on the camel, +and led it away. When she came back to the road and saw her camel was +gone, she sat down there, expecting that when she was missed some would +be sent back to fetch her; and in a little time she fell asleep. Early +in the morning, Safwan Ebu al Moattel, who had stayed behind to rest +himself, coming by, perceived somebody asleep, and found it was Ayesha; +upon which he awoke her, by twice pronouncing with a low voice these +words, 'We are God's, and unto him must we return.' Ayesha immediately +covered herself with her veil; and Safwan set her on his own camel, and +led her after the army, which they overtook by noon, as they were +resting. This accident had like to have ruined Ayesha, whose reputation +was publicly called in question, as if she had been guilty of adultery +with Safwan."--_Sale's Koran_, xxiv. _note_. + +[59] He once thought to have ordered the pilgrimage to Jerusalem; but +finding the Jews so inveterate against him, thought it more advisable to +oblige the Arabs. + +[60] "An implicit belief in magic is entertained by almost all +Mussulmans. Babil, or Babel, is regarded by the Mussulmans as the +fountain-head of the science of magic, which was, and, as most think, +still is, taught there to mankind by two fallen angels, named Haroot and +Maroot, who are there suspended by the feet in a great pit closed by a +mass of rock."--_Lane's Arab. Nights_, vol. i. pp. 66, 218. + +"From another fable of these two magicians, we are told that the angels +in heaven, expressing their surprise at the wickedness of the sons of +Adam, after prophets had been sent to them with divine commissions, God +bid them choose two out of their own number, to be sent down to be +judges on earth. Whereupon they pitched upon Haroot and Maroot, who +executed their office with integrity for some time, in the province of +Babylon; but while they were there, Zohara, or the planet Venus, +descended, and appeared before them in the shape of a beautiful woman, +bringing a complaint against her husband. As soon as they saw her they +fell in love with her, whereupon she invited them to dinner, and set +wine before them, which God had forbidden them to drink. At length, +being tempted by the liquor to transgress the divine command, they +became drunk, and endeavored to prevail on her to satisfy their desires; +to which she promised to consent upon condition that one of them should +first carry her to heaven, and the other bring her back again. They +immediately agreed to do so, but directly the woman reached heaven she +declared to God the whole matter, and as a reward for her chastity she +was made the morning star. The guilty angels were allowed to choose +whether they would be punished in this life or in the other; and upon +their choosing the former, they were hung up by the feet by an iron +chain in a certain pit near Babylon, where they are to continue +suffering the punishment of their transgression until the day of +judgment. By the same tradition we also learn that if a man has a fancy +to learn magic, he may go to them and hear their voice, but cannot see +them."--_Sale's Koran_, ii. and _notes_ + +[61] Moore thus alludes to the circumstance in _Lalla Rookh_:-- + + "And here Mahomet, born for love and guile, + Forgets the _Koran_ in his Mary's smile, + Then beckons some kind angel from above, + With a new text to consecrate their love!" + --_Veiled Prophet of Khorassan_. + +[62] "The death of Jaafar was heroic and memorable; he lost his right +hand, he shifted the standard to his left, the left was severed from his +body, he embraced the standard with his bleeding stumps, till he was +transfixed to the ground with fifty honorable wounds. 'Advance,' cried +Abdallah, who stepped into the vacant place, 'advance with confidence; +either victory or paradise is our own.' The lance of a Roman decided the +alternative; but the falling standard was rescued by Kaled, the +proselyte of Mecca; nine swords were broken in his hand; and his valor +withstood and repulsed the superior numbers of the Christians. To +console the afflicted relatives of his kinsman Jaafar, Mahomet +represented that, in paradise, in exchange for the arms he had lost, he +had been furnished with a pair of wings, resplendent with the blushing +glories of the ruby, and with which he was become the inseparable +companion of the archangel Gabriel, in his volitations through the +regions of eternal bliss. Hence, in the catalogue of the martyrs he has +been denominated _Jaaffer teyaur_ ('the winged Jaaffer')."--_Milman's +Gibbon_, 1. + +[63] Mahomet's victims were camels; they may, however, be sheep or +goats, but in this case they must be male; if camels or kine, +female.--_Sale, Prelim. Dis._, p. 120. + +[64] There are many ridiculous stories told of Mahomet, which, being +notoriously fabulous, are not introduced here. Two of the most popular +are: That a tame pigeon used to whisper in his ear the commands of God. +[The pigeon is said to have been taught to come and peck some grains of +rice out of Mahomet's ear, to induce people to think that he then +received by the ministry of an angel the several articles of the +_Koran_.] The other is that after his death he was buried at Medina, and +his coffin suspended, by divine agency or magnetic power, between the +ceiling and floor of the temple. + +[65] Mirza Ibrahim (translated by Lee) states, however, that the +miracles recorded of Mahomet almost exceed enumeration. "Some of the +doctors of Islamism have computed them at four thousand four hundred and +fifty, while others have held that the more remarkable ones were not +fewer than a thousand, some of which are almost universally accredited: +as his dividing the moon into two parts; the singing of the gravel in +his hand; the flowing of the water from between his fingers; the animals +addressing him, and complaining before him; his satisfying a great +multitude with a small quantity of food, and many others. The miracle of +the speaking of the moon is thus related by Gagnier: On one occasion +Mahomet accepted a challenge to bring the moon from heaven in presence +of the whole assembly. Upon uttering his command, that luminary, +full-orbed, though but five days old, leaped from the firmament, and, +bounding through the air, alighted on the top of the Kaaba, after having +encircled it by seven distinct evolutions. It is said to have paid +reverence to the prophet, addressing him in elegant Arabic, in set +phrase of encomium, and concluding with the formula of the Mussulman +faith. This done, the moon is said to have descended from the Kaaba, to +have entered the right sleeve of Mahomet's mantle, and made its exit by +the left. After having traversed every part of his flowing robe, the +planet separated into two parts, as it mounted to the air. Then these +parts reunited in one round and luminous orb as before." + + + + +THE SARACEN CONQUEST OF SYRIA + +A.D. 636 + +SIMON OCKLEY + + + Abu-Bekr was chosen caliph, or _khalif_ (signifying successor) to + Mahomet, but died after a reign of two years. His successor, Caliph + Omar, continued with unabated ardor the efforts for the spread of + Islam which Abu-Bekr had initiated by sending an invading + expedition into Persia, and another into the Roman provinces of + Syria. + + The victorious armies of the Crescent were by this time far + advanced beyond the frontiers of Arabia, and with fanatic zeal + endeavoring to obey the prophet's injunction to Islamize mankind. + "_Allah il Allah!_" ("God is God!") was their inspiring war-cry, + and "Mahomet is the prophet of God" their watchword. With cimeter + and _Koran_ in either hand they offered the conquered "Infidels" + "Islam or the sword." + + The Oxus, which alone separated Saracen territory from that of + Syria, was easily passed. Damascus was conquered, and the impetuous + spirit of the Moslems led them rapidly on to Heliopolis, then to + Hems or Emesa. In subtlety they were no less practised than they + were well proved in courage, and by many arts they succeeded in + creating diversions among their adversaries, and often in enlisting + them under the Saracen standard. By making the Syrians understand + something of their language, customs, and religion, they prepared + them for assimilation when once subjected. In some cases + dissensions among the Syrians led them to invoke the intervention + of those who came to subjugate them. + + In less than two years the Saracens had conquered the Syrian plain + and valley, but still they reproached themselves for loss of time, + and with redoubled zeal pressed on to new victories. The forces + arrayed against them were greatly augmented both from Asia and + Europe, but the disciplined veterans of the Roman emperor + Heraclius, and the recruits from the provinces, vainly confronted + the Arabs, whose valor was of the nature of religious frenzy, which + no assault could cause to quail. They won, at fearful cost to + themselves, but with greater loss to their enemies at the battle of + Yermouk, and there caused the Roman army to abandon active warfare + against them. + + It was then open to the victors to select their own objective among + the Syrian cities, and following the counsel of Ali, they entered + at once upon the siege of Jerusalem, although they held that city + next to Mecca and Medina in veneration. + + After a siege of four months Jerusalem capitulated, her defenders + having no rest from the ceaseless assaults of the besiegers. Hard + work still lay before the Saracens in Syria; but after the + reduction of Aleppo, which cost several months' siege, with great + loss of lives to the invaders, they passed on to Antioch and other + strongholds, until, one by one, all had been subdued; the surrender + of Caesarea completing the great conquest and the subjection of + Syria to the rule of the Caliph. + + +Heraclius, wearied with a constant and uninterrupted succession of ill +news, which like those of Job came every day treading upon the heels of +each other, grieved at the heart to see the Roman Empire, once the +mistress of the world, now become the scorn and spoil of barbarian +insolence, resolved, if possible, to put an end to the outrages of the +Saracens once for all. With this view he raised troops in all parts of +his dominions, and collected so considerable an army as since the first +invasion of the Saracens had never appeared in Syria--not much unlike +one engaged in single combat who, distrustful of his own abilities and +fearing the worst, summons together his whole strength in hopes of +ending the dispute with one decisive blow. Troops were sent to every +tenable place which this inundation of the Saracens had not as yet +reached, particularly to Caesarea and all the sea-coast of Syria, as Tyre +and Sidon, Accah, Joppa, Tripolis, Beyrout, and Tiberias, besides +another army to defend Jerusalem. The main body, which was designed to +give battle to the whole force of the Saracens, was commanded by one +Mahan, an Armenian, whom I take to be the very same that the Greek +historians call Manuel. To his generals the Emperor gave the best +advice, charging them to behave themselves like men, and especially to +take care to avoid all differences or dissensions. Afterward, when he +had expressed his astonishment at this extraordinary success of the +Arabs, who were inferior to the Greeks, in number, strength, arms, and +discipline, after a short silence a grave man stood up and told him that +the reason of it was that the Greeks had walked unworthily of their +Christian profession, and changed their religion from what it was when +Jesus Christ first delivered it to them, injuring and oppressing one +another, taking usury, committing fornication, and fomenting all manner +of strife and variance among themselves. The Emperor answered, that he +was "too sensible of it." He then told them that he had thoughts of +continuing no longer in Syria, but, leaving his army to their +management, he purposed to withdraw to Constantinople. In answer to +which they represented to him how much his departure would reflect upon +his honor, what a lessening it would be to him in the eyes of his own +subjects, and what occasion of triumph it would afford to his enemies +the Saracens. Upon this they took their leave and prepared for their +march. Besides a vast army of Asiatics and Europeans, Mahan was joined +by Al Jabalah Ebn Al Ayham, King of the Christian Arabs, who had under +him sixty thousand men. These Mahan commanded to march always in the +front, saying that there was nothing like diamond to cut diamond. This +great army, raised for the defence of Christian people, was little less +insupportable than the Saracens themselves, committing all manner of +disorder and outrage as they passed along; especially when they came to +any of those places which had made any agreement with the Saracens, or +surrendered to them, they swore and cursed and reviled the inhabitants +with reproachful language, and compelled them by force to bear them +company. The poor people excused their submission to the Saracens by +their inability to defend themselves, and told the soldiers that if they +did not approve of what they had done, they ought themselves to have +come sooner to their relief. + +The news of this great army having reached the Saracens while they were +at Hems, filled them full of apprehensions, and put them to a very great +strait as to the best course to pursue in this critical juncture. Some +of them would very willingly have shrunk back and returned to Arabia. +This course, they urged, presented a double advantage: on the one hand +they would be sure of speedy assistance from their friends; and on the +other, in that barren country the numerous army of the enemy must needs +be reduced to great scarcity. But Abu Obeidah, fearing lest such a +retreat might by the Caliph be interpreted cowardice in him, durst not +approve of this advice. Others would rather die in the defence of those +stately buildings, fruitful fields, and pleasant meadows they had won by +the sword, than voluntarily to return to their former starving +condition. They proposed therefore to remain where they were and wait +the approach of the enemy. But Kaled disapproved of their remaining in +their present position, as it was too near Caesarea, where Constantine, +the Emperor's son, lay with forty thousand men; and recommended that +they should march to Yermouk, where they might reckon on assistance from +the Caliph. As soon as Constantine heard of their departure, he sent a +chiding letter to Mahan, and bade him mend his pace. Mahan advanced, but +made no haste to give the Saracens battle, having received orders from +the Emperor to make overtures of peace, which were no sooner proposed +than rejected by Abu Obeidah. Several messages passed between them. The +Saracens, endeavoring to bring their countryman Jabalah Ebn Al Ayham, +with his Christian Arabs, to a neutrality, were answered that they were +obliged to serve the Emperor, and resolved to fight. Upon this Kaled, +contrary to the general advice, prepared to give him battle before Mahan +should come up, although the number of his men--who, however, were the +_elite_ of the whole army--was very inconsiderable, urging that the +Christians, being the army of the devil, had no advantage by their +numbers against the Saracens, the army of God. In choosing his men, +Kaled had called out more Ansers[66] than Mohajerins,[67] which, when it +was observed, occasioned some grumbling, as it then was doubted whether +it was because he respected them most or because he had a mind to expose +them to the greater danger, that he might favor the others. Kaled told +them that he had chosen them without any such regard, only because they +were persons he could depend upon, whose valor he had proved, and who +had the faith rooted in their hearts. One Cathib, happening to be called +after his brother Sahal, and looking upon himself to be the better man, +resented it as a high affront, and roundly abused Kaled. The latter, +however, gave him very gentle and modest answers, to the great +satisfaction of all, especially of Abu Obeidah, who, after a short +contention, made them shake hands. Kaled, indeed, was admirable in this +respect, that he knew no less how to govern his passions than to command +the army; though, to most great generals, the latter frequently proves +the easier task of the two. In this hazardous enterprise his success was +beyond all expectation, for he threw Jabalah's Arabs into disorder and +killed a great many, losing very few of his own men on the field, +besides five prisoners, three of whom were Yezid Ebn Abu Sofian, Rafi +Ebn Omeira, and Derar Ebn Al Alzwar, all men of great note. Abu Obeidah +sent Abdallah Ebn Kort with an express to Omar, acquainting him with +their circumstances, begging his prayers and some fresh recruits of +Unitarians, a title they glory in, as reckoning themselves the only +asserters of the unity of the Deity. Omar and the whole court were +extremely surprised, but comforted themselves with the promises made to +them in the _Koran_, which seemed now to be all they had left to trust +to. To encourage the people, he went into the pulpit and showed them the +excellency of fighting for the cause of God, and afterward returned an +answer to Abu Obeidah, full of such spiritual consolation as the _Koran_ +could afford. Omar commanded Abdallah, as soon as ever he came near the +camp and before he delivered the letter, to cry out, "Good news!" in +order to comfort the Mussulmans and ease them in some measure of the +perplexing apprehensions they labored under. As soon as he received this +letter and message, together with Omar's blessing, he prepared to set +out on his return to the army; but suddenly he remembered that he had +omitted to pay his respects at Mahomet's tomb, which it was very +uncertain whether he should ever see again. Upon this he hastened to +Ayesha's house (the place where Mahomet was buried), and found her +sitting by the tomb with Ali and Abbas, and Ali's two sons, Hasan and +Hosein, one sitting upon Ali's lap, the other upon Abbas'. Ali was +reading the chapter of beasts, being the sixth of the _Koran_, and Abbas +the chapter of Hud, which is the eleventh. Abdallah, having paid his +respects to Mahomet, Ali asked him whether he did not think of going? He +answered, "Yes," but he feared he should not get to the army before the +battle, which yet he greatly wished to do, if possible. "If you desired +a speedy journey," answered Ali, "why did not you ask Omar to pray for +you? Don't you know that the prayers of Omar will not be turned back? +Because the apostle of God said of him: 'If there were a prophet to be +expected after me, it would be Omar, whose judgment agrees with the book +of God.' The prophet said of him besides, 'If an [universal] calamity +were to come from heaven upon mankind, Omar would escape from it.' +Wherefore, if Omar prayed for thee, thou shalt not stay long for an +answer from God." Abdallah told him that he had not spoken one word in +praise of Omar but what he was very sensible of before. Only he desired +to have not only his prayers but also those of all the Mussulmans, and +especially of those who were at the tomb of the prophet. At these words +all present lifted up their hands to heaven, and Ali said, "O God, I +beseech thee, for the sake of this chosen apostle, in whose name Adam +prayed, and thou answeredst his petition and forgavest his sins, that +thou wouldst grant to Abdallah Ebn Kort a safe and speedy return, and +assist the followers of thy prophet with help, O thou who alone art +great and munificent!" Abdallah set out immediately, and afterward +returned to the camp with such incredible speed that the Saracens were +surprised. But their admiration ceased when he informed them of Omar's +blessing and Ali's prayers at Mahomet's tomb. + +Recruits were instantly raised in every part of Arabia to send to the +army. Said Ebn Amir commanded them, having received a flag of red silk +at the hands of Omar, who told him that he gave him that commission in +hopes of his behaving himself well in it; advising him, among other +things, not to follow his appetites, and not forgetting to put him in +hopes of further advancement if he should deserve it. Said thanked him +for his advice, adding that if he followed it he should be saved. "And +now," said Said, "as you have advised me, so let me advise you." "Speak +on," said Omar. "I bid you then [added the other] fear God more than +men, and not the contrary; and love all the Mussulmans as yourself and +your family, as well those at a distance as those near you. And command +that which is praiseworthy, and forbid that which is otherwise." Omar, +all the while he spoke, stood looking steadfastly upon the ground, +leaning his forehead upon his staff. Then he lifted up his head, and the +tears ran down his cheeks, and he said, "Who is able to do this without +the divine assistance?" Ali bade Said make good use of the Caliph's +advice and dismissed him. Said, as he marched toward the army, lost his +way, which turned out very unfortunate for the Christians, for by that +means he fell in with the prefect of Amman with five thousand men. Said +having cut all the foot to pieces, the prefect fled with the horse, but +was intercepted by a party which had been sent out under Zobeir from the +Saracen camp to forage. Said at first thought they had fallen together +by the ears, and were fighting among themselves, but when he came up and +heard the _techir_, he was well satisfied. Zobeir ran the prefect +through with a lance; of the rest not a single man escaped. The Saracens +cut off all their heads, then flayed them, and so carried them upon the +points of their lances, presenting a most horrible spectacle to all that +part of the country, till they came to the army, which received fresh +courage by the accession of this reinforcement, consisting of eight +thousand men. + +However, their satisfaction was greatly lessened by the loss of the five +prisoners whom Jabalah Ebn Al Ayham had taken. Now it happened that +Mahan desired Abu Obeidah to send one of his officers to him for a +conference. This being complied with, Kaled proffered his services, and +being accepted by Abu Obeidah, by his advice he took along with him a +hundred men, chosen out of the best soldiers in the army. Being met and +examined by the out-guards, the chief of whom was Jabalah Ebn Al Ayham, +they were ordered to wait till the general's pleasure should be known. +Mahan would have had Kaled come to him alone and leave his men behind +him. But as Kaled refused to hear of this, they were commanded as soon +as they came near the general's tent to alight from their horses and +deliver their swords; and when they would not submit to this either, +they were at last permitted to enter as they pleased. They found Mahan +sitting upon a throne, and seats prepared for themselves. But they +refused to make use of them, and, removing them, sat down upon the +ground. Mahan asked them the reason of their doing so, and taxed them +with want of breeding. To which Kaled answered that that was the best +breeding which was from God, and what God has prepared for us to sit +down upon is purer than your tapestries, defending their practice from a +sentence of their prophet Mahomet, backed with this text of the _Koran_, +"Out of it [meaning the earth] we have created you, and to it we shall +return you, and out of it we shall bring you another time." Mahan began +then to expostulate with Kaled concerning their coming into Syria, and +all those hostilities which they had committed there. Mahan seemed +satisfied with Kaled's way of talking, and said that he had before that +time entertained a quite different opinion of the Arabs, having been +informed that they were a foolish, ignorant people. Kaled confessed that +that was the condition of most of them till God sent their prophet +Mahomet to lead them into the right way, and teach them to distinguish +good from evil, and truth from error. During this conference they would +argue very coolly for a while, and then again fly into a violent +passion. At last it happened that Kaled told Mahan that he should one +day see him led with a rope about his neck to Omar to be beheaded. Upon +this Mahan told him that the received law of all nations secured +ambassadors from violence, which he supposed had encouraged him to take +that indecent freedom; however, he was resolved to chastise his +insolence in the persons of his friends, the five prisoners, who should +instantly be beheaded. At this threat Kaled, bidding Mahan attend to +what he was about to say, swore by God, by Mahomet, and the holy temple +of Mecca, that if he killed them he should die by his hands, and that +every Saracen present should kill his man, be the consequences what they +might, and immediately rose from his place and drew his sword. The same +was done by the rest of the Saracens. But when Mahan told him that he +would not meddle with him for the aforesaid reasons, they sheathed their +swords and talked calmly again. And then Mahan made Kaled a present of +the prisoners, and begged of him his scarlet tent, which Kaled had +brought with him, and pitched hard by. Kaled freely gave it him, and +refused to take anything in return (though Mahan gave him his choice of +whatever he liked best), thinking his own gift abundantly repaid by the +liberation of the prisoners. + +Both sides now prepared for that fight which was to determine the fate +of Syria. The particulars are too tedious to be related, for they +continued fighting for several days. Abu Obeidah resigned the whole +command of the army to Kaled, standing himself in the rear, under the +yellow flag which Abu-Bekr had given him at his first setting forth into +Syria, being the same which Mahomet himself had fought under at the +battle of Khaibar. Kaled judged this the most proper place for Abu +Obeidah, not only because he was no extraordinary soldier, but because +he hoped that the reverence for him would prevent the flight of the +Saracens, who were now like to be as hard put to it as at any time since +they first bore arms. For the same reason the women were placed in the +rear. The Greeks charged so courageously and with such vast numbers that +the right wing of the Saracen horse was quite borne down and cut off +from the main body of the army. But no sooner did they turn their backs +than they were attacked by the women, who used them so ill and loaded +them with such plenty of reproaches that they were glad to return every +man to his post, and chose rather to face the enemy than endure the +storm of the women. However, they with much difficulty bore up, and were +so hard pressed by the Greeks that occasionally they were fain to forget +what their generals had said a little before the fight, who told them +that paradise was before them and the devil and hell-fire behind them. +Even Abu Sofian, who had himself used that very expression, was forced +to retreat, and was received by one of the women with a hearty blow over +the face with a tent-pole. Night at last parted the two armies at the +very time when the victory began to incline to the Saracens, who had +been thrice beaten back, and as often forced to return by the women. +Then Abu Obeidah said at once those prayers which belonged to two +several hours. His reason for this was, I suppose, a wish that his men, +of whom he was very tender, should have the more time to rest. +Accordingly, walking about the camp he looked after the wounded men, +oftentimes binding up their wounds with his own hands, telling them that +their enemies suffered the same pain that they did, but had not that +reward to expect from God which they had. + +Among other single combats, of which several were fought between the two +armies, it chanced that Serjabil Ebn Shahhnah was engaged with an +officer of the Christians, who was much too strong for him. The reason +which our author assigns for this is, because Serjabil was wholly given +up to watching and fasting. Derar, thinking he ought not to stand still +and see the prophet's secretary killed, drew his dagger, and while the +combatants were over head and ears in dust, came behind the Christian +and stabbed him to the heart. The Saracens gave Derar thanks for his +service, but he said that he would receive no thanks but from God alone. +Upon this a dispute arose between Serjabil and Derar concerning the +spoil of this officer. Derar claimed it as being the person that killed +him; Serjabil as having engaged him and tired him out first. The matter +being referred to Abu Obeidah, he proposed the case to the Caliph, +concealing the names of the persons concerned, who sent him word that +the spoil of any enemy was due to him that killed him. Upon which Abu +Obeidah took it from Serjabil and adjudged it to Derar. + +Another day the Christian archers did such execution that besides those +Saracens which were killed and wounded in other parts there were seven +hundred which lost each of them one or both of their eyes, upon which +account the day in which that battle was fought is called Yaumo'ttewir, +"The Day of Blinding." And if any of those who lost their eyes that day +were afterward asked by what mischance he was blinded, he would answer +that it was not a mischance, but a token of favor from God, for they +gloried as much in those wounds they received in the defence of their +superstition as our enthusiasts do in what they call persecution, and +with much the same reason. Abdallah Ebn Kort, who was present in all the +wars in Syria, says that he never saw so hard a battle as that which was +fought on that day at Yermouk; and though the generals fought most +desperately, yet after all they would have been beaten if the fight had +not been renewed by the women. Caulah, Derar's sister, being wounded, +fell down; but Opheirah revenged her quarrel and struck off the man's +head that did it. Upon Opheirah asking her how she did, she answered, +"Very well with God, but a dying woman." However, she proved to be +mistaken, for in the evening she was able to walk about as if nothing +had happened, and to look after the wounded men. + +In the night the Greeks had another calamity added to their misfortune +of losing the victory in the day. It was drawn upon them by their own +inhuman barbarity. There was at Yermouk a gentleman of a very ample +fortune, who had removed thither from Hems for the sake of the sweet +salubrity of its air. When Mahan's army came to Yermouk this gentleman +used to entertain the officers and treat them nobly. To requite him for +his courtesy, while they were this day revelling at his house, they bade +him bring out his wife to them, and upon his refusing they took her by +force and abused her all night, and to aggravate their barbarity they +seized his little son and cut his head off. The poor lady took her +child's head and carried it to Mahan, and having given him an account of +the outrages committed by his officers, demanded satisfaction. He took +but little notice of the affair, and put her off with a slight answer; +upon which her husband, resolved to take the first opportunity of being +revenged, went privately over to the Saracens and acquainted them with +his design. Returning back to the Greeks, he told them it was in his +power to do them singular service. He therefore takes a great number of +them, and brings them to a great stream, which was very deep, and only +fordable at one place. By his instructions five hundred of the Saracen +horse had crossed over where the water was shallow, and after attacking +the Greeks, in a very little time returned in excellent order by the +same way they came. The injured gentleman calls out and encourages the +Greeks to pursue, who, not at all acquainted with the place, plunged +into the water confusedly and perished in great numbers. In the +subsequent engagements before Yermouk (all of which were in November, +636), the Christians invariably were defeated, till at last, Mahan's +vast army being broken and dispersed, he was forced to flee, thus +leaving the Saracens masters of the field, and wholly delivered from +those terrible apprehensions with which the news of his great +preparations had filled them. + +A short time after Abu Obeidah wrote to the Caliph the following letter: + + "In the name of the most merciful God, etc. + + "This is to acquaint thee that I encamped at Yermouk, where Mahan + was near us with such an army as that the Mussulmans never beheld + a greater. But God, of his abundant grace and goodness, overthrew + this multitude and gave us the victory over them. We killed of them + about a hundred and fifty thousand, and took forty thousand + prisoners. Of the Mussulmans were killed four thousand and thirty, + to whom God had decreed the honor of martyrdom. Finding some heads + cut off, and not knowing whether they belonged to the Mussulmans or + Christians, I prayed over them and buried them. Mahan was afterward + killed at Damascus by Nooman Ebn Alkamah. There was one Abu Joaid + that before the battle had belonged to them, having come from Hems; + he drowned of them a great number unknown to any but God. As for + those that fled into the deserts and mountains, we have destroyed + them all, and stopped all the roads and passages, and God has made + us masters of their country, and wealth, and children. Written + after the victory from Damascus, where I stay expecting thy orders + concerning the division of the spoil. Fare thee well, and the mercy + and blessing of God be upon thee and all the Mussulmans." + +Omar, in a short letter, expressed his satisfaction, and gave the +Saracens thanks for their perseverance and diligence, commanding Abu +Obeidah to continue where he was till further orders. As Omar had +mentioned nothing concerning the spoil, Abu Obeidah regarded it as left +to his own discretion and divided it without waiting for fresh +instructions. To a horseman he gave thrice as much as to a footman, and +made a further difference between those horses which were of the right +Arabian breed (which they looked upon to be far the best) and those that +were not, allowing twice as much to the former as to the latter. And +when they were not satisfied with this distribution, Abu Obeidah told +them that the prophet had done the same after the battle of Khaibar; +which, upon appeal made to Omar, was by him confirmed. Zobeir had at the +battle of Yermouk two horses, which he used to ride by turns. He +received five lots, three for himself and two for his horses. If any +slaves had run away from their masters before the battle, and were +afterward retaken, they were restored to their masters, who nevertheless +received an equal share of the spoil with the rest. + +The Saracens having rested a month at Damascus, and refreshed +themselves, Abu Obeidah sent to Omar to know whether he should go to +Caesarea or Jerusalem. Ali being present when Omar was deliberating, +said, to Jerusalem first, adding that he had heard the prophet say as +much. This city they had a great longing after, as being the seat and +burying place of a great many of the ancient prophets, in whom they +reckoned none to have so deep an interest as themselves. Abu Obeidah +having received orders to besiege it, sent Yezid Ebn Abu Sofian thither +first with five thousand men; and for five days together sent after him +considerable numbers of men under his most experienced and trustworthy +officers. The Ierosolymites expressed no signs of fear, nor would they +vouchsafe so much as to send out a messenger to parley; but, planting +their engines upon the walls, made preparation for a vigorous defence. +Yezid at last went near the walls with an interpreter, to know their +minds, and to propose the usual terms. When these were rejected, the +Saracens would willingly have assaulted the town forthwith, had not +Yezid told them that the general had not commanded them to make any +assault, but only to sit down before the city; and thereupon sent to Abu +Obeidah, who forthwith gave them order to fight. The next morning the +generals having said the morning prayer, each at the head of his +respective division, they all, as it were with one consent, quoted this +versicle out of the _Koran_, as being very apposite and pertinent to +their present purpose: "O people! enter ye into the holy land which God +hath decreed for you," being the twenty-fourth verse of the fifth +chapter of the _Koran_, where the impostor introduces Moses speaking to +the children of Israel, and which words the Saracens dexterously +interpreted as belonging no less to themselves than to their +predecessors, the Israelites. Nor have our own parts of the world been +altogether destitute of such able expositors, who apply to themselves, +without limitation or exception, whatever in Scripture is graciously +expressed in favor of the people of God; while whatever is said of the +wicked and ungodly, and of all the terrors and judgments denounced +against them, they bestow with a liberal hand upon their neighbors. +After their prayers were over, the Saracens began their assault. The +Ierosolymites never flinched, but sent them showers of arrows from the +walls, and maintained the fight with undaunted courage till the +evening. Thus they continued fighting ten days, and on the eleventh Abu +Obeidah came up with the remainder of the army. He had not been there +long before he sent the besieged the following letter: + + "In the name of the most merciful God. + + "From Abu Obeidah Ebn Aljerahh, to the chief commanders of the + people of AElia and the inhabitants thereof, health and happiness to + everyone that follows the right way and believes in God and the + apostle. We require of you to testify that there is but one God, + and Mahomet is his apostle, and that there shall be a day of + judgment, when God shall raise the dead out of their sepulchres; + and when you have borne witness to this, it is unlawful for us + either to shed your blood or meddle with your sustenance or + children. If you refuse this, consent to pay tribute and be under + us forthwith; otherwise I shall bring men against you who love + death better than you do the drinking of wine, or eating hogs' + flesh: nor will I ever stir from you, if it please God, till I have + destroyed those that fight for you and made slaves of your + children." + +The eating swine's flesh and drinking wine are both forbidden in the +_Koran_, which occasioned that reflection of Abu Obeidah upon the +practice of the Christians. The besieged, not a whit daunted, held out +four whole months entire, during all which time not one day passed +without fighting; and it being winter time, the Saracens suffered a +great deal of hardships through the extremity of the weather. At last, +when the besieged had well considered the obstinacy of the Saracens; +who, they had good reason to believe, would never raise the siege till +they had taken the city, whatever time it took up or whatever pains it +might cost them, Sophronius the patriarch went to the wall, and by an +interpreter discoursed with Abu Obeidah, telling him that Jerusalem was +the holy city, and whoever came into the Holy Land with any hostile +intent would render himself obnoxious to the divine displeasure. To +which Abu Obeidah answered: "We know that it is a noble city, and that +our prophet Mahomet went from it in one night to heaven, and approached +within two bows' shot of his Lord, or nearer; and that it is the mine +of the prophets, and their sepulchres are in it. But we are more worthy +to have possession of it than you are; neither will we leave besieging +it till God delivers it up to us, as he hath done other places before +it." At last the patriarch consented that the city should be surrendered +upon condition that the inhabitants received the articles of their +security and protection from the Caliph's own hands, and not by proxy. +Accordingly, Abu Obeidah wrote to Omar to come, whereupon he advised +with his friends. Othman, who afterward succeeded him in the government, +dissuaded him from going, in order that the Ierosolymites might see that +they were despised and beneath his notice. Ali was of a very different +opinion, urging that the Mussulmans had endured great hardship in so +long a siege, and suffered much from the extremity of the cold; that the +presence of the Caliph would be a great refreshment and encouragement to +them, and adding that the great respect which the Christians had for +Jerusalem, as being the place to which they went on pilgrimage, ought to +be considered; that it ought not to be supposed that they would easily +part with it, but that it would soon be reinforced with fresh supplies. +This advice of Ali being preferred to Othman's, the Caliph resolved upon +his journey; which, according to his frugal style of living, required no +great expense or equipage. When he had said his prayers in the mosque +and paid his respects at Mahomet's tomb, he appointed Ali his +substitute, and set forward with a small retinue, the greatest part of +which, having kept him company a little way, returned back to Medina. + +Omar, having all the way he went set things aright that were amiss, and +distributed justice impartially, for which he was singularly eminent +among the Saracens, came at last into the confines of Syria; and when he +drew near Jerusalem he was met by Abu Obeidah, and conducted to the +Saracen camp, where he was welcomed with the liveliest demonstrations of +joy. + +As soon as he came within sight of the city he cried out, "Allah acbar +[O God], give us an easy conquest." Pitching his tent, which was made of +hair, he sat down in it upon the ground. The Christians hearing that +Omar was come, from whose hands they were to receive their articles, +desired to confer with him personally; upon which the Mussulmans would +have persuaded him not to expose his person for fear of some treachery. +But Omar resolutely answered, in the words of the _Koran_: "Say, 'There +shall nothing befall us but what God hath decreed for us; he is our +Lord, and in God let all the believers put their trust.'" After a brief +parley the besieged capitulated, and those articles of agreement made by +Omar with the Ierosolymites are, as it were, the pattern which the +Mahometan princes have chiefly imitated. + +The articles were these: "1. The Christians shall build no new churches, +either in the city or the adjacent territory. 2. They shall not refuse +the Mussulmans entrance into their churches, either by night or day. 3. +They should set open the doors of them to all passengers and travellers. +4. If any Mussulman should be upon a journey, they shall be obliged to +entertain him gratis for the space of three days. 5. They should not +teach their children the _Koran_, nor talk openly of their religion, nor +persuade anyone to be of it; neither should they hinder any of their +relations from becoming Mahometans, if they had an inclination to it. 6. +They shall pay respect to the Mussulmans, and if they were sitting rise +up to them. 7. They should not go like the Mussulmans in their dress, +nor wear the same caps, shoes, nor turbans, nor part their hair as they +do, nor speak after the same manner, nor be called by the names used by +the Mussulmans. 8. They shall not ride upon saddles, nor bear any sort +of arms, nor use the Arabic tongue in the inscriptions of their seals. +9. They shall not sell any wine. 10. They shall be obliged to keep to +the same sort of habit wheresoever they went, and always wear girdles +upon their waists. 11. They shall set no crosses upon their churches, +nor show their crosses nor their books openly in the streets of the +Mussulmans. 12. They shall not ring, but only toll their bells; nor +shall they take any servant that had once belonged to the Mussulmans. +13. They shall not overlook the Mussulmans in their houses: and some say +that Omar commanded the inhabitants of Jerusalem to have the foreparts +of their heads shaved, and obliged them to ride upon their pannels +sideways, and not like the Mussulmans." + +Upon these terms the Christians had liberty of conscience, paying such +tribute as their masters thought fit to impose upon them; and +Jerusalem, once the glory of the East, was forced to submit to a heavier +yoke than ever it had borne before. For though the number of the slain +and the calamities of the besieged were greater when it was taken by the +Romans, yet the servitude of those that survived was nothing comparable +to this, either in respect of the circumstances or the duration. For +however it might seem to be utterly ruined and destroyed by Titus, yet +by Hadrian's time it had greatly recovered itself. Now it fell, as it +were, once for all, into the hands of the most mortal enemies of the +Christian religion, and has continued so ever since, with the exception +of a brief interval of about ninety years, during which it was held by +the Christians in the holy war. + +The Christians having submitted on these terms, Omar gave them the +following writing under his hand: + + "In the name of the most merciful God. + + "From Omar Ebn Al Khattab, to the inhabitants of AElia. They shall + be protected and secured both in their lives and fortunes, and + their churches shall neither be pulled down nor made use of by any + but themselves." + +Upon this the gates were immediately opened, and the Caliph and those +that were with him marched in. The Patriarch kept them company, and the +Caliph talked with him familiarly, and asked him many questions +concerning the antiquities of the place. Among other places which they +visited, they went into the Temple of the Resurrection, and Omar sat +down in the midst of it. When the time of prayers was come (the +Mahometans have five set times of prayer in a day), Omar told the +patriarch that he had a mind to pray, and desired him to show him a +place where he might perform his devotion. The Patriarch bade him pray +where he was; but this he positively refused. Then taking him out from +thence, the Patriarch went with him into Constantine's Church, and laid +a mat for him to pray there, but he would not. At last he went alone to +the steps which were at the east gate of St. Constantine's Church, and +kneeled by himself upon one of them. Having ended his prayers, he sat +down and asked the Patriarch if he knew why he had refused to pray in +the church. The Patriarch confessed that he could not tell what were his +reasons. "Why, then," says Omar, "I will tell you. You know I promised +you that none of your churches should be taken away from you, but that +you should possess them quietly yourselves. Now If I had prayed in any +one of these churches, the Mussulmans would infallibly take it away from +you as soon as I had departed homeward. And notwithstanding all you +might allege, they would say, This is the place where Omar prayed, and +we will pray here, too. And so you would have been turned out of your +church, contrary both to my intention and your expectation. But because +my praying even on the steps of one may perhaps give some occasion to +the Mussulmans to cause you disturbance on this account, I shall take +what care I can to prevent that." So calling for pen, ink, and paper, he +expressly commanded that none of the Mussulmans should pray upon the +steps in any multitudes, but one by one. That they should never meet +there to go to prayers; and that the muezzin, or crier, that calls the +people to prayers (for the Mahometans never use bells), should not stand +there. This paper he gave to the patriarch for a security, lest his +praying upon the steps of the church should have set such an example to +the Mussulmans as might occasion any inconvenience to the Christians--a +noble instance of singular fidelity and the religious observance of a +promise. This Caliph did not think it enough to perform what he engaged +himself, but used all possible diligence to oblige others to do so too. +And when the unwary patriarch had desired him to pray in the church, +little considering what might be the consequence, the Caliph, well +knowing how apt men are to be superstitious in the imitation of their +princes and great men, especially such as they look upon to be +successors of a prophet, made the best provision he could, that no +pretended imitation of him might lead to the infringement of the +security he had already given. + +In the same year that Jerusalem was taken, Said Ebn Abi Wakkas, one of +Omar's captains, was making fearful havoc in the territories of Persia. +He took Madayen, formerly the treasury and magazine of Khusrau +(Cosroes), King of Persia; where he found money and rich furniture of +all sorts, inestimable. El-makin says that they found there no less than +three thousand million of ducats, besides Khusrau's crown and wardrobe, +which was exceedingly rich, his clothes being all adorned with gold and +jewels of great value. Then they opened the roof of Khusrau's porch, +where they found another considerable sum. They also plundered his +armory, which was well stored with all sorts of weapons. Among other +things they brought to Omar a piece of silk hangings, sixty cubits +square, all curiously wrought with needle-work. That it was of great +value appears from the price which Ali had for that part of it which +fell to his share when Omar divided it; which, though it was none of the +best, yielded him twenty thousand pieces of silver. After this, in the +same year, the Persians were defeated by the Saracens in a great battle +near Jaloulah. + +Omar, having taken Jerusalem, continued there about ten days to put +things in order. + +Omar now thought of returning to Medina, having first disposed his +affairs after the following manner: Syria he divided into two parts, and +committed all that lies between Hauran and Aleppo to Abu Obeidah, with +orders to make war upon it till he had completely subdued it. Yezid Ebn +Abu Sofian was to take the charge of all Palestine and the sea-shore. +Amrou Ebn Al Aas was sent to invade Egypt, no inconsiderable part of the +Emperor's dominions, which were now continually mouldering away. The +Saracens at Medina had almost given Omar over, and began to conclude +that he would never stir from Jerusalem, but be won to stay there from +the richness of the country and the sweetness of the air; but especially +by the thought that it was the country of the prophets and the Holy +Land, and the place where we must all be summoned together at the +resurrection. At last he came, the more welcome the less he had been +expected. Abu Obeidah, in the mean time, reduced Kinnisrin and Alhadir, +the inhabitants paying down five thousand ounces of gold, and as many of +silver, two thousand suits of clothes of several sorts of silk, and five +hundred asses' loads of figs and olives. Yezid marched against Caesarea +in vain, that place being too well fortified to be taken by his little +army, especially since it had been reinforced by the Emperor, who had +sent a store of all sorts of provision by sea, and a reinforcement to +the garrison of two thousand men. The inhabitants of Aleppo were much +disheartened by the loss of Kinnisrin and Alhadir, well knowing that it +would not be long before their turn would come to experience themselves +what, till then, they had known only by report. They had two governors, +brothers, who dwelt in the castle (the strongest in all Syria), which +was not at that time encompassed by the town, but stood out of it, at a +little distance. The name of one of these brethren, if my author +mistakes not, was Youkinna, the other John. Their father held of the +emperor Heraclius all the territory between Aleppo and Euphrates, after +whose decease Youkinna managed the affairs; John, not troubling himself +with secular employments, did not meddle with the government, but led a +monkish life, spending his time in retirement, reading, and deeds of +charity. He tried to persuade his brother to secure himself, by +compounding with the Arabs for a good round sum of money; but he told +him that he talked like a monk, and did not understand what belonged to +a soldier; that he had provisions and warlike means enough, and was +resolved to make the best resistance he could. Accordingly the next day +he called his men together, among whom there were several Christian +Arabs, and having armed them, and for their encouragement distributed +some money among them, told them that he was fully purposed to act +offensively, and, if possible, give the Saracens battle before they +should come too near Aleppo. He was informed that the Saracen army was +divided and weakened, a part being gone to Caesarea, another to Damascus, +and a third into Egypt. Having thus inspirited his men, he marched +forward with twelve thousand. Abu Obeidah had sent before him Kaab Ebn +Damarah with one thousand men, but with express orders not to fight till +he had received information of the strength of the enemy. Youkinna's +spies found Kaab and his men resting themselves and watering their +horses, quite secure and free from all apprehension of danger; upon +which Youkinna laid an ambuscade, and then, with the rest of his men, +fell upon the Saracens. The engagement was sharp, and the Saracens had +the best of it at first; but the ambuscade breaking in upon them, they +were in great danger of being overpowered with numbers; one hundred and +seventy of them being slain, and most of the rest being grievously +wounded that they were upon the very brink of despair, and cried out, +"_Ya Mahomet! Ya Mahomet!_" ("O Mahomet! O Mahomet!") However, with much +difficulty they made shift to hold up till night parted them, earnestly +expecting the coming of Abu Obeidah. + +In the mean time while Youkinna was going out with his forces to engage +the Saracens, the wealthy and trading people of Aleppo, knowing very +well how hard it would go with them if they should stand it out +obstinately to the last and be taken by storm, resolved upon debate to +go and make terms with Abu Obeidah, that, let Youkinna's success be what +it would, they might be secure. + +As they were going back they chanced to meet with one of Youkinna's +officers, to whom they gave an account of the whole transaction. Upon +this he hastened with all possible speed to his master, who was waiting +with impatience for the morning, that he might despatch Kaab and his +men, whom the coming of the night had preserved; but hearing this news +he began to fear lest an attempt should be made upon the castle in his +absence, and thought it safest to make the best of his way homeward. In +the morning the Saracens were surprised to see no enemy, and wondered +what was the matter with them. Kaab would have pursued them, but none of +his men had any inclination to go with him; so they rested themselves, +and in a little time Kaled and Abu Obeidah came up with the rest of the +army. + +Abu Obeidah reminded Kaled of the obligation they were under to protect +the Aleppians, now their confederates, who were likely to be exposed to +the outrage and cruelty of Youkinna, for, in all probability, he would +severely resent their defection. They therefore marched as fast as they +could, and when they drew near Aleppo found that they had not been at +all wrong in their apprehensions. Youkinna had drawn up his soldiers +with the design to fall upon the townsmen, and threatened them with +present death unless they would break their covenant with the Arabs and +go out with him to fight them, and unless they brought out to him the +first contriver and proposer of the convention. At last he fell upon +them in good earnest and killed about three hundred of them. His brother +John, who was in the castle, hearing a piteous outcry and lamentation, +came down from the castle and entreated his brother to spare the +people, representing to him that Jesus Christ had commanded us not to +contend with our enemies, much less with those of our own religion. +Youkinna told him that they had agreed with the Arabs and assisted them; +which John excused, telling him, "That what they did was only for their +own security, because they were no fighting men." In short, he took +their part so long till he provoked his brother to that degree that he +charged him with being the chief contriver and manager of the whole +business; and at last, in a great passion, cut his head off. While he +was murdering the unhappy Aleppians, Kaled (better late than never) came +to their relief. Youkinna, perceiving his arrival, retired with a +considerable number of soldiers into the castle. The Saracens killed +that day three thousand of his men. However, he prepared himself to +sustain a siege, and planted engines upon the castle walls. + +Abu Obeidah next deliberated in a council of war what measures were most +proper to be taken. Some were of opinion that the best way would be to +besiege the castle with some part of the army, and let the rest be sent +out to forage. Kaled would not hear of it, but was for attacking the +castle at once with their whole force; that, if possible, it might be +taken before fresh supplies could arrive from the Emperor. This plan +being adopted, they made a vigorous assault, in which they had as hard +fighting as any in all the wars of Syria. The besieged made a noble +defence, and threw stones from the walls in such plenty that a great +many of the Saracens were killed and a great many more maimed. Youkinna, +encouraged with his success, determined to act on the offensive and turn +everything to advantage. The Saracens looked upon all the country as +their own, and knowing that there was no army of the enemy near them, +and fearing nothing less than an attack from the besieged, kept guard +negligently. In the dead of night, therefore, Youkinna sent out a party +who, as soon as the fires were out in the camp, fell upon the Saracens, +and having killed about sixty, carried off fifty prisoners. Kaled +pursued and cut off about a hundred of them, but the rest escaped to the +castle with the prisoners, who by the command of Youkinna were the next +day beheaded in the sight of the Saracen army. Upon this Youkinna +ventured once more to send out another party, having received +information from one of his spies (most of which were Christian Arabs) +that some of the Mussulmans were gone out to forage. They fell upon the +Mussulmans, killed a hundred and thirty of them, and seized all their +camels, mules, and horses, which they either killed or hamstrung, and +then they retired into the mountains, in hopes of lying hid during the +day and returning to the castle in the silence of the night. In the mean +time some that had escaped brought the news to Abu Obeidah, who sent +Kaled and Derar to pursue the Christians. Coming to the place of the +fight, they found their men and camels dead, and the country people +making great lamentation, for they were afraid lest the Saracens should +suspect them of treachery, and revenge upon them their loss. Falling +down before Kaled, they told him they were altogether innocent, and had +not in any way, either directly or indirectly, been instrumental in the +attack; but that it was made solely by a party of horse that sallied +from the castle. Kaled, having made them swear that they knew nothing +more, and taking some of them for guides, closely watched the only +passage by which the sallying party could return to the castle. When +about a fourth part of the night was passed, they perceived Youkinna's +men approaching, and, falling upon them, took three hundred prisoners +and killed the rest. The prisoners begged to be allowed to ransom +themselves, but they were all beheaded the next morning in front of the +castle. + +The Saracens pressed the siege for a while very closely, but perceiving +that they made no way, Abu Obeidah removed the camp about a mile's +distance from the castle, hoping by this means to tempt the besieged to +security and negligence in their watch, which might eventually afford +him an opportunity of taking the castle by surprise. But all would not +do, for Youkinna kept a very strict watch and suffered not a man to stir +out. + +The siege continued four months, and some say five. In the mean time +Omar was very much concerned, having heard nothing from the camp in +Syria. He wrote, therefore, to Abu Obeidah, letting him know how tender +he was over the Mussulmans, and what a great grief it was to him to hear +no news of them for so long a time. Abu Obeidah answered that Kinnisrin, +Hader, and Aleppo were surrendered to him, only the castle of Aleppo +held out, and that they had lost a considerable number of men before it; +that he had some thoughts of raising the siege, and passing forward into +that part of the country which lies between Aleppo and Antioch; but only +he stayed for his answer. About the time that Abu Obeidah's messengers +reached Medina, there also arrived a considerable number of men out of +the several tribes of the Arabs, to proffer their service to the Caliph. +Omar ordered seventy camels to help their foot, and despatched them into +Syria, with a letter to Abu Obeidah, in which he acquainted him "that he +was variously affected, according to the different success they had met, +but charged them by no means to raise the siege of the castle, for that +would make them look little, and encourage their enemies to fall upon +them on all sides. Wherefore," adds he, "continue besieging it till God +shall determine the event, and forage with your horse round about the +country." + +Among those fresh supplies which Omar had just sent to the Saracen camp, +there was a very remarkable man, whose name was Dames, of a gigantic +size, and an admirable soldier. When he had been in the camp forty-seven +days, and all the force and cunning of the Saracens availed nothing +toward taking the castle, he desired Abu Obeidah to let him have the +command of thirty men, and he would try his best against it. Kaled had +heard much of the man, and told Abu Obeidah a long story of a wonderful +performance of this Dames in Arabia, and that he looked upon him as a +very proper person for such an undertaking. Abu Obeidah selected thirty +men to go with him, and bade them not to despise their commander because +of the meanness of his condition, he being a slave, and swore that, but +for the care of the whole army which lay upon him, he would be the first +man that should go under him upon such an enterprise. To which they +answered with entire submission and profound respect. Dames, who lay hid +at no great distance, went out several times, and brought in with him +five or six Greeks, but never a man of them understood one word of +Arabic, which made him angry and say: "God curse these dogs! What a +strange, barbarous language they use." + +At last he went out again, and seeing a man descend from the wall, he +took him prisoner, and by the help of a Christian Arab, whom he captured +shortly afterward, examined him. He learned from him that immediately +upon the departure of the Saracens, Youkinna began to ill use the +townsmen who had made the convention with the Arabs, and to exact large +sums of money of them; that he being one of them had endeavored to make +his escape from the oppression and tyranny of Youkinna, by leaping down +from the wall. Upon this the Saracens let him go, as being under their +protection by virtue of the articles made between Abu Obeidah and the +Aleppians, but beheaded all the rest. + +In the evening, after having sent two of his men to Abu Obeidah, +requesting him to order a body of horse to move forward to his support +about sunrise, Dames has recourse to the following stratagem: Taking out +of a knapsack a goat's skin, he covered with it his back and shoulders, +and holding a dry crust in his hand, he crept on all-fours as near to +the castle as he could. When he heard a noise, or suspected anyone to be +near, to prevent his being discovered he began to make a noise with his +crust, as a dog does when gnawing a bone; the rest of his company came +after him, sometimes skulking and creeping along, at other times +walking. When they came near to the castle, it appeared almost +inaccessible. However Dames was resolved to make an attempt upon it. +Having found a place where the walls seemed easier to scale than +elsewhere, he sat down upon the ground, and ordered another to sit upon +his shoulders; and so on till seven of them had mounted up, each sitting +upon the other's shoulders, and all leaning against the wall, so as to +throw as much of their weight as possible upon it. Then he that was +uppermost of all stood upright upon the shoulders of the second, next +the second raised himself, and so on, all in order, till at last Dames +himself stood up, bearing the weight of all the rest upon his shoulders, +who however did all they could to relieve him by bearing against the +wall. By this means the uppermost man could just make a shift to reach +the top of the wall, while in an undertone they all cried, "O apostle of +God, help us and deliver us!" When this man had got up on the wall, he +found a watchman drunk and asleep. Seizing him hand and foot, he threw +him down among the Saracens, who immediately cut him to pieces. Two +other sentinels, whom he found in the same condition, he stabbed with +his dagger and threw down from the wall. He then let down his turban, +and drew up the second, they two the third, till at last Dames was drawn +up, who enjoined them to wait there in silence while he went and looked +about him. In this expedition he gained a sight of Youkinna, richly +dressed, sitting upon a tapestry of scarlet silk flowered with gold, and +a large company with him, eating and drinking, and very merry. On his +return he told his men that because of the great inequality of their +numbers, he did not think it advisable to fall upon them then, but had +rather wait till break of day, at which time they might look for help +from the main body. In the mean time he went alone, and privately +stabbing the sentinels, and setting open the gates, came back to his +men, and bade them hasten to take possession of the gates. This was not +done so quietly, but they were at last taken notice of and the castle +alarmed. There was no hope of escape for them, but everyone expected to +perish. Dames behaved himself bravely, but, overpowered by superior +numbers, he and his men were no longer able to hold up, when, as the +morning began to dawn, Kaled came to their relief. As soon as the +besieged perceived the Saracens rushing in upon them, they threw down +their arms, and cried, "Quarter!" Abu Obeidah was not far behind with +the rest of the army. Having taken the castle, he proposed Mohametanism +to the Christians. The first that embraced it was Youkinna, and his +example was followed by some of the chief men with him, who immediately +had their wives and children and all their wealth restored to them. Abu +Obeidah set the old and impotent people at liberty, and having set apart +the fifth of the spoil (which was of great value), divided the rest +among the Mussulmans. Dames was talked of and admired by all, and Abu +Obeidah, in order to pay him marked respect, commanded the army to +continue in their present quarters till he and his men should be +perfectly cured of their wounds. + +Obeidah's next thoughts, after the capture of the castle of Aleppo, were +to march to Antioch, then the seat of the Grecian Emperor. But Youkinna, +the late governor of the castle of Aleppo, having, with the changing of +his religion, become a deadly enemy of the Christians, persuaded him to +defer his march to Antioch, till they had first taken the castle of +Aazaz. + +The armies before Antioch were drawn out in battle array in front of +each other. The Christian general, whose name was Nestorius, went +forward and challenged any Saracen to single combat. Dames was the first +to answer him; but in the engagement, his horse stumbling, he was seized +before he could recover himself, and, being taken prisoner, was conveyed +by Nestorius to his tent and there bound. Nestorius, returning to the +army and offering himself a second time, was answered by one Dehac. The +combatants behaved themselves bravely, and, the victory being doubtful, +the soldiers were desirous of being spectators, and pressed eagerly +forward. In the jostling and thronging both of horse and foot to see +this engagement, the tent of Nestorius, with his chair of state, was +thrown down. Three servants had been left in the tent, who, fearing they +should be beaten when their master came back, and having nobody else to +help them, told Dames that if he would lend them a hand to set up the +tent and put things in order they would unbind him, upon condition that +he should voluntarily return to his bonds again till their master came +home, at which time they promised to speak a good word for him. He +readily accepted the terms; but as soon as he was at liberty he +immediately seized two of them, one in his right hand, the other in his +left, and dashed their two heads so violently against the third man's +that they all three fell down dead upon the spot. Then opening a chest +and taking out a rich suit of clothes, he mounted a good horse of +Nestorius', and having wrapped up his face as well as he could he made +toward the Christian Arabs, where Jabalah, with the chief of his tribe, +stood on the left hand of Heraclius. In the mean time Dehac and +Nestorius, being equally matched, continued fighting till both their +horses were quite tired out and they were obliged to part by consent to +rest themselves. Nestorius, returning to his tent, and finding things in +such confusion, easily guessed that Dames must be the cause of it. The +news flew instantly through all the army, and everyone was surprised at +the strangeness of the action. Dames, in the mean time, had gotten among +the Christian Arabs, and striking off at one blow the man's head that +stood next him, made a speedy escape to the Saracens. + +Antioch was not lost without a set battle; but through the treachery of +Youkinna and several other persons of note, together with the assistance +of Derar and his company, who were mixed with Youkinna's men, the +Christians were beaten entirely. The people of the town, perceiving the +battle lost, made agreement and surrendered, paying down three hundred +thousand ducats; upon which Abu Obeidah entered into Antioch on Tuesday, +being the 21st day of August, A.D. 638. + +Thus did that ancient and famous city, the seat of so many kings and +princes, fall into the hands of the infidels. The beauty of the site and +abundance of all things contributing to delight and luxury were so great +that Abu Obeidah, fearing his Saracens should be effeminated with the +delicacies of that place, and remit their wonted vigor and bravery, +durst not let them continue there long. After a short halt of three days +to refresh his men, he again marched out of it. + +Then he wrote a letter to the Caliph, in which he gave him an account of +his great success in taking the metropolis of Syria, and of the flight +of Heraclius to Constantinople, telling him withal what was the reason +why he stayed no longer there, adding that the Saracens were desirous of +marrying the Grecian women, which he had forbidden. He was afraid, he +said, lest the love of the things of this world should take possession +of their hearts and draw them off from their obedience to God. + +Constantine, the emperor Heraclius' son, guarded that part of the +country where Amrou lay, with a considerable army. The weather was very +cold, and the Christians were quite disheartened, having been frequently +beaten and discouraged with the daily increasing power of the Saracens, +so that a great many grew weary of the service and withdrew from the +army. Constantine, having no hopes of victory, and fearing lest the +Saracens should seize Caesarea, took the opportunity of a tempestuous +night to move off, and left his camp to the Saracens. Amrou, acquainting +Abu Obeidah with all that had happened, received express orders to march +directly to Caesarea, where he promised to join him speedily, in order to +go against Tripoli, Acre, and Tyre. A short time after this, Tripoli was +surprised by the treachery of Youkinna, who succeeded in getting +possession of it on a sudden, and without any noise. Within a few days +of its capture there arrived in the harbor about fifty ships from Cyprus +and Crete, with provisions and arms which were to go to Constantine. The +officers, not knowing that Tripoli was fallen into the hands of new +masters, made no scruple of landing there, where they were courteously +received by Youkinna, who proffered the utmost of his service, and +promised to go along with them, but immediately seized both them and +their ships, and delivered the town into the hands of Kaled, who was +just come. + +With these ships the traitor Youkinna sailed to Tyre, where he told the +inhabitants that he had brought arms and provisions for Constantine's +army; upon which he was kindly received, and, landing, he was liberally +entertained with nine hundred of his men. But being betrayed by one of +his own soldiers, he and his crew were seized and bound, receiving all +the while such treatment from the soldiers as their villanous practices +well deserved. In the mean time Yezid Ebn Abu Sofian, being detached by +Abu Obeidah from the camp before Caesarea, came within sight of Tyre. The +governor upon this caused Youkinna and his men to be conveyed to the +castle, and there secured, and prepared for the defence of the town. +Perceiving that Yezid had with him but two thousand men in all, he +resolved to make a sally. In the mean time the rest of the inhabitants +ran up to the walls to see the engagement. While they were fighting, +Youkinna and his men were set at liberty by one Basil, of whom they give +the following account, viz.: That this Basil going one day to pay a +visit to Bahira the monk, the caravan of the Koreishites came by, with +which were Kadija's camels, under the care of Mahomet. As he looked +toward the caravan, he beheld Mahomet in the middle of it, and above him +there was a cloud to keep him from the sun. Then the caravan having +halted, as Mahomet leaned against an old, withered tree, it immediately +brought forth leaves. Bahira, perceiving this, made an entertainment for +the caravan, and invited them into the monastery. They all went, leaving +Mahomet behind with the camels. Bahira, missing him, asked if they were +all present. "Yes," they said, "all but a little boy we have left to +look after their things and feed the camels." "What is his name?" says +Bahira. They told him, "Mahomet Ebn Abdallah." Bahira asked if his +father and mother were not both dead, and if he was not brought up by +his grandfather and his uncle. Being informed that it was so, he said: +"O Koreish! Set a high value upon him, for he is your lord, and by him +will your power be great both in this world and that to come; for he is +your ornament and glory." When they asked him how he knew that, Bahira +answered, "Because as you were coming, there was never a tree nor stone +nor clod but bowed itself and worshipped God." Moreover, Bahira told +this Basil that a great many prophets had leaned against this tree and +sat under it since it was first withered, but that it never bore any +leaves before. And I heard him say, says this same Basil: "This is the +prophet concerning whom Isa (Jesus) spake. Happy is he that believes in +him and follows him and gives credit to his mission." This Basil, after +the visit to Bahira, had gone to Constantinople and other parts of the +Greek Emperor's territories, and upon information of the great success +of the followers of this prophet was abundantly convinced of the truth +of his mission. This inclined him, having so fair an opportunity +offered, to release Youkinna and his men; who, sending word to the +ships, the rest of their forces landed and joined them. In the mean time +a messenger in disguise was sent to acquaint Yezid with what was done. +As soon as he returned, Youkinna was for falling upon the townsmen upon +the wall; but Basil said, "Perhaps God might lead some of them into the +right way," and persuaded him to place the men so as to prevent their +coming down from the wall. This done, they cried out, "La Ilaha," etc. +The people, perceiving themselves betrayed and the prisoners at liberty, +were in the utmost confusion, none of them being able to stir a step or +lift up a hand. The Saracens in the camp, hearing the noise in the city, +knew what it meant, and, marching up, Youkinna opened the gates and let +them in. Those that were in the city fled, some one way and some +another, and were pursued by the Saracens and put to the sword. Those +upon the wall cried, "Quarter!" but Yezid told them that since they had +not surrendered, but the city was taken by force, they were all slaves. +"However," said he, "we of our own accord set you free, upon condition +you pay tribute; and if any of you has a mind to change his religion, he +shall fare as well as we do." The greatest part of them turned +Mahometans. When Constantine heard of the loss of Tripoli and Tyre his +heart failed him, and taking shipping with his family and the greater +part of his wealth he departed for Constantinople. All this while Amrou +ben-el-Ass lay before Caesarea. In the morning when the people came to +inquire after Constantine, and could hear no tidings of him nor his +family, they consulted together, and with one consent surrendered the +city to Amrou, paying down for their security two thousand pieces of +silver, and delivering into his hands all that Constantine had been +obliged to leave behind him of his property. Thus was Caesarea lost in +the year of our Lord 638, being the seventeenth year of the Hegira and +the fifth of Omar's reign, which answers to the twenty-ninth year of the +emperor Heraclius. After the taking of Caesarea all the other places in +Syria which as yet held out, namely, Ramlah, Acre, Joppa, Ascalon, Gaza, +Sichem (or Nablos), and Tiberias, surrendered, and in a little time +after the people of Beiro Zidon, Jabalah, and Laodicea followed their +example; so that there remained nothing more for the Saracens to do in +Syria, who, in little more than six years from the time of their first +expedition in Abu-Beker's reign, had succeeded in subduing the whole of +that large, wealthy, and populous country. + +Syria did not remain long in the possession of those persons who had the +chief hand in subduing it, for in the eighteenth year of the Hegira the +mortality in Syria, both among men and beasts, was so terrible, +particularly at Emaus and the adjacent territory, that the Arabs called +that year the year of destruction. By that pestilence the Saracens lost +five-and-twenty thousand men, among whom were Abu Obeidah, who was then +fifty-eight years old; Serjabil Ebn Hasanah, formerly Mahomet's +secretary; and Yezid Ebn Abu Sofian, with several other officers of +note. Kaled survived them about three years, and then died; but the +place of his burial--consequently of his death, for they did not use in +those days to carry them far--is uncertain; some say at Hems, others at +Medina. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[66] Those of Medina are called by that name because they helped Mahomet +in his flight from Mecca. + +[67] Those that fled with him are called Mohajerins; by these names the +inhabitants of Mecca and Medina are often distinguished. + + + + +SARACENS CONQUER EGYPT + +DESTRUCTION OF THE LIBRARY AT ALEXANDRIA + +A.D. 640 + +WASHINGTON IRVING + + + Who shall estimate the loss to civilization and the world that has + been caused by the destruction of accumulated stores of books, + through the crass ignorance or stupid bigotry of benighted rulers? + The chronicles record a number of such vandal acts. Hwangti, one of + China's greatest monarchs, he who built the Great Wall of China, + attempted the complete extinction of literature in that country, + B.C. 213. That prince, being at one time strongly opposed by + certain men of letters, expressed his hatred and contempt, not only + of the literary class, but of literature itself, and resorted to + extreme measures of coercion. All books were proscribed, and orders + issued to burn every work except those relating to medicine, + agriculture, and science. The destruction was carried out with + terrible completeness. The burning of the books was accompanied by + the execution of five hundred of the _literati_ and by the + banishment of many thousands. + + The destruction of the Alexandrian Library, by command of Omar, was + as complete as the extinction of literature in China by Hwangti, as + head of the Moslem religion. + + Omar, using the intrepid Amru, was vicariously proselyting in true + Mahometan style--in one hand offering the _Koran_, the while the + other extended the sword. + + After a successful campaign in Palestine, Omar's victorious banners + were planted in the historic soil of the Pharaohs. A protracted + siege of seven months found Amru master of the royal city of + Alexandria. The library there was famed as the greatest magazine of + literature. But this availed nothing with the ruthless Omar, for he + doomed it to annihilation. + + Prof. Thomas Smith says: "The library had been collected at + fabulous expense of labor and money, from all countries of the + world. Its destruction was a wanton act; but its perpetrator + showed, like the loving spouse 'of another noted personage, that + 'though on pleasure he was bent, he had a frugal mind.' He did not + consume the books on their shelves, or in whatever repositories + contained them, although doubtless they would have made a beautiful + blaze. He utilized them as fuel for heating the baths of the city; + and we are told that they sufficed to heat the water for four + thousand such baths for six months. With an average share of + persuasibility, when it is not against our will to be convinced, we + stagger at the statement that seven hundred and thirty thousand + furnaces could have been supplied with fuel from the contents of + even that magnificent palace, and therefore venture to suggest that + the papyri and palm-leaf manuscripts were used rather as + fire-lighters than as fuel. Even this is a rather large order; but + undoubtedly the collection was enormous. The reason tradition + ascribes to Omar for this act has never, so far as we know, been + disputed till quite recently, when 'historical criticism' has taken + it in hand. 'The contents of these books are either in accordance + with the teaching of the _Koran_ or they are opposed to it. If in + accord, then they are useless, since the _Koran_ itself is + sufficient; and if in opposition, they are pernicious and must be + destroyed.' + + "But the piecemeal destruction of many hundreds of thousands of + manuscripts was no trifling task, even for a despotic caliph. A few + escaped their doom; how, we do not know. Perhaps some officer + annexed for himself some manuscript that struck him as specially + beautiful; or perhaps some stoker at some bath rejected one as slow + of ignition. At all events a few--probably very few--were + preserved, and among them must have been copies of the writings of + Euclid and Ptolemy, the _Elements_ of the one, the _Almagest_ of + the other." + +A proof of the religious infatuation, or the blind confidence in +destiny, which hurried the Moslem commanders of those days into the most +extravagant enterprises, is furnished in the invasion of the once proud +empire of the Pharaohs, the mighty, the mysterious Egypt, with an army +of merely five thousand men. The caliph Omar himself, though he had +suggested this expedition, seems to have been conscious of its rashness, +or rather to have been chilled by the doubts of his prime counsellor +Othman; for, while Amru was on the march, he despatched missives after +him to the following effect: "If this epistle reach thee before thou +hast crossed the boundary of Egypt, come instantly back; but if it find +thee within the Egyptian territory, march on with the blessing of Allah, +and be assured I will send thee all necessary aid." + +The bearer of the letter overtook Amru while yet within the bounds of +Syria; that wary general either had secret information or made a shrewd +surmise as to the purport of his errand, and continued his march across +the border without admitting him to an audience. Having encamped at the +Egyptian village of Arish, he received the courier with all due respect, +and read the letter aloud in the presence of his officers. When he had +finished, he demanded of those about him whether they were in Syria or +Egypt. "In Egypt," was the reply. "Then," said Amru, "we will proceed, +with the blessing of Allah, and fulfil the commands of the Caliph." + +The first place to which he laid siege was Farwak, or Pelusium, situated +on the shores of the Mediterranean, on the isthmus which separates that +sea from the Arabian Gulf, and connects Egypt with Syria and Arabia. It +was therefore considered the key to Egypt. A month's siege put Amru in +possession of the place; he then examined the surrounding country with +more forethought than was generally manifested by the Moslem conquerors, +and projected a canal across the isthmus, to connect the waters of the +Red Sea and the Mediterranean. His plan, however, was condemned by the +Caliph as calculated to throw open Arabia to a maritime invasion of the +Christians. + +Amru now proceeded to Misrah, the Memphis of the ancients, and residence +of the early Egyptian kings. This city was at that time the strongest +fortress in Egypt, except Alexandria, and still retained much of its +ancient magnificence. It stood on the western bank of the Nile, above +the Delta, and a little east of the pyramids. The citadel was of great +strength and well garrisoned, and had recently been surrounded with a +deep ditch, into which nails and spikes had been thrown, to impede +assailants. + +The Arab armies, rarely provided with the engines necessary for the +attack of fortified places, generally beleaguered them, cut off all +supplies, attacked all foraging parties that sallied forth, and thus +destroyed the garrison in detail or starved it to a surrender. This was +the reason of the long duration of their sieges. This of Misrah, or +Memphis, lasted seven months, in the course of which the little army of +Amru was much reduced by frequent skirmishings. At the end of this time +he received a reinforcement of four thousand men, sent to him at his +urgent entreaties by the Caliph. Still his force would have been +insufficient for the capture of the place had he not been aided by the +treachery of its governor, Mokawkas. + +This man, an original Egyptian, or Copt, by birth, and of noble rank, +was a profound hypocrite. Like most of the Copts, he was of the Jacobite +sect, who denied the double nature of Christ. He had dissembled his +sectarian creed, however, and deceived the emperor Heraclius by a show +of loyalty, so as to be made prefect of his native province and governor +of the city. Most of the inhabitants of Memphis were Copts and Jacobite +Christians, and held their Greek fellow-citizens, who were of the +regular Catholic Church of Constantinople, in great antipathy. + +Mokawkas, in the course of his administration, had collected, by taxes +and tribute, an immense amount of treasure, which he had deposited in +the citadel. He saw that the power of the Emperor was coming to an end +in this quarter, and thought the present a good opportunity to provide +for his own fortune. Carrying on a secret correspondence with the Moslem +general, he agreed to betray the place into his hands on condition of +receiving the treasure as a reward for his treason. He accordingly, at +an appointed time, removed the greater part of the garrison from the +citadel to an island in the Nile. The fortress was immediately assailed +by Amru, at the head of his fresh troops, and was easily carried by +assault, the Copts rendering no assistance. + +The Greek soldiery, on the Moslem standard being hoisted on the citadel, +saw through the treachery, and, giving up all as lost, escaped in their +ships to the mainland; upon which the prefect surrendered the place by +capitulation. An annual tribute of two ducats a head was levied on all +the inhabitants of the district, with the exception of old men, women, +and boys under the age of sixteen years. It was further conditioned that +the Moslem army should be furnished with provisions, for which they +would pay, and that the inhabitants of the country should forthwith +build bridges over all the streams on the way to Alexandria. It was also +agreed that every Mussulman travelling through the country should be +entitled to three days' hospitality, free of charge. + +The traitor Mokawkas was put in possession of his ill-gotten wealth. He +begged of Amru to be taxed with the Copts and always to be enrolled +among them, declaring his abhorrence of the Greeks and their doctrines; +urging Amru to persecute them with unremitting violence. He extended +his sectarian bigotry even into the grave, stipulating that at his death +he should be buried in the Christian Jacobite church of St. John at +Alexandria. + +Amru, who was politic as well as brave, seeing the irreconcilable hatred +of the Coptic or Jacobite Christians to the Greeks, showed some favor to +that sect, in order to make use of them in his conquest of the country. +He even prevailed upon their patriarch Benjamin to emerge from his +desert and hold a conference with him, and subsequently declared that +"he had never conversed with a Christian priest of more innocent manners +or venerable aspect." This piece of diplomacy had its effect, for we are +told that all the Copts above and below Memphis swore allegiance to the +Caliph. + +Amru now pressed on for the city of Alexandria, distant about one +hundred and twenty-five miles. According to stipulation, the people of +the country repaired the roads and erected bridges to facilitate his +march; the Greeks, however, driven from various quarters by the progress +of their invaders, had collected at different posts on the island of the +Delta and the channels of the Nile, and disputed with desperate but +fruitless obstinacy the onward course of the conquerors. The severest +check was given at Keram al Shoraik, by the late garrison of Memphis, +who had fortified themselves there after retreating from the island of +the Nile. For three days did they maintain a gallant conflict with the +Moslems, and then retired in good order to Alexandria. With all the +facilities furnished to them on their march, it cost the Moslems +two-and-twenty days to fight their way to that great city. + +Alexandria now lay before them, the metropolis of wealthy Egypt, the +emporium of the East, a place strongly fortified, stored with all the +munitions of war, open by sea to all kinds of supplies and +reinforcements, and garrisoned by Greeks, aggregated from various +quarters, who here were to make the last stand for their Egyptian +empire. It would seem that nothing short of an enthusiasm bordering on +madness could have led Amru and his host on an enterprise against this +powerful city. + +The Moslem leader, on planting his standard before the place, summoned +it to surrender on the usual terms, which being promptly refused, he +prepared for a vigorous siege. The garrison did not wait to be attacked, +but made repeated sallies and fought with desperate valor. Those who +gave greatest annoyance to the Moslems were their old enemies, the Greek +troops from Memphis. Amru, seeing that the greatest defence was from a +main tower, or citadel, made a gallant assault upon it and carried it, +sword in hand. The Greek troops, however, rallied to that point from all +parts of the city; the Moslems, after a furious struggle, gave way, and +Amru, his faithful slave Werdan, and one of his generals, named Moslema +Ibn al Mokalled, fighting to the last, were surrounded, overpowered, and +taken prisoners. + +The Greeks, unaware of the importance of their captives, led them before +the governor. He demanded of them, haughtily, what was their object in +thus overrunning the world and disturbing the quiet of peaceable +neighbors. Amru made the usual reply that they came to spread the faith +of Islam; and that it was their intention, before they laid by the +sword, to make the Egyptians either converts or tributaries. The +boldness of his answer and the loftiness of his demeanor awakened the +suspicions of the governor, who, supposing him to be a warrior of note +among the Arabs, ordered one of his guards to strike off his head. Upon +this Werdan, the slave, understanding the Greek language, seized his +master by the collar, and, giving him a buffet on the cheek, called him +an impudent dog, and ordered him to hold his peace, and let his +superiors speak. Moslema, perceiving the meaning of the slave, now +interposed, and made a plausible speech to the governor, telling him +that Amru had thoughts of raising the siege, having received a letter to +that effect from the Caliph, who intended to send ambassadors to treat +for peace, and assuring the governor that, if permitted to depart, they +would make a favorable report to Amru. + +The governor, who, if Arabian chronicles may be believed on this point, +must have been a man of easy faith, ordered the prisoners to be set at +liberty; but the shouts of the besieging army on the safe return of +their general soon showed him how completely he had been duped. + +But scanty details of the siege of Alexandria have reached the +Christian reader, yet it was one of the longest, most obstinately +contested, and sanguinary in the whole course of the Moslem wars. It +endured fourteen months with various success; the Moslem army was +repeatedly reinforced and lost twenty-three thousand men. At length +their irresistible ardor and perseverance prevailed; the capital of +Egypt was conquered and the Greek inhabitants were dispersed in all +directions. Some retreated in considerable bodies into the interior of +the country, and fortified themselves in strongholds; others took refuge +in the ships and put to sea. + +Amru, on taking possession of the city, found it nearly abandoned; he +prohibited his troops from plundering, and, leaving a small garrison to +guard the place, hastened with his main army in pursuit of the fugitive +Greeks. In the mean time the ships, which had taken off a part of the +garrison, were still lingering on the coast, and tidings reached them +that the Moslem general had departed and had left the captured city +nearly defenceless. They immediately made sail back for Alexandria, and +entered the port in the night. The Greek soldiers surprised the +sentinels, got possession of the city, and put most of the Moslems they +found there to the sword. + +Amru was in full pursuit of the Greek fugitives when he heard of the +recapture of the city. Mortified at his own negligence in leaving so +rich a conquest with so slight a guard, he returned in all haste, +resolved to retake it by storm. The Greeks, however, had fortified +themselves strongly in the castle and made stout resistance. Amru was +obliged, therefore, to besiege it a second time, but the siege was +short. The castle was carried by assault; many of the Greeks were cut to +pieces, the rest escaped once more to their ships and now gave up the +capital as lost. All this occurred in the nineteenth year of the Hegira, +and the year 640 of the Christian era. + +On this second capture of the city by force of arms, and without +capitulation, the troops were clamorous to be permitted to plunder. Amru +again checked their rapacity, and commanded that all persons and +property in the place should remain inviolate, until the will of the +Caliph could be known. So perfect was his command over his troops that +not the most trivial article was taken. His letter to the Caliph shows +what must have been the population and splendor of Alexandria, and the +luxury and effeminacy of its inhabitants at the time of the Moslem +conquest. It states the city to have contained four thousand palaces, +five thousand baths, four hundred theatres and places of amusement, +twelve thousand gardeners which supply it with vegetables, and forty +thousand tributary Jews. It was impossible, he said, to do justice to +its riches and magnificence. He had hitherto held it sacred from +plunder, but his troops, having won it by force of arms, considered +themselves entitled to the spoils of victory. + +The caliph Omar, in reply, expressed a high sense of his important +services, but reproved him for even mentioning the desire of the +soldiery to plunder so rich a city, one of the greatest emporiums of the +East. He charged him, therefore, most rigidly to watch over the +rapacious propensities of his men; to prevent all pillage, violence, and +waste; to collect and make out an account of all moneys, jewels, +household furniture, and everything else that was valuable, to be +appropriated toward defraying the expenses of this war of the faith. He +ordered the tribute also, collected in the conquered country, to be +treasured up at Alexandria for the supplies of the Moslem troops. + +The surrender of all Egypt followed the capture of its capital. A +tribute of two ducats was laid on every male of mature age, besides a +tax on all lands in proportion to their value, and the revenue which +resulted to the Caliph is estimated at twelve millions of ducats. + +It is well known that Amru was a poet in his youth; and throughout all +his campaigns he manifested an intelligent and inquiring spirit, if not +more highly informed, at least more liberal and extended in its views +than was usual among the early Moslem conquerors. He delighted, in his +hours of leisure, to converse with learned men, and acquire through +their means such knowledge as had been denied to him by the deficiency +of his education. Such a companion he found at Alexandria in a native of +the place, a Christian of the sect of the Jacobites, eminent for his +philological researches, his commentaries on Moses and Aristotle, and +his laborious treatises of various kinds, surnamed Philoponus, from his +love of study, but commonly known by the name of John the Grammarian. + +An intimacy soon arose between the Arab conqueror and the Christian +philologist; an intimacy honorable to Amru, but destined to be +lamentable in its result to the cause of letters. In an evil hour, John +the Grammarian, being encouraged by the favor shown him by the Arab +general, revealed to him a treasure hitherto unnoticed, or rather +unvalued, by the Moslem conquerors. This was a vast collection of books +or manuscripts, since renowned in history as the Alexandrian Library. +Perceiving that in taking an account of everything valuable in the city, +and sealing up all its treasures, Amru had taken no notice of the books, +John solicited that they might be given to him. Unfortunately the +learned zeal of the Grammarian gave a consequence to the books in the +eyes of Amru, and made him scrupulous of giving them away without +permission of the Caliph. He forthwith wrote to Omar, stating the merits +of John, and requesting to know whether the books might be given to him. +The reply of Omar was laconic, but fatal. "The contents of those books," +said he, "are in conformity with the _Koran_, or they are not. If they +are, the _Koran_ is sufficient without them; if they are not, they are +pernicious. Let them, therefore, be destroyed." + +Amru, it is said, obeyed the order punctually. The books and manuscripts +were distributed as fuel among the five thousand baths of the city; but +so numerous were they that it took six months to consume them. This act +of barbarism, recorded by Abulpharagius, is considered somewhat doubtful +by Gibbon, in consequence of its not being mentioned by two of the most +ancient chroniclers, Elmacin in his Saracenic history, and Eutychius in +his annals, the latter of whom was patriarch of Alexandria and has +detailed the conquest of that city. It is inconsistent, too, with the +character of Amru as a poet and a man of superior intelligence; and it +has recently been reported, we know not on what authority, that many of +the literary treasures thus said to have been destroyed do actually +exist in Constantinople. Their destruction, however, is generally +credited and deeply deplored by historians. Amru, as a man of genius and +intelligence, may have grieved at the order of the Caliph, while, as a +loyal subject and faithful soldier, he felt bound to obey it. + +The fall of Alexandria decided the fate of Egypt and likewise that of +the emperor Heraclius. He was already afflicted with a dropsy, and took +the loss of his Syrian and now that of his Egyptian dominions so much to +heart that he underwent a paroxysm, which ended in his death, about +seven weeks after the loss of his Egyptian capital. He was succeeded by +his son Constantine. + +While Amru was successfully extending his conquests, a great dearth and +famine fell upon all Arabia, insomuch that the caliph Omar had to call +upon him for supplies from the fertile plains of Egypt; whereupon Amru +despatched such a train of camels laden with grain that it is said, when +the first of the line had reached the city of Medina, the last had not +yet left the land of Egypt. But this mode of conveyance proving too +tardy, at the command of the Caliph he dug a canal of communication from +the Nile to the Red Sea, a distance of eighty miles, by which provisions +might be conveyed to the Arabian shores. This canal had been commenced +by Trajan, the Roman emperor. + +The able and indefatigable Amru went on in this manner, executing the +commands and fulfilling the wishes of the Caliph, and governed the +country he had conquered with such sagacity and justice that he rendered +himself one of the most worthily renowned among the Moslem generals. + +The life and reign of the caliph Omar, distinguished by such great and +striking events, were at length brought to a sudden and sanguinary end. +Among the Persians who had been brought as slaves to Medina, was one +named Firuz, of the sect of the Magi, or fire-worshippers. Being taxed +daily by his master two pieces of silver out of his earnings, he +complained of it to Omar as an extortion. The Caliph inquired into his +condition, and, finding that he was a carpenter, and expert in the +construction of windmills, replied that the man who excelled in such a +handicraft could well afford to pay two _dirhems_ a day. "Then," +muttered Firuz, "I'll construct a windmill for you that shall keep +grinding until the day of judgment." Omar was struck with his menacing +air. "The slave threatens me," said he, calmly. "If I were disposed to +punish anyone on suspicion, I should take off his head"; he suffered +him, however, to depart without further notice. + +Three days afterward, as he was praying in the mosque, Firuz entered +suddenly and stabbed him thrice with a dagger. The attendants rushed +upon the assassin. He made furious resistance, slew some and wounded +others, until one of his assailants threw his vest over him and seized +him, upon which he stabbed himself to the heart and expired. Religion +may have had some share in prompting this act of violence; perhaps +revenge for the ruin brought upon his native country. "God be thanked," +said Omar, "that he by whose hand it was decreed I should fall was not a +Moslem!" + +The Caliph gathered strength sufficient to finish the prayer in which he +had been interrupted; "for he who deserts his prayers," said he, "is not +in Islam." Being taken to his house, he languished three days without +hope of recovery, but could not be prevailed upon to nominate a +successor. "I cannot presume to do that," said he, "which the prophet +himself did not do." Some suggested that he should nominate his son +Abdallah. "Omar's family," said he, "has had enough in Omar, and needs +no more." He appointed a council of six persons to determine as to the +succession after his decease, all of whom he considered worthy of the +caliphate; though he gave it as his opinion that the choice would be +either Ali or Othman. "Shouldst thou become caliph," said he to Ali, "do +not favor thy relatives above all others, nor place the house of Haschem +on the neck of all mankind "; and he gave the same caution to Othman in +respect to the family of Omeya. + +Ibn Abbas and Ali now spoke to him in words of comfort, setting forth +the blessings of Islam, which had crowned his administration, and that +he would leave no one behind him who could charge him with injustice. +"Testify this for me," said he, earnestly, "at the day of judgment." +They gave him their hands in promise; but he exacted that they should +give him a written testimonial, and that it should be buried with him in +the grave. + +Having settled all his worldly affairs, and given directions about his +sepulture, he expired, the seventh day after his assassination, in the +sixty-third year of his age, after a triumphant reign of ten years and +six months. + +Three days after the death of Omar, Othman Ibn Affan was elected as his +successor. He was seventy years of age at the time of his election. He +was tall and swarthy, and his long gray beard was tinged with henna. He +was strict in his religious duties, but prone to expense and lavish of +his riches. + +"In the conquests of Syria, Persia, and Egypt," says a modern writer, +"the fresh and vigorous enthusiasm of the personal companions and +proselytes of Mahomet was exercised and expended, and the generation of +warriors whose simple fanaticism had been inflamed by the preaching of +the pseudo-prophet was in a great measure consumed in the sanguinary and +perpetual toils of ten arduous campaigns." + +We shall now see the effect of those conquests on the national character +and habits; the avidity of place and power and wealth superseding +religious enthusiasm; and the enervating luxury and soft voluptuousness +of Syria and Persia sapping the rude but masculine simplicity of the +Arabian desert. Above all, the single-mindedness of Mahomet and his two +immediate successors is at an end. Other objects besides the mere +advancement of Islamism distract the attention of its leading +professors; and the struggle for worldly wealth and worldly sway, for +the advancement of private ends, and the aggrandizement of particular +tribes and families, destroy the unity of the empire, and beset the +caliphate with intrigue, treason, and bloodshed. + +It was a great matter of reproach against the caliph Othman that he was +injudicious in his appointments, and had an inveterate propensity to +consult the interests of his relatives and friends before that of the +public. One of his greatest errors in this respect was the removal of +Amrou ben-el-Ass from the government of Egypt, and the appointment of +his own foster-brother, Abdallah Ibn Saad, in his place. This was the +same Abdallah who, in acting as amanuensis to Mahomet, and writing down +his revelations, had interpolated passages of his own, sometimes of a +ludicrous nature. For this and for his apostasy he had been pardoned by +Mahomet at the solicitation of Othman, and had ever since acted with +apparent zeal, his interest coinciding with his duty. + +He was of a courageous spirit, and one of the most expert horsemen of +Arabia; but what might have fitted him to command a horde of the desert +was insufficient for the government of a conquered province. He was new +and inexperienced in his present situation; whereas Amru had +distinguished himself as a legislator as well as a conqueror, and had +already won the affections of the Egyptians by his attention to their +interests, and his respect for their customs and habitudes. His +dismission was, therefore, resented by the people, and a disposition was +manifested to revolt against the new governor. + +The emperor Constantine, who had succeeded to his father Heraclius, +hastened to take advantage of these circumstances. A fleet and army were +sent against Alexandria under a prefect named Manuel. The Greeks in the +city secretly cooperated with him, and the metropolis was, partly by +force of arms, partly by treachery, recaptured by the imperialists +without much bloodshed. + +Othman, made painfully sensible of the error he had committed, hastened +to revoke the appointment of his foster-brother, and reinstated Amru in +the command in Egypt. That able general went instantly against +Alexandria with an army, in which were many Copts, irreconcilable +enemies of the Greeks. Among these was the traitor Mokawkas, who, from +his knowledge of the country and his influence among its inhabitants, +was able to procure abundant supplies for the army. + +The Greek garrison defended the city bravely and obstinately. Amru, +enraged at having thus again to lay siege to a place which he had twice +already taken, swore, by Allah, that if he should master it a third +time, he would render it as easy of access as a brothel. He kept his +word, for when he took the city he threw down the walls and demolished +all the fortifications. He was merciful, however, to the inhabitants, +and checked the fury of the Saracens, who were slaughtering all they +met. A mosque was afterward erected on the spot at which he stayed the +carnage, called the Mosque of Mercy. Manuel, the Greek general, found it +expedient to embark with all speed with such of his troops as he could +save, and make sail for Constantinople. + +Scarce, however, had Amru quelled every insurrection and secured the +Moslem domination in Egypt, when he was again displaced from the +government, and Abdallah Ibn Saad appointed a second time in his stead. + +Abdallah had been deeply mortified by the loss of Alexandria, which had +been ascribed to his incapacity; he was emulous, too, of the renown of +Amru, and felt the necessity of vindicating his claims to command by +some brilliant achievement. The north of Africa presented a new field +for Moslem enterprise. We allude to that vast tract extending west from +the desert of Libya or Barca to Cape Non, embracing more than two +thousand miles of sea-coast; comprehending the ancient divisions of +Mamarica, Cyrenaica, Carthage, Numidia, and Mauritania; or, according to +modern geographical designations, Barca, Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and +Morocco. + +Toward this rich land of promise, yet virgin of Islamitish seed, +Abdallah, at the head of the victorious Saracens, now hopefully bent his +ambitious steps. + + + + +EVOLUTION OF THE DOGESHIP IN VENICE + +A.D. 697 + +WILLIAM CAREW HAZLITT + + + The early authentic history of Venice is intimately connected with + that of the Lombards, of whom the first mention is made by + Paterculus, the Roman historian, who wrote during the first quarter + of the first century of our era. He speaks of the Langobardi[68] + (Lombards) as dwelling on the west bank of the Elbe. Tacitus also + mentions them in his _Germany_. From the Elbe they wandered to the + Danube, and there encountered the Gepidae, a branch of the Goths. + The Lombards subdued this tribe, after a contest of thirty years. + + By this victory Alboin, the young Lombard King, rose to great power + and fame. His beauty and renown were sung by German peasants even + in the days of Charlemagne. His name "crossed the Alps and fell, + with a foreboding sound, upon the startled ears of the Italians," + and toward Italy he turned for conquest. From Scythia and Germany + adventurous youth flocked to his standard. Many clans and various + religions were represented in his ranks, but these diversities were + overshadowed by a common devotion to the hero-leader. + + In 568 the Lombards marched from Pannonia into Italy, conquered the + northern part, still called Lombardy, and founded the kingdom of + that name, which was afterward greatly extended, and existed until + overthrown by Charlemagne in 774. + + Before the invading hosts of Alboin, wealthy inhabitants of the + larger cities of the province of Venetia fled to the islands of + Venice, where earlier fugitives had sought shelter from King Attila + and his Huns. A thriving maritime community had been established, + which about this time had developed into a semi-independent + protectorate of the Byzantine or Eastern Empire, attached to the + exarchate of Ravenna. + + Afterward Venice underwent many political changes, among which one + of the most interesting to students of history is that of the + institution of the dogeship, as hereafter related. This step was + taken for more than one reason of internal organization and policy, + and it was also made urgent by the encroachments of the Lombards, + which had become a menace to Venetian territory and commerce. + +The republic (Venetian) on her part contemplated with inquietude the +rise of one monarchy after another on the skirts of the Lagoon, for the +Venetians not unnaturally feared that as soon as these fresh usurpers +had established themselves, they might form the design of adding the +islands of the Adriatic to their dominion, and of acquiring possession +of the commercial advantages which belonged to the situation held by the +settlers. For the Lombards, though not ranking among maritime +communities, were not absolutely strangers to the laws of navigation, or +to the use of ships, which might place them in a position to reduce to +their control a small, feeble, and thinly peopled area, separated from +their own territories only by a narrow and terraqueous strait. Moreover, +the predatory visits of Leupus, duke of Friuli, whose followers +traversed the canals at low tide on horseback, and despoiled the +churches of Heraclia, Equilo, and Grado, soon afforded sufficient proof +that the equestrian skill of the strangers was capable of supplying to +some extent any deficiency in nautical knowledge. + +Venice at present formed a federative state, united by the memory of a +common origin and the sense of a common interest; the _arrengo_, which +met at Heraclia, the parent capital, at irregular intervals to +deliberate on matters of public concern, was too numerous and too +schismatical to exercise immediate control over the nation; and each +island was consequently governed, after the abolition of the primeval +consulate, in the name of the people, by a _gastaldo_ or tribune, whose +power, nominally limited, was virtually absolute. This administration +had lasted nearly two centuries and a half, during which period the +republic passed through a cruel ordeal of anarchy, oppression, and +bloodshed. The tribunes conspired against each other; the people +rebelled against the tribunes. Family rose against family, clan against +clan. Sanguinary affrays were of constant occurrence on the thinly +peopled _lidi_, and amid the pine-woods, with which much of the surface +was covered; and it is related that in one instance at least the bodies +of the dead were left to be devoured by beasts and birds of prey, which +then haunted the more thickly afforested parts. + +Jealousy and intolerance of the pretensions of Heraclia to a paramount +voice in the policy of the community may be securely assigned as the +principal and permanent source of friction and disagreement; but the +predominance of that township seems to have resisted every effort of the +others to supplant its central authority and wide sphere of influence; +and during centuries it preserved its power, through its ostensible +choice as the residence of the most capable and influential citizens. + +The scandalous and destructive outrages attendant on the rule of the +tribunes had become a vast constitutional evil. They sapped the general +prosperity; they obstructed trade and industries; they made havoc on +public and private property; they banished safety and repose, and they +impoverished and scandalized the Church. + +The depredations of the Lombards, which grew in the course of time +bolder and more systematic in their character, certainly indicated great +weakness on the part of the government. Yet it was equally certain that +the weakness proceeded less from the want than from the division of +strength. + +The sacrilegious inroads were not without their beneficial result; for +they afforded those who might be disposed to institute reforms an +admirable ground not only for bringing the matter more closely and +immediately under the public observation, but they enlisted in the cause +the foremost ecclesiastics, who might recognize in this internal +disunion a danger of interminable attacks and depredations from without, +if not an eventual loss of political independence; and, accordingly, in +the course of the spring of 697-698, the patriarch of Grado himself +submitted to the arrengo at Heraclia a scheme, which had been devised by +him and his friends, for changing the government. The proposal of the +metropolitan was to divest the tribunes of the sovereignty, and to have +once more a magistrate (_capo dei tribuni_), in whom all power might be +concentrated. His title was to be duke. His office was to be for life. +With him was to rest the whole executive machinery. He was to preside +over the synod as well as the arrengo, either of which it was competent +for him to convoke or dissolve at pleasure; merely spiritual matters of +a minor nature were alone, in future, to be intrusted to the clergy; and +all acts of convocations, the ordination of a priest or deacon, the +election of a patriarch or bishop, were to be subject to the final +sanction of the ducal throne. In fact, the latter became virtually, and +in all material respects, autocrat of Venice, not merely the tribunes, +but even the hierarchy, which was so directly instrumental in creating +the dignity, having now no higher function than that of advisers and +administrators under his direction; and it was in matters of general or +momentous concern only that the republic expected her First Magistrate +to seek the concurrence or advice of the national convention. + +In a newly formed society, placed in the difficult situation in which +the republic found herself at the close of the seventh century, and +where also a superstitious reverence for the pontiff might at present +exist, apart from considerations of interest, it ought to create no +surprise that the patriarch and his supporters should have formed a +unanimous determination, and have taken immediate steps to procure the +adhesion of the Holy See, before the resolutions of the popular assembly +were definitively carried into effect. + +This measure simply indicates the character of the opinions which were +received at the time in Europe, as well as the strong consciousness on +the part of the patriarch, and those who acted with him, of the +expediency of throwing the voice and countenance of the Church into the +scale alike against the tribunitial oligarchy and against local +jealousies and prejudices. There was perhaps in this case the additional +inducement that the proposal to invest the doge with supreme power and +jurisdiction over the Church, as well as over the state, might seem to +involve an indirect surrender, either now or hereafter, on the part of +the Holy See of some of its power, as a high-priest or grand pontiff, +who was also a secular prince, might prove less pliant than an ordinary +liegeman of the Church. But the men of 697 acted, as we must allow, +sagaciously enough, when they presented their young country to the +consideration of the papacy as possessing a party of order, into which +the Church entered, and from which it now stood conspicuously and +courageously out to take this very momentous initiative. + +The creation of an ecclesiastical system had been one of the foremost +aims of the first founders, who discerned in the transplantation of the +churches of the _terra firma_, and their familiar pastors to the islands +the most persuasive reconcilement of the fugitives to a hard and +precarious lot; and after all the intervening years it was the elders of +the Church who once more stepped forward and delivered their views on +the best plan for healing discord, and making life in the lagoons +tolerable for all. They sought some system of rule, after trying +several, which would enable them to live in peace at home, and to gain +strength to protect themselves from enemies. They would have been the +most far-seeing of human beings if they had formed a suspicion of what +kind of superstructure they were laying on the foundation. The nearest +model for their adoption or imitation was the Lombard type of government +almost under their very eyes; and so far as the difference of local +postulates suffered, it was that to which they had recourse, when they +vested in their new chieftain undivided jurisdiction, but primarily +military attributes and a title then recognized as having, above all, a +military significance. + +On the receipt of the desired reply, the patriarch lost no time in +calling on the national assembly to follow up their late vote to its +legitimate consequences; and the choice of the people fell on Pauluccio +Anafesto, a native of Heraclia, whose name occurs here for the first +time, but who may be supposed to have had some prominent share in +promoting the late revolution. Anafesto was conducted to a chair which +had been prepared for him in his parish church, and solemnly invested by +the metropolitan with the insignia of authority, one of which is said to +have been an ivory sceptre--a symbol and a material borrowed from the +Romans. + +It is not an unusual misconception that this organic change in the +government involved the simultaneous extinction of the tribunitial +office and title. But the truth is that the tribunes continued to +exercise municipal and subordinate functions many generations after the +revolution of 697; each island of importance, such as Malamocco and +Equilo, had its own tribune, while of the smaller islands several +contributed to form a tribunate or governorship; and office, though +neither strictly nor properly hereditary, still preserved its tendency +to perpetuate itself in a limited number of families. It is only +subsequently to the twelfth century that less is heard of the tribunes; +and the progress of administrative reform led to the gradual +disappearance of this old feudal element in the constitution. + +In the time of Anafesto, the larger islands of the _dogado_ formed the +seats of powerful factions; the disproportion in point of influence +between the Crown and the tribune of Malamocco or the tribune of Equilo +was but slightly marked; and the abolition of that magistracy was a much +more sweeping measure than the first makers of a doge would have dared +to propose. + +The military complexion of the ducal authority was not confined to the +personal character of the supreme officer of state, for under him, not +as a novel element in the constitution, but as one which preexisted side +by side with the tribunitial system, served a _master of the soldiers_, +whom there is a fairly solid ground for regarding as second to the doge +or duke in precedence, and above the civil tribunes of the respective +townships. + +To find in so small and imperfectly developed a state the two leading +functionaries or ingredients deriving their appellations from a command +and control over the rude feudal militia, might alone warrant the +conclusion that the most essential requirement of Venice, even when it +had so far modified the form of administration, was felt to be the +possession, under responsible direction, of a means of securing internal +order and withstanding external aggression, if it were not the case that +from the Gothic era onward we hear of _scholae militiae cum patronis_, +manifestly the schools of instruction for the body over which the +_magister militum_ presided. These seminaries existed in the days of the +exarch Narses, generations before a doge was given to Venice. Yet, +through all the time which has now elapsed since the first erection of a +separate political jurisdiction, not only the Church, on which such +stress was at the very outset laid, but a civil government, and +regulations for trade and shipping, must have been active forces, always +tending to grow in strength and coherence. + +The Venetians, in constructing by degrees, and even somewhat at random, +a constitutional fabric, very naturally followed the precedents and +models which they found in the regions which bordered on them, and from +which their forefathers had emigrated. The Lombard system, which was of +far longer duration than its predecessors on the same soil, borrowed as +much as possible from that which the invaders saw in use and favor among +the conquered; and the earliest institutions of the only community not +subjugated by their arms were counterparts either of the Lombard, the +Roman, or the Greek customary law. The doge, in some respects, enjoyed +an authority similar to that which the Romans had vested in their +ancient kings; but, while he was clothed with full ecclesiastical +jurisdiction, he did not personally discharge the sacerdotal functions +or assume a sacerdotal title. The Latins had had their _magistri +populi_; and in the Middle Ages they recognized at Naples and at Amalfi +a _master of the soldiers_; at Lucca, Verona, and elsewhere, a _captain +of the people_. But all these magistrates were in possession of the +supreme power, were kings in everything save the name; and the +interesting suggestion presents itself that in the case of Venice the +_master of the soldiers_ had been part of the tribunitial organization, +if not of the consular one, and that one of the tribunes officiated by +rotation, bearing to the republic the same sort of relationship as the +_bretwalda_ bore to the other Anglo-Saxon _reguli_. There can be no +doubt that Venice kept in view the prototypes transmitted by Rome, and +learned at last to draw a comparison between the two empires; and down +to the fifteenth century the odor of the Conscript Fathers lingered in +the Venetian fancy. + +Subsequently to the entrance of the _dux_, _duke_, or _doge_ on the +scene, and the shrinkage of the tribunitial power to more departmental +or municipal proportions, the _master of the soldiers_, whatever he may +have been before, became a subordinate element in the administration. +His duties must have certainly embraced the management of the militia +and the maintenance of the doge's peace within the always widening pale +of the ducal abode. He was next in rank to the crown or throne. + +Thus we perceive that, after a series of trials, the Venetians +eventually reverted to the form of government which appeared to be most +agreeable, on the whole, to their conditions and genius. + +The consular _triumviri_, not perhaps quite independent of external +influences, were originally adopted as a temporary expedient. The +tribunes, who next succeeded, had a duration of two hundred and fifty +years. Their common _fasti_ are scanty and obscure; and we gain only +occasional glimpses of a barbarous federal administration, which barely +sufficed to fulfil the most elementary wants of a rising society of +traders. They were alike, more or less, a machinery of primitive type, +deficient in central force, and without any safeguards against the abuse +of authority, without any definite theory of legislation and police. The +century and a half which intervened between the abrogation of monarchy +in the person of a tribune, and its revival in the person of a doge +(574-697), beheld the republic laboring under the feeble and enervating +sway of rival aristocratic houses, on which the sole check was the urban +body subsequently to emerge into importance and value as the militia of +the six wards, and its commandant, the _master of the soldiers_. + +But while the institution of the dogeship brought with it a certain +measure of equilibrium and security, it left the political framework in +almost every other respect untouched. The work of reform and +consolidation had merely commenced. The first stone only had been laid +of a great and enduring edifice. The first permanent step had been taken +toward the unification of a group of insular clanships into a +homogeneous society, with a sense of common interests. + +The late tribunitial ministry has transmitted to us as its monument +little beyond the disclosure of a chronic disposition to tyranny and +periodical fluctuations of preponderance. The so-called chair of Attila +at Torcello is supposed to have been the seat where the officer +presiding over that district long held his court _sub dio_. + +The doge Anafesto appears to have pacified, by his energy and tact, the +intestine discord by which his country had suffered so much and so long, +and the Equilese, especially--who had risen in open revolt, and had +refused to pay their proportion of tithes--were persuaded, after some +fierce struggles in the _pineto_ or pine woods, which still covered +much of the soil, to return to obedience. The civil war which had lately +broken out between Equilo and Heraclia was terminated by the influential +mediation of one of the tribunes, and the Lombards now condescended to +ratify a treaty assigning to the Venetians the whole of the territory +lying between the greater and lesser Piave, empowering the republic to +erect boundary lines, and prohibiting either of the contracting parties +from building a stronghold within ten miles of those lines. A settlement +of confines between two such close neighbors was of the highest +importance and utility. But a still more momentous principle was here +involved. + +The republic had exercised a clear act of sovereign independence. It had +made its first Italian treaty. This was a proud step and a quotable +precedent. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[68] Some modern writers question the etymology which in the name of the +Langobardi finds a reference to the length of their beards. Sheppard +thinks that "long-spears," rather than "long-beards" was the original +signification. Since, on the banks of the Elbe, _Boerde_ or _Bord_ still +means "a fertile plain beside a river," others derive their name from +the district they inhabited. Langobardi would thus signify "people of +the long bord of the river." + + + + +SARACENS IN SPAIN: BATTLE OF THE GUADALETE + +A.D. 711 + +AHMED IBN MAHOMET AL-MAKKARI + + + When assailed by the Saracen power, the Gothic kingdom in Spain, + which had endured for three centuries, had long been suffering a + decline. Political disorders and social demoralization had made its + condition such as might well invite the Moslem armies, flushed with + victories on the African side, to cross the narrow Strait of + Gibraltar for new conquests. + + The final subjection of North Africa had been accomplished by the + Arab general, Musa Ibn Nosseyr, only the fortress of Ceuta, on the + shore of the strait, still remaining in possession of the Goths. + The Saracens knew that a fresh revolution in Spain had placed on + the throne Roderic--who proved to be the last of the Gothic kings. + At Ceuta the commandant, Count Ilyan (Julian), when he was + attacked, made a feeble defence, virtually betraying the post into + the hands of the Moslems. The reason, according to some + authorities, for the defection of Ilyan was his desire to avenge an + injury inflicted upon him by Roderic, who is said to have + dishonored Ilyan's daughter, the Lady Florinda. Others attribute + the treason of Ilyan to his real loyalty to the rivals of Roderic, + the latter being regarded by him as a usurper. + + It is recorded that Ilyan proposed to Musa the conquest of + Andalusia, whose wealth in productiveness and other natural + attractions he glowingly described. The people, Ilyan declared, + were enervated by reason of prolonged peace, and were destitute of + arms. He was induced entirely to desert the Gothic cause and join + the Moslems, and made a successful incursion into the country of + his former friends, returning to Africa loaded with spoil. From + this time Ilyan served under the Moslem standard. + + Another invasion was made by the Saracens with like results, and + then Musa, having received authority from the Caliph, prepared to + enter upon the conquest of Spain. The events which followed were + not only of great moment in the affairs of that country, but + foreshadowed others which seemed to involve the fate of Europe and + of Christendom in the outcome of the Mahometan advance. + + +Musa strengthened himself in his intention of invading Andalusia; to +this effect he called a freed slave of his, to whom he had on different +occasions intrusted important commands in his armies, and whose name was +Tarik Ibn Zeyad Ibn Abdillah, a native of Hamdan, in Persia, although +some pretend that he was not a freedman of Musa Ibn Nosseyr, but a +free-born man of the tribe of Sadf, while others make him a _mauli_ of +Lahm. It is even asserted that some of his posterity, who lived in +Andalusia, rejected with indignation the supposition of their ancestor +having ever been a liberated slave of Musa Ibn Nosseyr. Some authors, +and they are the greatest number, say that he was a Berber. + +To this Tarik, therefore, the Arabian governor of Africa committed the +important trust of conquering the kingdom of Andalusia, for which end he +gave him the command of an army of seven thousand men, chiefly Berbers +and slaves, very few only being genuine Arabs. To accompany and guide +Tarik in this expedition, Musa sent Ilyan, who provided four vessels +from the ports under his command, the only places on the coast where +vessels were at that time built. Everything being got ready, a division +of the army crossed that arm of the sea which divides Andalusia from +Africa, and landed with Tarik at the foot of the mountain, which +afterward received his name, on a Saturday, in the month of Shaban, of +the year [of the Hegira] 92 (July, 711), answering to the month of +Agosht (August); and the four vessels were sent back, and crossed and +recrossed until the rest of Tarik's men were safely put on shore. + +It is otherwise said that Tarik landed on the 24th of Rejeb (June 19th, +A.D. 711), in the same year. Another account makes the number of men +embarked on this occasion amount to twelve thousand, all but sixteen, a +number consisting almost entirely of Berbers, there being but few Arabs +among them; but the same writer agrees that Ilyan transported this force +at various times to the coast of Andalusia in merchant vessels--whence +collected, it is not known--and that Tarik was the last man on board. + +Various historians have recorded two circumstances concerning Tarik's +passage, and his landing on the coast of Andalusia, which we consider +worthy of being transcribed. They say that while he was sailing across +that arm of the sea which separates Africa from Andalusia, he saw in a +dream the prophet Mahomet, surrounded by Arabs of the Muhajirm and +Anssar, who with unsheathed swords and bended bows stood close by him, +and that he heard the prophet say: "Take courage, O Tarik! and +accomplish what thou art destined to perform"; and that having looked +round him he saw the messenger of God, who with his companions was +entering Andalusia. Tarik then awoke from his sleep, and, delighted with +this good omen, hastened to communicate the miraculous circumstance to +his followers, who were much pleased and strengthened. Tarik himself was +so much struck by the apparition that from that moment he never doubted +of victory. + +The same writers have preserved another anecdote, which sufficiently +proves the mediation of the Almighty in permitting that the conquest of +Andalusia should be achieved by Tarik. Directly after his landing on the +rock Musa's freedman brought his forces upon the plain, and began to +overrun and lay waste the neighboring country. While he was thus +employed, an old woman from Algesiras presented herself to him, and +among other things told him what follows: "Thou must know, O stranger! +that I had once a husband, who had the knowledge of future events; and I +have repeatedly heard him say to the people of this country that a +foreign general would come to this island and subject it to his arms. He +described him to me as a man of prominent forehead, and such, I see, is +thine; he told me also that the individual designated by the prophecy +would have a black mole covered with hair on his left shoulder. Now, if +thou hast such a mark on thy body, thou art undoubtedly the person +intended." + +When Tarik heard the old woman's reasoning, he immediately laid his +shoulder bare, and the mark being found, as predicted, upon the left +one, both he and his companions were filled with delight at the good +omen. + +Ibnu Hayyan's account does not materially differ from those of the +historians from whom we have quoted. He agrees in saying that Ilyan, +lord of Ceuta, incited Musa Ibn Nosseyr to make the conquest of +Andalusia; and that this he did out of revenge, and moved by the +personal enmity and hatred he had conceived against Roderic. He makes +Tarik's army amount only to seven thousand, mostly Berbers, which, he +says, crossed in four vessels provided by Ilyan. According to his +account, Tarik landed on a Saturday, in the month of Shaban, of the +year 92, and the vessels that brought him and his men on shore were +immediately sent back to Africa, and never ceased going backward and +forward until the whole of the army was safely landed on the shores of +Andalusia. + +On the other side, Ibnu Khaldun reckons the army under the orders of +Tarik at three hundred Arabs and ten thousand Berbers. He says that +before starting on his expedition, Tarik divided his army into two +corps, he himself taking the command of one, and placing the other under +the immediate orders of Tarif An-najai. Tarik, with his men, landed at +the foot of the rock now called _Jebalu-l-fatah_, "the mountain of the +entrance," and which then received his name, and was called +_Jebal-Tarik_, "the mountain of Tarik"; while his companion, Tarif, +landed on the island afterward called after him _Jezirah-Tarif_, "the +island of Tarif." In order to provide for the security of their +respective armies, both generals selected, soon after their landing, a +good encampment, which they surrounded with walls and trenches, for no +sooner had the news of their landing spread than the armies of the Goths +began to march against them from all quarters. + +No sooner did Tarik set his foot in Andalusia than he was attacked by a +Goth named Tudmir (Theodomir), to whom Roderic had intrusted the defence +of that frontier. Theodomir, who is the same general who afterward gave +his name to a province of Andalusia, called _Belad Tudmir_, "the country +of Theodomir," having tried, although in vain, to stop the impetuous +career of Tarik's men, despatched immediately a messenger to his master, +apprising him how Tarik and his followers had landed in Andalusia. He +also wrote him a letter thus conceived: "This our land has been invaded +by people whose name, country, and origin are unknown to me. I cannot +even tell whence they came--whether they fell from the skies or sprang +from the earth." + +When this news reached Roderic, who was then in the country of the +Bashkans (Basques), making war in the territory of Banbilonah +(Pamplona), where serious disturbances had occurred, he guessed directly +that the blow came from Ilyan. Sensible, however, of the importance of +this attack made upon his dominions, he left what he had in hand, and, +moving toward the south with the whole of his powerful army, arrived in +Cordova, which is placed in the centre of Andalusia. There he took up +his abode in the royal castle, which the Arabs called after him +Roderic's castle. In this palace Roderic took up his residence for a few +days, to await the arrival of the numerous troops which he had summoned +from the different provinces of his kingdom. + +They say that while he was staying in Cordova he wrote to the sons of +Wittiza to come and join him against the common enemy; for, although it +is true that Roderic had usurped the throne of their father, and +persecuted the sons, yet he had spared their lives; since these two sons +of Wittiza are the same who, when Tarik attacked the forces of King +Roderic on the plains of Guadalete, near the sea, turned back and +deserted their ranks, owing to a promise made them by Tarik to restore +them to the throne of their father, if they helped him against Roderic. +However, when Roderic arrived in Cordova, the sons of Wittiza were +busily engaged in some distant province collecting troops to march +against the invaders, and he wrote to them to come and join him with +their forces, in order to march against the Arabs; and, cautioning them +against the inconvenience and danger of private feuds at that moment, +engaged them to join him and attack the Arabs in one mass. The sons of +Wittiza readily agreed to Roderic's proposition, and collecting all +their forces, came to meet him, and encamped not far from the village of +Shakandah, on the opposite side of the river, and on the south of the +palace of Cordova. + +There they remained for some time, not daring to enter the capital or to +trust Roderic, until at last, having ascertained the truth of the +preparations, and seeing the army march out of the city and him with it, +they entered Cordova, united their forces to his, and marched with him +against the enemy, although, as will be seen presently, they were +already planning the treachery which they afterward committed. Others +say that the sons of Wittiza did not obey the summons sent them by the +usurper Roderic; on the contrary, that they joined Tarik with all their +forces. + +When Tarik received the news of the approach of Roderic's army, which is +said to have amounted to nearly one hundred thousand men, provided with +all kinds of weapons and military stores, he wrote to Musa for +assistance, saying that he had taken Algesiras, a port of Andalusia, +thus becoming, by its possession, the master of the passage into that +country; that he had subdued its districts as far as the bay; but that +Roderic was now advancing against him with a force which it was not in +his power to resist, except it was God Almighty's will that it should be +so. Musa, who since Tarik's departure for this expedition had been +employed in building ships, and had by this time collected a great many, +sent by them a reinforcement of five thousand Moslems, which, added to +the seven thousand of the first expedition, made the whole forces amount +to twelve thousand men, eager for plunder and anxious for battle. Ilyan +was also sent with his army and the people of his states to accompany +this expedition, and to guide it through the passes in the country, and +gather intelligence for them. + +In the mean while Roderic was drawing nearer to the Moslems, with all +the forces of the barbarians, their lords, their knights, and their +bishops; but the hearts of the great people of the kingdom being against +him, they used to see each other frequently, and in their private +conversations they uttered their sentiments about Roderic in the +following manner: "This wretch has by force taken possession of the +throne to which he is not justly entitled, for not only he does not +belong to the royal family, but he was once one of our meanest menials; +we do not know how far he may carry his wicked intentions against us. +There is no doubt but that Tarik's followers do not intend to settle in +this country; their only wish is to fill their hands with spoil, and +then return. Let us then, as soon as the battle is engaged, give way, +and leave the usurper alone to fight the strangers, who will soon +deliver us from him; and, when they shall be gone, we can place on the +throne him who most deserves it." + +In these sentiments all agreed, and it was decided that the proposed +plan should be put into execution; the two sons of Wittiza, whom Roderic +had appointed to the command of the right and left wings of his army, +being at the head of the conspiracy, in the hope of gaining the throne +of their father. + +When the armies drew nearer to each other, the princes began to spin +the web of their treason; and for this purpose a messenger was sent by +them to Tarik, informing him how Roderic, who had been a mere menial and +servant to their father, had, after his death, usurped the throne; that +the princes had by no means relinquished their rights, and that they +implored protection and security for themselves. They offered to desert, +and pass over to Tarik with the troops under their command, on condition +that the Arab general would, after subduing the whole of Andalusia, +secure to them all their father's possessions, amounting to three +thousand valuable and chosen farms, the same that received after this +the name of _Safaya-l-moluk_, "the royal portion." This offer Tarik +accepted; and, having agreed to the conditions, on the next day the sons +of Wittiza deserted the ranks of the Gothic army in the midst of battle, +and passed over to Tarik, this being, no doubt, one of the principal +causes of the conquest. + +Roderic arrived on the banks of the Guadalete with a formidable army, +which most historians compute at one hundred thousand cavalry; although +Ibnu Khaldun makes it amount to forty thousand men only. Roderic brought +all his treasures and military stores in carts: he himself came in a +litter placed between two mules, having over his head an awning richly +set with pearls, rubies, and emeralds. On the approach of this +formidable host the Moslems did not lose courage, but prepared to meet +their adversary. Tarik assembled his men, comforted them by his words, +and after rendering the due praises to the Almighty God, and returning +thanks for what had already been accomplished, proceeded to implore his +mighty help for the future. He then encouraged the Moslems, and kindled +their enthusiasm with the following address: + +"Whither can you fly?--the enemy is in your front, the sea at your back. +By Allah! there is no salvation for you but in your courage and +perseverance. Consider your situation: here you are on this island, like +so many orphans cast upon the world; you will soon be met by a powerful +enemy, surrounding you on all sides like the infuriated billows of a +tempestuous sea, and sending against you his countless warriors, drowned +in steel, and provided with every store and description of arms. What +can you oppose to them? You have no other weapons than your swords, no +provisions but those that you may snatch from the hands of your enemies; +you must therefore attack them immediately, or otherwise your wants will +increase; the gales of victory may no longer blow in your favor, and +perchance the fear that lurks in the hearts of your enemies may be +changed into indomitable courage. + +"Banish all fear from your hearts, trust that victory shall be ours, and +that the barbarian king will not be able to withstand the shock of our +arms. Here he comes to make us the master of his cities and castles, and +to deliver into our hands his countless treasures; and if you only seize +the opportunity now presented, it may perhaps be the means of your +becoming the owners of them, besides saving yourselves from certain +death. Do not think that I impose upon you a task from which I shrink +myself, or that I try to conceal from you the dangers attending this our +expedition. No; you have certainly a great deal to encounter, but know +that if you only suffer for a while, you will reap in the end an +abundant harvest of pleasures and enjoyments. And do not imagine that +while I speak to you I mean not to act as I speak; for as my interest in +this affair is greater, so will my behavior on this occasion surpass +yours. You must have heard numerous accounts of this island, you must +know how the Grecian maidens, as handsome as houris, their necks +glittering with innumerable pearls and jewels, their bodies clothed with +tunics of costly silks, sprinkled with gold, are waiting your arrival, +reclining on soft couches in the sumptuous palaces of crowned lords and +princes. + +"You know well that the caliph Abdu-l-Malek Ibnu-l-walid has chosen you, +like so many heroes, from among the brave; you know that the great lords +of this island are willing to make you their sons and brethren by +marriage, if you only rush on like so many brave men to the fight, and +behave like true champions and valiant knights; you know that the +recompenses of God await you if you are prepared to uphold his words, +and proclaim his religion in this island; and, lastly, that all the +spoil shall be yours, and of such Moslems as may be with you. + +"Bear in mind that God Almighty will select, according to this promise, +those that distinguish themselves most among you, and grant them due +reward, both in this world and in the future; and know likewise that I +shall be the first to set you the example, and to put in practice what I +recommend you to do; for it is my intention, on the meeting of the two +hosts, to attack the Christian tyrant Roderic, and kill him with my own +hand, if God be pleased. When you see me bearing against him, charge +along with me; if I kill him, the victory is ours; if I am killed before +I reach him, do not trouble yourselves about me, but fight as if I were +still alive and among you, and follow up my purpose; for the moment they +see their King fall, these barbarians are sure to disperse. If, however, +I should be killed, after inflicting death upon their King, appoint a +man from among you who unites both courage and experience and may +command you in this emergency and follow up the success. If you attend +to my instructions, we are sure of the victory." + +When Tarik had thus addressed his soldiers and exhorted them to fight +with courage and to face the dangers of war with a stout heart--when he +had thus recommended them to make a simultaneous attack upon Roderic's +men, and promised them abundant reward if they routed their +enemies--their countenances were suddenly expanded with joy their hopes +were strengthened, the gales of victory began to blow on their side, and +they all unanimously answered him: "We are ready to follow thee, O +Tarik! We shall all, to one man, stand by thee and fight for thee; nor +could we avoid it were we otherwise disposed--victory is our only hope +of salvation." + +After this Tarik mounted his horse, and his men did the same; and they +all passed that night in constant watch for fear of the enemy. On the +following morning, when day dawned, both armies prepared for battle; +each general formed his cavalry and his infantry, and, the signal being +given, the armies met with a shock, similar to that of two mountains +dashing against each other. + +King Roderic came, borne on a throne, and having over his head an awning +of variegated silk to guard him from the rays of the sun, surrounded by +warriors, cased in bright steel, with fluttering pennons and a profusion +of banners and standards. + +Tarik's men were differently arrayed; their breasts were covered with +mail armor; they wore white turbans on their heads, the Arabian bow +slung across their backs, their swords suspended in their girdles, and +their long spears firmly grasped in their hands. + +They say that when the two armies were advancing upon each other, and +the eyes of Roderic fell upon the men in the first ranks, he was +horror-stricken, and was heard to exclaim: "By the faith of the Messiah! +These are the very men I saw painted on the scroll found in the mansion +of science at Toledo;" and from that moment fear entered his heart; and +when Tarik perceived Roderic, he said to his followers, "This is the +King of the Christians," and he charged with his men, the warriors who +surrounded Roderic being on all sides scattered and dispersed; seeing +which, Tarik plunged into the ranks of the enemy until he reached the +King, and wounded him with his sword on the head and killed him on his +throne; and when Rodericks men saw their King fall, and his bodyguard +dispersed, the rout became general, and victory remained with the +Moslems. + +The rout of the Christians was complete, for instead of rallying on one +spot, they fled in all directions, and, their panic being communicated +to their countrymen, cities opened their gates, and castles surrendered +without resistance. + +The preceding account we have borrowed from a writer of great note, but +we deem it necessary to warn the readers that the assertion that Roderic +died by the hands of Tarik has been contradicted by several historians, +since his body, although diligently sought on the field of battle, could +nowhere be found. + +We shall proceed to recount in detail that memorable battle, when +Almighty God was pleased to put King Roderic's army to flight and grant +the Moslems a most complete victory. Several authors who have described +at large this famous engagement state that Tarik encamped near Roderic, +toward the middle of the month of Ramadan of the year 92 (September, +A.D. 711), and although there is some difference as to the dates, all +agree that the battle was fought on the banks of the Guadalete. They say +also that while both armies were encamped in front of each other, the +barbarian King, wishing to ascertain the exact amount of Tarik's forces, +sent one of his men, whose valor and strength he knew, and in whose +fidelity he placed unbounded confidence, with instructions to penetrate +into Tarik's camp, and bring him an account of their number, arms, +accoutrements, and vessels. + +The Christian proceeded to execute his commission, and reached a small +elevation, whence he had a commanding view of the whole camp. However, +he had not remained long in his place of observation before he was +discovered by some Moslems, who pursued him; but the Christian fled +before them, and escaped through the swiftness of his horse. + +Arrived at the Christian camp, he addressed Roderic in the following +words: "These people, O King! are the same that thou sawest painted on +the scroll of the enchanted palace. Beware of them! for the greatest +part of them have bound themselves by oath to reach thee or die in the +attempt; they have set fire to their vessels, to destroy their last hope +of escape; they are encamped along the sea-shore, determined to die or +to vanquish, for they know well that there is not in this country a +place whither they can fly." On hearing this account, King Roderic was +much disheartened, and he trembled with fear. However, the two armies +engaged near the lake or gulf; they fought resolutely on both sides till +the right and left wings of Roderic's army, under the command of the +sons of Wittiza, gave way. The centre, in which Roderic was, still held +firm for a while, and made the fate of the battle uncertain for some +time; they fled at last, and Roderic before them. From that moment the +rout became general, and the Moslems followed with ardor the pursuit of +the scattered bands, inflicting death wherever they went. + +Roderic disappeared in the midst of the battle, and no certain +intelligence was afterward received of him. It is true that some Moslems +found his favorite steed, a milk-white horse, bearing a saddle of gold, +sparkling with rubies, plunged in the mud of the river, as also one of +his sandals, adorned with rubies and emeralds, but the other was never +found; nor was Roderic, although diligently searched for, ever +discovered either dead or alive, a circumstance which led the Moslems to +believe that he perished in the stream, the weight of his armor +preventing him from struggling against the current, and he was drowned; +but God only knows what became of him. + +According to Ar-razi, the contest began on Sunday, two days before the +end of Ramadan, and continued till Sunday, the 5th of Shawal; namely, +eight whole days; at the end of which God Almighty was pleased to put +the idolaters to flight, and grant the victory to the Moslems; and he +adds that so great was the number of the Goths who perished in the +battle that for a long time after the victory the bones of the slain +were to be seen covering the field of action. + +They say also that the spoil found by the Moslems in the camp of the +Christians surpassed all computation, for the princes and great men of +the Goths who had fallen were distinguished by the rings of gold they +wore on their fingers, those of an inferior class by similar ornaments +of silver, while those of the slaves were made of brass. Tarik collected +all the spoil and divided it into five shares or portions, when, after +deducting one-fifth, he distributed the rest among nine thousand +Moslems, besides the slaves and followers. + +When the people on the other side of the straits heard of this success +of Tarik, and of the plentiful spoils he had acquired, they flocked to +him from all quarters, and crossed the sea on every vessel or bark they +could lay hold of. Tank's army being so considerably reinforced, the +Christians were obliged to shut themselves up in their castles and +fortresses, and, quitting the flat country, betake themselves to their +mountains. + + + + +BATTLE OF TOURS + +A.D. 732 + +SIR EDWARD SHEPHERD CREASY + + + When the Saracens had completed the conquest of Spain and all that + country was wholly under their dominion, they determined to extend + their authority over the neighboring country of the Franks. + + Having crossed the Pyrenees they met with but slight opposition and + soon succeeded in making themselves masters of Southern France, + thereby furthering and encouraging their boastful ambition to + conquer and Islamize the whole world. + + Already had Africa, Asia Minor, and Eastern Europe acknowledged + their rule, and the final subjugation of all Christendom by the + Mahometan sword seemed certain and imminent. + + Their long and uninterrupted career of success had fed their + arrogance and filled them with a proud confidence in the + invincibility of their arms, and their farther advance into the + heart of Europe seemed, in the eyes of Christian and pagan alike, + to be the irresistible march of destiny. + + The Saracen host had not penetrated far into the Frankish territory + when they encountered "a lion in the path," in the person of + Charles (or Karl), the great palace-mayor--so called, but who was + in reality the _defacto_ sovereign of the Frankish kingdoms. + + To Charles, famous for his military skill and prestige, came the + recently defeated Eudes, the count of Aquitaine, and the remnant of + his force, craving his protection and leadership against the + advancing Saracen horde. + + Charles' signal victory over the Saracen invaders proved to be the + turning-point in the Moslem career of conquest. The question + whether the _Koran_ or the Bible, the Crescent or the Cross, + Mahomet or Christ, should rule Europe and the western world was + decided forever upon the bloody field of Tours. + + +The broad tract of champaign country which intervenes between the cities +of Poitiers and Tours is principally composed of a succession of rich +pasture lands, which are traversed and fertilized by the Cher, the +Creuse, the Vienne, the Claine, the Indre, and other tributaries of the +river Loire. Here and there the ground swells into picturesque +eminences, and occasionally a belt of forest land, a brown heath, or a +clustering series of vineyards breaks the monotony of the widespread +meadows; but the general character of the land is that of a grassy +plain, and it seems naturally adapted for the evolutions of numerous +armies, especially of those vast bodies of cavalry which principally +decided the fate of nations during the centuries that followed the +downfall of Rome and preceded the consolidation of the modern European +powers. + +This region has been signalized by more than one memorable conflict; but +it is principally interesting to the historian by having been the scene +of the great victory won by Charles Martel over the Saracens, A.D. 732, +which gave a decisive check to the career of Arab conquest in Western +Europe, rescued Christendom from Islam, preserved the relics of ancient +and the germs of modern civilization, and reestablished the old +superiority of the Indo-European over the Semitic family of mankind. + +Sismondi and Michelet have underrated the enduring interest of this +great Appeal of Battle between the champions of the Crescent and the +Cross. But, if French writers have slighted the exploits of their +national hero, the Saracenic trophies of Charles Martel have had full +justice done to them by English and German historians. Gibbon devotes +several pages of his great work[69] to the narrative of the battle of +Tours, and to the consideration of the consequences which probably would +have resulted if Abderrahman's enterprise had not been crushed by the +Frankish chief. Schlegel speaks of this "mighty victory" in terms of +fervent gratitude, and tells how "the arm of Charles Martel saved and +delivered the Christian nations of the West from the deadly grasp of +all-destroying Islam"; and Ranke points out, as "one of the most +important epochs in the history of the world, the commencement of the +eighth century, when on the one side Mahometanism threatened to +overspread Italy and Gaul, and on the other the ancient idolatry of +Saxony and Friesland once more forced its way across the Rhine. In this +peril of Christian institutions, a youthful prince of Germanic race, +Charles (or Karl) Martel, arose as their champion, maintained them with +all the energy which the necessity for self-defence calls forth, and +finally extended them into new regions." + +Arnold ranks the victory of Charles Martel even higher than the victory +of Arminius, "among those signal deliverances which have affected for +centuries the happiness of mankind." In fact, the more we test its +importance, the higher we shall be led to estimate it; and, though all +authentic details which we possess of its circumstances and its heroes +are but meagre, we can trace enough of its general character to make us +watch with deep interest this encounter between the rival conquerors of +the decaying Roman Empire. That old classic world, the history of which +occupies so large a portion of our early studies, lay, in the eighth +century of our era, utterly exanimate and overthrown. On the north the +German, on the south the Arab, was rending away its provinces. At last +the spoilers encountered one another, each striving for the full mastery +of the prey. Their conflict brought back upon the memory of Gibbon the +old Homeric simile, where the strife of Hector and Patroclus over the +dead body of Cebriones is compared to the combat of two lions, that in +their hate and hunger fight together on the mountain tops over the +carcass of a slaughtered stag; and the reluctant yielding of the Saracen +power to the superior might of the northern warriors might not inaptly +recall those other lines of the same book of the _Iliad_, where the +downfall of Patroclus beneath Hector is likened to the forced yielding +of the panting and exhausted wild boar, that had long and furiously +fought with a superior beast of prey for the possession of the scanty +fountain among the rocks at which each burned to drink. + +Although three centuries had passed away since the Germanic conquerors +of Rome had crossed the Rhine, never to repass that frontier stream, no +settled system of institutions or government, no amalgamation of the +various races into one people, no uniformity of language or habits had +been established in the country at the time when Charles Martel was +called to repel the menacing tide of Saracenic invasion from the south. +Gaul was not yet France. In that, as in other provinces of the Roman +Empire of the West, the dominion of the Caesars had been shattered as +early as the fifth century, and barbaric kingdoms and principalities had +promptly arisen on the ruins of the Roman power. But few of these had +any permanency, and none of them consolidated the rest, or any +considerable number of the rest, into one coherent and organized civil +and political society. + +The great bulk of the population still consisted of the conquered +provincials, that is to say, of Romanized Celts, of a Gallic race which +had long been under the dominion of the Caesars, and had acquired, +together with no slight infusion of Roman blood, the language, the +literature, the laws, and the civilization of Latium. Among these, and +dominant over them, roved or dwelt the German victors; some retaining +nearly all the rude independence of their primitive national character, +others softened and disciplined by the aspect and contact of the manners +and institutions of civilized life; for it is to be borne in mind that +the Roman Empire in the West was not crushed by any sudden avalanche of +barbaric invasion. The German conquerors came across the Rhine, not in +enormous hosts, but in bands of a few thousand warriors at a time. The +conquest of a province was the result of an infinite series of partial +local invasions, carried on by little armies of this description. The +victorious warriors either retired with their booty or fixed themselves +in the invaded district, taking care to keep sufficiently concentrated +for military purposes, and ever ready for some fresh foray, either +against a rival Teutonic band or some hitherto unassailed city of the +provincials. + +Gradually, however, the conquerors acquired a desire for permanent +landed possessions. They lost somewhat of the restless thirst for +novelty and adventure which had first made them throng beneath the +banner of the boldest captains of their tribe, and leave their native +forests for a roving military life on the left bank of the Rhine. They +were converted to the Christian faith, and gave up with their old creed +much of the coarse ferocity which must have been fostered in the spirits +of the ancient warriors of the North by a mythology which promised, as +the reward of the brave on earth, an eternal cycle of fighting and +drunkenness in heaven. + +But, although their conversion and other civilizing influences operated +powerfully upon the Germans in Gaul, and although the Franks--who were +originally a confederation of the Teutonic tribes that dwelt between the +Rhine, the Maine, and the Weser--established a decisive superiority over +the other conquerors of the province, as well as over the conquered +provincials, the country long remained a chaos of uncombined and +shifting elements. The early princes of the Merovingian dynasty were +generally occupied in wars against other princes of their house, +occasioned by the frequent subdivisions of the Frank monarchy; and the +ablest and best of them had found all their energies tasked to the +utmost to defend the barrier of the Rhine against the pagan Germans who +strove to pass that river and gather their share of the spoils of the +Empire. + +The conquests which the Saracens effected over the southern and eastern +provinces of Rome were far more rapid than those achieved by the Germans +in the North, and the new organizations of society which the Moslems +introduced were summarily and uniformly enforced. Exactly a century +passed between the death of Mahomet and the date of the battle of Tours. +During that century the followers of the prophet had torn away half the +Roman Empire; and besides their conquests over Persia, the Saracens had +overrun Syria, Egypt, Africa, and Spain, in an unchecked and apparently +irresistible career of victory. Nor, at the commencement of the eighth +century of our era, was the Mahometan world divided against itself, as +it subsequently became. All these vast regions obeyed the Caliph; +throughout them all, from the Pyrenees to the Oxus, the name of Mahomet +was invoked in prayer and the _Koran_ revered as the book of the law. + +It was under one of their ablest and most renowned commanders, with a +veteran army, and with every apparent advantage of time, place, and +circumstance, that the Arabs made their great effort at the conquest of +Europe north of the Pyrenees. The victorious Moslem soldiery in Spain, + + "A countless multitude, + Syrian, Moor, Saracen, Greek renegade, + Persian, and Copt, and Tartar, in one bond + Of erring faith conjoined--strong in the youth + And heat of zeal--a dreadful brotherhood," + +were eager for the plunder of more Christian cities and shrines, and +full of fanatic confidence in the invincibility of their arms. + + "Nor were the chiefs + Of victory less assured, by long success + Elate, and proud of that o'erwhelming strength + Which, surely they believed, as it had rolled + Thus far unchecked, would roll victorious on, + Till, like the Orient, the subjected West + Should bow in reverence at Mahomet's name; + And pilgrims from remotest arctic shores + Tread with religious feet the burning sands + Of Araby and Mecca's stony soil." + + --_Southey's Roderick_, + +It is not only by the modern Christian poet, but by the old Arabian +chroniclers also, that these feelings of ambition and arrogance are +attributed to the Moslems who had overthrown the Visigoth power in +Spain. And their eager expectations of new wars were excited to the +utmost on the reappointment by the Caliph of Abderrahman Ibn Abdillah +Alghafeki to the government of that country, A.D. 729, which restored +them a general who had signalized his skill and prowess during the +conquests of Africa and Spain, whose ready valor and generosity had made +him the idol of the troops, who had already been engaged in several +expeditions into Gaul, so as to be well acquainted with the national +character and tactics of the Franks, and who was known to thirst, like a +good Moslem, for revenge for the slaughter of some detachments of the +"true believers," which had been cut off on the north of the Pyrenees. + +In addition to his cardinal military virtues Abderrahman is described by +the Arab writers as a model of integrity and justice. The first two +years of his second administration in Spain were occupied in severe +reforms of the abuses which under his predecessors had crept into the +system of government, and in extensive preparations for his intended +conquest in Gaul. Besides the troops which he collected from his +province, he obtained from Africa a large body of chosen Berber cavalry, +officered by Arabs of proved skill and valor; and in the summer of 732 +he crossed the Pyrenees at the head of an army which some Arab writers +rate at eighty thousand strong, while some of the Christian chroniclers +swell its numbers to many hundreds of thousands more. Probably the Arab +account diminishes, but of the two keeps nearer to the truth. + +It was from this formidable host, after Eudes, the count of Aquitaine, +had vainly striven to check it, after many strong cities had fallen +before it, and half the land had been overrun, that Gaul and Christendom +were at last rescued by the strong arm of Prince Charles, who acquired a +surname (_Martel_, the "Hammer") like that of the war-god of his +forefathers' creed, from the might with which he broke and shattered his +enemies in the battle. + +The Merovingian kings had sunk into absolute insignificance, and had +become mere puppets of royalty before the eighth century. Charles +Martel, like his father, Pepin Heristal, was duke of the Austrasian +Franks, the bravest and most thoroughly Germanic part of the nation, and +exercised, in the name of the titular king, what little paramount +authority the turbulent minor rulers of districts and towns could be +persuaded or compelled to acknowledge. Engaged with his national +competitors in perpetual conflicts for power, and in more serious +struggles for safety against the fierce tribes of the unconverted +Frisians, Bavarians, Saxons, and Thuringians, who at that epoch assailed +with peculiar ferocity the Christianized Germans on the left bank of the +Rhine, Charles Martel added experienced skill to his natural courage, +and he had also formed a militia of veterans among the Franks. + +Hallam has thrown out a doubt whether, in our admiration of his victory +at Tours, we do not judge a little too much by the event, and whether +there was not rashness in his risking the fate of France on the result +of a general battle with the invaders. But when we remember that Charles +had no standing army, and the independent spirit of the Frank warriors +who followed his standard, it seems most probable that it was not in his +power to adopt the cautious policy of watching the invaders, and wearing +out their strength by delay. So dreadful and so widespread were the +ravages of the Saracenic light cavalry throughout Gaul that it must have +been impossible to restrain for any length of time the indignant ardor +of the Franks. And, even if Charles could have persuaded his men to look +tamely on while the Arabs stormed more towns and desolated more +districts, he could not have kept an army together when the usual period +of a military expedition had expired. If, indeed, the Arab account of +the disorganization of the Moslem forces be correct, the battle was as +well timed on the part of Charles as it was, beyond all question, well +fought. + +The monkish chroniclers, from whom we are obliged to glean a narrative +of this memorable campaign, bear full evidence to the terror which the +Saracen invasion inspired, and to the agony of that great struggle. The +Saracens, say they, and their King, who was called Abdirames, came out +of Spain, with all their wives, and their children, and their substance, +in such great multitudes that no man could reckon or estimate them. They +brought with them all their armor, and whatever they had, as if they +were thenceforth always to dwell in France. + +"Then Abderrahman, seeing the land filled with the multitude of his +army, pierces through the mountains, tramples over rough and level +ground, plunders far into the country of the Franks, and smites all with +the sword, insomuch that when Eudes came to battle with him at the river +Garonne, and fled before him, God alone knows the number of the slain. +Then Abderrahman pursued after Count Eudes, and while he strives to +spoil and burn the holy shrine at Tours he encounters the chief of the +Austrasian Franks, Charles, a man of war from his youth up, to whom +Eudes had sent warning. There for nearly seven days they strive +intensely, and at last they set themselves in battle array, and the +nations of the North, standing firm as a wall and impenetrable as a zone +of ice, utterly slay the Arabs with the edge of the sword." + +The European writers all concur in speaking of the fall of Abderrahman +as one of the principal causes of the defeat of the Arabs; who, +according to one writer, after finding that their leader was slain, +dispersed in the night, to the agreeable surprise of the Christians, who +expected the next morning to see them issue from their tents and renew +the combat. One monkish chronicler puts the loss of the Arabs at three +hundred and seventy-five thousand men, while he says that only one +thousand and seven Christians fell; a disparity of loss which he feels +bound to account for by a special interposition of Providence. I have +translated above some of the most spirited passages of these writers; +but it is impossible to collect from them anything like a full or +authentic description of the great battle itself, or of the operations +which preceded and followed it. + +Though, however, we may have cause to regret the meagreness and doubtful +character of these narratives, we have the great advantage of being able +to compare the accounts given of Abderrahman's expedition by the +national writers of each side. This is a benefit which the inquirer into +antiquity so seldom can obtain that the fact of possessing it, in the +case of the battle of Tours, makes us think the historical testimony +respecting that great event more certain and satisfactory than is the +case in many other instances, where we possess abundant details +respecting military exploits, but where those details come to us from +the annalist of one nation only, and where we have, consequently, no +safeguard against the exaggerations, the distortions, and the fictions +which national vanity has so often put forth in the garb and under the +title of history. The Arabian writers who recorded the conquests and +wars of their countrymen in Spain have narrated also the expedition into +Gaul of their great Emir, and his defeat and death near Tours, in battle +with the host of the Franks under "King Caldus," the name into which +they metamorphose Charles Martel. + +They tell us how there was war between the count of the Frankish +frontier and the Moslems, and how the count gathered together all his +people, and fought for a time with doubtful success. "But," say the +Arabian chroniclers, "Abderrahman drove them back; and the men of +Abderrahman were puffed up in spirit by their repeated successes, and +they were full of trust in the valor and the practice in war of their +Emir. So the Moslems smote their enemies, and passed the river Garonne, +and laid waste the country, and took captives without number. And that +army went through all places like a desolating storm. Prosperity made +these warriors insatiable. At the passage of the river Abderrahman +overthrew the count, and the count retired into his stronghold, but the +Moslems fought against it, and entered it by force and slew the count; +for everything gave way to their cimeters, which were the robbers of +lives. + +"All the nations of the Franks trembled at that terrible army, and they +betook them to their king 'Caldus,' and told him of the havoc made by +the Moslem horsemen, and how they rode at their will through all the +land of Narbonne, Toulouse, and Bordeaux, and they told the King of the +death of their count. Then the King bade them be of good cheer, and +offered to aid them. And in the 114th year[70] he mounted his horse, and +he took with him a host that could not be numbered, and went against the +Moslems. And he came upon them at the great city of Tours. And +Abderrahman and other prudent cavaliers saw the disorder of the Moslem +troops, who were loaded with spoil; but they did not venture to +displease the soldiers by ordering them to abandon everything except +their arms and war-horses. And Abderrahman trusted in the valor of his +soldiers, and in the good fortune which had ever attended him. But, the +Arab writer remarks, such defect of discipline always is fatal to +armies. + +"So Abderrahman and his host attacked Tours to gain still more spoil, +and they fought against it so fiercely that they stormed the city almost +before the eyes of the army that came to save it, and the fury and the +cruelty of the Moslems toward the inhabitants of the city were like the +fury and cruelty of raging tigers. It was manifest," adds the Arab, +"that God's chastisement was sure to follow such excesses, and Fortune +thereupon turned her back upon the Moslems. + +"Near the river Owar,[71] the two great hosts of the two languages and +the two creeds were set in array against each other. The hearts of +Abderrahman, his captains, and his men, were filled with wrath and +pride, and they were the first to begin the fight. The Moslem horsemen +dashed fierce and frequent forward against the battalions of the Franks, +who resisted man-fully, and many fell dead on either side, until the +going down of the sun. Night parted the two armies, but in the gray of +the morning the Moslems returned to the battle. Their cavaliers had soon +hewn their way into the centre of the Christian host. But many of the +Moslems were fearful for the safety of the spoil which they had stored +in their tents, and a false cry arose in their ranks that some of the +enemy were plundering the camp; whereupon several squadrons of the +Moslem horsemen rode off to protect their tents. But it seemed as if +they fled, and all the host was troubled. + +"And while Abderrahman strove to check their tumult and to lead them +back to battle, the warriors of the Franks came around him, and he was +pierced through with many spears, so that he died. Then all the host +fled before the enemy and many died in the flight. This deadly defeat of +the Moslems, and the loss of the great leader and good cavalier +Abderrahman, took place in the hundred and fifteenth year."[72] + +It would be difficult to expect from an adversary a more explicit +confession of having been thoroughly vanquished than the Arabs here +accord to the Europeans. The points on which their narrative differs +from those of the Christians--as to how many days the conflict lasted, +whether the assailed city was actually rescued or not, and the like--are +of little moment compared with the admitted great fact that there was a +decisive trial of strength between Frank and Saracen, in which the +former conquered. The enduring importance of the battle of Tours in the +eyes of the Moslems is attested not only by the expressions of "the +deadly battle" and "the disgraceful overthrow" which their writers +constantly employ when referring to it, but also by the fact that no +more serious attempts at conquest beyond the Pyrenees were made by the +Saracens. + +Charles Martel and his son and grandson were left at leisure to +consolidate and extend their power. The new Christian Roman Empire of +the West, which the genius of Charlemagne founded, and throughout which +his iron will imposed peace on the old anarchy of creeds and races, did +not indeed retain its integrity after its great ruler's death. Fresh +troubles came over Europe, but Christendom, though disunited, was safe. +The progress of civilization, and the development of the nationalities +and governments of modern Europe, from that time forth went forward in +not uninterrupted, but ultimately certain, career. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[69] Gibbon remarks that if the Saracen conquests had not then been +checked, "perhaps the interpretation of the _Koran_ would now be taught +in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a +circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet." + +[70] Of the Hegira. + +[71] Probably the Loire. + +[72] An. Heg. + + + + +FOUNDING OF THE CARLOVINGIAN DYNASTY + +PEPIN THE SHORT USURPS THE FRANKISH CROWN + +A.D. 751 + +FRANCOIS P.G. GUIZOT + + + The Merovingians, the first dynasty of the Frankish kings in Gaul, + was founded by the greatest of their kings, Clovis, who in 486 + overthrew the Gallo-Roman sway under Syagrius, near Soissons. After + his death in 511 his kingdom was divided among four sons who were + mere boys ranging from twelve to eighteen years of age. The young + princes extended the conquests of their father until they had + secured from the emperor Justinian title to the whole of Gaul. The + last survivor of the brother-kings was Clotaire I. Under his rule + the whole Frankish empire had been united in one; but on his + decease it was again divided among sons. This division cut the + kingdom into three separate sovereignties. + + The reign of these brothers was one of horrible cruelty and + bloodshed. A second Clotaire survived them and brought the monarchy + under one sceptre. But power slipped fast from this royal + representative of the Merovingian race, and the mayor of the palace + (_major-domus)_ began to exercise an authority which in time + resulted in supremacy. When Pepin of Heristal, the greatest + territorial lord of Austrasia, took upon himself the office of + major-domus, he compelled the Merovingian King, at the battle of + Testry in 687, to invest him with the powers of that office in the + three Frankish states, Neustria, Austrasia, and Burgundy. This + being accomplished Pepin was practically dictator, and the + Merovingians, though allowed to remain on the throne, were simply + figure-heads from that time forth. Charles Martel was a son worthy + of Pepin of Heristal. His most notable achievement was the defeat + of the Saracen invaders at the battle of Tours, A.D. 732, which + ended the advance of Mahometanism through Western Europe. + + +Charles Martel died October 22, 741, at Kiersey-sur-Oise, aged fifty-two +years, and his last act was the least wise of his life. He had spent it +entirely in two great works: the reestablishment throughout the whole of +Gaul of the Franco-Gallo-Roman Empire, and the driving back, from the +frontiers of his empire, of the Germans in the North and the Arabs in +the South. The consequence, as also the condition, of this double +success was the victory of Christianity over paganism and Islamism. + +Charles Martel endangered these results by falling back into the groove +of those Merovingian kings whose shadow he had allowed to remain on the +throne. He divided between his two legitimate sons, Pepin, called the +Short, from his small stature, and Carloman, this sole dominion which he +had with so much toil reconstituted and defended. Pepin had Neustria, +Burgundy, Provence, and the suzerainty of Aquitaine; Carloman, +Austrasia, Thuringia, and Alemannia. They both, at their father's death, +took only the title of mayor of the palace, and, perhaps, of duke. The +last but one of the Merovingians, Thierry IV, had died in 737. For four +years there had been no king at all. + +But when the works of men are wise and true, that is, in conformity with +the lasting wants of peoples and the natural tendency of social facts, +they get over even the mistakes of their authors. Immediately after the +death of Charles Martel, the consequences of dividing his empire became +manifest. In the North, the Saxons, the Bavarians, and the Alamannians +renewed their insurrections. In the South, the Arabs of Septimania +recovered their hopes of effecting an invasion; and Hunald, duke of +Aquitaine, who had succeeded his father Eudes after his death in 735, +made a fresh attempt to break away from Frankish sovereignty and win his +independence. Charles Martel had left a young son, Grippo, whose +legitimacy had been disputed, but who was not slow to set up pretensions +and to commence intriguing against his brothers. + +Everywhere there burst out that reactionary movement which arises +against grand and difficult works when the strong hand that undertook +them is no longer by to maintain them; but this movement was of short +duration and to little purpose. Brought up in the school and in the fear +of their father, his two sons, Pepin and Carloman, were inoculated with +his ideas and example; they remained united in spite of the division of +dominions, and labored together, successfully, to keep down, in the +North the Saxons and Bavarians, in the South the Arabs and Aquitanians, +supplying want of unity by union, and pursuing with one accord the +constant aim of Charles Martel--abroad the security and grandeur of the +Frankish dominion, at home the cohesion of all its parts and the +efficacy of its government. + +Events came to the aid of this wise conduct. Five years after the death +of Charles Martel, in 746 in fact, Carloman, already weary of the burden +of power, and seized with a fit of religious zeal, abdicated his share +of sovereignty, left his dominions to his brother Pepin, had himself +shorn by the hands of Pope Zachary, and withdrew into Italy to the +monastery of Monte Cassino. The preceding year, in 745, Hunald, duke of +Aquitaine, with more patriotic and equally pious views, also abdicated +in favor of his son Waifre, whom he thought more capable than himself of +winning the independence of Aquitaine, and went and shut himself up in a +monastery in the island of Rhe, where was the tomb of his father Eudes. +In the course of divers attempts at conspiracy and insurrection, the +Frankish princes' young brother, Grippo, was killed in combat while +crossing the Alps. The furious internal dissensions among the Arabs of +Spain, and their incessant wars with the Berbers, did not allow them to +pursue any great enterprise in Gaul. Thanks to all these circumstances, +Pepin found himself, in 747, sole master of the heritage of Clovis, and +with the sole charge of pursuing, in state and church, his father's +work, which was the unity and grandeur of Christian France. + +Pepin, less enterprising than his father, but judicious, persevering, +and capable of discerning what was at the same time necessary and +possible, was well fitted to continue and consolidate what he would, +probably, never have begun and created. Like his father, he, on arriving +at power, showed pretensions to moderation or, it might be said, +modesty. He did not take the title of king; and, in concert with his +brother Carloman, he went to seek, heaven knows in what obscure asylum, +a forgotten Merovingian, son of Childeric II, the last but one of the +sluggard kings, and made him king, the last of his line, with the title +of Childeric III, himself, as well as his brother, taking only the style +of mayor of the palace. But at the end of ten years, and when he saw +himself alone at the head of the Frankish dominion, Pepin considered the +moment arrived for putting an end to this fiction. In 751 he sent to +Pope Zachary at Rome Burchard, bishop of Wuerzburg, and Fulrad, abbot of +St. Denis, "to consult the pontiff," says Eginhard, "on the subject of +the kings then existing among the Franks, and who bore only the name of +king without enjoying a tittle of royal authority." + +The Pope, whom St. Boniface, the great missionary of Germany, had +prepared for the question, answered that "it was better to give the +title of king to him who exercised the sovereign power "; and next year, +in March, 752, in the presence and with the assent of the general +assembly of "leudes" and bishops gathered together at Soissons, Pepin +was proclaimed king of the Franks, and received from the hand of St. +Boniface the sacred anointment. They cut off the hair of the last +Merovingian phantom, Childeric III, and put him away in the monastery of +St. Sithiu, at St. Omer. Two years later, July 28, 754, Pope Stephen II, +having come to France to claim Pepin's support against the Lombards, +after receiving from him assurance of it, "anointed him afresh with the +holy oil in the church of St. Denis, to do honor in his person to the +dignity of royalty," and conferred the same honor on the king's two +sons, Charles and Carloman. The new Gallo-Frankish kingship and the +papacy, in the name of their common faith and common interests, thus +contracted an intimate alliance. The young Charles was hereafter to +become Charlemagne. + +The same year, Boniface, whom six years before Pope Zachary had made +archbishop of Mayence, gave up one day the episcopal dignity to his +disciple Lullus, charging him to carry on the different works himself +had commenced among the churches of Germany, and to uphold the faith of +the people. "As for me," he added, "I will put myself on my road, for +the time of my passing away approacheth. I have longed for this +departure, and none can turn me from it; wherefore, my son, get all +things ready, and place in the chest with my books the winding-sheet to +wrap up my old body." And so he departed with some of his priests and +servants to go and evangelize the Frisons, the majority of whom were +still pagans and barbarians. He pitched his tent on their territory, and +was arranging to celebrate their Lord's supper, when a band of natives +came down and rushed upon the archbishop's retinue. The servitors +surrounded him, to defend him and themselves, and a battle began. + +"Hold, hold, my children!" cried the archbishop; "Scripture biddeth us +return good for evil. This is the day I have long desired, and the hour +of our deliverance is at hand. Be strong in the Lord: hope in him, and +he will save your souls." The barbarians slew the holy man and the +majority of his company. A little while after, the Christians of the +neighborhood came in arms and recovered the body of St. Boniface. Near +him was a book which was stained with blood and seemed to have dropped +from his hands; it contained several works of the fathers, and among +others a writing of St. Ambrose, _On the Blessing of Death_. The death +of the pious missionary was as powerful as his preaching in converting +Friesland. It was a mode of conquest worthy of the Christian faith, and +one of which the history of Christianity had already proved the +effectiveness. + +St. Boniface did not confine himself to the evangelization of the +pagans; he labored ardently in the Christian Gallo-Frankish Church to +reform the manners and ecclesiastical discipline, and to assure, while +justifying, the moral influence of the clergy by example as well as +precept. The councils, which had almost fallen into desuetude in Gaul, +became once more frequent and active there: from 742 to 753 there may be +counted seven, presided over by St. Boniface, which exercised within the +Church a salutary action. King Pepin, recognizing the services which the +archbishop of Mayence had rendered him, seconded his reformatory efforts +at one time by giving the support of his royal authority to the canons +of the councils, held often simultaneously with and almost confounded +with the laic assemblies of the Franks; at another by doing justice to +the protests of the churches against the violence and spoliation to +which they were subjected. + +"There was an important point," says M. Fauriel, "in respect of which +the position of Charles Martel's sons turned out to be pretty nearly the +same as that of their father: it was touching the necessity of assigning +warriors a portion of the ecclesiastical revenues. But they, being more +religious, perhaps, than Charles Martel, or more impressed with the +importance of humoring the priestly power, were more vexed and more +anxious about the necessity under which they found themselves of +continuing to despoil the churches and of persisting in a system which +was putting the finishing stroke to the ruin of all ecclesiastical +discipline. They were more eager to mitigate the evil and to offer the +Church compensation for their share in this evil to which it was not in +their power to put a stop. Accordingly, at the March parade, held at +Leptines in 743, it was decided, in reference to ecclesiastical lands +applied to the military service: 1st, that the churches having the +ownership of those lands should share the revenue with the lay holder; +2d, that on the death of a warrior in enjoyment of an ecclesiastical +benefice, the benefice should revert to the Church; 3d, that every +benefice, by deprivation whereof any church would be reduced to poverty, +should be at once restored to her. + +"That this capitular was carried out, or even capable of being carried +out, is very doubtful; but the less Carloman and Pepin succeeded in +repairing the material losses incurred by the Church since the accession +of the Carlovingians, the more zealous they were in promoting the growth +of her moral power and the restoration of her discipline ... That was +the time at which there began to be seen the spectacle of the national +assemblies of the Franks, the gatherings at the March parades +transformed into ecclesiastical synods under the presidency of the +titular legate of the Roman pontiff, and dictating, by the mouth of the +political authority, regulations and laws with the direct and formal aim +of restoring divine worship and ecclesiastical discipline, and of +assuring the spiritual welfare of the people." + +Pepin, after he had been proclaimed king and had settled matters with +the Church as well as the warlike questions remaining for him to solve +permitted, directed all his efforts toward the two countries which, +after his father's example, he longed to reunite to the Gallo-Frankish +monarchy, that is, Septimania, still occupied by the Arabs, and +Aquitaine, the independence of which was stoutly and ably defended by +Duke Eudes' grandson, Duke Waifre. The conquest of Septimania was rather +tedious than difficult. The Franks, after having victoriously scoured +the open country of the district, kept invested during three years its +capital, Narbonne, where the Arabs of Spain, much weakened by their +dissensions, vainly tried to throw in reinforcements. Besides the +Mussulman Arabs, the population of the town numbered many Christian +Goths, who were tired of suffering for the defence of their oppressors, +and who entered into secret negotiations with the chiefs of Pepin's +army, the end of which was that they opened the gates of the town. In +759, then, after forty years of Arab rule, Narbonne passed definitively +under that of the Franks, who guaranteed to the inhabitants free +enjoyment of their Gothic or Roman law and of their local institutions. +It even appears that, in the province of Spain bordering on Septimania, +an Arab chief, called Soliman, who was in command at Gerona and +Barcelona, between the Ebro and the Pyrenees, submitted to Pepin, +himself and the country under him. This was an important event, indeed, +in the reign of Pepin, for here was the point at which Islamism, but +lately aggressive and victorious in Southern Europe, began to feel +definitively beaten and to recoil before Christianity. + +The conquest of Aquitaine and Vasconia was much more keenly disputed and +for a much longer time uncertain. Duke Waif re was as able in +negotiation as in war; at one time he seemed to accept the pacific +overtures of Pepin, or, perhaps, himself made similar, without bringing +about any result; at another, he went to seek and found even in Germany +allies who caused Pepin much embarrassment and peril. The population of +Aquitaine hated the Franks; and the war, which for their duke was a +question of independent sovereignty, was for themselves a question of +passionate national feeling. + +Pepin, who was naturally more humane and even more generous, it may be +said, in war than his predecessors had usually been, was nevertheless +induced, in his struggle against the Duke of Aquitaine, to ravage +without mercy the countries he scoured, and to treat the vanquished with +great harshness. It was only after nine years' war and seven campaigns +full of vicissitudes that he succeeded, not in conquering his enemy in a +decisive battle, but in gaining over some servants who betrayed their +master. In the month of July, 759, "Duke Waifre was slain by his own +folk, by the King's advice," says Fredegaire; and the conquest of all +Southern Gaul carried the extent and power of the Gallo-Frankish +monarchy farther and higher than it had ever yet been, even under +Clovis. + +In 753 Pepin had made an expedition against the Britons of Armorica, had +taken Vannes and "subjugated," add certain chroniclers, "the whole of +Brittany." In point of fact, Brittany was no more subjugated by Pepin +than by his predecessors; all that can be said is that the Franks +resumed under him an aggressive attitude toward the Britons, as if to +vindicate a right of sovereignty. + +Exactly at this epoch Pepin was engaging in a matter which did not allow +him to scatter his forces hither and thither. It has been stated +already, that in 741 Pope Gregory III had asked aid of the Franks +against the Lombards who were threatening Rome, and that, while fully +entertaining the Pope's wishes, Charles Martel had been in no hurry to +interfere by deed in the quarrel. Twelve years later, in 753, Pope +Stephen, in his turn threatened by Astolphus, King of the Lombards, +after vain attempts to obtain guarantees of peace, repaired to Paris, +and renewed to Pepin the entreaties used by Zachary. It was difficult +for Pepin to turn a deaf ear; it was Zachary who had declared that he +ought to be made king; Stephen showed readiness to anoint him a second +time, himself and his sons; and it was the eldest of these sons, +Charles, scarcely twelve years old, whom Pepin, on learning the near +arrival of the Pope, had sent to meet him and give brilliancy to his +reception. + +Stephen passed the winter at St. Denis, and gained the favor of the +people as well as that of the King. Astolphus peremptorily refused to +listen to the remonstrances of Pepin, who called upon him to evacuate +the towns in the exarchate of Ravenna, and to leave the Pope unmolested +in the environs of Rome as well as in Rome itself. At the March parade +held at Braine, in the spring of 754, the Franks approved of the war +against the Lombards; and at the end of the summer Pepin and his army +descended into Italy by Mount Cenis, the Lombards trying in vain to stop +them as they debouched into the valley of Suza. Astolphus, beaten, and, +before long, shut up in Pavia, promised all that was demanded of him; +and Pepin and his warriors, laden with booty, returned to France, +leaving at Rome the Pope, who conjured them to remain awhile in Italy, +for to a certainty, he said, King Astolphus would not keep his promises. +The pope was right. So soon as the Franks had gone, the King of the +Lombards continued occupying the places in the exarchate and molesting +the neighborhood of Rome. + +The Pope, in despair and doubtful of his auxiliaries' return, conceived +the idea of sending "to the King, the chiefs, and the people of the +Franks, a letter written, he said, by Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ, +Son of the living God, to announce to them that, if they came in haste, +he would aid them as if he were alive according to the flesh among them, +that they would conquer all their enemies and make themselves sure of +eternal life!" The plan was perfectly successful: the Franks once more +crossed the Alps with enthusiasm, once more succeeded in beating the +Lombards, and once more shut up in Pavia King Astolphus, who was eager +to purchase peace at any price. He obtained it on two principal +conditions: (1) That he would not again make a hostile attack on Roman +territory, or wage war against the Pope or people of Rome; (2) that he +would henceforth recognize the sovereignty of the Franks, pay them +tribute, and cede forthwith to Pepin the towns and all the lands +belonging to the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire, which were at that +time occupied by the Lombards. By virtue of these conditions Ravenna, +Rimini, Pesaro, that is to say, the Romagna, the duchy of Urbino, and a +portion of the Marches of Ancona, were at once given up to Pepin, who, +regarding them as his own direct conquest, the fruit of victory, +disposed of them forthwith in favor of the popes, by that famous deed of +gift which comprehended pretty nearly what has since formed the Roman +States, and which founded the temporal independence of the papacy, the +guarantee of its independence in the exercise of the spiritual power. + +At the head of the Franks as mayor of the palace from 741, and as king +from 752, Pepin had completed in France and extended in Italy the work +which his father, Charles Martel, had begun and carried on, from 714 to +741, in state and church. He left France reunited in one and placed at +the head of Christian Europe. He died at the monastery of St. Denis, +September 18, 768, leaving his kingdom and his dynasty thus ready to the +hands of his son, whom history has dubbed Charlemagne. + + + + +CAREER OF CHARLEMAGNE + +A.D. 772-814 + +FRANCOIS P.G. GUIZOT + + + In Charles, the son of Pepin the Short, later known as Charlemagne, + or Charles the Great, the Carlovingians saw the culminating glory + of their line, while in French history the splendor of his name + outshines that of all other rulers. It seemed an act of fate that + his brother and joint heir to the Frankish kingdom should die and + leave the monarchy wholly in his hands, for his genius was to prove + equal to its field of action. + + The kingdom which Charlemagne inherited was great in extent, lying + mainly between the Loire and the Rhine, including Alemannia and + Burgundy, while his sphere of influence--to use the modern + phrase--covered many provinces and districts over which his rule + was wholly or in part acknowledged--Aquitaine, Bavaria, Brittany, + Frisia, Thuringia, and others. + + To enlarge still further the bounds of his kingdom was the task to + which the young monarch at once addressed himself, and upon which + he entered with all the advantages of family prestige, a commanding + and engaging personality, proven courage and skill in war, as well + as talent and accomplishments in civil affairs. + + The central purpose of Charlemagne, to the service of which all his + policies and his conduct were directed, was the maintenance of the + Christian religion as embodied in the Western Church, whose great + champion he became, and in that character occupies his lofty place + in the history of Europe and of the world. At this period the two + great powers in the Christian world were the Roman pontiff and the + Frankish king; and when, on Christmas Day, A.D. 800, Pope Leo III + crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans, and in the Holy Roman + Empire restored the Western Empire, extinct since 476, he welded + church and state in what long proved to be indissoluble bonds, + somewhat--it must be added--to the chagrin of the Byzantine + emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire at Constantinople. This was an + event the significance of which only later times could learn to + estimate. The Holy Roman Empire henceforth held a leading part in + the world's affairs, the influence of which is still active in the + survivals of its power among nations. + + Charlemagne served the Church and fulfilled his own purposes + through the military subjugation of all whom he could overcome + among the barbarians and heathens of his time. And the powers which + he gained as conqueror he exercised with equal ability and + steadfastness of purpose in his capacity as foremost secular ruler + in the world. By the union of the Teutonic with the Roman + interests, and of northern vigor with the culture of the South, it + is considered by the historians of our own day that Charlemagne + proved himself the beginner of a new era--in fact, as Bryce + declares, of modern history itself. + + Gibbon has said that of all the heroes to whom the title of "the + Great" has been given, Charlemagne alone has retained it as a + permanent addition to his name. + + +The most judicious minds are sometimes led blindly by tradition and +habit, rather than enlightened by reflection and experience. Pepin the +Short committed at his death the same mistake that his father, Charles +Martel, had committed: he divided his dominions between his two sons, +Charles and Carloman, thus destroying again that unity of the +Gallo-Frankish monarchy which his father and he had been at so much +pains to establish. But, just as had already happened in 746 through the +abdication of Pepin's brother, events discharged the duty of repairing +the mistake of men. After the death of Pepin, and notwithstanding that +of Duke Waifre, insurrection broke out once more in Aquitaine; and the +old duke, Hunald, issued from his monastery in the island of Rhe to try +and recover power and independence. Charles and Carloman marched against +him; but, on the march, Carloman, who was jealous and thoughtless, fell +out with his brother, and suddenly quitted the expedition, taking away +his troops. Charles was obliged to continue it alone, which he did with +complete success. At the end of this first campaign, Pepin's widow, the +queen-mother Bertha, reconciled her two sons; but an unexpected +incident, the death of Carloman two years afterward in 771, +reestablished unity more surely than the reconciliation had +reestablished harmony. For, although Carloman left sons, the grandees of +his dominions, whether laic or ecclesiastical, assembled at Corbeny, +between Laon and Rheims, and proclaimed in his stead his brother +Charles, who thus became sole king of the Gallo-Franco-Germanic +monarchy. And as ambition and manners had become less tinged with +ferocity than they had been under the Merovingians, the sons of Carloman +were not killed or shorn or even shut up in a monastery: they retired +with their mother, Gerberge, to the court of Didier, King of the +Lombards. "King Charles," says Eginhard, "took their departure +patiently, regarding it as of no importance." Thus commenced the reign +of Charlemagne. + +The original and dominant characteristic of the hero of this reign, that +which won for him, and keeps for him after more than ten centuries, the +name of great, is the striking variety of his ambition, his faculties, +and his deeds. Charlemagne aspired to and attained to every sort of +greatness--military greatness, political greatness, and intellectual +greatness; he was an able warrior, an energetic legislator, a hero of +poetry. And he united, he displayed all these merits in a time of +general and monotonous barbarism when, save in the church, the minds of +men were dull and barren. Those men, few in number, who made themselves +a name at that epoch, rallied round Charlemagne and were developed under +his patronage. To know him well and appreciate him justly, he must be +examined under those various grand aspects, abroad and at home, in his +wars and in his government. + +From 769 to 813, in Germany and Western and Northern Europe, Charlemagne +conducted thirty-one campaigns against the Saxons, Frisians, Bavarians, +Avars, Slavons, and Danes; in Italy, five against the Lombards; in +Spain, Corsica, and Sardinia, twelve against the Arabs; two against the +Greeks; and three in Gaul itself, against the Aquitanians and the +Britons; in all, fifty-three expeditions; among which those he undertook +against the Saxons, the Lombards, and the Arabs were long and difficult +wars. It were undesirable to recount them in detail, for the relation +would be monotonous and useless; but it is obligatory to make fully +known their causes, their characteristic incidents, and their results. + +Under the last Merovingian kings, the Saxons were, on the right bank of +the Rhine, in frequent collision with the Franks, especially with the +Austrasian Franks, whose territory they were continually threatening and +often invading. Pepin the Short had more than once hurled them back far +from the very uncertain frontiers of Germanic Austrasia; and, on +becoming king, he dealt his blows still farther, and entered, in his +turn, Saxony itself. "In spite of the Saxon's stout resistance," says +Eginhard, "he pierced through the points they had fortified to bar +entrance into their country, and, after having fought here and there +battles wherein fell many Saxons, he forced them to promise that they +would submit to his rule; and that every year, to do him honor, they +would send to the general assembly of Franks a present of three hundred +horses. When these conventions were once settled, he insisted, to insure +their performance, upon placing them under the guarantee of rites +peculiar to the Saxons; then he returned with his army to Gaul." + +Charlemagne did not confine himself to resuming his father's work; he +before long changed its character and its scope. In 772, being left sole +master of France after the death of his brother Carloman, he convoked at +Worms the general assembly of the Franks, "and took," says Eginhard, +"the resolution of going and carrying war into Saxony. He invaded it +without delay, laid it waste with fire and sword, made himself master of +the fort of Ehresburg, and threw down the idol that the Saxons called +_Irminsul_." And in what place was this first victory of Charlemagne +won? Near the sources of the Lippe, just where, more than seven +centuries before, the German Arminius (Herman) had destroyed the legions +of Varus, and whither Germanicus had come to avenge the disaster of +Varus. This ground belonged to Saxon territory; and this idol, called +_Irminsul_, which was thrown down by Charlemagne, was probably a +monument raised in honor of Arminius (_Hermann-Seule,_ or _Herman's +pillar_), whose name it called to mind. The patriotic and hereditary +pride of the Saxons was passionately roused by this blow; and, the +following year, "thinking to find in the absence of the King the most +favorable opportunity," says Eginhard, they entered the lands of the +Franks, laid them waste in their turn, and, paying back outrage for +outrage, set fire to the church not long since built at Fritzlar, by +Boniface, martyr. From that time the question changed its aspect; it was +no longer the repression of Saxon invasions of France, but the conquest +of Saxony by the Franks that was to be dealt with; it was between the +Christianity of the Franks and the national paganism of the Saxons that +the struggle was to take place. + +For thirty years such was its character. Charlemagne regarded the +conquest of Saxony as indispensable for putting a stop to the incursions +of the Saxons, and the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity as +indispensable for assuring the conquest of Saxony. The Saxons were +defending at one and the same time the independence of their country and +the gods of their fathers. Here was wherewithal to stir up and foment, +on both sides, the profoundest passions; and they burst forth, on both +sides, with equal fury. Whithersoever Charlemagne penetrated he built +strong castles and churches; and, at his departure, left garrisons and +missionaries. When he was gone the Saxons returned, attacked the forts, +and massacred the garrisons and the missionaries. At the commencement of +the struggle, a priest of Anglo-Saxon origin, whom St. Willibrod, bishop +of Utrecht, had but lately consecrated--St. Liebwin, in fact--undertook +to go and preach the Christian religion in the very heart of Saxony, on +the banks of the Weser, amid the general assembly of the Saxons. "What +do ye?" said he, cross in hand; "the idols ye worship live not, neither +do they perceive: they are the work of men's hands; they can do naught +either for themselves or for others. Wherefore the one God, good and +just, having compassion on your errors, hath sent me unto you. If ye put +not away your iniquity, I foretell unto you a trouble that ye do not +expect, and that the King of Heaven hath ordained aforetime: there shall +come a prince, strong and wise and indefatigable, not from afar, but +from nigh at hand, to fall upon you like a torrent, in order to soften +your hard hearts and bow down your proud heads. At one rush he shall +invade the country; he shall lay it waste with fire and sword, and carry +away your wives and children into captivity." A thrill of rage ran +through the assembly; and already many of those present had begun to +cut, in the neighboring woods, stakes sharpened to a point to pierce the +priest, when one of the chieftains, named Buto, cried aloud: "Listen, ye +who are the most wise. There have often come unto us ambassadors from +neighboring peoples, Northmen, Slavons, or Frisians; we have received +them in peace, and when their messages had been heard, they have been +sent away with a present. Here is an ambassador from a great God, and ye +would slay him!" Whether it were from sentiment or from prudence, the +multitude was calmed, or, at any rate, restrained; and for this time the +priest retired safe and sound. + +Just as the pious zeal of the missionaries was of service to +Charlemagne, so did the power of Charlemagne support and sometimes +preserve the missionaries. The mob, even in the midst of its passions, +is not throughout or at all times inaccessible to fear. The Saxons were +not one and the same nation, constantly united in one and the same +assembly, and governed by a single chieftain. Three populations of the +same race, distinguished by names borrowed from their geographical +situation, just as had happened among the Franks in the case of the +Austrasians and Neustrians, to wit, Eastphalian or Eastern Saxons, +Westphalian or Western, and Angrians, formed the Saxon confederation. +And to them was often added a fourth people of the same origin, closer +to the Danes, and called North-Albingians, inhabitants of the northern +district of the Elbe. These four principal Saxon populations were +subdivided into a large number of tribes, who had their own particular +chieftains, and who often decided, each for itself, their conduct and +their fate. Charlemagne, knowing how to profit by this want of cohesion +and unity among his foes, attacked now one and now another of the large +Saxon peoplets or the small Saxon tribes, and dealt separately with each +of them, according as he found them inclined to submission or +resistance. After having, in four or five successive expeditions, gained +victories and sustained checks, he thought himself sufficiently advanced +in his conquest to put his relations with the Saxons to a grand trial. +In 777, he resolved, says Eginhard, "to go and hold, at the place called +Paderborn (close to Saxony) the general assembly of this people. On his +arrival he found there assembled the senate and people of this +perfidious nation, who, conformably to his orders, had repaired thither, +seeking to deceive him by a false show of submission and devotion.... +They earned their pardon, but on this condition, however, that, if +hereafter they broke their engagements, they would be deprived of +country and liberty. A great number among them had themselves baptized +on this occasion; but it was with far from sincere intentions that they +had testified a desire to become Christians." + +There had been absent from this great meeting a Saxon chieftain, called +Wittikind, son of Wernekind, King of the Saxons at the north of the +Elbe. He had espoused the sister of Siegfried, King of the Danes; and +he was the friend of Ratbod, King of the Frisians. A true chieftain at +heart as well as by descent, he was made to be the hero of the Saxons +just as, seven centuries before, the Cheruscan Herman (Arminius) had +been the hero of the Germans. Instead of repairing to Paderborn, +Wittikind had left Saxony, and taken refuge with his brother-in-law, the +King of the Danes. Thence he encouraged his Saxon compatriots, some to +persevere in their resistance, others to repent them of their show of +submission. War began again; and Wittikind hastened back to take part in +it. In 778 the Saxons advanced as far as the Rhine; but, "not having +been able to cross this river," says Eginhard, "they set themselves to +lay waste with fire and sword all the towns and all the villages from +the city of Duitz (opposite Cologne) as far as the confluence of the +Moselle. The churches as well as the houses were laid in ruins from top +to bottom. The enemy, in his frenzy, spared neither age nor sex, wishing +to show thereby that he had invaded the territory of the Franks, not for +plunder, but for revenge!" For three years the struggle continued, more +confined in area, but more and more obstinate. Many of the Saxon tribes +submitted; many Saxons were baptized; and Siegfried, King of the Danes, +sent to Charlemagne a deputation, as if to treat for peace. Wittikind +had left Denmark; but he had gone across to her neighbors, the Northmen; +and, thence reentering Saxony, he kindled there an insurrection as +fierce as it was unexpected. In 782 two of Charlemagne's lieutenants +were beaten on the banks of the Weser, and killed in the battle, +"together with four counts and twenty leaders, the noblest in the army; +indeed, the Franks were nearly all exterminated. At news of this +disaster," says Eginhard, "Charlemagne, without losing a moment, +reassembled an army and set out for Saxony. He summoned into his +presence all the chieftains of the Saxons, and demanded of them who had +been the promoters of the revolt. All agreed in denouncing Wittikind as +the author of this treason. But as they could not deliver him up, +because immediately after his sudden attack he had taken refuge with the +Northmen, those who, at his instigation, had been accomplices in the +crime, were placed, to the number of four thousand five hundred, in the +hands of the King; and, by his order, all had their heads cut off the +same day, at a place called Werden, on the river Aller. After this deed +of vengeance the King retired to Thionville to pass the winter there." + +But the vengeance did not put an end to the war. For three years +Charlemagne had to redouble his efforts to accomplish in Saxony, at the +cost of Frankish as well as Saxon blood, his work of conquest and +conversion: "Saxony," he often repeated, "must be Christianized or wiped +out." At last, in 785, after several victories which seemed decisive, he +went and settled down in his strong castle of Ehresburg, "whither he +made his wife and children come, being resolved to remain there all the +bad season," says Eginhard, and applying himself without cessation to +scouring the country of the Saxons and wearing them out by his strong +and indomitable determination. But determination did not blind him to +prudence and policy. "Having learned that Wittikind and Abbio, another +great Saxon chieftain, were abiding in the part of Saxony situated on +the other side of the Elbe, he sent to them Saxon envoys to prevail upon +them to renounce their perfidy, and come, without hesitation, and trust +themselves to him. They, conscious of what they had attempted, dared not +at first trust to the King's word; but having obtained from him the +promise they desired of impunity, and, besides, the hostages they +demanded as guarantee of their safety, and who were brought to them, on +the King's behalf, by Amalwin, one of the officers of his court, they +came with the said lord and presented themselves before the King in his +palace of Attigny [Attigny-sur-Aisne, whither Charlemagne had now +returned], and there received baptism." + +Charlemagne did more than amnesty Wittikind; he named him Duke of +Saxony, but without attaching to the title any right of sovereignty. +Wittikind, on his side, did more than come to Attigny and get baptized +there; he gave up the struggle, remained faithful to his new +engagements, and led, they say, so Christian a life that some +chroniclers have placed him on the list of saints. He was killed in 807, +in a battle against Gerold, Duke of Suabia, and his tomb is still to be +seen at Ratisbon. Several families of Germany hold him for their +ancestor; and some French genealogists have, without solid ground, +discovered in him the grandfather of Robert the Strong, +great-grandfather of Hugh Capet. However that may be, after making +peace with Wittikind, Charlemagne had still, for several years, many +insurrections to repress and much rigor to exercise in Saxony, including +the removal of certain Saxon peoplets out of their country, and the +establishment of foreign colonists in the territories thus become +vacant; but the great war was at an end, and Charlemagne might consider +Saxony incorporated in his dominions. + +He had still, in Germany and all around, many enemies to fight and many +campaigns to reopen. Even among the Germanic populations, which were +regarded as reduced under the sway of the King of the Franks, some, the +Frisians and Saxons, as well as others, were continually agitating for +the recovery of their independence. Farther off, toward the north, east, +and south, people differing in origin and language--Avars, Huns, +Slavons, Bulgarians, Danes, and Northmen--were still pressing or +beginning to press upon the frontiers of the Frankish dominion, for the +purpose of either penetrating within or settling at the threshold as +powerful and formidable neighbors. Charlemagne had plenty to do, with +the view at one time of checking their incursions, and at another of +destroying or hurling back to a distance their settlements; and he +brought his usual vigor and perseverance to bear on this second +struggle. But by the conquest of Saxony he had attained his direct +national object: the great flood of population from east to west came, +and broke against the Gallo-Franco-Germanic dominion as against an +insurmountable rampart. + +This was not, however, Charlemagne's only great enterprise at this +epoch, nor the only great struggle he had to maintain. While he was +incessantly fighting in Germany, the work of policy commenced by his +father Pepin in Italy called for his care and his exertions. The new +King of the Lombards, Didier, and the new Pope, Adrian I, had entered +upon a new war; and Didier was besieging Rome, which was energetically +defended by the Pope and its inhabitants. In 773, Adrian invoked the aid +of the King of the Franks, whom his envoys succeeded, not without +difficulty, in finding at Thionville. Charlemagne could not abandon the +grand position left him by his father as protector of the papacy and as +patrician of Rome. The possessions, moreover, wrested by Didier from +the Pope were exactly those which Pepin had won by conquest from King +Astolphus, and had presented to the Papacy. Charlemagne was besides, on +his own account, on bad terms with the King of the Lombards, whose +daughter, Desiree, he had married, and afterward repudiated and sent +home to her father, in order to marry Hildegarde, a Suabian by nation. +Didier, in dudgeon, had given an asylum to Carloman's widow and sons, on +whose intrigues Charlemagne kept a watchful eye. Being prudent and +careful of appearances, even when he was preparing to strike a heavy +blow, Charlemagne tried, by means of special envoys, to obtain from the +King of the Lombards what the Pope demanded. On Didier's refusal he at +once set to work, convoked the general meeting of the Franks, at Geneva, +in the autumn of 773, gained them over, not without encountering some +objections, to the projected Italian expedition, and forthwith commenced +the campaign with two armies. One was to cross the Valais and descend +upon Lombardy by Mount St. Bernard; Charlemagne in person led the other, +by Mount Cenis. The Lombards, at the outlet of the passes of the Alps, +offered a vigorous resistance; but when the second army had penetrated +into Italy by Mount St. Bernard, Didier, threatened in his rear, retired +precipitately, and, driven from position to position, was obliged to go +and shut himself up in Pavia, the strongest place in his kingdom, +whither Charlemagne, having received on the march the submission of the +principal counts and nearly all the towns of Lombardy, came promptly to +besiege him. + +To place textually before the reader a fragment of an old chronicle will +serve better than any modern description to show the impression of +admiration and fear produced upon his contemporaries by Charlemagne, his +person and his power. At the close of this ninth century a monk of the +abbey of St. Gall, in Switzerland, had collected, direct from the mouth +of one of Charlemagne's warriors, Adalbert, numerous stories of his +campaigns and his life. These stories are full of fabulous legends, +puerile anecdotes, distorted reminiscences and chronological errors, and +they are written sometimes with a credulity and exaggeration of language +which raise a smile; but they reveal the state of men's minds and +fancies within the circle of Charlemagne's influence and at the sight +of him. This monk gives a naive account of Charlemagne's arrival before +Pavia, and of the King of the Lombard's disquietude at his approach. +Didier had with him at that time one of Charlemagne's most famous +comrades, Ogier the Dane, who fills a prominent place in the romances +and _epopaeias_, relating to chivalry, of that age. Ogier had quarrelled +with his great chief and taken refuge with the King of the Lombards. It +is probable that his Danish origin and his relations with the King of +the Danes, Gottfried, for a long time an enemy of the Franks, had +something to do with his misunderstanding with Charlemagne. However that +may have been, "when Didier and Ogger (for so the monk calls him) heard +that the dread monarch was coming, they ascended a tower of vast height +whence they could watch his arrival from afar off and from every +quarter. They saw, first of all, engines of war such as must have been +necessary for the armies of Darius or Julius Caesar. 'Is not Charles,' +asked Didier of Ogger, 'with his great army?' But the other answered, +'No.' The Lombard, seeing afterward an immense body of soldiery gathered +from all quarters of the vast empire, said to Ogger, 'Certes, Charles +advanceth in triumph in the midst of this throng.' 'No, not yet; he will +not appear so soon,' was the answer. 'What should we do, then,' rejoined +Didier, who began to be perturbed, 'should he come accompanied by a +larger band of warriors?' 'You will see what he is when he comes,' +replied Ogger, 'but as to what will become of us, I know nothing.' As +they were thus parleying appeared the body of guards that knew no +repose; and at this sight the Lombard, overcome with dread, cried, 'This +time 'tis surely Charles.' 'No,' answered Ogger, 'not yet.' In their +wake came the bishops, the abbots, the ordinaries of the chapels royal, +and the counts; and then Didier, no longer able to bear the light of day +or to face death, cried out with groans, 'Let us descend and hide +ourselves in the bowels of the earth, far from the face and the fury of +so terrible a foe.' Trembling the while, Ogger, who knew by experience +what were the power and might of Charles, and who had learned the lesson +by long consuetude in better days, then said, 'When ye shall behold the +crops shaking for fear in the fields, and the gloomy Po and the Ticino +overflowing the walls of the city with their waves blackened with steel +(iron), then may ye think that Charles is coming.' He had not ended +these words when there began to be seen in the west, as it were a black +cloud, raised by the northwest wind or by Boreas, which turned the +brightest day into awful shadows. But as the Emperor drew nearer and +nearer, the gleam of arms caused to shine on the people shut up within +the city a day more gloomy than any kind of night. And then appeared +Charles himself, that man of steel, with his head encased in a helmet of +steel, his hands garnished with gauntlets of steel, his heart of steel +and his shoulders of marble protected by a cuirass of steel, and his +left hand armed with a lance of steel which he held aloft in the air, +for as to his right hand he kept that continually on the hilt of his +invincible sword. The outside of his thighs, which the rest, for their +greater ease in mounting a-horseback, were wont to leave unshackled even +by straps, he wore encircled by plates of steel. What shall I say +concerning his boots? All the army were wont to have them invariably of +steel; on his buckler there was naught to be seen but steel; his horse +was of the color and the strength of steel. All those who went before +the monarch, all those who marched at his side, all those who followed +after, even the whole mass of the army had armor of the like sort, so +far as the means of each permitted. The fields and the high-ways were +covered with steel: the points of steel reflected the rays of the sun; +and this steel, so hard, was borne by a people with hearts still harder. +The flash of steel spread terror throughout the streets of the city. +'What steel! alack, what steel!' Such were the bewildered cries the +citizens raised. The firmness of manhood and of youth gave way at sight +of the steel; and the steel paralyzed the wisdom of graybeards. That +which I, poor tale-teller, mumbling and toothless, have attempted to +depict in a long description, Ogger perceived at one rapid glance, and +said to Didier, 'Here is what ye have so anxiously sought': and while +uttering these words he fell down almost lifeless." + +The monk of St. Gall does King Didier and his people wrong. They showed +more firmness and valor than he ascribes to them; they resisted +Charlemagne obstinately, and repulsed his first assaults so well that he +changed the siege into an investment, and settled down before Pavia, as +if making up his mind for a long operation. His camp became a town; he +sent for Queen Hildegarde and her court; and he had a chapel built where +he celebrated the festival of Christmas. But on the arrival of spring, +close upon the festival of Easter, 774, wearied with the duration of the +investment, he left to his lieutenants the duty of keeping it up, and, +attended by a numerous and brilliant following, set off for Rome, +whither the Pope was urgently pressing him to come. + +On Holy Saturday, April 1, 774, Charlemagne found, at three miles from +Rome, the magistrates and the banner of the city, sent forward by the +Pope to meet him; at one mile all the municipal bodies and the pupils of +the schools carrying palm branches and singing hymns; and at the gate of +the city, the cross, which was never taken out save for exarchs and +patricians. At sight of the cross Charlemagne dismounted, entered Rome +on foot, ascended the steps of the ancient basilica of St. Peter, +repeating at each step a sign of respectful piety, and was received at +the top by the Pope himself. All around him and in the streets a chant +was sung, "Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord!" At his +entry and during his sojourn at Rome, Charlemagne gave the most striking +proofs of Christian faith and respect for the head of the Church. +According to the custom of pilgrims he visited all the basilicas, and in +that of Sta. Maria Maggiore he performed his solemn devotions. Then, +passing to temporal matters, he caused to be brought and read over, in +his private conferences with the Pope, the deed of territorial gift made +by his father Pepin to Stephen II, and with his own lips dictated the +confirmation of it, adding thereto a new gift of certain territories +which he was in course of wresting by conquest from the Lombards. Pope +Adrian, on his side, rendered to him, with a mixture of affection and +dignity, all the honors and all the services which could at one and the +same time satisfy and exalt the King and the priest, the protector and +the protected. He presented to Charlemagne a book containing a +collection of the canons written by the pontiffs from the origin of the +Church, and he put at the beginning of the book, which was dedicated to +Charlemagne, an address in forty-five irregular verses, written with his +own hand, which formed an anagram: "Pope Adrian to his most excellent +son, Charlemagne, king" (_Domino excellentissimo filio Carolo Magno +regi, Hadrianus papa_). At the same time he encouraged him to push his +victory to the utmost and make himself king of the Lombards, advising +him, however, not to incorporate his conquest with the Frankish +dominions, as it would wound the pride of the conquered people to be +thus absorbed by the conquerors, and to take merely the title of "King +of the Franks and Lombards." Charlemagne appreciated and accepted this +wise advice; for he could preserve proper limits in his ambition and in +the hour of victory. Three years afterward he even did more than Pope +Adrian had advised. In 777 Queen Hildegarde bore him a son, Pepin, whom +in 781 Charlemagne had baptized and anointed King of Italy at Rome by +the Pope, thus separating not only the two titles, but also the two +kingdoms, and restoring to the Lombards a national existence, feeling +quite sure that so long as he lived the unity of his different dominions +would not be imperilled. Having thus regulated at Rome his own affairs +and those of the Church, he returned to his camp, took Pavia, received +the submission of all the Lombard dukes and counts, save one only, +Aregisius, Duke of Beneventum, and entered France again, taking with +him, as prisoner, King Didier, whom he banished to a monastery, first at +Liege and then at Corbie, where the dethroned Lombard, say the +chroniclers, ended his days in saintly fashion. + +The prompt success of this war in Italy, undertaken at the appeal of the +head of the Church, this first sojourn of Charlemagne at Rome, the +spectacles he had witnessed and the homage he had received, exercised +over him, his plans and his deeds, a powerful influence. This rough +Frankish warrior, chief of a people who were beginning to make a +brilliant appearance upon the stage of the world, and issue himself of a +new line, had a taste for what was grand, splendid, ancient, and +consecrated by time and public respect; he understood and estimated at +its full worth the moral force and importance of such allies. He +departed from Rome in 774, more determined than ever to subdue Saxony, +to the advantage of the Church as well as of his own power, and to +promote, in the South as in the North, the triumph of the Frankish +Christian dominion. + +Three years afterward, in 777, he had convoked at Paderborn, in +Westphalia, that general assembly of his different peoples at which +Wittikind did not attend, and which was destined to bring upon the +Saxons a more and more obstinate war. "The Saracen Ibn-al-Arabi," says +Eginhard, "came to this town, to present himself before the King. He had +arrived from Spain, together with other Saracens in his train, to +surrender to the King of the Franks himself and all the towns which the +King of the Saracens had confided to his keeping." For a long time past +the Christians of the West had given the Mussulmans, Arab or other, the +name of _Saracens_. Ibn-al-Arabi was governor of Saragossa, and one of +the Spanish-Arab chieftains in league against Abdel-Rhaman, the last +offshoot of the Ommiad caliphs, who, with the assistance of the Berbers, +had seized the government of Spain. Amid the troubles of his country and +his nation, Ibn-al-Arabi summoned to his aid, against Abdel-Rhaman, the +Franks and the Christians, just as, but lately, Maurontius, Duke of +Arles, had summoned to Provence, against Charles Martel, the Arabs and +the Mussulmans. + +Charlemagne accepted the summons with alacrity. With the coming of +spring in the following year, 778, and with the full assent of his chief +warriors, he began his march toward the Pyrenees, crossed the Loire, and +halted at Casseneuil, at the confluence of the Lot and the Garonne, to +celebrate there the festival of Easter, and to make preparations for his +expedition thence. As he had but lately done for his campaign in Italy +against the Lombards, he divided his forces into two armies: one +composed of Austrasians, Neustrians, Burgundians, and divers German +contingents, and commanded by Charlemagne in person, was to enter Spain +by the valley of Roncesvalles, in the western Pyrenees, and make for +Pampeluna; the other, consisting of Provencals, Septimanians, Lombards, +and other populations of the South, under the command of Duke Bernard, +who had already distinguished himself in Italy, had orders to penetrate +into Spain by the eastern Pyrenees, to receive on the march the +submission of Gerona and Barcelona, and not to halt till they were +before Saragossa, where the two armies were to form a junction, and +which Ibn-al-Arabi had promised to give up to the King of the Franks. +According to this plan, Charlemagne had to traverse the territories of +Aquitaine and Vasconia, domains of Duke Lupus II, son of Duke Waifre, so +long the foe of Pepin the Short, a Merovingian by descent, and, in all +these qualities, little disposed to favor Charlemagne. However, the +march was accomplished without difficulty. The King of the Franks +treated his powerful vassal well; and Duke Lupus swore to him afresh, +"or for the first time," says M. Fauriel, "submission and fidelity; but +the event soon proved that it was not without umbrage or without all the +feelings of a true son of Waifre that he saw the Franks and the son of +Pepin so close to him." + +The aggressive campaign was an easy and a brilliant one. Charles with +his army entered Spain by the valley of Roncesvalles without +encountering any obstacle. On his arrival before Pampeluna the Arab +governor surrendered the place to him, and Charlemagne pushed forward +vigorously to Saragossa. But there fortune changed. The presence of +foreigners and Christians on the soil of Spain caused a suspension of +interior quarrels among the Arabs, who rose in mass, at all points, to +succor Saragossa. The besieged defended themselves with obstinacy; there +was more scarcity of provisions among the besiegers than inside the +place; sickness broke out among them; they were incessantly harassed +from without; and rumors of a fresh rising among the Saxons reached +Charlemagne. The Arabs demanded negotiation. To decide the King of the +Franks upon an abandonment of the siege, they offered him "an immense +quantity of gold," say the chroniclers, hostages, and promises of homage +and fidelity. Appearances had been saved; Charlemagne could say, and +even perhaps believe, that he had pushed his conquests as far as the +Ebro; he decided on retreat, and all the army was set in motion to +recross the Pyrenees. On arriving before Pampeluna Charlemagne had its +walls completely razed to the ground, "in order that," as he said, "that +city might not be able to revolt." The troops entered those same passes +of Roncesvalles which they had traversed without obstacle a few weeks +before; and the advance-guard and the main body of the army were already +clear of them. The account of what happened shall be given in the words +of Eginhard, the only contemporary historian whose account, free from +all exaggeration, can be considered authentic. "The King," he says, +"brought back his army without experiencing any loss, save that at the +summit of the Pyrenees he suffered somewhat from the perfidy of the +Vascons (Basques). While the army of the Franks, embarrassed in a narrow +defile, was forced by the nature of the ground to advance in one long +close line, the Basques, who were in ambush on the crest of the +mountain--for the thickness of the forest with which these parts are +covered is favorable to ambuscade--descend and fall suddenly on the +baggage-train and on the troops of the rear-guard, whose duty it was to +cover all in their front, and precipitate them to the bottom of the +valley. There took place a fight in which the Franks were killed to a +man. The Basques, after having plundered the baggage-train, profited by +the night which had come on to disperse rapidly. They owed all their +success in this engagement to the lightness of their equipment and to +the nature of the spot where the action took place; the Franks, on the +contrary, being heavily armed and in an unfavorable position, struggled +against too many disadvantages. Eginhard, master of the household of the +King; Anselm, count of the palace; and Roland, prefect of the marches of +Brittany, fell in this engagement. There were no means, at the time, of +taking revenge for this check; for, after their sudden attack, the enemy +dispersed to such good purpose that there was no gaining any trace of +the direction in which they should be sought for." + +History says no more; but in the poetry of the people there is a longer +and a more faithful memory than in the court of kings. The disaster of +Roncesvalles and the heroism of the warriors who perished there, became +in France the object of popular sympathy and the favorite topic for the +exercise of the popular fancy. _The Song of Roland_, a real Homeric poem +in its great beauty, and yet rude and simple as became its national +character, bears witness to the prolonged importance attained in Europe +by this incident in the history of Charlemagne. Four centuries later the +comrades of William the Conqueror, marching to battle at Hastings for +the possession of England, struck up _The Song of Roland_, "to prepare +themselves for victory or death," says M. Vitel in his vivid estimate +and able translation of this poetical monument of the manners and first +impulses toward chivalry of the Middle Ages. There is no determining +how far history must be made to participate in these reminiscences of +national feeling; but, assuredly, the figures of Roland and Oliver, and +Archbishop Turpin, and the pious, unsophisticated, and tender character +of their heroism are not pure fables invented by the fancy of a poet or +the credulity of a monk. If the accuracy of historical narrative must +not be looked for in them, their moral truth must be recognized in their +portrayal of a people and an age. + +The politic genius of Charlemagne comprehended more fully than would be +imagined from his panegyrist's brief and dry account all the gravity of +the affair of Roncesvalles. Not only did he take immediate vengeance by +hanging Duke Lupus of Aquitaine, whose treason had brought down this +mishap, and by reducing his two sons, Adalric and Sancho, to a more +feeble and precarious condition; but he resolved to treat Aquitaine as +he had but lately treated Italy, that is to say, to make of it, +according to the correct definition of M. Fauriel, "a special kingdom, +an integral portion, indeed, of the Frankish empire, but with an +especial destination, which was that of resisting the invasions of the +Andalusian Arabs, and confining them as much as possible to the soil of +the peninsula." This was, in some sort, giving back to the country its +primary task as an independent duchy; and it was the most natural and +most certain way of making the Aquitanians useful subjects, by giving +play to their national vanity, to their pretensions of forming a +separate people, and to their hopes of once more becoming, sooner or +later, an independent nation. Queen Hildegarde, during her husband's +sojourn at Casseneuil, in 778, had borne him a son whom he called Louis, +and who was afterward Louis the Debonair. Charlemagne, summoned a second +time to Rome, in 781, by the quarrels of Pope Adrian I with the imperial +court of Constantinople, brought with him his two sons, Pepin, aged only +four years, and Louis, only three years, and had them anointed by the +Pope--the former King of Italy, and the latter King of Aquitaine. On +returning from Rome to Austrasia, Charlemagne sent Louis at once to take +possession of his kingdom. From the banks of the Meuse to Orleans the +little prince was carried in his cradle; but once on the Loire, this +manner of travelling beseemed him no longer; his conductors would that +his entry into his dominions should have a manly and warrior-like +appearance; they clad him in arms proportioned to his height and age; +they put him and held him on horseback; and it was in such guise that he +entered Aquitaine. He came thither accompanied by the officers who were +to form his council of guardians, men chosen by Charlemagne, with care, +among the Frankish _Leudes_, distinguished not only for bravery and +firmness, but also for adroitness, and such as they should be to be +neither deceived nor scared by the cunning, fickle, and turbulent +populations with whom they would have to deal. From this period to the +death of Charlemagne, and by his sovereign influence, though all the +while under his son's name, the government of Aquitaine was a series of +continued efforts to hurl back the Arabs of Spain beyond the Ebro, to +extend to that river the dominion of the Franks, to divert to that end +the forces as well as the feelings of the populations of Southern Gaul, +and thus to pursue, in the South as in the North, against the Arabs as +well as against the Saxons and Huns, the grand design, of Charlemagne, +which was the repression of foreign invasions and the triumph of +Christian France over Asiatic paganism and Islamism. + +Although continually obliged to watch, and often still to fight, +Charlemagne might well believe that he had nearly gained his end. He had +everywhere greatly extended the frontiers of the Frankish dominions and +subjugated the populations comprised in his conquests. He had proved +that his new frontiers would be vigorously defended against new +invasions or dangerous neighbors. He had pursued the Huns and the +Slavons to the confines of the Empire of the East, and the Saracens to +the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. The centre of the dominion was no +longer in ancient Gaul; he had transferred it to a point not far from +the Rhine, in the midst and within reach of the Germanic populations, at +the town of Aix-la-Chapelle, which he had founded, and which was his +favorite residence; but the principal parts of the Gallo-Frankish +kingdom, Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy, were effectually welded in +one single mass. What he had done with Southern Gaul has just been +pointed out; how he had both separated it from his own kingdom, and +still retained it under his control. Two expeditions into Armorica, +without taking entirely from the Britons their independence, had taught +them real deference, and the great warrior Roland, installed as count +upon their frontier, warned them of the peril any rising would +encounter. The moral influence of Charlemagne was on a par with his +material power; he had everywhere protected the missionaries of +Christianity; he had twice entered Rome, also in the character of +protector, and he could count on the faithful support of the Pope at +least as much as the Pope could count on him. He had received embassies +and presents from the sovereigns of the East, Christian and Mussulman, +from the emperors of Constantinople and the caliphs of Bagdad. +Everywhere, in Europe, in Africa, and in Asia, he was feared and +respected by kings and people. Such, at the close of the eighth century, +were, so far as he was concerned, the results of his wars, of the +superior capacity he had displayed, and of the successes he had won and +kept. + +In 799 he received, at Aix-la-Chapelle, news of serious disturbances +which had broken out at Rome; that Pope Leo III had been attacked by +conspirators, who, after pulling out, it was said, his eyes and his +tongue, had shut him up in the monastery of St. Erasmus, whence he had +with great difficulty escaped, and that he had taken refuge with +Winigisius, Duke of Spoleto, announcing his intention of repairing +thence to the Frankish King. Leo was already known to Charlemagne; at +his accession to the pontificate, in 795, he had sent to him, as to the +patrician and defender of Rome, the keys of the prison of St. Peter, and +the banner of the city. Charlemagne showed a disposition to receive him +with equal kindness and respect. The Pope arrived, in fact, at +Paderborn, passed some days there, according to Eginhard, and returned +to Rome on the 30th of November, 799, at ease regarding his future, but +without knowledge on the part of anyone of what had been settled between +the King of the Franks and him. Charlemagne remained all the winter at +Aix-la-Chapelle, spent the first months of the year 800 on affairs +connected with Western France, at Rouen, Tours, Orleans, and Paris, and, +returning to Mayence in the month of August, then for the first time +announced to the general assembly of Franks his design of making a +journey to Italy. He repaired thither, in fact, and arrived on the 23d +of November, 800, at the gates of Rome. The Pope "received him there as +he was dismounting; then, the next day, standing on the steps of the +basilica of St. Peter and amid general hallelujahs, he introduced the +King into the sanctuary of the blessed apostle, glorifying and thanking +the Lord for this happy event." Some days were spent in examining into +the grievances which had been set down to the Pope's account, and in +receiving two monks arrived from Jerusalem to present to the King, with +the patriarch's blessing, the keys of the Holy Sepulchre and Calvary, as +well as the sacred standard. Lastly, on the 25th of December, 800, "the +day of the Nativity of our Lord," says Eginhard, "the King came into the +basilica of the blessed St. Peter, apostle, to attend the celebration of +mass. At the moment when, in his place before the altar, he was bowing +down to pray, Pope Leo placed on his head a crown, and all the Roman +people shouted, 'Long life and victory to Charles Augustus, crowned by +God, the great and pacific Emperor of the Romans!' After this +proclamation the Pontiff prostrated himself before him and paid him +adoration, according to the custom established in the days of the old +emperors; and thenceforward Charles, giving up the title of patrician, +bore that of emperor and augustus." + +Eginhard adds, in his _Life of Charlemagne_: "The King at first +testified great aversion for this dignity, for he declared that, +notwithstanding the importance of the festival, he would not on that day +have entered the church if he could have foreseen the intentions of the +sovereign Pontiff. However, this event excited the jealousy of the Roman +emperors (of Constantinople), who showed great vexation at it; but +Charles met their bad graces with nothing but great patience, and thanks +to this magnanimity which raised him so far above them, he managed, by +sending to them frequent embassies and giving them in his letters the +name of brother, to triumph over their conceit." + +No one, probably, believed, in the ninth century, and no one, assuredly, +will nowadays believe that Charlemagne was innocent beforehand of what +took place on the 25th of December, 300, in the basilica of St. Peter. +It is doubtful, also, if he were seriously concerned about the +ill-temper of the emperors of the East. He had wit enough to understand +the value which always remains attached to old traditions, and he might +have taken some pains to secure their countenance to his title of +emperor; but all his contemporaries believed, and he also undoubtedly +believed, that he had on that day really won and set up again the Roman +Empire. + +What, then, was the government of this empire of which Charlemagne was +proud to assume the old title? How did this German warrior govern that +vast dominion which, thanks to his conquests, extended from the Elbe to +the Ebro, from the North Sea to the Mediterranean; which comprised +nearly all Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland, and the north of Italy +and of Spain, and which, sooth to say, was still, when Charlemagne +caused himself to be made emperor, scarce more than the hunting-ground +and the battle-field of all the swarms of barbarians who tried to settle +on the ruins of the Roman world they had invaded and broken to pieces? +The government of Charlemagne in the midst of this chaos is the +striking, complicated, and transitory fact which is now to be passed in +review. + +A word of warning must be first of all given touching this word +_government_ with which it is impossible to dispense. For a long time +past the word has entailed ideas of national unity, general +organization, and regular and efficient power. There has been no lack of +revolutions which have changed dynasties and the principles and forms of +the supreme power in the State; but they have always left existing, +under different names, the practical machinery whereby the supreme power +makes itself felt and exercises its various functions over the whole +country. Open the _Almanac_, whether it be called the Imperial, the +Royal, or the National, and you will find there always the working +system of the government of France; all the powers and their agents, +from the lowest to the highest, are there indicated and classed +according to their prerogatives and relations. Nor have we there a mere +empty nomenclature, a phantom of theory; things go on actually as they +are described--the book is the reflex of the reality. It were easy to +construct, for the empire of Charlemagne, a similar list of officers; +there might be set down in it dukes, counts, vicars, centeniers, and +sheriffs (_scabini_), and they might be distributed, in regular +gradation, over the whole territory; but it would be one huge lie, for +most frequently, in the majority of places, these magistracies were +utterly powerless and themselves in complete disorder. The efforts of +Charlemagne, either to establish them on a firm footing or to make them +act with regularity, were continual but unavailing. In spite of the +fixity of his purpose and the energy of his action the disorder around +him was measureless and insurmountable. He might check it for a moment +at one point; but the evil existed wherever his terrible will did not +reach, and wherever it did the evil broke out again as soon as it had +been withdrawn. How could it be otherwise? Charlemagne had not to +grapple with one single nation or with one single system of +institutions; he had to deal with different nations, without cohesion, +and foreign one to another. The authority belonged, at one and the same +time, to assemblies of free men, to landholders over the dwellers on +their domains, and to the king over the leudes and their following. +These three powers appeared and acted side by side in every locality as +well as in the totality of the State. Their relations and their +prerogatives were not governed by any generally recognized principle, +and none of the three was invested with sufficient might to habitually +prevail against the independence or resistance of its rivals. Force +alone, varying according to circumstances and always uncertain, decided +matters between them. Such was France at the accession of the second +line. The coexistence of and the struggle between the three systems of +institutions and the three powers just alluded to had as yet had no +other result. Out of this chaos Charlemagne caused to issue a monarchy, +strong through him alone and so long as he was by, but powerless and +gone like a shadow when the man was lost to the institution. + +Whoever is astonished either at this triumph of absolute monarchy +through the personal movement of Charlemagne, or at the speedy fall of +the fabric on the disappearance of the moving spirit, understands +neither what can be done by a great man, when, without him, society sees +itself given over to deadly peril, nor how unsubstantial and frail is +absolute power when the great man is no longer by, or when society has +no longer need of him. + +It has just been shown how Charlemagne by his wars, which had for their +object and result permanent and well-secured conquests, had stopped the +fresh incursions of barbarians, that is, had stopped disorder coming +from without. An attempt will now be made to show by what means he set +about suppressing disorder from within and putting his own rule in the +place of the anarchy that prevailed in the Roman world which lay in +ruins, and in the barbaric world which was a prey to blind and +ill-regulated force. + +A distinction must be drawn between the local and central governments. + +Far from the centre of the State, in what have since been called the +provinces, the power of the Emperor was exercised by the medium of two +classes of agents, one local and permanent, the other despatched from +the centre and transitory. + +In the first class we find: + +1st. The dukes, counts, vicars of counts, centeniers, sheriffs +(scabini), officers or magistrates residing on the spot, nominated by +the Emperor himself or by his delegates, and charged with the duty of +acting in his name for the levying of troops, rendering of justice, +maintenance of order, and receipt of imposts. + +2d. The beneficiaries or vassals of the Emperor, who held of him, +sometimes as hereditaments, more often for life, and more often still +without fixed rule or stipulation, lands; domains, throughout the extent +of which they exercised, a little bit in their own name and a little bit +in the name of the Emperor, a certain jurisdiction and nearly all the +rights of sovereignty. There was nothing very fixed or clear in the +position of the beneficiaries and in the nature of their power; they +were at one and the same time delegates and independent owners and +enjoyers of usufruct, and the former or the latter character prevailed +among them according to circumstances. But, altogether, they were +closely bound to Charlemagne, who, in a great number of cases, charged +them with the execution of his orders in the lands they occupied. + +Above these agents, local and resident, magistrates or beneficiaries, +were the _missi dominici_, temporary commissioners, charged to inspect, +in the Emperor's name, the condition of the provinces; authorized to +penetrate into the interior of the free lands as well as of the domains +granted with the title of benefices; having the right to reform certain +abuses, and bound to render an account of all to their master. The +missi dominici were the principal instruments Charlemagne had, +throughout the vast territory of his empire, of order and +administration. + +As to the central government, setting aside for a moment the personal +action of Charlemagne and of his counsellors, the general assemblies, to +judge by appearances and to believe nearly all the modern historians, +occupied a prominent place in it. They were, in fact, during his reign, +numerous and active; from the year 770 to the year 813 we may count +thirty-five of these national assemblies, March-parades and May-parades, +held at Worms, Valenciennes, Geneva, Paderborn, Aix-la-Chapelle, +Thionville, and several other towns, the majority situated round about +the two banks of the Rhine. The number and periodical nature of these +great political reunions are undoubtedly a noticeable fact. What, then, +went on in their midst? What character and weight must be attached to +their intervention in the government of the State? It is important to +sift this matter thoroughly. + +There is extant, touching this subject, a very curious document. A +contemporary and counsellor of Charlemagne, his cousin-german Adalbert, +abbot of Corbie, had written a treatise entitled "Of the Ordering of the +Palace" _(de Ordine Palatii),_ and designed to give an insight into the +government of Charlemagne, with especial reference to the national +assemblies. This treatise was lost; but toward the close of the ninth +century Hincmar, the celebrated archbishop of Rheims, reproduced it +almost in its entirety, in the form of a letter of instructions, written +at the request of certain grandees of the kingdom who had asked counsel +of him with respect to the government of Carloman, one of the sons of +Charles the Stutterer. We read therein: + +"It was the custom at this time to hold two assemblies every year.... In +both, that they might not seem to have been convoked without motive, +there was submitted to the examination and deliberation of the grandees +... and by virtue of orders from the King, the fragments of law called +_capitula_, which the King himself had drawn up under the inspiration of +God or the necessity for which had been made manifest to him in the +intervals between the meetings." + +Two striking facts are to be gathered from these words: the first, that +the majority of the members composing these assemblies probably regarded +as a burden the necessity for being present at them, since Charlemagne +took care to explain their convocation by declaring to them the motive +for it, and by always giving them something to do; the second, that the +proposal of the capitularies, or, in modern phrase, the initiative, +proceeded from the Emperor. The initiative is naturally exercised by him +who wishes to regulate or reform, and, in his time, it was especially +Charlemagne who conceived this design. There is no doubt, however, but +that the members of the assembly might make on their side such proposals +as appeared to them suitable; the constitutional distrusts and artifices +of our time were assuredly unknown to Charlemagne, who saw in these +assemblies a means of government rather than a barrier to his authority. +To resume the text of Hincmar: + +"After having received these communications, they deliberated on them +two or three days or more, according to the importance of the business. +Palace messengers, going and coming, took their questions and carried +back the answers. No stranger came near the place of their meeting until +the result of their deliberations had been able to be submitted to the +scrutiny of the great prince, who then, with the wisdom he had received +from God, adopted a resolution which all obeyed." + +The definite resolution, therefore, depended upon Charlemagne alone; the +assembly contributed only information and counsel. + +Hincmar continues, and supplies details worthy of reproduction, for they +give an insight into the imperial government and the action of +Charlemagne himself amid those most ancient of the national assemblies: + +"Things went on thus for one or two capitularies, or a greater number, +until, with God's help, all the necessities of the occasion were +regulated. + +"While these matters were thus proceeding out of the King's presence, +the prince himself, in the midst of the multitude, came to the general +assembly, was occupied in receiving the presents, saluting the men of +most note, conversing with those he saw seldom, showing toward the +elder a tender interest, disporting himself with the youngsters, and +doing the same thing, or something like it, with the ecclesiastics as +well as the seculars. However, if those who were deliberating about the +matter submitted to their examination showed a desire for it, the King +repaired to them and remained with them as long as they wished; and then +they reported to him, with perfect familiarity, what they thought about +all matters, and what were the friendly discussions that had arisen +among them. I must not forget to say that, if the weather were fine, +everything took place in the open air; otherwise, in several distinct +buildings, where those who had to deliberate on the King's proposals +were separated from the multitude of persons come to the assembly, and +then the men of greater note were admitted. The places appointed for the +meeting of the lords were divided into two parts, in such sort that the +bishops, the abbots, and the clerics of high rank might meet without +mixture with the laity. In the same way the counts and other chiefs of +the State underwent separation, in the morning, until, whether the King +was present or absent, all were gathered together; then the lords above +specified, the clerics on their side, and the laics on theirs, repaired +to the hall which had been assigned to them, and where seats had been +with due honor prepared for them. When the lords laical and +ecclesiastical were thus separated from the multitude, it remained in +their power to sit separately or together, according to the nature of +the business they had to deal with, ecclesiastical, secular, or mixed. +In the same way, if they wished to send for anyone, either to demand +refreshment or to put any question, and to dismiss him after getting +what they wanted, it was at their option. Thus took place the +examination of affairs proposed to them by the King for deliberation. + +"The second business of the King was to ask of each what there was to +report to him or enlighten him touching the part of the kingdom each had +come from. Not only was this permitted to all, but they were strictly +enjoined to make inquiries during the interval between the assemblies, +about what happened within or without the kingdom; and they were bound +to seek knowledge from foreigners as well as natives, enemies as well as +friends, sometimes by employing emissaries, and without troubling +themselves much about the manner in which they acquired their +information. The King wished to know whether in any part, in any corner, +of the kingdom, the people were restless, and what was the cause of +their restlessness; or whether there had happened any disturbance to +which it was necessary to draw the attention of the council-general, and +other similar matters. He sought also to know whether any of the +subjugated nations were inclined to revolt; whether any of those who had +revolted seemed disposed toward submission; and whether those that were +still independent were threatening the kingdom with any attack. On all +these subjects, whenever there was any manifestation of disorder or +danger, he demanded chiefly what were the motives or occasion of them." + +There is need of no great reflection to recognize the true character of +these assemblies: it is clearly imprinted upon the sketch drawn by +Hincmar. The figure of Charlemagne alone fills the picture: he is the +centre-piece of it and the soul of everything. 'Tis he who wills that +the national assemblies should meet and deliberate; 'tis he who inquires +into the state of the country; 'tis he who proposes and approves of, or +rejects the laws; with him rest will and motive, initiative and +decision. He has a mind sufficiently judicious, unshackled, and elevated +to understand that the nation ought not to be left in darkness about its +affairs and that he himself has need of communicating with it, of +gathering information from it, and of learning its opinions. But we have +here no exhibition of great political liberties, no people discussing +its interests and its business, interfering effectually in the adoption +of resolutions, and, in fact, taking in its government so active and +decisive a part as to have a right to say that it is self-governing, or, +in other words, a free people. It is Charlemagne and he alone who +governs; it is absolute government marked by prudence, ability, and +grandeur. + +When the mind dwells upon the state of Gallo-Frankish society in the +eighth century, there is nothing astonishing in such a fact. Whether it +be civilized or barbarian, that which every society needs, that which it +seeks or demands first of all in its government, is a certain degree of +good sense and strong will, of intelligence and innate influence, so far +as the public interests are concerned; qualities, in fact, which +suffice to keep social order maintained or make it realized, and to +promote respect for individual rights and the progress of the general +well-being. This is the essential aim of every community of men; and the +institutions and guarantees of free government are the means of +attaining it. It is clear that, in the eighth century, on the ruins of +the Roman and beneath the blows of the barbaric world, the +Gallo-Frankish nation, vast and without cohesion, brutish and ignorant, +was incapable of bringing forth, so to speak, from its own womb, with +the aid of its own wisdom and virtue, a government of the kind. A host +of different forces, without enlightenment and without restraint, were +everywhere and incessantly struggling for dominion, or, in other words, +were ever troubling and endangering the social condition. Let there but +arise, in the midst of this chaos of unruly forces and selfish passions, +a great man, one of those elevated minds and strong characters that can +understand the essential aim of society, and then urge it forward, and +at the same time keep it well in hand on the roads that lead thereto, +and such a man will soon seize and exercise the personal power almost of +a despot, and people will not only make him welcome, but even celebrate +his praises, for they do not quit the substance for the shadow, or +sacrifice the end to the means. Such was the empire of Charlemagne. +Among annalists and historians, some, treating him as a mere conqueror +and despot, have ignored his merits and his glory; others, that they +might admire him without scruple, have made of him a founder of free +institutions, a constitutional monarch. Both are equally mistaken: +Charlemagne was, indeed, a conqueror and a despot; but by his conquests +and his personal power he, so long as he was by, that is, for +six-and-forty years, saved Gallo-Frankish society from barbaric invasion +without and anarchy within. That is the characteristic of his government +and his title to glory. + +What he was in his wars and his general relations with his nation has +just been seen; he shall now be exhibited in all his administrative +activity and his intellectual life, as a legislator and as a friend to +the human mind. The same man will be recognized in every case; he will +grow in greatness, without changing, as he appears under his various +aspects. + +There are often joined together, under the title of _Capitularies_ +(_capitula_--small chapters, articles) a mass of acts, very different in +point of dates and objects, which are attributed indiscriminately to +Charlemagne. This is a mistake. The Capitularies are the laws or +legislative measures of the Frankish kings, Merovingian as well as +Carlovingian. Those of the Merovingians are few in number, and of slight +importance, and among those of the Carlovingians, which amount to 152, +65 only are due to Charlemagne. When an attempt is made to classify +these last according to their object, it is impossible not to be struck +with their incoherent variety; and several of them are such as we should +nowadays be surprised to meet with in a code or in a special law. Among +Charlemagne's 65 Capitularies, which contain I,151 articles, may be +counted 87 of moral, 293 of political, 130 of penal, no of civil, 85 of +religious, 305 of canonical, 73 of domestic, and 12 of incidental +legislation. And it must not be supposed that all these articles are +really acts of legislation, laws properly so called; we find among them +the texts of ancient national laws revised and promulgated afresh; +extracts from and additions to these same ancient laws, Salic, Lombard, +and Bavarian; extracts from acts of councils; instructions given by +Charlemagne to his envoys in the provinces; questions that he proposed +to put to the bishops or counts when they came to the national assembly; +answers given by Charlemagne to questions addressed to him by the +bishops, counts, or commissioners (missi dominici); judgments, decrees, +royal pardons, and simple notes that Charlemagne seems to have had +written down for himself alone, to remind him of what he proposed to do; +in a word, nearly all the various acts which could possibly have to be +framed by an earnest, far-sighted, and active government. Often, indeed, +these Capitularies have no imperative or prohibitive character; they are +simple counsels, purely moral precepts. We read therein, for example: + +"Covetousness doth consist in desiring that which others possess, and in +giving away naught of that which oneself possesseth; according to the +apostle, it is the root of all evil." + +And, + +"Hospitality must be practised." + +The Capitularies which have been classed under the heads of _political, +penal_, and _canonical legislation_ are the most numerous, and are those +which bear most decidedly an imperative of prohibitive stamp; among them +a prominent place is held by measures of political economy, +administration, and police; you will find therein an attempt to put a +fixed price on provisions, a real trial of a _maximum_ for cereals, and +a prohibition of mendicity, with the following clause: + +"If such mendicants be met with, and they labor not with their hands, +let none take thought about giving unto them." + +The interior police of the palace was regulated thereby, as well as that +of the empire: + +"We do will and decree that none of those who serve in our palace shall +take leave to receive therein any man who seeketh refuge there and +cometh to hide there, by reason of theft, homicide, adultery, or any +other crime. That if any free man do break through our interdicts and +hide such malefactor in our palace, he shall be bound to carry him on +his shoulders to the public quarter, and be there tied to the same stake +as the malefactor." + +Certain Capitularies have been termed _religious legislation,_ in +contradistinction to canonical legislation, because they are really +admonitions, religious exhortations, addressed not to ecclesiastics +alone, but to the faithful, the Christian people in general, and notably +characterized by good sense and, one might almost say, freedom of +thought. + +For example: + +"Beware of venerating the names of martyrs falsely so called, and the +memory of dubious saints." + +"Let none suppose that prayer cannot be made to God save in three +tongues [probably Latin, Greek, and Germanic, or perhaps the vulgar +tongue; for the last was really beginning to take form], for God is +adored in all tongues, and man is heard if he do but ask for the things +that be right." + +These details are put forward that a proper idea may be obtained of +Charlemagne as a legislator, and of what are called his laws. We have +here, it will be seen, no ordinary legislator and no ordinary laws: we +see the work, with infinite variations and in disconnected form, of a +prodigiously energetic and watchful master, who had to think and provide +for everything, who had to be everywhere the moving and the regulating +spirit. This universal and untiring energy is the grand characteristic +of Charlemagne's government, and was, perhaps, what made his superiority +most incontestable and his power most efficient. + +It is noticeable that the majority of Charlemagne's Capitularies belong +to that epoch of his reign when he was Emperor of the West, when he was +invested with all the splendor of sovereign power. Of the 65 +Capitularies classed under different heads, 13 only are previous to the +25th of December, 800, the date of his coronation as Emperor at Rome; 52 +are comprised between the years 801 and 804. + +The energy of Charlemagne as a warrior and a politician having thus been +exhibited, it remains to say a few words about his intellectual energy. +For that is by no means the least original or least grand feature of his +character and his influence. + +Modern times and civilized society have more than once seen despotic +sovereigns filled with distrust toward scholars of exalted intellect, +especially such as cultivated the moral and political sciences, and +little inclined to admit them to their favor or to public office. There +is no knowing whether, in our days, with our freedom of thought and of +the press, Charlemagne would have been a stranger to this feeling of +antipathy; but what is certain is that in his day, in the midst of a +barbaric society, there was no inducement to it, and that, by nature, he +was not disposed to it. His power was not in any respect questioned; +distinguished intellects were very rare; Charlemagne had too much need +of their services to fear their criticisms, and they, on their part, +were more anxious to second his efforts than to show, toward him, +anything like exaction or independence. He gave rein, therefore, without +any embarrassment or misgiving, to his spontaneous inclination toward +them, their studies, their labors, and their influence. He drew them +into the management of affairs. In Guizot's _History of Civilization in +France_ there is a list of the names and works of twenty-three men of +the eighth and ninth centuries who have escaped oblivion, and they are +all found grouped about Charlemagne as his own habitual advisers, or +assigned by him as advisers to his sons Pepin and Louis in Italy and +Aquitaine, or sent by him to all points of his empire as his +commissioners, or charged in his name with important negotiations. And +those whom he did not employ at a distance formed, in his immediate +neighborhood, a learned and industrious society, a _school of the +palace,_ according to some modern commentators, but an _academy_ and not +a _school_, according to others, devoted rather to conversation than to +teaching. + +It probably fulfilled both missions; it attended Charlemagne at his +various residences, at one time working for him at questions he invited +them to deal with, at another giving to the regular components of his +court, to his children, and to himself lessons in the different sciences +called liberal: grammar, rhetoric, logic, astronomy, geometry, and even +theology, and the great religious problems it was beginning to discuss. +Two men, Alcuin and Eginhard, have remained justly celebrated in the +literary history of the age. Alcuin was the principal director of the +school of the palace, and the favorite, the confidant, the learned +adviser of Charlemagne. "If your zeal were imitated," said he one day to +the Emperor, "perchance one might see arise in France a new Athens, far +more glorious than the ancient--the Athens of Christ." + +Eginhard, who was younger, received his scientific education in the +school of the palace, and was head of the public works to Charlemagne, +before becoming his biographer, and, at a later period, the intimate +adviser of his son Louis the Debonair. Other scholars of the school of +the palace, Angilbert, Leidrade, Adalhard, Agobard, Theodulph, were +abbots of St. Riquier or Corbie, archbishops of Lyons, and bishops of +Orleans. They had all assumed, in the school itself, names illustrious +in pagan antiquity: Alcuin called himself _Flaccus_; Angilbert, _Homer_; +Theodulph, _Pindar_. Charlemagne himself had been pleased to take, in +their society, a great name of old, but he had borrowed from the history +of the Hebrews--he called himself _David_; and Eginhard, animated, no +doubt, by the same sentiments, was _Bezaleel_, that nephew of Moses to +whom God had granted the gift of knowing how to work skilfully in wood +and all the materials which served for the construction of the ark and +the tabernacle. Either in the lifetime of their royal patron or after +his death all these scholars became great dignitaries of the Church, or +ended their lives in monasteries of note; but, so long as they lived, +they served Charlemagne or his sons not only with the devotion of +faithful advisers, but also as followers proud of the master who had +known how to do them honor by making use of them. + +It was without effort and by natural sympathy that Charlemagne had +inspired them with such sentiments; for he, too, really loved sciences, +literature, and such studies as were then possible, and he cultivated +them on his own account and for his own pleasure, as a sort of conquest. +It has been doubted whether he could write, and an expression of +Eginhard's might authorize such a doubt; but, according to other +evidence, and even according to the passage in Eginhard, one is inclined +to believe merely that Charlemagne strove painfully, and without much +success, to write a good hand. He had learned Latin, and he understood +Greek. He caused to be commenced, and, perhaps, himself commenced the +drawing up of the first Germanic grammar. He ordered that the old +barbaric poems, in which the deeds and wars of the ancient kings were +celebrated, should be collected for posterity. He gave Germanic names to +the twelve months of the year. He distinguished the winds by twelve +special terms, whereas before his time they had but four designations. +He paid great attention to astronomy. Being troubled one day at no +longer seeing in the firmament one of the known planets, he wrote to +Alcuin: "What thinkest thou of this _Mars_, which, last year, being +concealed in the sign of Cancer, was intercepted from the sight of men +by the light of the sun? Is it the regular course of his revolution? Is +it the influence of the sun? Is it a miracle? Could he have been two +years about performing the course of a single one?" + +In theological studies and discussions he exhibited a particular and +grave interest. "It is to him," say Ampere and Haureau, "that we must +refer the honor of the decision taken in 794 by the council of Frankfort +in the great dispute about images; a temperate decision which is as far +removed from the infatuation of the image-worshippers as from the frenzy +of the image-breakers." And at the same time that he thus took part in +the great ecclesiastical questions, Charlemagne paid zealous attention +to the instruction of the clergy whose ignorance he deplored. "Ah," said +he one day, "if only I had about me a dozen clerics learned in all the +sciences, as Jerome and Augustin were!" With all his puissance it was +not in his power to make Jeromes and Augustins; but he laid the +foundation, in the cathedral churches and the great monasteries, of +episcopal and cloistral schools for the education of ecclesiastics, and, +carrying his solicitude still further, he recommended to the bishops and +abbots that, in those schools, "they should take care to make no +difference between the sons of serfs and of free men, so that they might +come and sit on the same benches to study grammar, music, and +arithmetic." Thus, in the eighth century, he foreshadowed the extension +which, in the nineteenth, was to be accorded to primary instruction, to +the advantage and honor not only of the clergy, but also of the whole +people. + +After so much of war and toil at a distance, Charlemagne was now at +Aix-la-Chapelle, finding rest in this work of peaceful civilization. He +was embellishing the capital which he had founded, and which was called +the king's court. He had built there a grand basilica, magnificently +adorned. He was completing his own palace there. He fetched from Italy +clerics skilled in church music, a pious joyance to which he was much +devoted, and which he recommended to the bishops of his empire. In the +outskirts of Aix-la-Chapelle "he gave full scope," says Eginhard, "to +his delight in riding and hunting. Baths of naturally tepid water gave +him great pleasure. Being passionately fond of swimming, he became so +dexterous that none could be compared with him. He invited not only his +sons, but also his friends, the grandees of his court, and sometimes +even the soldiers of his guard, to bathe with him, insomuch that there +were often a hundred and more persons bathing at a time." + +When age arrived, he made no alteration in his bodily habits; but, at +the same time, instead of putting away from him the thought of death, he +was much taken up with it, and prepared himself for it with stern +severity. He drew up, modified, and completed his will several times +over. Three years before his death he made out the distribution of his +treasures, his money, his wardrobe, and all his furniture, in the +presence of his friends and his officers, in order that their voice +might insure, after his death, the execution of this partition, and he +set down his intentions in this respect in a written summary, in which +he massed all his riches in three grand lots. The first two were divided +into twenty-one portions, which were to be distributed among the +twenty-one metropolitan churches of his empire. After having put these +first two lots under seal, he willed to preserve to himself his usual +enjoyment of the third so long as he lived. But after his death, or +voluntary renunciation of the things of this world, this same lot was to +be subdivided into four portions. His intention was that the first +should be added to the twenty-one portions which were to go to the +metropolitan churches; the second set aside for his sons and daughters, +and for the sons and daughters of his sons, and redivided among them in +a just and proportionate manner; the third dedicated, according to the +usage of Christians, to the necessities of the poor; and, lastly, the +fourth distributed in the same way, under the name of alms, among the +servants, of both sexes, of the palace for their lifetime. As for the +books which he had amassed, a large number in his library, he decided +that those who wished to have them might buy them at their proper value, +and that the money which they produced should be distributed among the +poor. + +Having thus carefully regulated his own private affairs and bounty, he, +two years later, in 813, took the measures necessary for the regulation, +after his death, of public affairs. He had lost, in 811, his oldest son, +Charles, who had been his constant companion in his wars, and, in 810, +his second son, Pepin, whom he had made King of Italy; and he summoned +to his side his third son, Louis, King of Aquitaine, who was destined to +succeed him. He ordered the convocation of five local councils which +were to assemble at Mayence, Rheims, Chalons, Tours, and Aries, for the +purpose of bringing about, subject to the King's ratification, the +reforms necessary in the Church. Passing from the affairs of the Church +to those of the State, he convoked at Aix-la-Chapelle a general assembly +of bishops, abbots, counts, laic grandees, and of the entire people, +and, holding council in his palace with the chief among them, "he +invited them to make his son Louis king-emperor; whereto all assented, +saying that it was very expedient, and pleasing, also, to the people. On +Sunday in the next month, August, 813, Charlemagne repaired, crown on +head, with his son Louis to the cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle, laid upon +the altar another crown, and, after praying, addressed to his son a +solemn exhortation respecting all his duties as king toward God and the +Church, toward his family and his people, asked him if he were fully +resolved to fulfil them, and, at the answer that he was, bade him take +the crown that lay upon the altar, and place it with his own hands upon +his head, which Louis did amid the acclamations of all present, who +cried, 'Long live the emperor Louis!' Charlemagne then declared his son +emperor jointly with him, and ended the solemnity with these words: +'Blessed be thou, O Lord God, who hast granted me grace to see with mine +own eyes my son seated on my throne!'" And Louis set out again +immediately for Aquitaine. + +He was never to see his father again. Charlemagne, after his son's +departure, went out hunting, according to his custom, in the forest of +Ardenne, and continued during the whole autumn his usual mode of life. +"But in January, 814, he was taken ill," says Eginhard, "of a violent +fever, which kept him to his bed. Recurring forthwith to the remedy he +ordinarily employed against fever, he abstained from all nourishment, +persuaded that this diet would suffice to drive away or at the least +assuage the malady; but added to the fever came that pain in the side +which the Greeks call _pleurisy_; nevertheless the Emperor persisted in +his abstinence, supporting his body only by drinks taken at long +intervals; and on the seventh day after that he had taken to his bed, +having received the holy communion," he expired about 9 A.M., on +Saturday, the 28th of January, 814, in his seventy-first year. + +"After performance of ablutions and funeral duties, the corpse was +carried away and buried, amid the profound mourning of all the people, +in the church he had himself had built; and above his tomb there was put +up a gilded arcade with his image and this superscription: 'In this tomb +reposeth the body of Charles, great and orthodox Emperor, who did +gloriously extend the kingdom of the Franks, and did govern it happily +for forty-seven years. He died at the age of seventy years, in the year +of the Lord 814, in the seventh year of the Indiction, on the 5th of the +Kalends of February.'" + +If we sum up his designs and his achievements, we find an admirably +sound idea and a vain dream, a great success and a great failure. + +Charlemagne took in hand the work of placing upon a solid foundation the +Frankish Christian dominion by stopping, in the North and South, the +flood of barbarians and Arabs, paganism and Islamism. In that he +succeeded; the inundations of Asiatic populations spent their force in +vain against the Gallic frontier. Western and Christian Europe was +placed, territorially, beyond reach of attacks from the foreigner and +infidel. No sovereign, no human being, perhaps, ever rendered greater +service to the civilization of the world. + +Charlemagne formed another conception and made another attempt. Like +more than one great barbaric warrior, he admired the Roman Empire that +had fallen, its vastness all in one, and its powerful organization under +the hand of a single master. He thought he could resuscitate it, +durably, through the victory of a new people and a new faith, by the +hand of Franks and Christians. With this view he labored to conquer, +convert, and govern. He tried to be, at one and the same time, Caesar, +Augustus, and Constantine. And for a moment he appeared to have +succeeded; but the appearance passed away with himself. The unity of the +empire and the absolute power of the emperor were buried in his grave. +The Christian religion and human liberty set to work to prepare for +Europe other governments and other destinies. + + + + +EGBERT BECOMES KING OF THE ANGLO-SAXON HEPTARCHY + +A.D. 827 + +DAVID HUME + + + From the time that the Britons called upon the Saxons to assist + them against the Picts and Scots, about A.D. 410, the domination of + the hardy Teutonic people in England was a foregone conclusion. The + Britons had become exhausted through their long exposure to Roman + influences, and in their state of enfeeblement were unable to + resist the attacks of the rude highland tribes. + + The Saxons rescued the Britons from their plight, but themselves + became masters of the country which they had delivered. They were + joined by the Angles and Jutes, and divided the territory into the + kingdoms known in history as the Saxon Heptarchy,[73] which had an + existence of about two hundred and fifty years. The various members + were involved in endless controversies with each other, often + breaking out into savage wars, and the Saxons were also exposed to + conflicts with their common enemies, the Britons. Their power was + greatly impaired by the civil strifes which distracted them. + + This condition continued until it became essential that under a + strong hand a more solid union of the Saxons should be formed. And + it was to Egbert, King of the West Saxons, the son of Ealhmund, + King of Kent, that this great constructive task was committed. He + took the throne of Wessex in 802, for twelve years enjoyed a + peaceful reign, then became involved in wars, first with the + Cornish and afterward with the Mercians. His victories in these + wars resulted in the final establishment of his authority over the + entire heptarchy, and this made him in fact, though not in name, + the first real king of England. + + +When Brithric obtained possession of the government of Wessex, he +enjoyed not that dignity without inquietude. Eoppa, nephew to King Ina, +by his brother Ingild, who died, before that prince, had begot Eata, +father to Alchmond, from whom sprung Egbert, a young man of the most +promising hopes, who gave great jealousy to Brithric, the reigning +prince, both because he seemed by his birth better entitled to the crown +and because he had acquired, to an eminent degree, the affections of the +people. Egbert, sensible of his danger from the suspicions of Brithric, +secretly withdrew into France, where he was well received by +Charlemagne. By living in the court, and serving in the armies of that +prince, the most able and most generous that had appeared in Europe +during several ages, he acquired those accomplishments which afterward +enabled him to make such a shining figure on the throne. And +familiarizing himself to the manners of the French, who, as Malmesbury +observes, were eminent both for valor and civility above all the western +nations, he learned to polish the rudeness and barbarity of the Saxon +character; his early misfortunes thus proved of singular advantage to +him. + +It was not long ere Egbert had opportunities of displaying his natural +and acquired talents. Brithric, King of Wessex, had married Eadburga, +natural daughter of Offa, King of Mercia, a profligate woman, equally +infamous for cruelty and for incontinence. Having great influence over +her husband, she often instigated him to destroy such of the nobility as +were obnoxious to her; and where this expedient failed, she scrupled not +being herself active in traitorous attempts against them. She had mixed +a cup of poison for a young nobleman, who had acquired her husband's +friendship, and had on that account become the object of her jealousy; +but unfortunately the King drank of the fatal cup along with his +favorite, and soon after expired. This tragical incident, joined to her +other crimes, rendered Eadburga so odious that she was obliged to fly +into France; whence Egbert was at the same time recalled by the +nobility, in order to ascend the throne of his ancestors. He attained +that dignity in the last year of the eighth century. + +In the kingdoms of the heptarchy, an exact rule of succession was either +unknown or not strictly observed; and thence the reigning prince was +continually agitated with jealousy against all the princes of the blood, +whom he still considered as rivals, and whose death alone could give him +entire security in his possession of the throne. From this fatal cause, +together with the admiration of the monastic life, and the opinion of +merit attending the preservation of chastity even in a married state, +the royal families had been entirely extinguished in all the kingdoms +except that of Wessex; and the emulations, suspicions, and conspiracies, +which had formerly been confined to the princes of the blood alone, were +now diffused among all the nobility in the several Saxon states. Egbert +was the sole descendant of those first conquerors who subdued Britain, +and who enhanced their authority by claiming a pedigree from Woden, the +supreme divinity of their ancestors. But that prince, though invited by +this favorable circumstance to make attempts on the neighboring Saxons, +gave them for some time no disturbance, and rather chose to turn his +arms against the Britons in Cornwall, whom he defeated in several +battles. He was recalled from the conquest of that country by an +invasion made upon his dominions by Bernulf, King of Mercia. + +The Mercians, before the accession of Egbert, had very nearly attained +the absolute sovereignty in the heptarchy: they had reduced the East +Angles under subjection, and established tributary princes in the +kingdoms of Kent and Essex. Northumberland was involved in anarchy; and +no state of any consequence remained but that of Wessex, which, much +inferior in extent to Mercia, was supported solely by the great +qualities of its sovereign. Egbert led his army against the invaders; +and encountering them at Ellandun, in Wiltshire, obtained a complete +victory, and, by the great slaughter which he made of them in their +flight, gave a mortal blow to the power of the Mercians. While he +himself, in prosecution of his victory, entered their country on the +side of Oxfordshire, and threatened the heart of their dominions, he +sent an army into Kent, commanded by Ethelwulf, his eldest son, and, +expelling Baldred, the tributary King, soon made himself master of that +country. + +The kingdom of Essex was conquered with equal facility, and the East +Angles, from their hatred of the Mercian government, which had been +established over them by treachery and violence, and probably exercised +with tyranny, immediately rose in arms and craved the protection of +Egbert. Bernulf, the Mercian King, who marched against them, was +defeated and slain; and two years after, Ludican, his successor, met +with the same fate. These insurrections and calamities facilitated the +enterprises of Egbert, who advanced into the centre of the Mercian +territories and made easy conquests over a dispirited and divided +people. In order to engage them more easily to submission, he allowed +Wiglef, their countryman, to retain the title of king, while he himself +exercised the real powers of sovereignty. The anarchy which prevailed in +Northumberland tempted him to carry still further his victorious arms; +and the inhabitants, unable to resist his power, and desirous of +possessing some established form of government, were forward, on his +first appearance, to send deputies, who submitted to his authority and +swore allegiance to him as their sovereign. Egbert, however, still +allowed to Northumberland, as he had done to Mercia and East Anglia, the +power of electing a king, who paid him tribute and was dependent on him. + +Thus were united all the kingdoms of the heptarchy in one great state, +near four hundred years after the first arrival of the Saxons in +Britain; and the fortunate arms and prudent policy of Egbert at last +effected what had been so often attempted in vain by so many princes. +Kent, Northumberland, and Mercia, which had successfully aspired to +general dominion, were now incorporated in his empire; and the other +subordinate kingdoms seemed willingly to share the same fate. His +territories were nearly of the same extent with what is now properly +called England; and a favorable prospect was afforded to the +Anglo-Saxons of establishing a civilized monarchy, possessed of +tranquillity within itself, and secure against foreign invasion. This +great event happened in the year 827. + +The Saxons, though they had been so long settled in the island, seem not +as yet to have been much improved beyond their German ancestors, either +in arts, civility, knowledge, humanity, justice, or obedience to the +laws. Even Christianity, though it opened the way to connections between +them and the more polished states of Europe, had not hitherto been very +effectual in banishing their ignorance or softening their barbarous +manners. As they received that doctrine through the corrupted channels +of Rome, it carried along with it a great mixture of credulity and +superstition, equally destructive to the understanding and to morals. +The reverence toward saints and relics seems to have almost supplanted +the adoration of the Supreme Being; monastic observances were esteemed +more meritorious than the active virtues; the knowledge of natural +causes was neglected, from the universal belief of miraculous +interpositions and judgments; bounty to the Church atoned for every +violence against society; and the remorses for cruelty, murder, +treachery, assassination, and the more robust vices, were appeased, not +by amendment of life, but by penances, servility to the monks, and an +abject and illiberal devotion.[74] The reverence for the clergy had been +carried to such a height that wherever a person appeared in a sacerdotal +habit, though on the highway, the people flocked around him, and, +showing him all marks of profound respect, received every word he +uttered as the most sacred oracle. Even the military virtues, so +inherent in all the Saxon tribes, began to be neglected; and the +nobility, preferring the security and sloth of the cloister to the +tumults and glory of war, valued themselves chiefly on endowing +monasteries, of which they assumed the government. The several kings, +too, being extremely impoverished by continual benefactions to the +Church, to which the states of their kingdoms had weakly assented, could +bestow no rewards on valor or military services, and retained not even +sufficient influence to support their government. + +Another inconvenience which attended this corrupt species of +Christianity was the superstitious attachment to Rome, and the gradual +subjection of the kingdom to a foreign jurisdiction. The Britons, having +never acknowledged any subordination to the Roman pontiff, had conducted +all ecclesiastical government by their domestic synods and councils; but +the Saxons, receiving their religion from Roman monks, were taught at +the same time a profound reverence for that see, and were naturally led +to regard it as the capital of their religion. Pilgrimages to Rome were +represented as the most meritorious acts of devotion. Not only noblemen +and ladies of rank undertook this tedious journey, but kings themselves, +abdicating their crowns, sought for a secure passport to heaven at the +feet of the Roman pontiff. New relics, perpetually sent from that +inexhaustible mint of superstition, and magnified by lying miracles, +invented in convents, operated on the astonished minds of the multitude. +And every prince has attained the eulogies of the monks, the only +historians of those ages, not in proportion to his civil and military +virtues, but to his devoted attachment toward their order, and his +superstitious reverence for Rome. + +The sovereign pontiff, encouraged by this blindness and submissive +disposition of the people, advanced every day in his encroachments on +the independence of the English churches. Wilfrid, bishop of +Lindisferne, the sole prelate of the Northumbrian kingdom, increased +this subjection in the eighth century, by his making an appeal to Rome +against the decisions of an English synod, which had abridged his +diocese by the erection of some new bishoprics. Agatho, the pope, +readily embraced this precedent of an appeal to his court; and Wilfrid, +though the haughtiest and most luxurious prelate of his age, having +obtained with the people the character of sanctity, was, thus able to +lay the foundation of this papal pretension. + +The great topic by which Wilfrid confounded the imaginations of men was +that St. Peter, to whose custody the keys of heaven were intrusted, +would certainly refuse admittance to everyone who should be wanting in +respect to his successor. This conceit, well suited to vulgar +conceptions, made great impression on the people during several ages, +and has not even at present lost all influence in the Catholic +countries. + +Had this abject superstition produced general peace and tranquillity, it +had made some atonement for the ills attending it; but besides the usual +avidity of men for power and riches, frivolous controversies in theology +were engendered by it, which were so much the more fatal as they +admitted not, like the others, of any final determination from +established possession. The disputes, excited in Britain, were of the +most ridiculous kind, and entirely worthy of those ignorant and +barbarous ages. There were some intricacies, observed by all the +Christian churches, in adjusting the day of keeping Easter, which +depended on a complicated consideration of the course of the sun and +moon; and it happened that the missionaries who had converted the Scots +and Britons had followed a different calendar from that which was +observed at Rome, in the age when Augustine converted the Saxons. + +The priests also of all the Christian churches were accustomed to shave +part of their head; but the form given to this tonsure was different in +the former from what was practised in the latter. The Scots and Britons +pleaded the antiquity of _their_ usages; the Romans and their disciples, +the Saxons, insisted on the universality of _theirs_. That Easter must +necessarily be kept by a rule which comprehended both the day of the +year and age of the moon, was agreed by all; that the tonsure of a +priest could not be omitted without the utmost impiety was a point +undisputed; but the Romans and Saxons called their antagonists +schismatics, because they celebrated Easter on the very day of the full +moon in March, if that day fell on a Sunday, instead of waiting till the +Sunday following; and because they shaved the fore part of their head +from ear to ear, instead of making that tonsure on the crown of the +head, and in a circular form. In order to render their antagonists +odious they affirmed that once in seven years they concurred with the +Jews in the time of celebrating that festival: and that they might +recommend their own form of tonsure they maintained that it imitated +symbolically the crown of thorns worn by Christ in his passion; whereas +the other form was invented by Simon Magus, without any regard to that +representation. + +These controversies had from the beginning excited such animosity +between the British and Romish priests that, instead of concurring in +their endeavors to convert the idolatrous Saxons, they refused all +communion together, and each regarded his opponent as no better than a +pagan. The dispute lasted more than a century, and was at last finished, +not by men's discovering the folly of it, which would have been too +great an effort for human reason to accomplish, but by the entire +prevalence of the Romish ritual over the Scotch and British. Wilfrid, +bishop of Lindisferne, acquired great merit, both with the court of +Rome and with all the southern Saxons, by expelling the "quartodeciman" +schism, as it was called, from the Northumbrian kingdom, into which the +neighborhood of the Scots had formerly introduced it. + +Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, called, in the year 680, a synod at +Hatfield, consisting of all the bishops in Britain, where was accepted +and ratified the decree of the Lateran council, summoned by Martin, +against the heresy of the Monothelites. The council and synod +maintained, in opposition to these heretics, that, though the divine and +human nature in Christ made but one person, yet had they different +inclinations, wills, acts, and sentiments, and that the unity of the +person implied not any unity in the consciousness. This opinion it seems +somewhat difficult to comprehend; and no one, unacquainted with the +ecclesiastical history of those ages, could imagine the height of zeal +and violence with which it was then inculcated. The decree of the +Lateran council calls the Monothelites impious, execrable, wicked, +abominable, and even diabolical, and curses and anathematizes them to +all eternity. + +The Saxons, from the first introduction of Christianity among them, had +admitted the use of images; and perhaps that religion, without some of +those exterior ornaments, had not made so quick a progress with these +idolaters; but they had not paid any species of worship or address to +images; and this abuse never prevailed among Christians till it received +the sanction of the second council of Nice. + +The kingdoms of the heptarchy, though united by so recent a conquest, +seemed to be firmly cemented into one state under Egbert; and the +inhabitants of the several provinces had lost all desire of revolting +from that monarch or of restoring their former independent governments. +Their language was everywhere nearly the same, their customs, laws, +institutions, civil and religious; and as the race of the ancient kings +was totally extinct in all the subjected states, the people readily +transferred their allegiance to a prince who seemed to merit it by the +splendor of his victories, the vigor of his administration, and the +superior nobility of his birth. A union also in government opened to +them the agreeable prospect of future tranquillity; and it appeared more +probable that they would thenceforth become formidable to their +neighbors than be exposed to their inroads and devastations. But these +flattering views were soon overcast by the appearance of the Danes, who, +during some centuries, kept the Anglo-Saxons in perpetual inquietude, +committed the most barbarous ravages upon them, and at last reduced them +to grievous servitude. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[73] The seven kingdoms founded in England by seven different Saxon +invaders. They were Kent, Sussex, Wessex, Essex, Northumbria, East +Anglia, and Mercia. + +[74] These abuses were common to all the European churches; but the +priests in Italy, Spain, and Gaul made some atonement for them by other +advantages which they rendered society. For several ages they were +almost all Romans, or, in other words, the ancient natives; and they +preserved the Roman language and laws, with some remains of the former +civility. But the priests in the heptarchy, after the first +missionaries, were wholly Saxons, and almost as ignorant and barbarous +as the laity. They contributed, therefore, little to the improvement of +society in knowledge or the arts. + + + + +CHRONOLOGY OF UNIVERSAL HISTORY + +EMBRACING THE PERIOD COVERED IN THIS VOLUME + +A.D. 410-842 + +JOHN RUDD, LL.D. + +Events treated at length are here indicated in large type; the numerals +following give volume and page. + +Separate chronologies of the various nations, and of the careers of +famous persons, will be found in the INDEX VOLUME, with volume and page +references showing where the several events are fully treated. + + +A.D. + +410. Britain is abandoned by the Roman Empire. Franks join in the +Barbarian attack on Gaul. + +Siege, capture, and pillage of Rome by Alaric; he dies and is succeeded +by Adolphus. See "VISIGOTHS PILLAGE ROME," iv, I. + +411. Count Gerontius makes Constans prisoner and slays him; he besieges +Constantine in Aries, where he, is put to flight by Constantius, +Honorius' general, and, after being deserted by his soldiers, he stabs +himself. Constantine surrenders to Constantius, is sent to Ravenna and +beheaded. + +Jovinus revolts at Mainz. + +Conference between Catholics and Donatists at Carthage, after which more +severe laws are enacted against the latter. + +412. Jovinus makes his brother Sebastian his colleague. The Visigoths +enter Gaul. + +413. Adolphus overcomes Jovinus and Sebastian and sends their heads to +Honorius. + +Title of augusta taken by Pulcheria at Constantinople; she governs in +the East in the name of her brother Theodosius. + +415. Adolphus lays the foundation of the Visigoth dominion in Spain. + +Brutal murder of Hypatia, a lovely woman and a Neo-Platonic philosopher +of Alexandria. + +Persecution of Jews at Alexandria. + +Adolphus assassinated at Barcelona by Sigeric, who usurps the throne, +but is killed seven days afterward, and Wallia chosen king by the +Visigoths. + +418. Wallia relinquishes a part of his conquests in Spain to Honorius, +and receives the province of Aquitaine in Gaul. + +420. St. Jerome dies in Palestine. + +A persecution of the Christians in Persia leads to war between that +nation and the Eastern Empire. + +422. Peace concluded with Persia. Incursion of the Huns into Thrace. + +423. Death of Honorius; usurpation of Joannes the Notary. + +425. Joannes is beheaded. The young Valentinian is proclaimed emperor, +and his mother, Placidia, regent. + +A synod at Carthage forbids appeals to the Bishop of Rome. The revenues +of the Church are become very large. + +428. Conquests of the Vandals in Spain. + +Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, founds the sect of Nestorians, +which still subsists in Persia and Turkey. + +429. Wild Moors join the Vandals who have invaded Africa. + +430. Bonifacius unsuccessfully opposes the Vandals in Africa; they +besiege Hippo Regius. St. Augustine dies there in the third month of the +siege. + +431. Hippo Regius falls. + +Third general council of the Church, held at Ephesus; one of the most +turbulent in history. + +432. Bonifacius, although victorious, perishes in the conflict with his +rival Aetius. + +433. Attila, King of the Huns, begins his reign.[75] St. Patrick +preaches in Ireland. + +435. Nestorius exiled to the Libyan desert. + +439. The Vandals, under Genseric, take Carthage. + +440. Leo the Great elected pope. + +441. Attila and his Huns pass the Danube; they invade Illyricum. See +"HUNS INVADE THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE," iv, 28. + +442. Valentinian by a treaty of peace cedes Africa to Genseric. A comet +is visible. + +444. Attila murders his brother, Bleda, and rules alone over the Huns. + +446. Britons in vain apply to Aetius for aid against the Picts and +Scots. + +Thermopylae passed by the Huns; the Eastern Emperor makes humiliating +terms of peace with Attila. See "HUNS INVADE THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE," +iv, 28. + +Pope Leo assumes a tone of high authority, and asserts the supremacy of +the Roman Pontiff over all other bishops. + +449. Landing of the Jutes under Hengist and Horsa in Britain, called +there to repel the Picts and Scots. See "THE ENGLISH CONQUEST OF +BRITAIN," iv, 55. + +The "Robber Synod" meets at Ephesus. It reinstates Eutyches in the +office of priest and archimandrite, from which he had been expelled, and +exposes Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople, who is so roughly attacked +that he dies soon afterward of his injuries. + +A synod at Rome reverses the acts at Ephesus. + +450. Death of Theodosius II; by a nominal marriage his sister Pulcheria +raises Marcian to the throne. + +Attila demands the princess Honoria in marriage. + +451. Gaul invaded by Attila; battle of Chalons. See "ATTILA INVADES +WESTERN EUROPE," iv, 72. + +Fourth general council of the Church, held at Chalcedon; the acts of the +"Robber Synod" are annulled. + +452. Attila, after withdrawing from Gaul, ravages Italy; he besieges and +destroys Aquileia; its inhabitants flee to the marshes; Rome is saved by +its Bishop, Leo the Great. Venice is founded. See "FOUNDATION OF +VENICE," iv, 95. + +453. Death of Attila; dissolution of his empire. Death of the empress +Pulcheria. + +454. Hengist founds the kingdom of Kent. + +455. Maximus murders Valentinian III and usurps the throne of the +Western Empire; at the end of three months Maximus is killed by the +people. + +The Vandals pillage Rome. Avitus is proclaimed emperor of the West. + +456. Ricimer, commander of the Barbarian mercenaries in the West, +destroys a Vandal fleet near Corsica; he declares against Avitus, who +abdicates. + +457. Majorian placed on the throne of the West by Ricimer and the +senate. + +Leo I ascends the throne in the East. + +460. Genseric destroys Majorian's fleet at Carthagena. Peace is made +between them. + +461. Majorian is assassinated by Ricimer, who places his puppet Severus +on the throne, exercising the Imperial power himself. + +465. Death of Severus; Ricimer still wields the supreme power in Rome. + +467. Anthemius made emperor of the West. + +The Vandals ravage the coasts of Italy and Sicily. + +468. Leo I, Emperor of the East, aided by the Western Empire, makes an +earnest but ineffectual effort against the Vandals under Genseric. + +472. Ricimer besieges and storms Rome; death of Ricimer and of +Anthemius; Olybrius and Glycerius are emperors successively. + +473. Invasion of Italy by the Ostrogoths diverted to Gaul. Glycerius +emperor of the West. + +474. Julius Nepos becomes emperor of the West. Zeno rules the Eastern +Empire. + +475. Romulus Augustulus emperor of the West. Zeno and his wife flee to +Isauria. + +476. Odoacer, a leader of German mercenaries, dethrones Augustulus and +puts an end to the Western Empire for three centuries. The title of king +of Italy assumed by Odoacer. + +486. Clovis founds the kingdom of the Franks. He defeats Syagrius at +Soissons, and thus puts an end to Roman dominion in Gaul. See "CLOVIS +FOUNDS THE KINGDOM OF THE FRANKS," iv, 113. + +488. The Eastern Emperor commissions Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths, +to invade Italy. + +489. Theodoric defeats Odoacer at Verona. + +490. Odoacer is again defeated; he retires to Ravenna. + +491. Anastasius becomes emperor of the East by marrying the widow of +Zeno, who had recently died. + +The South Saxons capture Anderida. + +492. Anastasius grants liberty of conscience and remits oppressive +taxes. + +493. Theodoric besieges Odoacer in Ravenna; he is captured and murdered; +Theodoric becomes king of the whole of Italy. + +494. An earthquake overthrows the cities of Laodicea, Hierapolis, and +Tripolis. + +Pope Gelasius makes the distinction between the canonical and apocryphal +books of the Scriptures. He asserts his divine right, as Bishop of Rome, +to universal supremacy. + +495.[76] Cerdic and his band of Saxons, who sail in five ships, land in +Britain. + +496. Clovis vanquishes the Alemanni; he is baptized. See "CLOVIS FOUNDS +THE KINGDOM OF THE FRANKS," iv, 113. + +497. The Arabs (Saracens) invade Syria; they are repulsed by Eugenius. + +Many Athanasian bishops are banished from Africa to Sardinia. + +498. Publication of the _Babylonian Talmud_ or _Gemaras_. + +Violent contest between Symmachus and Laurentius for the episcopal +throne at Rome, decided by Theodoric in favor of the former. + +500. Clovis, King of the Franks, defeats the Burgundians near Dijon. + +502. Syria and Palestine ravaged by the Saracens. The Bulgarians again +devastate Thrace. + +504. Expulsion by the Franks of the Alemanni from the Middle Rhine. +Theodoric defeats the Bulgarians and retakes Sirmium, which they had +captured. + +505. Peace is declared between the Eastern Empire and Persia, ending +desultory conflicts that had continued some years. + +507. Clovis overthrows the Visigoths near Poitiers; he becomes master of +nearly the whole of Aquitania. See "CLOVIS FOUNDS THE KINGDOM OF THE +FRANKS," iv, 113. + +Amalarich, Alaric's infant son, and Giselich, his natural son, are +proclaimed joint kings of the Visigoths by Theodoric; he preserves for +them all Spain and a part of Gaul. + +508. Natanleod, a British prince, is defeated and slain, in a desperate +battle, by Cerdic the Saxon. + +510. Clovis adds the territory of certain minor Frank princes to his own +territory; he makes Paris his capital. See "CLOVIS FOUNDS THE KINGDOM OF +THE FRANKS," iv, 113. + +511. Death of Clovis; the Frankish kingdom is divided equally among his +four sons: Theodoric I (Thierry), Metz; Clodomir, Orleans; Childebert I, +Paris; and Clotair, Soissons. + +Monophysite riot at Constantinople, caused by the controversy respecting +the nature of Christ. + +512. Second Monophysite riot at Constantinople. + +515. A body of Huns breaks through the Caspian gates and invades +Cappadocia. + +Publication of St. Benedict's monastic rule. + +518. Death of Anastasius, the Eastern Emperor, and accession of Justin +I. + +519. Cerdic gives the name of Wessex to that part of Britain conquered +by him; he assumes the title of king; Cynric is his coadjutor. + +523. Sigismund, the Burgundian King, assumes the monastic habit, but is +betrayed into the hands of the Franks, who throw him, with his wife and +children, into a well at Orleans. His brother, Gondemar, is elected +king. + +525. Theodoric, King of Italy, orders the execution of Boethius and +Symmachus. + +526. Death of Theodoric and accession of Athalaric. + +Great earthquake at Antioch, which destroys the city; 250,000 persons +perish. + +The Eastern Empire begins war with Persia. + +527. Justinian proclaimed joint augustus, soon after which, by the death +of Justin, he becomes sole emperor. + +Use of the Christian era introduced by Dionysius Exiguus. + +528. Thuringia conquered by the Franks. + +529. Julian, leader of a Jewish and Samaritan revolt, is made prisoner +and beheaded. + +Justinian issues edicts against philosophers, heretics, and pagans. See +"PUBLICATION OF THE JUSTINIAN CODE," iv, 138. Closing of the schools at +Athens. + +530. Benedict founds his new monastic order; the principal seat is Monte +Casino, Campania.[77] + +Belisarius, the greatest general of the Byzantine empire, defeats the +Persians at Dara. + +531. Alamundarus, at the head of the Persians and Saracens, defeats +Belisarius, who maintains his ground against their nearly overwhelming +force. + +Accession of Khusrau to the throne of Persia. + +532. End of the war between the Eastern Empire and Persia. + +533. Justinian's general, Belisarius, destroys the Vandal kingdom in +Africa. + +Publication of the _Pandects_ and _Institutes_ of Justinian. See +"PUBLICATION OF THE JUSTINIAN CODE," iv, 138. + +Philosophers, who were driven from Constantinople by Justinian's orders, +return disappointed from Persia. + +534. Overthrow of the Burgundian kingdom by the Franks, who divide the +dominions between the three Frankish kings. + +Solomon, left by Belisarius to command in Africa, defeats the Moors. + +535. Belisarius is sent by Justinian to recover Italy from the +Ostrogoths; he occupies Sicily. + +536. Rome is occupied by Belisarius. + +537. Vitiges unsuccessfully besieges Belisarius in Rome; great distress +in the city. + +538. Vitiges retreats from before Rome and takes shelter in Ravenna. + +539. The Franks, under Theodebert, invade Italy and plunder Genoa; +attacked by disease they return into Gaul. + +540. Vitiges surrenders Ravenna and is sent a prisoner to +Constantinople. Justinian recalls Belisarius from Italy. + +Khusrau, King of Persia, invades Syria and takes Antioch. + +A total eclipse of the sun, June 20th. + +Justinian makes a formal relinquishment of Gaul to the Franks. + +541. Belisarius takes the command of the Roman forces against the +Persians; he defeats Khusrau. + +Totila, King of the Ostrogoths, is successful in Italy. End of the +succession of Roman consuls. + +542. Belisarius compels the Persians to recross the Euphrates. + +The great plague spreads from Egypt and rages for many years in Asia and +Europe. + +543. Naples surrenders to Totila, who then advances against Rome. +Belisarius recalled from the East, after which the Persians again +advance and defeat the Romans. + +Moors renew the war in Africa; Solomon is slain in battle against them; +Sergius, his successor, is incompetent. + +Spain invaded by the Franks. + +544. Again Belisarius is sent into Italy, but without supplies and with +very inadequate forces. + +Stotzas, leader of the Moors, defeats the Romans, but is slain in the +battle. + +545. While Belisarius awaits reinforcements Totila takes Asculum and +Spoletum, and lays siege to Rome. + +546. Rome is betrayed to Totila; Belisarius is joined by fresh troops, +but arrives too late to prevent the capture and pillage. + +547. Rome is utterly deserted for six weeks; it is retaken by +Belisarius, who repairs the walls. + +Ida founds the kingdom of Bernicia, in Northumberland, and builds +Bamborough. + +Bavaria becomes subject to the Franks. + +548. Death of Theodora, Empress of the East. + +Crotona and Tarentum are captured by Belisarius, after which he is +recalled to the East. + +549. Second siege and capture of Rome by Totila. + +The Lazic War begins--a contest of Rome and Persia on the Phasis; called +Lazic from the Lazi, a tribe which still subsists. + +550. Vigilius, at Constantinople, urges Justinian to rescue Italy from +the dominion of Arians. + +Illyrium is freed of the Slavonians. + +551. Totila restores the senate at Rome. + +Silkworms said to have been first reared in Europe from eggs brought out +of the East. + +552. Totila defeated and slain by Narses, Belisarius' successor, to whom +the greater part of Italy submits. + +Teias is appointed their king by the Ostrogoths. + +Cyric puts the Britons to flight at the battle of Searobyrig (Sarum). + +553. Narses puts an end to the power of the Ostrogoths in Italy, and +annexes it to the Eastern Empire. + +Fifth general council of the Church at Constantinople. The exarch is +established at Ravenna, representing the Emperor of the East. + +554. Italy is invaded by the Franks and Alemanni; they are defeated by +Narses. + +555. Tzathes declared king of the Lazi; the Persians are defeated by the +Romans at Phasis. + +War between Clotaire and the Saxons. + +558. Death of Childebert; the Salic Law prevents his daughters reigning; +their brother, Clotaire, becomes sole king of the Franks. + +559. Belisarius' last achievement is to expel the Bulgarians, who +advanced to within twenty miles of Constantinople. + +561. Death of Clotaire; the Frankish kingdom again divided. + +The services of Belisarius excite the jealousy of Justinian and his +courtiers. + +562. Conspiracy of Marcellus and Sergius against Justinian; Belisarius +unjustly accused of having taken part in the plot. + +563. Belisarius is acquitted of the charges brought against him; he is +restored to his honors. + +St. Columba founds the monastery of Iona in Scotland. + +565. Death of Belisarius, also of the emperor Justinian. Justin II +succeeds to the throne. + +566.[78] Alboin, at the head of the Lombards, and aided by the Avars, +destroys the kingdom of the Gepidae in Pannonia. + +War in Britain between the kings of Kent and Wessex. + +567. Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy formed by the division of the +Frankish kingdom. + +568. Invasion of Italy by the Lombards; Pavia besieged. Longinus, the +successor of Narses, is styled the exarch of Ravenna by the Byzantines. + +570.[79] Birth of Mahomet. See "THE HEGIRA," iv, 198. Death of Narses. + +571. Khusrau persecuting the Armenians, they place themselves under the +protection of Justin; this leads to war between the Persians and Romans. + +Uffa founds the kingdom of East Anglia in Britain. + +572. Marcianus is sent by Rome to conduct the war against the Persians. + +Alboin, Lombardy, grants allotments of territory to his chief captains, +with titles of princes or dukes, for which they are to render military +service. + +573. Alboin, King of the Lombards, is murdered by Rosamond, his wife; +she flees to Ravenna with her lover Helmichis, where she poisons him; +before he dies he compels her to drain the cup. Cleoph is elected king +of Lombardy. + +The Visigoths subjugate the Suevi in Spain. + +574. Tiberius is appointed Caesar at Rome; he concludes a peace with the +Persians. He is defeated by the Avars on the Danube. + +Cleoph, the Lombard King, is slain; his son being a child, many of the +dukes assume royal power and great anarchy prevails. + +575. Justinian, son of Germanus, defeats the Persians and advances to +the Araxes. + +576. Armenia is occupied by the Persians; Justinian arrives too late to +prevent it. + +578. Death of Justin. Accession of the emperor Tiberius Constantinus in +the East. + +579. Maurice, commanding the Romans, is victorious over the Persians. + +580. Further successes of Maurice in Mesopotamia. + +582. Death of Tiberius and accession of Maurice, Emperor in the East. + +584. Many native Gauls retire into Armorica, where they preserve their +Celtic tongue. + +586. Cridda founds the last Saxon kingdom of Mercia. The Britons retire +to the western side of the island, unite in a general league, and call +themselves Cymri. + +588. Northumberland is founded by the union of the kingdoms of Bernicia +and Deira, under Ethelric. + +589. Arianism is abandoned by the Visigoths in Spain. 591. Peace between +Persia and the Eastern Empire. + +597. Augustine sent by Gregory the Great to preach Christianity to the +Anglo-Saxons. See "AUGUSTINE'S MISSIONARY WORK IN ENGLAND," iv, 182. + +602. Revolt in Constantinople; Phocas is proclaimed emperor; flight of +Maurice with his family; they are taken and put to death. + +603. Khusrau, the Persian ruler, declares war against Phocas to revenge +the death of his benefactor, Maurice. + +605. Phocas begins his cruelties; Constantina, the widow of Maurice, is +tortured and afterward beheaded with her daughters; Narses is decoyed to +Constantinople and there burned alive. The hippodrome is defaced by the +heads and mangled remains of the tyrant's victims. + +607. Phocas concedes to Boniface III the supremacy of Rome over all +Christian churches. + +608. Boniface IV consecrates the Pantheon--built by Agrippa to the +memory of his divine ancestors B.C. 27--as the Church of Santa Maria +Rotunda. + +Khusrau II, King of Persia, invades Asia Minor. + +610. Phocas is given up to Heraclius and beheaded; Heraclius declared +emperor of the East. + +Venetia has an incursion of the Avars. + +612. Caesarea, Cappadocia, taken by the Persians. + +Syria is invaded by the Saracens. + +613. Clotaire unites under his rule all the territories of the Franks. + +The youthful Ali becomes Mahomet's vizier. + +614. Damascus and Jerusalem are taken by the Persians under Khusrau II. + +616. Alexandria and Egypt conquered by the Persians; another army +encamps at Chalcedon. Their general, Saen, introduces to Khusrau an +embassy from Heraclius, for which he is flayed alive, and the ambassador +imprisoned. + +Death of Ethelbert; his son Eadbald succeeds him and restores the pagan +worship to England; he is afterward converted to Christianity. + +First expulsion of the Jews from Spain. + +619. Heraclius, while holding a conference with Baian, is treacherously +attacked by the Avars; he escapes with difficulty. + +622. Roused from his apathy, Heraclius leaves Constantinople and lands +at Alexandria; he defeats the Persians, recovers Cilicia, and places his +army in secure winter quarters. + +Flight of Mahomet from Mecca to Medina: the era of the Hegira commences, +July 16th. See "THE HEGIRA," iv, 198. + +623. Heraclius occupies Armenia, takes Thebarma (Ooramiah), the +birthplace of Zoroaster, reconquers Colchis and Iberia, and winters in +Albania, having released 50,000 captives. + +Suintilla takes the few remaining places in Spain that were still held +by the Greek empire. + +624. Ispahan, Persia, is taken by Heraclius; he defeats Sarbaraza at +Salban. + +625. Heraclius carries away an immense booty from Persia; he recovers +Amida and Samosata. + +626. Constantinople is besieged by the Persians and Avars; the siege +fails. The emperor Heraclius contracts an alliance with the Turks, who, +passing the Caspian gates, invade Persia. + +627. Khusrau II is overwhelmed by Heraclius and his Turkish allies. + +King Edwin, of Northumberland, embraces Christianity and builds the +first minster of wood, at York. + +628. Recovery of Jerusalem and of the presumed true Cross by Heraclius +from the Persians. + +Khusrau 11 deposed and slain; by treaty all the possessions captured by +the Persians are restored to Rome. + +630 (629). Mecca surrenders to Mahomet; he invades Palestine. + +631. After many revolutions in Persia, Cesra is made king. + +Dagobert I reunites the Frankish empire. + +632. Death of Mahomet; his successor, Abu-Bekr, sends an army into +Syria. See "THE SARACEN CONQUEST OF SYRIA," iv, 247. + +Oswald builds the first minster of stone at York. + +634. Death of Abu-Bekr; accession of Omar as head of the Saracens. + +635. Defeat of the Welsh by the English at Heavenfield. + +636. The Roman army is overcome by the Saracens. See "THE SARACEN +CONQUEST OF SYRIA," iv, 247. + +637. Emesa, Balbec, and Jerusalem taken by the Saracens. + +638. Heraclius, unable to resist the Mahometans, retires to +Constantinople, where he publishes his _Ecthesis_. + +Death of Dagobert; his two sons succeed, Clovis to Neustria and +Burgundy, Sigebert to Austrasia. + +640. Capture of Caesarea. Invasion of Egypt by Amru, the general of Omar. +See "SARACENS CONQUER EGYPT," iv, 278. + +641. Death of Heraclius, Emperor of the East; three rival emperors +succeed; accession of Constans II. + +The Sassanian kingdom ends. + +642. Victory at Nehavend by the Saracens; this places Persia in their +power. + +Istria and Dalmatia invaded by the Slavonians. + +643. Rotharis publishes the Lombard code of laws. + +644. Assassination of Omar; Othman succeeds. See "SARACENS CONQUER +EGYPT," iv, 278. + +646. Alexandria recaptured by the Greeks and again lost. + +647. Abdallah advances, at the head of the Saracens, from Egypt to Roman +Africa. + +648. Constans II issues his _Type_, or model of faith. + +649. Constans II orders the new exarch Olympius to enforce the adoption +of his _Type_ by the Western Church; it is rejected by the First Lateran +Council. + +650. The Moslems conquer Merv, Balkh, and Herat.[80] + +Many orthodox churches are plundered by Constans II. + +651. Death of Yezdejerd and end of the Persian kingdom. + +652. Conversion of the East Saxons in England. + +653. Pope Martin I is seized and banished by Constans II. + +654. Martin, in Constantinople, is stripped of his pontifical robes and +imprisoned; after long hesitation Eugenius is elected pope in his stead. + +656. Assassination of Caliph Othman; Ali succeeds; Moawiyah revolts +against him; he is supported by Ayesha the widow of Mahomet, Amru, +Telhar, and Zobeir. These dissensions suspend the conquests of the +Saracens. Ali is victorious on "the Day of the Camel"; Telhar and Zobeir +are slain; Ayesha is made prisoner and sent to Medina. + +657. Kufa is made the seat of government by Caliph Ali. + +658. Constans takes the field against the Slavonians and repulses them. + +Amru is sent by Moawiyah into Egypt and expels Ali's partisans. The two +caliphs publicly pray for each other while waging fierce war. + +660. Ali is assassinated; Hasan, his eldest son, is elected caliph. + +661. Hasan resigns the caliphate; Moawiyah, the first of the Ommiads, +becomes undisputed ruler of the Moslems; he makes Damascus his capital. + +Death of Aribert; Lombardy is divided between his two sons. Constans, +detested by all classes, leaves Constantinople and goes to Italy; the +senate detains the Empress and his sons. + +663. Constans visits Rome and carries away much spoil and retires to +Syracuse. + +664. Caliph Moawiyah appoints as his lieutenant in Persia, India, and +the East his half-brother, Ziyad, "the greatest man of the age." + +668. Constans is assassinated in a bath at Syracuse; Constans IV +succeeds to the throne of the Eastern Empire. + +The Sicilians set up Mecezius as emperor. Constantinople is first +besieged by the Saracens. + +669. Sicily is invaded by the Saracens, who capture Syracuse. + +670. Kairwan, or Kayrawan, a holy Mahometan city in Northern Africa, +founded. + +Death of Clotaire III; Theodoric, or Thierry III, becomes king of +Neustria and Burgundy. + +671. Ebroin and Thierry are compelled by the Franks to retire into a +monastery; Childeric for a time reigns alone. + +672. Death of Ziyad; his son, appointed by Caliph Moawiyah lieutenant of +Khorassan, penetrates into Bokhara and defeats the Turks. + +673. First council of the Anglo-Saxon Church, at Hereford. + +Year after year the Saracens repeat their attacks on Constantinople; +Callinicus invents the Greek fire used successfully in its defence. + +Thierry III and Ebroin leave their monastery and resume the government +of Neustria. + +Birth of the Venerable Bede.[81] + +674. Revolts of the Gascons and Duke Paulus repressed by Wamba, King of +the Visigoths in Spain. + +The Bavarians, Thuringians, and other German subjects of Austrasia +regain their independence. + +677. Siege of Constantinople raised by the Mahometans; peace +concluded.[82] + +Domnus restores the authority of Rome over the Church at Ravenna. + +678. Bulgarians establish themselves in the north of Thrace. Egfrid +expels Wilfrid from York and divides his diocese; Wilfrid goes to Rome +and obtains from Pope Agatho an order for his restoration. Egfrid +resists the papal interference. A large comet visible for three months. + +679. A council held at Rome for the reunion of the Greek and Latin +churches. + +680. Sixth general council of the Church, at Constantinople; Monothelite +heresy condemned. + +Establishment of a kingdom in Maesia (modern Bulgaria) by the +Bulgarians.[83] + +Hoseyn, son of Ali, and his followers massacred at Kerbela. + +Murder of Dagobert II, after which Pepin of Heristal and Martin rule +Austrasia with the title of dukes. + +Attempt to poison Wamba; he resigns his crown and retires into a +monastery; Ervigius succeeds him as king of the Visigoths. + +683. For twelve months the papacy is vacant after the death of Leo II. + +684. Constantine sends to Rome locks of the hair of his two sons, in +token of their adoption by the Church. + +Egfrid sends Beort with an army into Ireland and lays waste the country. + +685. Justinian II becomes emperor of the East on the death of +Constantine IV. + +The Picts defeat the Angles of Northumbria under King Ecgfrith, at +Nactansmere. + +687. Battle of Testri; the victory of Pepin of Heristal gives him the +sway over the whole Frankish empire. + +688. Caedwalla resigns the crown of Wessex to Ina and goes to Rome; he +dies there one year later. + +690. On the death of Theodore, Berthwald becomes the first archbishop of +Canterbury. + +Two Anglo-Saxon bishops, Kilian and Wilbrord, preach in Germany. Pepin +allows Clovis III to succeed Thierry III as nominal ruler of Neustria. + +691. Council of Constantinople, called "Quinisextum in Trullo"; not +acknowledged by the Western Church. + +692. The Mahometans defeat the army collected by Justinian at +Sebastopolis. + +Armenia is conquered by the Mahometans. + +694. Justinian's two ministers provoke his subjects by their +oppressions; Leontius imprisoned. + +695. Leontius, released from prison, is proclaimed emperor of the East; +Justinian, with his nose cut off, is banished. + +696. Pepin favors the preaching of the Anglo-Saxon missionaries among +the Franks and Frisians; he appoints Wilbrord, under the name of +Clemens, bishop of Utrecht. + +697. Election of the first doge, with a council of tribunes and judges, +in Venice. See "EVOLUTION OF THE DOGESHIP IN VENICE," iv, 292. + +698. Hasan, at the head of the Saracens, storms and destroys Carthage. + +699. At Mount Atlas the Berbers, or wild shepherds, successfully resist +the advance of the Mahometans. + +705. An army of Bulgarians, under Terbelis, restores Justinian to his +throne; he inflicts bloody vengeance for his expulsion. + +Accession of Caliph Welid. + +706. Pope John VII refuses to accept, or even revise, the acts of the +Council of Constantinople, A.D. 691, which Justinian requires him to +adopt. + +707. The Mahometans, under Musa, overcome the Berbers and are masters of +all Northern Africa; they establish themselves in the valley of the +Indus and conquer Karisme, Bokhara, and Samarkand, whence they introduce +the manufacture of paper. + +708. Justinian, unmindful of his obligations to Terbelis, attacks the +Bulgarians, but is defeated. + +709. Roderic ascends the Gothic throne in Spain. + +Theodorus, by order of the Emperor Justinian, plunders Ravenna and sends +the principal inhabitants to Constantinople, where they are cruelly +murdered. + +711. Tarik, with a large force of Arab-Moors, lands in Spain. See +"SARACENS IN SPAIN," iv, 301. + +Justinian's continued cruelties provoke a revolt at Ravenna; he sends a +fleet and army to destroy Cherson and massacre its inhabitants. The +citizens of Cherson proclaim Bardanes emperor, under the name of +Philippicus; his cause is espoused by both the fleet and army, which +conduct him to Constantinople, where he is acknowledged, and Justinian +is put to death. + +713. Musa, at the head of the Saracens, crosses the Pyrenees. + +715. Charles Martel gains the ascendency in Austrasia; he contends +against Chilperic II, the successor of Dagobert in Neustria. + +717. Leo the Isaurian ascends the throne of the Eastern Empire. +Constantinople is again besieged by the Moslems. + +The Saracens suffer a disastrous defeat at the Cave of Covadonga, Spain. + +718. Charles Martel is victorious at Soissons; both Frankish kingdoms +acknowledge him. + +719. Narbonne is captured and occupied by the Saracens under Zana. + +721. Zana defeated and slain at the battle of Toulouse. Egbert, Abbot +of Iona, translates the four gospels into Anglo-Saxon. + +726. Iconoclastic edicts by Leo the Isaurian, against the worship of +images, causes tumult and insurrection in Constantinople. + +730. Image worship prohibited throughout the Eastern Empire. + +731. Last confirmation of a papal election by the Eastern Emperor, the +occasion being the election of Gregory III. + +732. Battle of Tours, when Charles Martel utterly routs the Saracens and +saves the empire of the Franks. See "BATTLE OF TOURS," iv, 313. + +Pope Gregory III calls a council at Rome; an edict is issued against the +iconoclasts. + +733. Emperor Leo marries his son Constantine to a Tartar or Turkish +princess, who at her baptism takes the name of Irene. + +740. The Saracens are expelled from the greater part of France by +Charles Martel and his ally, Lieutprand. + +Death of Leo the Isaurian; accession of Constantine V as emperor of the +East. + +742. Birth of Charlemagne. + +744. Carloman defeats the Saxons; they are forced into baptism. + +746. King Carloman relinquishes the throne of the Franks, and retires +into a monastery. See "FOUNDING OF THE CARLOVINGIAN DYNASTY," iv, 324. + +747. Great plague in Constantinople. + +748. Venetian merchants having purchased slaves to be sold in Africa to +the Saracens, Pope Zachary forbids the traffic. + +Virgilius, a priest, convicted of heresy for believing in the existence +of the antipodes. + +750. End of the Ommiad and rise of the Abbasside dynasty of caliphs; all +the family of the former, except Abderrahman, put to death. + +751. Pepin the Short founds the Carlovingian dynasty of the Franks. See +"FOUNDING OF THE CARLOVINGIAN DYNASTY," iv, 324. + +752. Extinction of the exarchate of Ravenna by the Lombards under +Astolphus. + +753. Pope Stephen II journeys to France. + +754. Pepin the Short is crowned by Stephen II. See "FOUNDING OF THE +CARLOVINGIAN DYNASTY," iv, 324. + +755. Pepin the Short defeats Astolphus, King of the Lombards, and +invests Pope Stephen II with Ravenna, and other places taken from the +Lombards. The Papal States founded. + +St. Boniface is martyred in Germany. + +756. Abderrahman founds the kingdom of the Ommiads at Cordova. + +757. Emperor Constantine courts the favor of Pepin; among other presents +he sends him the first organ known in France. + +759. Pepin conquers Narbonne and expels the last Saracens from France. + +762.[84] Founding of Bagdad, the capital of the eastern caliphs. + +767. Death of Pope Paul I; usurpation of Constantine, antipope. + +768. Pepin dies and is succeeded by his sons Charles (Charlemagne) and +Carloman. See "CAREER OF CHARLEMAGNE," iv, 334. + +769. Council of Rome annuls all acts of the deposed pope Constantine; +he, although blinded by the populace, is led into the assembly, +insulted, and beaten. Laymen are declared incapable of being made +bishops. + +771. Death of Carloman; Charlemagne becomes sole king of the Franks. See +"CAREER OF CHARLEMAGNE," iv, 334. + +772. Charlemagne begins his long war against the Saxons. + +774. Charlemagne visits Rome; he captures Pavia after a siege of eight +months; and also puts an end to the kingdom of Lombardy. The papal +temporalities are increased by Charlemagne. Forgery of the "Donation of +Constantine" used as a plea to urge Charlemagne still more to aggrandize +the see of Rome. + +778. Spain is invaded by Charlemagne; on his return to repel the Saxons +his rear-guard is surprised; there ensues the "Dolorous Rout" of +Roncesvalles. See "CAREER OF CHARLEMAGNE," iv, 334. + +780. The government of the Eastern Empire is assumed by Irene in the +name of her son, Constantine VI. + +781. Charlemagne visits Rome; his two sons are crowned by the Pope--one +king of Italy, the other of Aquitaine. + +785. Irene proposes a general council to establish the worship of +images. + +Fierce struggle of the Saxons against Charlemagne; Wittikind and Alboin +submit and profess Christianity. + +786. On the death of Al Hadi, the famous Harun-al-Rashid succeeds to the +eastern caliphate. + +787. Second Council of Nice--the seventh general council of the Church; +it decrees the worship of images. + +788. Bavaria is brought completely under the sway of Charlemagne. + +789.[85] The first recorded inroad of the Northmen (Danes) into England. + +790.[86] Publication of the _Caroline Books_, being the judgments of the +general council of the bishops of the West on certain religious dogmas. + +791. First campaign of Charlemagne against the Avars or Huns; they are +defeated. + +792. King Offa murders Ethelbert and annexes East Anglia to Mercia; in +atonement for his crime he levies a tax on his subjects to support the +school founded at Rome by Ina; this is afterward converted into "Peter's +pence." + +797. Irene deposes and puts out the eyes of her son, Emperor Constantine +VI of the Eastern Empire. + +799. Charlemagne finally conquers the Avars or Huns. + +800. Pope Leo III presides at the coronation of Charlemagne as emperor +of the West. See "CAREER OF CHARLEMAGNE," iv, 334. + +Egbert is recalled from France by the West Saxons, who make him their +king; the name of England is given to his dominions. + +801. Barcelona is conquered from the Moors by the Franks. + +802. Harun-al-Rashid murders the Barmecides, a powerful Persian family +of high renown. + +807. Harun-al-Rashid founds public schools; he sends an embassy to +Charlemagne with rich presents, among which is a curious clock of brass. + +The Saracens of Spain repulsed in their attempt on Sardinia and Corsica. + +812. Civil war ensues between the sons of Harun-al-Rashid, who had died +three years previously. + +813. Constantinople menaced by the Bulgarian khan Krumn. + +814. Death of Charlemagne; Louis _le Debonnaire_, his only surviving +son, succeeds. + +815. Louis exacts an apology from Pope Leo for having exercised civil +judicial power at Rome. + +817. Partition of the Frankish empire by Louis _le Debonnaire_. + +826. Harold of South Jutland baptized; he receives from Louis a grant of +land in Friesland. + +827. The Saxon heptarchy founded by Egbert, King of Wessex. See "EGBERT +BECOMES KING OF THE ANGLO-SAXON HEPTARCHY," iv, 372. + +Beginning of the Saracen conquest of Sicily. + +828. Syracuse and a great part of Catalonia captured by the Saracens. + +829. North Wales submits to Egbert. Dungallo, a monk who had written a +book in defence of image-worship, is placed over the school of Pavia. + +830. First rebellion of the sons of Louis _le Debonnaire_. + +832. Danes land on the Isle of Sheppey, England. + +833. Louis is a prisoner in the hands of his son Lothair, who assumes +full imperial power after the "Field of Lies." + +Danes land in Wessex from thirty-five ships, and defeat Egbert. + +The regular succession of Scottish kings begins with Alpine. + +834. Continuance of the differences between the Anglo-Saxon and Roman +clergy in England. See "EGBERT BECOMES KING OF THE ANGLO-SAXON +HEPTARCHY," iv, 372. + +Lothair compelled by his brother to restore their father, Louis, to his +throne. + +835. Egbert defeats a combined army of Danes and Cornish Britons at +Hengston. + +Danes invade the Netherlands and sack Utrecht. + +836. Antwerp is burned and Flanders ravaged by the Danes. + +Death of the first English king, Egbert. + +837. First incursion of the Danes up the Rhine. + +838. The Danes sail up the Loire and ravage the country as far as Tours. + +Caliph Montassem invades Asia Minor. + +839. Venetians repress the piracy of the Dalmatians, but lose their +ships in an attack on the Saracens at Tarento. + +840. Death of Louis _le Debonnaire_ at Ingelheim; his empire divided +into three separate states: Lothair (Emperor), taking Italy; Charles, +France; Louis, Bavaria or Germany. Disputes follow. + +841. Louis and Charles unite to resist the pretensions of Lothair; he is +defeated at the battle of Fontenailles (Fontenay). + +Rouen plundered by the Danes under Hastings. + +842. A final sanction to image-worship is given by the Council of +Constantinople. + +The "Oath of Strasburg," a valuable matter of philology and history, +which shows that in 841 the distinctions of race and language were +beginning to make themselves felt. It sealed the pact made between Louis +of Austrasia and Charles of Neustria. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[75] Date uncertain. + +[76] Date uncertain. + +[77] Date uncertain. + +[78] Date uncertain. + +[79] Date uncertain. + +[80] Date uncertain. + +[81] Date uncertain. + +[82] Date uncertain. + +[83] Date uncertain. + +[84] Date uncertain. + +[85] Date uncertain. + +[86] Date uncertain. + + + + +END OF VOLUME IV + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT EVENTS BY FAMOUS +HISTORIANS, VOLUME 4*** + + +******* This file should be named 15345.txt or 15345.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/3/4/15345 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: +https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + |